This paper introduces a novel method for characterizing the oxygen vacancy associates in hydrogenationmodified TiO 2 by using a positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). It was found that a huge number of small neutral Ti 3+ −oxygen vacancy associates, some larger size vacancy clusters, and a few voids of vacancy associates were introduced into hydrogenated TiO 2 . The defects blurred the atomic lattice high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images and brought about the emergence of new Raman vibration. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement indicated that the concentration of oxygen vacancies was 3% in the TiO 2 lattice. The photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, photocurrent, and degradation of methylene blue indicated that the oxygen vacancy associates introduced by hydrogenation retarded the charge recombination and therefore improved the photocatalytic activity remarkably.

Vapor-deposited glasses can be anisotropic and molecular orientation is important for organic electronics applications. In organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), for example, the orientation of dye molecules in two-component emitting layers significantly influences emission efficiency. Here we investigate how substrate temperature during vapor deposition influences the orientation of dye molecules in a model two-component system. We determine the average orientation of a linear blue light emitter 1,4-di-[4-(N,N-diphenyl)amino]styryl-benzene (DSA-Ph) in mixtures with aluminum-tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq3) by spectroscopic ellipsometry and IR dichroism. We find that molecular orientation is controlled by the ratio of the substrate temperature during deposition and the glass transition temperature of the mixture. These findings extend recent results for single component vapor-deposited glasses and suggest that, during vapor deposition, surface mobility allows partial equilibration towards orientations preferred at the free surface of the equilibrium liquid.

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Physical vapor deposition (PVD) has been used to prepare glasses of itraconazole, a smectic A liquid crystal. Glasses were deposited onto subtrates at a range of temperatures (Tsubstrate) near the glass transition temperature (Tg), with Tsubstrate/Tg ranging from 0.70 to 1.02. Infrared spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used to characterize the molecular orientation using the orientational order parameter, Sz, and the birefringence. We find that the molecules in glasses deposited at Tsubstrate = Tg are nearly perpendicular to the substrate (Sz = +0.66) while at lower Tsubstrate molecules are nearly parallel to the substrate (Sz = -0.45). The molecular orientation depends on the temperature of the substrate during preparation, allowing layered samples with differing orientations to be readily prepared. In addition, these vapor-deposited glasses are macroscopically homogeneous and molecularly flat. We interpret the combination of properties obtained for vapor-deposited glasses of itraconazole to result from a process where molecular orientation is determined by the structure and dynamics at the free surface of the glass during deposition. Vapor deposition of liquid crystals is likely a general approach for the preparation of highly anisotropic glasses with tunable molecular orientation for use in organic electronics and optoelectronics.

Physical stability of pharmaceutical amorphous solid dispersions is one of the critical attributes to the successful development of the formulation. Herein, we studied the impact of low-concentration poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on the crystallization rates of three polymorphs of indomethacin (IMC, γ-, α-, and δ-form). We observed that the addition of 3% w/w PEO significantly increased the crystal growth rates of γ-form and α-form of IMC, but had a negligible effect on the δ-form. The reduction of the activation energy for the crystal growth of IMC polymorphs after adding the PEO follows the order γ-form > α-form > δ-form, which is consistent with the trend toward the accelerating effects of PEO on the crystal growth rates of three polymorphs. With the addition of low-concentration PEO, there is an increase of molecular mobility of IMC as evidenced by the decreased structural relaxation times and viscosities. This study suggests that the substantially different effects of PEO on the crystal growth rates of IMC polymorphs are attributable to the different adsorption of PEO on the crystal surface of those polymorphs, which in turn exerts a selective accelerating effect on IMC molecules to organize into the different crystalline phases. These findings are relevant for understanding the crystallization behavior of amorphous solid dispersions containing polymorphic drugs.