Unveiling the piezoelectric nature of polar α-phase P(VDF-TrFE) at quasi-two-dimensional limit.

Piezoelectric response of P(VDF-TrFE), which is modulated by the dipole density due to the polarization switching on applying an electric field, allows it act as the fundamental components for electromechanical systems. As proposed since the 1970s, its polar α-phase is supposed to yield an enhanced piezoelectric activity. However, its experimental verification has never been reported, hampered by a substantial challenge for the achievement of a smooth, neat α-phase film.

Lu@C Nanorods with Enhanced Photoluminescence and Photoelectrochemical Properties.

One-dimensional (1D) single-crystalline hexagonal nanorods of Lu@C(8)-C were prepared for the first time using the liquid-liquid interface precipitation (LLIP) method from the interfaces between carbon disulfide (CS) and isopropyl alcohol (IPA). The length of the nanorods can be readily controlled by varying the concentration of the Lu@C solution in addition to the volume ratio of CS to IPA. The latter factor also exhibits a significant influence on the morphology of the crystals.

Understanding Charge-Transfer Characteristics in Crystalline Nanosheets of Fullerene/(Metallo)porphyrin Cocrystals.

Cocrystals in the form of crystalline nanosheets comprised of C and (metallo)porphyrins were prepared by using the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method where full control over the morphologies in the C/(metallo)porphyrins nanosheets has been accomplished by changing the solvent and the relative molar ratio of fullerene to (metallo)porphyrin. Importantly, the synergy of integrating C and (metallo)porphyrins as electron acceptors and donors, respectively, into nanosheets is substantiated in the form of a near-infrared charge-transfer absorption. The presence of the latter, as reflection of ground-state electron donor-acceptor interactions in the nanosheets, in which a sizable redistribution of charge density from the electron-donating (metallo)porphyrins to the electron-accepting C occurs, leads to a quantitative quenching of the localized (metallo)porphyrin fluorescence.

Rigid Tether Directed Regioselective Synthesis and Crystallographic Characterization of Labile 1,2,3,4-Bis(triazolino)[60]fullerene and Its Thermolized Derivatives.

Labile bis-triazoline adducts of C60 are supposed to be the precursors of bis-azafulleroids, but the formation mechanism is still unclear because of the incomplete isolation of the thermolized products and the lack of X-ray structures. A rigid-tethered reagent 1,2-bis(azidomethyl)benzene (1) was used to regioselectively synthesize the labile 1,2,3,4-bis(triazolino)[60]-fullerene (2), the structure of which was determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Further thermolysis of 2 produces four products (3 a-3 d), which were all characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Facile Method toward Hierarchical Fullerene Architectures with Enhanced Hydrophobicity and Photoluminescence.

A two-step self-assembly strategy has been developed for the preparation of fullerene hierarchical architectures. Typically, the precipitation method is utilized to synthesize the initial fullerene microstructures, and subsequently a drop-drying process is employed to facilitate the fullerene microstructures to self-assemble into the final hierarchical structures. Overall, this methodology is quite simple and feasible, which can be applied to prepare fullerene hierarchical structures with different morphological features, simply by choosing proper solvent.