Doping-induced metal–N active sites and bandgap engineering in graphitic carbon nitride for enhancing photocatalytic H_(2 )evolution performance

Durable and inexpensive graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))demonstrates great potential for achieving efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reduction(HER).To further improve its activity,g-C_(3)N_(4)was subjected to atomic-level structural engineering by doping with transition metals(M=Fe,Co,or Ni),which simultaneously induced the formation of metal-N active sites in the g-C_(3)N_(4)framework and modulated the bandgap of g-C_(3)N_(4).Experiments and density functional theory calculations further verified that the as-formed metal-N bonds in M-doped g-C_(3)N_(4)acted as an"electron transfer bridge",where the migration of photo-generated electrons along the bridge enhanced the efficiency of separation of the photogenerated charges,and the optimized bandgap of g-C_(3)N_(4)afforded stronger reduction ability and wider light absorption.As a result,doping with either Fe,Co,or Ni had a positive effect on the HER activity,where Co-doped g-C_(3)N_(4)exhibited the highest performance.The findings illustrate that this atomic-level structural engineering could efficiently improve the HER activity and inspire the design of powerful photocatalysts.

Band gap engineering of atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors

Atomically thin two-dimensional （2D） layered materials have potential applications in nanoelectronics, nanophoton- ics, and integrated optoelectronics. Band gap engineering of these 2D semiconductors is critical for their broad applications in high-performance integrated devices, such as broad-band photodetectors, multi-color light emitting diodes （LEDs）, and high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress on the controlled growth of composition modulated atomically thin 2D semiconductor alloys with band gaps tuned in a wide range, as well as their induced applications in broadly tunable optoelectronic components. The band gap engineered 2D semiconductors could open up an exciting opportunity for probing their fundamental physical properties in 2D systems and may find diverse applications in functional electronic/optoelectronic devices.

Improved photovoltaic effects in Mn-doped BiFeO3 ferroelectric thin films through band gap engineering

As a low-bandgap ferroelectric material, BiFeO3 has gained wide attention for the potential photovoltaic applications,since its photovoltaic effect in visible light range was reported in 2009. In the present work, Bi（Fe, Mn）O3thin films are fabricated by pulsed laser deposition method, and the effects of Mn doping on the microstructure, optical, leakage,ferroelectric and photovoltaic characteristics of Bi（Fe, Mn）O3 thin films are systematically investigated. The x-ray diffraction data indicate that Bi（Fe, Mn）O3 thin films each have a rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure. From the light absorption results, it follows that the band gap of Bi（Fe, Mn）O3 thin films can be tuned by doping different amounts of Mn content. More importantly, photovoltaic measurement demonstrates that the short-circuit photocurrent density and the open-circuit voltage can both be remarkably improved through doping an appropriate amount of Mn content, leading to the fascinating fact that the maximum power output of ITO/BiFe（0.7）Mn（0.3）O3/Nb-STO capacitor is about 175 times higher than that of ITO/BiFeO3/Nb-STO capacitor. The improvement of photovoltaic response in Bi（Fe, Mn）O3 thin film can be reasonably explained as being due to absorbing more visible light through bandgap engineering and maintaining the ferroelectric property at the same time.

Luminescence tuning of Ce^3+,Pr^3+activated(Y,Gd)AGG system by band gap engineering and energy transfer

Tuning of phosphor luminescence properties,including the emission energy/intensity and thermal stability,is an important way to develop superior luminescent materials for diverse applications.In this work,we discuss the effect of band gap engineering and energy transfer on the luminescence properties of Ce^3+or Pr^3+doped(Y,Gd)AGG systems,and analyze the underlying reasons for their different phenomena.By using VUV-UV excitation spectra and constructing VRBE schemes,the changes of host band structure,5 d excited level energies and emission thermal stability of Ce^3+and Pr^3+with the incorporation of Gd^3+ions were studied.In addition,the energy transfer dynamics was also investigated in terms of the luminescence decay curves.This work demonstrates a way to tune phosphor luminescence properties by combining band gap engineering and energy transfer tailoring and provides an inspiring discussion on the different results of Ce^3+doping on the Ce^3+and Pr^3+emissions.

Strain-induced band gap engineering in layered TiS3

By combining ab initio calculations and experiments, we demonstrate how the band gap of the transition metal trichalcogenide TiS3 can be modified by inducing tensile or compressive strain. In addition, using our calculations, we predicted that the material would exhibit a transition from a direct to an indirect band gap upon application of a compressive strain in the direction of easy electrical transport. The ability to control the band gap and its nature could have a significant impact on the use of TiS3 for optical applications. We go on to verify our prediction via optical absorption experiments that demonstrate a band gap increase of up to 9% （from 0.99 to 1.08 eV） upon application of tensile stress along the easy transport direction.

Computational analysis of apatite-type compounds for band gap engineering: DFT calculations and structure prediction using tetrahedral substitution

Mineral apatite compounds have attracted significant interest due to their chemical stability and adjustable hexagonal structure,which makes them suitable as new photovoltaic functional materials.The band gap of natural apatite is ~5.45 eV,and such a large value limits their applications in the field of catalysis and energy devices.In this research,we designed a method to narrow the band gap via the tetrahedral substitution effect in apatite-based compounds.The density functional theory(DFT) and experimental investigation of the electronic and optical properties revealed that the continuous incorporation of [MO_(4)]^(4-) tetrahedrons(M=Si,Ge,Sn,and Mn) into the crystal lattice can significantly reduce the band gap.In particular,this phenomenon was observed when the[MnO_(4)]^(4-) tetrahedron replaces the [PO_(4)]^(4-) tetrahedron because of the formation of a Mn 3 d-derived conduction band minimum(CBM) and interacts with other elements,leading to band broadening and obvious reduction of the band gap.This approach allowed us to propose a novel scheme in the band gap engineering of apatite-based compounds toward an entire spectral range modification.

Two-dimensional Organic Metal Chalcogenides

Inorganic two-dimensional(2 D)materials have attracted tremendous interests recently.Controlled functionalization of 2 D materials can achieve additional functions and properties,but usually suffers from less modification ratio,poor controllability,defects and so on.2 D organic metal chalcogenide(OMC)materials with periodically arranged organic functional group between the inorganic analogues layers offer opportunities to develop adjustable electrical properties and extended applications.In this mini-review,we will provide an overview of the composition and preparation,band gap engineering,and conductivity modulation of the serial OMC materials and illustrate the application investigation such as biomimetic catalysis,photodetecting and chemiresistive gas sensing.

On interest-rate risk management of postal savings bureau

This article analyzes interest-rate risks faced by the postal savings bureau （PSB） based on the complete balance sheet. It presents the extended gap model and the extended duration gap model to measure the interest-rate risk, and discusses the inner balance-sheet strategies and the off-balance-sheet strategies to manage the interest-rate risks.