The binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in self-assembled double quantum dots

The binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in self-assembled double quantum dots is calculated via the finitedifference method. The variation in binding energy with donor position, structure parameters and external magnetic field is studied in detail. The results found are： （i） the binding energy has a complex behaviour due to coupling between the two dots; （ii） the binding energy is much larger when the donor is placed in the centre of one dot than in other positions; and （iii） the external magnetic field has different effects on the binding energy for different quantum-dot sizes or lateral confinements.

Hydrogenic donor impurity states and intersubband optical absorption spectra of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides in dielectric environments

The hydrogenic donor impurity states and intersubband optical absorption spectra in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides(ML TMDs) under dielectric environments are theoretically investigated based on a two-dimensional(2D)nonorthogonal associated Laguerre basis set. The 2D quantum confinement effect together with the strongly reduced dielectric screening results in the strong attractive Coulomb potential between electron and donor ion, with exceptionally large impurity binding energy and huge intersubband oscillator strength. These lead to the strong interaction of the electron with light in a 2D regime. The intersubband optical absorption spectra exhibit strong absorption lines of the non-hydrogenic Rydberg series in the mid-infrared range of light. The strength of the Coulomb potential can be controlled by changing the dielectric environment. The electron affinity difference leads to charge transfer between ML TMD and the dielectric environment, generating the polarization-electric field in ML TMD accompanied by weakening the Coulomb interaction strength. The larger the dielectric constant of the dielectric environment, the more the charge transfer is, accompanied by the larger polarization-electric field and the stronger dielectric screening. The dielectric environment is shown to provide an efficient tool to tune the wavelength and output of the mid-infrared intersubband devices based on ML TMDs.

Magnetic field and temperature dependence of the properties of the ground state of the strong-coupling bound magnetopolaron in quantum rods with hydrogenic impurity

Magnetic field and temperature dependence of the properties of the ground state of the strong-coupling bound magnetopolaron in quantum rods （QRs） with hydrogenic impurity is studied by means of the Huybrechts- Lee-Low-Pines transformation method and the quantum statistical theory. The expressions for the ground-state energy and the mean number ofphonons of the magnetopolaron are derived. Results of the numerical calculations show that the bound state of the magnetopolaron cannot be formed when the value of the aspect ratio of the QR, the dielectric constant ratio, the electron-phonon coupling strength or the temperature parameter is small. The larger the deviation of the value of aspect ratio e′ from 1 is, the more it is unfavorable to the stability of the ground state of the magnetopolaron. When the magnetopolaron is in the bound state, the absolute value of its ground-state energy and its mean number ofphonons increase with an increase of the dielectric constant ratio and confinement strength of QRs, but decrease with an increase in the cyclotron frequency of the external magnetic field and the temperature. The absolute value of the ground-state energy and the mean number of phonons of the magnetopolaron decrease with decreasing e′ when e′ 〈 1, but decrease with increasing e′ when e′ 〉 1. They get the maximum value at e′=1.

Impurity-related electronic properties in quantum dots under electric and magnetic fields

This paper presents a systematic study of the ground-state binding energies of a hydrogenic impurity in quantura dots subjected to external electric and magnetic fields. The quantum dot is modeled by superposing a lateral parabolic potential, a Gaussian potential and the energies are calculated via the finite-difference method within the effectivemass approximation. The variation of the binding energy with the lateral confinement, external field, position of the impurity, and quantum-size is studied in detail. All these factors lead to complicated binding energies of the donor, and the following results are found： （1） the binding energies of the donor increase with the increasing magnetic strength and lateral confinement, and reduce with the increasing electric strength and the dot size; （2） there is a maximum value of the binding energies as the impurity placed in different positions along the z direction; （3） the electric field destroys the symmetric behaviour of the donor binding energies as the position of the impurity.

Electron energy states in a two-dimensional GaAs quantum ring with hydrogenic donor impurity in the presence of magnetic field

Using the finite element method, we investigate the lowest and first few excited state energies in a two- dimensional GaAs quantum ring （QR） with a hydrogenic donor impurity and effective mass approximation under a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the ring plane. We study in detail the dependence of the energy spectrum with different angular momentum on the inner radius, the outer radius and width of the QR, the magnetic field and impurity position. The results reveal that the electron energies increase with the inner radius while decrease with the outer radius and width of the QR; for a fixed ring, the magnetic field induces the increase of the electron energies. Moreover, the existence of impurity reduces energy levels, and the energy levels depend highly on the impurity position, which decreases as the impurity is far away from the center of the QR. Also, the dependence of the angular momentum on the energy spectrum is analyzed in detail.

Effect of hydrogen impurities on hydrogen oxidation activity of Pt/C catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

High-purity of hydrogen is vital to the guarantee of end usage in proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)electric vehicles(EVs)with superior durability and low expense.However,the currently employed hydrogen,primarily from fossil fuel,still contains some poisoning impurities that significantly affect the durability of PEMFCs.Here,we investigate the poisoning effect of several typical hydrogen impurities(S^(2-),Cl^(-),HCOO^(-)and CO_(3)^(2-))on the hydrogen oxidation reaction(HOR)of the state-of-the-art carbon-supported platinum(Pt/C)catalyst used in the PEMFC anode.Electrochemical results indicate that the electrochemically active surface area of Pt/C is hampered by these hydrogen impurities with reduced effective Pt reactive sites due to the competitive adsorption against hydrogen at Pt sites showing the extent of the poisoning on Pt sites in the order:S^(2-)>Cl^(-)>HCOO^(-)>CO_(3)^(2-).Density functional theory calculations reveal that the adsorption energy of S2-on Pt(111)is greater than that of Cl^(-),HCOO^(-)and CO_(2),and the electronic structure of Pt is found to be changed due to the adsorption of impurities showing the downshift of the d-band centre of Pt that weakens the adsorption of hydrogen on the Pt sites.This work provides valuable guidance for future optimization of hydrogen quality and also emphasizes the importance of anti-poisoning anode catalyst development,especially towards H_(2)S impurities that seriously affect the durability of PEMFCs.