Reversion of the in-plane reorientation direction of mesogenic groups has been observed for the first time in novel polymethacrylate liquid crystal (PLC) films substituted with a 4-methoxycinnamoyloxybiphenyl side group. The reversion was generated by irradiation with linearly polarized ultraviolet (LPUV) light and a subsequent annealing. Irradiation with LPUV light induces negative optical anisotropy of the films as a result of an axis-selective photoreaction of the side groups. The direction of the thermally enhanced reorientation is dependent on the degree of photoreaction and the distribution of photoproducts, while the induced orientational order in both directions, S, was larger than 0.5. The distribution of photoproducts in PLC films has been analyzed to elucidate their contribution to the thermally enhanced reorientation behavior. Initially upon photoreaction, thermal enhancement of the photoinduced negative optical anisotropy was observed. However, when the degree of photodimerization was 15% or greater, the direction of the thermally enhanced reorientation was found to be parallel to the polarization direction (E) of LPUV light. It is concluded that a small amount of photoproduct plays a role in the thermal amplification of the photoinduced negative optical anisotropy in a manner identical to that of PLC with azobenzene side groups. In contrast, photodimerized mesogenic groups generated reversion of the orientational direction and enhancement of positive optical anisotropy of the film through annealing.

Acenes can be thought of as one-dimensional strips of graphene and they have the potential to be used in the next generation of electronic devices. However, because acenes larger than pentacene have been found to be unstable, it was generally accepted that they would not be particularly useful materials under normal conditions. Here, we show that, by using a physical vapour-transport method, platelet-shaped crystals of hexacene can be prepared from a monoketone precursor. These crystals are stable in the dark for a long period of time under ambient conditions. In the crystal, the molecules are arranged in herringbone arrays, quite similar to that observed for pentacene. A field-effect transistor made using a single crystal of hexacene displayed a hole mobility significantly higher than that of pentacene. This result suggests that it might be instructive to further explore the potential of other higher acenes.

A question of concentration: The condensation of ethyleneurea and formaldehyde can be controlled perfectly by the HCl concentration to provide either a hemicucurbit[6]uril 1, which functions as a host, or hemicucurbit[12]uril 2, which acts as a gelating agent, in yields of 94 and 93 %, respectively.

We have determined electron inelastic mean free paths (IMFPs) in C (graphite), Si, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ga, Mo, Ag, Ta, W, Pt and Au by elastic-peak electron spectroscopy (EPES) using Ni as a reference material for electron energies between 50 and 5000 eV. These IMFPs could be fitted by the simple Bethe equation for inelastic electron scattering in matter for energies from 100 to 5000 eV. The average root-mean-square (RMS) deviation in these fits was 9%. The IMFPs for Si, Cr, Fe, Cu, Ag, Ta, W, Pt and Au were in excellent agreement with the corresponding values calculated from optical data for energies between 100 and 5000 eV. While the RMS differences for graphite and Mo in these comparisons were large (27 and 17%, respectively), the average RMS difference for the other 11 elements was 11%. Similar comparisons were made between our IMFPs and values obtained from the TPP-2M predictive equation for energies between 100 and 5000 eV, and the average RMS difference for the 13 solids was 10.7%; in these comparisons, the RMS differences for Ta and W were relatively large (26% for each). A correction for surface-electronic excitations was calculated from a formula of Werner et al.; except for Si and Ga, the average correction was 5% for energies between 150 and 5000 eV. The satisfactory consistency between the IMFPs from our EPES experiments and the corresponding IMFPs computed from optical data indicates that the uncertainty of these IMFPs is about 11% for electron energies between 100 and 5000 eV. Similar comparisons with IMFPs from the EPES experiments of Werner et al. showed a consistency of 8% for energies between 200 and 5000 eV.

IV-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor Ge0.92Mn0.08Te epilayers are grown on BaF2 substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The ferromagnetic behaviors, such as the spontaneous magnetization, the coercive field, and the Curie temperature TC, are altered by the hole concentration p. In the Ge0.92Mn0.08Te layer with high p, strong magnetic anisotropy and the temperature dependence of the magnetization expected for homogeneous ferromagnets are observed, implying that long-range ordering is induced by the holes. The maximum TC reaches 190 K for 1.57×1021 cm−3.