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An innovative photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC)-based self-powered system was developed by integrating the perovskite Ag3BiO3/Ti3C2 MXene plasmonic heterojunction with a self-breathing strategy, which was beneficial for developing high-performance self-powered photoelectrochemical biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the development of highly efficient Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrates through femtosecond (fs) laser processing of crystalline silicon (Si), resulting in mountain-like microstructures. These microstructures, when decorated with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), exhibit remarkable SERS performance due to the creation of concentrated hotspots. The enhanced Raman signals originate from the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au NPs and the multi-scale rough morphology of the Si substrates. Finite-element method simulations confirm the electromagnetic field enhancement in narrow gaps, supporting the experimental observations. The fabricated substrates show high uniformity, oxidation resistance, long-term stability, and exceptional reproducibility, making them ideal for molecular detection, especially in food safety applications. A remarkable enhancement factor (EF) of 1010 is attained in the detection of Malachite Green (MG), boasting a limit of detection (LoD) as low as 10−14 M. This underscores the immense potential of this technique for achieving highly sensitive and dependable SERS-based sensing capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploration of highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen production is critically important for their practical applications in water splitting. Herein, we present Ru nanoparticle-anchored MoO2 nanoflowers as an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The Ru/MoO2 catalysts are synthesized by a mild hydrothermal route combined with thermal reduction. The strong electronic interactions between Ru and MoO2 confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations lead to better hydrogen adsorption abilities and produce many more active sites. As a result, the optimized Ru/MoO2 hybrid delivers outstanding HER performance in an acid solution, with a low overpotential of 39 mV to reach an electric current density of 10 mA/cm2, a small Tafel slope of 50 mV/dec, and superior long-term stability. The work presents a good strategy to develop efficient and stable HER catalysts by introducing strong electronic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared on quartz substrates and silicon wafers using the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique with high-purity graphite as the target material. Simultaneously, a permanent NdFeB magnet was placed on the substrate site to study the effect of an additional external magnetic field on the film growth. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the microstructure and surface morphology of the nitrogen-doped DLC films with and without additional magnetic field. The obtained results indicate that the deposited DLC films were amorphous for both conditions. The C1s and N1s core energy levels of the XPS spectrum confirmed the formation of N=C, N≡C, and N–C bonds in the films. With an increasing nitrogen flow rate, the nitrogen content of the DLC films prepared without an additional magnetic field increased. When the nitrogen flow rate was 9 sccm, the maximum nitrogen content in the film prepared without an additional magnetic field was 24.33%. However, the maximum nitrogen content in the film prepared with an additional magnetic field increased to 32.55%, at the nitrogen flow rate of 3 sccm, and the sp3/sp2 ratio reached 1.39. The SEM results showed that the surface of the nitrogen-doped DLC film was smooth, flat, and compact after the application of the additional magnetic field, and the film was closely bonded with the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic and geometric structures of Sr/Si surface were investigated by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. One-dimensional(1D) atomic concerted motion phenomenon was observed on this surface. Three reasons contribute to this phenomenon: First, low metal coverage of 1/6 monolayer with low energy occupation sites; second, weak interaction between Sr and Si substrate; third, surface vacancy formed in the high temperature annealing process and thermal fluctuation energy at room temperature. This findings lead to the conclusions that (3×2) reconstruction of Sr/Si system behave typical one-dimensional diffusion property at room temperature.

Low-cost and resource-rich non-noble metal plasmonic materials have attracted tremendous attention as potential substitutes for plasmonic noble metals. Herein, 3D nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogels (NGH) decorated with Ti3+ self-doped 1D rod-shaped titanium dioxide nanorods (TiO2-x NR), 10–25 nm in size, were prepared by a facile one-step method. It was found that the as-fabricated TiO2-x NR/NGH showed a synergistic effect, displaying enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity by controlling the nanoscale architecture and improving the electronic properties, while also producing abundant oxygen vacancies, which extended the light harvesting and suppressed the recombination of electron–hole pairs induced by the non-noble metal surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. In particular, the transient-state photocurrent intensity of the TiO2-x NR/NGH composites was 5.1 times as high as that of pure TiO2. Therefore, the TiO2-x NR/NGH composites could serve as a substrate material for PEC sensing, providing a good basis for selective and sensitive detection of chlorpyrifos. Under optimal conditions, the constructed PEC sensor was found to have several advantages including a broad linear range (0.05 ng/mL–0.5 μg/mL), low detection limit (0.017 ng/mL), and considerable stability, demonstrating that the sensor may offer a promising route in the field of environmental analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]