Insight into the influence of high temperature annealing on the onset potential of Ti-doped hematite photoanodes for solar water splitting

For Ti-doped hematite photoanodes, high temperature annealing drastically increases the water oxidation plateau photocurrent, but also induces an anodic shift of onset potential by about 100 m V, thus hindering the performance under low applied bias. To the best of our knowledge, the effects of high temperature annealing on the onset potential have been rarely studied. Herein, both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） measurements and theoretical calculations indicated that the increase of surface Ti/Fe atomic ratio after high temperature annealing decreased the adsorption capacity of hydroxide ions on the hematite surface. Subsequently, the flatband potential（i.e., the theoretical onset potential） of Ti doped hematite photoanodes positively shifted, which was supported by the Mott-Schottky measurements.

Shallowing interfacial carrier trap in transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures with interlayer hybridization

With the unique properties,layered transition metal dichalcogenide(TMD)and its heterostructures exhibit great potential for applications in electronics.The electrical performance,e.g.,contact barrier and resistance to electrodes,of TMD heterostructure devices can be significantly tailored by employing the functional layers,called interlayer engineering.At the interface between different TMD layers,the dangling-bond states normally exist and act as traps against charge carrier flow.In this study,we propose a technique to suppress such carrier trap that uses enhanced interlayer hybridization to saturate dangling-bond states,as demonstrated in a strongly interlayer-coupled monolayer-bilayer PtSe2 heterostructure.The hybridization between the unsaturated states and the interlayer electronic states of PtSe2 significantly reduces the depth of carrier traps at the interface,as corroborated by our scanning tunnelling spectroscopic measurements and density functional theory calculations.The suppressed interfacial trap demonstrates that interlayer saturation may offer an efficient way to relay the charge flow at the interface of TMD heterostructures.Thus,this technique provides an effective way for optimizing the interface contact,the crucial issue exists in two-dimensional electronic community.

Monolayer puckered pentagonal VTe_(2):An emergent two-dimensional ferromagnetic semiconductor with multiferroic coupling

Two-dimensional(2D)magnetic crystals have been extensively explored thanks to their potential applications in spintronics,valleytronics,and topological superconductivity.Here we report a novel monolayer magnet,namely puckered pentagonal VTe_(2)(PP-VTe_(2)),intriguing atomic and electronic structures of which were firmly validated from first-principles calculations.The PP-VTe_(2) exhibits strong intrinsic ferromagnetism and semiconducting property distinct from the half-metallic bulk pyrite VTe_(2)(BP-VTe_(2))phase.An unusual magnetic anisotropy with large magnetic exchange energies is found.More interestingly,the multiferroic coupling between its 2D ferroelasticity and in-plane magnetization is further identified in PP-VTe_(2),lending it unprecedented controllability with external strains and electric fields.Serving as an emergent 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor with a novel crystal structure,monolayer PP-VTe_(2) provides an ideal platform for exploring exotic crystalline and spin configurations in low-dimensional systems.

Line defects in monolayer TiSe_(2) with adsorption of Pt atoms potentially enable excellent catalytic activity

Two-dimensional(2D)materials with defects are desired for catalysis after the adsorption of monodispersed noble metal atoms.High-performance catalysts with the absolute value of Gibbs free energy(|△GH|)close to zero,is one of the ultimate goals in the catalytic field.Here,we report the formation of monolayer titanium selenide(TiSe2)with line defects.The low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy(STM/S)measurements revealed the structure and electronic states of the line defect.Density functional theory(DFT)calculation results confirmed that the line defects were induced by selenium vacancies and the STM simulation was in good agreement with the experimental results.Further,DFT calculations show that monolayer TiSe_(2) with line defects have good catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).If the defects are decorated with single Pt atom,the HER catalytic activity will be enhanced dramatically(|△GH|=0.006 eV),which is much better than Pt metal(|△GH|=0.09 eV).Line defects in monolayer TiSe_(2)/Au(111)provide a wonderful platform for the design of high-performance catalysts.