Hongliu Yang

Graphene or h-BN paraffin composite structures for the thermal management of Li-ion batteries: A multiscale investigation

The reliability and safety of lithium-ion batteries can be affected by overheating issues. Phase change materials like paraffin due to their large heat capacities are among the best solutions for the thermal management of batteries. In this investigation, multiscale modelling techniques were developed to explore the efficiency in the thermal management of rechargeable batteries through employing the paraffin composite structures. A combined atomistic-continuum multiscale modelling was conducted to evaluate the thermal conductivity of paraffin reinforced with graphene or hexagonal boron-nitride nanosheet additives. In addition, heat generation during a battery service was simulated using the Newmans electrochemical model. Finally, three-dimensional heat transfer models were constructed to investigate the effectiveness of various paraffin composite structures in the thermal management of a battery system. Interestingly, it was found that the thermal conductivity of paraffin nanocomposites can be enhanced by several times but that does not yield significant improvement in the batteries thermal management over the pure paraffin. The acquired findings can be useful not only for the modelling of nanocomposites but more importantly for the improvement of phase change materials design to enhance the thermal management of rechargeable batteries and other electronic devices.

Diameter-Selective Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes via Polymers: A Competition between Adsorption and Bundling

The mechanism of the selective dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by polyfluorene polymers is studied in this paper. Using extensive molecular dynamics simulations, it is demonstrated that diameter selectivity is the result of a competition between bundling of CNTs and adsorption of polymers on CNT surfaces. The preference for certain diameters corresponds to local minima of the binding energy difference between these two processes. Such minima in the diameter dependence occur due to abrupt changes in the CNTs coverage with polymers, and their calculated positions are in quantitative agreement with preferred diameters reported experimentally. The presented approach defines a theoretical framework for the further understanding and improvement of dispersion/extraction processes.

A Dual‐Stimuli‐Responsive Sodium‐Bromine Battery with Ultrahigh Energy Density

Stimuli-responsive energy storage devices have emerged for the fast-growing popularity of intelligent electronics. However, all previously reported stimuli-responsive energy storage devices have rather low energy densities (<250 Wh kg-1 ) and single stimuli-response, which seriously limit their application scopes in intelligent electronics. Herein, a dual-stimuli-responsive sodium-bromine (Na//Br2 ) battery featuring ultrahigh energy density, electrochromic effect, and fast thermal response is demonstrated. Remarkably, the fabricated Na//Br2 battery exhibits a large operating voltage of 3.3 V and an energy density up to 760 Wh kg-1 , which outperforms those for the state-of-the-art stimuli-responsive electrochemical energy storage devices. This work offers a promising approach for designing multi-stimuli-responsive and high-energy rechargeable batteries without sacrificing the electrochemical performance.

Integration of Carbon Nanotubes in Silicon Strip and Slot Waveguide Micro-Ring Resonators

Silicon photonics has emerged as a very promising technology platform for the implementation of high-performance, low-cost, ultra-compact circuits that can monolithically cointegrate electronic, opto-electronic and optic functionalities. However, Si neither has efficient light emission or detection in the telecom wavelength range, nor exhibits efficient electro-optic Pockels effect, hindering the implementation of integrated active devices like sources, detectors, or modulators. Current approaches relay on different materials to provide active functionalities in Si photonics, resulting in highly complex integration schemes that compromise cost-effectiveness. Semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are capable of emitting and detecting near-infrared light at room temperature and exhibit intrinsically fast electro-optic effects. They have also proven promising uses in micro-electronic devices, making them an ideal material to provide active functionalities in the Si photonic platform. In this work, we propose and experimentally validate the possible use of slot photonic waveguides to improve interaction between SWNTs and Si waveguide modes. Fabricated Si slot micro-ring shown an experimental ~ 60% photo-luminescence improvement compared to previous demonstration based on Si strip waveguide resonators. These results prove the potential of Si slot waveguides for the implementation of efficient SWNT-based Si photonic devices.

DFT study of interaction of additives with Cu(111) surface relevant to Cu electrodeposition

The interaction of additives and ions with the copper surface plays a crucial role in the copper electroplating process. In this work, the interaction of the additives polyethylene glycol (PEG) and bis(3-sulfopropyl)-disulfide (SPS) as well as of chloride with the Cu(111) surface is considered within the framework of density functional theory. In the presence of water, the adsorption energy of chloride diminishes by about 1 eV compared to the case in vacuum. The activation barrier for chloride desorption was found to be 0.8 eV. Simulations of the deposition of copper atoms on a Cl-covered copper surface revealed that Cl atoms are always displaced to the surface. Calculations of adsorption energies of additives in vacuum indicated that the accelerator molecule SPS is bound stronger to Cu(111) than the suppressor molecule PEG. A comparatively strong adsorption of additives was found on a copper surface covered with a Cl–Cu mixed layer. Investigation of the dynamics of additives on Cu(111) by means of first principles molecular dynamics revealed an occasional spontaneous decomposition of an SPS molecule into two MPS molecules.Graphical Abstract

Carbon nanotubes integration on silicon

Optical interconnects are expected to overcome the copper link bottlenecks. Among the different developed technologies, silicon photonics becomes one of the preferred solutions. Indeed, due to its compatibility with the CMOS platform, silicon photonics is considered as a viable solution for the development of the future generation photonic interconnects. However, the on-chip integration of all photonic and optoelectronic building blocks (sources, modulators and detectors...) on the silicon platform is very complex and is not cost-effective due to the various materials used: Ge for detection, Si for waveguiding and modulators and III-V for lasing. We propose here to use carbon nanotubes (CNTs) integrated into silicon photonics for the development of all optoelectronic devices. Indeed, CNTs are nanomaterials of particular interest in photonics thanks to their fundamental optical properties including near-IR luminescence, Stark effect, Kerr effect and absorption. In consequence, CNTs have the ability to emit, modulate and detect light in the wavelength range of the silicon transparency. Furthermore, they are also considered as an electronic compatible material thanks to the recent advances in nanoelectronics based on CNTs. Here, we report on the study of the light emission coupling from CNTs into optical resonators implemented on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform including ring resonators, nano-beam cavities, micro-disks.... A theoretical and experimental analysis of the light interaction of CNTs with micro-ring resonators based on slot waveguides and slot photonic crystal heterostructure cavities will be presented.

Hybrid integration of carbon nanotubes into silicon slot photonic structures

Silicon photonics, due to its compatibility with the CMOS platform and unprecedented integration capability, has become the preferred solution for the implementation of next generation optical interconnects. However, current Si photonics require on-chip integration of several materials, including III-V for lasing, doped silicon for modulation and Ge for detection. The very different requirements of these materials result in complex fabrication processes that offset the cost-effectiveness of the Si photonics approach. We are developing an alternative route towards the integration of optoelectronic devices in Si photonic, relying on the use of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). SWNTs can be considered as a Si compatible material able to emit, modulate and detect near-infrared light. Hence, they hold a unique potential to implement all active devices in the Si photonics platform. In addition, solution processed SWNTs can be integrated on Si using spin-coating techniques, obviating the need of complex epitaxial growth or chip bonding approaches. Here, we report on our recent progress in the coupling of SWNTs light emission into optical resonators implemented on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform.

Coupling of semiconductor carbon nanotubes emission with silicon photonic micro ring resonators

Hybrid structures are needed to fully exploit the great advantages of Si photonics and several approaches have been addressed where Si devices are bonded to different materials and nanostructures. Here we study the use of semiconductor carbon nanotubes for emission in the 1300 nm wavelength range to functionalize Si photonic structures in view of optoelectronic applications. The Si micro-rings are fully characterized by near field forward resonant scattering with 100 nm resolution. We show that both TE and TM modes can be addressed on the top of the micro-rings in a vectorial imaging of the in-plane polarization components. We coupled the Si micro-resonators with selected carbon nanotubes for high photoluminescence emission. Coupling nanotubes with the evanescent tails in air of the electric field localized in the photonic modes of the micro-resonators is demonstrated by sharp resonances over imposed to the nanotube emission bands. By mapping the Si and the nanotube emission we demonstrate that strong enhancement of the nanotube photoluminescence can be achieved both in the photonic modes of micro-disks and slot micro-rings, whenever the spatial overlap between nano-emitters and photonic modes is fulfilled.

Integration of carbon nanotubes in slot waveguides (Conference Presentation)

Demanding applications such as video streaming, social networking, or web search relay on a large network of data centres, interconnected through optical links. The ever-growing data rates and power consumption inside these data centres are pushing copper links close to their fundamental limits. Optical interconnects are being extensively studied with the purpose of solving these limitations. Among the different possible technology platforms, silicon photonics, due to its compatibility with the CMOS platform, has become one of the preferred solutions for the development of the future generation photonic interconnects. However, the on-chip integration of all photonic and optoelectronic building blocks (sources, modulators and detectors…) is very complex and is not cost-effective due to the various materials involved (Ge for detection, doped Si for modulators and III-V for lasing). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanomaterials of great interest in photonics thanks to their fundamental optical properties, including near-IR room-temperature foto- and electro- luminescence, Stark effect, Kerr effect and absorption. In consequence, CNTs have the ability to emit, modulate and detect light in the telecommunications wavelength range. Furthermore, they are being extensively developed for new nano-electronics applications. In this work, we propose to use CNTs as active material integrated into silicon photonics for the development of all optoelectronic devices. Here, we report on the development of new integration schemes to couple the light emission from CNTs into optical resonators implemented on the silicon-on-insulator and silicon-nitride-on-insulator platforms. A theoretical and experimental analysis of the light interaction of CNTs with micro-ring resonators based on strip and slot waveguides and slot photonic crystal heterostructure cavities were carried out.

Integration of carbon nanotubes in silicon resonators

This paper reports on recent results on the integration of carbon nanotubes on the silicon photonic platform. Light coupling from carbon nanotubes in a fully integrated silicon resonator will be presented.