RESUMEN
We demonstrate the Langmuir-Blodgett assembly of two rhenium-bipyridine complexes containing a flexible or an aromatic bridge, and transfer of the monolayer to SiO2 and single crystal TiO2 substrates. Both of the complexes (ReEC and Re2TC) have a hydrophilic carboxylic acid group, which preferentially anchors into the water subphase, and forms stable monolayers at surface pressures up to 40 mN/m. The optimum conditions for the formation of complete monolayers of both ReEC and Re2TC were identified through characterization of the morphology by atomic force microscopy (AFM), the thickness by ellipsometry, and the surface coverage by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). X-ray reflectivity measurements (XRR) are consistent with the orientation of the molecules normal to the substrate, and their extension to close to their calculated maximum length. Parameters derived from XRR analysis show that there is a higher packing density for Re2TC monolayers than for ReEC monolayers, attributable to the more rigid bridge in the Re2TC molecule.
RESUMEN
Large-wave-vector phonons have an important role in determining the thermal and electronic properties of nanoscale materials. The small volumes of such structures, however, have posed significant challenges to experimental studies of the phonon dispersion. We show that synchrotron x-ray thermal diffuse scattering can be adapted to probe phonons with wave vectors spanning the entire Brillouin zone of nanoscale silicon membranes. The thermal diffuse scattering signal from flat Si nanomembranes with thicknesses from 315 to 6 nm, and a sample volume as small as 5 µm(3), has the expected linear dependence on the membrane thickness and also exhibits excess intensity at large wave vectors, consistent with the scattering signature expected from low-lying large-wave-vector modes of the membranes.