Parallel and orthogonal E-field alignment of single-walled carbon nanotubes by ac dielectrophoresis.

We designed planar electrodes, for dielectrophoretic manipulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), built as metal-oxide-semiconductor nanogap capacitors with common substrate and oxide thicknesses of 17 and 150 nm. Such design generates high electric fields (10(9) V m(-1)) and also the fringing field is curved due to the conducting substrate, unlike fields generated by conventionally used planar electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy images showed SWNTs aligned parallel and perpendicular to the electrodes. Raman spectroscopic mapping was used to produce separate images of the metallic (m-SWNT) and semiconducting (s-SWNT) nanotube density distributions. As expected, parallel alignment of the m-SWNTs with the E-field was found; however, also a perpendicular alignment of s-SWNTs was observed. Such orthogonal alignment of s-SWNTs is a rare observation and has not been experimentally reported before in detail with Raman images. Due to the unique electrode design, we were able to obtain substantial separation of m-SWNTs and s-SWNTs. Numerical modeling of the electric field factor of the dielectrophoresis force was done, and it matched perfectly with the experimental results. The orthogonal alignment of s-SWNTs results from comparable values of parallel and perpendicular polarizability to the nanotube axis.

Phonon fingerprints of CsPb2Br5.

CsPb2Br5 is a stable, water-resistant, material derived from CsPbBr3 perovskite and featuring two-dimensional Pb-Br framework separated by Cs layers. Both compounds can coexist at nanolength scale, which often produces conflicting optical spectroscopy results. We present a complete set of polarized Raman spectra of nonluminescent CsPb2Br5 single crystals that reveals the symmetry and frequency of nondegenerate Raman active phonons accessible from the basal (0 0 1) plane. The experimental results are in good agreement with density functional perturbation theory simulations, which suggests that the calculated frequencies of yet unobserved double degenerate Raman and infrared phonons are also reliable. Unlike CsPbBr3, the lattice dynamics of CsPb2Br5 is stable as evidenced by the calculated phonon dispersion. The sharp Raman lines and lack of a dynamic-disorder-induced central peak in the spectra at room temperature indicate that the coupling of Cs anharmonic motion to Br atoms, known to cause the dynamic disorder in CsPbBr3, is absent in CsPb2Br5.

HRTEM low dose: the unfold of the morphed graphene, from amorphous carbon to morphed graphenes.

We present experimental evidence under low-dose conditions transmission electron microscopy for the unfolding of the evolving changes in carbon soot during mechanical milling. The milled soot shows evolving changes as a function of the milling severity or time. Those changes are responsible for the transformation from amorphous carbon to graphenes, graphitic carbon, and highly ordered structures such as morphed graphenes, namely Rh6 and Rh6-II. The morphed graphenes are corrugated layers of carbon with cross-linked covalently nature and sp2- or sp3-type allotropes. Electron microscopy and numerical simulations are excellent complementary tools to identify those phases. Furthermore, the TEAM 05 microscope is an outstanding tool to resolve the microstructure and prevent any damage to the sample. Other characterization techniques such as XRD, Raman, and XPS fade to convey a true identification of those phases because the samples are usually blends or mixes of the mentioned phases.

Thermal mismatch strains in sidewall functionalized carbon nanotube/polystyrene nanocomposites.

We present an unusual temperature dependence of thermal strains in 4-(10-hydroxy)decyl benzoate (HDB) modified SWNTPS (SWNT-single wall carbon nanotube, PS-polystyrene) nanocomposites. The strain transfer from the matrix to nanotubes in these nanocomposites, inferred from the frequency change of the Raman active tangential modes of the nanotubes, is enhanced strongly below 300 K, whereas it is vanishingly small at higher temperatures. The increased strain transfer is suggestive of reinforcement of the HDB-SWNTPS nanocomposites at low temperatures. On the other hand, the pristine SWNTs couple weakly to the PS matrix over the entire temperature range of 4.5-410 K. We argue that the strain transfer in HDB-SWNTPS is determined by the thermomechanical properties of the interface region composed of polystyrene plasticized by the tethered alkanelike modifier.