22 research outputs found

    Why Should the Reaction Order of a Bimolecular Reaction be 2.33 Instead of 2?

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    Predicting the reaction kinetics, that is, how fast a reaction can happen in a solution, is essential information for many processes, such as industrial chemical manufacturing, refining, synthesis and separation of petroleum products, environmental processes in air and water, biological reactions in cells, biosensing, and drug delivery. Collision theory was originally developed to explain the reaction kinetics of gas reactions with no dilution. For a reaction in a diluted inert gas solution or a diluted liquid solution, diffusion often dominates the collision process. Thus, it is necessary to include diffusion in such a calculation. Traditionally, the classical Smoluchowski rate is used as a starting point to predict the collision frequency of two molecules in a diluted solution. In this report, a different collision model is derived from the adsorption of molecules on a flat surface. A surprising result is obtained, showing that the reaction order for bimolecular reactions should be 2 and 1/3 instead of 2, following a fractal reaction kinetics

    Monitoring Phase Separation and Dark Recovery in Mixed Halide Perovskite Clusters and Single Crystals Using <i>In Situ</i> Spectromicroscopy

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    Mixed halide perovskites (MHPs) are a group of semiconducting materials with promising applications in optoelectronics and photovoltaics, whose bandgap can be altered by adjusting the halide composition. However, the current challenge is to stabilize the light-induced halide separation, which undermines the device’s performance. Herein we track down the phase separation dynamics of CsPbBr1.2I1.8 MHP single cubic nanocrystals (NCs) and clusters as a function of time by in situ fluorescence spectromicroscopy. The particles were sorted into groups 1 and 2 using initial photoluminescence intensities. The phase separation followed by recovery kinetics under dark and photo blinking analysis suggests that group 1 behaved more like single NCs and group 2 behaved like clusters. Under the 0.64 W/cm2 laser illumination, the phase shifts for single NCs are 3.4 ± 1.9 nm. The phase shifts are linearly correlated with the initial photoluminescence intensities of clusters, suggesting possible interparticle halide transportation

    Deflected Capillary Force Lithography

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    Herein we introduce a novel strategy based on capillary force lithography (CFL) to fabricate asymmetric polymeric ring structures by applying both shear and nomal forces to a poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamp. The mechanism for the formation of asymmetric rings is caused by the deflection of cylindrical PDMS pillars due to the shear load, which is therefore termed deflected CFL (dCFL). The asymmetric polymeric rings could be readily transferred to an underlying gold layer to generate split ring structures with tunable opening angles. Asymmetric structures based upon trigular and square-shaped pillars were also fabricated. These elements were formed into periodic arrays over surface areas as large as 1 cm<sup>2</sup> and may have optical and electromagnetic applications

    Influence of Defects on the Reactivity of Organic Surfaces

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    Molecular orientation within organic solids limits the range of applicable surface reactions, with reactive functionalities often recessed and inaccessible to adsorbates. To induce reactivity in heretofore inert orientations of acenes, a defect-mediated mechanism is utilized to functionalize thin-film phase pentacene. This mechanism was demonstrated via correlation of reaction data to defect density, determined via polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). By controllably varying the amount of grain boundaries in the acene films, the reaction can be varied from near zero to coverage exceeding a monolayer. The extensive coverage suggests that the reaction propagates from the defects throughout the grains, a prediction borne out via direct observation of reaction progression along the surface from a single dislocation (via scanning electron microscopy). The results support a mechanism whereby the reaction is initialized at the defect sites, especially boundaries of crystal domains, which opens the unfavorable molecular orientation of the (001) pentacene to incoming adsorbates. This exact film configuration and its successful reaction is especially relevant to organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices

    A Two-Step Method for smFRET Data Analysis

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    We demonstrate a two-step data analysis method to increase the accuracy of single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET) experiments. Most current smFRET studies are at a time resolution on the millisecond level. When the system also contains molecular dynamics on the millisecond level, simulations show that large errors are present (e.g., > 40%) because false state assignment becomes significant during data analysis. We introduce and confirm an additional step after normal smFRET data analysis that is able to reduce the error (e.g., < 10%). The idea is to use Monte Carlo simulation to search ideal smFRET trajectories and compare them to the experimental data. Using a mathematical model, we are able to find the matches between these two sets, and back guess the hidden rate constants in the experimental results
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