Emergence of Ni-Based Chalcogenides (S and Se) for Clean Energy Conversion and Storage.

Nickel chalcogenide (S and Se) based nanostructures intrigued scientists for some time as materials for energy conversion and storage systems. Interest in these materials is due to their good electrochemical stability, eco-friendly nature, and low cost. The present review compiles recent progress in the area of nickel-(S and Se)-based materials by providing a comprehensive summary of their structural and chemical features and performance. Improving properties of the materials, such as electrical conductivity and surface characteristics (surface area and morphology), through strategies like nano-structuring and hybridization, are systematically discussed. The interaction of the materials with electrolytes, other electro-active materials, and inactive components are analyzed to understand their effects on the performance of energy conversion and storage devices. Finally, outstanding challenges and possible solutions are briefly presented with some perspectives toward the future development of these materials for energy-oriented devices with high performance.

Sulfur ion concentration dependent morphological evolution of CdS thin films and its subsequent effect on photo-electrochemical performance.

The sulfur ion concentration dependent morphological evolution and its subsequent effect on photo-electrochemical properties of chemically synthesized CdS thin films have been systematically investigated. The plausible growth mechanism for the morphological evolution of CdS thin films due to a change in sulfur ion concentration has been proposed. Scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) reveal that the morphology of CdS thin films has been changed from spherical grains to vertically aligned nanoflakes by systematic control of sulfur ion concentration. This article elucidates the astute relationships between precursor concentrations, reaction rate and morphological evolution. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal the formation of hexagonal wurtzite CdS thin films with the preferred (002) orientation for CdS nanoflakes, which is further supported by the analysis of the high resolution transmission electron micrographs (HRTEMs). Optical absorption studies show a red shift in the absorption edge with an increase in sulfur concentration. The beneficial role of nanoflake formation is easily reflected in the photo-electrochemical performance. Improved solar cell performances are observed for CdS nanoflakes grown with a sulfur to cadmium ion concentration ratio of 4 (S : Cd = 4).

Extrinsic Pseudocapacitive NiSe/rGO/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite for High-Performance Hybrid Supercapacitors.

Battery-type materials with ultrahigh energy density show great potential for hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs). In this work, we have developed a nickel selenide (NiSe)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) ternary composite as a promising positive electrode for hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs). The extended π-conjugated planar layers of g-C3N4 promote strong interconnectivity with rGO, which further enhances surface area, surface free energy, and efficient electron/ionic path. Additionally, it establishes clear ion diffusion pathways, serving as ion reservoirs during charge and discharge and facilitating efficient redox reactions. As a result, the NiSe/g-C3N4/rGO nanocomposite electrode displayed a specific capacity of 412.6 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1. Later, the HSC device was assembled using the nanocomposite as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode, which delivered an energy density of 65.2 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 750 W kg-1. Notably, the HSC device maintained excellent cyclic stability, preserving 93.3% of its initial performance and Coulombic efficiency of 86.6% for 10,000 charge-discharge cycles at 5 A g-1. These findings underscore the potential utility of NiSe/g-C3N4/rGO as a versatile and effective electrode material for the strategic development of HSC devices.

Effect of Oleylamine on the Surface Chemistry, Morphology, Electronic Structure, and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles.

The influence of oleylamine (OLA) concentration on the crystallography, morphology, surface chemistry, chemical bonding, and magnetic properties of solvothermal synthesized CoFe2O4 (CFO) nanoparticles (NPs) has been thoroughly investigated. Varying OLA concentration (0.01-0.1 M) resulted in the formation of cubic spinel-structured CoFe2O4 NPs in the size-range of 20-14 (±1) nm. The Fourier transform spectroscopic analyses performed confirmed the OLA binding to the CFO NPs. The thermogravimetric measurements revealed monolayer and multilayer coating of OLA on CFO NPs, which were further supported by the small-angle X-ray scattering measurements. The magnetic measurements indicated that the maximum saturation (MS) and remanent (Mr) magnetization decreased with increasing OLA concentration. The ratio of maximum dipolar field (Hdip), coercivity (HC), and exchanged bias field (Hex) (at 10 K) to the average crystallite size (Dxrd), i.e., (Hdip/Dxrd), (HC/Dxrd), and (Hex/Dxrd), increased linearly with OLA concentration, indicating that OLA concurrently controls the particle size and interparticle interaction among the CFO NPs. The results and analyses demonstrate that the OLA-mediated synthesis allowed for modification of the structural and magnetic properties of CFO NPs, which could readily find potential application in electronics and biomedicine.

Evidence of robust 2D transport and Efros-Shklovskii variable range hopping in disordered topological insulator (Bi2Se3) nanowires.

We report the experimental observation of variable range hopping conduction in focused-ion-beam (FIB) fabricated ultra-narrow nanowires of topological insulator (Bi2Se3). The value of the exponent (d + 1)-1 in the hopping equation was extracted as [Formula: see text]for different widths of nanowires, which is the proof of the presence of Efros-Shklovskii hopping transport mechanism in a strongly disordered system. High localization lengths (0.5 nm, 20 nm) were calculated for the devices. A careful analysis of the temperature dependent fluctuations present in the magnetoresistance curves, using the standard Universal Conductance Fluctuation theory, indicates the presence of 2D topological surface states. Also, the surface state contribution to the conductance was found very close to one conductance quantum. We believe that our experimental findings shed light on the understanding of quantum transport in disordered topological insulator based nanostructures.