Physical Mechanisms of Improved Performance of Scaffolded Zinc-Silver Battery Cathodes.

Nanostructuring can greatly improve the electrode stability of rechargeable battery systems, such as Zn-Ag. In this report, we investigate the physical mechanisms by which nanostructuring alters structural properties of nanomaterials and thereby influences the structural stability of electrodes. We specifically consider the effects of Au-based nanoscaffolds on Ag.

Plasmon Mediated Single Photon Emission from a Nanocrystal Ensemble.

Quantum photonic devices require robust sources of single photons to perform basic computational and communication protocols. Thus, developing scalable, integrable, and efficient quantum light sources has become crucial for the realization of quantum photonic devices. Single quantum dots are promising sources of quantum light due to their tunable emission wavelength.

Pressure induced topochemical polymerization of solid acrylamide facilitated by anisotropic response of the hydrogen bond network.

The pressure induced polymerization of molecular solids is an appealing route to obtain pure, crystalline polymers without the need for radical initiators. Here, we report a detailed density functional theory (DFT) study of the structural and chemical changes that occur in defect free solid acrylamide, a hydrogen bonded crystal, when it is subjected to hydrostatic pressures. While our calculations are able to reproduce experimentally measured pressure dependent spectroscopic features in the 0-20 GPa range, our atomistic analysis predicts polymerization in acrylamide at a pressure of ∼23 GPa at 0 K albeit through large enthalpy barriers.