Enhanced carrier mobility and tunable electronic properties in α-tellurene monolayer via an α-tellurene and h-BN heterostructure.

Using first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we explore the electronic properties of the α-tellurene/h-BN (Te/BN) heterostructure. We find that the type-I van der Waals (vdW) Te/BN bilayer exhibits an indirect semiconductor property with a bandgap of 0.59 eV, in which both the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum originate from the tellurene monolayer. The very weak interaction between α-tellurene and h-BN monolayers is demonstrated by the small charge transfer between the interlayer. More strikingly, we find that the carrier mobilities in the Te/BN bilayer can reach up to 104 cm2 s-1 V-1, one order of magnitude larger than those in tellurene. The underlying physics is that the Te/BN bilayer dramatically increases the in-plane stiffness as well as reducing the deformation potential compared with the tellurene monolayer. Additionally, we also show that the electronic properties of the Te/BN bilayer can easily be tuned by introducing defects or dopants in the BN monolayer. For instance, the B vacancy makes the Te/BN bilayer undergo the transition from semiconductor to half-metal. Our findings will broaden the potential application of tellurene and provide theoretical guidance for the relative experimental studies on 2D heterobilayers.

Template-free fabrication of graphene-wrapped mesoporous ZnMn2O4 nanorings as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

We rationally designed a facile two-step approach to synthesize ZnMn2O4@G composite anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), involving a template-free fabrication of ZnMn2O4 nanorings and subsequent coating of graphene sheets. Notably, it is the first time that ring-like ZnMn2O4 nanostructure is reported. Moreover, our system has been demonstrated to be quite powerful in producing ZnMn2O4 nanorings regardless of the types of Zn and Mn-containing metal salts reactants. The well-known inside-out Ostwald ripening process is tentatively proposed to clarify the formation mechanism of the hollow nanorings. When evaluated as anode material for LIBs, the resulting ZnMn2O4@G hybrid displays significantly improved lithium-storage performance with high specific capacity, good rate capability, and excellent cyclability. After 500 cycles, the ZnMn2O4@G hybrid can still deliver a reversible capacity of 958 mAh g-1 at a current density of 200 mA g-1, much higher than the theoretical capacity of 784 mAh g-1 for pure ZnMn2O4. The outstanding electrochemical performance should be reasonably ascribed to the synergistic interaction between hollow and porous ZnMn2O4 nanorings and the three-dimensional interconnected graphene sheets.

Hierarchically constructed NiCo2S4@Ni(1-x)Co x (OH)2 core/shell nanoarrays and their application in energy storage.

We report a new type of core-shell heterostructure consisting of a rod-like NiCo2S4 (NCS) core and an urchin-like Ni(1-x)Co x (OH)2 (NCOH) shell via a simple hydrothermal route coupled with a facile electrodeposition. NCS nanorod arrays (NRAs) can not only act as excellent electrochemically active materials by themselves, but they can also serve as hierarchical porous scaffolds capable of fast electron conduction and ion diffusion for loading a large amount of additional active materials. Moreover, it is observed that the urchin-like NCOH nanosheets coating could bind the inner NCS nanorods together and thereby reinforce the whole structure mechanically. Meanwhile, more effective pathways for electrons are available in the NCS@NCOH hybrids than an individual NCS nanorod. Benefiting from both structural and compositional features, the NCS@NCOH electrode exhibits greatly improved electrochemical performance with high capacity (3.54 C cm(-2) at 1 mA cm(-2)) and excellent cycling stability (78% capacity retention after 4000 cycles). Moreover, a battery-type device is also fabricated by using NCS@NCOH as a positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as a negative electrode, displaying high capacity (2.51 C cm(-2) at 2 mA cm(-2)) and good durability (88.8% capacity retention after 4000 cycles) as well.

Thermal spin transfer in Fe-MgO-Fe tunnel junctions.

We compute thermal spin transfer (TST) torques in Fe-MgO-Fe tunnel junctions using a first principles wave-function-matching method. At room temperature, the TST in a junction with 3 MgO monolayers amounts to 10(-7) J/m(2)/K, which is estimated to cause magnetization reversal for temperature differences over the barrier of the order of 10 K. The large TST can be explained by multiple scattering between interface states through ultrathin barriers. The angular dependence of the TST can be very skewed, possibly leading to thermally induced high-frequency generation.

Fabrication of Co3O4-reduced graphene oxide scrolls for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.

A new type of scrolled structure of Co(3)O(4)/reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) is facilely prepared through a two-step surfactant-assisted method. This assembly enables almost every single Co(3)O(4) scroll to connect with the r-GO platelets, thus leading to remarkable electrochemical performances in terms of high specific capacitance and good rate capability.

Controlled growth of SnO2@Fe2O3 double-sided nanocombs as anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

A novel heterostructure is developed by grafting 1D SnO(2) nanorods onto both sides of pre-grown 2D Fe(2)O(3) nanoflakes, forming a comb-like rather than tree-like branched nanostructure. The SnO(2) nanorod branches are determined to grow along the [001] direction on the (±001) planes of Fe(2)O(3) nanoflakes. The resulting SnO(2)@Fe(2)O(3) nanocombs show stabilized cycling performance and improved volumetric energy density compared to pristine Fe(2)O(3) nanoflakes presumably due to the integration of SnO(2) branches as well as the 3D hierarchical structural features.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of anatase TiO(2) nanorods with mesopores.

Pure anatase TiO(2) nanorods with mesopores were synthesized by a simple and low cost microwave-assisted method when tri-block copolymer was used as a structure stabilization agent and TiCl(4) as metal precursor. TEM investigation showed that larger nanorods were assembled by pearl-necklace-shaped nanorods following an oriented attachment mechanism in a specific direction. A proposed hypothetical scheme showed that the formation of lyotropic titania liquid crystal (TLC) serves a key role in the stabilization of nanorods, and the mesopores on nanorods are derived from the vacancy of inter-particles of nanorods and regions lacking inorganic precursors in the TLC structure. Control experiments showed that microwave treatment plays a key role in the maintenance of original morphologies and mesostructures free from destruction even under high temperature calcinations.