Coulomb blockade and Coulomb staircases in CoBi nanoislands on SrTiO(001).

We successfully fabricated two-dimensional metallic CoBi nanoislands on SrTiO(001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy, and systematically investigated their electronic structures by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopyat 4.2 K. Coulomb blockade and Coulomb staircases with discrete and well-separated levels are observed for the individual nanoisland, which is attributed to single-electron tunneling via two tunnel junction barriers.

Investigations on Grating-Enhanced Waveguides for Wide-Angle Light Couplings.

As a universal physical scheme, effective light couplings to waveguides favor numerous applications. However, the low coupling efficiency at wide angles prohibits this fundamental functionality and thus lowers the performance levels of photonic systems. As previously found, the transmission gratings patterned on waveguide facets could significantly improve the large-angle-inputted efficiency to the order of 10-1.

Strategic Design of a Bifunctional NiFeCoW@NC Hybrid to Replace the Noble Platinum for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells and Hydrogen Evolution Reactions.

High-performance triiodide reduction reaction (IRR) catalysts in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts in electrochemical water splitting are extremely compelling for renewable energy conversion and storage. The best IRR and HER catalysts generally rely on the use of noble metal platinum (Pt), which suffers obstacles in real-world implementation. The rational design of efficient bifunctional IRR and HER catalysts based on inexpensive and earth-abundant elements to replace scarce Pt could enable low-cost photoelectric conversion and hydrogen production but is challenging and rarely reported.

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a 4,4'-bipyridine Linked Dinuclear Copper(II) Complex Derived from 2-{[2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)ethylimino]methyl}-6-methylphenol.

A novel 4,4'-bipyridine linked dinuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu2L2(bipy)](NO3)2·bipy (L = 2-[2-(2-hydroxyethylamino) ethylimino]methyl-6-methylphenol; bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine), was prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The Cu···Cu distance is 11.129(2) Å.