Each month, the ISGS Newsletter features an interesting and striking micrograph (or series of micrographs) chosen from a recent issue of the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology or from unpublished sources such as PhD theses, etc (with full attribution given). If you know of any interesting images that might be suitable, please contact the ISGS Newsletter Editor for inclusion. The micrographs can be optical, SEM, TEM, AFM, etc, and a brief description of the samples should be provided.
This month’s images were again taken from two different papers in the latest issue of JSST and once again highlight the breadth of sol-gel science and technology, together with the areas in which our community is making an impact.
The first is taken from the work of Jia, Bi, Liu and Lyu entitled “Electronic structure, morphology-controlled synthesis, and luminescence properties of YF3 :Eu3+ ” (JSST, (2021), 98, 497-507; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021 -05536-8), which explores the effect of processing parameters on the photoluminescence of a series of Eu(III)doped YF3 materials using both density functional theory and experimental studies. The micrographs illustrate the intriguing changes in morphology obtained for YF3:0.1Eu3+ by varying the RE3+: NaF mole ratio under hydrothermal processing conditions (180o C) from 1:2 (a), 1:3 (b) 1:4 (c) and 1:5 (d).
The second series of AFM micrographs is from the work of Yang, Qu, Feng, Wang and Feng entitled “Wrinkling surface of mono-layered thin film derived by using trifluoroacetate solution” (JSST, (2021), https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05547-5). This paper describes the effect of synthesis conditions on the formation of films with an unusual wrinkled morphology. The wrinkled films were obtained by first depositing a monolayered thin film on a rigid substrate via spin-coating and then applying a rapid pyrolysis thermal profile. The AFM images illustrate variations in the wrinkling morphology over an 84 μm x 84 μm area with increasing film thickness.
