A new method of synthesising nanoparticle-functionalised nanostructured materials via Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD) has been developed. Co-deposition of Au nanoparticles with WO(3) nanoneedles has been used to deposit a sensing layer directly onto gas sensor substrates providing devices with a six-fold increase in response to low concentrations of a test analyte (ethanol).

The ring-opening/closing reaction between spiropyran (SP) and merocyanine (MC) is a prototypical thermally and optically induced reversible reaction. However, MC molecules in solution are thermodynamically unstable at room temperature and thus return to the parent closed form on short time scales. Here we report contrary behavior of a submonolayer of these molecules adsorbed on a Au(111) surface. At 300 K, a thermally induced ring-opening reaction takes place on the gold surface, converting the initial highly ordered SP islands into MC dimer chains. We have found that the thermally induced ring-opening reaction has an activation barrier similar to that in solution. However, on the metal surface, the MC structures turn out to be the most stable phase. On the basis of the experimentally determined molecular structure of each molecular phase, we ascribe the suppression of the back reaction to a stabilization of the planar MC form on the metal surface as a consequence of its conjugated structure and large electric dipole moment. The metal surface thus plays a crucial role in the ring-opening reaction and can be used to alter the stability of the two isomers.

The physical properties of ultrathin transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDCs) make them promising candidates as active nanomaterials for catalysis, optoelectronics, and biomedical applications. Chemical modification of TMDCs is expected to be key in modifying/adding new functions that will help make such promise a reality. We present a mild method for the modification of the basal planes of 2H-MoS2 and WS2. We exploit the soft nucleophilicity of sulfur to react it with maleimide derivatives, achieving covalent functionalization of 2H-TMDCs under very mild conditions. Extensive characterization proves that the reaction occurs through Michael addition. The orthogonality and versatility of the thiol–ene “click” chemistry is expected to allow the à la carte chemical manipulation of TMDCs.

A site-dependent charge transfer to 7,7′,8,8′-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) adsorbed on a single layer of periodically rippled graphene grown epitaxially on Ru(0001), identified by X-ray photoemission techniques, can be spatially resolved using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, which can also detect the formation of magnetic moments. The molecules adsorbed on the lower part of the ripples are charged with electrons donated from the doped graphene overlayer and develop a magnetic moment, while those at the upper part of the ripples are neutral. On the other hand, TCNQ adsorbed on graphene on Ir(111) shows negligible charge transfer and no magnetic moment. These observations explain the spatially dependent longrange magnetic order observed recently for TCNQ on gr/Ru(0001).

Highly homogeneous, ultrathin films of copper nitride ͑Cu 3 N͒ have been grown on Fe͑001͒ at room temperature using a Cu evaporator and a radio-frequency plasma source to obtain atomic nitrogen in a UHV environment. Cu 3 N is a semiconductor with the valence band edge at −0.65± 0.05 eV below the Fermi Level. The formation of copper nitride can be detected spectroscopically by the shape of the Cu LVV-Auger electron transition, which changes sensibly in shape and position compared to metallic Cu. Cu 3 N grows epitaxially with the substrate forming flat disklike mosaic blocks, ͑001͒ oriented. Both x-ray core level photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy photoemission experiments have been used to study the electronic structure. A first-principles calculation has been performed and compared with the measured spectra.