Core–Shell Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen is a promising solution for the conversion and storage of solar energy. Because sluggish water oxidation is the bottleneck of water splitting, the design and preparation of an efficient photoanode is intensively investigated. Currently, all known photoanode materials suffer from at least one of the following drawbacks: ① low carriers separation efficiency; ② sluggish surface water oxidation reaction; ③ poor long-term stability; ④ insufficient water adsorption and gas desorption. Core–shell configurations can endow a photoanode with improved activity and stability by coating an overlayer that plays energetic, catalytic, and/or protective roles. The construction strategy has an important effect on the activity of a core–shell photoanode. Nonetheless, the mechanism for the improvement of performance is still ambiguous and is worthy of a closer examination. In this review, the successes and challenges of core–shell photoanodes for water oxidation, focusing on synthesis strategies as well as functionalities (facilitating carrier separation, surface reaction promotion, corrosion prevention, and bubble detachment) are explored. Finally, the perspectives of this class of materials in terms of new opportunities and efforts are discussed.     

Manipulating the Light-Matter Interaction of PtS/MoS2 p–n Junctions for High Performance Broadband Photodetection

Due to the limited carrier concentration, 2D transition metal dichalcogenides have lower intrinsic dark current, and thus, are widely studied for high performance room photodetection. However, the light-matter interaction is still unclear, thus tuning the photoexcitation and further manipulating the photodetection is a challenge. Herein, large-area PtS films are synthesized, and the growth mechanism is investigated. It is demonstrated that PtS has an orthorhombic structure and exhibits the p-type semiconducting behavior. Then, MoS₂/PtS p–n heterojunction is fabricated, and its energy diagram is discussed based on the Kelvin probe force microscopy. The contact potential difference is about 160 mV, which is much larger than previous 2D junctions facilitating the charge separation. Furthermore, the phototransistor based on MoS₂/PtS p–n heterojunction is prepared, showing broadband photoresponse from visible to near-infrared. The manipulation of an external field on photoresponse, detectivity, and rise/fall time are explored and discussed. The responsivity can reach up to 25.43 A W⁻¹, and the detectivity is 8.54 × 10¹² Jones. These results indicate that PtS film is a prospective candidate for high-performance optoelectronic devices and broaden the scope of infrared detection materials.     

Spectroscopic studies of sol–gel grown CdS nanocrystalline thin films for optoelectronic devices

CdS is one of the highly photosensitive candidate of II–VI group semiconductor material. Therefore CdS has variety of applications in optoelectronic devices. In this paper, we have fabricated CdS nanocrystalline thin film on ultrasonically cleaned glass substrates using the sol–gel spin coating method. The structural and surface morphologies of the CdS thin film were investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) respectively. The surface morphology of thin films showed that the well covered substrate is without cracks, voids and hole. The round shape particle has been observed in SEM micrographs. The particles sizes of CdS nanocrystals from SEM were estimated to be～10–12 nm. Spectroscopic properties of thin films were investigated using the UV–vis spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. The optical band gap of the CdS thin film was estimated by UV–vis spectroscopy. The average transmittance of CdS thin film in the visible region of solar spectrum found to be～85%. Optical band gap of CdS thin film was calculated from transmittance spectrum ～2.71 eV which is higher than bulk CdS (2.40 eV) material. This confirms the blue shifting in band edge of CdS nanocrystalline thin films. PL spectrum of thin films showed that the fundamental band edge emission peak centred at 459 nm also recall as green band emission.     

Sol–gel derived nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films: A promising candidate for self-cleaning smart window applications

In the present work, anatase TiO₂ films are prepared by sol–gel spin coating method. The structural and optical properties of the films have been studied at different post-annealing temperatures. The photocatalytic activity and electrochromic performance of the films are investigated. The films annealed at 400 °C exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity with a rate constant of 4.56×10⁻³ min⁻¹. The electrochromic performance for the films annealed at 400 °C expressed in terms of difference in optical density (ΔOD) at 550 nm between coloured and bleached state is 0.5493. This combination of photocatalysis and electrochromism makes the sol–gel derived titania thin films as promising candidates for self-cleaning smart window applications.     

Test and Analysis for Spraying Ammonia in Diesel Engine

A certain amount of ammonia reducer were directly injected into the 4102BZLQ Diesel engine’s combustion chamber when the combustion temperature decreases to 1573-1073K, NOx generated could be reduced to 1.11g/(kW·h). Based on PRF combustion mechanism, NO was tested by using the heavy-duty diesel engine test cycle of ESC thirteen conditions[1], the ammonia spray angle and amount were tested and optimized in different conditions. The test results show that the thermal efficiency of Diesel engine does not decrease while NO exhaust decreases.     

柴油机润滑系统仿真及实验研究

通过一维液压仿真软件对某柴油机润滑系统进行了仿真;根据相关流动参数的仿真结果,分析润滑系统的压力分布.试验研究验证了结果的正确性;通过结构改进优化了柴油机润滑系统的流量和压力分布.     

高压共轨柴油机喷油系统性能仿真研究

对高压共轨喷油系统高压油泵、共轨管、电控喷油器等进行了分析,建立了高压共轨喷油系统数学模型;采用GT-FUEL以燃油流动过程为基本流动模型建立了高压共轨喷油系统仿真模型;对高压共轨喷油系统进行了台架试验,对试验结果进行了分析,并对仿真模型的计算精度进行了验证,误差在8.1%以内.     

A highly luminescent organic crystal with the well-balanced charge transport property: The role of cyano-substitution in the terminal phenyl unit of distyrylbenzene

1,4-bis(2-cyano styryl)benzene (2-CSB) crystal with cyano substituent groups introduced to the terminal phenyl rings of distyrylbenzene (DSB) has been prepared and its luminescence efficiency could be as high as ∼55%. Based on the analyses of cyclic voltammetry and crystal structure, cyano substituents not only lower the LUMO level but also result in a change of the packing mode from the herringbone arrangement to the face-to-face slipped π stacking motif. Then field-effect transistors (FETs) based on high-quality 2-CSB crystals grown by the physical vapor transport method have been fabricated and the highest hole and electron mobilities were measured as 0.66 and 0.29 cm²/Vs, which enhanced the corresponding values of DSB crystal by up to one and two orders of magnitude, respectively. 2-CSB crystal simultaneously combined the high luminescence and the well-balanced mobility is expected to be of interest for the fundamental research of organic light-emitting devices.     

Improved bias stress stability of In–Ga–Zn–O thin film transistors by UV–ozone treatments of channel/dielectric interfaces

Possibility of improving the bias stress stability of amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) was explored by irradiating the channel/dielectric interface with ultraviolet (UV) light during the device fabrication process. The UV treatment of the channel/dielectric interface did not cause significant changes in the device performance itself. However, when the TFTs were tested under prolonged gate bias stress, the device with longest UV treatment showed the smallest time dependence of threshold voltage shift. This accompanied the smallest changes in the field effect mobility and subthreshold swing with extended bias stress. Such improvements in bias stress stability are attributed to the modification of the channel/dielectric interface due to the UV-generated ozone that in turn decreased the interface trap density and structurally modified the interface region on the dielectric side to prevent the redistribution of the trapped charges.     

Comparison of structural,spectral and magnetic properties of NiO nanofibers obtained by sol–gel electrospinning from two different polymeric binders

NiO is a p-type semiconductor with wide band gap energy. In this study, nickel oxide nanofibers were fabricated by sol–gel electrospinning followed by high temperature calcination, using two sacrificial polymeric binders. Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) in water and styrene-acrylonitrile random copolymer (SAN) in N,N- dimethylformamide (DMF) along with nickel (II) acetate tetrahydrate (NATH), as metal oxide precursor, were the two distinct polymeric systems used in this study. The morphological and structural properties of NiO fibers obtained from the aforementioned systems were compared with each other. The degradation behavior of the sacrificial polymeric binder imparted a significant effect on the properties of the obtained NiO fibers. The grain sizes and the activation energies for grain growth of NiO fibers from two systems were different. The non-stoichiometric NiO fibers obtained from the SAN/NATH system had a better ferromagnetic behavior as compared with that produced from the PEtOx/NATH system. This non-stoichiometry made a difference also in the optical band gap energies of the NiO nanofibers.