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We report on the delithiation of LiCoO 2 thin films using oxalic acid (C 2 H 2 O 4 ) with the goal of understanding the structural degradation of an insertion oxide associated with Li chemical extraction. Using a multi-technique approach that includes synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, micro Raman spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy we reveal the balance between selective Li extraction and structural damage. We identify three different delithiation regimes, related to surface processes, bulk delithiation and damage generation. We find that only a fraction of the grains is affected by the delithiation process, which may create local inhomogeneities. However, the bulk delithiation regime is effective to delithiate the LCO film. All experimental evidence collected indicates that the delithiation process in this regime mimics the behavior of LCO upon electrochemical delithiation. We discard the formation of Co oxalate during the chemical extraction process. In conclusion, the chemical route to Li extraction provides additional opportunities to investigate delithiation while avoiding the complications associated with electrolyte breakdown and simplifying in-situ measurements.

This work investigates the growth of B-C-N layers by chemical vapor deposition using methylamine borane (MeAB) as the single-source precursor. MeAB has been synthesized and characterized, paying particular attention to the analysis of its thermolysis products, which are the gaseous precursors for B-C-N growth. Samples have been grown on Cu foils and transferred onto different substrates for their morphological, structural, chemical, electronic and optical characterizations. The results of these characterizations indicate a segregation of h-BN and graphene-like (Gr) domains. However, there is an important presence of B and N interactions with C at the Gr borders, and of C interacting at the h-BN-edges, respectively, in the obtained nano-layers. In particular, there is a significant presence of C-N bonds, at Gr/h-BN borders and in the form of N doping of Gr domains. The overall B:C:N contents in the layers is close to 1:3:1.5. A careful analysis of the optical bandgap determination of the obtained B-C-N layers is presented, discussed and compared with previous seminal works with samples of similar composition.

The possibility of spatially resolving the optical properties of atomically thin materials is especially appealing as they can be modulated at the micro- and nanoscale by reducing their thickness, changing the doping level or applying a mechanical deformation. Therefore, optical spectroscopy techniques with high spatial resolution are necessary to get a deeper insight into the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here we study the optical absorption of single- and few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) in the spectral range from 1.24 eV to 3.22 eV (385 nm to 1000 nm) by developing a hyperspectral imaging technique that allows one to probe the optical properties with diffraction limited spatial resolution. We find hyperspectral imaging very suited to study indirect bandgap semiconductors, unlike photoluminescence which only provides high luminescence yield for direct gap semiconductors. Moreover, this work opens the door to study the spatial variation of the optical properties of other 2D systems, including non-semiconducting materials where scanning photoluminescence cannot be employed.

We study the optical emission of single semiconductor quantum dots weakly coupled to a photonic-crystal micro-cavity. The linearly polarized emission of a selected quantum dot changes continuously its polarization angle, from nearly perpendicular to the cavity mode polarization at large detuning, to parallel at zero detuning, and reversing sign for negative detuning. The linear polarization rotation is qualitatively interpreted in terms of the detuning dependent mixing of the quantum dot and cavity states. The present result is relevant to achieve continuous control of the linear polarization in single photon emitters.