Effect of temperature on carrier transport and photoconductivity of Mn-doped FeS2 thin films

Thin-film of Mn-doped iron disulfide (FeS₂) has been prepared using the thermal evaporation method. This work reports the Hall measurements, temperature and light intensity-dependent photoconductivity, electrical transport mechanism, and photodetection properties of Mn-doped FeS₂ thin film. The transient photoconductivity measurements of p-type Mn-doped FeS₂ thin film show a consistent dependence upon temperature and light intensity. Charge transport mechanism was illustrated using different models. In region-I (303–393 ?K) deposited film followed the thermally activated transport mechanism. Nearest neighbour hopping (NNH) transport mechanism was followed by region-II (274–293 ?K), and Mott's variable range hopping (VRH) mechanism was dominant in region-III (108–273 ?K). The fabricated device resulted in higher photoconductivity due to collecting charge carriers through electrodes under light illumination. The results also revealed that Mn-doped thin film possessed good photoresponsivity (～19 ?mA/W) as well as photo-detectivity (～3.4 ?× ?10¹² Jones) due to the occupation of localized states formed by Mn-doping. Light intensity-dependent photodetection properties suggested the potential for real-time photodetection applications.     

Reversible hydrogenation of AB2-type Zr–Mg–Ni–V based hydrogen storage alloys

The development of hydrogen energy is hindered by the lack of high-efficiency hydrogen storage materials. To explore new high-capacity hydrogen storage alloys, reversible hydrogen storage in AB₂-type alloy is realized by using A or B-side elemental substitution. The substitution of small atomic-radius element Zr and Mg on A-side of YNi₂ and partial substitution of large atomic-radius element V on B-side of YNi₂ alloy was investigated in this study. The obtained ZrMgNi₄, ZrMgNi₃V, and ZrMgNi₂V₂ alloys remained single Laves phase structure at as-annealed, hydrogenated and dehydrogenated states, indicating that the hydrogen-induced amorphization and disproportionation was eliminated. From ZrMgNi₄ to ZrMgNi₂V₂ with the increase of the degree of vanadium substitution, the reversible hydrogen storage capacity increased from 0.6 ?wt% (0.35H/M) to 1.8 ?wt% (1.0H/M), meanwhile the lattice stability gradually increased. The ZrMgNi₂V₂ alloy could absorb 1.8 ?wt% hydrogen in about 2 ?h ?at 300 ?K under 4 ?MPa H₂ pressure and reversibly desorb the absorbed hydrogen in approximately 30 ?min ?at 473 ?K without complicated activation process. The prominent properties of ZrMgNi₂V₂ elucidate its high potential for hydrogen storage application.     

Experimental studies on overall property of thermoelectric modules with sandwiched structures

Based on direct-current transient Harman method, an integrated characterization system of thermoelectric device’s performance is established. The overall properties of thermoelectric modules with sandwiched structures are experimentally investigated, including Seebeck coefficients, figures of merit (ZT), electrical and thermal conductivities. Experiment results reveal that ZT values of thermoelectric modules are smaller than those of commercial bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) modules. In contrast, Seebeck coefficients are significantly larger than traditional thermoelectric device’s values. Meanwhile, both electrical and thermal conductivities are greater compared with literature data. Our results have proposed a feasible and economical way that can potentially increase Seebeck coefficients as to bulk Bi₂Te₃ materials without significant deterioration to the nature of Peltier effect.     

Improving thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi_2Te_3-based alloys by spark plasma sintering

High-performance(Bi_2Te_3)_x(Sb_1Te_3)_(1-x) bulk materials were prepared by combining fusion technique with spark plasma sintering,and their thermoelectric properties were investigated.The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient increase greatly and the thermal conductivity decreases significantly with the increase of Bi_2Te_3 content,which leads to a great improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT.The maximum ZT value reaches 1.33 at 398 K for the composition of 20%Bi_2Te_3-80%Sb_2Te_...     

Influence of modulation period for β-Cu2+xSe/SiC nano-multilayer films on their thermoelectric properties

In this study, β-Cu_2+xSe/SiC nano-multilayer films with different modulation period were successfully deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates by sputtering alternately using Cu–Se and SiC targets. The deposited films were observed on both surface and cross-section, and the thermoelectric properties were studied. The results show that both carrier concentration and mobility at room temperature decreased with the reducing modulation period for the nano-multilayer films. The conductivity slightly decreased and Seebeck coefficient greatly increased with the reducing modulation period. As a result of competition, the power factor of the nano multilayer films increased with the reducing modulation period because the positive effect of the Seebeck coefficient exceeded the negative effect of the conductivity. In the case of β-Cu_2+xSe/SiC nano multilayer film with the smallest modulation periods (210 ?nm), the power factor reached 0.39 ?mWm^?1K^?2 and 0.59 ?mWm^?1K^?2 at room temperature and 325 ?°C, respectively. The enhanced power factor for nano multilayer films is attributed to the scattering process at the β-Cu_2+xSe/SiC layer interface, which reduces the carrier concentration and the mobility. It is concluded that the thermoelectric properties of β-Cu_2+xSe films can be effectively improved by designing nano multilayer structure.     

Improving thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi2Te3 -based alloys by spark plasma sintering

High-performance (Bi2Te3)x(Sb2Te3)1?x bulk materials were prepared by combining fusion technique with spark plasma sintering, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient increase greatly and the thermal conductivity decreases signi ficantly with the increase of Bi2Te3 content, which leads to a great improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. The maximum ZT value reaches 1.33 at 398 K for the composition of 20%Bi2Te3-80%Sb2Te3 with 3% (mass fraction) excess Te.     

Hydrogen absorption-desorption characteristic of (Ti0.85Zr0.15)1.1Cr1-xMoxMn based alloys with C14 Laves phase

The microstructure and hydrogen absorption-desorption characteristic of (Ti_0.85Zr_0.15)_1.1Cr_1-xMo_xMn (x ?= ?0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 ?at.%) alloys were investigated. The results showed that the corresponding alloys were determined as a single phase of C14-type Laves structure. With the increase of Mo content, the maximum and reversible hydrogen absorption capacity decreased, the slope factor H_f increased. Among the studied alloys, (Ti_0.85Zr_0.15)_1.1Cr_0.95Mo_0.05Mn had the best overall properties for practical application of hydrogen storage materials. The maximum and reversible hydrogen storage capacity were 1.76 ?wt% and 1.09 ?wt%, the slope factor H_f was 0.51, and its dissociation enthalpy (ΔH_d) and entropy change (ΔS_d) were 23.1 ?kJ ?mol^?1H₂, 93.8J ?K^?1mol^?1H₂ at 303K, respectively. By studying the dissociation pressures of the synthesized metal hydrides, it was found that Mo had a special effect on the dissociation pressure of Ti–Zr–Cr–Mo–Mn alloys. Among the four alloys, (Ti_0.85Zr_0.15)_1.1Cr_0.95Mo_0.05Mn alloy had the largest hydrogen absorption capacity and the fastest hydrogen desorption rate, which can meet the commercialization demand of hydrogen fuel cell hydrogen supply system.     

Effect of Zr addition on the stability of precipitated Laves phase and mechanical properties of Fe–Cr–Al-based alloys at high temperatures

The effect of a small amount of Zr addition on the temperature-dependent stability of Laves phase particles and mechanical properties of Fe-13.5Cr-4.73Al-2.07Mo-(0.34–0.5)Nb-(0.65–0.98)Ta-(0–0.33)Zr (wt. %) ferritic alloys was investigated in the present study. The designed alloy ingots were hot-rolled, aged at 1073 ?K for 24 ?h, and then re-treated at 1273 ?K, 1323 ?K, 1373 ?K, and 1473 ?K for 1 ?h, respectively. It was found that the Zr addition could not only stabilize the Fe₂M Laves phase (M ?= ?Mo,Nb,Ta,Zr) to a much higher temperature, but also induce the formation of stable Fe₂₃Zr₆ phase. The high-temperature (HT) microstructural stability of the alloys significantly was improved, as evidenced by the fact that a certain amount (0.66–1.19%) of precipitates (Fe₂M, Fe₂₃Zr₆, and core(Fe₂₃Zr₆)-shell(Fe₂M)-structured particles) with an appropriate size (～1.0 ?μm) uniformly distributed in the ferritic matrix even after being re-treated at 1473 ?K. Particularly, the formation of core-shell-structured particles at HTs was studied from the viewpoint of both solid solubility and diffusion coefficient of M in the matrix. All these aged alloys exhibited prominent mechanical properties at both room and elevated temperatures, showing high yield strength with σ_YS ?= ?490–560 ?MPa at room-temperature and σ_YS ?= ?80–85 ?MPa at 1073 ?K. The strengthening effect was further discussed in light of various strengthening mechanisms, and the calculated strength are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Role of β(FeAl) nanoparticles in abnormal grain growth in the annealing of cast Cu-Al-Mn-Fe shape memory alloys

In this study, the low-cost production of Cu-Al-Mn-Fe shape memory alloy single crystals exceeding 46 mm by abnormal grain growth was realized only through annealing their cast alloys. The results show that the misorientation formed during annealing may be responsible for such abnormal grain growth process. It was confirmed that this misorientation resulted from the dissolution of bcc β(FeAl) nanoparticles during heat treatment at a sufficiently temperature of approximately 1173 K. The rate of migration of the abnormal grain boundary was experimentally measured to be approximately 9.3 × 10^-5 m s^-1 within 2 min of the commencement of abnormal grain growth. Additionally, the range of composition of the alloys that can lead to abnormal grain growth was determined. When the Cu-13.0Al-6.5Mn-3.2Fe single crystal close to the [100] direction was deformed to a pre-strain of 12%, full shape recovery happened without any residual strain. At that time, the superelastic strain was approximately 9%. Such a superelastic characteristic remained nearly constant over 50 cycles, showing excellent fatigue resistance. The superelastic properties of the present Cu-13.0Al-6.5Mn-3.2Fe single crystal are compared to those of commercial Ni-Ti-based shape memory alloys. Therefore, it can be considered as a new kind of superelastic material having practical applications. The obtained results should be of great significance in the development of Cu-based shape memory alloys. Furthermore, it is expected that a similar microstructure can be designed for the production of more metallic single crystals.     

Cu2O-templated fabrication of Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O hollow tubes for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Cu₂O is an ideal template material for the preparation of transition metal hydroxide/oxyhydroxides with oxygen evolution reaction (OER) enhanced catalytic performance. Here, inspired by Pearson's principle, Cu₂O wires were prepared and used as a sacrificial template to prepare Ni(OH)₂·0.75H₂O hollow tubes (Ni(OH)₂ HTs) with highly improved surface roughness. Benefiting from unique structural advantages, the Ni(OH)₂ HTs showed excellent catalytic activity, rapid kinetics and a long-term stability as the OER catalyst, where an overpotential of only 207 ?mV was required to drive a current density of 10 ?mA ?cm^?2, an ideal kinetics with a Tafel slope as 79.8 ?mV dec^?1 was calculated, and no obvious attenuation in chronoamperometry was discovered after operation for 24 ?h. This paper provides a novel template-assisted strategy to prepare high-performance transition metal-based OER catalysts possessing hollow and tubular structures.     

(Nd0.62 Li0.15)TiO3陶瓷的制备及其热电性能

采用固相反应法与无压烧结法相结合制备了ABO₃型钙钛矿(Nd_0.62Li_0.15)TiO₃晶体陶瓷材料,并对其热电性能进行了表征.高分辨率透射电镜观察显示,制备的材料具有纳米超晶格结构,导致材料表现出玻璃态热传导特征且热导率小于2W/(m·K),该玻璃态热传导源于超晶格结构形成的大量纳米域界面对声子的强烈散射.A位空位填充使材料的电子电导率得到了明显改善,但对材料的热导率影响不大.塞贝克系数因为TiO₆八面体的扭曲而受到一定的影响.在测试温度范围内,块体陶瓷在500K时得到了最高的无因次热电优值(ZT)0.019.     

Growth of AgGaS2 single crystal by descending crucible with rotation method and observation of properties

This note reports a new procedure of polycrystalline synthesis and a new technique of single crystal growth on AgGaS₂, i.e. two-zone temperature oscillation vapor transporting and descending crucible with rotation. A single phase dense AgGaS₂ polycrystalline ingot was synthesized, and a crack-free AgGaS₂ single crystal with 15 mm in diameter and 30 mm in length was grown by the techniques mentioned above. Structure integrity of the crystal was studied by the X-ray diffraction technique. Six order X-ray spectra from the 011 face of the crystal were obtained, and an anomalous phenomenon was observed for the first time that intensity of the higher order diffraction peak is much stronger than that of the lower order diffraction peak. Etch-pits of the crystal were observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Effects of substrate temperature and ambient oxygen pressure on growth of Ba(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Ba(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films were grown on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at temperatures ranging from 823 to 923 K with the varied ambient oxygen pressure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirmed the single phase of polycrystalline Ba(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 thin films. The effects of substrate temperature and ambient oxygen pressure on the surface morphologies of the thin films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the growth dynamics of thin films was discussed. Larger grains and denser surface morphologies were observed with increasing substrate temperature. While finer grains were produced with increasing ambient oxygen pressure due to more frequent collisions between the ejected species and ambient oxygen molecules. The influence of the substrate temperature and ambient oxygen pressure on the dielectric properties was also discussed. Improved dielectric constant and decreased dielectric loss was observed for the thin film deposited at evaluated temperature.     

ZnO microsheet modified TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticle composite films for dye-sensitized solar cells

Randomly oriented ZnO microsheets were successfully self-assembled on TiO₂ nanoparticle (TN) film to act as the scattering layer via a cathodic electrodeposition process. The light scattering properties of ZnO microsheets were studied by UV-Vis spectrometer in the 400–800 nm wavelength range. It was found that ZnO microsheets exhibited excellent ability to scatter the incident light for ZnO microsheet-TiO₂ nanoparticle (ZT) composite films. The results showed that dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with ZT composite films showed higher short-circuit density (J_sc) and conversion efficiency than TN-based DSSCs, due to the light scattering properties of ZnO microsheets.     

Flexible micro-supercapacitors fabricated from MnO2 nanosheet/graphene composites with black phosphorus additive

Supercapacitors are widely used for powering flexible/wearable electronics owing to their excellent charge storage capabilities. In this study, MnO₂ nanosheets were grown on the surface of graphene using a simple water bath method to prepare graphene/MnO₂ composites for fabricating supercapacitors. In addition, two-dimensional black phosphorus was introduced as an additive into the electronic ink based on the as-prepared graphene/MnO₂ composites. The characterization and electrochemical analyses results showed that adding black phosphorus considerably improved the capacitive performance of the material, yielding a high specific capacitance of 241.5 ?F ?g^-1 at 0.1 ?A ?g^-1 and an impressive rate capability improvement from 52.5% to 80.3%. Then the micro-supercapacitor having an area-specific capacitance of 20.15 ?mF ?cm^-2 at a scanning rate of 2 ?mV ?s^-1 was utilized to demonstrate the practical applicability of this material. To further evaluate the practical applicability of this micro-supercapacitor, the micro-supercapacitor was integrated with a flexible thin-film pressure sensor on paper and cloth through screen printing.     

Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit

Thermoelectric materials are of interest for applications as heat pumps and power generators. The performance of thermoelectric devices is quantified by a figure of merit, ZT, where Z is a measure of a material's thermoelectric properties and T is the absolute temperature. A material with a figure of merit of around unity was first reported over four decades ago, but since then-despite investigation of various approaches-there has been only modest progress in finding materials with enhanced ZT values at room temperature. Here we report thin-film thermoelectric materials that demonstrate a significant enhancement in ZT at 300 K, compared to state-of-the-art bulk Bi2Te3 alloys. This amounts to a maximum observed factor of approximately 2.4 for our p-type Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 superlattice devices. The enhancement is achieved by controlling the transport of phonons and electrons in the superlattices. Preliminary devices exhibit significant cooling (32 K at around room temperature) and the potential to pump a heat flux of up to 700 W cm-2; the localized cooling and heating occurs some 23,000 times faster than in bulk devices. We anticipate that the combination of performance, power density and speed achieved in these materials will lead to diverse technological applications: for example, in thermochemistry-on-a-chip, DNA microarrays, fibre-optic switches and microelectrothermal systems.     

Reduced graphene oxide wrapped 3D-ultrathin CoS2 nanoflakes as an absorbing material with enhanced microwave absorption

Novel 3D-ultrathin CoS₂ nanoflakes wrapped by reduced graphene oxide (CoS₂/RGO) were successfully prepared via a facile method. The morphology and structure of the materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The microwave absorption properties of the CoS₂/RGO composites were also investigated. The composites exhibited optimal microwave absorption properties at a CoS₂/RGO loading of 20 ?wt.% in paraffin matrix, with a reflection loss (R_L) value of ?36.5 ?dB at 12.1 ?GHz and a thickness of 2.0 ?mm. Furthermore, CoS₂/RGO composites have an excellent absorption bandwidth (reflection loss below ?10 dB) of 6.5 ?GHz. The results indicate that the RGO-wrapped 3D-ultrathin CoS₂ nanoflakes have a broad microwave absorption bandwidth, strong absorption, and are the candidates for the application as the advanced microwave absorbers.     

First-principles calculations to study the optical/electronic properties of 2D VS2 with Z doping (Z = N,P, As,F, Cl and Br)

Monolayer VS₂ is expected to be an encouraging candidate for optoelectronic devices owing to its excellent optical/electrical performance. In this paper, first-principles calculations were conducted to figure out the optical/electrical performance of 2D VS₂ doped with Z doping (Z ?= ?N, P, As, F, Cl and Br). The results show that there was a downward trend in formation energies when the doping element ranged from left to right and from bottom to top in the periodictable of elements. VS₂ became more conductive with N, P and As doping, and transited from the semiconducting to metallic state with F, Cl and Br doping. For the optical properties, N, P, As and Br doping reduced the reflectivity of pristine VS₂ in the near-infrared region (0.6 eV–1.6 ?eV). Moreover, P, F, Cl and Br-doping reduced the migration energy barrier of Li atoms in VS₂, which may help to design the rechargeable Li ion batteries with high rate capability.     

Effect of temperature and stress on high temperature creep behavior of Ni3Al-based single crystal superalloy

The creep behavior and dislocations mechanism of the Ni₃Al-based single crystal alloy IC6SX with [001] orientation were investigated under the testing conditions of 1100 ?°C/137 ?MPa, 1100 ?°C/120 ?MPa and 1070 ?°C/137 ?MPa. It was observed that the temperature and stress had a significant effect on the high temperature creep life of the single crystal alloy. As the temperature was reduced from 1100 ?°C to 1070 ?°C, the creep life increased from 65.07 ?h to 313.8 ?h. As the stress was reduced to 120 ?MPa, the creep life increased to 243.3 ?h. Under the high temperature and low stress condition the dislocations entered the γ′ phase by climbing caused by the atomic diffusion, instead of slipping.     

Effect of spark plasma sintering and reinforcements on the formation of ultra-fine and nanograins in AA2024-TiB2-Y hybrid composites

This study reports the influence of sintering mechanism and reinforcement materials on the formation of ultra-fine and nanograins in Al-TiB₂-Y nanohybrid composites. The mechanical properties of the composites and their corresponding micro and nanostructures are correlated. The experimental and characterization results revealed that despite the addition of TiB₂, the hard and brittle Al₃Ti phase formation in the composites was suppressed and hence, their ductility was retained. It was found that yttrium content of 0.3 ?wt% was the optimum amount which created advantageous spark plasma sintering conditions, and the addition of 0.3 ?wt% promoted the formation of bi-modal size grains (ultra-fine and nano) along with micro grains, Ω and other nano precipitates, resulting in a significant enhancement in the composite properties. The formation of ultra-fine and nanograins may be attributed to the combined effect of melting and rapid solidification at necking zones due to Joule's heating and thermo-mechanical fatigue. Among all the sintered composites, the highest hardness (137 HV), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (496 ?MPa), yield strength (YS) (438 ?MPa) with 15.7% elongation were obtained in the sintered sample reinforced with 1.0 ?wt% TiB₂ and 0.3 ?wt% yttrium.