In Situ Photodeposition of Cobalt Phosphate (CoHPO) on CdInS Photocatalyst for Accelerated Hole Extraction and Improved Hydrogen Evolution.

The ternary metal sulfide CdInS (CIS) has great application potential in solar-to-hydrogen conversion due to its suitable band gap, good stability and low cost. However, the photocatalytic hydrogen (H) evolution performance of CIS is severely limited by the rapid electron-hole recombination originating from the slow photogenerated hole transfer kinetics. Herein, by simply depositing cobalt phosphate (CoHPO, noted as Co-Pi), a non-precious co-catalyst, an efficient pathway for accelerating the hole transfer process and subsequently promoting the H evolution reaction (HER) activity of CIS nanosheets is developed.

Improved Thermoelectric Performance of P-type SnTe through Synergistic Engineering of Electronic and Phonon Transports.

SnTe has been regarded as a potential alternative to PbTe in thermoelectrics because of its environmentally friendly features. However, it is a challenge to optimize its thermoelectric (TE) performance as it has an inherent high hole concentration (∼2 × 10 cm) and low mobility (μ∼18 cm V s) at room temperature (RT), arising from a high intrinsic Sn vacancy concentration and large energy separation between its light and heavy valence bands. Therefore, its TE figure of merit is only 0.

Manipulating Localized Vibrations of Interstitial Te for Ultra-High Thermoelectric Efficiency in p-Type Cu-In-Te Systems.

Thermoelectric materials are of imperative need on account of the worldwide energy crisis. However, their efficiency is limited by the interplay of high electrical and lower thermal conductivities, that is, the figure of merit (ZT). Owing to their unique crystal structures, Cu-In-Te-based chalcogenides are suitable for both and thus have attracted much attention recently as potential thermoelectrics.

Improvement of thermoelectric performance of copper-deficient compounds Cu InTe ( = 0-0.15) due to a degenerate impurity band and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity.

Cu-In-Te ternary chalcogenides have unique crystal and band structures; hence they have received much attention in thermoelectrics. In this work we have observed an enhancement in Hall carrier concentration ( ) and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity ( ) when Cu was added to ternary Cu InTe ( = 0-0.15) compounds.

Extremely Stable Current Emission of P-Doped SiC Flexible Field Emitters.

are developed on carbon fabric substrates, having both low of 1.03-0.73 Vμm up to high temperatures of 673 K, and extremely high current emission stability when subjected to different bending states, bending circle times as well as high temperatures (current emission fluctuations are typically in the range ±2.

Shape-Enhanced Photocatalytic Activities of Thoroughly Mesoporous ZnO Nanofibers.

1D mesoporous materials have attracted extensive interest recently, owning to their fascinating properties and versatile applications. However, it remains as a grand challenge to develop a simple and efficient technique to produce oxide nanofibers with mesoporous architectures, controlled morphologies, large surface areas, and optimal performances. In this work, a facile foaming-assisted electrospinning strategy with foaming agent of tea saponin is used to produce thoroughly mesoporous ZnO nanofibers with high purity and controlled morphology.

Electrochemical and electronic properties of LiCoO2 cathode investigated by galvanostatic cycling and EIS.

The processes of extraction and insertion of lithium ions in LiCoO(2) cathode are investigated by galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at different potentials during the first charge/discharge cycle and at different temperatures after 10 charge/discharge cycles. The spectra exhibit three semicircles and a slightly inclined line that appear successively as the frequency decreases. An appropriate equivalent circuit is proposed to fit the experimental EIS data.