Composite Engineering Facilitates High-Performance CuSe-GeTe Thermoelectrics.

CuSe has emerged as a promising thermoelectric material due to its low lattice thermal conductivity, high Seebeck coefficient, and high peak figure of merit () at elevated temperatures. However, its performance is limited by a high intrinsic carrier concentration and low carrier mobility. In this work, we investigate CuSe-based composites to overcome these challenges by introducing GeTe as compound phase to optimize carrier concentration, enhance mobility, and promote phonon scattering.

Lanthanide MOF-based luminescent sensor array for detection and identification of contaminants in water and biomarkers.

In today's society, heavy metal ions and antibiotic contaminants have caused great harm to water systems and human health. In this study, six isostructural lanthanide metal-organic frameworks [Ln(Himda)(TPA)(HO)](Tb for CUST-881, Eu for CUST-882, Dy for CUST-883, Er for CUST-884, Nd for CUST-885, Sm for CUST-886) were constructed by selecting terephthalic acid (TPA) and 4,5-Imidazoledicarboxylic acid (Himda) and lanthanide metal ions via solvethermal method. Among them, CUST-881 and CUST-882 can selectively detect Fe, CrO, CrO, and ceftriaxone sodium (CRO) in water systems and uric acid in urine.

Divacancy and resonance level enables high thermoelectric performance in n-type SnSe polycrystals.

N-type polycrystalline SnSe is considered as a highly promising candidates for thermoelectric applications due to facile processing, machinability, and scalability. However, existing efforts do not enable a peak ZT value exceeding 2.0 in n-type polycrystalline SnSe.

Achieving High Isotropic Figure of Merit in Cd and in Codoped Polycrystalline SnSe.

Here, we combined Cd and In codoping with a simple hydrothermal synthesis method to prepare SnSe powders composed of nanorod-like flowers. After spark plasma sintering, its internal grains inherited well the morphological features of the precursor, and the multiscale microstructure included nanorod-shaped grains, high-density dislocations, and stacking faults, as well as abundant nanoprecipitates, resulting in an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.15 W m K for the synthesized material.

CdSe Quantum Dots Enable High Thermoelectric Performance in Solution-Processed Polycrystalline SnSe.

Here, a high peak ZT of ≈2.0 is reported in solution-processed polycrystalline Ge and Cd codoped SnSe. Microstructural characterization reveals that CdSe quantum dots are successfully introduced by solution process method.

Band Modification and Localized Lattice Engineering Leads to High Thermoelectric Performance in Ge and Bi Codoped SnTe-AgBiTe Alloys.

SnTe, emerging as an environment-friendly alternative to conventional PbTe thermoelectrics, has drawn significant attention for clean energy conversion. Here, a high peak figure of merit (ZT) of 1.45 at 873 K in Ge/Bi codoped SnTe-AgBiTe alloys is reported.

Lattice Distortions and Multiple Valence Band Convergence Contributing to High Thermoelectric Performance in MnTe.

Here, a new route is proposed for the minimization of lattice thermal conductivity in MnTe through considerable increasing phonon scattering by introducing dense lattice distortions. Dense lattice distortions can be induced by Cu and Ag dopants possessing large differences in atom radius with host elements, which causes strong phonon scattering and results in extremely low lattice thermal conductivity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Cu and Ag codoping enables multiple valence band convergence and produces a high density of state values in the electronic structure of MnTe, contributing to the large Seebeck coefficient.

Identification and Functional Analysis of Key Autophosphorylation Residues of Arabidopsis Senescence Associated Receptor-like Kinase.

Reversible protein phosphorylation mediated by protein kinases and phosphatases plays important roles in the regulation of leaf senescence. We previously reported that the senescence-associated leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase AtSARK autophosphorylates on both serine/threonine and tyrosine residues and functions as a positive regulator of Arabidopsis leaf senescence; the senescence-suppressed protein phosphatase SSPP interacts with and dephosphorylates the cytoplasmic domain of AtSARK, thereby negatively regulating leaf senescence. Here, 27 autophosphorylation residues of AtSARK were revealed by mass spectrometry analysis, and six of them, including two Ser, two Thr, and two Tyr residues, were further found to be important for the biological functions of AtSARK.

Realizing High Thermoelectric Performance in p-Type SnSe Crystals via Convergence of Multiple Electronic Valence Bands.

SnSe crystals have gained considerable interest for their outstanding thermoelectric performance. Here, we achieve excellent thermoelectric properties in SnPbZnSe crystals via valence band convergence and point-defect engineering strategies. We demonstrate that Pb and Zn codoping converges the energy offset between multiple valence bands by significantly modifying the band structure, contributing to the enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient.

Face-Directed Assembly of Molecular Cubes: In Situ Substitution of a Predetermined Concave Cluster.

Systematic design and self-assembly of metal-organic polyhedra with predictable configurations has been a long-standing challenge in crystal engineering. Herein a concave polyoxovanadate cluster, [V O (OCH ) (SO ) ] , which can be generated in situ under specific reaction conditions, is reported. Based on this cluster, a potential trivalent molecular building block, [V O (OCH ) (SO )(CO ) ] , can be obtained by the bridging-ligand-substitution strategy and it possesses appropriate angle information for the design of molecular cubes.

Two polyoxovanadate-based metal-organic polyhedra with undiscovered "near-miss Johnson solid" geometry.

Newfangled frangipani-like [MVO(μ-O)(SO)(COO)] (M = Nb/W) polyanions served as 5-connected molecular building blocks (MBBs) that simultaneously assembled with 4-connected [VOCl] MBBs and tricarboxylate ligands (HBTC) to form two new polyoxovanadate-based metal-organic polyhedra {[MVO(μ-O)(SO)][VOCl](BTC)} with undiscovered "near-miss Johnson solid" geometry. Moreover, the variable-temperature magnetic susceptibilities were investigated.

Bottom-Up Construction and Reversible Structural Transformation of Supramolecular Isomers based on Large Truncated Tetrahedra.

A rational synthetic strategy to construct two supramolecular isomers based on polyoxovanadate organic polyhedra with tetrahedral symmetries is presented. VMOP-α, a low-temperature product, has an extremely large cell volume (470 842 Å ), which is one of the top three for well-defined MOPs. The corner-to-corner packing of tetrahedra leads to a quite low density of 0.

Functionalized polyoxometalate-based metal-organic cuboctahedra for selective adsorption toward cationic dyes in aqueous solution.

Two functionalized polyoxovanadate-based metal-organic polyhedra with heterocube formations are synthesized under solvothermal conditions. The structures of VMOP-18 and VMOP-19 display similar cuboctahedral geometries when the polyoxovanadate {V6O6(OCH3)9X(COO)3}n- (X = VO4, n = 1; SO4, n = 2) building units and organic ligands are considered as triangular faces of the polyhedra. Each cuboctahedron was surrounded by eight neighbouring cuboctahedra via strong C-Hπ interactions, leading to a 3D open supramolecular structure.

Synthesis, structures, and magnetic properties of metal-organic polyhedra based on unprecedented {V} isopolyoxometalate clusters.

Two isostructural vanadium-based metal-organic polyhedra (denoted as VMOP-16 and VMOP-17) were synthesized by a solvothermal method, which are built from unprecedented {V} isopolyoxometalate clusters and dicarboxylate ligands. To our knowledge, the {V} second building unit is reported for the first time and features the highest nuclearity of vanadium-oxygen clusters compared with reported vanadium-based MOPs.

Anderson-like alkoxo-polyoxovanadate clusters serving as unprecedented second building units to construct metal-organic polyhedra.

Unprecedented Anderson-like alkoxo-polyoxovanadate [V6O6(OCH3)9(μ6-SO4)(COO)3](2-) polyanions can serve as 3-connected second building units (SBUs) that assemble with dicarboxylate or tricarboxylate ligands to form a new family of metal organic tetrahedrons of V4E6 and V4F4 type (V = vertex, E = edge, and F = face). To our knowledge, this alkoxo-polyoxovanadate-based SBU is the first ever reported.