ABSTRACT
Axis-dependent conduction polarity (ADCP) is a unique electronic phenomena in which the charge polarity of carrier conduction can differ from p-type to n-type depending on the direction of travel through the crystal. Most materials that exhibit ADCP are metals, and very few semiconducting materials exhibit this effect. Here, we establish that PdSe2, a â¼0.5 eV band gap semiconductor that is air- and water-stable, exhibits ADCP, through the growth and characterization of the transport properties of crystals with extrinsic p- and n-type doping levels of Ir and Sb, respectively, in the 1016-1018 cm-3 range. Electron doped PdSe2 exhibits p-type conduction in the cross-plane direction and n-type conduction along the in-plane directions above an onset temperature of 100-200 K that varies with doping level. Lightly p-doped samples show p-type thermopower in all directions at low temperatures, but above â¼360 K the in-plane thermopower turns negative. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the origin of ADCP arises from the complementary effective mass anisotropies in the valence and conduction bands in this material, which facilitate hole transport in the cross-plane direction, and electron transport along the in-plane directions. ADCP occurs at temperatures with sufficient thermal population of both carrier types to overcome the extrinsic doping levels to exploit the effective mass anisotropy. In total, the development of this stable semiconductor in which thermally or optically excited holes and electrons inherently migrate along different directions opens up numerous potential applications in a multitude of technologies.
ABSTRACT
The need to immobilize active enzyme, while ensuring high rates of substrate turnover and electronic charge transfer with an electrode, is a centrally important challenge in the field of bioelectrocatalysis. In this work, we demonstrate the use of confocal Raman microscopy as a tool for quantitation and molecular-scale structural characterization of ionomers and proteins within biocatalytic membranes to aid in the development of energy efficient biofuel cells. A set of recently available short side chain Aquivion ionomers spanning a range of equivalent weight (EW) suitable for enzyme immobilization was investigated. Aquivion ionomers (790 EW, 830 EW and 980 EW) received in the proton-exchanged (SO3H) form were treated with tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) to neutralize the ionomer and expand the size of ionic domains for enzyme incorporation. Through the use of confocal Raman microscopy, membrane TBA+ ion content was predicted in calibration studies to within a few percent of the conventional titrimetric method across the full range of TBA+: SO3- ratios of practical interest (0.1 to 1.7). Protein incorporation into membranes was quantified at the levels expected in biofuel cell electrodes. Furthermore, features associated with the catalytically active, enzyme-coordinated copper center were evident between 400 and 500 cm-1 in spectra of laccase catalytic membranes, demonstrating the potential to interrogate mechanistic chemistry at the enzyme active site of biocathodes under fuel cell reaction conditions. When benchmarked against the 1100 EW Nafion ionomer in glucose/air enzymatic fuel cells (EFCs), EFCs with laccase air-breathing cathodes prepared from TBA+ modified Aquivion ionomers were able to reach maximum power densities (Pmax) up to 1.5 times higher than EFCs constructed with cathodes prepared from TBA+ modified Nafion. The improved performance of EFCs containing the short side chain Aquivion ionomers relative to Nafion is traced to effects of ionomer ion-exchange capacity (IEC, where IEC = EW-1), where the greater density of SO3- moieties in the Aquivion materials produces an environment more favorable to mass transport and higher TBA+ concentrations.
