In this study, advanced control of crystallographic orientations and magnetic properties of self-assembled nanostructures via rational selections of substrates is demonstrated. We show that in the perovskite-spinel BiFeO(3)-CoFe(2)O(4) model system the crystal orientation of self-assembled CoFe(2)O(4) nanopillars can be tuned among (001), (011), and (111), while that of the BiFeO(3) matrix is fixed in (001). Moreover, the resultant CoFe(2)O(4) nanopillars appear in various shapes: pyramid, roof, and triangular platform, respectively. The tunable nanostructures through this approach enable the control of material functionality such as the magnetic anisotropy of CoFe(2)O(4). This study opens a new pathway for the engineering of self-assembled heteroepitaxial nanostructures.

We study the charge-transfer exciton absorption and photocurrent response in solution-processed bulk heterojunction based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) donor and (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester acceptor in the near-infrared wavelength region. While the exciton absorption exists only for wavelength below 650nm, direct generation of charge-transfer exciton formed between the donor and acceptor extends the absorption wavelength to 950nm. For films with micrometer thickness, the photon-to-electron conversion efficiency is about 60% at 750nm wavelength under reverse voltage bias and the photocurrent to dark current ratio is about 8.6 at 900nm and remains 3.6 even at 1000nm. Photodetector with high sensitivity covering exclusively the 650–1000nm near infrared region can therefore be made without a low bandgap material. The charge-transfer exciton absorption coefficient and photocurrent sensitivity depend on the annealing condition which controls the donor-acceptor morphology.