Zhi-Feng Liu

A black–red phosphorus heterostructure for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis

A new single elemental heterostructure of black and red phosphorus was prepared by a simple ball milling method. The product exhibited high visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity comparable to that of CdS.

Synthesis and optical properties of InN nanowires and nanotubes

InN nanowires and faceted hexagonal InN nanotubes are synthesized by catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition at different temperatures. Both have the single crystalline wurtzite structure and grow along the c axis. Different growth dynamics are suggested for the difference in morphology. Observations of phonon-plasmon coupled modes in their Raman scattering suggest of high electron concentrations. Absorption edges in their optical spectra have energies slightly higher than 1eV, showing blueshifts from the fundamental band gap of ∼0.7eV, recently observed in epitaxial films. The shifts are argued to be the result of the Burstein-Moss effect.

An Elemental Phosphorus Photocatalyst with a Record High Hydrogen Evolution Efficiency

Semiconductive property of elementary substance is an interesting and attractive phenomenon. We obtain a breakthrough that fibrous phase red phosphorus, a recent discovered modification of red phosphorus by Ruck et al., can work as a semiconductor photocatalyst for visible-light-driven hydrogen (H2 ) evolution. Small sized fibrous phosphorus is obtained by 1) loading it on photoinactive SiO2 fibers or by 2) smashing it ultrasonically. They display the steady hydrogen evolution rates of 633 μmol h(-1)  g(-1) and 684 μmol h(-1)  g(-1) , respectively. These values are much higher than previous amorphous P (0.6 μmol h(-1)  g(-1) ) and Hittorf P (1.6 μmol h(-1)  g(-1) ). Moreover, they are the highest records in the family of elemental photocatalysts to date. This discovery is helpful for further understanding the semiconductive property of elementary substance. It is also favorable for the development of elemental photocatalysts.

Ionization induced relaxation in solvation structure: A comparison between Na(H2O)n and Na(NH3)n

The constant ionization potential for hydrated sodium clusters Na(H2O)n just beyond n=4, as observed in photoionization experiments, has long been a puzzle in violation of the well-known (n+1)(-1/3) rule that governs the gradual transition in properties from clusters to the bulk. Based on first principles calculations, a link is identified between this puzzle and an important process in solution: the reorganization of the solvation structure after the removal of a charged particle. Na(H2O)n is a prototypical system with a solvated electron coexisting with a solvated sodium ion, and the cluster structure is determined by a balance among three factors: solute-solvent (Na+-H2O), solvent-solvent (H2O-H2O), and electron-solvent (OH{e}HO) interactions. Upon the removal of an electron by photoionization, extensive structural reorganization is induced to reorient OH{e}HO features in the neutral Na(H2O)n for better Na+-H2O and H2O-H2O interactions in the cationic Na+(H2O)n. The large amount of energy released, often reaching 1 eV or more, indicates that experimentally measured ion signals actually come from autoionization via vertical excitation to high Rydberg states below the vertical ionization potential, which induces extensive structural reorganization and the loss of a few solvent molecules. It provides a coherent explanation for all the peculiar features in the ionization experiments, not only for Na(H2O)n but also for Li(H2O)n and Cs(H2O)n. In addition, the contrast between Na(H2O)n and Na(NH3)n experiments is accounted for by the much smaller relaxation energy for Na(NH3)n, for which the structures and energetics are also elucidated.

Upright Standing Graphene Formation on Substrates

We propose integrating graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) onto a substrate in an upright position whereby they are chemically bound to the substrate at the basal edge. Extensive ab initio calculations show that both nickel (Ni)- and diamond-supported upright GNRs are feasible for synthesis and are mechanically robust. Moreover, the substrate-supported GNRs display electronic and magnetic properties nearly the same as those of free-standing GNRs. Due to the extremely small footprint of an upright GNR on a substrate, standing GNRs are ideal building blocks for synthesis of subnanometer electronic or spintronic devices. Theoretically, standing GNR-based microchips with field-effect transistor (FET) densities up to 10(13) per cm(2) are achievable.

Head-to-tail dimerization and organogelating properties of click peptidomimetics.

Click triazole-based oligopeptides 1-3 were found to self-dimerize (K(dim) ≈ 10-680 M(-1)) in a head-to-tail fashion based on (1)H variable concentration, 2D, and H/D exchange NMR, VPO, CD, FT-IR studies and Gaussian 03 simulations. The dimerization constant K(dim) was shown to increase with increasing number of the amino acid units. Within the same oligomeric series, the K(dim) value is strongly affected by the size of the C-terminal end group. The tripeptides 2 are also excellent organogelators of aromatic solvents.

CdSe nanowires with controllable growth orientations

Epitaxial growths of CdSe nanowires with controllable orientations by metal organic chemical vapor deposition are obtained. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that they preferred to align along different orientations when grown on different GaAs surfaces. The geometrical relationship between their orientations and the substrates can further be changed by changing the growth temperature. They all grow along the ⟨110⟩ direction of the substrates at 480°C, but along the ⟨111⟩ direction at 500°C. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirm that they are single-crystalline wurtzite structured. Photoluminescence measurements on individual CdSe nanowires reveal their good optical properties.

Synthesis, Molecular Packing, and Thin Film Transistors of Dibenzo[a,m]rubicenes

We herein report an efficient synthesis of dibenzo[a,m]rubicene, a new member of nonplanar cyclopenta-fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and its derivatives. It is found that the conformation and molecular packing of dibenzo[a,m]rubicenes in the solid state can be tuned by the substituting groups, and the silylethynylated derivatives of dibenzo[a,m]rubicenes function as p-type organic semiconductors in solution-processed thin film transistors with field effect mobility of up to 1.0 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1).

Size-dependent charge-separation reaction for hydrated sulfate dianion cluster, SO42−(H2O)n, with n=3–7

The decrease in the reaction rate for the charge separation in SO(4) (2-)(H(2)O)(n) with increasing cluster size is examined by first-principles calculations of the energetics, activation barriers, and thermal stability for n=3-7. The key factor governing the charge separation is the difference in the strength of solvation interaction: while interaction with water is strong for the reactant SO(4) (2-) and the product OH(-), it is relatively weak for HSO(4) (-). It gives rise to a barrier for charge separation as SO(4) (2-) is transformed into HSO(4) (-) and OH(-), although the overall reaction energy is exothermic. The barrier is high when more than two H(2)O are left to solvate HSO(4) (-), as in the case of symmetric solvation structure and in the case of large clusters. The entropy is another important factor since the potential surface is floppy and the thermal motion facilitates the symmetric distribution of H(2)O around SO(4) (2-), which leads to the gradual reduction in reaction rate and the eventual switch-off of charge separation as cluster size increases. The experimentally observed products for n=3-5 are explained by the thermally most favorable isomer at each size, obtained by ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations rather than by the isomer with the lowest energy.

Ab initio studies on the mechanism of the size-dependent hydrogen-loss reaction in Mg+(H2O)n.

The mechanism of size-dependent intracluster hydrogen loss in the cluster ions Mg(+)(H(2)O)(n), which is switched on around n=6, and off around n=14, was studied by ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G** levels for n=1-6. The reaction proceeds by Mg(+)-assisted breaking of an H-O bond in one of the H(2)O molecules. The reaction barrier is dependent on both the cluster size and the solvation structure. As n increases from 1 to 6, there is a dramatic drop in the reaction barrier, from greater than 70 kcal mol(-1) for n=1 to less than 10 kcal mol(-1) for n=6. In the transition structures, the Mg atom is close to the oxidation state of +2, and H(2)O molecules in the first solvation shell are much more effective in stabilizing the transition structures and lowering the reaction barriers than H(2)O molecules in the other solvation shells. While the reaction barrier for trimer core structures with only three H(2)O molecules in the first shell is greater than 24 kcal mol(-1), even for Mg(+)(H(2)O)(6), it drops considerably for clusters with four-six H(2)O molecules in the first shell. The more highly coordinated complexes have comparable or slightly higher energy than the trimer core structures, and the presence of such high coordination number complexes is the underlying kinetic factor for the switching on of the hydrogen-loss reaction around n=6. For clusters with trimer core structures, the hydrogen loss reaction is much easier when it is preceded by an isomerization step that increases the coordination number around Mg(+). Delocalization of the electron on the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) away from the Mg(+) ion is observed for the hexamer core structure, while at the same time this isomer is the most reactive for the hydrogen-loss reaction, with an energy barrier of only 2.7 kcal mol(-1) at the MP2/6-31G** level.