Monitoring the Thiol/Thiophenol Molecule-Modulated Plasmon-Mediated Silver Oxidation with Dark-Field Optical Microscopy

Surface plasmon can trigger or accelerate many photochemical reactions, especially useful in energy and environmental industries. Recently, molecular adsorption has proven effective in modulating plasmon-mediated photochemistry, however the realized chemical reactions are limited and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Herein, by using in situ dark-field optical microscopy, the plasmon-mediated oxidative etching of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), a typical hot-hole-driven reaction, is monitored continuously and quantitatively. The presence of thiol or thiophenol molecules is found essential in the silver oxidation. In addition, the rate of silver oxidation is modulated by the choice of different thiol or thiophenol molecules. Compared with the molecules having electron donating groups, the ones having electron accepting groups accelerate the silver oxidation dramatically. The thiol/thiophenol modulation is attributed to the modulation of the charge separation between the Ag NPs and the adsorbed thiol or thiophenol molecules. This work demonstrates the great potential of molecular adsorption in modulating the plasmon-mediated photochemistry, which will pave a new way for developing highly efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.     

Assembly of ϵ-Keggin Polyoxometalate from Molecular Crystal to Zeolitic Octahedral Metal Oxide

Zeolitic octahedral metal oxides are inorganic crystalline microporous materials with adsorption and redox properties. New ϵ-Keggin nickel molybdate–based zeolitic octahedral metal oxides have been synthesized. ³¹P NMR spectroscopy shows that reduction of Mo^VI-based molybdates forms an ϵ-Keggin polyoxometalate that immediately transfers to the solid phase. Investigation of the formation process indicates that a low Ni concentration, insoluble reducing agent, and long synthesis time are the critical factors for obtaining the zeolite octahedral metal oxides rather than the ϵ-Keggin polyoxometalate molecule. The synthesized zeolitic nickel molybdate with Na⁺ is used as the adsorbent, which effectively separates C₂ hydrocarbon mixtures.     

Eco-friendly solution processing of all-polymer solar cells: Recent advances and future perspective

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) exhibit great potentials in commercial applications. All-PSCs have observed steady performance gains with power conversion efficiency now reaching over 17% in the open literature. However, the current processing of all-PSCs relies predominantly on toxic, chlorinated solvents in moisture-free environments, representing a significant barrier for their commercialization due to the added costs to handle and dispose of such solvents. There is thus an urgent need for safe, environmentally benign, and sustainable ink-based processing methods to produce all-PSC devices reliably and reproducibly in ambient air. In this perspective, fundamental insights on the interplay between all-polymer blend morphologies and eco-friendly solvents are provided. Also, we discuss the recent successes of the green processing methods to manipulate the photoactive morphologies for high-efficiency all-PSCs. In the end, we provide an outlook on future challenges and opportunities of eco-friendly solvents processed all-PSCs for large-scale manufacturing.     

HfSe2 monolayer stability tuning by strain and charge doping

Strain and charge doping are the effective ways to modulate the electronic and phonon properties of materials. The effects of biaxial tensile strains and charge dopings on the stabilities of HfSe₂ monolayer have been systematically investigated using first-principles methods. Its two-dimensional Young's modulus is only 65.4 N/m, and it is easy to be stretched. When the tensile strain is applied on HfSe₂ monolayer, two of its phonon modes soften with one frequency decreasing to zero at critical strain. Our results show that electron and hole dopings could suppress the softening of phonon modes, and significantly enhance the ideal strength by 28% and 36%, respectively. The calculations for electronic structures and phonon dispersions provide the theoretical references for future nano-device designing.     

若干高维可积和不可积模型的严格解

可积和不可积模型可以描述自然科学中的诸多现象, 寻找高维非线性模型的严格解已成为可积系统的一个重要研究内容. 结合达布变换法和多线性分离变量法, 可以得到多个(2+1)维非线性模型包含任意函数的严格解, 通过选取不同的任意函数, 构造这些非线性模型新的相互激发模式. 进一步推广了形变映射理论, 建立了变系数 场和sine-Gordon以及双sine-Gordon场的形变映射关系, 从而得到高维不可积模型包含任意函数的新严格解. 对任意函数的不同选择, 构造了sine-Gordon和双sine-Gordon可积模型丰富的局域解和周期解, 如多solitoff解及其周期波推广、周期形变的蛇形孤波解以及变模的拟周期解等.     

基于侧向磁泳的微流控芯片对两种磁性纳米球的同时分选

基于磁性纳米球在微流控芯片上的侧向磁泳, 利用微流控芯片分选了不同磁响应性的磁球. 提出了包含磁性纳米球聚集与偏移的理论模型, 用于分析磁球在芯片上的侧向位移. 在理论分析的基础上设计了芯片系统, 使不同磁响应性的磁纳米球可以在芯片系统上依次被分选. 实验结果表明, 2种磁性纳米球的分选效率均可接受, 且实验操作简单; 磁响应性强的磁球可被完全分离, 这对于珍贵分析样品的分选很有价值. 该分选系统被成功用于同时分选样品中乙型肝炎病毒的DNA与丙型肝炎病毒的反转录DNA, 在生化分析中具有广阔的应用前景.     

单宁酸/两性离子改性油-水分离膜的制备及性能

以不锈钢网为基材, 利用单宁酸对不锈钢网进行表面预处理并功能化接枝两性离子基团, 制备了新型亲水和水下超疏油的单宁酸/两性离子改性油-水分离膜(TA-ZW-SSM). 利用X射线光电子能谱仪(XPS)、 扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及接触角测量仪等表征了其化学结构、 形态和润湿性. 研究结果表明, 两性离子基团通过化学键接枝在单宁酸预处理的不锈钢网表面. 油-水分离实验结果表明, 对于不同类型的油-水混合物, 本文制备的超亲水和水下超疏油特性的TA-ZW-SSM可实现重力驱动的高效油-水分离, 并具有较好的化学稳定性及再循环性.     

Expanded Analogs of Three-Dimensional Lead-Halide Hybrid Perovskites

Replacing the Pb−X octahedral building unit of A^IPbX₃ perovskites (X=halide) with a pair of edge-sharing Pb−X octahedra affords the expanded perovskite analogs: A^IIPb₂X₆. We report seven members of this new family of materials. In 3D hybrid perovskites, orbitals from the organic molecules do not participate in the band edges. In contrast, the more spacious inorganic sublattice of the expanded analogs accommodates larger pyrazinium-based cations with low-lying π* orbitals that form the conduction band, substantially decreasing the band gap of the expanded lattice. The molecular nature of the conduction band allows us to electronically dope the materials by reducing the organic molecules. By synthesizing derivatives with A^II=pyridinium and ammonium, we can isolate the contributions of the pyrazinium-based orbitals in the band gap transition of A^IIPb₂X₆. The organic-molecule-based conduction band and the inorganic-ion-based valence band provide an unusual electronic platform with localized states for electrons and more disperse bands for holes upon optical or thermal excitation.     

Direct Hydrogenation of Nitroaromatics at Room Temperature Catalyzed by Magnetically Recoverable Cu@Fe2O3 Nanoparticles

Metal embedded in metal oxide nanoparticles are active as catalyst in plethora of industrially important reactions. Herein, embedded Cu@Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was synthesized via a one step hydrothermal strategy which selectively catalyzes the hydrogenation of diverse nitroaromatics in H₂O at room temperature. The remarkable catalytic performance is due to the successful hybridization of metallic Cu and Fe₂O₃ which in turn allows easy electroflipping between various oxidation states of Cu and Fe. Azo- and azoxy-compounds are not formed during the catalyzed process. This evidently establish that the hydrogenation of nitroaromatics proceeds via direct route with >99% selectivity to the corresponding anilines.