Efficient photocatalytic activity in the visible range has been achieved with titanium oxide thin films. Doping, induced by oxygen deficiencies, is the key to the increased photodegradation properties of the film as both experimental and theoretical studies of the thin films demonstrate. The Figure shows an AFM image of the surface morphology of a TiO2 layer.
The adsorption of a molecular electron donor on Au(111) is characterized by the spontaneous formation of a superlattice of monomers spaced several nanometers apart. The coverage-dependent molecular pair distributions obtained from scanning tunneling microscopy data reveal an intermolecular long-range repulsive potential, which decreases as the inverse of the molecular separation. Density functional theory calculations show a charge accumulation in the molecules due to electron donation into the metal. Our results suggest that electrostatic repulsion between molecules persists on the surface of a metal.
We study the electronic mechanisms underlying the induction and propagation of chirality in achiral molecules deposited on surfaces. Combined scanning tunneling microscopy and ab initio electronic structure calculations of Cu-phthalocyanines adsorbed on Ag(100) reveal the formation of chiral molecular orbitals in structurally undistorted molecules. This effect shows that chirality can be manifest exclusively at the electronic level due to asymmetric charge transfer between molecules and substrate. Single molecule chirality correlates with attractive van der Waals interactions, leading to the propagation of chirality at the supramolecular level. Ostwald ripening provides an efficient pathway for complete symmetry breaking and self-assembly of homochiral supramolecular layers.
Iridium oxohydroxide thin coatings have been prepared
by a dynamic
oxidation electrodeposition method from complex oxalate solutions
that induce template effects in the final coating at the nanoscale.
The preparation method induces the formation of a oxohydroxide with
reproducible stoichiometry and sponge-like quasiamorphous open structure,
high ionic mobility, and significant behavior as compared with other
reported iridium oxides as derived from X-ray diffraction, XPS, and
TGA. Reproducible mixed valence states are also observed and a local
rutile structure that allows ion exchange and facile redox changes.
Rather significant is the large affinity for organic compounds observed
and the behavior as substrate for cell culture, the best observed
to date. Optimal cell response seems to be related to such open structure,
which suggests this coating as ideal for devices implanted in the
nervous system.
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