The crystalline structures in thin films of polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymers were studied in dependence on the degree of supercooling. Atomic force microscopy showed that the crystalline domains (lamellae) consist of grains, which are macroscopic at low and intermediate degrees of supercooling, but of submicrometer size for strong supercooling. Using grazing-inci...

The chainlike silicon nanowires SiNWs have been synthesized by fluctuating the pressure of the carrier gas in the growth process. The chainlike SiNWs comprise crystalline Si nanoparticles interconnected by amorphous silicon oxide wires. In addition to the sphere, other interesting shapes such as rectangular and triangular Si nanoparticles in chainlike SiNWs were also observed. X-ray absorption ...

We present a computer simulation study on crystal nucleation and growth in supersaturated suspensions of mono-disperse hard spheres induced by a triangular lattice substrate. The main result is that compressed substrates are wet by the crystalline phase (the crystalline phase directly appears without any induction time), while for stretched substrates we observe heterogeneous nucleation. The sh...

A novel two-dimensional organic semiconductor material [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothieno[2,1-b:3,4-b':6,5-b'':7,8-b''']tetra(benzothiophene) (BTBTTBT) which largely extends the scope of the π-conjugated framework of heteroarene through "H" configuration was synthesized and its thermal, optical and electrochemical properties were investigated. This 2D molecule enables the easy growth of single...

Internal crystalline structure of cementite catalyst particles located inside the base of multiwall carbon nanotubes was studied using nanoprobe convergent-beam electron diffraction. The catalyst particles are single crystalline but exhibit combinations of small-angle ( 1 –3 ) rotations, twists, and bends along their axial length between adjacent locations. Distortions are most severe away from...

We report ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of single-crystalline NbS2 nanosheets with controlled orientation. On Si and SiO2 substrates, NbS2 nanosheets grow almost perpendicular to the substrate surface. However, when we apply transferred CVD graphene on SiO2 as a substrate, NbS2 sheets grow laterally lying on the graphene. The NbS2 sheets show the triangular and hexagon...

Single-crystalline organic nanowires (NWs) are important building blocks for future low-cost and efficient nano-optoelectronic devices due to their extraordinary properties. However, it remains a critical challenge to achieve large-scale organic NW array assembly and device integration. Herein, we demonstrate a feasible one-step method for large-area patterned growth of cross-aligned single-cry...

Thin-film epitaxy is critical for investigating the original properties of materials. To obtain epitaxial films, careful consideration of the external conditions, i.e. single-crystal substrate, temperature, deposition pressure and fabrication method, is significantly important. In particular, selection of the single-crystal substrate is the first step towards fabrication of a high-quality film....

Bandgap engineering of single-crystalline alloy Cd(x)Zn(1-x)Te (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanowires is achieved successfully through control of growth temperature and a two zone source system in a vapor-liquid-solid process. Extensive characterization using electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence shows highly crystalline alloy nanowires with precise tuning of the bandgap. It is well know...

Marked improvements in the crystalline quality of GaN enabled the production of GaN-based p−n junction blue-light-emitting and violet-laser diodes. These robust, energetically efficient devices have opened up a new frontier in optoelectronics. A new arena of wide-bandgap semiconductors has been developed due to marked improvements in the crystalline quality of nitrides. In this article, we revi...