scholarly journals A generalized scheme for characterizing orientational correlations in condensed phases of high symmetry molecules: SF6 and C60

2021 ◽  
pp. 116916
Author(s):  
László Temleitner
Author(s):  
C. M. Sung ◽  
D. B. Williams

Researchers have tended to use high symmetry zone axes (e.g. <111> <114>) for High Order Laue Zone (HOLZ) line analysis since Jones et al reported the origin of HOLZ lines and described some of their applications. But it is not always easy to find HOLZ lines from a specific high symmetry zone axis during microscope operation, especially from second phases on a scale of tens of nanometers. Therefore it would be very convenient if we can use HOLZ lines from low symmetry zone axes and simulate these patterns in order to measure lattice parameter changes through HOLZ line shifts. HOLZ patterns of high index low symmetry zone axes are shown in Fig. 1, which were obtained from pure Al at -186°C using a double tilt cooling holder. Their corresponding simulated HOLZ line patterns are shown along with ten other low symmetry orientations in Fig. 2. The simulations were based upon kinematical diffraction conditions.


Author(s):  
E D Boyes ◽  
L Hanna

A VG HB501 FEG STEM has been modified to provide track whilst tilt [TWIT] facilities for controllably tilting selected and initially randomly aligned nanometer-sized particles into the high symmetry zone-axis orientations required for microdiffraction, lattice imaging and chemical microanalysis at the unit cell level. New electronics display in alternate TV fields and effectively in parallel on split [+VTR] or adjacent externally synchronized screens, the micro-diffraction pattern from a selected area down to <1nm2 in size, together with the bright field and high angle annular dark field [HADF] STEM images of a much wider [˜1μm] area centered on the same spot. The new system makes it possible to tilt each selected and initially randomly aligned small particle into a zone axis orientation for microdiffraction, or away from it to minimize orientation effects in chemical microanalysis. Tracking of the inevitable specimen movement with tilt is controlled by the operator, with realtime [60Hz] update of the target designation in real space and the diffraction data in reciprocal space. The spot mode micro-DP and images of the surrounding area are displayed continuously. The regular motorized goniometer stage for the HB501STEM is a top entry design but the new control facilities are almost equivalent to having a stage which is eucentric with nanometric precision about both tilt axes.


Author(s):  
U. Dahmen ◽  
K.H. Westmacott

Despite the increased use of convergent beam diffraction, symmetry concepts in their more general form are not commonly applied as a practical tool in electron microscopy. Crystal symmetry provides an abundance of information that can be used to facilitate and improve the TEM analysis of crystalline solids. This paper draws attention to some aspects of symmetry that can be put to practical use in the analysis of structures and morphologies of two-phase materials.It has been shown that the symmetry of the matrix that relates different variants of a precipitate can be used to determine the axis of needle- or lath-shaped precipitates or the habit plane of plate-shaped precipitates. By tilting to a special high symmetry orientation of the matrix and by measuring angles between symmetry-related variants of the precipitate it is possible to find their habit from a single micrograph.


1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hermans

Measurements of light scattering have given much information about formation and properties of fibrin. These studies have determined mass-length ratio of linear polymers (protofibrils) and of fibers, kinetics of polymerization and of lateral association and volume-mass ratio of thick fibers. This ratio is 5 to 1. On the one hand, this high value suggests that the fiber contains channels that allow the diffusion of enzymes such as Factor XHIa and plasmin; on the other hand, the high value appears paradoxical for a stiff fiber made up of elongated units (fibrin monomers) arranged in parallel. Such a high fiber volume is a property of only a small set out of many high-symmetry models of fibrin, which may be constructed from overlapping three-domain monomers which are arranged into strands, are aligned nearly parallel to the fiber axis and make adequate longitudinal and lateral contacts. These models contain helical protofibrils related to each other by rotation axes parallel to the fiber axis. The protofibrils may contain 2, 3 or 4 monomers per helical turn and there are four possible symmetries. A large specific volume is achieved if the ends of each monomer are slightly displaced from the protofibril axis, either by a shift or by a tilt of the monomer. The fiber containing tilted monomers is more highly interconnected; the two ends of a tilted monomer form lateral contacts with different adjacent protofibrils, whereas the two ends of a non-tilted monomer contact the same adjacent protofibril(s).


2003 ◽  
Vol 771 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Panzera ◽  
S. Conoci ◽  
S. Coffa ◽  
B. Pignataro ◽  
S. Sortino ◽  
...  

AbstractThin films (1-24 layers) of bis-zinc ethane-bridged porphyrin dimer (1) have been transferred on solid surfaces, by the Langmuir- Schäfer (LS) horizontal method. The related surface pressurearea isotherm curve shows that in dependence of the film pressure different condensed phases may occur in the monolayer. The inspection of the monolayer by Brewster Angle Microscopy (BAM) reveals the presence of peculiar networks whose structural features seemingly change upon film compression. On the other hand, the Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) analysis performed on LS films shows fractal networks constituted by nanoscopic supramolecular aggregates, whose shape and size depend again on the LS deposition surface pressure. Finally, also UV-vis spectroscopy measurements indicates that the absorption is almost linearly related to the film thickness that is directly connected to the surface pressure.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Straus ◽  
Robert J. Cava

The design of new chiral materials usually requires stereoselective organic synthesis to create molecules with chiral centers. Less commonly, achiral molecules can self-assemble into chiral materials, despite the absence of intrinsic molecular chirality. Here, we demonstrate the assembly of high-symmetry molecules into a chiral van der Waals structure by synthesizing crystals of C<sub>60</sub>(SnI<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub> from icosahedral buckminsterfullerene (C<sub>60</sub>) and tetrahedral SnI4 molecules through spontaneous self-assembly. The SnI<sub>4</sub> tetrahedra template the Sn atoms into a chiral cubic three-connected net of the SrSi<sub>2</sub> type that is held together by van der Waals forces. Our results represent the remarkable emergence of a self-assembled chiral material from two of the most highly symmetric molecules, demonstrating that almost any molecular, nanocrystalline, or engineered precursor can be considered when designing chiral assemblies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta L. Vidal ◽  
Michael Epshtein ◽  
Valeriu Scutelnic ◽  
Zheyue Yang ◽  
Tian Xue ◽  
...  

We report a theoretical investigation and elucidation of the x-ray absorption spectra of neutral benzene and of the benzene cation. The generation of the cation by multiphoton ultraviolet (UV) ionization as well as the measurement of<br>the carbon K-edge spectra of both species using a table-top high-harmonic generation (HHG) source are described in the companion experimental paper [M. Epshtein et al., J. Phys.<br>Chem. A., submitted. Available on ChemRxiv]. We show that the 1sC -> pi transition serves as a sensitive signature of the transient cation formation, as it occurs outside of the spectral window of the parent neutral species. Moreover, the presence<br>of the unpaired (spectator) electron in the pi-subshell of the cation and the high symmetry of the system result in significant differences relative to neutral benzene in the spectral features associated with the 1sC ->pi* transitions. High-level calculations using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory provide the interpretation of the experimental spectra and insight into the electronic structure of benzene and its cation.<br>The prominent split structure of the 1sC -> pi* band of the cation is attributed to the interplay between the coupling of the core -> pi* excitation with the unpaired electron<br>in the pi-subshell and the Jahn-Teller distortion. The calculations attribute most of<br>the splitting (~1-1.2 eV) to the spin coupling, which is visible already at the Franck-Condon structure, and estimate the additional splitting due to structural relaxation to<br>be around ~0.1-0.2 eV. These results suggest that x-ray absorption with increased resolution might be able to disentangle electronic and structural aspects of the Jahn-Teller<br>effect in benzene cation.<br>


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