Atomic-scale probing of heterointerface phonon bridges in nitride semiconductor.

Interface phonon modes that are generated by several atomic layers at the heterointerface play a major role in the interface thermal conductance for nanoscale high-power devices such as nitride-based high-electron-mobility transistors and light-emitting diodes. Here we measure the local phonon spectra across AlN/Si and AlN/Al interfaces using atomically resolved vibrational electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope. At the AlN/Si interface, we observe various interface phonon modes, of which the extended and localized modes act as bridges to connect the bulk AlN modes and bulk Si modes and are expected to boost the phonon transport, thus substantially contributing to interface thermal conductance. In comparison, no such phonon bridge is observed at the AlN/Al interface, for which partially extended modes dominate the interface thermal conductivity. This work provides valuable insights into understanding the interfacial thermal transport in nitride semiconductors and useful guidance for thermal management via interface engineering.

Interpenetrated N-rich MOF derived vesicular N-doped carbon for high performance lithium ion battery.

High-performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs) juggling high reversible capacity, excellent rate capability and ultralong cycle stability are urgently needed for all electronic devices. Here we report employing a vesicle-like porous N-doped carbon material (abbr. N/C-900) as a highly active anode for LIBs to balance high capacity, high rate and long life. The N/C-900 material was fabricated by pyrolysis of a designed crystal MOF LCU-104, which exhibits a graceful two-fold interpenetrating structural feature of N-rich nanocages {Zn6(dttz)4} linked through an N-donor ligand bpp (H3dttz = 4,5-di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole, bpp = 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane). The features of LCU-104 combine high N content (35.1%), interpenetration, and explosive characteristics, which endow the derived N/C material with optimized N-doping for tuning its chemical and electronic structure, a suitably thicker wall to enhance its stability, and a vesicle-like structure to improve its porosity. As an anode material for LIBs, N/C-900 delivers a highly reversible capacity of ca. 734 mA h g-1 at a large current density of 1 A g-1 until the 2000th cycle, revealing its ultralong cycle stability and excellent rate capability. The unique structure and preferential interaction between abundant pyridinic N active sites and Li atoms are responsible for the improved excellent lithium storage capacity and durability performances of the anode according to analysis of the results of computational modeling.