First principles study of Ca in BaTiO3 and Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3

BaTiO₃–Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ is one of the promising candidates as a high-temperature relaxor with a high Curie temperature and several preferred dielectric characteristics. It has been found experimentally for a long time that adding calcium to BaTiO₃–Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ improves its temperature characteristic of the capacitance [J. Electron. Mater. 39, 2471]. In this study, Calcium (Ca) defects in perovskite BaTiO₃ and Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ have been studied based on first-principles calculations. In both BaTiO₃ and Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃, our calculations showed that Ca atom energetically prefers to substitute for the cations, that is Ba, Bi, Na and Ti, depending on the growth conditions. In most cases, Ca predominantly substitutes on the A-site without providing additional electrical carriers (serve as either neutral defects or self-compensating defects). The growth conditions where Ca can be forced to substitute for B-site (with limited amount) and the conditions where Ca can be forced to serve as an acceptor are identified. Details of the local structures, formation energies and electronic properties of these Ca defects are reported.     

Solvothermal Transformation of a Calcium Oleate Precursor into Large‐Sized Highly Ordered Arrays of Ultralong Hydroxyapatite Microtubes

Hydroxyapatite (HAP), a well‐known member of the calcium phosphate family, is the major inorganic component of bones and teeth in vertebrates. The highly ordered arrays of HAP structures are of great significance for hard tissue repair and for understanding the formation mechanisms of bones and teeth. However, the synthesis of highly ordered HAP structure arrays remains a great challenge. In this work, inspired by the ordered structure of tooth enamel, we have successfully synthesized three‐dimensional bulk materials with large sizes (millimeter scale) that are made of highly ordered arrays of ultralong HAP microtubes (HOAUHMs) by solvothermal transformation of calcium oleate precursor. The core–shell‐structured oblate sphere consists of a core that is composed of HAP nanorods and a shell that consists of highly ordered HAP microtube arrays. The prepared HOAUHMs are large: 6.0 mm in diameter and up to 1.4 mm in thickness. With increasing solvothermal reaction time, the HOAUHMs grow larger; the microtubes become more uniform and more ordered. This work provides a new synthetic method for synthesizing highly ordered arrays of uniform HAP ultralong microtubes that are promising for biomedical applications.     

三维有序结构In掺杂TiO_2薄膜的可见光催化活性

采用自组装生长聚苯乙烯胶体模板和溶胶-凝胶法,制备出三维(3D)有序结构In掺杂TiO2(IO-TiO2-In)薄膜可见光催化剂.光催化实验证明,IO-TiO2-In薄膜降解甲醛的可见光活性是TiO2和三维有序结构TiO2(IOTiO2)薄膜的5倍.利用X射线电子衍射(XRD)谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和紫外-可见(UV-Vis)漫反射吸收光谱确定了催化剂的晶相结构、表面微结构和能带结构.结果表明,IO-TiO2-In薄膜具有锐钛矿型三维有序结构,与TiO2相比,增加了比表面积,提高光的利用率;掺入的In离子在薄膜表面形成In2O3和O-In-Clx(x=1,2)物种,既增强可见光的吸收,又有效地促进了光生载流子的分离,提高了光生载流子在固/气界面参加光催化反应的利用率,使催化剂的可见光催化活性显著提高.     

Sulfur/carbon composites prepared with ordered porous carbon for Li-S battery cathode

Ordered porous cabon with a 2-D hexagonal structure,high specific surface area and large pore volume was synthesized through a twostep heating method using tri-block copolymer as template and phenolic resin as carbon precursor.The results indicated the electrochemical performance of the sulfur/carbon composites prepared with the ordered porous carbon was significantly affected by the pore structure of the carbon.Both the specific capacity and cycling stability of the sulfur/carbon composites were improved using the bimodal micro/meso-porous carbon frameworks with high surface area.Its initial discharge capacity can be as high as 1200 mAh·g~(-1) at a current density of 167.5 mA·g~(-1)The improved capacity retention was obtained during the cell cycling as well.     

Highly Ordered Superlattices from Self-assembly of Fe3O4 Nanocrystals

The nano materials often exhibit very interesting electrical, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties, which can not be achieved by their bulk counterparts. The development of uniform nanometer sized particles has been intensively pursued because of their technological and fundamental scientific importance. It is significant that nanostructured materials can be controllably assembled into the required geometry onto substrates, becoming the basis of the next generation of components and devices. The development of new methods and strategies for organizing the nanoparticle basic building blocks into the desired structures is required. Superlattices made from these building blocks give us the opportunity to study not only the properties of the individual building blocks, but also collective effects. The superparamagnetic iron oxide nanocrystals（NCs） have been used in the fields of bio-medicine, ferrofluids, refrigeration system, catalysis,     

Incorporating Rare-Earth Terbium(III) Ions into Cs2AgInCl6:Bi Nanocrystals toward Tunable Photoluminescence

The incorporation of impurity ions or doping is a promising method for controlling the electronic and optical properties and the structural stability of halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs). Herein, we establish relationships between rare-earth ions doping and intrinsic emission of lead-free double perovskite Cs₂AgInCl₆ NCs to impart and tune the optical performances in the visible light region. Tb³⁺ ions were incorporated into Cs₂AgInCl₆ NCs and occupied In³⁺ sites as verified by both crystallographic analyses and first-principles calculations. Trace amounts of Bi doping endowed the characteristic emission (⁵D₄→⁷F_6-3) of Tb³⁺ ions with a new excitation peak at 368 nm rather than the single characteristic excitation at 290 nm of Tb³⁺. By controlling Tb³⁺ ions concentration, the emission colors of Bi-doped Cs₂Ag(In_1−xTb_x)Cl₆ NCs could be continuously tuned from green to orange, through the efficient energy-transfer channel from self-trapped excitons to Tb³⁺ ions. Our study provides the salient features of the material design of lead-free perovskite NCs and to expand their luminescence applications.     

Atomic-Scale Insight into Exsolution of CoFe Alloy Nanoparticles in La0.4Sr0.6Co0.2Fe0.7Mo0.1O3−δ with Efficient CO2 Electrolysis

In situ exsolution of metal nanoparticles in perovskite under reducing atmosphere is employed to generate a highly active metal–oxide interface for CO₂ electrolysis in a solid oxide electrolysis cell. Atomic-scale insight is provided into the exsolution of CoFe alloy nanoparticles in La_0.4Sr_0.6Co_0.2Fe_0.7Mo_0.1O_3−δ (LSCFM) by in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The doped Mo atoms occupy B sites of LSCFM, which increases the segregation energy of Co and Fe ions at B sites and improves the structural stability of LSCFM under a reducing atmosphere. In situ STEM measurements visualized sequential exsolution of Co and Fe ions, formation of CoFe alloy nanoparticles, and reversible exsolution and dissolution of CoFe alloy nanoparticles in LSCFM. The metal–oxide interface improves CO₂ adsorption and activation, showing a higher CO₂ electrolysis performance than the LSCFM counterparts.     

Rapid Capillary-Assisted Solution Printing of Perovskite Nanowire Arrays Enables Scalable Production of Photodetectors

Despite recent progress in producing perovskite nanowires (NWs) for optoelectronics, it remains challenging to solution-print an array of NWs with precisely controlled position and orientation. Herein, we report a robust capillary-assisted solution printing (CASP) strategy to rapidly access aligned and highly crystalline perovskite NW arrays. The key to the CASP approach lies in the integration of capillary-directed assembly through periodic nanochannels and solution printing through the programmably moving substrate to rapidly guide the deposition of perovskite NWs. The growth kinetics of perovskite NWs was closely examined by in situ optical microscopy. Intriguingly, the as-printed perovskite NWs array exhibit excellent optical and optoelectronic properties and can be conveniently implemented for the scalable fabrication of photodetectors.