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Featured researches published by Molin Zhou.


Journal of the American Chemical Society | 2015

Metal Thiophosphates with Good Mid-infrared Nonlinear Optical Performances: A First-Principles Prediction and Analysis

Lei Kang; Molin Zhou; Jiyong Yao; Zheshuai Lin; Yicheng Wu; Chuangtian Chen

The family of metal thiophosphates is an important but long-ignored compound system of the nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with desirable properties for the mid-infrared (mid-IR) coherent light generation. In the present work, the mid-IR NLO capabilities of metal thiophosphate crystals are systematically investigated based on their structure-property relationship. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of these crystals are predicted and analyzed using the first-principles calculations. In particular, several metal thiophosphate compounds are highlighted to exhibit good mid-IR NLO performances, as supported by the primary experimental results. These candidates would greatly promote the development of the mid-IR NLO functional materials.


Journal of the American Chemical Society | 2016

Trigonal Planar [HgSe3]4– Unit: A New Kind of Basic Functional Group in IR Nonlinear Optical Materials with Large Susceptibility and Physicochemical Stability

Chao Li; Wenlong Yin; Pifu Gong; Xiaoshuang Li; Molin Zhou; Arthur Mar; Zheshuai Lin; Jiyong Yao; Yicheng Wu; Chuangtian Chen

A new mercury selenide BaHgSe2 was synthesized. This air-stable compound displays a large nonlinear optical (NLO) response and melts congruently. The structure contains chains of corner-sharing [HgSe3](4-) anions in the form of trigonal planar units, which may serve as a new kind of basic functional group in IR NLO materials to confer large NLO susceptibilities and physicochemical stability. Such trigonal planar units may inspire a path to finding new classes of IR NLO materials of practical utility that are totally different from traditional chalcopyrite materials.


Inorganic Chemistry | 2016

Midinfrared Nonlinear Optical Thiophosphates from LiZnPS4 to AgZnPS4: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Molin Zhou; Lei Kang; Jiyong Yao; Zheshuai Lin; Yicheng Wu; Chuangtian Chen

Our earlier theoretical calculation and preliminary experiment highlighted LiZnPS4 as a good mid-infrared (mid-IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) material. However, this compound suffers from problems including corrosion of the silica tubes, a pungent smell, deliquescence, and incongruent-melting behavior in the further single crystal growth and applications. In order to overcome these problems, herein, we investigate the analogues of LiZnPS4 and propose that AgZnPS4 would be a good candidate. The combination of experimental and theoretical study demonstrates that AgZnPS4 exhibits a much stronger NLO effect than that of LiZnPS4 despite the relatively smaller energy band gap. More importantly, AgZnPS4 melts congruently with a melting point as low as 534 °C, much lower than those of traditional IR NLO crystals, and is nondeliquescent with enough stability in the air. Such a good crystal growth habit and chemical stability enable AgZnPS4 to possess much better overall performance for the practical mid-IR NLO applications.


Inorganic Chemistry | 2017

BaAu2S2: A Au-Based Intrinsic Photocatalyst for High-Performance Visible-Light Photocatalysis

Molin Zhou; Xin Jiang; Xingxing Jiang; Ke Xiao; Yangwu Guo; Hongwei Huang; Zheshuai Lin; Jiyong Yao; Chen-Ho Tung; Li-Zhu Wu; Yicheng Wu

A new Au-based sulfide BaAu2S2 was obtained through solid-state reaction. It crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I41/amd with unit cell parameters of a = 6.389 72(2) Å, b = 6.389 72(2) Å, c = 12.7872(1) Å, and Z = 4. Its structure features [AuS2/2]∞ zigzag chains composed of corner-sharing AuS2 linear units. With a direct band gap of 2.49 eV, BaAu2S2 is suitable for the visible-light harvesting. Moreover, it exhibits excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity, which is 1.3 times that of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and also demonstrates excellent circulating stability. On the basis of the crystal and electronic structure analysis, the electrons are highly delocalized along the [AuS2/2] chains, and the electron effective mass of BaAu2S2 is only approximately one-fifth of that of g-C3N4, which may help the separation of the electron/hole pairs during the photocatalytic process. Additionally, the absorption coefficient of BaAu2S2 is extremely high, exceeding 1 × 104 cm-1 over the entire absorbable visible spectrum (hν > Eg), which is significantly higher than that of g-C3N4. Such factors may contribute to its outstanding photocatalytic performances. According to our best knowledge, BaAu2S2 is the first noble metal-based chalcogenide photocatalyst reported as intrinsic light-harvesting and electron/hole-generating centers. This study may provide valuable insights for further research on photocatalytic materials.


Chemistry-an Asian Journal | 2017

Li2MnSnSe4:A New Quaternary Diamond‐Like Semiconductor with Nonlinear Optical Response and Antiferromagnetic Property

Xiaoshuang Li; Chao Li; Molin Zhou; Yicheng Wu; Jiyong Yao

A new selenide with a diamond-like structure, Li2 MnSnSe4 , was synthesized for the first time by using a conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction method. Li2 MnSnSe4 crystallizes in the space group Pmn21 (no. 31) of the orthorhombic system. Its three-dimensional framework is constructed by corner-sharing LiSe4 , MnSe4 , and SnSe4 tetrahedra. The title compound has been discovered to have both type I phase-matchable behavior and to exhibit moderate powder second-harmonic generation intensity, about 0.5 times that of commercial AgGaS2 in the particle size of 200-250 μm at a laser radiation of 2.09 μm. In addition, Li2 MnSnSe4 exhibits congruent melting behavior, which makes the bulk single-crystal growth by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method possible. The temperature-dependent susceptibility measurement indicates an antiferromagnetic interaction with a Néel temperature (TN ) of 8.6 K for this compound.


Journal of Materials Chemistry C | 2016

Na2MnGe2Se6: a new Mn-based antiferromagnetic chalcogenide with large Mn⋯Mn separation

Molin Zhou; Wenlong Yin; Fei Liang; Arthur Mar; Zheshuai Lin; Jiyong Yao; Yicheng Wu

A new one-dimensional (1D) Mn-based chalcogenide Na2MnGe2Se6 has been obtained by a solid-state reaction. It crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4/mcm with unit cell parameters a = 7.7718(16) A, b = 7.7718(16) A, c = 19.077(7) A and Z = 2. In the structure, MnSe4 and GeSe4 tetrahedra are linked alternately via edge-sharing with a ratio of 1 : 2 to form 1D infinite [MnGe2Se6]2− anionic chains, which are further separated by Na+ cations. Such a spatial arrangement leads to large separations between magnetic ions, namely, 9.538(5) A for the nearest intrachain Mn⋯Mn distance and 5.495(5) A for the neighboring interchain Mn⋯Mn distance. Despite the large Mn⋯Mn separation, the temperature dependent susceptibility measurement and specific heat measurement still indicate an interesting antiferromagnetic interaction with the Neel temperature TN = 11 K for this compound. Such unusual magnetic properties have been seldom reported in other Mn chalcogenides. The magnetic interaction is investigated by the spin-polarized calculations. Besides, the UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy measurement indicates that Na2MnGe2Se6 has an indirect band gap of 1.93 eV.


Chemistry-an Asian Journal | 2017

K2ZnSn3Se8: A Non-Centrosymmetric Zinc Selenidostannate(IV) Featuring Interesting Covalently Bonded [ZnSn3Se8]2− Layer and Exhibiting Intriguing Second Harmonic Generation Activity

Molin Zhou; Xingxing Jiang; Yi Yang; Yangwu Guo; Zheshuai Lin; JJiyong Yao; Yicheng Wu

Non-centrosymmetric zinc selenidostannate(IV) K2 ZnSn3 Se8 was synthesized. It features interesting covalently bonded [ZnSn3 Se8 ]2- layers with K+ cations filling in the interlayer voids. The phonon spectrum was calculated to clarify its structural stability. Based on the X-ray diffraction data along with the Raman spectrum, the major bonding features of the title compound were identified. According to the UV/vis-NIR spectroscopy, K2 ZnSn3 Se8 possesses a typical direct band gap of 2.10 eV, which is in good agreement with the band structure calculations. Moreover, our experimental measurements and detailed theoretical calculations reveal that K2 ZnSn3 Se8 is a new phase-matchable nonlinear optical material with a powder second harmonic generation (SHG) signal about 0.6 times of that of AgGaS2 .


Journal of Electronic Materials | 2014

Improved Thermoelectric Properties of p-Type Bismuth Antimony-Based Alloys Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Z. H. Chen; Yongming Han; Molin Zhou; Chunmei Song; Rongjin Huang; Y. Zhou; L.F. Li

Bi85Sb15−xPbx (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3) alloys have been prepared by the mechanical alloying–spark plasma sintering (MA-SPS) method. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the alloys. The effect of Pb content on the thermoelectric properties was investigated in the temperature range 77–300 K. The results showed that the electrical transport properties of the Bi–Sb alloys changed from n-type to p-type with substitution of Sb by Pb. The maximum power factor reached 1.6 × 10−3 W/mK2 at 190 K, a significant improvement on values reported elsewhere. This study demonstrated that high-performance p-type thermoelectric Bi–Sb materials can be obtained by spark plasma sintering.


Inorganic Chemistry | 2018

K2ZnGe3S8: A Congruent-Melting Infrared Nonlinear-Optical Material with a Large Band Gap

Xiaoyu Luo; Fei Liang; Molin Zhou; Yangwu Guo; Zhuang Li; Zheshuai Lin; Jiyong Yao; Yicheng Wu

K2ZnGe3S8 belonging to the noncentrosymmetric space group P21 of the monoclinic system was discovered via a solid-state method. It possesses two-dimensional [ZnGe3S8]2- layers, with alkali-metal cations K+ located between the layers. On the basis of UV-vis-near-IR diffuse-reflectance spectrometry, the band gap of K2ZnGe3S8 is 3.36(2) eV. According to powder second-harmonic-generation (SHG) measurements, the SHG response of K2ZnGe3S8 is about 0.9 times that of AgGaS2 at the particle size range of 20-41 μm. Experimental results demonstrate that K2ZnGe3S8 keeps a good balance between a large band gap (3.36 eV) and a moderate SHG response. Moreover, according to the differential scanning calorimetry measurements, K2ZnGe3S8 melts congruently at around 1023 K and recrystallizes at about 963 K. Therefore, it is possible to obtain bulk single crystals via the Bridgman-Stockbarger method. The first-principles calculations indicate that the optical properties of K2ZnGe3S8 are dominantly determined by the [GeS4] tetrahedra as well as a small contribution from the [ZnS4] tetrahedra.


Inorganic Chemistry | 2017

Pb0.65Mn2.85Ga3S8 and Pb0.72Mn2.84Ga2.95Se8: Two Quaternary Metal Chalcognides with Open-Tunnel-Framework Structures Displaying Intense Second Harmonic Generation Responses and Interesting Magnetic Properties

Molin Zhou; Xingxing Jiang; Yangwu Guo; Zheshuai Lin; Jiyong Yao; Yicheng Wu

By combining different nonlinear optical-active structural chromophores with transition metal Mn into a crystal structure, two novel quaternary metal chalcogenides Pb0.65Mn2.85Ga3S8 (1) and Pb0.72Mn2.84Ga2.95Se8 (2) were successfully synthesized. Compounds 1 and 2 are isostructural, and they represent a new structure type that crystallizes in the space group P6̅ (No. 174) in the hexagonal system. Their structures feature an interesting three-dimensional open-tunnel framework composed of bridged infinite chains with Pb2+ cations filling in the biggest tunnels. Interestingly, both 1 and 2 demonstrate intense second harmonic generation responses at 2.09 μm that is about 1.5 and 4.4 times, respectively, of that of the benchmark material AgGaS2. However, 1 and 2 possess different optical diffuse reflectance spectra: 1 displays an evident multiband absorption characteristic with two distinguishing absorption edges of 738 and 551 nm, corresponding to two band gaps of 1.68 and 2.25 eV, respectively, while 2 exhibits only one sharp edge, and the corresponding band gap was estimated to be 1.65 eV. Moreover, apart from the considerable structural similarity between 1 and 2, the dc temperature dependent susceptibility measurements indicate that compound 1 is paramagnetic, while compound 2 exhibits spin-glass-like behavior.

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Jiyong Yao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Yicheng Wu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Zheshuai Lin

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Xingxing Jiang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Yangwu Guo

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Chao Li

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Chuangtian Chen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Fei Liang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Xiaoshuang Li

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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