PCCP Blog

PCCP is pleased to announce the publication of the Optical spectroscopy coupled with mass spectrometry methods themed issue.  This themed issue reports recent progress in the fast developing field of spectroscopy of ions by means of mass spectrometry coupled with optical spectroscopy, focussing on both the experimental and theoretical aspects of this topic.

The guest editor for this themed issue is Professor Anne Zehnacker (University of Paris-Sud, France).

Below are a selection of articles from the collection which are free to access.  Please visit our publishing platform to view the rest of the themed collection.

Anharmonic simulations of the vibrational spectrum of sulfated compounds: application to the glycosaminoglycan fragment glucosamine 6-sulfate
Loïc Barnes, Baptiste Schindler, Abdul-Rahman Allouche, Daniel Simon, Stéphane Chambert, Jos Oomens and Isabelle Compagnon
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 25705-25713
DOI: 10.1039/C5CP02079D

Microhydrated dihydrogen phosphate clusters probed by gas phase vibrational spectroscopy and first principles calculations
Shou-Tian Sun, Ling Jiang, J.W. Liu, Nadja Heine, Tara I. Yacovitch, Torsten Wende, Knut R. Asmis, Daniel M. Neumark and Zhi-Feng Liu
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 25714-25724
DOI: 10.1039/C5CP02253C

Charge transfer in MOH(H2O)⁺ (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) complexes revealed by vibrational spectroscopy of mass-selected ions
Brett M. Marsh, Jia Zhou and Etienne Garand
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 25786-25792
DOI: 10.1039/C5CP01522G

A pulsed uniform Laval expansion coupled with single photon ionization and mass spectrometric detection for the study of large molecular aggregates
Bernhard Schläppi, Jessica H. Litman, Jorge J. Ferreiro, David Stapfer and Ruth Signorell
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 25761-25771
DOI: 10.1039/C5CP00061K

PCCP are pleased to announce the publication of the Organic Field Effect Transistors themed issue.  The promise of low cost and flexible transistors has encouraged research groups to explore many avenues and resulted in organic field effect transistors (OFETs) with device efficiencies comparable to amorphous silicon based devices.

This themed issue aims to provide new insights into the underlying physical chemistry of organic field effect transistors (OFETs), providing a better understanding of how and why current devices function.

Such knowledge and understanding will be essential in the quest to further enhance the efficiency of OFETs.

The issue is guest-edited by Zhenan Bao (Stanford University), Antonio Facchetti (Northwestern University), Wenping Hu (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and K. Krishnamoorthy (CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory-Pune).

Below is an example of the high quality work available in the themed collection and if you would like to see more, the full collection can be viewed here.

Organic metal engineering for enhanced field-effect transistor performance
Raphael Pfattner, Concepció Rovira and Marta Mas-Torrent
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 26545-26552
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP03492A

Single-displacement controlled spontaneous electrolysis towards CuTCNQ microribbon electrodes in organic single-crystal transistors
Liangfu He, Zhuoyu Ji, Yonggang Zhen, Jie Liu, Fangxu Yang, Qiang Zhao, Huanli Dong and Wenping Hu
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 26541-26544
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP06064D

Use of heteroaromatic spacers in isoindigo-benzothiadiazole polymers for ambipolar charge transport
Gyoungsik Kim, A-Reum Han, Hae Rang Lee, Joon Hak Oh and Changduk Yang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 26512-26518
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01787K

Novel types of spectroscopies with promising technological applications have been developed through the combination of molecular spectroscopies based on infrared absorption, Raman scattering, and fluorescence emission with metal nanostructures generating very high locally increased electric fields upon resonant excitation. This PCCP themed collection, ‘Surface-enhanced spectroscopies‘, brings together contributions from various disciplines (physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, life sciences) and covers the full range of topics from fundamentals to methods and applications. The Guest Editors for this themed collection are Rudolf Holze (Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany) and Sebastian Schlücker (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany). Their Editorial can be viewed for free until 30th September 2015, along with this selection of articles:

In situ Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy on working electrodes: spectroelectrochemical characterization of water oxidation electrocatalysts, Khurram S. Joya and Xavier Sala, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 21094-21103, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP05053C

Plasmonic properties of regiospecific core–satellite assemblies of gold nanostars and nanospheres, A. Swarnapali D. S. Indrasekara, Roney Thomas and Laura Fabris, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 21133-21142, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP04517C

Bio-sensing with butterfly wings: naturally occurring nano-structures for SERS-based malaria parasite detection, Natalie L. Garrett, Ryo Sekine, Matthew W. A. Dixon, Leann Tilley, Keith R. Bambery and Bayden R. Wood, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 21164-21168, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP04930F

Surface- and tip-enhanced resonant Raman scattering from CdSe nanocrystals, E. Sheremet, A. G. Milekhin, R. D. Rodriguez, T. Weiss, M. Nesterov, E. E. Rodyakina, O. D. Gordan, L. L. Sveshnikova, T. A. Duda, V. A. Gridchin, V. M. Dzhagan, M. Hietschold and D. R. T. Zahn, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 21198-21203, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP05087H (Open Access)

This PCCP themed issue is devoted to research into understanding, mimicking and harnessing the compartmentalisation of biology using in vitro model systems. ‘Chemical compartmentalisation by membranes: from biological mechanism to biomimetic applications‘ explores the methods physical scientists have developed to reconstitute in vitro models of biologically functional interfaces and compartments, whether they may be membranes composed of natural lipids, or biomimetic self-assembled membranes constructed from block copolymers or polyelectrolytes.

The Guest Editors for this themed collection are Barbara Ciani (University of Sheffield, UK) and Paul Beales (University of Leeds, UK) and their Editorial can be views for free until the 31st August 2015, along with this selection of articles:

PCCP is delighted to present its latest themed collection which includes a great selection of articles on Size selected clusters and particles. The issue was guest-edited by Jeroen van Bokhoven (Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering ETH Zurich) and Stefan Vajda (Argonne National Laboratory) and you can read an introduction to this issue in their editorial.

The outside front cover features an article from Anastassia N. Alexandrova et al. entitled Pure and Zn-doped Pt clusters go flat and upright on MgO(100).

There are many other great contributions to this themed issue including:

Optimised photocatalytic hydrogen production using core–shell AuPd promoters with controlled shell thickness
W. Jones, R. Su, P. P. Wells, Y. Shen, N. Dimitratos, M. Bowker, D. Morgan, B. B. Iversen, A. Chutia, F. Besenbacher and G. Hutchings
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 26638-2664

Propene epoxidation with O₂ or H₂–O₂ mixtures over silver catalysts: theoretical insights into the role of the particle size
M. Boronat, A. Pulido, P. Concepción and A. Corma
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 26600-26612

Make sure to take a look at the full contents of this themed collection online now!

PCCP is delighted to present its latest themed collection which includes an excellent selection of interesting and timely articles on charge generation mechanism in organic solar cells. The issue was guest-edited by Maria Antonietta Loi and Alessandro Troisi and you can read their editorial to find out more.

The outside front cover features a Perspective article entitled Charge separation energies at organic heterojunctions: on the role of structural and electrostatic disorder from Frédéric Castet, David Beljonne et al.

There are plenty of other great contributions in this themed collection, including:

Charge generation in polymer–fullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells
Feng Gao and Olle Inganäs
Perspective, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01814A

Ultrafast charge separation and nongeminate electron–hole recombination in organic photovoltaics
Samuel L. Smith and Alex W. Chin
Communication, DOI: 10.1039/C4CP01791A

Make sure to check out the full contents of the themed issue online now.

A mini-collection of articles covering the newest developments in in vivo single-molecule methods has recently been published online as part of issue 25 of PCCP. The mini-collection highlights the great progress that has been made in tracking individual fluorescent proteins in living cells or bacteria and to this end the novel microscopy and labelling strategies that have been developed. Also covered are techniques like optical tweezers that are being applied more and more to living cells, using particles that are smaller and can be trapped with specificity.

The following articles are featured in the collection:

• A review by Lene Oddershede and co-workers detailing the recent and exciting results achieved through the optical force manipulation of individual molecules in vivo. The review describes the capabilities of optical tweezers, the only nano tool able to manipulate individual molecules and organelles within living cells without disturbing the cell wall. Read more about this extremely useful technique online.

• A perspective article by Erwin Peterman et al. reviews methods for investigating membrane–protein diffusion in bacteria, a challenging task due to the extremely small size of bactiera. This article has also been featured on the rather striking front cover of the issue!

• Mark Leake has contributed a perspective article detailing the development and application of a variety analytical methods used to localize and track single fluorescently-labelled molecules. He carefully evaluates known methods using case studies and identifies the challenges still facing the field in developing further robust analytical protocols to single-cell single molecule data.

• Anne Plochowietz and co-workers offer a new approach to study intramolecular charges or complex formation using FRET at the single-cell level in live bacteria. Read more online about how their method shows improved cell viability and loading over previous studies.

So read more about this fascinating area of research in issue 25 of PCCP online now!