Energy Levels Research Articles

Se‐Elemental Concentration Gradient Regulation for Efficient Sb2(S,Se)3 Solar Cells with High Open‐Circuit Voltages

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2(S,Se)3), featuring large absorption coefficient, excellent crystal structure stability, benign non‐toxic characteristic, outstanding humidity and ultraviolet tolerability, has recently attracted enormous attention and research interest regarding its photoelectric conversion properties. However, the open‐circuit voltage (Voc) for Sb2(S,Se)3‐based photovoltaic devices is relatively low, especially for the device with a high power conversion efficiency (η). Herein, an innovative Se‐elemental concentration gradient regulation strategy has been exploited to produce high‐quality Sb2(S,Se)3 films on TiO2/CdS substrates through a thioacetamide(TA)‐synergistic dual‐sulfur source hydrothermal‐processed method. The Se‐elemental gradient distribution produces a favorable energy band structure, which suppresses the energy level barriers for hole transport and enhances the driving force for electron transport in Sb2(S,Se)3 film. This facilitates efficient charge transport/separation of photogenerated carriers and boosts significantly the Voc of Sb2(S,Se)3 photovoltaic devices. The champion TA‐Sb2(S,Se)3 planar heterojunction (PHJ) solar cell displays an considerable η of 9.28% accompanied by an exciting Voc rising to 0.70 V that is currently the highest among Sb2(S,Se)3‐based solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 9.0%. This research is anticipated to contribute to the preparation of high‐quality Sb2(S,Se)3 thin film and the achievement of efficient inorganic Sb2(S,Se)3 PHJ photovoltaic device.

Davidson basis in the shell model for 2p, 2h, and pn nuclei

In this study, we replace the widely used harmonic oscillator basis with the Davidson basis for the shell model computation. The new foundation was introduced and its application to the shell model computation was explained. A detailed discussion is given on the method of calculation and utilization. Then, three cases two-particle, 18O, and two-hole, 38Ar, and proton-neutron nuclei, 6Li, and 18F, that illustrate various scenarios are examined. In these two scenarios, both Davidson bases and harmonic oscillator are used to replicate energy levels and a few electric transition probabilities. We assess each case’s accuracy by comparing the theoretical predictions with the experimental data.

Highly efficient Bi/BiOCl with oxygen vacancies photocatalyst with synergetic effects of oxygen vacancy, surface plasmon resonance, and electron sink effects of metallic Bi

Bi/BiOCl with oxygen vacancies composite was synthesized through a facile and rapid in situ surface reduction of BiOCl, utilizing NaBH4 as the reductant. The reduction process yielded metallic Bi nanoparticles on the surface of BiOCl and meanwhile created the oxygen vacancies within the BiOCl lattice. As a consequence, the as‐synthesized Bi/BiOCl composites exhibited a substantially enhanced visible‐light absorption capacity, whereas pure BiOCl was only responsive to ultraviolet light. Additionally, the Bi/BiOCl composite demonstrated a markedly accelerated photodegradation rate of Rhodamine, exceeding that of pure BiOCl and P25 by a factor of 6.10 and 19.74, respectively. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation was carried out to estimate the band structural and electronic properties of samples. Based on systematic analysis, the underlying mechanism was attributed to the extended responsive light range due to the surface plasma resonance of metallic Bi and the formation of oxygen vacancy energy level. Moreover, the electron sink effect of Bi nanoparticles was found to suppress the recombination of photoinduced charges, further contributing to the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Bi/BiOCl.

Multivariate signal-to-noise ratio as a metric for characterizing spectral computed tomography

Objective. With the introduction of spectral CT techniques into the clinic, the imaging capacities of CT were expanded to multiple energy levels. Due to a variety of factors, the acquired signal in spectral CT datasets is shared between these images. Conventional image quality metrics assume independence between images which is not preserved within spectral CT datasets, limiting their utility for characterizing energy selective images. The purpose of this work was to develop a metrology to characterize energy selective images by incorporating the shared information between images within a spectral CT dataset. Approach. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was extended into a multivariate space where each image within a spectral CT dataset was treated as a separate information channel. The general definition was applied to the specific case of contrast to define a multivariate contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). The matrix contained two types of terms: a conventional CNR term which characterized image quality within each image in the spectral CT dataset and covariance weighted CNR (Covar-CNR) which characterized the contrast in each image relative to the covariance between images. Experimental data from an investigational photon-counting CT scanner was used to demonstrate the insight of this metrology. A cylindrical water phantom containing vials of iodine and gadolinium (2, 4, and 8 mg ml−1) was imaged under conditions of variable tube current, tube voltage, and energy threshold. Two image series (threshold and bin images) containing two images each were defined based upon the contribution of photons to reconstructed images. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated between CNR terms and image acquisition variables. A multivariate regression was then fitted to experimental data. Main Results. Image type had a major difference on how Covar-CNR values were distributed. Bin images had a slightly higher mean and wider standard deviation (Covar-CNRlo: 3.38 ±17.25, Covar-CNRhi: 5.77 ± 30.64) compared to threshold images (Covar-CNRlo: 2.08 ±1.89, Covar-CNRhi: 3.45 ± 2.49) across all conditions. ANOVA found that each acquisition variable had a significant relationship with both Covar-CNR terms. The multivariate regression model suggested that material concentration had the largest impact on all CNR terms. Signficance. In this work, we described a theoretical framework to extend the SNR to a multivariate form that is able to characterize images independently and also provide insight regarding the relationship between images. Experimental data was used to demonstrate the insight that this metrology provides about image formation factors in spectral CT.

Effect of strain on the photoelectric properties of molybdenum ditelluride under vacancy defects: a DFT investigation.

This study explores the impact of deformation on the electrical and optical characteristics of monolayer cadmium telluride (MoTe2) with vacancies, using the foundational principles of density functional theory. It was discovered that both strain and imperfections alter the electrical characteristics of monolayer MoTe2. Under VTe-MoTe2, a direct-to-indirect band-gap transition occurs. In DTe-MoTe2, the band-gap value reduces dramatically, the conduction band changes downward, and the carrier concentration rises. The DVTe-induced band gap state is closer to the Fermi energy level than the VTe-induced band gap state. In this paper, DTe-MoTe2 is chosen for tensile deformation. The results show that the band-gap value tends to decrease by increasing tensile deformation. When the stretching value reaches 10%, the lower bound of the conduction band and the top of the valence band overlap, and the system is converted from a semiconductor to a metal. Considering the density of states, the missing state MoTe2 is mainly contributed by the participation of Te-s, Te-p, and Mo-d orbitals. In terms of optical qualities, the absorption and reflection peaks are red-shifted and blue-shifted, respectively. It is hoped that these effects on the optoelectronic properties will be widely applied. In this study, we utilize the generalized gradient approximation plane-wave pseudopotential method, incorporating Perdew-Burke Ernzerhof (PBE) generalized functions and following the fundamental principles of the density functional theory framework. A 3 × 3 × 1 supercell was constructed as an undoped model based on a MoTe2 monolayer, which consists of 9 Mo atoms and 18 Te atoms. The vacuum flat plate was set to 15Å along the z-direction to avoid interactions between the monolayers. For electronic structure calculations, the energy cutoff was set to 450eV. Each model's computational process and structural optimization were carried out using the Monkhorst-Pack specialized K-point sampling approach. Crystal optimization computations used a 3 × 3 × 1 Monkhorst-Pack K-point grid for molybdenum ditelluride monolayers and a 9 × 9 × 1K-point grid for electronic system analysis, analyzing state density and optical characteristics, respectively. For the structural optimization, the convergence requirements for maximum force, maximum atom displacement, maximum stress, and energy change were defined at 0.03eV/Å, 0.001Å, 0.05 Gpa, and 1.0 × 10-5eV/atom, respectively.

Dual-aeolotropic electrically conductive flexible composite membrane with enhanced red fluorescence

New-typed dual-aeolotropic conductive flexible composite membrane (DCFCM), was devised and fabricated by parallel electrospinning. DCFCM consists of two layers that are strongly coupled to form a top-to-bottom structure. Janus nanoribbon (JN), possessing two distinct sides (respectively conducting and insulating-fluorescent side), is highly oriented in each layer of DCFCM. The top-to-bottom structure of DCFCM effectuates the macro-level zoning, and the JN as a conductive and constitutive function in DCFCM realizes the micro-level zoning, which achieves the combination of microstructure and macroscopic structure in DCFCM. Thus, DCFCM simultaneously performs dual-aeolotropic electrical conduction and enhanced red luminescence due to the partitioning structures which aid in minimizing adverse interactions between the conductive and luminescent materials. The conducting anisotropy of each layer in the DCFCM can be adjusted by varying the PANI content. The conductance ratio can reach 108 when the PANI content is 60–70 %. Additionally, DCFCM exhibits strong red emission, originating from the allowed 5D0→7F2 (593 nm), 5D0→7F2 (616 nm) energy levels transitions of Eu3+ ions. This work provides a simple and effective method to fabricate aeolotropic conductive membranes with novel multifunctional properties.

Functionalized Thienopyrazines on NiOx Film as Self-Assembled Monolayer for Efficient Tin-Perovskite Solar Cells Using a Two-Step Method.

Three functionalized thienopyrazines (TPs), TP-MN (1), TP-CA (2), and TPT-MN (3) were designed and synthesized as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) deposited on the NiOx film for tin-perovskite solar cells (TPSCs). Thermal, optical, electrochemical, morphological, crystallinity, hole mobility, and charge recombination properties, as well as DFT-derived energy levels with electrostatic surface potential mapping of these SAMs, have been thoroughly investigated and discussed. The structure of the TP-MN (1) single crystal was successfully grown and analyzed to support the uniform SAM produced on the ITO/NiOx substrate. When we used NiOx as HTM in TPSC, the device showed poor performance. To improve the efficiency of TPSC, we utilized a combination of new organic SAMs with NiOx HTM, theTPSC device exhibited the highest PCE of 7.7% for TP-MN (1).Hence, the designed NiOx/TP-MN (1) acts as a new model system for the development of efficient SAM-based TPSC. To the best of our knowledge, the combination of organic SAMs with anchoring CN/CN or CN/COOH groups, and NiOx HTM for TPSC has never been reported elsewhere. The TPSC device based on the NiOx/TP-MN bilayer exhibits great enduring stability for performance, retaining ~80% of its original value for shelf storage over 4000h.

Enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production in conjugated porous polymers through donor-π-donor fragment insertion

Recent progress in conjugated polymer photocatalysts has opened avenues for enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) activity through structural design. This study highlights the impact of the acceptor-to-donor feed ratio on PHP activity in copolymers, influencing their energy level structures. Five conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) were synthesized by adjusting the acceptor-to-donor molar ratio. Notably, at a 2:1 acceptor-to-donor ratio, the polymer demonstrated a high hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 61.9 mmol g−1 h−1 under full arc irradiation without co-catalysts and an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 7.77% at 475 nm. However, further increasing the proportion of the donor unit in the copolymers decreases their HER. Experiments and theoretical simulation characterized that the feed ratios effectively tune the polymer's molecular structure, hydrophilicity, band gap, and the generation and transport efficiency of photo-induced charge carriers, ultimately affecting the hydrogen production kinetics and efficiency. This research demonstrates that tuning the band structure and chemical compositions of CPPs through statistical copolymerization significantly impacts their PHP activity.

Highly efficient Bi/BiOCl with oxygen vacancies photocatalyst with synergetic effects of oxygen vacancy, surface plasmon resonance, and electron sink effects of metallic Bi

Bi/BiOCl with oxygen vacancies composite was synthesized through a facile and rapid in situ surface reduction of BiOCl, utilizing NaBH4 as the reductant. The reduction process yielded metallic Bi nanoparticles on the surface of BiOCl and meanwhile created the oxygen vacancies within the BiOCl lattice. As a consequence, the as‐synthesized Bi/BiOCl composites exhibited a substantially enhanced visible‐light absorption capacity, whereas pure BiOCl was only responsive to ultraviolet light. Additionally, the Bi/BiOCl composite demonstrated a markedly accelerated photodegradation rate of Rhodamine, exceeding that of pure BiOCl and P25 by a factor of 6.10 and 19.74, respectively. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation was carried out to estimate the band structural and electronic properties of samples. Based on systematic analysis, the underlying mechanism was attributed to the extended responsive light range due to the surface plasma resonance of metallic Bi and the formation of oxygen vacancy energy level. Moreover, the electron sink effect of Bi nanoparticles was found to suppress the recombination of photoinduced charges, further contributing to the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Bi/BiOCl.

Se‐Elemental Concentration Gradient Regulation for Efficient Sb2(S,Se)3 Solar Cells with High Open‐Circuit Voltages

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2(S,Se)3), featuring large absorption coefficient, excellent crystal structure stability, benign non‐toxic characteristic, outstanding humidity and ultraviolet tolerability, has recently attracted enormous attention and research interest regarding its photoelectric conversion properties. However, the open‐circuit voltage (Voc) for Sb2(S,Se)3‐based photovoltaic devices is relatively low, especially for the device with a high power conversion efficiency (η). Herein, an innovative Se‐elemental concentration gradient regulation strategy has been exploited to produce high‐quality Sb2(S,Se)3 films on TiO2/CdS substrates through a thioacetamide(TA)‐synergistic dual‐sulfur source hydrothermal‐processed method. The Se‐elemental gradient distribution produces a favorable energy band structure, which suppresses the energy level barriers for hole transport and enhances the driving force for electron transport in Sb2(S,Se)3 film. This facilitates efficient charge transport/separation of photogenerated carriers and boosts significantly the Voc of Sb2(S,Se)3 photovoltaic devices. The champion TA‐Sb2(S,Se)3 planar heterojunction (PHJ) solar cell displays an considerable η of 9.28% accompanied by an exciting Voc rising to 0.70 V that is currently the highest among Sb2(S,Se)3‐based solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 9.0%. This research is anticipated to contribute to the preparation of high‐quality Sb2(S,Se)3 thin film and the achievement of efficient inorganic Sb2(S,Se)3 PHJ photovoltaic device.

Enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production in conjugated porous polymers through donor-π-donor fragment insertion

Recent progress in conjugated polymer photocatalysts has opened avenues for enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) activity through structural design. This study highlights the impact of the acceptor-to-donor feed ratio on PHP activity in copolymers, influencing their energy level structures. Five conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) were synthesized by adjusting the acceptor-to-donor molar ratio. Notably, at a 2:1 acceptor-to-donor ratio, the polymer demonstrated a high hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 61.9 mmol g−1 h−1 under full arc irradiation without co-catalysts and an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 7.77% at 475 nm. However, further increasing the proportion of the donor unit in the copolymers decreases their HER. Experiments and theoretical simulation characterized that the feed ratios effectively tune the polymer's molecular structure, hydrophilicity, band gap, and the generation and transport efficiency of photo-induced charge carriers, ultimately affecting the hydrogen production kinetics and efficiency. This research demonstrates that tuning the band structure and chemical compositions of CPPs through statistical copolymerization significantly impacts their PHP activity.

Functionalized Thienopyrazines on NiOx Film as Self-Assembled Monolayer for Efficient Tin-Perovskite Solar Cells Using a Two-Step Method.

Three functionalized thienopyrazines (TPs), TP-MN (1), TP-CA (2), and TPT-MN (3) were designed and synthesized as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) deposited on the NiOx film for tin-perovskite solar cells (TPSCs). Thermal, optical, electrochemical, morphological, crystallinity, hole mobility, and charge recombination properties, as well as DFT-derived energy levels with electrostatic surface potential mapping of these SAMs, have been thoroughly investigated and discussed. The structure of the TP-MN (1) single crystal was successfully grown and analyzed to support the uniform SAM produced on the ITO/NiOx substrate. When we used NiOx as HTM in TPSC, the device showed poor performance. To improve the efficiency of TPSC, we utilized a combination of new organic SAMs with NiOx HTM, theTPSC device exhibited the highest PCE of 7.7% for TP-MN (1).Hence, the designed NiOx/TP-MN (1) acts as a new model system for the development of efficient SAM-based TPSC. To the best of our knowledge, the combination of organic SAMs with anchoring CN/CN or CN/COOH groups, and NiOx HTM for TPSC has never been reported elsewhere. The TPSC device based on the NiOx/TP-MN bilayer exhibits great enduring stability for performance, retaining ~80% of its original value for shelf storage over 4000h.

Theoretical Study of Infrared and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy in SiP Interstellar Molecules

Abstract Insufficient theoretical investigation is being conducted on the spectroscopic characteristics within the infrared wavelength range of SiP, an identified interstellar molecule. Using the ic-MRCI method, potential energy functions and dipole moment functions for the ground state (${X}^2\Pi $) and low excited states (${{\rm{A}}}^2{\Sigma }^ + $) of the SiP molecule were calculated. Based on experimental spectroscopy data, least squares fitting was used for the potential energy functions of the ${X}^2\Pi $ and ${{\rm{A}}}^2{\Sigma }^ + $ states. By combining these potential energy and dipole moment functions, the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation was solved to obtain the vibronic energy levels and Einstein A coefficients for the electronic states. Partition functions of the SiP molecule from 0.1 K to 3000 K and the radiative properties of ${X}^2\Pi \leftrightarrow {X}^2\Pi $ and ${X}^{\rm{2}}\Pi \leftrightarrow {{\rm{A}}}^2{\Sigma }^ + $ were derived. Infrared spectroscopy of the ${X}^2\Pi $ state and ultraviolet spectroscopy of the ${X}^{\rm{2}}\Pi \leftrightarrow {{\rm{A}}}^2{\Sigma }^ + $ transition at 100 K, a temperature crucial for astronomical research, were calculated. Results indicate that the spectral line intensity of the ${X}^{\rm{2}}\Pi \leftrightarrow {{\rm{A}}}^2{\Sigma }^ + $ transition is greater, making it more suitable for astronomical observation. The obtained computational results in this paper yield spectroscopic parameters for the characterization of the interstellar molecule SiP, furnishing theoretical underpinnings for subsequent experimental observations.

Molecular self-assembled helix peptide nanotubes based on some amino acid molecules and their dipeptides: molecular modeling studies.

The paper considers the features of the structure and dipole moments of several amino acids and their dipeptides which play an important role in the formation of the peptide nanotubes based on them. The influence of the features of their chirality (left L and right D) and the alpha-helix conformations of amino acids are taken into account. In particular, amino acids with aromatic rings, such as phenylalanine (Phe/F), and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)-leucine (Leu/L) and isoleucine (Ile/I)-as well as corresponding dipeptides (diphenylalanine (FF), dileucine (LL), and diisoleucine (II)) are considered. The main features and properties of these dipeptide structures and peptide nanotubes (PNTs), based on them, are investigated using computational molecular modeling and quantum-chemical semi-empirical calculations. Their polar, piezoelectric, and photoelectronic properties and features are studied in detail. The results of calculations of dipole moments and polarization, as well as piezoelectric coefficients and band gap width, for different types of helical peptide nanotubes are presented. The calculated values of the chirality indices of various nanotubes are given, depending on the chirality of the initial dipeptides-the results obtained are consistent with the law of changes in the type of chirality as the hierarchy of molecular structures becomes more complex. The influence of water molecules in the internal cavity of nanotubes on their physical properties is estimated. A comparison of the results of these calculations by various computational methods with the available experimental data is presented and discussed. The main tool for molecular modeling of all studied nanostructures in this work was the HyperChem 8.01 software package. The main approach used here is the Hartree-Fock (HF) self-consistent field (SCF) with various quantum-chemical semi-empirical methods (AM1, PM3, RM1) in the restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) and in the unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) approximations. Optimization of molecular systems and the search for their optimal geometry is carried out in this work using the Polak-Ribeire algorithm (conjugate gradient method), which determines the optimized geometry at the point of their minimum total energy. For such optimized structures, dipole moments D and electronic energy levels (such as EHOMO and ELUMO), as well as the band gap Eg = ELUMO - EHOMO, were then calculated. For each optimized molecular structure, the volume was calculated using the QSAR program implemented also in the HyperChem software package.

Se-Elemental Concentration Gradient Regulation for Efficient Sb2(S,Se)3 Solar Cells with High Open-Circuit Voltages.

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2(S,Se)3), featuring large absorption coefficient, excellent crystal structure stability, benign non-toxic characteristic, outstanding humidity and ultraviolet tolerability, has recently attracted enormous attention and research interest regarding its photoelectric conversion properties. However, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) for Sb2(S,Se)3-based photovoltaic devices is relatively low, especially for the device with a high power conversion efficiency (η). Herein, an innovative Se-elemental concentration gradient regulation strategy has been exploited to produce high-quality Sb2(S,Se)3 films on TiO2/CdS substrates through a thioacetamide(TA)-synergistic dual-sulfur source hydrothermal-processed method. The Se-elemental gradient distribution produces a favorable energy band structure, which suppresses the energy level barriers for hole transport and enhances the driving force for electron transport in Sb2(S,Se)3 film. This facilitates efficient charge transport/separation of photogenerated carriers and boosts significantly the Voc of Sb2(S,Se)3 photovoltaic devices. The champion TA-Sb2(S,Se)3 planar heterojunction (PHJ) solar cell displays an considerable η of 9.28% accompanied by an excitingVoc rising to 0.70 V that is currently the highest among Sb2(S,Se)3-based solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 9.0%. This research is anticipated to contribute to the preparation of high-quality Sb2(S,Se)3 thin film and the achievement of efficient inorganic Sb2(S,Se)3 PHJ photovoltaic device.

Clustered Routing Using Chaotic Genetic Algorithm with Grey Wolf Optimization to Enhance Energy Efficiency in Sensor Networks.

As an alternative to flat architectures, clustering architectures are designed to minimize the total energy consumption of sensor networks. Nonetheless, sensor nodes experience increased energy consumption during data transmission, leading to a rapid depletion of energy levels as data are routed towards the base station. Although numerous strategies have been developed to address these challenges and enhance the energy efficiency of networks, the formulation of a clustering-based routing algorithm that achieves both high energy efficiency and increased packet transmission rate for large-scale sensor networks remains an NP-hard problem. Accordingly, the proposed work formulated an energy-efficient clustering mechanism using a chaotic genetic algorithm, and subsequently developed an energy-saving routing system using a bio-inspired grey wolf optimizer algorithm. The proposed chaotic genetic algorithm-grey wolf optimization (CGA-GWO) method is designed to minimize overall energy consumption by selecting energy-aware cluster heads and creating an optimal routing path to reach the base station. The simulation results demonstrate the enhanced functionality of the proposed system when associated with three more relevant systems, considering metrics such as the number of live nodes, average remaining energy level, packet delivery ratio, and overhead associated with cluster formation and routing.

Functional Group-driven Competing Mechanism in Electrochemical Reaction and Adsorption/Desorption Processes toward High-capacity Aluminum-Porphyrin Batteries.

Nonaqueous organic aluminum batteries are considered as promising high-safety energy storage devices due to stable ionic liquid electrolytes and Al metals. However, the stability and capacity of organic positive electrodes are limited by their inherent high solubility and low active organic molecules. To address such issues, here porphyrin compounds with rigid molecular structures present stable and reversible capability in electrochemically storing AlCl2+. Comparison between the porphyrin molecules with electron-donating groups (TPP-EDG) and with electron-withdrawing groups (TPP-EWG) suggests that EDG is responsible for increasing both HOMO and LUMO energy levels, resulting in decreased redox potentials. On the other hand, EWG is associated with decreasing both HOMO and LUMO energy levels, leading to promoted redox potentials. EDG and EWG play critical roles in regulating electron density of porphyrin π bond andelectrochemical energy storage kinetics behavior. The competitive mechanism between electrochemical redox reaction and de/adsorption processes suggests that TPP-OCH3 delivers the highest specific capacity ~171.8 mAh g-1, approaching a record in the organic Al batteries.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity and antibacterial potential of a novel ternary ZnO-Ag2MoO4-AgI heterojunction photocatalyst

The construction of heterojunctions is a recognized strategy for enhancing photogenerated carrier separation. This research introduces a novel ZnO-Ag2MoO4-AgI photocatalyst with a double Z-type heterojunction, made using a straightforward precipitation technique. The precise position of energy levels endowed the ternary photocatalyst with the ability of directional electron flow, while the Z-type structure exhibits strong redox capabilities and facilitates the effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers. The structural characteristics, the photocatalytic activities, the antibacterial properties, and the cytotoxicity of the catalysts were evaluated. The results demonstrate that the catalytic ability of ternary composites work synergistically, surpassing the individual and binary photocatalysts. Notably, the ternary composites with 30 % AgI content exhibit the highest catalytic activity, achieving complete degradation of Rhodamine B in 30 minutes, and up to 71.2 % degradation of Norfloxacin in 60 minutes. Furthermore, more than 99.998 % of Staphylococcus aureus, and 100 % of Escherichia coli were eliminated within 40 minutes, while Human colorectal adenocarcinoma epithelial cells mortality reached 91.98 % at a dose of 250 μg/mL. Our study underscores the potential of this strategy for photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants, and as an antibacterial agent, providing innovative insights into the design of ZnO-based heterostructure photocatalysts.

Functional Group‐driven Competing Mechanism in Electrochemical Reaction and Adsorption/Desorption Processes toward High‐capacity Aluminum‐Porphyrin Batteries

Nonaqueous organic aluminum batteries are considered as promising high‐safety energy storage devices due to stable ionic liquid electrolytes and Al metals. However, the stability and capacity of organic positive electrodes are limited by their inherent high solubility and low active organic molecules. To address such issues, here porphyrin compounds with rigid molecular structures present stable and reversible capability in electrochemically storing AlCl2+. Comparison between the porphyrin molecules with electron‐donating groups (TPP‐EDG) and with electron‐withdrawing groups (TPP‐EWG) suggests that EDG is responsible for increasing both HOMO and LUMO energy levels, resulting in decreased redox potentials. On the other hand, EWG is associated with decreasing both HOMO and LUMO energy levels, leading to promoted redox potentials. EDG and EWG play critical roles in regulating electron density of porphyrin π bond and electrochemical energy storage kinetics behavior. The competitive mechanism between electrochemical redox reaction and de/adsorption processes suggests that TPP‐OCH3 delivers the highest specific capacity ~171.8 mAh g‐1, approaching a record in the organic Al batteries.

The wide spectral range characteristics and dynamic evolution of laser-produced tin plasmas

The energy levels and transitions of highly charged Sn ions are key data for analyzing emission spectra, radiative opacity, and conversion efficiency of laser-produced Sn plasmas. Temporally–resolved spectra in the 6–45-nm range were acquired via high-precision, spatio–temporally resolved techniques. In addition, the Cowan code, based on Hartree–Fock multi-configurational interactions, was used to perform structural calculations for Sn4+–Sn13+ ion spectra. Emission spectra in the 11–18-nm range were primarily attributed to Sn8+–Sn12+ ions, with transitions involving principal quantum numbers Δn=0 and Δn=1. Whereas, emission spectra in the 6–11-nm and 18–45-nm ranges were mainly attributed to Sn9+–Sn13+and Sn4+– Sn9+ions, with transitions involving principal quantum numbers Δn=1,2. Furthermore, Segmented simulations were conducted based on the assumptions of a normalized Boltzmann distribution among the excited states and a steady-state collisional-radiative model to explain the characteristics of the radiation spectra and variations in state parameters variations during laser-produced plasma expansion from the core to the outer periphery. A specific analysis was conducted on the temporal evolution of the electron temperature and density, while the charge state of the plasma was analyzed over the 6–18-nm range. Based on the spectral diagnostics, this work focused on the impact of non-uniformity in the expansion of the Sn plasma.