scholarly journals Order beyond a monolayer: the story of two 4,4’-bipyridine layers on the Sb(111) | ionic liquid interface

Author(s):  
Heigo Ers ◽  
Liis Siinor ◽  
Carolin Siimenson ◽  
Enn Lust ◽  
Piret Pikma

The interface between semi-metallic Sb(111) electrode and ionic liquid with 4,4’-bipyridine addition has been studied. Using in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the desorption of 4,4’-bipyridine was demonstrated and a dense underlying structure, formed below a sparse self-assembled monolayer, was visualized. The first SAM layer in contact with the electrode consisted of tightly packed ordered rows, which fine structure has been identified with density functional theory calculations supported by machine learning. The second SAM layer, on top of the first, is characterised by low surface concentration and its unit cell was obtained experimentally. The detection of two separate adsorbed layers indicates that the ordering of organic molecules could extend well beyond the monolayer on the electrode’s surface. These insights are of fundamental and practical importance in the development of nanoelectronic devices.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaozhuan Huang ◽  
Ye Wang ◽  
Junping Hu ◽  
Yew Von Lim ◽  
Dezhi Kong ◽  
...  

Abstract Modifying a polypropylene (PP) separator with a polysulfide barrier layer can improve the cycling performance of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. However, conventional slurry-coating- and vacuum-filtration-designed barriers usually show poor particle connection and require extra binder. Herein, we propose a facile in situ growth method and a subsequent compression strategy to design multifunctional NiCo2S4 (NiCoS) nanosheet arrays on a PP membrane for high-performance Li–S batteries. The in situ grown NiCoS nanosheet arrays are interconnected, conductive and closely adhered to the PP membrane without using any binder. After mechanical compression treatment, the overall NiCoS film is compacted, lightweight (0.148 mg cm−2) and ultrathin (0.8 μm). Density functional theory calculations combined with adsorption and diffusion tests prove that the NiCoS nanosheets have highly efficient physical/chemical entrapping capabilities for preventing polysulfide shuttling. Moreover, in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy demonstrated that the NiCoS barrier could efficiently suppress polysulfide diffusion and concurrently facilitate redox reactions. When applying this multifunctional separator, a sulfur/carbon nanotube (S/CNT) cathode with high sulfur content (75 wt%) delivers significantly improved long-term cycling performance, with 0.056% capacity decay per cycle over 500 cycles. This work opens up new opportunities to design multifunctional separators by an in situ growth strategy for high-performance Li–S batteries.


Author(s):  
Yang Gao ◽  
Xing Chen ◽  
Shuqi Hu ◽  
Shiguo Zhang

Au-doped SrTiO3 perovskite oxide catalyst (Sr0.995Au0.005TiO3-δ) has been designed and synthesized based on thermodynamic analysis and density functional theory calculations. During reduction, Au nanoparticles with an average diameter of 2...


2006 ◽  
Vol 917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilpa Dubey ◽  
Keijing Li ◽  
Harish Bhandari ◽  
Zheng Hu ◽  
C. Heath Turner ◽  
...  

AbstractHafnium oxide ultra thin films on Si (100) are being developed to replace thermally grown SiO2 gates in CMOS devices. In this work, a specially designed Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) reaction cell has been developed to observe chemisorption of hafnium (IV) t-butoxide onto a Si and Ge ATR crystal heated up to 250°C and under 1 torr of vacuum to observe the initial reaction pathways and species on the substrate surface in real time and under typical process conditions. Chemisorption spectra were compared to spectra of the liquid precursor and to spectra generated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations of liquid, monodentate and bidentate absorbed precursor. An asymmetric stretching mode located at ~1017 cm-1 present in the chemisorbed spectra but not in the liquid spectra indicates that the adsorbed hafnium containing group is prevalent as a bidentate ligand according to calculations. Surface concentration of the chemisorbed species was dependant on the substrate temperature and precursor partial pressure allowing for determination of heats of adsorption which was 26.5 kJ/mol on Si.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Souza ◽  
Lorenzo Dona ◽  
Kirill Titov ◽  
Paolo Bruzzese ◽  
Zhixin Zeng ◽  
...  

Nanocomposites comprising metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) embedded in a polymeric matrix are promising carriers for drug delivery applications. While understanding the chemical and physical transformations of MOFs during the release of confined drug molecules is challenging, this is central to devising better ways for controlled release of therapeutic agents. Herein we demonstrate the efficacy of synchrotron microspectroscopy to track the in situ release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) anticancer drug molecules from a drug@MOF/polymer composite (5-FU@HKUST-1/polyurethane). Using experimental time-resolved infrared spectra jointly with newly developed density functional theory calculations, we reveal the detailed dynamics of vibrational motions underpinning the dissociation of 5-FU bound to the framework of HKUST-1 upon water exposure. We discover that HKUST-1 creates hydrophilic channels within the hydrophobic polyurethane matrix hence helping to tune drug release rate. The synergy between a hydrophilic MOF with a hydrophobic polymer can be harnessed to engineer a tunable nanocomposite that alleviates the unwanted burst effect commonly encountered in drug delivery.<br>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Souza ◽  
Lorenzo Dona ◽  
Kirill Titov ◽  
Paolo Bruzzese ◽  
Zhixin Zeng ◽  
...  

Nanocomposites comprising metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) embedded in a polymeric matrix are promising carriers for drug delivery applications. While understanding the chemical and physical transformations of MOFs during the release of confined drug molecules is challenging, this is central to devising better ways for controlled release of therapeutic agents. Herein we demonstrate the efficacy of synchrotron microspectroscopy to track the in situ release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) anticancer drug molecules from a drug@MOF/polymer composite (5-FU@HKUST-1/polyurethane). Using experimental time-resolved infrared spectra jointly with newly developed density functional theory calculations, we reveal the detailed dynamics of vibrational motions underpinning the dissociation of 5-FU bound to the framework of HKUST-1 upon water exposure. We discover that HKUST-1 creates hydrophilic channels within the hydrophobic polyurethane matrix hence helping to tune drug release rate. The synergy between a hydrophilic MOF with a hydrophobic polymer can be harnessed to engineer a tunable nanocomposite that alleviates the unwanted burst effect commonly encountered in drug delivery.<br>


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 2364-2373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Zhang ◽  
Alexander B. Brady ◽  
Christopher J. Pelliccione ◽  
David C. Bock ◽  
Andrea M. Bruck ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas H. Bashian ◽  
Mateusz Zuba ◽  
Ahamed Irshad, ◽  
Shona Becwar ◽  
Julija Vinckeviciute ◽  
...  

<div>We report the successful electrochemical intercalation of F-ions into a densely packed perovskite oxide from a liquid electrolyte at room temperature. Using galvanostatic oxidation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy coupled with operando X-ray diffraction, we show that roughly 0.5 equivalents of F-ions can be inserted onto the vacant A-site of the perovskite ReO3. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the intercalated phase is thermodynamically unfavorable compared to other less densely packed polymorphs of ReO3F. Pairing X-ray spectroscopy, neutron total scattering measurements, and magic-angle spinning 19F NMR confirms a rapid decomposition of the product on removal from the cell but nevertheless, these results clearly demonstrate that small anions like fluoride can be intercalated into solids as readily as alkali cations at room temperature, which opens new opportunities to electrochemically fluorinate many new materials.</div>


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