We use XPS and isotope labeling coupled with differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) to show that small amounts of carbonates formed during discharge and charge of Li-O2 cells in ether electrolytes originate from reaction of Li2O2 (or LiO2) both with the electrolyte and with the C cathode. Reaction with the cathode forms approximately a monolayer of Li2CO3 at the C-Li2O2 interface, while reaction with the electrolyte forms approximately a monolayer of carbonate at the Li2O2-electrolyte interface during charge. A simple electrochemical model suggests that the carbonate at the electrolyte-Li2O2 interface is responsible for the large potential increase during charging (and hence indirectly for the poor rechargeability). A theoretical charge-transport model suggests that the carbonate layer at the C-Li2O2 interface causes a 10-100 fold decrease in the exchange current density. These twin "interfacial carbonate problems" are likely general and will ultimately have to be overcome to produce a highly rechargeable Li-air battery.

Degradation-induced changes in the structural and optical properties of the polyfluorene-based blue emitting films and LEDs are examined using spectroscopic (FTIR, UV−vis, photo- and electroluminescence), analytical (FTIR and ESCA), and scanning probe microscopy techniques. The materials studied are oligomers (DP ∼ 10) of 9,9-di-n-hexylfluorene and its random copolymer with anthracene. In situ FTIR monitoring is used to characterize chemical changes in the active layer of operating LED devices. Two primary mechanisms of degradation are identified. In the first, photooxidation of the polymer matrix leads to the formation of an aromatic ketone, most likely fluorenone at the chain terminating monomer units, which quenches the fluorescence. The second process promotes aggregate formation, which then leads to loss of luminous intensity by exciton transfer and relaxation through excimers.

No abstract

We have used time-resolved x-ray diffraction to study the amorphous-crystalline phase transition in 20–80nm particles of the phase change materials Ge2Sb2Te5, nitrogen-doped Ge2Sb2Te5, Ge15Sb85, Sb2Te, and Sb2Te doped with Ag and In. We find that all samples undergo the phase transition with crystallization temperatures close to those of similarly prepared blanket films of the same materials with the exception of Sb2Te that shows the transition at a temperature that is about 40°C higher than that of blanket films. Some of the nanoparticles show a difference in crystallographic texture compared to thick films. Large area arrays of these nanoparticles were fabricated using electron-beam lithography, keeping the sample temperatures well below the crystallization temperatures so as to produce particles that were entirely in the amorphous phase. The observation that particles with diameters as small as 20nm can still undergo this phase transition indicates that phase change solid-state memory technology should scale to these dimensions.

Liquid crystals offer several advantages as solvents for molecules used for nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing (NMRQC). The dipolar coupling between nuclear spins manifest in the NMR spectra of molecules oriented by a liquid crystal permits a significant increase in clock frequency, while short spin-lattice relaxation times permit fast recycling of algorithms, and save time in calibration and signal-enhancement experiments. Furthermore, the use of liquid crystal solvents offers scalability in the form of an expanded library of spin-bearing molecules suitable for NMRQC. These ideas are demonstrated with the successful execution of a 2-qubit Grover search using a molecule ( 13 C 1 HCl 3 ) oriented in a liquid crystal and a clock speed eight times greater than in an isotropic solvent. Perhaps more importantly, five times as many logic operations can be executed within the coherence time using the liquid crystal solvent.