Understanding the Strength of the Selenium-Graphene Interfaces for Energy Storage Systems

Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured graphene-doped selenium

In this work, we explore various properties of elemental selenium glass (g-Se) by doping with graphene through the facile melt-quench technique. The structural information of the synthesized sample was found by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The analyses confirm that the graphene-doped g-Se behaves like a glass-ceramic material. Electrical and dielectric measurements were performed to discover the consequences of graphene incorporation on the nano-structure of g-Se. The electrical measurements of the dielectric parameters (i.e., dielectric constant ε' and loss ε'') and conductivity (σ _ac) reveal that graphene incorporation causes a rise in the dielectric constant but simultaneously increases dielectric loss. The enhancement in ε' and ε'' values is thought to be a consequence of the interface effect between graphene and the host selenium glass. Calorimetric experiments were performed in a standard differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) unit on the glassy nanocomposite in non-isothermal mode. By measuring the kinetic temperatures at four heating rates, the kinetics of the crystallization/glass transition were studied. The results were examined to understand the role of graphene doping on the well-known phase transitions (i.e., glass transition and crystallization) of g-Se.

Strain Tunable Thermoelectric Material: Janus ZrSSe Monolayer

Thermoelectric (TE) performance of the Janus ZrSSe monolayer under biaxial strain is systematically explored by the first-principles approach and Boltzmann transport theory. Our results show that the Janus ZrSSe monolayer has excellent chemical, dynamical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities, which provide a reliable platform for strain tuning. The electronic structure and TE transport parameters of the Janus ZrSSe monolayer can be obviously tuned by biaxial strain. Under 2% tensile strain, the optimal power factor PF of the n-type-doped Janus ZrSSe monolayer reaches 46.36 m W m^-1 K^-2 at 300 K. This value is higher than that of the most classical TE materials. Under 6% tensile strain, the maximum ZT values for the p-type- and n-type-doped Janus ZrSSe monolayers are 4.41 and 4.88, respectively, which are about 3.83 and 1.49 times the results of no strain, respectively. Such high TE performance can be attributed to high band degeneracy and short phonon relaxation time under strain, causing simultaneous increase of the Seebeck coefficient and suppression of the phonon thermal transport. Present work demonstrates that the Janus ZrSSe monolayer is a promising candidate as a strain-tunable TE material and stimulates further experimental synthesis.

Theoretical Exploration of Peculiar Sandwich-Type Clusters Formed by the Coordination of E92- (E = Si, Ge, Sn) Zintl Clusters: Structural Properties, Active Sites, and Hydrogen Storage

A peculiar heterogeneous metal sandwich fragment {(Ge₉)₂[η⁶-Ge(PdPPh₃)₃]}^4- anion cluster was synthesized for the first time by Xu et al. (Xu, H. L.; Tkachenko, N. V.; Wang, Z. C.; Chen, W. X.; Qiao, L.; Munoz-Castro, A.; Boldyrev, A. I.; Sun, Z. M. Nat. Commun.2020, 11, 5286). In this work, novel analogous sandwich compounds ({(E₉)₂[η⁶-E(PdPH₃)₃]}^4- (E = Si (1), Ge (2), Sn (3)) were studied using quantum chemical calculations and wave function analysis to determine the geometry, bonding nature, aromaticity, active sites, and hydrogen storage. Structural analysis revealed that the clusters were compounds formed by the coordination of two E₉^2- (E = Si, Ge, Sn) Zintl clusters with a central E@Pd₃ (E = Si, Ge, Sn) interlayer. The steric hindrance at both ends is small, facilitating facile attachment to other molecules. The valence states of the central atom E (E = Si, Ge, Sn) are close to zero, indicating that they are stable novel heterometallic sandwich compounds, and the Zintl ligands at both ends are negative, thus they can react with Lewis acids. Bonding analysis showed that the E₉^2- (E = Si, Ge, Sn) cluster has a delocalized framework bonding mode. For aromaticity analysis, we used AdNDP, ELF, LOL, ICSS, and NICS to qualitatively and quantitatively clarify that these clusters possess the characteristics of overall delocalization, σ aromaticity, and remarkable stability. By analyzing the unique structure and predicting the reaction sites, we concluded that the E₉^2- ligand reacts with Lewis acids. Finally, through the adsorption of hydrogen molecules, the average adsorption energies of 1-3 were 0.387, 0.374, and 0.325 eV per H₂ molecule, respectively, meeting the physical adsorption standard, with the adsorption effect of 3 being slightly more superior than that of 1 and 2. Our study represents a substantial step forward in the study of high-density materials for volumetric H₂ storage applications.

Photochemical Synthesis of Selenium Nanospheres of Tunable Size and Colloidal Stability with Simple Diketones

Temporal and spatial segregations are two fundamental requirements for the successful synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs). To obtain colloidally stable selenium nanospheres (SeNSs), surfactants or polymers are generally needed as structure-directing agents or stabilizers in the reduction approaches for SeNP synthesis. The addition of such chemicals sacrifices the purity of the obtained SeNPs and, therefore, is detrimental to the applications. Here, for the first time, we report that low-molecular weight (less than six carbons) diketones are excellent photoreductants for green and tunable synthesis of SeNPs, owing to their merits in temporal and spatial control. With simple diketones as the photoreductants, the resultant SeNPs were pure and colloidally stable with nice photoelectronic properties. This finding not only provides a useful strategy for the synthesis of SeNPs but also might be a milestone in the development of ketone photochemistry.