Enhanced Crystal Quality of Perovskite via Protonated Graphitic Carbon Nitride Added in Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

The quality of perovskite layers has a great impact on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, defects and related trap sites are generated inevitably in the solution-processed polycrystalline perovskite films. It is meaningful to reduce and passivate the defect states by incorporating additive into the perovskite layer to improve perovskite crystallization. Here an environmental friendly 2D nanomaterial protonated graphitic carbon nitride (p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document}) was successfully synthesized and doped into perovskite layer of carbon-based PSCs. The addition of p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} into perovskite precursor solution not only adjusts nucleation and growth rate of methylammonium lead tri-iodide (MAPbI\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}) crystal for obtaining flat perovskite surface with larger grain size, but also reduces intrinsic defects of perovskite layer. It is found that the p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} locates at the perovskite core, and the active groups -NH\begin{document}$_2$\end{document}/NH\begin{document}$_3$\end{document} and NH have a hydrogen bond strengthening, which effectively passivates electron traps and enhances the crystal quality of perovskite. As a result, a higher power conversion efficiency of 6.61% is achieved, compared with that doped with g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} (5.93%) and undoped one (4.48%). This work demonstrates a simple method to modify the perovskite film by doping new modified additives and develops a low-cost preparation for carbon-based PSCs.     

Control of pore environment in highly porous carbon materials for C2H6/C2H4 separation with exceptional ethane uptake

Adsorptive separation of C₂H₆ from C₂H₄ by adsorbents is an energy-efficient and promising method to boost the polymer grades C₂H₄ production. However, that C₂H₆ and C₂H₄ display very similar physical properties, making their separation extremely challenging. In this work, by regulating the pore environment in a family of chitosan-based carbon materials (C-CTS-1, C-CTS-2, C-CTS-4, and C-CTS-6)- we target ultrahigh C₂H₆ uptake and C₂H₆/C₂H₄ separation, which exceeds most benchmark carbon materials. Explicitly, the C₂H₆ uptake of C-CTS-2 (166 cm³/g at 100 kPa and 298 K) has the second-highest adsorption capacity among all the porous materials. In addition, C-CTS-2 gives C₂H₆/C₂H₄ selectivity of 1.75 toward a 1:15 mixture of C₂H₆/C₂H₄. Notably, the adsorption enthalpies for C₂H₆ in C-CTS-2 are low (21.3 kJ/mol), which will facilitate regeneration in mild conditions. Furthermore, C₂H₆/C₂H₄ separation performance was confirmed by binary breakthrough experiments. Under different ethane/ethylene ratios, C-CTS-X extracts a low ethane concentration from an ethane/ethylene mixture and produces high-purity C₂H₄ in one step. Spectroscopic measurement and diffraction analysis provide critical insight into the adsorption/separation mechanism. The nitrogen functional groups on the surface play a vital role in improving C₂H₆/C₂H₄ selectivity, and the adsorption capacities depend on the pore size and micropore volume. Moreover, these robust porous materials exhibit outstanding stability (up to 800 °C) and can be easily prepared on a large scale (kg) at a low cost (～$26 per kg), which is very significant for potential industrial applications.     

Tailoring Pore Structure and Morphologies in Covalent Organic Frameworks for Xe/Kr Capture and Separation

As a rising star among porous solid materials, covalent organic frameworks(COFs) with excellent properties including but not limit to facilely controllable structure, high porosity, and multi-chemical functionality represent significant potential for efficient ¹²⁷Xe/⁸⁵Kr capture and separation. In this study, through tuning the length of the organic ligands, two-dimensional(2D) COF mate-rials with identical connection group but different pore properties, denoted as ATFG-COF and TpPa-COF with AA-stacking model and TpBD-COF with AB-stacking model were synthesized and tested for Kr and Xe adsorption for the first time. Adsorption measurements indicate that the narrower pore apertures and higher porosity are conducive for COF materials to capture Xe and Kr. Furthermore, the Henry's constant, isosteric heat of adsorption(Q_st), and ideal adsorbed solution theory(IAST) selectivity of ATFG-COF, the pore size of which is closest to the kinetic diameter of the Xe atom(0.41 nm) among 2D COF materials, were carried out based on the single component sorption isotherms. The results illustrate that the high isosteric heat values of Xe/Kr adsorption on ATFG-COF are 25 and 16 kJ/mol at room temperature, respectively. Henry's law predicts that the selectivity factor of Xe to Kr is 6.07, consistent with the adsorption selectivity(ca. 6) calculated based on the IAST.     

基于光导微探针的近场/远场可扫描太赫兹光谱技术

太赫兹技术已经成为涉及公共安全、军事国防和国民经济等国家核心利益的前沿研究领域.以往太赫兹测量技术中通常以远场测量为主,如常用的太赫兹时域光谱仪.近年来太赫兹近场技术得到了迅猛的发展,特别是基于光导天线的探针技术的发展,为可扫描的太赫兹近场测量提供了可能.本文详细报道了我们近期在可扫描太赫兹近场光谱仪研究中的进展.采用光纤耦合的光导微探针实现了方便灵活的太赫兹近场/远场三维扫描,并同时获得振幅和相位信息.该系统将有可能广泛应用于人工微结构、石墨烯、表面等离子激元、波导传输、近场成像、生物样品检测、芯片检测等研究领域.     

Quantitative analysis of asymmetrical cortical activity in motor areas during sequential finger movement

Brain asymmetry is a phenomenon well known for handedness and has been studied in motor cortices. However, few quantitative studies on asymmetrical cortical activity in motor areas have been conducted. In this study, we systematically investigated asymmetrical cortical activity in motor areas during sequential finger movement by quantitatively analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses. The norm of BOLD signal percentage of change was introduced to quantitatively measure the BOLD signal intensity change difference between the left and right motor areas. The results of the data collected from six subjects show that the norm of BOLD signal percentage of change in the right motor area is higher than that in the left motor area for two-hand movement (P=.0059) and single-hand movement (P=.0279) with right-handedness. These results from fMRI show the asymmetry of motor areas and may suggest that the left hemisphere motor area comes into being as an adaptation system that needs few neuron cells only to finish any movement task for right-handedness. The activation intensity in the left motor area is reduced with normal right finger movement. The activation intensity in the right motor area is obviously higher than that in the left motor area.     

Comparative study of Co3O4-ZSM-5 catalysts synthesized by different hydrothermal methods for the catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane

In this work, various Co₃O₄-ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by the microwave hydrothermal method (MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5), dynamic hydrothermal method (DH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5), and conventional hydrothermal method (CH-Co₃O₄/ZSM-5). Their catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane (DCM) was analyzed. Detailed characterizations such as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR), temperature-programmed desorption of O₂ (O₂-TPD), temperature-programmed desorption of NH₃ (NH₃-TPD), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectra with NH₃ molecules (NH₃-DRIFT), and temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) were performed. Results showed that with the assistance of microwave, MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5 formed a uniform core-shell structure, while the other two samples did not. MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5 possessed rich surface adsorbed oxygen species, higher ratio of Co³⁺/Co²⁺, strong acidity, high reducibility, and oxygen mobility among the three Co₃O₄-ZSM-5 catalysts, which was beneficial for the improvement of DCM oxidation. In the oxidation of dichloromethane, MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5 presented the best activity and mineralization, which was consistent with the characterizations results. Meanwhile, according to the TPSR test, HCl or Cl₂ removal from the catalyst surface was also promoted in MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5 by their abundant Brønsted acid sites and the promotion of Deacon reaction by Co₃O₄ or the synergistic effect of Co₃O₄ and ZSM-5. According to the results of in situ DRIFT studies, a possible reaction pathway of DCM oxidation was proposed over the MH-Co₃O₄@ZSM-5 catalysts.     

Promotion Effect of Bismuth on Nickel Electrodeposition and Its Electrocatalysis to Glucose Oxidation

Metallic Bi and Ni were co‐deposited onto the surface of glass carbon electrode (GCE) from the electrolyte solution containing their respective nitrate to fabricate a Bi/Ni alloy modified GCE (Bi/Ni‐GCE). The purpose is to study the influence of Bi³⁺ on the deposition of Ni and that of deposited Bi on the electrocatalytic performance of Ni to glucose in alkali solution. The results show that both redox signal of Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH and Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH mediated electrocatalysis to glucose is remarkably increased in the presence of Bi. It seems that there is a synergistic effect between Bi and Ni on each other’s redox electrochemistry. It’s possible that the firstly deposited Bi on GCE surface helps to the following nucleation and growth of Ni, leading to the deposition of more metallic Ni on GCE surface. An extremely attractive feature of Bi/Ni‐GCE is reflected by the fast response time to the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. The electrode nearly responses immediately after glucose is added and it reaches a steady‐state level within only 2 seconds, demonstrating a good electrocatalytic property of Bi/Ni‐GCE. The calibration plot is linear over the wide concentration range of 0–5.8 mM with a sensitivity of 33.96 µA/mM and a correlation coefficient of 0.9985. The detection limit of the glucose was found to be 0.59 µM at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3. The fabricated Bi/Ni‐GCE was successfully employed to analyze the glucose level in blood samples, exhibiting high accuracy, strong resistance against inference and good reliability in the practical applications.     

Synthesis of CuI Trifluoromethylselenates for Trifluoromethylselenolation of Aryl and Alkyl Halides

The development of new strategies for synthesis of trifluoromethylthiolate compounds is of considerable importance in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced materials. Accordingly, currently much attention is being devoted to the development of effective methods and reagents for their synthesis. In contrast, considerably less effort has been afforded to the development of preparing C?SeCF₃ bonds. Herein we report a concise route to synthesize a family of copper(I) trifluoromethylselenolate reagents by the reaction of CuI with the Ruppert’s reagent (Me₃SiCF₃), KF, and elemental selenium in the presence of dinitrogen ligands in CH₃CN at room temperature. The reagent [Cu(bpy)(SeCF₃)]₂ was proven to be air‐stable and highly efficient for nucleophilic trifluoromethylthselenolation of a broad range of (hetero)aryl halides and alkyl halides. This method represents a powerful protocol for the construction trifluoromethylselenolate compounds.     

Phase behavior of amphiphiles at liquid crystals/water interface: A coarse-grained molecular dynamics study

We present a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation study of phase behavior of amphiphilic monolayers at the liquid crystal （LC）/water interface. The results revealed that LCs at interface can influence the lateral ordering of amphiphiles. Particularly, the amphiphile tails along with perpendicularly penetrated LCs between tails undergo a two-dimension phase transition from liquid-expanded into a liquid-condensed phase as their area density at interface reaches 0.93. While, the liquid-condensed phase of the monolayer never appears at oil/water interface with isotropic shape oil particles. These findings reveal the penetration of anisotropic LC can promote ordered lateral organization of amphiphiles. Moreover, we find the phase transition point is shifted to lower surface coverage of amphiphiles when the LCs have larger affinity to the amphiphile tails.     

双核铜配合物Cu2(2,2′-bpy)2(2-bba)4的合成、表征与晶体结构

在室温下,以2-溴苯甲酸和2,2'-联吡啶为配体,通过溶液法在甲醇/水的混合溶剂中反应合成了双核铜(II)配合物Cu2(2,2'-bpy)2(2-bba)4。通过元素分析、红外光谱、热重测试技术和X射线粉末衍射对其进行了结构表征,同时用X射线单晶衍射分析确定了其晶体结构。结果表明,其晶体属正交晶系,空间群为Pbca,晶胞参数:a=20.619(4),b=10.098(2),c=21.865(4),V=4552.5(15)3,Dc=1.808g·cm-3,μ=4.505mm-1,F(000)=2440.0,Z=4,最终残差因子R1=0.0583,wR2=0.1200。配合物为双核结构,每个结构单元中2个Cu(II)离子通过2个2-溴苯甲酸根配体单齿桥联。配合物中的每个Cu(II)离子为五配位的结构,分别和来自2个单齿桥联的2-溴苯甲酸根的2个氧原子、1个单齿配位的2-溴苯甲酸根的1个氧原子及来自1个2,2'-联吡啶的2个氮原子配位形成了畸变的四方锥型结构,分子间则通过弱的C—H…O氢键作用形成了一维链状的结构。CCDC:972827。