Characterization of CuO/CuO heterostructure photocathode by tailoring CuO thickness for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

CuO/CuO heterostructure is a well-known strategy to improve the performance of CuO photocathodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The CuO thickness in the CuO/CuO heterostructure is considered as a critical factor affecting the PEC performance because it is highly related to the light utilization and charge separation/transport. In this study, the CuO/CuO photocathode tailoring the CuO thickness was investigated to examine the CuO thickness influence on the PEC performance.

Electrocatalytic Properties of Pulse-Reverse Electrodeposited Nickel Phosphide for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Nickel phosphide (Ni-P) films as a catalytic cathode for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of a water splitting were fabricated by a pulse-reverse electrodeposition technique. The electrochemical behaviors for the electrodeposition of Ni-P were investigated by the characterization of peaks in a cyclic voltammogram. The composition of the electrodeposited Ni-P alloys was controlled by adjusting duty cycles of the pulse-reverse electrodeposition.

Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced by 3D Continuous Ceramic Nanofillers.

Polymer nanocomposites with inclusion of ceramic nanofillers have relatively high yield strength, elastic moduli, and toughness that therefore are widely used as functional coating and films for optoelectronic applications. Although the mechanical properties are enhanced with increasing the fraction of nanofiller inclusion, there generally is an upper limit on the amount of nanofiller inclusion because the aggregation of the fillers in the polymer matrix, which typically occurs, degrades the mechanical and/or optical performances above 5 vol % of inclusions. Here, we demonstrate an unconventional polymer nanocomposite composed of a uniformly distributed three-dimensional (3D) continuous ceramic nanofillers, which allows for extremely high loading (∼19 vol %) in the polymer matrix without any concern of aggregation and loss in transparency.

Highly effective Cs removal by turbidity-free potassium copper hexacyanoferrate-immobilized magnetic hydrogels.

Potassium copper hexacyanoferrate-immobilized magnetic hydrogel (MHPVA) has been synthesized via a facile freeze/thaw crosslinking method. The citric acid coated FeO is embedded into the hydrogel matrix to facilitate the dispersion of nano-sized KCuHCF particles for Cs removal, followed by the rapid recovery of the composite in a magnetic field. The Cs adsorption behavior of the MHPVA is fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Highly transparent poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-acryloisobutyl POSS) for 100 μm-thick submicron patterns with an aspect ratio over 100.

This is the first report on the fabrication of defect-free submicron structures with more than 100 μm thickness and an aspect ratio over 100. Highly transparent poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-acryloisobutyl POSS) (PGP) was synthesized via radical polymerization. The mechanical properties of the PGP submicron structure displayed a Young's modulus of 6.

Size-dependent hardness of five-fold twin structured Ag nanowires.

In this study, the size dependent hardness of silver nanowires with a five-fold twin structure was examined using nanoindentation. As the diameter of the nanowires is reduced, the five-fold twin boundaries restrict the dislocation motion, and therefore a size dependent plasticity is expected for these uniquely structured nanowires. The polyol reduction method with modifications was used to synthesize silver nanowires with different diameters in the range of 70 nm to 144 nm.

Solution-Processed Ag Nanowires + PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Electrode for Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin-Film Solar Cells.

Unlabelled: To reduce the cost of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells while maximizing the efficiency, we report the use of an Ag nanowires (NWs) + poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (

Pedot: PSS) hybrid transparent electrode, which was deposited using all-solution-processed, low-cost, scalable methods. This is the first demonstration of an Ag NWs +

Pedot: PSS transparent electrode applied to CIGS solar cells. The spin-coated 10-nm-thick

Pedot: PSS conducting polymer layer in our hybrid electrode functioned as a filler of empty space of an electrostatically sprayed Ag NW network.

Highly transparent Au-coated Ag nanowire transparent electrode with reduction in haze.

Ag nanowire transparent electrode has excellent transmittance and sheet resistance, yet its optical haze still needs to be improved in order for it to be suitable for display applications. Ag nanowires are known to have high haze because of the geometry of the nanowire and the high light scattering characteristic of the Ag. In this study, a Au-coated Ag nanowire structure was proposed to reduce the haze, where a thin layer of Au was coated on the surface of the Ag nanowires using a mild [Au(en)2]Cl3 galvanic displacement reaction.

Highly reliable ag nanowire flexible transparent electrode with mechanically welded junctions.

Deformation behavior of the Ag nanowire flexible transparent electrode under bending strain is studied and results in a novel approach for highly reliable Ag nanowire network with mechanically welded junctions. Bending fatigue tests up to 500,000 cycles are used to evaluate the in situ resistance change while imposing fixed, uniform bending strain. In the initial stages of bending cycles, the thermally annealed Ag nanowire networks show a reduction in fractional resistance followed by a transient and steady-state increase at later stages of cycling.

Electrostatic spray deposition of highly transparent silver nanowire electrode on flexible substrate.

In this work, a modified polyol synthesis by adding KBr and by replacing the AgCl with NaCl seed was used to obtain high quality silver nanowires with long aspect ratios with an average length of 13.5 μm in length and 62.5 nm in diameter.

Evolutionary design principles of modules that control cellular differentiation: consequences for hysteresis and multistationarity.

Motivation: Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) govern cellular differentiation processes and enable construction of multicellular organisms from single cells. Although such networks are complex, there must be evolutionary design principles that shape the network to its present form, gaining complexity from simple modules.

Results: To isolate particular design principles, we have computationally evolved random regulatory networks with a preference to result either in hysteresis (switching threshold depending on current state), or in multistationarity (having multiple steady states), two commonly observed dynamical features of GRNs related to differentiation processes.