Composition-Dependent Functionality of Copper Vanadate Photoanodes.

To understand functional roles of constituent elements in ternary metal oxide photoanodes, essential photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties are systematically analyzed on a series of copper vanadate compounds with different Cu:V elemental ratios. Homogeneous and highly continuous thin films of β-CuVO, γ-CuVO, CuVO, and CuVO are grown via reactive co-sputtering and their performance characteristics for the light-driven oxygen evolution reaction are evaluated. All four compounds have similar bandgaps in the range of 1.

A multifunctional biphasic water splitting catalyst tailored for integration with high-performance semiconductor photoanodes.

Artificial photosystems are advanced by the development of conformal catalytic materials that promote desired chemical transformations, while also maintaining stability and minimizing parasitic light absorption for integration on surfaces of semiconductor light absorbers. Here, we demonstrate that multifunctional, nanoscale catalysts that enable high-performance photoelectrochemical energy conversion can be engineered by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. The collective properties of tailored CoO/Co(OH) thin films simultaneously provide high activity for water splitting, permit efficient interfacial charge transport from semiconductor substrates, and enhance durability of chemically sensitive interfaces.

Assembly and Photocarrier Dynamics of Heterostructured Nanocomposite Photoanodes from Multicomponent Colloidal Nanocrystals.

Multicomponent oxides and their heterostructures are rapidly emerging as promising light absorbers to drive oxidative chemistry. To fully exploit their functionality, precise tuning of their composition and structure is crucial. Here, we report a novel solution-based route to nanostructured bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) that facilitates the assembly of BiVO4/metal oxide (TiO2, WO3, and Al2O3) nanocomposites in which the morphology of the metal oxide building blocks is finely tailored.

Electrical coupling between cells and graphene transistors.

In this work, both experimental data and a model are presented on the coupling between living cells and graphene solution-gated field-effect transistors. Modified HEK 293 cells are successfully cultured on graphene transistor arrays and electrically accessed by the patch clamp method. Transistor recordings are presented, showing the opening and closing of voltage-gated potassium ion channels in the cell membrane.

Polymer brushes on graphene.

A critical bottleneck for the widespread use of single layer graphene is the absence of a facile method of chemical modification which does not diminish the outstanding properties of the two-dimensional sp(2) network. Here, we report on the direct chemical modification of graphene by photopolymerization with styrene. We demonstrate that photopolymerization occurs at existing defect sites and that there is no detectable disruption of the basal plane conjugation of graphene.