Search

Two-dimensional conjugated coordination polymers exhibit remarkable charge transport properties, with copper-based benzenehexathiol (Cu-BHT) being a rare superconductor. However, the atomic structure of Cu-BHT has remained unresolved, hindering a deeper understanding of the superconductivity in such materials. Here, we show the synthesis of single crystals of Cu3BHT with high crystallinity, revealing a quasi-two-dimensional kagome structure with non-van der Waals interlayer Cu-S covalent bonds. These crystals exhibit intrinsic metallic behavior, with conductivity reaching 103 S/cm at 300 K and 104 S/cm at 2 K. Notably, superconductivity in Cu3BHT crystals is observed at 0.25 K, attributed to enhanced electron-electron interactions and electron-phonon coupling in the non-van der Waals structure. The discovery of this clear correlation between atomic-level crystal structure and electrical properties provides a crucial foundation for advancing superconductor coordination polymers, with potential to revolutionize future quantum devices. Two-dimensional conjugated coordination polymers can show large electrical conductivity. Here, the authors synthesize high-quality single crystals of Cu3BHT to unveil the atomic structure and intrinsic superconducting properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alignment, functionalization and detection of carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles are vital processes for utilizing this one-dimensional nanomaterial in electronics. Here, we report a polymer-assisted wet shearing method to acquire super-aligned crater-patterned CNT arrays by nanobubble (NB) self-assembly with a "migrate and aggregation" mechanism and use craters to controllably mold even-sized nanodisks periodically along CNT bundles with tunable densities. This green, low-cost method can be extended to diverse substrates and fabricate different nanodisks. As an example, the Ag-nanodisk-patterned CNT arrays are utilized as substrates of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for rhodamine 6G (R6G) and methylene blue (MB) in which a linear correlation is found between the SERS intensity and the CNT bundle density due to the periodic distribution of hot spots, enabling a spectral detection of CNT bundles and their densities by conventional dye molecules. Distinguishing from routine morphological characterization, this spectral method possesses an enhanced accuracy and a detection range of 0.1–2 µm−1, showing its uniqueness in the detection of CNT bundle density since the intensity of traditional spectral merely relates to the quantity of CNTs, exhibiting its potential in future CNT-bundle-based electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving thermal ice melting efficiency is very important in the practical application of anti-icing surfaces. This work investigated the thermal ice melting performance of micro-nano-structured surfaces fabricated by femtosecond laser. To the best of our knowledge, we found that the micro-nano-structured surfaces significantly improve the ice melting time for the first time. The shortest melting time was on the porous micro-nano-structured surface, about one third of the original surface. Moreover, it was proven that the accelerated ice melting surface had good durability. The research in this paper showed that the micro-nano-structured surfaces are very suitable for the surface that needs to be heated to melt ice, providing essential guidance for the design of the anti-icing surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of water pollution has emerged as a formidable challenge, prompting a pressing need for solutions. The utilization of metal nanoparticles with surface plasmon resonance and semiconductor composite photocatalysts is regarded as a highly effective approach to solve this problem. g-C3N4 is an effective catalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants. Its photocatalytic performance is usually enhanced by the use of the noble metal Au Ag. However, the high cost of these materials limits their application. In this study, we present the synthesis of Al NPs/g-C3N4 nanocomposites using the bridging effect of ligands. The characterized of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) proved that Al NPs/g-C3N4 with a wider light absorption range were successfully synthesized. The effects of ligands, (glutathione (GSH), glutamic acid (GAG), and cysteine (CYS)), Al diameter (40 to 200 nm) and the ratio of Al to g-C3N4 (1:1 to 5:1) on the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by Al NPs/g-C3N4 were also evaluated. The results showed that the optimum degradation efficiency of Al NPs/g-C3N4 for MB at 5 mg/L reached 100% within 60 min, which was 11 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4. The principal analysis of Al enhancing the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 was studied through transient photocurrent spectroscopy (TPC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and steady-state transient fluorescence spectroscopy (PL). The results confirmed that hot carriers generated by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Al nanoparticles increase the carrier concentration. In addition, the Schottky barrier generated by Al and g-C3N4 could also improve the carrier separation rate and increase the carrier lifetime. This work is expected to solve the problem of organic wastewater treatment and lay the foundation for subsequent research on photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2 is a catalyst that can effectively degrade organic pollutants with the following advantages, low cost, simplicity, and pollution-free nature. In recent years, the non-noble plasmonic metal Al has effectively improved the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. However, the current reports are limited to the photocatalytic performance of Al/TiO2 on the substrate, which requires expensive large-scale vacuum equipment. In this study, monodispersed Al particles were proposed to enhance the photocatalysis of TiO2. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Al is proven by finite difference time domain method (FDTF) simulation. Then, Al/TiO2 composites were prepared by combining monodispersed Al and TiO2. The influence of ligand (glutathione (GSH), glutamic acid (GAG), or 3-mercaptopropane acid (MPA)), Al size (40 to 300 nm), and the ratio of Al to TiO2 (0.5:1 to 10:1) on the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by Al/TiO2 were discussed. The obtained results showed that the Al/TiO2 composite which were prepared with 200 nm Al particles, GSH as the ligand bridge, and an Al:TiO2 ratio of 1:1 had the best MB degradation effect. It can degrade 97.7% of 10 mg/L MB in 100 min. The reaction rate of the Al/TiO2 composite with the optimal photocatalytic performance is k=3.36×10-2 min-1, which is 10 times that of P25 TiO2. In addition, Al/TiO2 has a good photocatalytic effect on rhodamine B (RhB) and crystal violet (CV). Therefore, Al/TiO2 composites with the advantage of high efficiency are a type of potential photocatalytic material that can be used for the photocatalytic treatment of organic pollutants in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible films based on ZnO are usually prepared by high-cost physical methods such as sputtering and atomic layer deposition. Due to the low-temperature requirement of flexible substrate, it is difficult to synthesize flexible transparent conductive films with good conductivity using a low-cost chemical method in reality. Although the sol-combustion method can realize low-temperature chemical synthesis of a transparent conductive film, its electrical resistivity is high and cannot be applied to flexible electronic equipment. Here, we present a kind of transparent conductive composite with sandwich structure of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) as skin and silver nanowires (AgNWs) as sandwich by low-cost wet chemical methods. Since the resistivity of ZnO is not as low as that of metals. The metal layer and metal nanowires can embed between two transparent conductive layers, improving the electrical conductivity effectively. At the same time, the crystal structure and surface morphology of the film have been studied, and the influence of the concentration of silver nanowires on the surface morphology and photoelectric properties of the film has also been studied. The results show that the AZO–AgNWs–AZO composites film with AgNWs concentration of 3.6 mg/L showed the optimal optical and electrical performance. And the composites film showed excellent long-term stability and bending stability. In summary, the AZO–AgNWs–AZO sandwich structure composites have a great potential to improve flexible electronics including organic light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells and wearable electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]