Intrinsic defects in B-site columnar-ordered halide double perovskites CsAgPdBr.

CsAgPdBr is a new type of double perovskite with one-dimensional electronic dimensionality, which is expected to be a promising candidate of photovoltaic materials. Considering that defects usually exist in real materials, in this study, we investigate the intrinsic defect properties of CsAgPdBr from first principles. First, the phase diagram of CsAgPdBr is calculated.

Near-Neighbor Electron Orbital Coupling Effect of Single-Atomic-Layer Au Cluster Intercalated Bilayer 2H-TaS for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing.

It is difficult to perfectly analyze the enhancement mechanism of two-dimensional (2D) materials and their combination with precious metals as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates using chemical enhancement mechanisms. Here, we propose a new mentality based on the coupling effect of neighboring electron orbitals to elucidate the electromagnetic field enhancement mechanism of single-atom-layer Au clusters embedded in double-layer 2H-TaS for SRES sensing. The insertion of Au atoms into the 2H-TaS interlayer was verified by XRD, AFM, and HRTEM, and a SERS signal enhancement of 2 orders of magnitude was obtained compared to the pure 2H-TaS.

Increasing the Efficiency of Photocatalytic Water Splitting via Introducing Intermediate Bands.

Photocatalytic water splitting is a potential way to utilize solar energy. To be practically useful, it is important to have a high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency. In this study, we propose a conceptually new photocatalytic water splitting model based on intermediate bands (IBs).

Dynamic nonlinear connectedness between the green bonds, clean energy, and stock price: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper uses weekly data from July 01, 2011 to July 09, 2021 to examine the dynamic nonlinear connectedness between the green bonds, clean energy, and stock price around the COVID-19 outbreak in the global markets. By building a time-varying parameter vector autoregression model (TVP-VAR), the comparison analyses of pre- and during the COVID-19 sample groups verify the existence of nonlinear and dynamic correlation among the three variables. First, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the simultaneous impacts of clean energy on stock price increased over time.

Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert C. difficile diagnostic assay: an update meta-analysis.

Background: Accurate and rapid diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is critical for effective patient management and implementation of infection control measures to prevent transmission.

Objectives: We updated our previous meta-analysis to provide a more reliable evidence base for the clinical diagnosis of Xpert C. difficile (Xpert C.

Rapid method for direct identification of positive blood cultures by MALDI-TOF MS.

Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using positive blood cultures (BCs) is a revolution in identification of microorganisms in clinical microbiology laboratories. Although there are several commercial pretreatment protocols they are expensive. Here, we evaluated the performance of a locally produced Bioyong pre-treatment kit for the direct identification of microorganisms in positive BCs by MALDI-TOF MS method.

An enhanced low-frequency vibration ZnO nanorod-based tuning fork piezoelectric nanogenerator.

In this paper, a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) based on a tuning fork-shaped cantilever was designed and fabricated, aiming at harvesting low frequency vibration energy in the environment. In the PENG, a tuning fork-shaped elastic beam combined with ZnO nanorods (NRs), instead of conventional rectangular cantilever beams, was adopted to extract vibration energy. Benefiting from the high flexibility and the controllable shape of the substrate, this PENG was extremely sensitive to vibration and can harvest weak vibration energy at a low frequency.

Enhanced performance of ZnO microballoon arrays for a triboelectric nanogenerator.

In recent years, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), harvesting energy from the environment as a sustainable power source, have attracted great attention. Currently, many reports focus on the effect of surface modification on the electrical output performance of the TENG. In this work, we have fabricated vertically grown ZnO microballoon (ZnOMB) arrays on top of pyramid-featured PDMS patterned film, contacted with PTFE film to construct the TENG.