"Surface-Like Growth" Strategy for the Direct Synthesis of Horizontally Aligned Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

The inherent properties of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) can be further enhanced through the control of their anisotropy. In particular, horizontally aligned BNNTs (HABNNTs) exhibit considerable potential for various applications. However, directly synthesizing HABNNTs is difficult owing to the random floating of BNNTs and the absence of directional forces. Here, we employed a simple, efficient, and universal "surface-like growth" strategy to synthesize high-density and high-quality HABNNTs in the W2B5/Zn precursor system. First, the floating range of BNNTs was restricted to the vicinity of the precursor, and then, directional forces were applied to induce BNNT directional growth along the substrate surface. Experiments and simulations confirmed that the HABNNT orientation could be controlled through manipulation of the directional forces. Furthermore, the strategy was employed for HABNNTs synthesis using the MoB2/Zn, further demonstrating the universality of the approach. Overall, this work offers a fresh perspective on the synthesis of HABNNTs, further expanding their potential applications.

Delocalizing Excitation for Highly-Active Organic Photovoltaic Catalysts.

Localized excitation in traditional organic photocatalysts typically prevents the generation and extraction of photo-induced free charge carriers, limiting their activity enhancement under illumination. Here, we enhance delocalized photoexcitation of small molecular photovoltaic catalysts by weakening their electron-phonon coupling via rational fluoro-substitution. The optimized 2FBP-4F catalyst we develop here exhibits a minimized Huang-Rhys factor of 0.35 in solution, high dielectric constant and strong crystallization in the solid state. As a result, the energy barrier for exciton dissociation is decreased, and more importantly, polarons are unusually observed in 2FBP-4F nanoparticles (NPs). With the increased hole transfer efficiency and prolonged charge carrier lifetime highly related to enhanced exciton delocalization, the PM6 : 2FBP-4F heterojunction NPs at varied concentration exhibit much higher optimized photocatalytic activity (207.6-561.8 mmol h-1 g-1) for hydrogen evolution than the control PM6 : BP-4F and PM6 : 2FBP-6F NPs, as well as other reported photocatalysts under simulated solar light (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm-2).

Organic Photovoltaic Catalyst with Extended Exciton Diffusion for High-Performance Solar Hydrogen Evolution.

The short exciton diffusion length (LD) associated with most classical organic photocatalysts (5-10 nm) imposes severe limits on photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency. Here, a photovoltaic molecule (F1) without electron-deficient units at the central building block was designed and synthesized to improve the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). With the enhanced PLQY of 9.3% and a large integral spectral overlap of 3.32 × 1016 nm4 M-1 cm-1, the average LD of F1 film increases to 20 nm, nearly twice the length of the control photovoltaic molecule (Y6). Then, the single-component organic nanoparticles (SC-NPs) based on F1 show an optimized average hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 152.60 mmol h-1 g-1 under AM 1.5G sunlight (100 mW cm-2) illumination for 10 h, which is among the best results for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Energy transfer driven brightening of MoS2 by ultrafast polariton relaxation in microcavity MoS2/hBN/WS2 heterostructures.

Energy transfer is a ubiquitous phenomenon that delivers energy from a blue-shifted emitter to a red-shifted absorber, facilitating wide photonic applications. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors provide unique opportunities for exploring novel energy transfer mechanisms in the atomic-scale limit. Herein, we have designed a planar optical microcavity-confined MoS2/hBN/WS2 heterojunction, which realizes the strong coupling among donor exciton, acceptor exciton, and cavity photon mode. This configuration demonstrates an unconventional energy transfer via polariton relaxation, brightening MoS2 with a record-high enhancement factor of ~440, i.e., two-order-of-magnitude higher than the data reported to date. The polariton relaxation features a short characteristic time of ~1.3 ps, resulting from the significantly enhanced intra- and inter-branch exciton-exciton scattering. The polariton relaxation dynamics is associated with Rabi energies in a phase diagram by combining experimental and theoretical results. This study opens a new direction of microcavity 2D semiconductor heterojunctions for high-brightness polaritonic light sources and ultrafast polariton carrier dynamics.

Influencing factors of farmers' participation in domestic waste classification: An empirical analysis based on the semi-nonparametric estimation extended model.

Farmers are the main participants of domestic waste classification, and their willingness and behavior to participate are directly related to the success or failure of domestic waste classification and the construction of "beautiful countryside." Based on the analysis of the influence mechanism of exemplary behavior and social supervision on farmers' participation willingness and behavior, an empirical analysis of 988 survey data of farmers in Henan Province is carried out using a semi-non-parametric estimation extended model. The results show that: (1) 85.63% of farmers are willing to participate in the classification of domestic waste, but their willingness and behavior are not consistent. (2) The exemplary behavior of relatives can only increase the willingness of farmers. The exemplary behavior of neighbors and village cadres not only has a positive impact on the behavior, but also facilitates the transformation of willingness to behavior. (3) The supervision of village cadres can increase the willingness of farmers. Although the supervision of villagers and cleaners will reduce the willingness of farmers, it has a significant positive impact on the behavior of farmers. Based on the research conclusions, suggestions are made to play the leading role of village cadres, attach importance to the supervision of villagers and cleaners, broaden publicity channels and strengthen publicity to special groups, improve supporting policies and classification equipment, in order to promote the classification of rural domestic waste.