Elementary Photoelectronic Processes at a Porphyrin Dye/Single‐Walled TiO2 Nanotube Hetero‐interface in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: A First‐Principles Study

A unique one‐dimensional (1D) sandwich single‐walled TiO₂ nanotube (STNT) is proposed as a photoanode nanomaterial with perfect morphology and large specific surface area. We have thoroughly examined the elementary photoelectronic processes occurring at the porphyrin dye/STNT hetero‐interface in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by theoretical simulation. It is desirable to investigate the interfacial photoelectronic processes to elucidate the electron transfer and transport mechanism in 1D STNT‐based DSSCs. We have found that the photoexcitation and interfacial charge separation mechanism can be described as follows. A ground‐state electron of the dye molecule (localized around the electron donor) is first promoted to the excited state (distributed electron donor), and then undergoes ultrafast injection into the conduction band of the STNT, leaving a hole around the oxidized dye. Significantly, the injected electron in the conduction band is transported along the STNT by means of Ti 3d orbitals, offering a unidirectional electron pathway toward the electrode for massive collection without the observation of trap states. Our study not only provides theoretical guidelines for the modification of TiO₂ nanotubes as a photoanode material, but also opens a new perspective for the development of a novel class of TiO₂ nanotubes with high power‐generation efficiency.     

二维柱坐标系辐射输运方程保球对称的离散纵标格式

 离散纵标格式是计算辐射输运方程的常用格式之一. 但是, 传统的离散纵标格式求解二维柱坐标系辐射输运方程模拟一维球对称问题时, 会出现明显的非对称现象, 球对称性被破坏. 针对该问题, 本文分析了传统离散纵标格式不能够保持球对称性的原因, 提出了空间基于柱坐标系、方向基于球坐标系的辐射输运方程, 并对该方程设计了新的离散纵标格式, 从理论上证明了当空间网格取球对称剖分时该离散格式能够保持一维球对称性的充分必要条件. 通过对真空球区域辐射输运、与物质耦合辐射输运等球对称算例的数值模拟, 验证了该格式的保球对称性, 球对称误差能够达到机器精度. 非对称辐射驱动模型以及非对称网格剖分条件下的数值模拟等算例也取得了较好的结果.     

Rational design of donor–π–acceptor n-butyl-1,8-naphthalimide-cored branched molecules as charge transport and luminescent materials for organic light-emitting diodes

Four D–π–A bipolar molecules with n-butyl-1,8-naphthalimide (BNI) fragments as acceptors, acetylenes as π-spacers, and different aromatic groups as donors have been designed to explore their optical, electronic, and charge transport properties as charge transport and luminescent materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) and local density of states analysis have turned out that the vertical electronic transitions of absorption and emission are characterized as intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The calculated results show that their optical and electronic properties are affected by the different donors of the bipolar molecules. Our results suggest that D–π–A 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives with donors triphenylamine (1), 1-nitrobenzene (2), anisole (3), and 4-phenylbenzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (4) fragments are expected to be promising luminescent materials. Furthermore, 2–4 are expected to be promising candidates for both electron and hole transport materials as well as potential ambipolar charge transport material, whereas BNI and 1 can serve as hole transfer materials only. We have also predicted the mobility of 4 with better performance in three different space groups. On the basis of investigated results, we proposed a rational way for the design of charge transport and/or luminescent materials simultaneously.     

Au-MgB2-Au纳米结点的负微分电阻效应

运用密度泛函理论结合非平衡格林函数的方法对MgB2直线原子链与两半无限Au（100）电极构成纳米结点的电子输运特性进行了第一性原理计算．在模拟Au-MgB2-Au纳米结点的拉伸过程中,计算了结点在不同距离下的结合能与电导．结果发现结点的Au-B键长为1．90A,B-Mg键长为2．22A时,结合能最大,结构最稳定,此时结点平衡电导为0．51G0（G0=2e^0／h）．通过计算投影态密度发现电子通过结点时主要是通过B、Mg原子的px和py电子轨道形成的π键进行传输的．在-1．5～1．5V的电压范围内,结点的电流-电压近似为线性关系,表现出类似金属的导电性质,而当正负电压高于15V时,电流对称性逐渐减小,即存在负微分电阻效应,从不同电压下透射谱的变化对负微分电阻现象进行了分析与讨论．     

Synthesis,Crystal Packing,and Ambipolar Carrier Transport Property of Twisted Dibenzo[g,p]chrysenes

A versatile method for the synthesis of dibenzo[g,p]chrysene (DBC) derivatives based on regio‐ and stereoselective stannyllithiation to diarylacetylenes is described. This method affords a variety of DBCs possessing both electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing functional groups. These twisted molecules take brickwork packing structures in single crystals. Thus, ambipolar carrier transport properties with mobility values of up to 10^?3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in the amorphous state were achieved. Functional groups on DBC frameworks are considered to increase carrier mobility through the enhancement of intermolecular interactions in the brickwork packing structures.     

Relation between Morphology and Photoelectrochemical Performance of TiO2 Nanotubes Arrays Grown in Ethylene Glycol/Water

The TiO₂ nanotube films were prepared by anodizing Ti plates in 0.2 M NH₄F ethylene glycol/10% H₂O under different formation voltages keeping fixed the time length, or by keeping fixed the formation voltage and varying the time length. The morphology of the TiO₂ film obtained was observed by SEM images and different morphological parameters were derived from them. Furthermore, the optical and semiconducting properties of TiO₂ films were also measured. The photoelectrochemical performance toward water oxidation of the TiO₂ only showed to be dependent with the inner diameter of the nanotubes, that could be related to the interaction of the film with the light and the transport of species in the electrolyte inward or outward the film.     

Predicting ion concentration polarization and analyte stacking/focusing at nanofluidic interfaces

We report on the investigation of electropreconcentration phenomena in micro-/nanofluidic devices integrating 100 μm long nanochannels using 2D COMSOL simulations based on the coupled Poisson–Nernst–Planck and Navier–Stokes system of equations. Our numerical model is used to demonstrate the influence of key governing parameters such as electrolyte concentration, surface charge density, and applied axial electric field on ion concentration polarization (ICP) dynamics in our system. Under sufficiently extreme surface-charge-governed transport conditions, ICP propagation is shown to enable various transient and stationary stacking and counter-flow gradient focusing mechanisms of anionic analytes. We resolve these spatiotemporal dynamics of analytes and electrolyte ICP over disparate time and length scales, and confirm previous findings that the greatest enhancement is observed when a system is tuned for analyte focusing at the charge, excluding microchannel, nanochannel electrical double layer (EDL) interface. Moreover, we demonstrate that such tuning can readily be achieved by including additional nanochannels oriented parallel to the electric field between two microchannels, effectively increasing the overall perm-selectivity and leading to enhanced focusing at the EDL interfaces. This approach shows promise in providing added control over the extent of ICP in electrokinetic systems, particularly under circumstances in which relatively weak ICP effects are observed using only a single channel.     

Proton Conduction at High Temperature in High-Symmetry Hydrogen-Bonded Molecular Crystals of RuIII Complexes with Six Imidazole-Imidazolate Ligands

A new H-bonded crystal [Ru^III(Him)₃(Im)₃] with three imidazole (Him) and three imidazolate (Im⁻) groups was prepared to obtain a higher-temperature proton conductor than a Nafion membrane with water driving. The crystal is constructed by complementary N−H⋅⋅⋅N H-bonds between the Ru^III complexes and has a rare Icy-c* cubic network topology with a twofold interpenetration without crystal anisotropy. The crystals show a proton conductivity of 3.08×10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at 450 K and a faster conductivity than those formed by only HIms. The high proton conductivity is attributed to not only molecular rotations and hopping motions of HIm frameworks that are activated at ∼113 K, but also isotropic whole-molecule rotation of [Ru^III(Him)₃(Im)₃] at temperatures greater than 420 K. The latter rotation was confirmed by solid-state ²H NMR spectroscopy; probable proton conduction routes were predicted and theoretically considered.