Abnormal Silicon Etching Behaviors in Nanometer-Sized Channels.

Modern semiconductor fabrication is challenged by difficulties in overcoming physical and chemical constraints. A major challenge is the wet etching of dummy gate silicon, which involves the removal of materials inside confined spaces of a few nanometers. These chemical processes are significantly different in the nanoscale and bulk. Previously, electrical double-layer formation, bubble entrapment, poor wettability, and insoluble intermediate precipitation have been proposed. However, the exact suppression mechanisms remain unclear due to the lack of direct observation methods. Herein, we investigate limiting factors for the etching kinetics of silicon with tetramethylammonium hydroxide at the nanoscale by using liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy, three-dimensional electron tomography, and first-principles calculations. We reveal suppressed chemical reactions, unstripping phenomena, and stochastic etching behaviors that have never been observed on a macroscopic scale. We expect that solutions can be suggested from this comprehensive insight into the scale-dependent limiting factors of fabrication.

Precious metal recovery from electronic waste by a porous porphyrin polymer.

Urban mining of precious metals from electronic waste, such as printed circuit boards (PCB), is not yet feasible because of the lengthy isolation process, health risks, and environmental impact. Although porous polymers are particularly effective toward the capture of metal contaminants, those with porphyrin linkers have not yet been considered for precious metal recovery, despite their potential. Here, we report a porous porphyrin polymer that captures precious metals quantitatively from PCB leachate even in the presence of 63 elements from the Periodic Table. The nanoporous polymer is synthesized in two steps from widely available monomers without the need for costly catalysts and can be scaled up without loss of activity. Through a reductive capture mechanism, gold is recovered with 10 times the theoretical limit, reaching a record 1.62 g/g. With 99% uptake taking place in the first 30 min, the metal adsorbed to the porous polymer can be desorbed rapidly and reused for repetitive batches. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that energetically favorable multinuclear-Au binding enhances adsorption as clusters, leading to rapid capture, while Pt capture remains predominantly at single porphyrin sites.

Gold single-atoms confined at the CeOx-TiO2interfaces with enhanced low-temperature activity toward CO oxidation.

We use CeOx-TiO2hetero-interfaces generated on the surface of CeOx-TiO2hybrid oxide supporting powders to stabilize Au single-atoms (SAs) with excellent low-temperature activity toward CO oxidation. Based on intriguing density functional theory calculation results on the preferential formation of Au-SAs at the CeOx-TiO2interfaces and the high activity of Au-SAs toward the Mars-van Krevelen type CO oxidation, we synthesized a Au/CeOx-TiO2(ACT) catalyst with 0.05 wt.% of Au content. The Au-SAs stabilized at the CeOx-TiO2interfaces by electronic coupling between Au and Ce showed improved low-temperature CO oxidation activity than the conventional Au/TiO2control group catalyst. However, the light-off profile of ACT showed that the early activated Au-SAs are not vigorously participating in CO oxidation. The large portion of the positive effect on the overall catalytic activity from the low activation energy barrier of ACT was retarded by the negative impact from the decreasing active site density at high temperatures. We anticipate that the low-temperature activity and high-temperature stability of Au-SAs that stand against each other can be optimized by controlling the electronic coupling strength between Au-SAs and oxide clusters at the Au-oxide-TiO2interfaces. Our results show that atomic-precision interface modulation could fine-tune the catalytic activity and stability of Au-SAs.

Effects and Mechanism of Surface Water Wettability and Operating Frequency on Response Linearity of Flexible IDE Capacitive Humidity Sensor.

Flexible capacitive humidity sensors are promising for low-cost, wearable, and radio frequency identification sensors, but their nonlinear response is an important issue for practical applications. Herein, the linearity of humidity response was controlled by surface water wettability and operating frequency of sensor, and the mechanism was explained in detail by surface water condensation. For a sensor with a Ag interdigitated electrode (IDE) on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate, the capacitance showed a small linear increase with humidity up to 70% RH but a large nonlinear increase in the higher range. The response linearity was increased by a hydrophobic surface treatment of self-assembled monolayer coating while it was decreased by an ultraviolet/ozone irradiation for hydrophilicity. It was also increased by increasing the frequency in the range of 1-100 kHz, more prominently on a more hydrophilic surface. Based on experiment and simulation, the increase in sensor capacitance was greatly dependent on the geometric pattern (e.g., size, number, and contact angle) and electrical permittivity of surface water droplets. A larger and more nonlinear humidity response resulted from a larger increase in the number of droplets with a smaller contact angle on a sensor surface with higher water wettability and also from a higher permittivity of water at a lower frequency.

Oxygen activation on the interface between Pt nanoparticles and mesoporous defective TiO2 during CO oxidation.

Platinum-based heterogeneous catalysts are mostly used in various commercial chemical processes because of their high catalytic activity, influenced by the metal/oxide interaction. To design rational catalysts with high performance, it is crucial to understand the relationship between the metal-oxide interface and the reaction pathway. Here, we investigate the role of oxygen defect sites in the reaction mechanism for CO oxidation using Pt nanoparticles supported on mesoporous TiO2 catalysts with oxygen defects. We show an intrinsic correlation between the catalytic reactivity and the local properties of titania with oxygen defects (i.e., Ti3+ sites). In situ infrared spectroscopy observations of the Pt/mesoporous TiO2-x catalyst indicate that an oxygen molecule bond can be activated at the perimeter between the Pt and an oxygen vacancy in TiO2 by neighboring CO molecules on the Pt surface before CO oxidation begins. The proposed reaction pathways for O2 activation at the Pt/TiO2-x interface based on density functional theory confirm our experimental findings. We suggest that this provides valuable insight into the intrinsic origin of the metal/support interaction influenced by the presence of oxygen vacancies, which clarifies the pivotal role played by the support.

Controlled Growth of Ceria Nanoarrays on Anatase Titania Powder: A Bottom-up Physical Picture.

The leading edge of catalysis research motivates physical understanding of the growth of nanoscale oxide structures on different supporting oxide materials that are themselves also nanostructured. This research opens up for consideration a diverse range of facets on the support material, versus the single facet typically involved in wide-area growth of thin films. Here, we study the growth of ceria nanoarchitectures on practical anatase titania powders as a showcase inspired by recent experiments. Density functional theory (DFT)-based methods are employed to characterize and rationalize the broad array of low energy nanostructures that emerge. Using a bottom-up approach, we are able to identify and characterize the underlying mechanisms for the facet-dependent growth of various ceria motifs on anatase titania based on formation energy. These motifs include 0D clusters, 1D chains, 2D plates, and 3D nanoparticles. The ceria growth mode and morphology are determined by the interplay of several factors including the role of the common cation valence, the interface template effect for different facets of the anatase support, enhanced ionic binding for more compact ceria motifs, and the local structural flexibility of oxygen ions in bridging the interface between anatase and ceria structures.

Prediction of the glass transition temperature and design of phase diagrams of butadiene rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber via molecular dynamics simulations.

To prevent car accidents, it is important to evaluate the thermal stability of tire rubbers, such as natural rubber (NR), butadiene rubber (BR), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Controlling the glass transition temperature (Tg) is the main factor for obtaining desirable thermal stability. Here, we developed an optimized equation for the prediction of the Tg of the various rubber systems using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We modeled a random copolymer system, blended monomers, and calculated the Tg of butadiene isomers in each composition. From these results, we designed the Tg contour of ternary cis-trans-vinyl butadiene and derived an equation of Tg for the ternary system. Moreover, we developed an equation to evaluate the pseudo-ternary Tg of quaternary SBR and plotted it. Our results present a novel way of predicting the Tg of ternary BR and quaternary SBR, which is critical for rational tire design with optimized thermal and mechanical stability.

CO oxidation by MoS2-supported Au19 nanoparticles: effects of vacancy formation and tensile strain.

The mechanism of the catalytic oxidation of CO activated by MoS2-supported Au19 nanoparticles (NPs) was studied using density functional theory calculations. Of particular interest were the effects of the physical/chemical modification of a MoS2 support on the CO oxidation pathway and the activation of specific reactive centers, i.e., the Au atoms of Au19 or the Au-MoS2 perimeter sites. We systematically modified MoS2 by introducing an S vacancy or 5% tensile strain and studied the shift of each reaction step and the overall change in the reaction pathway and activity. Despite the lack of direct involvement of the Au-MoS2 perimeter in the reaction, the combination of an S vacancy and the tensile strain in the MoS2 support was found to improve the stability and catalytic activity of Au NPs for CO oxidation. The results show that support modification can provide information for new pathways for the rational design of Au-based catalysts.

Stabilization of catalytically active Cu⁺ surface sites on titanium-copper mixed-oxide films.

The oxidation of CO is the archetypal heterogeneous catalytic reaction and plays a central role in the advancement of fundamental studies, the control of automobile emissions, and industrial oxidation reactions. Copper-based catalysts were the first catalysts that were reported to enable the oxidation of CO at room temperature, but a lack of stability at the elevated reaction temperatures that are used in automobile catalytic converters, in particular the loss of the most reactive Cu(+) cations, leads to their deactivation. Using a combined experimental and theoretical approach, it is shown how the incorporation of titanium cations in a Cu2O film leads to the formation of a stable mixed-metal oxide with a Cu(+) terminated surface that is highly active for CO oxidation.

Unravelling the origin of reaction-driven aggregation and fragmentation of atomically dispersed Pt catalyst on ceria support.

Metal-support interaction plays a crucial role in governing the stability and activity of atomically dispersed platinum catalysts on ceria support. The migration and aggregation of platinum atoms during the catalytic reaction leads to the redistribution of active sites. In this study, by utilizing a multimodal characterization scheme, we observed the aggregation of platinum atoms at high temperatures under reverse water gas shift reaction conditions and the subsequent fragmentation of platinum clusters, forming "single atoms" upon cooling. Theoretical simulations of both effects uncovered the roles of carbon monoxide binding on perimeter Pt sites in the clusters and hydrogen coverage in the aggregation and fragmentation mechanisms. This study highlights the complex effects of adsorbate and supports interactions with metal sites in Pt/ceria catalysts that govern their structural transformations under in situ conditions.

Density Functional Theory-Based Approach For Dielectric Constant Estimation of Soluble Polyimide Insulators.

Evaluation of the insulating properties of polymers, such as the dielectric constant and dissipation factor, is crucial in electronic devices, including field-effect transistors and wireless communication applications. This study applies density functional theory (DFT) to predict the dielectric constant of soluble polyimides (SPIs). Various SPIs containing trifluoromethyl groups in the backbone with different pendant types, numbers, and symmetries are successfully synthesized, and their dielectric constants are evaluated and compared with the DFT-estimated values. Two types of DFT-optimized SPIs, single-chain and stacked-chain models, are used to describe the local geometries of the SPIs. In addition, to reveal the relationship between the molecular structure and dielectric constant, further investigations are conducted by considering the dielectric constant of composing ionic and electronic components. The DFT-estimated static dielectric constant of the single-chain model accurately reproduces the corresponding experimental value with at least 80% accuracy. Our approach provides a rational and accelerated strategy to evaluate polymer insulators for electronic devices based on cost-effective DFT calculations.

Unveiling Direct Electrochemical Oxidation of Methane at the Ceria/Gas Interface.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) stand out in sustainable energy systems for their unique ability to efficiently utilize hydrocarbon fuels, particularly those from carbon-neutral sources. CeO2-δ (ceria) based oxides embedded in SOFCs are recognized for their critical role in managing hydrocarbon activation and carbon coking. However, even for the simplest hydrocarbon molecule, CH4, the mechanism of electrochemical oxidation at the ceria/gas interface is not well understood and the capability of ceria to electrochemically oxidize methane remains a topic of debate. This lack of clarity stems from the intricate design of standard metal/oxide composite electrodes and the complex nature of electrode reactions involving multiple chemical and electrochemical steps. This study presents a Sm-doped ceria thin-film model cell that selectively monitors CH4 direct-electro-oxidation on the ceria surface. Using impedance spectroscopy, operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory, it is unveiled that ceria surfaces facilitate C─H bond cleavage and that H2O formation is key in determining the overall reaction rate at the electrode. These insights effectively address the longstanding debate regarding the direct utilization of CH4 in SOFCs. Moreover, these findings pave the way for an optimized electrode design strategy, essential for developing high-performance, environmentally sustainable fuel cells.

Synergistic Surface Modification for High-Efficiency Perovskite Nanocrystal Light-Emitting Diodes: Divalent Metal Ion Doping and Halide-Based Ligand Passivation.

Surface defects of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) substantially compromise the optoelectronic performances of the materials and devices via undesired charge recombination. However, those defects, mainly the vacancies, are structurally entangled with each other in the PNC lattice, necessitating a delicately designed strategy for effective passivation. Here, a synergistic metal ion doping and surface ligand exchange strategy is proposed to passivate the surface defects of CsPbBr3 PNCs with various divalent metal (e.g., Cd2+ , Zn2+, and Hg2+ ) acetate salts and didodecyldimethylammonium (DDA+ ) via one-step post-treatment. The addition of metal acetate salts to PNCs is demonstrated to suppress the defect formation energy effectively via the ab initio calculations. The developed PNCs not only have near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield and excellent stability but also show luminance of 1175 cd m-2 , current efficiency of 65.48 cd A-1 , external quantum efficiency of 20.79%, wavelength of 514 nm in optimized PNC light-emitting diodes with Cd2+ passivator and DDA ligand. The "organic-inorganic" hybrid engineering approach is completely general and can be straightforwardly applied to any combination of quaternary ammonium ligands and source of metal, which will be useful in PNC-based optoelectronic devices such as solar cells, photodetectors, and transistors.

Probing adsorption sites for CO on ceria.

Ceria based catalysts show remarkable activity for CO conversion reactions such as CO oxidation and the water-gas shift reaction. The identification of adsorption sites on the catalyst surfaces is essential to understand the reaction mechanisms of these reactions, but the complexity of heterogeneous powder catalysts and the propensity of ceria to easily change oxidation states in the presence of small concentrations of either oxidizing or reducing agents make the process difficult. In this study, the adsorption of CO on CuOx/Cu(111) and CeOx/Cu(111) systems has been studied using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. IR peaks for the adsorbed CO on O/Cu(111) with only chemisorbed oxygen, well-ordered Cu2O/Cu(111) and disordered copper oxide [CuOx/Cu(111)] were observed at 2070-2072, 2097-2098 and 2101-2111 cm(-1), respectively. On CeOx/Cu(111) systems CO chemisorbs at 90 K only on Cu sites under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions, whereas at elevated CO pressures and low temperatures adsorption of CO on Ce(3+) is observed, with a corresponding IR peak at 2162 cm(-1). These experimental results are further supported by DFT calculations, and help to unequivocally distinguish the presence of Ce(3+) cations on catalyst samples by using CO as a probe molecule.

Selectively Nitrogen Doped ALD-IGZO TFTs with Extremely High Mobility and Reliability.

Achieving high mobility and reliability in atomic layer deposition (ALD)-based IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an amorphous phase is vital for practical applications in relevant fields. Here, we suggest a method to effectively increase stability while maintaining high mobility by employing the selective application of nitrous oxide plasma reactant during plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) at 200 °C process temperature. The nitrogen-doping mechanism is highly dependent on the intrinsic carbon impurities or nature of each cation, as demonstrated by a combination of theoretical and experimental research. The Ga2O3 subgap states are especially dependent on plasma reactants. Based on these insights, we can obtain high-performance indium-rich PEALD-IGZO TFTs (threshold voltage: -0.47 V; field-effect mobility: 106.5 cm2/(V s); subthreshold swing: 113.5 mV/decade; hysteresis: 0.05 V). In addition, the device shows minimal threshold voltage shifts of +0.45 and -0.10 V under harsh positive/negative bias temperature stress environments (field stress: ±2 MV/cm; temperature stress: 95 °C) after 10000 s.

CO oxidation mechanism on CeO(2)-supported Au nanoparticles.

Density functional theory was used to study the CO oxidation catalytic activity of CeO(2)-supported Au nanoparticles (NPs). Experimental observations on CeO(2) show that the surface of CeO(2) is enriched with oxygen vacancies. We compare CO oxidation by a Au(13) NP supported on stoichiometric CeO(2) (Au(13)@CeO(2)-STO) and partially reduced CeO(2) with three vacancies (Au(13)@CeO(2)-3VAC). The structure of the Au(13) NP was chosen to minimize structural rearrangement during CO oxidation. We suggest three CO oxidation mechanisms by Au(13)@CeO(2): CO oxidation by coadsorbed O(2), CO oxidation by a lattice oxygen in CeO(2), and CO oxidation by O(2) bound to a Au-Ce(3+) anchoring site. Oxygen vacancies are shown to open a new CO oxidation pathway by O(2) bound to a Au-Ce(3+) anchoring site. Our results provide a design strategy for CO oxidation on supported Au catalysts. We suggest lowering the vacancy formation energy of the supporting oxide, and using an easily reducible oxide to increase the concentration of reduced metal ions, which act as anchoring sites for O(2) molecules.

Site-selective Cu deposition on Pt dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles: correlation of theory and experiment.

The voltammetry of Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) onto Pt dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) containing an average of 147 Pt atoms (Pt(147)) is correlated to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Specifically, the voltammetric peak positions are in good agreement with the calculated energies for Cu deposition and stripping on the Pt(100) and Pt(111) facets of the DENs. Partial Cu shells on Pt(147) are more stable on the Pt(100) facets, compared to the Pt(111) facets, and therefore, Cu UPD occurs on the 4-fold hollow sites of Pt(100) first. Finally, the structures of Pt DENs having full and partial monolayers of Cu were characterized in situ by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The results of XAS studies are also in good agreement with the DFT-optimized models.

Yellow-emitting γ-Ca2SiO4:Ce3+, Li+ phosphor for solid-state lighting: luminescent properties, electronic structure, and white light-emitting diode application.

A new yellow-emitting γ-Ca2SiO4:Ce3+,Li+ phosphor was synthesized via a solid-state reaction. The phosphor showed a strong yellow emission with a wide bandwidth of 135.4 nm under blue light excitation. Absorption and photoluminescence measurements and density functional theory calculations suggest that the luminescence of the phosphor can be attributed primarily to the transitions of 5d→4f (2F(7/2) and 2F(5/2)) of Ce3+ ions occupying Ca(1) sites in the host crystal. White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated by combining this phosphor with a blue LED, and excellent white light with a high color rendering index of 86 was created owing to the wide emission bandwidth of the phosphor.

VO Cluster-Stabilized H2O Adsorption on a TiO2 (110) Surface at Room Temperature.

We probe the adsorption of molecular H2O on a TiO2 (110)-(1 × 1) surface decorated with isolated VO clusters using ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV-STM) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). Our STM images show that preadsorbed VO clusters on the TiO2 (110)-(1 × 1) surface induce the adsorption of H2O molecules at room temperature (RT). The adsorbed H2O molecules form strings of beads of H2O dimers bound to the 5-fold coordinated Ti atom (5c-Ti) rows and are anchored by VO. This RT adsorption is completely reversible and is unique to the VO-decorated TiO2 surface. TPD spectra reveal two new desorption states for VO stabilized H2O at 395 and 445 K, which is in sharp contrast to the desorption of water due to recombination of hydroxyl groups at 490 K from clean TiO2(110)-(1 × 1) surfaces. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the binding energy of molecular H2O to the VO clusters on the TiO2 (110)-(1 × 1) surface is higher than binding to the bare surface by 0.42 eV, and the resulting H2O-VO-TiO2 (110) complex provides the anchor point for adsorption of the string of beads of H2O dimers.

In-Bi Electrocatalyst for the Reduction of CO2 to Formate in a Wide Potential Window.

The CO2 atmospheric concentration level hit the record at more than 400 ppm and is predicted to keep increasing as the dependence on fossil fuels is inevitable. The CO2 electrocatalytic conversion becomes an alternative due to its environmental and energy-friendly properties and benign operation condition. Lately, bimetallic materials have drawn significant interest as electrocatalysts due to their distinct properties, which the parents' metal cannot mimic. Herein, the indium-bismuth nanosphere (In16Bi84 NS) was fabricated via the facile liquid-polyol technique. The In16Bi84 NS exhibits exceptional performance for CO2 reduction to formate, with the faradaic efficiency (FE) approaching ∼100% and a corresponding partial current density of 14.1 mA cm-2 at -0.94 V [vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)]. Furthermore, the FE could be maintained above 90% in a wide potential window (-0.84 to -1.54 V vs the RHE). This superior performance is attributed to the tuned electronic properties induced by the synergistic interaction between In and Bi, enabling the intermediates to be stably adsorbed on the catalyst surface to generate more formate ions.