Structured layer of rhenium dye on SiO₂ and TiO₂ surfaces by Langmuir-Blodgett technique.

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).

Thermal diffuse scattering as a probe of large-wave-vector phonons in silicon nanostructures.

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.