Themed collection 2013 Journal of Materials Chemistry C Hot Papers

Recent developments in the field of artificial multiferroics are highlighted, with focus on electric-field control of magnetism and ultrafast dynamics.

Branched chains enhance the flexibility of organic optoelectronic materials, yielding high-performance optimised assemblies and new functional liquids.

This feature article reviews continuous and high-throughput nanopatterning techniques based on direct mechanical deformation for scalable sub-wavelength pattern fabrication.

This Feature Article reviews a versatile spin-coating technological platform for scalably fabricating colloidal photonic crystals and periodic plasmonic nanostructures.

We describe recent developments in magnetically induced self-assembly of colloidal photonic crystals, and discuss the emerging applications of this new technique.

The specific implications of intermolecular arrangements on solid-state optoelectronic properties are discussed on the basis of a library of functionalized distyrylbenzenes.

This feature article reviews the development in the design, fabrication, properties and optoelectronic applications of metal-ion doped luminescent thin films.

Self-assembled quantum structures in a nanowire (NW): quantum wells (QWs), quantum wires (QWRs) and quantum dots (QDs).

This review summarizes recent advances in mechanofluorochromic metal complexes. AIE metal complexes are potentially significant sources of mechanofluorochromic metal complexes.

Topological insulators are briefly introduced for a chemical audience, and their crystal chemistry and structures are described.

This article presents the synthesis, properties, structures, and transistor applications of organic semiconductors based on naphthodithiophenes, new π-extended heteroaromatic building units.

This feature article highlights the versatility of soft X-ray based techniques for characterising the structure of organic semiconductor devices.

Converting a non-electroactive polymer into an electrochromic polymer via solid state on-substrate constitutional component exchange.

Schematic illustration and XPS spectra of polymer blend/air interface (left) and adjacent polymer blend/Al interface (right). The spectra clearly indicate the absence of PEG at the organic/air interface, as expected from surface energy considerations. In contrast, the blend/metal interface is PEG-rich due to its segregation from the blend induced by metal evaporation.

Sr₈(Si₄O₁₂)Cl₈:Eu²⁺ phosphor with high emission intensity, suitable chromaticity coordinates and short decay time has potential application in wide gamut 3D-PDP/FEDs.

A novel high-efficiency double perovskite NaGdMg(W, Mo)O₆:Eu phosphor with high-efficiency absorption and high doping concentration is reported.

Mg/Al + Fe LDH based coatings exhibit high transparency, complete UV-shielding capability and long-term durability.

Spin-coating of TIPS-pentacene is examined in situ to reveal that residual solvent can heal structural defects and dramatically increase carrier mobility.

Rod-like calcium titanyl oxalate particles were fabricated and their morphology effects on the electrorheological activity were investigated.

The tunable photoluminescence and transport properties of PANI–GQD composite can be realized by adjusting the sizes of the GQDs and the amounts of PANI.

Currently, the most puzzling problem associated with the hexagonal LuMnO₃ (h-LMO) is a large temperature-gap between the structural phase transition to the polar P6₃cm phase at ∼1290 K and the emergence of the spontaneous polarization at a substantially reduced temperature, ∼750 K.

The effects of crystalline orientation of Cu on the formation of nanoripple arrays of graphene were investigated.

Illumination defects: The crystals of an aggregation-enhanced emission luminogen turn on the fluorescence when exposed to external mechanical forces or ultrasonic vibrations, showing a defect-sensitive emission.

We investigate electronic and transport properties of a novel form of nanopeapod structure, where the “pod” component is either a carbon nanotube (CNT) or a boron-nitride nanotube (BNNT) while the “pea” component is a chain of C₆₀–V dimers.

Crystal symmetry is shown to have significant impact on the electronic (left), magnetic and optical (right) properties of complex oxides.

Guanidine group on naphthalimide undergoes deprotonation/protonation with pK_a of ∼8.5 in the ground-state and ∼0.9 in the excited-state. The emission properties are strongly dependent on the solvent environment.

We report on partitioning of europium in bi-phasic åkermanite–feldspar glass ceramics with broadly tunable photoluminescence.

A new axially chiral dithienylperfluorocyclopentene with very high helical twisting power and phototunability in liquid crystal medium was reported.

Spectrally selective organic photodetectors based on a series of novel green-absorbing ketocyanine dendrimers have been developed for applications in machine vision.

For the first time, a non-toxic thermochromic material operating by an aggregation/disaggregation of cyanidin dye has been developed.

This work highlights the subtle and substantial role played by the bend angle in determining the elastic properties of bent-core nematic liquid crystals.

Chlorophyll derived pigments, Zn chlorins, are self-assembled with poly(4-vinylpyridine) to form homogeneous films that show distinct doping level dependent energy transfer processes explained by the Förster theory.

A tunable exciton–plasmon coupling is realized in a conjugated polymer–silver nanowire composite system, making it possible to develop flexible plasmonic circuits.

The charge carrier transport in crown ether based columnar liquid crystals is strongly dependent on the mesogen's flexibility and geometry.

A study of six SAMs to determine the relationship between SAM order, surface homogeneity, and surface energy in dictating FET device performance.

From a systematic investigation 32 metal–organic frameworks, we predict 6 novel hybrid materials with semiconducting properties.

This work focuses on the development of visible-light excited red emitting luminescent nanocomposites derived from an Eu³⁺-phenathrene-based fluorinated β-diketonate complex and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.