利用掺杂诱导的金属-N活性位点和带隙调控提升石墨相氮化碳的光催化产氢性能

由于石墨相氮化碳(g-C3N4)的独特结构和性质,特别是其具有合适的能带结构位置及可调控的晶体结构,被广泛应用于光催化产氢反应中.然而,纯相氮化碳具有较快的光生电荷复合速率,这使其光催化产氢活性较低.目前,利用非金属或过渡金属原子掺杂可有效提升电荷分离速度,从而提高光催化产氢活性.相比于非金属掺杂,g-C3N4的三嗪环...     

Photophysics of ruthenium(II) complexes with 2-(2′-pyridyl) pyrimidine and 2,2′-bipyridine ligands in fluid solution

The photophysics of three complexes of the form Ru(bpy)₃₋(pypm)²⁺ (where bpy2,2′-bipyridine, pypm 2-(2′-pyridyl)pyrimidine and P=1, 2 or 3) was examined in H₂O, propylene carbonate, CH₃CN and 4:1 (v/v) C₂H₅OH---CH₃OH; comparison was made with the well-known photophysical behavior of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺. The lifetimes of the luminescent metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited states were determined as a function of temperature (between −103 and 90 °C, depending on the solvent), from which were extracted the rate constants for radiative and non-radiative decay and ΔE, the energy gap between the MLCT and metal-centered (MC) excited states. The results indicate that ^*Ru(bpy)₂(pypm)²⁺ decays via a higher lying MLCT state, whereas ^*Ru(pypm)₃²⁺ and ^*Ru(pypm)₂(bpy)²⁺ decay predominantly via the MC state.     

Enhanced Static Modulated Fourier Transform Spectrometer for Fast Approximation in Field Application

We discuss the data sampling frequency, the spectral resolution, and the limit for non-aliasing in the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer based on a modified Sagnac interferometer. The measurement was performed in a very short 4 ms, which is applicable for real time field operation. The improved spectrometer characteristics were used to investigate the spectral properties of an InGaAs light emitting diode. In addition, The measured spectral peak was shifted from 6420 cm⁻¹ to 6365 cm⁻¹, as the temperature increased from 25 °C to 40 °C, when the operating current is fixed to be 0.55 A. As the applied current increased from 0.30 A to 0.55 A at room temperature, the spectral width was broadened from 316 cm⁻¹ to 384 cm⁻¹. Compared to the conventional Fourier transform spectrometer, the measured spectral width by the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer showed a deviation less than 10%, and the spectral peak shift according to the temperature rise showed a difference within 2%.     

Theoretical investigation of the interaction between the metal phthalocyanine [MPc]a(M = Sc,Ti, and V; a = –1, 0, and +1) complexes and formaldehyde

Formaldehyde (FA, CH₂O) is one of the toxic volatile organic compounds that cause harmful effects on the human body. In this work, the interaction of FA gas with metal phthalocyanine (MPc) molecules was studied by employing density functional theory calculations. A variety of [MPc]^a (M = Sc, Ti, and V; a = –1, 0, and +1) complexes were studied, and the electronic properties, interaction energies, and charge transfer properties of all of the studied molecules were systematically discussed. Among the studied complexes, the Sc and Ti phthalocyanines were more reactive toward the adsorption of FA gas. Moreover, it was revealed that the interaction of the [ScPc]⁺¹ and [TiPc]⁰ complexes with the CH₂O molecule was stronger, in which the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy gap of 46% and 36% decreased after FA adsorption. The results indicated that the MPc-based materials may be a promising candidate for the detection of FA gas.     

Filling the Charge–Discharge Voltage Gap in Flexible Hybrid Zinc-Based Batteries by Utilizing a Pseudocapacitive Material

The high charge–discharge voltage gap is one of the main bottlenecks of zinc–air batteries (ZABs) because of the kinetically sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) on the oxygen electrode side. Thus, an efficient bifunctional catalyst for ORR and OER is highly desired. Herein, honeycomb-like MnCo₂O_4.5 spheres were used as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst. It was demonstrated that both ORR and OER catalytic activity are promoted by Mn^IV-induced oxygen vacancy defects and multiple active sites. Importantly, the multivalent ions present in the material and its defect structure endow stable pseudocapacitance within the inactive region of ORR and OER; as a result, a low charge–discharge voltage gap (0.43 V at 10 mA cm⁻²) was achieved when it was employed in a flexible hybrid Zn-based battery. This mechanism provides unprecedented and valuable insights for the development of next-generation metal–air batteries.     

Intrinsic intermediate gap states of TiO2 materials and their roles in charge carrier kinetics

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is regarded as an important prototype photocatalytic material for several decades. The charge carrier kinetics determines the photocatalytic properties of TiO₂ materials; this is found to be greatly dependent on electronic structures. It has been revealed that the intrinsic intermediate gap states (intrinsic GSs) play a significant role in charge carrier kinetics that drive the photocatalytic processes of TiO₂ materials, which are not well summarized until now. Motivated by this thought, the purpose of this review focuses on physiochemical science of the intrinsic GSs of TiO₂ materials and their important role in charge carrier kinetics. We first give a summary on the chemical resources of the intrinsic GSs in TiO₂ and their physiochemical nature. Their general energy distribution, charge carrier population, and the associated thermodynamic properties are also elaborated from an overall viewpoint. We further carefully summarize and compare the experimental studies on the energy and the density distribution of the intrinsic GSs and discuss the associated chemical resources and charge carrier localizations. Trapping is the dominant function of intrinsic GSs in the charge carrier kinetics of TiO₂ materials. The significant effect of trapping on the transport, recombination, and interfacial transfer of charge carriers are also comprehensive summarized. Furthermore, the effects of charge carrier kinetics on photocatalytic performances are also discussed to some extents. Because of the importance of intrinsic GSs in modulating charge carrier kinetics, it is expected to increase the photocatalytic activity by engineering the intrinsic GSs, not only for TiO₂ materials, but also for the other semiconductor photocatalysts.     

Nanocrystals for large Stokes shift-based optosensing

Stokes shift is an important feature of fluorescence, which reveals the energy loss between the excitation and the emission. For most fluorescent materials(e.g., organic dyes and proteins), the large overlap between the absorption and emission spectra endow them a small Stokes shift that induced reabsorption by fluorophore itself. Although the self-absorption can be effectively reduced due to the emergence of fluorescent nanomaterials, fluorescence attenuation is still observed in aggregated or concentrated nanocrystals, causing reduced sensitivity of biosensors. Therefore, increasing the Stokes shift can effectively improve the performance of nano-agents based biosensing. In this critical review, through understanding the Stokes shift from the viewpoint of self-absorption, the influence of Stokes shift on fluorescence properties are discussed. Based on the principle of changing the Stokes shift of fluorescent nanomaterials, we described the methods for constructing various optically large Stokes shift-based nanomaterials, and the application of these nanocrystals in biosensing is especially concerned in this review.     

Two-Step Structure Phase Transition,Dielectric Anomalies,and Thermochromic Luminescence Behavior in a Direct Band Gap 2D Corrugated Layer Lead Chloride Hybrid of [(CH3)4N]4Pb3Cl10

A direct band gap 2D corrugated layer lead chloride hybrid, [(CH₃)₄N]₄Pb₃Cl₁₀ ( 1 ), shows analogous topology to the {Mg₃F₁₀⁴⁻}_∞ layer in Cs₄Mg₃F₁₀, and with the (CH₃)₄N⁺ cations locating in the inorganic layer voids and between the interlayers. Two reversible structural phase transitions occur in 1 at 225/210 K and 328/325 K upon heating/cooling, respectively. On going from the low- to intermediate-temperature phase, the space group changes from P2₁/c to Cmca, and the crystallographic axis perpendicular to the layers is doubled with the order–disorder transformation of (CH₃)₄N ⁺ cations between the interlayers. The intermediate- and high-temperature phases are isomorphic with similar cell parameters and packing structure; their main difference concerns the disorder degree of the (CH₃)₄N ⁺ cations between the interlayers. The two-step structural phase transitions lead to dielectric anomalies around the corresponding T_c. Interestingly, 1 shows multiband emission, originating from the recombination of exciton and emission of defects. Moreover, 1 exhibits divergent thermochromic luminescent features around the T_c on the intermediate to low temperature transition.     

The design of molecules containing planar tetracoordinate carbon

A novel preference for planar tetracoordination was observed over the conventional tetrahedral arrangement in a new series of C₅H₂, C₅H₄, C₅H₄^1+/2+ and related compounds. The stability of these molecules is assessed with the ring-opening barriers, HOMO-LUMO gap, singlet-triplet energy differences and nucleus independent chemical shift values.