Activation-induced layered structure in NiCoAl by atomic modulation for energy storage application

The surface activation of alloys favors their electrochemical interactions, ion diffusivity, and the rapid kinetics of ions and electrons, leading to the formation of self-supported layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in them. However, the formation of LDHs at different depths in the alloy upon activation, their electronic/atomic structures, and their electrochemical charge storage mechanism, have not been thoroughly explored. Herein, Ni ion-substituted CoAl alloys are prepared by arc melting and activated by KOH electrolyte, which is responsible for the modulation of the atomic configuration as confirmed by XRD. Raman depth mapping demonstrates how the LDHs vary with depth upon activation and that the octahedral and tetrahedral symmetry sites of CoO and Co₃O₄ are responsible for the formation of the layered structures of CoOOH and Co(OH)₂, respectively. The activated Ni₁₀Co₈₅Al₅ has a superior volumetric capacitance of 4.15 F/cm³ at 0.5 mA/g, which is 38.6 times that of an unactivated one, and excellent cyclic stability up to 5000 cycles, and a voltage of 0.54 V generated from a fabricated supercapacitor cell. X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) analysis indicates greater charge transfer by Co than by Ni and the modulation of the local atomic structures facilitates electrochemical charge storage in Ni₁₀Co₈₅Al₅. This work presents an easy route for the development of advanced LDHs, and the mechanism of electrochemical charge storage in them.     

Hierarchical Integration of Organic Core/Shell Microwires for Advanced Photonics

The combination of multiple components or structures into integrated micro/nanostructures for practical application has been pursued for many years. Herein, a series of hierarchical organic microwires with branch, core/shell (C/S), and branch C/S structures are successfully constructed based on organic charge transfer (CT) cocrystals with structural similarity and physicochemical tunability. By regulating the intermolecular CT interaction, single microwires and branch microstructures can be integrated into the C/S and branch C/S structures, respectively. Significantly, the integrated branch C/S microwires, with multicolor waveguide behavior and branch structure multichannel waveguide output characteristics, can function as an optical logic gate with multiple encoding features. This work provides useful insights for creating completely new types of organic microstructures for integrated optoelectronics.     

Non-Interacting Ni and Fe Dual-Atom Pair Sites in N-Doped Carbon Catalysts for Efficient Concentrating Solar-Driven Photothermal CO2 Reduction

Solar-to-chemical energy conversion under weak solar irradiation is generally difficult to meet the heat demand of CO₂ reduction. Herein, a new concentrated solar-driven photothermal system coupling a dual-metal single-atom catalyst (DSAC) with adjacent Ni−N₄ and Fe−N₄ pair sites is designed for boosting gas-solid CO₂ reduction with H₂O under simulated solar irradiation, even under ambient sunlight. As expected, the (Ni, Fe)−N−C DSAC exhibits a superior photothermal catalytic performance for CO₂ reduction to CO (86.16 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹), CH₄ (135.35 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and CH₃OH (59.81 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹), which are equivalent to 1.70-fold, 1.27-fold and 1.23-fold higher than those of the Fe−N−C catalyst, respectively. Based on theoretical simulations, the Fermi level and d-band center of Fe atom is efficiently regulated in non-interacting Ni and Fe dual-atom pair sites with electronic interaction through electron orbital hybridization on (Ni, Fe)−N−C DSAC. Crucially, the distance between adjacent Ni and Fe atoms of the Ni−N−N−Fe configuration means that the additional Ni atom as a new active site contributes to the main *COOH and *HCO₃ dissociation to optimize the corresponding energy barriers in the reaction process, leading to specific dual reaction pathways (COOH and HCO₃ pathways) for solar-driven photothermal CO₂ reduction to initial CO production.     

Prediction of stable BC3N2 monolayer from first-principles calculations: Stoichiometry,crystal structure,electronic and adsorption properties

In this paper, a novel BC₃N₂ monolayer has been found with a graphene-like structure using the developed particle swarm optimization algorithm in combination with ab initio calculations. The predicted structure meets the thermodynamical, dynamical, and mechanical stability requirements. Interestingly, the BC₃N₂ plane shows a metallic character. Importantly, BC₃N₂ has an in-plane stiffness comparable to that of graphene. We have also investigated the adsorption characteristics of CO₂ on pristine monolayer and Mo functionalized monolayer using density functional theory. Subsequently, electronic structures of the interacting systems (CO₂ molecule and substrates) have been preliminarily explored. The results show that Mo/BC₃N₂ has a stronger adsorption capacity towards CO₂ comparing with the pristine one, which can provide a reference for the further study of the CO₂ reduction mechanism on the transition metal-functionalized surface as well as the new catalyst’s design.     

非平衡溶剂化新理论在有机染料电子光谱中的应用

总结了非平衡溶剂化新理论和在量子化学软件Q-Chem中基于含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)实现溶剂效应下计算电子吸收和发射光谱的数值解方法.采用该方法计算了染料敏化太阳能电池(DSSCs)中三苯胺型有机染料■在真空和乙腈溶剂中的电子结构与光谱性质,研究发现,π共轭桥上碳碳双键的个数和溶剂效应会促进光电转换.     

调控碳材料的功函数以大幅度提升其电催化氧还原性能

氧的电催化还原反应是燃料电池装置与金属空气电池的阴极反应,具有重大的研究意义.在众多的非铂催化剂中,碳材料因其低廉的价格以及独特的物理化学性质受到了广泛的关注.自从发现氮掺杂的碳纳米阵列具有优异的氧还原活性后,不同类型的氮掺杂的碳也得到了深入研究.例如近年来兴起的由金属有机框架衍生的氮掺杂的碳材料,兼具丰富的氮位点及良好的三维结构.氮的掺杂对碳原子具有电子调控的作用,是其高氧还原活性的根本原因.本文对金属有机框架衍生的氮掺杂的碳材料进行进一步的电子结构的优化,以提升催化性能.功函是电子逸出表面所需的最少的能量,是材料的电子结构性质之一,其对氧还原反应的影响也有报道,早期以理论计算为基础,探究氧气分子在碳材料表面的解离能与氮掺杂的碳的表面功函的关系,后续则采用开尔文探针显微镜,直接测量了不同元素掺杂的碳表面功函,并建立起功函与氧还原动力学的线性关系.本文通过控制碳材料的功函来调节其电子结构.铯是一种经典的给电子物质,通过将电子注入到掺杂材料表面来降低其功函.因此,本文通过CsCO₃与2-甲基咪唑、Zn(NO₃)₂煅烧形成铯修饰的氮掺杂碳.电镜及XRD均观察不到所得材料中铯的存在,证明碳层中无大颗粒团聚的铯物种.EDS元素分布图表明,铯在碳层中呈原子级均匀分布.Raman谱结果表明,碳的G带发生明显的位置偏移,证明其面内电子结构发生了明显的改变.XPS结果证明铯成功与氮原子配位,通过铯氮键将电子注入到碳骨架.UPS则最终显示,经过铯的修饰,碳表面功函从4.25 eV下降到3.6 eV.表面功函的降低有利于氧气分子的解离,也调节OOH^*中间体的吸附,使其吸附的自由能更接近最优值.材料改性后氧还原性能明显提升,起始电位达到0.91 V vs RHE,半波电位达到0.83 V vs RHE,均接近商业Pt/C催化剂.氧还原反应的动力学电流密度随功函的降低而增大,验证了前人的结论.本文提供了一个较为新颖的电子结构调控策略,为设计新的氧还原催化剂提供了新的思路.     

全无机卤化铅钙钛矿的结构、热力学稳定性和电子性质

有机-无机杂化卤化铅钙钛矿因具有独特的电子和光学特性,已经成为光电领域最有前途的材料。但是,有机-无机钙钛矿材料及器件稳定性差,限制了其实际应用。与杂化钙钛矿相比,全无机卤化物钙钛矿CsPbX₃(X=Cl,Br,I)显示出更强的热稳定性。全无机卤化物钙钛矿CsPbX₃具有多个晶型,在不同的温度下呈不同相结构。目前,关于CsPbX₃的结构和物理性质仍存在争议。本文我们针对三个晶相α-,β-和γ-CsPbX₃的结构,热力学稳定性和电子性质进行了全面的理论研究。第一性原理计算表明,从高温α相到低温β相,然后再到γ相的相变伴随着PbX₆八面体的畸变。零温形成能计算表明,γ相最稳定,这与实验中γ相为低温稳定相的结论一致。电子性质计算表明,所有CsPbX₃钙钛矿都表现出直接带隙性质,并且带隙值从α相到β相再到γ相逐渐增加。这是由于相变发生时,Pb-X成键强度逐渐减弱,使价带顶能量降低,进而带隙增加。在所有相中,α相结构中较强的Pb-X相互作用,导致了较强的带边色散,使其具有较小的载流子有效质量。     

Ionic/electronic conductivity regulation of n-type polyoxadiazole lithium sulfonate conductive polymer binders for high-performance silicon microparticle anodes

Low-cost silicon microparticles(SiMP),as a substitute for nanostructured silicon,easily suffer from cracks and fractured during the electrochemical cycle.A novel n-type conductive polymer binder with excellent electronic and ionic conductivities as well as good adhesion,has been successfully designed and applied for high-performance SiMP anodes in lithium-ion batteries to address this problem.Its unique features are attributed to the stro ng electron-withdrawing oxadiazole ring structure with sulfonate polar groups.The combination of rigid and flexible components in the polymer ensures its good mechanical strength and ductility,which is beneficial to suppress the expansion and contraction of SiMP s during the charge/discharge process.By fine-tuning the monomer ratio,the conjugation and sulfonation degrees of the polymer can be precisely controlled to regulate its ionic and electronic conductivities,which has been systematically analyzed with the help of an electrochemical test method,filling in the gap on the conductivity measurement of the polymer in the doping state.The experimental results indicate that the cell with the developed n-type polymer binder and SiMP(~0.5 μm) anodes achieves much better cycling performance than traditional non-conductive binders.It has been considered that the initial capacity of the SiMP anode is controlled by the synergetic effect of ionic and electronic conductivity of the binder,and the capacity retention mainly depends on its electronic conductivity when the ionic conductivity is sufficient.It is worth noting that the fundamental research of this wo rk is also applicable to other battery systems using conductive polymers in order to achieve high energy density,broadening their practical applications.     

Highly charged ion induced nanostructures at surfaces by strong electronic excitations

Nanostructure formation by single slow highly charged ion impacts can be associated with high density of electronic excitations at the impact points of the ions. Experimental results show that depending on the target material these electronic excitations may lead to very large desorption yields in the order of a few 1000 atoms per ion or the formation of nanohillocks at the impact site. Even in ultra-thin insulating membranes the formation of nanometer sized pores is observed after ion impact. In this paper, we show recent results on nanostructure formation by highly charged ions and compare them to structures and defects observed after intense electron and light ion irradiation of ionic crystals and graphene. Additional data on energy loss, charge exchange and secondary electron emission of highly charged ions clearly show that the ion charge dominates the defect formation at the surface.     

4-硝基咪唑A-带激发态结构动力学

通过共振拉曼光谱实验和量子化学计算的方法研究了4-硝基咪唑(4NI)A-带激发态衰变动力学. 对4NI的振动光谱、紫外电子吸收光谱、荧光光谱和共振拉曼光谱进行了指认. 在全活化空间自洽场法(CASSCF)/6-31G(d)计算水平下获得了单重激发态S₁(n_Oπ^*)和S₂(ππ^*)和势能面交叉点S₁(n_Oπ^*)/S₂(ππ^*)的优化几何结构和能量, 分析了A-带共振拉曼光谱的强度模式特征, 获得了短时结构动力学, 并结合全活化空间自洽场法(CASSCF)理论计算结果确定了4NI 在S₂(ππ^*)态衰变通道主要是S_{2, FC}→S_{2, min}(ππ^*)→S₀辐射弛豫.