Graphene|metal|ligand systems open a new realm in surface magnetochemistry. We show that by trapping metal atoms in the two-dimensional potential lattice of a graphene-ligand interface it is possible to build a chemical analogue of an optical lattice, a key setup in quantum information and strongly correlated systems. Employing sophisticated first-principles calculations, we studied electronic ...

Focused ion beam (FIB) instruments have proven to be an invaluable tool for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation. FIBs enable relatively easy and site-specific cross-sectioning of different classes of materials. However, damage mechanisms due to ion bombardment and possible beam heating effects in materials limit the usefulness of FIBs. Materials with adequate heat conducti...

The sol-gel method is a simple and facile wet chemical process for fabricating advanced materials with high homogeneity, high purity, and excellent chemical reactivity at a relatively low temperature. By adjusting the processing parameters, the sol-gel technique can be used to prepare hollow sphere and 1D structural materials that exhibit a wide application in the fields of catalyst, drug or ge...

We present a setup combining a liquid flatjet sample delivery and a MHz laser system for time-resolved soft X-ray absorption measurements of liquid samples at the high brilliance undulator beamline UE52-SGM at Bessy II yielding unprecedented statistics in this spectral range. We demonstrate that the efficient detection of transient absorption changes in transmission mode enables the identificat...

We developed far-IR spectroscopic ellipsometer at the U4IR beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source in Brookhaven National Laboratory. This ellipsometer is able to measure both, rotating analyzer and full-Mueller matrix spectra using rotating retarders, and wire-grid linear polarizers. We utilize exceptional brightness of synchrotron radiation in the broad spectral range between about ...

The in-situ nano-crystal-to-crystal transformation (SCCT) synthesis provides a powerful approach for tailoring controllable feature shapes and sizes of nano crystals. In this work, three nitrogen-rich energetic nano-crystals based on 5,5'-azotetrazolate(AZT2-) Cr(III) salts were synthesized by means of SCCT methodology. SEM and TEM analyses show that the energetic nano-crystals feature a compos...

Owing to its unique electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, graphene has attracted great attention in various application areas, such as energy-storage materials, [ 1–3 ] free-standing paper-like materials, [ 4–6 ] polymer composites, [ 7–9 ] liquid crystal devices, [ 10 ] and mechanical resonators. [ 11 , 12 ] Approaches for preparing graphene include micromechanical cleavage, [ 11 , 1...

Ultrathin films of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are obtained by using a convective assembly setup coupled with a low-strength external AC electric field. The orientation and degree of alignment of the rod-like nanoparticles are controlled by the applied field strength and frequency used during film formation. Calculated dipole moments and Clausius-Mossotti factors allowed the determination of ...

The capability to measure Q factors at cryogenic temperatures enhances the ability to study relaxation processes in solids. Here we present a high-precision cryogenic setup with the ability to measure Q factors of at least 10(9). This level of sensitivity offers new potential for analyzing relaxation processes in solids and for correlating mode shape and relaxation strength. Our improved method...