Publications by authors named "James Alatis"

Because an individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) can absorb multiple photons, the exciton density within a single tube depends upon excitation conditions. In SWNT-based energy conversion systems, interactions between excitons and charges make it possible for multiple types of charge transfer reactions. We exploit a SWNT-molecular donor-acceptor hybrid system (-PBN(b)-Ph-PDI-[(6,5) SWNT]) that fixes spatial organization and stoichiometry of perylene diimide (PDI) electron acceptors on the nanotube surface, to elucidate how excitation fluence affects ultrafast charge separation (CS) and the nature of charge recombination (CR) dynamics triggered upon SWNT near-infrared excitation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Covalent bonding interactions determine the energy-momentum (-) dispersion (band structure) of solid-state materials. Here, we show that noncovalent interactions can modulate the - dispersion near the Fermi level of a low-dimensional nanoscale conductor. We demonstrate that low energy band gaps may be opened in metallic carbon nanotubes through polymer wrapping of the nanotube surface at fixed helical periodicity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metal-organic cages are a class of supramolecular structures that often require the careful selection of organic linkers and metal nodes. Of this class, few examples of metal-organic cages exist where the nodes are composed of main group metals. Herein, we have prepared an aluminum-based metal-organic cage, H[Al(pdc)(OAc)O] (Al-pdc-AA), using inexpensive and commercially available materials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present the synthesis and photophysical characterization of a water stable PCN-223(freebase) metal organic framework (MOF) constructed from meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP). The photophysical properties of the synthesized crystalline material were studied using a wide range of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Quenching experiments performed on TCPP and PCN-223 demonstrated that the extent and the rate of quenching in the MOF is significantly higher than the monomeric ligand.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The reaction of zirconium salts with meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) in the presence of different modulators results in the formation of a diverse set of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), each displaying distinct crystalline topologies. However, the synthesis of phase-pure crystalline frameworks remains challenging due to the concurrent formation of different polymorphs. The acidity and concentration of the modulator greatly influence the outcome of the MOF synthesis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF