1,720,998 research outputs found

    Relating structure with morphology: A comparative study of perfect Langmuir–Blodgett multilayers

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    Atomic force microscopy and X-ray reflectivity of metal-stearate (MSt) Langmuir-Blodgett films on hydrophilic Silicon (1 0 0), show dramatic reduction in 'pinhole' defects when metal M is changed from Cd to Co, along with excellent periodicity in multilayer, with hydrocarbon tails tilted 9.6° from vertical for CoSt (untilted for CdSt). Near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopies indicate bidentate bridging metal-carboxylate coordination in CoSt (unidentate in CdSt), underscoring role of headgroup structure in determining morphology. FTIR studies also show increased packing density in CoSt, consistent with increased coverage

    Chemistry at Air/Water Interface versus Reaction in a Flask: Tuning Molecular Conformation in Thin Films

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    Atomic force microscopy and X-ray reflectivity studies of cobalt stearate Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) films (CoStp) deposited from a preformed bulk sample on quartz substrates showed formation of a Volmer−Weber type monolayer but no multilayers as compared to the excellent multilayers of cobalt stearate films (CoStn) deposited at the air/water interface by the usual LB technique, in spite of both showing bidentate bridging type coordination of cobalt ions with the carboxylate group. The difference is attributed to existence of different headgroup conformers, observed from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies. The CoStp films had a higher energy ‘boat’ conformation with linear O−Co−O linkage, whereas CoStn formed a low energy conformer with a bent O−Co−O configuration (bond angle of 105°). Present results support the necessity of bidentate bridging coordination in multilayer deposition, but rejects its sufficiency by bringing out the crucial role played by air/water interface. Differences in surface pressure−molecular area isotherms and hydrocarbon tail−tail interactions (evident from FTIR spectra) of the films support the above statement. Methyl−methyl interactions observed in CoStn samples suggest hierarchy of supramolecular chemistry at the air/water interface in tuning the C−O−Co bond angle essential to satisfy the wetting condition with the substrate and subsequently form LB multilayers

    Solidlike and liquidlike behavior in monolayers and multilayers of metal-bearing amphiphiles

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    Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of cadmium stearate (CdSt) and cobalt stearate (CoSt) Langmuir-Blodgett films show differences in their in-plane morphologies. CdSt films, with a huge number of in-plane “pinhole” defects, follow self-affine behavior, whereas CoSt films, which are almost void of such in-plane defects, show deviation from self-affinity especially at small length scales, suggesting liquidlike behavior, imparting flexibility to the system, in plane. Phase images of CoSt obtained from tapping mode AFM show gentle undulations or hemispherelike features in contrast to its smooth topography, unlike the CdSt system where both height and phase images show self-affine domains. Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy indicates no preferred in-plane orientation of the head group in CoSt films. The undulating features in CoSt is explained by invoking a radially symmetric orientational distribution in the tilt of adjacent hydrocarbon tails, causing a small in-plane density variation which shows up in the phase image. These orientational disorders in adjacent tails probably allow “filling up” of in-plane defects thereby giving rise to its excellent in-plane coverage and hence a “liquidlike” behavior in CoSt. Brewster angle microscopy shows that parent Langmuir monolayers of stearic acid in the presence of Cd and Co ions in the aqueous subphase behave as two-dimensional “solids” and “liquids,” respectively, suggesting the phenomena to be inherent in the amphiphiles and probably independent of their organization as monolayers and multilayers

    Intramolecular and Intermolecular Rearrangements in Nanoconfined Polystyrene

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    Vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy reveals an intramolecular rearrangement involving a change in "physical dimers" of adjacent pendant benzene rings of atactic polystyrene (aPS) from "oblique" to "head-to-tail" (ht) configuration in aPS films spin coated on fused quartz, as film thickness R goes below 4R g (R g = unperturbed polystyrene gyration radius ≈ 20.4 nm). Simultaneously, transverse layering of molecular "gyration spheres", for film thickness R ≤ 4R g, causes an increase in free energy (reduction in cohesion) that follows a (R g/R) h dependence with b ≈ 3, a clear deviation from planar confinement. The variation of in-plane and outof-plane cohesive energy over a film of a given thickness is explained by invoking a fixed-range, repulsive, modified Pöschl-Teller intermolecular potential, with the strength of this potential decreasing with increase in R. Possible reduction of "dimer" dipole moment due to ht configuration is consistent with reduction of cohesion between aPS molecular gyration spheres

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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