A modified analytical model of the alkali-metal atomic magnetometer employing longitudinal carrier field

Alkali-metal atomic magnetometers employing longitudinal carrier magnetic field have ultrahigh sensitivity to measure transverse magnetic fields and have been applied in a variety of precise-measurement science and technologies.In practice,the magnetometer response is not rigorously proportional to the measured transverse magnetic fields and the existing fundamental analytical model of this magnetometer is effective only when the amplitudes of the measured fields are very small.In this paper,we present a modified analytical model to characterize the practical performance of the magnetometer more definitely.We find out how the longitudinal magnetization of the alkali metal atoms vary with larger transverse fields.The linear-response capacity of the magnetometer is determined by these factors:the amplitude and frequency of the longitudinal carrier field,longitudinal and transverse spin relaxation time of the alkali spins and rotation frequency of the transverse fields.We give a detailed and rigorous theoretical derivation by using the perturbation-iteration method and simulation experiments are conducted to verify the validity and correctness of the proposed modified model.This model can be helpful for measuring larger fields more accurately and configuring a desirable magnetometer with proper linear range.

AA-stacked borophene–graphene bilayer as an anode material for alkali-metal ion batteries with a superhigh capacity

As the lightest two-dimensional material,monolayer borophene exhibits great potential as electrode materials,but it suffers from stability issues in the free-standing form.Here,the striped-borophene and graphene bilayer(sB/Gr)is found to be a high-performance anode material for rechargeable alkali-metal ion batteries.The first-principles results show that all the three alkali-metal atoms,Li,Na,and K,can be strongly adsorbed on sB/Gr with ultra-low diffusion barriers than that on pristine borophene/graphene,indicating good charge-discharge rates.Remarkably,high storage capacities are proposed for LIBs(1880 mA·h/g),NIBs(1648 mA·h/g),and KIBs(470 m A·h/g)with relatively small lattice change rate(<2.9%)in the process of alkali-metal atoms intercalations.These intriguing features of sB/Gr make it an excellent choice for batteries.

Syntheses of Divalent Rare Earth Ternary Halides KYbBr_(3), KYbCl_(3), KSm_(2)Br_(5), KSm_(2)C_(l5), KEu_(2)C_(l5) by Alkalimetallothermoreduction

Introduction CsEuF;, CsYbF;and RbYbF;are the first members of divalent rare earth ternary halides obtained via reduction of trivalent rare earth halides by alkali metals. Recently we adopted a new synthesis route in preparing divalent rare earth chlorides and bromides and the five titled compounds were suc-

Structure prediction, electronic, and mechanical properties of alkali metal MB_(12)(=Be, Mg, Ca, Sr) from first principles

Using the particle swarm optimization algorithm on structural search methods, we focus our crystal structures search on boron-rich alkali metal compounds of MB_(12)(M = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr) with simulation cell sizes of 1–2 formula units(f.u.)at 0 GPa. The structure, electronic, and mechanical properties of MB_(12) are obtained from the density functional theory using the plane-wave pseudopotential method within the generalized gradient approximations. The formation enthalpies of MB_(12) regarding to solid metal M and solid alpha-boron suggested the predicted structures can be synthesized except for BeB12. The calculated band structures show MB_(12)(M = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr) are all indirect semiconductors. All the calculated elastic constants of MB_(12) satisfy the the mechanical stable conditions. The mechanical parameters(i.e., bulk modulus,shear modulus, and Young’s modulus) are derived using the Voigt–Reuss–Hill method. The G/B ratios indicated that the MB_(12) should exhibit brittle behavior. In addition, the hardness, Debye temperature, universal anisotropic index, and the percentage of anisotropy in compression and shear are also discussed in detail. We hope our results can inspire further experimental study on these boron-rich alkali-metal compounds.

Oxidative Methylation of Toluene with Methane over Basic Zeolite Catalysts Promoted with Alkali Metal Bromides and Alkali Metal Oxides

The catalytic effects for the oxidative methylation of toluene with methane over the basic zeolite catalysts prepared by promoting KY, KX, KM, KZSM-5 or KP with alkali-metal bromides and alkali-metal oxides have been investigated comparatively. The alkali-metal bromides promoted substrates are more effective than the alkali-metal oxides promoted systems. Moreover, the NaBr promoted systems are more active than KBr promoted systems. The most effective catalytic system (8wt%NaBr)/KZSM-5 gave a toluene conversion as high as 76.3% and a total C-8 selectivity of 76.4% (styrene/ethylbenzene=9.76) resulting in a total C-8 yield of 58.3%.

Understanding charge transfer of Li^+ and Na^+ ions scattered from metal surfaces with high work function

For Li^＋ and Na^＋ ions scattered from high work function metal surfaces, efficient neutralization is observed, and it cannot be explained by the conventional free electron model. In order to explain these experimental data, we investigate the velocity-dependent neutral fraction with the modified Brako–Newns（BN） model. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental data. We find that the parallel velocity effect plays an important role in neutralizing the Li^＋ and Na^＋ ions for large angle scattering. The nonmonotonic velocity behavior of neutral fraction is strongly related to the distance-dependent coupling strength between the atomic level and metal states.

Challenges and perspectives of covalent organic frameworks for advanced alkali-metal ion batteries

Covalent organic frameworks(COFs)are a class of porous crystalline polymers that have been widely investigated in various fields,including energy storage,photo/electrocatalysis,drug delivery.The covalent-bond interconnection allows COFs extraordinary chemical and thermal stability,and the porous structure ensures a high ion-diffusion coefficient.These merits compensate for the drawbacks of organic electrodes that are easy to dissolve and have low charge conductivity,and promote the development of novel electrode materials with excellent performance,environmental friendliness,and low price.However,the application of COFs also encountered many problems,such as poor electronic conductivity due to the large band gap.Moreover,in some three-dimensional(3D)COFs and stacked two-dimensional(2D)COFs,the huge crystal structure,aligned ultralong channels,and numerous crystal defects usually impede ion transport,and the large molecular weights of COFs generally decrease the specific capacities.These issues are urgently needed to be solved.Here in this review,we summarize the latest progress,core challenges and coping strategies concerning with the use of COFs in alkali-metal ion batteries,discuss the impact of material structure on energy storage,and propose strategies for the construction of high-performance COF-based electrodes.

Synthesis of α-Hydroxy-ω-Aminotelechelic Polypeptide from α-Amino Acid N-Carboxyanhydrides Catalyzed by Alkali-metal Borohydrides

It is reported that alkali-metal borohydrides （MBH4, M = Li, Na and K） are efficient catalysts for ring opening polymerization （ROP） of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides （NCAs）. Polypeptides are prepared in quantitative yields with relatively narrow molecular weight distributions （MWDs = 1.1-1.5） which depend on the reaction temperature. End groups of the produced polypeptide are studied in detail by MALDI-ToF MS, IH-NMR, 13C-NMR, IH-1H COSY and IH-13C HMQC analyses. The results indicate that α-hydroxy-ω-aminotelechelic polypeptides are formed which are suitable for post- polymerization functionalization.

Effects of heterofunctional alkali-metal formate doping on perovskite solar cell performance

Various internal and external defects present in the perovskite film are one of the main factors that causelow efficiency and stability, and in order to realize high-performance perovskite solar cells, it is necessaryto develop a method to effectively suppress them. In this study, a heterofunctional dopants strategy wasattempted to integrate the effect of alkali metal cations (Rbþ and Kþ) and formate anion (HCOO) throughdoping engineering with alkali-metal formates, i.e., rubidium formate (RbHCOO) and potassium formate(KHCOO). Inclusive physical and photoelectric analysis revealed that doping with a small amount ofalkali-metal formate leads to crystal growth and reduction of grain boundaries, and further passivates orinhibits bulk and surface defects. As a result, the photogenerated charge recombination was reduced andthe charge carrier transport was improved, leading to improved PSC performance. RbHCOO-dopedinverted planar PSCs achieved a PCE of up to 20.41% with long-term stability. Our findings provide away for producing high-quality perovskite films with low defect densities that are essential for realizinghigh-performance PSCs.

High-Order Dispersion Coefficients for Alkali-metal Atoms

High-order dispersion coefficients C9, C11, C12, and C13 for the ground-state alkali-metals were calculated by combining the 1-dependent model potential of alkali-metal atoms and linear variation method based on B-spline basis functions. The results were compared.

The effect of cation size(H^+, Li^+, Na^+, and K^+) on McLafferty-type rearrangement of even-electron ions in mass spectrometry

Protonation and alkali-metal cation adduction are the most important ionization processes in soft-ionization mass spectrometry.Studies on the fragmentation mechanism of protonated and alkali-metal-cationized compounds in tandem mass spectrometry are essential and helpful for structural analysis.In some cases,it was often observed that a compound attached by different alkali-metal cations(or proton)exhibits similar fragmentation patterns but the relative abundances of product ions are different.This difference was considered to derive from the different electrostatic interactions of alkali-metal cations(or the bonded effect of proton)with the analyte.The alkali-metal cation with a smaller ionic radius shows stronger electrostatic interaction with the molecule because of its higher charge density.In addition,the bonded effect of the proton is stronger than the electrostatic interaction of the alkali-metal cation.In the present study,which used McLafferty-type rearrangements of even-electron ions([M+Cat]+,Cat=H,Li,Na,K)as model reactions,the effect of cation size in mass spectrometric fragmentation reactions is highlighted.These considerations were also successfully applied to interpret the similar but distinct fragmentation behavior of proton and alkali-metal cation adducts of a synthetic compound(2-(acetamido(phenyl)methyl)-3-oxobutanoate)and a drug(entecavir).