Predictable Particle Engineering: Programming the Energy Level, Carrier Generation, and Conductivity of Core–Shell Particles

Abstract

Core-shell structures are of particular interest in the development of advanced composite materials as they can efficiently bring different components together at nanoscale. The advantage of this structure greatly relies on the crucial design of both core and shell, thus achieving an intercomponent synergistic effect. In this report, we show that decorating semiconductor nanocrystals with a boronate polymer shell can easily achieve programmable core-shell interactions. Taking ZnO and anatase TiO nanocrystals as inner core examples, the effective core-shell interactions can narrow the band gap of semiconductor nanocrystals, change the HOMO and LUMO levels of boronate polymer shell, and significantly improve the carrier density of core-shell particles. The hole mobility of core-shell particles can be improved by almost 9 orders of magnitude in comparison with net boronate polymer, while the conductivity of core-shell particles is at most 30-fold of nanocrystals. The particle engineering strategy is based on two driving forces: catechol-surface binding and B-N dative bonding and having a high ability to control and predict the shell thickness. Also, this approach is applicable to various inorganic nanoparticles with different components, sizes, and shapes.

Surface Engineering of Defective Hematite Nanostructures Coupled by Graphene Sheets with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance

“…To have a deeper insight of the observed photoelectrochemical performances, the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) were summarized in Figure B. On the basis of the Nyquist plots, the electrodes exhibited semicircles with different radii at high frequencies and straight lines at low frequencies, which is generally observed in oxide-based electrodes . The pronounced semicircle corresponds to charge transfer resistance ( R ct ) and indicates that the charge transfer is the dominant process at this stage.…”

“…On the basis of the Nyquist plots, the electrodes exhibited semicircles with different radii at high frequencies and straight lines at low frequencies, which is generally observed in oxide-based electrodes. 33 The pronounced semicircle corresponds to charge transfer resistance (R ct ) and indicates that the charge transfer is the dominant process at this stage. A smaller semicircle radius represents a lower R ct , indicating a more effective separation of e − /h + pairs and a faster interfacial charge transfer to electron acceptor or donor.…”

Metallopolymer Particle Engineering via Etching of Boronate Polymers toward High‐Performance Overall Water Splitting Catalysts

“…Then, the growth of BP shells is driven by the BN coordination, leading to the formation of core-shell structured inorganic@BPs with controllable shell thicknesses. [18] The dynamic boronate ester bond can not only prevent the oxidation but also preserve the intrinsic Metallopolymers combine the property features of both metallic compounds and organic polymers, representing a typical direction for the design of high-performance hybrid materials. Here, a highly adaptive etching method to create pores and cavities in the metallopolymer particles is established.…”

A two-step strategy for high-efficiency fluorescent dye removal from wastewater

“…Although substantial progress has been made, the process still requires tens of minutes. 27 In addition, the high input voltage (1-40 kV) is not suitable for commercialization due to its high-energy consumption and relatively low degradation efficiency. Great concerns about the coupling process focus on the following three aspects in promoting industrial applications.…”