Author(s): de Lima BM; Hayes PL; Wood-Adams PM;

Analyzing the orientation of polymeric crystalline lamella at the surface of thin films can be challenging. Even though atomic force microscopy (AFM) is often sufficient for this analysis, there are cases when imaging is not sufficient to confidently determine lamellar orientation. Here, we used sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy to analyze the l ...

Article GUID: 36813456

Author(s): Riad KB; Hoa SV; Wood-Adams PM;

Graphene is the strongest known material. However, the challenge of translating that strength from the microscale to the more useful macroscale remains unmet. Preparing solid structures from self-assembled graphene oxide liquid crystals has allowed the creation of paper and fibers with excellent mechanical properties. Conventionally, vacuum filtration, we ...

Article GUID: 35755360

Author(s): de Lima BM; Hayes PL; Wood-Adams PM;

The dependence between the conformation of polystyrene (PS) and its molecular weight (Mw) in the vicinity of a metal interface was investigated by sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. Tilt angles ? = 50° (the angle between the C2 axis of the pendant phenyl ring and the surface normal) were observed for all samples because of the interaction betwee ...

Article GUID: 34379428

Author(s): Riad KB; Hoa SV; Wood-Adams PM;

Quantum dots have unique size-dependent properties and promising applications. However, their use in many applications remains hindered by mechanical, thermal, and chemical instability and the lack of viable quantum dot mass-production processes. Embedding quantum dots in matrices such as silica counteracts the instability challenges in some applications ...

Article GUID: 34056296