Adsorption Structures, Vibrational Raman Spectra and Chemical Binding Properties of Thioglycolic Acid on Cu(111) Surfaces: A DFT Study.

Copper is widely used in everyday life and industrial production because of its good electrical and thermal conductivity. To overcome copper oxidation and maintain its good physical properties, small organic molecules adsorbed on the surface of copper make a passivated layer to further avoid copper corrosion. In this work, we have investigated thioglycolic acid (TGA, another name is mercaptoacetic acid) adsorbed on copper surfaces by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and a periodical slab model.

Stereoelectronic Switches of Single-Molecule Junctions through Conformation-Modulated Intramolecular Coupling Approaches.

Stereoelectronic effects in single-molecule junctions have been widely utilized to achieve a molecular switch, but high-efficiency and reproducible switching remain challenging. Here, we demonstrate that there are three stable intramolecular conformations in the 9,10-diphenyl-9,10-methanoanthracen-11-one (DPMAO) systems due to steric effect. Interestingly, different electronic coupling approaches including weak coupling (through-space), decoupling, and strong coupling (through-bond) between two terminal benzene rings are accomplished in the three stable conformations, respectively.

Reversible Multielectron Redox Chemistry in a NASICON-Type Cathode toward High-Energy-Density and Long-Life Sodium-Ion Full Batteries.

Na-superionic-conductor (NASICON)-type cathodes (e.g., Na V (PO ) ) have attracted extensive attention due to their open and robust framework, fast Na mobility, and superior thermal stability.

Building Fast Ion-Conducting Pathways on 3D Metallic Scaffolds for High-Performance Sodium Metal Anodes.

Building 3D electron-conducting scaffolds has been proven to be an effective way to alleviate severe dendritic growth and infinite volume change of sodium (Na) metal anodes. However, the electroplated Na metal cannot completely fill these scaffolds, especially at high current densities. Herein, we revealed that the uniform Na plating on 3D scaffolds is strongly related with the surface Na conductivity.

Doping Engineering of M-N-C Electrocatalyst Based Membrane-Electrode Assembly for High-Performance Aqueous Polysulfides Redox Flow Batteries.

Polysulfides aqueous redox flow batteries (PS-ARFBs) with large theoretical capacity and low cost are one of the most promising solutions for large-scale energy storage technology. However, sluggish electrochemical redox kinetics and nonnegligible crossover of aqueous polysulfides restrict the battery performances. Herein, it is found that the Co, Zn dual-doped N-C complex have enhanced electrochemical adsorption behaviors for Na S .

Plasmonic Photoelectrochemical Coupling Reactions of -Aminobenzoic Acid on Nanostructured Gold Electrodes.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bridges photonics and photoelectrochemistry by providing an effective interaction between absorption and confinement of light to surface electrons of plasmonic metal nanostructures (PMNs). SPR enhances the Raman intensity enormously in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and leads to the plasmon-mediated chemical reaction on the surface of nanostructured metal electrodes. To observe variations in chemical reactivity and selectivity, we studied the SPR photoelectrochemical reactions of -aminobenzoic acid (PABA) on nanostructured gold electrodes.

POM Anolyte for All-Anion Redox Flow Batteries with High Capacity Retention and Coulombic Efficiency at Mild pH.

A highly soluble Li BW O cluster delivers 2 e redox reaction with fast electron transfer rates (2.5 × 10  cm s ) and high diffusion coefficients (≈2.08 × 10 cm s ) at mild pH ranging from 3 to 8.

Defects Engineering of Lightweight Metal-Organic Frameworks-Based Electrocatalytic Membrane for High-Loading Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The sluggish kinetics and shuttle effect of lithium polysulfide intermediates are the major issues that retard the practical applications of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, we introduce a defect engineering strategy to construct a defected-UiO-66-NH-4/graphene electrocatalytic membrane (D-UiO-66-NH-4/G EM) which could accelerate the conversion of lithium polysulfides in high sulfur loadings and low electrolyte/sulfur (E/S) ratio Li-S batteries. Metal-organic frameworks (UiO-66-NH) can be directionally chemical engraved to form concave octahedra with abundant defects.

Increasing Accessible Subsurface to Improving Rate Capability and Cycling Stability of Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Numerous studies have reported that the enhancement of rate capability of carbonaceous anode by heteroatom doping is due to the increased diffusion-controlled capacity induced by expanding interlayer spacing. However, percentage of diffusion-controlled capacity is less than 30% as scan rate is larger than 1 mV s , suggesting there is inaccuracy in recognizing principle of improving rate capability of carbonaceous anode. In this paper, it is found that the heteroatom doping has little impact on interlayer spacing of carbon in bulk phase, meaning that diffusion-controlled capacity is hard to be enhanced by doping.

Encapsulation of CoS Nanocrystals into N/S Co-Doped Honeycomb-Like 3D Porous Carbon for High-Performance Lithium Storage.

A honeycomb-like 3D N/S co-doped porous carbon-coated cobalt sulfide (CoS, CoS, and Co S) composite (CS@PC) is successfully prepared using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the nitrogen-containing carbon source through a facile solvothermal method and subsequent in situ conversion. As an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the CS@PC composite exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, including high reversible capacity, good rate capability, and cyclic stability. The composite electrode delivers specific capacities of 781.

Electrospun Single Crystalline Fork-Like KVO as High-Performance Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Single crystalline fork-like potassium vanadate (KVO) has been successfully prepared by electrospinning method with a subsequent annealing process. The as-obtained KVO forks show a unique layer-by-layer stacked structure. When used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the as-prepared fork-like materials exhibit high specific discharge capacity and excellent cyclic stability.