Cover Picture: Fluorescent Electrospun Nanofibers Embedding Dye‐Loaded Zeolite Crystals (Small 2/2007)

The cover picture shows composite nanofibers obtained by electrospinning a polymer doped with a blue‐light‐emitting dye, containing fluorescent zeolite L crystals. Even in small‐diameter (150 nm) nanowires, zeolites of about 600–800 nm in diameter and 1 μm in length are well embedded into the fibers, with their crystal axis parallel to the fiber axis. Since zeolite L crystals impose a specific orientation on the organic dyes inserted into their parallel nanochannels, the reported procedure provides a simple method to hierarchically organize an ensemble of emissive molecules. Dye‐loaded zeolites, integrated into fluorescent nanowires, form very bright nanometric light sources emitting polarized light in the visible region of the spectrum that can be exploited in advanced nanophotonic applications. For more information, please read the Communication, “Fluorescent Electrospun Nanofibers Embedding Dye‐Loaded Zeolite Crystals” by C. Botta and co‐workers on page 305.