Emergence of exotic electronic and magnetic phases upon electron filling in NaBO (B = Ta, Ir, Pt, and Tl): a first-principles study.

Competition between spin-orbit interaction and electron correlations can stabilize a variety of non-trivial electronic and magnetic ground states. Using density functional theory calculations, here we show that different exotic electronic and magnetic ground states can be obtained by electron filling of the B-site cation in the NaBO family of compounds (B = Ta, Ir, Pt and Tl). Electron filling leads to a Peierls insulator state with a direct band gap to = 1/2 spin-orbit assisted Mott-insulator to band insulator and then to negative charge-transfer half-metal transition.

Light-Controlled Magnetoelastic Effects in Ni/BaTiO Heterostructures.

Magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric coupling in the artificial multiferroic heterostructures facilitate valuable features for device applications such as magnetic field sensors and electric-write magnetic-read memory devices. In ferromagnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures, the intertwined physical properties can be manipulated by an external perturbation, such as an electric field, temperature, or a magnetic field. Here, we demonstrate the remote-controlled tunability of these effects under visible, coherent, and polarized light.

Improved photocatalytic activity of TiO nanoparticles through nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon quantum dots: an experimental and theoretical study.

In this work, we develop a photocatalyst wherein nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon quantum dots are scaffolded onto TiO nanoparticles (NPCQD/TiO), denoted as NPCT hereafter. The developed NPCT photocatalyst exhibits an enhanced visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production of 533 μmol h g compared to nitrogen doped CQD/TiO (478 μmol h g), phosphorus doped CQD/TiO (451 μmol h g) and pure CQD/TiO (427 μmol h g) photocatalysts. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the NPCT photocatalyst is attributed to the excellent synergy between NPCQDs and TiO nanoparticles, which results in the creation of virtual energy levels, a decrease in work function and suppressed recombination rates, thereby increasing the lifetime of photogenerated electrons.

The Mystery behind Dynamic Charge Disproportionation in BaBiO.

BaBiO(BBO) is known to be a valence-skipping perovskite, which avoids the metallic state through charge disproportionation (CD), the mechanism of which is still unresolved. A novel mechanism for CD is presented here in the covalent limit using a molecular orbital (MO) picture under two scenarios: (case i) Bi 6sp-O 2p and (case ii) Bi 6p-O 2p hybridizations that favor 5+ and 3+ states, respectively. The proposed model is further validated by using a combinatorial approach of X-ray spectroscopic experiments and first-principle calculations.

Structural correlation of a nanoparticle-embedded mesoporous CoTiO perovskite for an efficient electrochemical supercapacitor.

We synthesized mesoporous cobalt titanate (CTO) microrods the sol-gel method as an outstanding working electrode for the supercapacitor. The mesoporous CTO microrods were amassed in hexagonal shapes of an average width of ∼670 nm, and were composed of nanoparticles of average diameter ∼41 nm. The well crystalline CTO microrods of the hexagonal phase to the 3̄ space group possessed an average pore size distribution of 3.

Spitzer shaped ZnO nanostructures for enhancement of field electron emission behaviors.

We observed enhanced field emission (FE) behavior for spitzer shaped ZnO nanowires synthesized a hydrothermal approach. The spitzer shaped and pointed tipped 1D ZnO nanowires of average diameter 120 nm and length ∼5-6 μm were randomly grown over an ITO coated glass substrate. The turn-on field ( ) of 1.