Comparative study of adsorptions, reactions and electronic properties of U atoms on Cu(111), Ag(111), Au(111) and Ru(0001) surfaces.

The mysterious properties of individual U atoms on transition metal surfaces play indispensable parts in supplementing our understanding of uranium-transition metal systems, which are important subjects for both nuclear energy applications and fundamental scientific studies. By using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations, the adsorptions, reactions and electronic properties of individual U atoms on Cu(111), Ag(111), Au(111) and Ru(0001) surfaces were comparatively studied for the first time in this work. Upon the deposition of a small amount of U onto Cu(111) or Ag(111) at 8 K, individual U atoms show relatively high activity and can either be adsorbed on intact substrate surfaces or induce various surface vacancies surrounded by clusters of substrate atoms. By contrast, the majority of U atoms tend to dispersedly adsorb on intact surfaces of Au(111) and Ru(0001) rather than producing surface vacancies at the same temperature. In all cases, Kondo resonance manifested as asymmetric dip feature around Fermi energy is only observed in the differential tunneling conductance spectra of single U adatoms on Ag(111).

Anchoring carbon nanotubes and post-hydroxylation treatment enhanced Ni nanofiber catalysts towards efficient hydrous hydrazine decomposition for effective hydrogen generation.

For effective hydrogen generation with remarkable durability, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on Ni nanofibers and their post hydroxylation treatment engendered active Ni nanofiber catalysts an efficient decomposition of hydrous hydrazine with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 19.4 h-1 and an activation energy down to 51.05 KJ mol-1.

Physical properties and field-induced metamagnetic transitions in UAu0.8Sb2.

We have successfully synthesized single crystals of UAu0.8Sb2 using a flux method and present a comprehensive study of its physical properties by measuring the magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and specific heat. Evidence for at least three magnetic phases is observed in the field-temperature phase diagram of UAu0.8Sb2. In zero field, the system undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at 71 K, and upon further cooling it passes through another antiferromagnetic phase with a ferromagnetic component, before reaching a ferromagnetic ground state. A complex magnetic field-temperature phase diagram is obtained for fields along the easy c-axis, where the antiferromagnetic order eventually becomes polarized upon applying a magnetic field.

Ultrasonic Remove of Particle Aggregation in Carbon Based Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Low-cost carbon materials (carbon black and graphite power) were applied as substitution of platinum (Pt) in counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Three fabrication methods, such as ball-milled, pulp-refined, and ultrasonic-crushed, were applied to remove the particle aggregation in the carbon pastes. Then the carbon based pastes were printed on fluorine-doped transparent conducting oxide (FTO) glasses, used as the CEs for DSSCs. Under illumination of 100 mW/cm2, DSSCs with ultrasonic-crushed CEs (U-CEs) show an energy conversion efficiency of 3.57%, which reach to 65.38% of that with conventional sputtered platinum CEs (5.46%). In addition, U-CEs exhibit a higher catalytic activity and a faster charge transfer rate toward the reduction of I-3 to I-.

Cobalt Salt as Efficient Dopant for Spiro-MeOTAD in Cesium-Containing Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

The chemical doping is an effective strategy to improve the charge transport property of hole transport material (HTM). Herein, tris(2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine]cobalt(III) (FK102) doped 2,2,7,7-tetrakis(N, N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD) as HTM for semi-transparent cesium-containing planar perovskite solar cell (Cs0.1MA0.9PbI3) is demonstrated. Incorporating FK102 realizes efficient doping, which improves the mobility of HTM from 3.948 × 10-3 m2V-1s-1 to 2.22 × 10-2 m2V-1s-1, which is 5.6 times enhancement. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is largely improved from 7.58% to 10.09% due to the improved hole transport and extraction.

Emergence of Kondo lattice behavior in a van der Waals itinerant ferromagnet, Fe3GeTe2.

Searching for heavy fermion (HF) states in non-f-electron systems becomes an interesting issue, especially in the presence of magnetism, and can help explain the physics of complex compounds. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, physical properties measurements, and the first-principles calculations, we observe the HF state in a 3d-electron van der Waals ferromagnet, Fe3GeTe2. Upon entering the ferromagnetic state, a massive spectral weight transfer occurs, which results from the exchange splitting. Meanwhile, the Fermi surface volume and effective electron mass are both enhanced. When the temperature drops below a characteristic temperature T*, heavy electrons gradually emerge with further enhanced effective electron mass. The coexistence of ferromagnetism and HF state can be well interpreted by the dual properties (itinerant and localized) of 3d electrons. This work expands the limit of ferromagnetic HF materials from f- to d-electron systems and illustrates the positive correlation between ferromagnetism and HF state in the 3d-electron material, which is quite different from the f-electron systems.

The Kondo tip decorated by the Co atom.

The Kondo effect of single Co adatoms on Ru(0001) is detected with two different kinds of co-decorated tip (Kondo tip) by using low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We call the relatively separated two magnetic impurities in the tunneling region 'two Kondo system' to distinguish it from the 'two-impurity Kondo system'. We find that the artificially constructed Kondo tips can be generally categorized into two types of Kondo resonances, which have distinct Fano line shapes with quantum interference factor |q| â‰« 1 and |q| âˆ¼ 1, respectively. The tunneling spectra of six constructed two Kondo systems can be well fitted by summing the two Fano resonances of the two subsystems and a linear background. More interestingly, by extracting the amplitudes of the two Fano resonances in the spectra, we find that the electron transmission of such a two Kondo system in the tunneling region is dominated by the quantum interference of the Kondo tip, which is directly related to the geometric configuration of the adsorbed Kondo atom on the tip.

Three-dimensional bulk electronic structure of the Kondo lattice CeIn3 revealed by photoemission.

We show the three-dimensional electronic structure of the Kondo lattice CeIn3 using soft x-ray angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy in the paramagnetic state. For the first time, we have directly observed the three-dimensional topology of the Fermi surface of CeIn3 by photoemission. The Fermi surface has a complicated hole pocket centred at the Γ-Z line and an elliptical electron pocket centred at the R point of the Brillouin zone. Polarization and photon-energy dependent photoemission results both indicate the nearly localized nature of the 4f electrons in CeIn3, consistent with the theoretical prediction by means of the combination of density functional theory and single-site dynamical mean-field theory. Those results illustrate that the f electrons of CeIn3, which is the parent material of CeMIn5 compounds, are closer to the localized description than the layered CeMIn5 compounds.

Interface-induced superconductivity and strain-dependent spin density waves in FeSe/SrTiO3 thin films.

The record superconducting transition temperature (T(c)) for the iron-based high-temperature superconductors (Fe-HTS) has long been 56 K. Recently, in single-layer FeSe films grown on SrTiO3 substrates, indications of a new record of 65 K have been reported. Using in situ photoemission measurements, we substantiate the presence of spin density waves (SDWs) in FeSe films--a key ingredient of Fe-HTS that was missed in FeSe before--and we find that this weakens with increased thickness or reduced strain. We demonstrate that the superconductivity occurs when the electrons transferred from the oxygen-vacant substrate suppress the otherwise pronounced SDWs in single-layer FeSe. Beyond providing a comprehensive understanding of FeSe films and directions to further enhance its T(c), we map out the phase diagram of FeSe as a function of lattice constant, which contains all the essential physics of Fe-HTS. With the simplest structure, cleanest composition and single tuning parameter, monolayer FeSe is an ideal system for testing theories of Fe-HTS.