Self-Driven Graphene Photodetector Arrays Enabled by Plasmon-Induced Asymmetric Electric Field.

Gap surface plasmon (GSP) modes enhance graphene photodetectors (GPDs)' performance by confining the incident light within nanogaps, giving rise to strong light absorption. Here, we propose an asymmetric plasmonic nanostructure array on planar graphene comprising stripe- and triangle-shaped sharp tip arrays. Upon light excitation, the noncentrosymmetric metallic nanostructures show strong light-matter interactions with localized field close to the surface of tips, causing an asymmetric electric field.

Solid-waste-recycled CuO/CN S-scheme heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic antibiotic degradation.

With the increasing severity of antibiotic pollution, the development of effective green photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants in water has attracted extensive attention. Herein, we have prepared CuO/CN S-scheme heterogeneous photocatalysts recycling Cu resources from Cu-containing electroplating sludges. By mediating the acid leaching process, copper in electroplating sludges was dissolved selectively, while other metal species were retained in the residues.

Cu-modified InVO photocatalysts for enhanced N fixation using chemical reagents and electroplating sludge as the Cu source.

Inspired by simulation analysis, we found that Cu decoration could enhance the NH production rate of InVO through promoting N adsorption and reducing the activation energy of the key hydrogenation step. 5% Cu/InVO exhibited an optimal NH yield of 195.11 μmol g h, approximately six times higher than that of InVO.

Application of Oxygen-Group-Based Amorphous Nanomaterials in Electrocatalytic Water Splitting.

Environmentally friendly energy sources (e.g., hydrogen) require an urgent development targeting to address the problem of energy scarcity.

Roles of Activated Carbon in UV/Chlorine/Activated Carbon-TiO Process for Micropollutant Abatement and DBP Control.

The ultraviolet (UV)/chlorine process has attracted increasing attention for micropollutant abatement. However, the limited hydroxyl radical (HO) generation and the formation of undesired disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are the two major issues in this process. This study investigated the roles of activated carbon (AC) in the UV/chlorine/AC-TiO process for micropollutant abatement and DBP control.

Generation mechanism of singlet oxygen from the interaction of peroxymonosulfate and chloride in aqueous systems.

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS, HSO) is a widely-used disinfectant and oxidant in environmental remediation. It was deemed that PMS reacted with chloride (Cl) to form free chlorine during water purification. Here, we demonstrated that singlet oxygen (O) was efficiently generated from PMS and Cl interaction.

Robust route to HO and H via intermediate water splitting enabled by capitalizing on minimum vanadium-doped piezocatalysts.

Unlabelled: HO is an environmentally friendly chemical for a wide range of water treatments. The industrial production of HO is an anthraquinone oxidation process, which, however, consumes extensive energy and produces pollution. Here we report a green and sustainable piezocatalytic intermediate water splitting process to simultaneously obtain HO and H using single crystal vanadium (V)-doped NaNbO (V-NaNbO) nanocubes as catalysts.

A Rapid and Robust Light-and-Solution-Triggered In Situ Crafting of Organic Passivating Membrane over Metal Halide Perovskites for Markedly Improved Stability and Photocatalysis.

Despite intriguing optoelectronic attributes in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and photocatalysis, the instability of organic-inorganic perovskites poises a grand challenge for long-term applications. Herein, we report a simple yet robust strategy via light-and-solution treatment to create an organic membrane that effectively passivates CHNHPbI (MAPbI). Specifically, the restructuring of MA is observed on MAPbI in aqueous hydrogen iodide.

Hydrogen Impurities in ZnO: Shallow Donors in ZnO Semiconductors and Active Sites for Hydrogenation of Carbon Species.

ZnO, as a low-cost yet significant semiconductor, has been widely used in solar energy conversion and optoelectronic devices. In addition, Cu/ZnO-based catalysts can convert syngas (H, CO, and CO) into methanol. However, the main concern about the intrinsic connection between the physical and chemical properties and the structure of ZnO still remains.

Ti C : An Ideal Co-catalyst?

How 2D Ti C enhances photocatalytic efficiency remains unclear. Now, it is shown that it is graphene quantum dots (GQDs) derived from Ti C , rather than 2D Ti C itself, that play the role of co-catalyst for La Ti O /Ti C (LTC) composites during the photocatalytic reaction. After modification of Ti C derivatives, the photocatalytic efficiency of La Ti O is enhanced 16 times over pure La Ti O .

A mechanism of timing variability underlying the association between the mean and SD of asynchrony.

Sensorimotor timing behaviors typically exhibit an elusive phenomenon known as the negative asynchrony. When synchronizing movements (e.g.

Enabling PIEZOpotential in PIEZOelectric Semiconductors for Enhanced Catalytic Activities.

The past several decades have witnessed significant advances in the synthesis and applications of PIEZOelectric semiconductors, an important class of materials, including piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric semiconductors. The intriguing combination of physical and chemical phenomena in PIEZOelectric semiconductors has triggered much interest in PIEZOcatalysis, that is, catalysis enabled by PIEZOpotential (i.e.

Tapping ahead of time: its association with timing variability.

Researchers have puzzled over the phenomenon in sensorimotor timing that people tend to tap ahead of time. When synchronizing movements (e.g.

Preparation and Extraordinary Room-Temperature CO Sensing Capabilities of Pd-SnO₂ Composite Nanoceramics.

Pd-SnO2 composite nanoceramics have been prepared from SnO2 and Pd nanoparticles through traditional pressing and sintering. Their responses to CO at room temperature are found to depend greatly on the content of Pd. For those samples with 1.

Graphene-Draped Semiconductors for Enhanced Photocorrosion Resistance and Photocatalytic Properties.

Semiconductor photocatalysts have been widely used for photochemical water splitting, purification of organic contaminants, and bacterial detoxification. However, most photocatalysts suffer greatly from photocorrosion under visible-light irradiation. Here we report a viable strategy to markedly improve photocorrosion resistance of photocatalysts by draping ultrathin yet highly impermeable graphene layers over a semiconductor CdS electrode.

Plasmon-Mediated Solar Energy Conversion via Photocatalysis in Noble Metal/Semiconductor Composites.

Plasmonics has remained a prominent and growing field over the past several decades. The coupling of various chemical and photo phenomenon has sparked considerable interest in plasmon-mediated photocatalysis. Given plasmonic photocatalysis has only been developed for a relatively short period, considerable progress has been made in improving the absorption across the full solar spectrum and the efficiency of photo-generated charge carrier separation.

An external template-free route to uniform semiconducting hollow mesospheres and their use in photocatalysis.

Solid amorphous TiO2 mesospheres were synthesized by controlled hydrolysis of Ti-containing precursors. Subsequently, solid TiO2 mesospheres were exploited as scaffolds and subjected to a one-step external template-free hydrothermal treatment, yielding intriguing hollow anatase TiO2 mesospheres. The synthetic protocol was optimized by investigating the effect of buffer reagents and fluoride ions on the formation of hollow TiO2 spheres.

One-dimensional densely aligned perovskite-decorated semiconductor heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic activity.

By using one-dimensional rutile TiO(2) nanorod arrays as the structure-directing scaffold as well as the TiO(2) source to two consecutive hydrothermal reactions, densely aligned SrTiO(3) -modified rutile TiO(2) heterojunction photocatalysts are crafted for the first time. The first hydrothermal processing yielded nanostructured rutile TiO(2) with the hollow openings on the top of nanorods (i.e.

Strictly biphasic soft and hard Janus structures: synthesis, properties, and applications.

Janus structures, named after the ancient two-faced Roman god Janus, comprise two hemistructures (e.g. hemispheres) with different compositions and functionalities.

Optimization of molecular organization and nanoscale morphology for high performance low bandgap polymer solar cells.

Rational design and synthesis of low bandgap (LBG) polymers with judiciously tailored HOMO and LUMO levels have emerged as a viable route to high performance polymer solar cells with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) exceeding 10%. In addition to engineering the energy-level of LBG polymers, the photovoltaic performance of LBG polymer-based solar cells also relies on the device architecture, in particular the fine morphology of the photoactive layer. The nanoscale interpenetrating networks composed of nanostructured donor and acceptor phases are the key to providing a large donor-acceptor interfacial area for maximizing the exciton dissociation and offering a continuous pathway for charge transport.

Garden-like perovskite superstructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity.

By subjecting amorphous flower-like TiO2 to a facile hydrothermal synthesis in the presence of Sr(2+), garden-like perovskite SrTiO3 superstructures were achieved. The amorphous TiO2 was preformed using ZnO flowers as templates. Different three-dimensional SrTiO3 architectures were coexisted in the garden, including SrTiO3 flowers composed of several hollow sword-shaped petals, many sheet-shaped petals or numerous flake-shaped petals, and SrTiO3 grass consisting of a number of long blades.

Hierarchically structured microspheres for high-efficiency rutile TiO(2)-based dye-sensitized solar cells.

Peachlike rutile TiO2 microsphere films were successfully produced on transparent conducting fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate via a facile, one-pot chemical bath route at low temperature (T = 80-85 °C) by introducing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as steric dispersant. The formation of TiO2 microspheres composed of nanoneedles was attributed to the acidic medium for the growth of 1D needle-shaped building blocks where the steric interaction of PEG reduced the aggregation of TiO2 nanoneedles and the Ostwald ripening process. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) assembled by employing these complex rutile TiO2 microspheres as photoanodes exhibited a light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 2.

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis and visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of Fe-incorporated TiO2 nanotube array photocatalysts.

Fe incorporated TiO(2) nanotube arrays (Fe-TiO(2)NTs) were prepared by an ultrasound-assisted impregnating-calcination method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) indicated that α-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles were deposited into the TiO(2) nanotubes, and in the mean time, some Fe(3+) ions were doped into TiO(2) lattice. The absorption of Fe-TiO(2)NTs in the visible light region increased with the increase of Fe content.

Room temperature one-step synthesis of microarrays of N-doped flower-like anatase TiO2 composed of well-defined multilayer nanoflakes by Ti anodization.

Microarrays of N-doped flower-like TiO(2) composed of well-defined multilayer nanoflakes were synthesized at room temperature by electrochemical anodization of Ti in NH(4)F aqueous solution. The TiO(2) flowers were of good anatase crystallinity. The effects of anodizing time, applied voltage and NH(4)F concentration on the flower-like morphology were systematically examined.