A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Formation of Ag Filaments on β‐Ag2MoO4 Induced by Electron Irradiation

A combined experimental and theoretical study is presented to understand the novel observed nucleation and early evolution of Ag filaments on β‐Ag₂MoO₄ crystals, driven by an accelerated electron beam from an electronic microscope under high vacuum. The growth process, chemical composition, and the element distribution in these filaments are analyzed in depth at the nanoscale level using field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) characterization. To complement experimental results, chemical stability, structural and electronic aspects have been studied systematically using first‐principles electronic structure theory within a quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) framework. The Ag nucleation and formation on β‐Ag₂MoO₄ are a result of structural and electronic changes of the AgO₄ tetrahedral cluster as a constituent building block of β‐Ag₂MoO₄, consistent with Ag metallic formation. The formation of Ag filament transforms the β‐Ag₂MoO₄ semiconductor from n‐ to p‐type concomitant with the appearance of Ag defects.     

Nanospherical Surface‐Supported Seeded Growth of Au Nanowires: Investigation on a New Growth Mechanism and High‐Performance Hydrogen Peroxide Sensors

In this paper, a novel strategy with a new growth mechanism for fast and large‐scale growth of Au long nanowires on high‐curvature SiO₂ nanospherical surfaces has been developed. The synthesis includes three steps, i.e., amino modification of SiO₂ nanospheres, Au seed loading on aminated SiO₂ nanospheres and subsequently, Au seed‐mediated nanowire growth on SiO₂ nanospheres. The prepared Au nanowires (Au NWs) (exhibit long length, high aspect ratio, and good flexibility, and can naturally form the dense nanowire film, which is promising as a stable conductive electrode. In addition, the effect of synthetic conditions such as reactant feeding order, Au seeds and SiO₂@Au seeds on the morphology of Au nanostructures (nanowires, nanoteeth, and nanoflowers) has been investigated. It is found that Au seeds and high‐curvature SiO₂ nanospherical surfaces are necessary conditions for the successful preparation of Au NWs and nanowire films. The different growth mechanisms for Au NWs and nanoteeth have been proposed and discussed. Moreover, the novel nonenzymatic H₂O₂ sensor based on Au NWs exhibits much enhanced performance such as higher sensitivity, stability, and selectivity, wider linear range and lower detection limit, compared with that of Au nanoparticles‐based H₂O₂ sensor.     

Theoretical stability,thin film synthesis and transport properties of the Mon +1GaCn MAX phase

The phase stability of Mo_{n +1}GaC_n has been investigated using ab‐initio calculations. The results indicate stability for the Mo₂GaC phase only, with a formation enthalpy of –0.4 meV per atom. Subsequent thin film synthesis of Mo₂GaC was performed through magnetron sputtering from elemental targets onto Al₂O₃ [0001], 6H‐SiC [0001] and MgO [111] substrates within the temperature range of 500 °C and 750 °C. High structural quality films were obtained for synthesis on MgO [111] substrates at 590 ºC. Evaluation of transport properties showed a superconducting behavior with a critical temperature of approximately 7 K, reducing upon the application of an external magnetic field. The results point towards the first superconducting MAX phase in thin film form. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Back contact–absorber interface modification by inserting carbon intermediate layer and conversion efficiency improvement in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cell

Carbon layers have been employed as intermediate layers between Mo back contact and Cu₂ZnSn(S_1–xSe_x)₄(CZTSSe) absorber film prepared by sol–gel and post‐selenization method. Carbon layers with appropriate thickness can significantly inhibit the formation of MoSe₂ and voids at bottom region of the absorber, and therefore reduce the series resistance remarkably. The conversion efficiency can be boosted by the introducing of the carbon layer from 6.20% to 7.24% by enhancement in short current density, fill factor and open voltage in comparison to the reference sample without carbon layer. However, excess thickness of carbon layer will worse device performance due to the deteriorated absorber crystallinity. In addition, the time‐resolved photoluminescence analysis shows that inserting the carbon layer with suitable thickness does not introduce recombination and lower minority lifetime. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Improvement of resistive switching fluctuations by using one step lift‐off process

Bipolar resistive switching characteristics are investigated in ZrO₂ containing Cu thin layer devices, particularly for the self‐isolated‐structure device fabricated by one step lift‐off process. Compared with the traditional‐structure device, the self‐isolated‐structure device shows more uniform resistive switching characteristics. This is because the isolation of each device cell has negligible influence on each other and thus mitigates possible crosstalk between each cell. These results suggest that the feasibility of good stabilization of the resistive switching parameters can be obtained through one step lift‐off process. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Tuning the phase transition of ZnO thin films through lithography: an integrated bottom‐up and top‐down processing

An innovative approach towards the physico‐chemical tailoring of zinc oxide thin films is reported. The films have been deposited by liquid phase using the sol–gel method and then exposed to hard X‐rays, provided by a synchrotron storage ring, for lithography. The use of surfactant and chelating agents in the sol allows easy‐to‐pattern films made by an organic–inorganic matrix to be deposited. The exposure to hard X‐rays strongly affects the nucleation and growth of crystalline ZnO, triggering the formation of two intermediate phases before obtaining a wurtzite‐like structure. At the same time, X‐ray lithography allows for a fast patterning of the coatings enabling microfabrication for sensing and arrays technology.     

水平螺旋管内超临界CO2冷却换热的数值模拟

采用RNG k-ε 湍流模型对超临界CO₂流体在内径为4 mm, 长度2000 mm, 节距为10 mm, 曲率为0.1的水平螺旋管内的冷却换热进行了数值模拟.研究了质量流量、热流量以及压力对换热系数的影响, 并和超临界CO₂在水平直管内的冷却换热进行了对比.研究结果表明, 超临界CO₂在水平螺旋管内流动产生的二次流强于水平直管内的二次流, 前者的换热系数大于后者; 换热系数随质量流量的增加而增大; 在似气体区, 换热系数随着热流量的增加而增大, 而在似液体区, 热流量对换热系数几乎没有影响; 换热系数峰值点随着压力的升高而下降, 并向高温区偏移.     

氘化对KH2PO4晶体微观缺陷影响的正电子湮没研究

采用传统降温法从不同程度氘化(x=0, 0.51, 0.85)的生长溶液中生长氘化KH₂PO₄(KDP) 晶体, 利用正电子湮没技术(正电子寿命谱和多普勒展宽谱)、结合X射线衍射谱(XRD) 结构分析, 对KDP晶体氘化生长的微观缺陷进行了研究, 讨论了氘化程度对晶体内部微观结构特性、缺陷类型和浓度的影响. XRD结果显示晶胞参数a, b值随氘含量的增加而增加, c值无明显变化; 正电子寿命谱结果发现随着氘化浓度的提高, KDP晶体内部中性填隙缺陷以及氧缺陷不断增加, 引起晶体晶格畸变; 氢空位、K空位、杂质替位缺陷不断发生缔合反应形成复合缺陷, 缺陷浓度不断减少; 团簇、微空洞等大尺寸缺陷也在不断发生聚合反应, 缺陷浓度表现为不断减少. 多普勒实验结果表明随着氘化程度的提升, 晶体内部各类缺陷表现为同步变化. 实验结果表明, KDP晶体在低浓度氘化生长(50%以内)下缺陷反应较弱, 而在高浓度氘化(50%以上)下的缺陷反应显著增强.     

Resistance switching memory in perovskite oxides

The resistance switching behavior has recently attracted great attentions for its application as resistive random access memories (RRAMs) due to a variety of advantages such as simple structure, high-density, high-speed and low-power. As a leading storage media, the transition metal perovskite oxide owns the strong correlation of electrons and the stable crystal structure, which brings out multifunctionality such as ferroelectric, multiferroic, superconductor, and colossal magnetoresistance/electroresistance effect, etc. The existence of rich electronic phases, metal–insulator transition and the nonstoichiometric oxygen in perovskite oxide provides good platforms to insight into the resistive switching mechanisms.