Tin Nanowire Arrays Research Articles

Plasmon-enhanced hydrogen evolution on Pt-anchored titanium nitride nanowire arrays

Plasmonic materials integrated with electrochemical catalysts produce hot carriers that improve the catalytic activity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Previous studies have mainly focused on noble metal-based plasmonic materials. Herein, an efficient catalyst comprising non-noble TiN as the plasmonic booster and Pt nanoparticles (NPs) as the cocatalyst is prepared on carbon cloth (CC) (Pt/TiN/CC) by nitridation of TiO2 in NH3 and electrodeposition. The HER properties are improved significantly as manifested by a small overpotential of 16 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 (η10) as well as 2-fold decay in η10 compared to the control experiment conducted in darkness (33 mV). To investigate the role of light-excited hot electrons in the reduction of protons to H2, Pt/TiOx/CC is irradiated with UV–visible light in the control experiment and the superior characteristics of Pt/TiN/CC corroborate the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhancement rendered from the TiN nanowire arrays. This study provides a fundamental understanding of hot electronics generated by SPR and insights into the design of non-noble electrocatalysts for HER and other applications.

A high-performance electrocatalyst composed of nickel clusters encapsulated with a carbon network on TiN nanaowire arrays for the oxygen evolution reaction

Metal cluster catalysts have aroused much interest in the field of electrocatalysis due to high degree of materials utilization and strong substrate interaction, but negative effects such as materials aggregation must be minimized. In this work, rhizobia-like Ni nano-clusters encapsulated with a carbon network are anchored on porous TiN nanowire arrays prepared on carbon cloth (CC) to form a high-performance electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water splitting. The Ni nano-clusters with a small size and strong interaction with the TiN substrate provide active sites galore to facilitate OER. Furthermore, the skeleton made of porous TiN nanowires on CC provides high electrical conductivity to accelerate charge transport as well as a rough surface to accommodate the Ni nano-clusters. The interaction between the metallic Ni nano-clusters and TiN substrate are demonstrated to promote the activity in OER based on theoretical calculation. This novel electrocatalyst which exhibits superior OER activity and stability in an alkaline electrolyte has large potential in energy conversion and related applications.

Interface engineered and surface modulated electrode materials for ultrahigh-energy-density wearable NiCo//Fe batteries

The rational design and construction of high-performance fiber-shaped NiCo//Fe batteries is of great importance for the development of portable and wearable electronics. Electrode materials with all hierarchical core-shell heterostructures have great potential for use in high-performance NiCo//Fe batteries as a result of their good conductivity, high mass loading, and short ion-diffusion paths. Herein is proposed a novel freestanding core-shell positive and negative electrode materials developed by depositing NiCoP nanosheets on nanoflake arrays (NiCoP@NiCoP NFAs) and Fe2O3 nanoneedles on TiN nanowire arrays (TiN@Fe2O3 NWAs) directly grown on carbon nanotube fibers (CNTFs). The fabricated NiCoP@NiCoP NFAs/CNTF was validated to be an ultrahigh capacity cathode (1.07 mAh cm−2 at 2 ​mA ​cm−2), matching well with the similarly constructed TiN@Fe2O3 NWAs/CNTF anode (0.92 mAh cm−2 at 2 ​mA ​cm−2). These electrodes were successfully developed into a high-performance NiCo//Fe battery that exhibited an extraordinary capacity of 0.77 mAh cm−2 and a remarkable energy density of 265.2 ​mWh cm−3. The flexible battery demonstrated an excellent cycling lifespan with 89.4% capacity retention after 4000 cycles. This pioneering study describes a powerful strategy for the rational construction of high-performance electrode materials with hierarchical core-shell heterostructures and constitutes a novel approach for the development of new-generation wearable aqueous rechargeable batteries.

Synthesis of high-performance TiN based battery-type wire supercapacitors and their energy storage mechanisms

Battery-type supercapacitors that exhibit both high power density from capacitor-like behaviour, and high energy density from battery-like behaviour, have attracted significant interest recently. However, compared to conventional capacitor technology, these supercapacitors present new challenges for the design of the electrode materials, since they require not only high conductivity for fast electron transport, but also a suitable crystal structure for efficient ion intercalation. Here, we report a large-capacity wire supercapacitor, which is assembled by forming TiN nanowire arrays on carbonized cotton threads. The resulting structure is capable of both acting as the cathode and the anode, with specific capacities of 12.9 mAh cm−1 and 25.0 mAh cm−1 in Li-ion aqueous electrolyte, respectively. Sweep voltammetry analysis further reveals that the storage characteristics include both battery and capacitor-like behaviour, that is, 50–60% of the energy storage arises from the intercalation/deintercalation of Li/Na ions (battery-like) with the balance coming from the adsorption/desorption of electrolyte ions on the electrode surface (capacitor-like). Finally, two types of wire supercapacitors are assembled (lithium and sodium ion based), which exhibited excellent energy density of 52.5 μW h cm−2 for the lithium ion capacitor and 93.1 μW h cm−2 for the sodium ion capacitor, with 74.9% and 51.5% of the specific capacity retained after 10,000 cycles. This work demonstrates the possible application of these materials and structures in high-performance wearable energy storage systems.

A 3D electrode of core@shell branched nanowire TiN@Ni0.27Co2.73O4 arrays for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

The combination of highly active materials with judicious nanostructures is crucial to develop high-performance electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which involves sluggish multistep electron transfer processes. Herein, TiN nanowire arrays are used as conductive trunks to support active Ni-doped Co3O4 (Ni0.27Co2.73O4) nanosheets to construct a binder-free three-dimensional (3D) electrode for OER. In the core@shell configuration, the TiN nanowire arrays possess a single-crystal-like structure favoring charge migration and the ultrathin Ni0.27Co2.73O4 nanosheets have a mesoporous structure providing more active sites. The hierarchically branched morphology, high conductivity and large surface area can be achieved simultaneously by the optimization in composition and nanostructure, which contributes to excellent electrochemical performances. The TiN@Ni0.27Co2.73O4 electrode shows much better OER activity than the Ni-doped Co3O4 nanosheets deposited on planar Ti substrate and low conductive TiO2 nanowire arrays.

Correction to Ultracompliant Heterogeneous Copper-Tin Nanowire Arrays Making A Supersolder.

Correction to Ultracompliant Heterogeneous Copper-Tin Nanowire Arrays Making A Supersolder.

Ultracompliant Heterogeneous Copper-Tin Nanowire Arrays Making a Supersolder.

Due to the substantial increase in power density, thermal interface resistance that can constitute more than 50% of the total thermal resistance has generally become a bottleneck for thermal management in electronics. However, conventional thermal interface materials (TIMs) such as solder, epoxy, gel, and grease cannot fulfill the requirements of electronics for high-power and long-term operation. Here, we demonstrate a high-performance TIM consisting of a heterogeneous copper-tin nanowire array, which we term "supersolder" to emulate the role of conventional solders in bonding various surfaces. The supersolder is ultracompliant with a shear modulus 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than traditional solders and can reduce the thermal resistance by two times as compared with the state-of-the-art TIMs. This supersolder also exhibits excellent long-term reliability with >1200 thermal cycles over a wide temperature range. By resolving this critical thermal bottleneck, the supersolder enables electronic systems, ranging from microelectronics and portable electronics to massive data centers, to operate at lower temperatures with higher power density and reliability.

Fabrication and electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline/titanium nitride core–shell nanowire arrays

A novel polyaniline/titanium nitride (PANI/TiN) core–shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) have been fabricated on carbon fibers (CFs) substrate and applied as an electrode material of electrochemical supercapacitor. TiN NWAs were prepared via a seed-assisted hydrothermal process and then ammonia nitridation process. PANI/TiN core–shell NWAs were prepared by electrodepositing PANI onto TiN NWAs. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that TiN NWAs consisted of bundle of small nanowires with a diameter of 10–30nm and an average length of 1μm. High-density TiN NWAs offered a high specific surface area for PANI coating layer. Electrochemical measurements showed that a very high specific capacitance of 1064Fg−1 at a current density of 1Ag−1 (based on the mass of PANI) was obtained for PANI/TiN core–shell NWAs. The specific capacitance of PANI/TiN core–shell NWAs could even achieve 787.5Fg−1 at a higher current density of 5Ag−1 and still kept 95% capacity retention after 200 cycles. These results indicated that the PANI/TiN core–shell NWAs showed the promising application as supercapacitor electrode materials for energy storage.

Electrochemical synthesis of freestanding tin nanowires from ionic liquids

In this article, we report on the electrodeposition of tin nanowire arrays from two different ionic liquids, namely, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([EMIm]DCA) and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide ([Py1,4]DCA). Tin nanowires were synthesized via a template-assisted electrodeposition process using polycarbonate membranes as templates. Gold or copper thin films were sputtered on one side of the track-etched polycarbonate template to make it conductive to be used as a working electrode. In order to have a thicker supporting layer, the electrodeposition process was done in two different ways; the first way was the deposition of Sn on both sides of the membrane, but Sn forms dendrites on the sputtered side so it cannot be used as a supporting layer for the synthesized nanowires. In the second way, Sn nanowires were deposited first through the nonsputtered side in the first step; then, a copper layer was deposited on the sputtered side in another step from 1 M CuCl/[EMIm]DCA.

Hierarchical TiN@Ni(OH)2 core/shell nanowire arrays for supercapacitor application

The TiN nanowire arrays (TiN NWAs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of Ti foil and subsequent nitridation through ammonia annealing, on which Ni(OH)2 was electrodeposited to form hierarchical TiN@Ni(OH)2 core/shell nanowire arrays (TiN@Ni(OH)2 NWAs). The electrochemical behaviors of TiN@Ni(OH)2 NWAs were measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge, which shows very high specific capacitance (2680 F g−1 at 6 A g−1 in 2M KOH aqueous solution) and good rate capability (54% capacity retention at 60 A g−1). These results demonstrate that the TiN@Ni(OH)2 NWAs nanostructure is very promising for high performance supercapacitors.

Double-sided tin nanowire arrays for advanced thermal interface materials

This investigation examines a type of thermal interface material (TIM) based on a double-sided array of tin nanowires (NWs) prepared using a hot-pressing approach with the assistance of anodic aluminum oxide templates. The metal based TIM effectively reduces the contact resistance, while the flexible nanowires show excellent mechanical compliance to increase the actual contact area with the mating rough surfaces. The results indicate that the overall thermal contact resistance of the two rough copper surfaces assisted by the tin NW array, can reduce the overall resistance to 29 mm2KW-1 at 0.25 MPa and 20 mm2KW-1 at 1.0 MPa.

Stabilized TiN Nanowire Arrays for High-Performance and Flexible Supercapacitors

Metal nitrides have received increasing attention as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs). However, most of them are suffered from poor cycling stability. Here we use TiN as an example to elucidate the mechanism causing the capacitance loss. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses revealed that the instability is due to the irreversible electrochemical oxidation of TiN during the charging/discharging process. Significantly, we demonstrate for the first time that TiN can be stabilized without sacrificing its electrochemical performance by using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/KOH gel as the electrolyte. The polymer electrolyte suppresses the oxidation reaction on electrode surface. Electrochemical studies showed that the TiN solid-state SCs exhibit extraordinary stability up to 15,000 cycles and achieved a high volumetric energy density of 0.05 mWh/cm(3). The capability of effectively stabilizing nitride materials could open up new opportunities in developing high-performance and flexible SCs.

Large-scale fabrication of single crystalline tin nanowire arrays

Large-scale single crystalline tin nanowire arrays with preferred lattice orientation along the [100] direction were fabricated in porous anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes by the electrodeposition method using copper nanorod as a second electrode.

STANDARD MANUFACTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ARRAYS OF Pb AND Sn NANOWIRES

Nanowires grown by electrodeposition using nanoporous template have attracted much attention due to the simplicity of this technique for preparing nano-scaled materials. We present here a standard way to fabricate lead or tin nanowire arrays. We also present some of their superconducting properties directly affected by the reduced dimensions; these are the magnetic flux penetration and confinement in nanowires having a diameter only a few times the magnetic penetration length, as well as the formation of phase-slips centres in nanowires having a diameter smaller than the coherence length.