Atomic-Ordering-Induced Quantum Phase Transition between Topological Crystalline Insulator and Z_2 Topological Insulator

Topological phase transition in a single material usually refers to transitions between a trivial band insulator and a topological Dirac phase, and the transition may also occur between different classes of topological Dirac phases.It is a fundamental challenge to realize quantum transition between Z_2 nontrivial topological insulator（TI） and topological crystalline insulator（TCI） in one material because Z_2 TI and TCI have different requirements on the number of band inversions. The Z_2 TIs must have an odd number of band inversions over all the time-reversal invariant momenta, whereas the newly discovered TCIs, as a distinct class of the topological Dirac materials protected by the underlying crystalline symmetry, owns an even number of band inversions. Taking PbSnTe_2 alloy as an example, here we demonstrate that the atomic-ordering is an effective way to tune the symmetry of the alloy so that we can electrically switch between TCI phase and Z_2 TI phase in a single material. Our results suggest that the atomic-ordering provides a new platform towards the realization of reversibly switching between different topological phases to explore novel applications.

Effect of Crystallinity on Electrochemical Insertion/Extraction of Li in Transition Metal Oxides Part I: LiMn_2O_4 and LiCo_(0.5)Ni_(0.5)O_2

Electrochemical insertion/extraction of Li on cathode materials of spinel type LiMn2O4 and ordered rock-salt type LiCo0.5 Ni0.5O2 was measured on samples of which structures were well characterized. On the basis of experimental results on structure, morphology and charge-discharge characteristics, the effect of crystallinity of the cathode materiaIs on electrochemical Li insertion/extraction performance was discussed. These two transition metal oxides belong to onegroup that the crystallinity of these oxides affects to the performance.

Effect of Crystallinity on Electrochemical Insertion/Extraction of Li in Transition Metal Oxides Part Ⅱ: TiO_2, V_2O_5 and MoO_3

Electrochemical insertion/extraction of Li on cathode materials of anatase type TiO_2, quasilayered structure V_2O_5 and layered structure MoO_3 was measured on samples of which structures were well characterized and showed a wide range of crystallinity. On the basis of experimental results on structure, morphology and charge-discharge characteristics, the effect of crystallinity of the cathode materials on electrochemical Li insertion/extraction pedermance was discussed. These three transition metal oxides were classified as one group on the basis of whether the crystallinity of these oxides affects to the performance or not; LiMn_2O_4 and LiCo_(0.5)O_2 belongs to the former group and TiO_2, V_2O_5 and MoO_3 to the latter.

Superconductivity in self-flux-synthesized single crystalline R2Pt3Ge5(R=La,Ce,Pr)

In order to study the basic superconductivity properties of R2Pt3Ge5, we synthesized the single crystalline samples by the Pt–Ge self-flux method. R2Pt3Ge5（R = La, Ce） were also grown for a systematic study. Zero-resistivity was observed in both the La-and Pr-based samples below the reported superconducting transition temperatures. However, magnetic susceptibility measurements showed low superconductivity volume fractions in both La2Pt3Ge5 and R2Pt3Ge5（less than2%）. Ce2Pt3Ge5 did not show any signature of superconductivity. From the specific heat measurements, we did not observe a superconducting transition peak in R2Pt3Ge5, suggesting that it is not a bulk superconductor. The magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements revealed two antiferromagnetic（AFM） orders in R2Pt3Ge5 at T（N1）= 4.2 K and T（N2）= 3.5K, as well as a single AFM transition at TN= 3.8 K in Ce2Pt3Ge5.

Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Photoluminescence Property of Potassium Terbium Polyphosphate KTb(PO3)4

The potassium terbium polyphosphate crystal KTb（PO3）4 has been synthesized using a high temperature solution reaction method. The structure and composition were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with a=10.3182（6）, b=8.9129（5）, c=10.7940（6） , β=105.993（1）o, V=954.3 3, Z=4, Mr=513.91, Dc=3.577 g/cm3, μ=8.585 mm（-1）, F（000）=960, S=0.955,（Δρ）max=1.380,（Δρ）min=–3.428 e/3, the final R=0.0301 and w R=0.0400 for 2301 observed reflections with I 〉 2σ（I）. In addition, pure powder of isostructural Rb Tb（PO3）4 was synthesized in order to investigate the optical property. Photoluminescence measurements show that both crystals ATb（PO3）4（A=K（1）, Rb（2）） are promising candidates to become solid-state visible green light-emitting sources.

Restructuring of 4H Phase Au Nanowires and its Catalytic Behavior toward CO Electro-oxidation

Au nanowires in 4H crystalline phase(4H Au NWs)are synthesized by colloid solution methods.The crys-talline phase and surface structure as well as its performance toward electrochemical oxidation of CO be-fore and after removing adsorbed oleylamine molecules(OAs)intro-duced from its synthesis are evaluat-ed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),underpoten-tial deposition of Pb(Pb-upd)and cyclic voltammetry.Different methods,i.e.acetic acid cleaning,electrochemical oxidation cleaning,and diethylamine replacement,have been tried to remove the adsorbed OAs.For all methods,upon the removal of the adsorbed OAs,the morphology of 4H gold nanoparticles is found to gradually change from nanowires to large dumbbell-shaped nanoparticles,accompanying with a transition from the 4H phase to the face-centered cubic phase.On the other hand,the Pb-upd results show that the sample sur-faces have almost the same facet composition before and after removal of the adsorbed OAs.After electrochemical cleaning with continuous potential scans up to 1.3 V,CO electro-oxida-tion activity of the 4H Au sample is significantly improved.The CO electro-oxidation activi-ty is compared with results on the three basel Au single crystalline surfaces reported in the lit-erature,possible origins for its enhancement are discussed.

Defect energetics and magnetic properties of 3d-transition-metal-doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

The introduction of magnetism in SnTe-class topological crystalline insulators is a challenging subject with great importance in the quantum device applications. Based on the first-principles calculations, we have studied the defect energetics and magnetic properties of 3d transition-metal(TM)-doped SnTe. We find that the doped TM atoms prefer to stay in the neutral states and have comparatively high formation energies, suggesting that the uniform TMdoping in SnTe with a higher concentration will be difficult unless clustering. In the dilute doping regime, all the magnetic TMatoms are in the high-spin states, indicating that the spin splitting energy of 3d TM is stronger than the crystal splitting energy of the SnTe ligand. Importantly, Mn-doped SnTe has relatively low defect formation energy, largest local magnetic moment, and no defect levels in the bulk gap, suggesting that Mn is a promising magnetic dopant to realize the magnetic order for the theoretically-proposed large-Chern-number quantum anomalous Hall effect(QAHE) in SnTe.

Polymorphic Transition of Pre-oriented Polybutene-1 under Tensile Deformation:In Situ FTIR Study

Deformation-induced phase transition of FormⅡto FormⅠin polybutene-1(PB-1)has been investigated by time-resolved Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy over a wide temperature range from 25℃to 105℃.The initial film sample containing orientated lamellae is prepared by pre-stretching of PB-1 melt followed by solidification.This is to realize a homogeneity of subsequent deformation at the mesoscale of lamellar stacks by avoiding large-scale spherulites.The deformation induced phase transition is recognized to occur with two stages:first,FormⅡundergoes the lamellar fragmentation,slipping or local melting after yielding to activate its transition to FormⅠ,which may be realized by releasing the restrictions on chains translational movements in crystalline phase;second,the phase transition proceeds with a continuous dissipation of external work and determines the tensile mechanical response of film.To quantify the relationship between crystalline transition of FormⅡto FormⅠand external tensile field,a simple kinetic equation is well established based on FTIR measurement.The equation can describe not only the dependence of crystal transitional degree on applied specific work,but also the retardation effect of elevating temperature on phase transition.

Optical and electrical modulation in ultraviolet photodetectors based on organic one-dimensional photochromic arrays

Organic photochromic materials have drawn considerable attention for their potential applications in large-scale and low-cost optoelectronics owing to unique tunable physicochemical properties.For organic photodetectors,photochromic materials have realized optical and electrical engineering of semiconductor layers,which incorporate not only tunable performance,but also functionalities to optoelectronic devices.However,the essential challenge is to assemble large-area photochromic micro-and nanostructure arrays with controllable geometry and precise alignment,which restricts the integration of multifunctional optoelectronic devices.Herein,we fabricate organic photochromic one-dimensional(1D)arrays via a feasible solution process through the confined crystallization of organic molecules.By modulating and controlling the photoisomerization behaviors,these 1D photochromic arrays possess broad spectral tunability,which ensure tunable photoresponse.Furthermore,we investigate the crystallographic transition and electronic performance variation of these 1D photochromic arrays.By adjusting the dwell time of ultraviolet(UV)irradiation,the UV photochromic photodetectors realize tunable and repeatable responsivity from 85.6 to 0.709 mA/W.Our work provides new possibilities for optical and electrical engineering of photochromic microwires towards the integration of multifunctional optoelectronic devices.