Single Atom Ag Bonding Between PF3T Nanocluster and TiO Leads the Ultra-Stable Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H Production.

Atomic Ag cluster bonding is employed to reinforce the interface between PF3T nano-cluster and TiO nanoparticle. With an optimized Ag loading (Ag/TiO = 0.5 wt%), the Ag atoms will uniformly disperse on TiO thus generating a high density of intermediate states in the band gap to form the electron channel between the terthiophene group of PF3T and the TiO in the hybrid composite (denoted as T@Ag05-P).

Engineering of Aromatic Naphthalene and Solvent Molecules to Optimize Chemical Prelithiation for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A cost-effective chemical prelithiation solution, which consists of Li, polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and solvent, is developed for a model hard carbon (HC) electrode. Naphthalene and methyl-substituted naphthalene PAHs, namely 2-methylnaphthalene and 1-methylnaphthalene, are first compared. Grafting an electron-donating methyl group onto the benzene ring can decrease electron affinity and thus reduce the redox potential, which is validated by density functional theory calculations.

Dual-plasmonic Au@CuS yolk@shell nanocrystals for photocatalytic hydrogen production across visible to near infrared spectral region.

Near infrared energy remains untapped toward the maneuvering of entire solar spectrum harvesting for fulfilling the nuts and bolts of solar hydrogen production. We report the use of Au@CuS yolk@shell nanocrystals as dual-plasmonic photocatalysts to achieve remarkable hydrogen production under visible and near infrared illumination. Ultrafast spectroscopic data reveal the prevalence of long-lived charge separation states for Au@CuS under both visible and near infrared excitation.

In Situ Atomic-Scale Investigation of Structural Evolution During Sodiation/Desodiation Processes in Na V (PO ) -Based All-Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Recently, all-solid-state sodium batteries (Na-ASSBs) have received increased interest owing to their high safety and potential of high energy density. The potential of Na-ASSBs based on sodium superionic conductor (NASICON)-structured Na V (PO ) (Na VP) cathodes have been proven by their high capacity and a long cycling stability closely related to the microstructural evolution. However, the detailed kinetics of the electrochemical processes in the cathodes is still unclear.

Electron Injection via Interfacial Atomic Au Clusters Substantially Enhance the Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H Production of the PF3T Enclosed TiO Nanocomposite.

A hybrid composite of organic-inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials with atomic Au clusters at the interface decoration (denoted as PF3T@Au-TiO ) is developed for visible-light-driven H production via direct water splitting. With a strong electron coupling between the terthiophene groups, Au atoms and the oxygen atoms at the heterogeneous interface, significant electron injection from the PF3T to TiO occurs leading to a quantum leap in the H production yield (18 578 µmol g h ) by ≈39% as compared to that of the composite without Au decoration (PF3T@TiO , 11 321 µmol g h ). Compared to the pure PF3T, such a result is 43-fold improved and is the best performance among all the existing hybrid materials in similar configurations.

Facet-Specific Photocatalytic Activity Enhancement of CuO Polyhedra Functionalized with 4-Ethynylanaline Resulting from Band Structure Tuning.

CuO rhombic dodecahedra, octahedra, and cubes were densely modified with conjugated 4-ethynylaniline (4-EA) for facet-dependent photocatalytic activity examination. Infrared spectroscopy affirms bonding of the acetylenic group of 4-EA onto the surface copper atoms. The photocatalytically inactive CuO cubes showed surprisingly high activity toward methyl orange photodegradation after 4-EA modification, while the already active CuO rhombic dodecahedra and octahedra exhibited a photocatalytic activity enhancement.