Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Aileen Sauermoser, Thomas Lainer, Andreas Knoechl, Freskida Goni, Roland C. Fischer, Harald Fitzek, Martina Dienstleder, Christine Prietl, Anne-Marie Kelterer, Christine Bandl, Georg Jakopic, Gerald Kothleitner, Michael Haas
Summary: The aim of this study was to prepare amorphous silicon-carbon hybrid thin-layer materials using liquid phase deposition (LPD) process and single-source precursors. Different precursor materials were used, and the carbon content and bandgap of the thin films were successfully controlled. The results show the potential of LPD for tuning the properties of silicon-carbon materials.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Angelika Balliou, Giorgos Papadimitropoulos, Anna Regoutz, Dimitris Davazoglou, Dimitrios N. Kouvatsos
Summary: A new MoS2-based ionic liquid-gated TFT with high performance and low cost has been developed in this study. The device addresses the weakness of P-type conduction in MoS2 and demonstrates photoenabled switching and memory functionality. This advanced architecture enables high-performance multifunctional stackable MOSFETs on any kind of processing-sensitive, plastic, and/or flexible substrate.
ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Oleg Dubov, Jaume Giralt Marce, Agusti Fortuny, Azael Fabregat, Frank Stuber, Josep Font
Summary: Uniform flexible carbon nitride coatings were synthesized by annealing soluble triazine-based polymeric precursors, exhibiting outstanding electrochemical stability and increased capacitance. The coatings, composed of nearly equal atomic quantities of carbon and nitrogen, showed noticeable mechanical strength and optical bandgaps ranging from 1.71 to 1.99 eV, with good conductivity.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chunguang Ren, Zhengshuo Wang, Hanlin Ou, Tianjie Wang, Zhipeng Zhao, Yuting Wei, Hua Yuan, Yeqiang Tan, Wang Zhang Yuan
Summary: A kind of amorphous RTP material with ultralong lifetime is fabricated by covalently bonding sodium alginate with arylboronic acid in aqueous phase. The resulting polymer film exhibits distinctive RTP performance with excitation-dependent emissions from cyan to green. These smart materials are successfully applied in data encryption and anti-counterfeiting due to the color-tunable and stimuli-responsive afterglows.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Brendan Hanrahan, Cosme Milesi-Brault, Asher Leff, Alexis Payne, Shi Liu, Mael Guennou, Nicholas Strnad
Summary: Antiferroelectric PbHfO3 thin films are grown using atomic layer deposition with Pb and Hf precursors at a substrate temperature of 250°C, exhibiting double hysteresis loops with high energy storage density but no clear evidence of an intermediate phase. Temperature-dependent studies reveal a phase transition at 185°C, likely to a paraelectric phase, highlighting the unique properties of thin film perovskite antiferroelectrics.
Article
Physics, Applied
Behnam Akhavan, Rajesh Ganesan, Stephen Bathgate, Dougal G. McCulloch, James G. Partridge, Mihail Ionsecu, Dave T. A. Mathews, Michael Stueber, Sven Ulrich, David R. McKenzie, Marcela M. M. Bilek
Summary: This study demonstrates a simple, new approach using a magnetic field with a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) source to control the sp(3) fraction of amorphous carbon films, enhancing the deposition rate by focusing the flux and providing films with high tetrahedral bonding at the center. Resistive switching is observed in films with intermediate sp(3) fractions, allowing for the production of thin amorphous carbon films with selected properties without the need for electrical bias. The technique opens up possibilities for applications such as wear-resistant coatings on polymers and fabrication of resistive switching devices for neuromorphic technologies.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Cristina Giorgiana Coromelci, Andreea Elena Maftei, Mariana Neamtu, Gabriel Ababei, Loredana Brinza
Summary: In this study, the potential use of amorphous iron oxyhydroxides (FHY) for removing persistent pollutants from aqueous solutions was investigated. The addition of complexing agents during synthesis enhanced the properties of FHY. The synthesized materials were characterized to assess their mineralogy, crystallinity, morphology, size, surface properties, and organic content. Reactive Yellow 84 dye was chosen as a representative pollutant, and adsorption studies were conducted at varying dye concentrations. The results showed that FHY exhibited the best performance, followed by FHY_EDTA and FHY_EDDS. Coupling adsorption with photodegradation processes significantly increased the removal efficiencies of persistent RY 84 from polluted aqueous solutions, providing a feasible alternative at sites with elevated dye concentrations.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Polymer Science
Shohei Hara, Shinji Ando, Ryohei Ishige
Summary: Vertically aligned fully aromatic polyimide (PI) thin films were successfully prepared using a push-coating method. The orientational order parameter of the push-coated PAE film exceeded 0.7 by optimizing the preparation conditions. The vertically aligned PI films were thermodynamically stable.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Fangjuan Geng, Yu-Ning Wu, Daniel Splith, Liangjun Wang, Xiaowan Kang, Xiaojian Chen, Pengsheng Guo, Shanshan Liang, Lei Yang, Michael Lorenz, Marius Grundmann, Jiaqi Zhu, Chang Yang
Summary: By developing an amorphous Cu(S,I) material system, record high hole conductivities of 10(3)-10(4) S cm(-1) have been achieved in p-type amorphous transparent conductors (a-TCs), making them comparable with commercial n-type TCs made of indium tin oxide and 100 times greater than any previously reported p-type a-TCs. The high hole conduction is due to the overlap of large p-orbitals of I- and S2- anions, providing a hole transport pathway insensitive to structural disorder. Additionally, the bandgap of amorphous Cu(S,I) can be modulated from 2.6 to 2.9 eV by increasing the iodine content. These unique properties demonstrate the great potential of the Cu(S,I) system as a promising p-type amorphous transparent electrode material for optoelectronics.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Roman G. Parkhomenko, Oreste De Luca, Lukasz Kolodziejczyk, Evgeny Modin, Petra Rudolf, Diego Martinez Martinez, Luis Cunha, Mato Knez
Summary: Amorphous AlN films obtained by atomic layer deposition exhibit compact and continuous structure with homogeneous composition, and their mechanical properties are comparable to those of AlN films produced by other techniques.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Rene Castro, Aleksei Kononov, Nadezhda Anisimova
Summary: The results of a study on charge transfer processes in thin amorphous and crystalline Sb2Te3 films in a wide range of frequencies and temperatures are presented. The authors used dielectric spectroscopy to obtain the frequency spectra of conductivity and analyzed the frequency and temperature dependences. They observed a transition from classical correlated barrier hopping (CBH) to quantum mechanical tunneling (QMT) at a certain temperature. The study also identified the activation energies and different types of conductivities for amorphous and crystalline films.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ik-Soo Kim, Chae-Eun Shim, Sang Won Kim, Chang-Seok Lee, Junyoung Kwon, Kyung-Eun Byun, Unyong Jeong
Summary: Although relatively less attention has been given to amorphous carbon (a-C) thin films, research on their structures and properties has accumulated. Currently, a-C thin films are being used as hardmasks in the semiconductor industry and hold promise for practical applications in other areas as well.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Deyu Niu, Pengwu Xu, Jiaxuan Li, Weijun Yang, Tianxi Liu, Piming Ma
Summary: In this work, a simple and effective strategy is proposed to improve the toughness and hydrolysis resistance of poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) by introducing poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and combining extensional stress and temperature field. The PGA/PBAT films fabricated through the high temperature melting-quenching-stretching-annealing (QSA) process exhibit enhanced strength, stiffness, ductility, heat and hydrolysis resistance compared to the unstretched film. This study provides a potential avenue for the wider application of PGA materials and serves as a guidance for other semi-crystalline polymer blends.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shuo Tao, Lei Wang, Zhili Wang, Xiaolei Li, Xue Li, Yujie Wang, Bo Wang, Wenwen Zi, Ying Wei, Kuizhi Chen, Zhijian Tian, Guangjin Hou
Summary: Due to the interest in applications of zeolitic materials and challenges associated with traditional synthesis methods, a new synthesis approach for aluminophosphate (AlPO) zeotypes has been developed. By calcinating amorphous precursors at moderate temperatures and short reaction times, highly crystalline AlPO zeotypes with various topologies have been successfully synthesized. Multinuclear multidimensional solid-state NMR techniques combined with complementary characterizations reveal the catalytic role of fluoride and the directing role of organic structure-directing agents in the synthesis process. This novel synthesis strategy not only shows excellent efficiency, but also sheds new light on the crystallization mechanism of zeolitic materials.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Caixia Wang, Tao Wang, Bin Li, Shouming Yu, Linlin Cao, Guojun Zhang
Summary: By introducing nano crystallites to amorphous matrix through changing the deposition rate of magnetron sputtering, dual-phase composite Al0.74Mo0.26 alloy films with significantly improved ductility can be synthesized. The ductility of composite films is determined by the synergy of phase fraction and morphology of nanocrystallite, rather than a monotonous increase with nanocrystallite phase fraction.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING A-STRUCTURAL MATERIALS PROPERTIES MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROCESSING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Trisha R. Nickerson, Emma N. Antonio, Dylan P. McNally, Michael F. Toney, Chunmei Ban, Anthony P. Straub
Summary: Polyamide reverse osmosis (PA-RO) membranes have high water permeability and salt rejection, making them important for addressing water shortages. However, current membranes face challenges with selectivity, fouling, and predicting performance. This Perspective highlights the need for molecular understanding of selectivity and transport mechanisms of PA-RO and other polymer membranes to guide future developments and improve predictive models. It discusses current understanding of ion, water, and polymer interactions in PA-RO membranes, explores their impact on transport properties, and underscores advances in characterization techniques and computational methods for studying transport phenomena.
Article
Polymer Science
Grant E. Bauman, Jonathan D. Hoang, Michael F. Toney, Timothy J. White
Summary: The anisotropy of liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) is derived from the interaction-facilitated orientation of the molecular constituents. In this study, we investigated the correlation between the thermomechanical response of LCEs subjected to mechanical alignment and measurements of the Hermans orientation parameter. By systematically preparing LCEs with varying concentrations of liquid crystalline mesogens, we were able to control the degree of achievable order. The results showed that the liquid crystalline content defines the temperature of actuation, while the orientation parameter of the LCE is intricately correlated to both the total actuation strain and the rate of thermomechanical response.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hao A. Nguyen, Grant Dixon, Florence Y. Dou, Shaun Gallagher, Stephen Gibbs, Dylan M. Ladd, Emanuele Marino, Justin C. Ondry, James P. Shanahan, Eugenia S. Vasileiadou, Stephen Barlow, Daniel R. Gamelin, David S. Ginger, David M. Jonas, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Seth R. Marder, Daniel Morton, Christopher B. Murray, Jonathan S. Owen, Dmitri V. Talapin, Michael F. Toney, Brandi M. Cossairt
Summary: In this review, the demand and design rules for solution-processed semiconductors with narrow photoluminescence line widths are discussed. The current state of emission line width for various colloidal materials is compared, and some conclusions and prospects are summarized.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lucas Q. Flagg, Jonathan W. Onorato, Christine K. Luscombe, Vinayak Bhat, Chad Risko, Ben Levy-Wendt, Michael F. Toney, Christopher R. McNeill, Guillaume Freychet, Mikhail Zhernenkov, Ruipeng Li, Lee J. Richter
Summary: Organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) have the potential for various new technologies, but their complex behavior inhibits material design. This report presents the use of RXRD to determine the structure of a doped polymer OMIEC. The insights from RXRD provide important information on ion location and doping behavior, contributing to a better understanding of transport in OMIECs.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Nayon Park, Ryan A. Beck, Kevin K. Hoang, Dylan M. Ladd, Jared E. Abramson, Ricardo A. Rivera-Maldonado, Hao A. Nguyen, Madison Monahan, Gerald T. Seidler, Michael F. Toney, Xiaosong Li, Brandi M. Cossairt
Summary: We demonstrate the colloidal, layer-by-layer growth of metal oxide shells on InP quantum dots (QDs) at room temperature. The presence of surface-localized dark states near the band edges due to native InP QD surface oxides gives rise to nonradiative pathways, which can be reduced by replacing surface indium with zinc to form a ZnO shell. A synthetic strategy using stoichiometric amounts of common atomic layer deposition precursors in alternating cycles was developed for layer-by-layer growth. The results show the potential of controlling QD interfaces and contribute to the understanding of the connections between structural complexity and PL properties in colloidal optoelectronic materials.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Julian A. Steele, Eduardo Solano, David Hardy, Damara Dayton, Dylan Ladd, Keith White, Peng Chen, Jingwei Hou, Haowei Huang, Rafikul Ali Saha, Lianzhou Wang, Feng Gao, Johan Hofkens, Maarten B. J. Roeffaers, Dmitry Chernyshov, Michael F. Toney
Summary: Recent reports have increasingly utilized synchrotron-based grazing incident wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) to study metal halide perovskite thin films, which has proven to be invaluable for understanding structure-property relationships that limit optoelectronic performance. The GIWAXS technique is compatible with in situ and operando setups, and a growing research community has successfully used it to study kinetic and dynamic features in halide perovskite materials. This article aims to accelerate the learning curve for new experimentalists by providing a comprehensive framework for effective GIWAXS experiments.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joshua T. Del Mundo, Sintu Rongpipi, Hui Yang, Dan Ye, Sarah N. Kiemle, Stephanie L. Moffitt, Charles L. Troxel, Michael F. Toney, Chenhui Zhu, James D. Kubicki, Daniel J. Cosgrove, Esther W. Gomez, Enrique D. Gomez
Summary: In this study, grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) with a humidity chamber was used to investigate the properties of onion cell walls. The results showed that the lattice spacing of cellulose (110/110) slightly decreased upon drying, while the lattice parameters of (200) remained unchanged. The intensity of (110/110) diffraction increased relative to (200) in hydrated samples. Density functional theory models confirmed the changes in crystalline properties during drying. GIWAXS also revealed a peak attributed to pectin chain aggregation.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Valerie A. Niemann, Marten Huck, Hans-Georg Steinrueck, Michael F. Toney, William A. Tarpeh, Sharon E. Bone
Summary: This study investigated the fouling of RO membranes by calcium and silicon under realistic feed conditions using mu-X-ray fluorescence (mu-XRF) mapping and mu-X-ray absorption near-edge fine structure (mu-XANES) spectroscopy. The results showed that both calcium and silicon were abundant in the fouling layer. Additionally, organic compounds were closely related to the presence of calcium and silicon on the RO membrane. These findings provide important insight into the mechanism of RO membrane fouling.
Article
Physics, Applied
Sami A. El Hageali, Harvey Guthrey, Steven Johnston, Andrew Norman, Jake Soto, Bruce Odekirk, Robert E. Stahlbush, Nadeemullah A. Mahadik, Brian P. Gorman, Mowafak Al-Jassim
Summary: This study investigates the nature, origin, behavior, and impact of trapezoidal defects in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers. Various imaging and microscopy techniques were used to identify the stacking faults and determine their origin. The defects were found to impact the carrier recombination and electrical performance of SiC devices.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Luis Kitsu Iglesias, Emma N. Antonio, Tristan D. Martinez, Liang Zhang, Zengqing Zhuo, Steven J. Weigand, Jinghua Guo, Michael F. Toney
Summary: This study elucidates the mechanism of sodium storage in hard carbon anodes and provides insights into the preferred pore sizes, extent of pore filling, and the influence of defect concentration. It is observed that sodium in larger pores exhibits increased pseudo-metallic sodium character, and higher pyrolysis temperatures enhance the capacity of sodium stored in the pores. Additionally, sodium intercalation between graphene layers occurs simultaneously with pore filling in the plateau region. The findings highlight strategies to design superior hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Haley M. Cole, Michael B. Venuti, Brian Gorman, Eric D. Bauer, Mun K. Chan, Serena Eley
Summary: In type-II superconductors, the magnetization of superconductors weakens with increasing magnetic field, but some materials show a maximum in magnetization known as the second magnetization peak. We studied vortex dynamics in HgBa2CuO4+x crystals and found conspicuous second magnetization peaks. We identified phase boundaries and previously unreported transitions within the plastic flow regime.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Daniel R. Clark, David R. Diercks, Sandrine Ricote, Tania Tauer Dearden, Neal P. Sullivan, J. Will Medlin, Brian P. Gorman, Ryan P. O'Hayre
Summary: This study characterizes the grain boundary (GB) chemistry of BZY10 samples prepared by four different methods using laser-pulsed atom probe tomography (APT). Oxygen depletion and varying segregation/depletion behaviors of cation constituents were observed at the GBs. Common impurities such as Al, Fe, Mg, Si, and Sr were also found to accumulate at the GBs. The study reveals the complexity of BZY10 GB chemistry and the unexpected differences in GB chemistry between adjacent boundaries.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dario Gomez Vazquez, Travis P. Pollard, Julian Mars, Ji Mun Yoo, Hans-Georg Steinrueck, Sharon E. Bone, Olga Safonova, Michael F. Toney, Oleg Borodin, Maria R. Lukatskaya
Summary: By using coordinating anions like acetate, a WIS-like Zn coordination environment can be achieved even in relatively dilute conditions, enabling prolonged cycling of Zn metal anodes.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Stephanie L. Moffitt, Chuntian Cao, Maikel F. A. M. Van Hest, Laura T. Schelhas, Hans-Georg Steinrueck, Michael F. Toney
Summary: In this study, the existence of vertically heterogeneous thermally induced structural relaxation in amorphous In-Zn-O (a-IZO) thin films was observed using in situ X-ray reflectivity, which has not been previously observed. Thermal annealing was found to influence the electrical performance of the films. These findings are important for the development of a-IZO-based devices.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alexander H. Jenkins, Erin E. Dunphy, Michael F. Toney, Charles B. Musgrave, J. Will Medlin
Summary: This study investigates the effects of modifying single-atom Rh-1/TiO2 catalysts with functionalized phosphonic acid monolayers on CO2 hydrogenation. The deposition of specific amine-functionalized ligands significantly enhances the catalytic activity and stability of the catalysts. The proximity of the amine functional group to the surface, controlled by adjusting the length of the phosphonic acid tail, plays a crucial role in the reactivity. The modification also improves the selectivity of the catalyst towards CO.