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    Ultrafast vibrational control of organohalide perovskite optoelectronic devices using vibrationally promoted electronic resonance
    (Basingstoke : Nature Publishing Group, 2023) Gallop, Nathaniel. P.; Maslennikov, Dmitry R.; Mondal, Navendu; Goetz, Katelyn P.; Dai, Zhenbang; Schankler, Aaron M.; Sung, Woongmo; Nihonyanagi, Satoshi; Tahara, Tahei; Bodnarchuk, Maryna I.; Kovalenko, Maksym V.; Vaynzof, Yana; Rappe, Andrew M.; Bakulin, Artem A.
    Vibrational control (VC) of photochemistry through the optical stimulation of structural dynamics is a nascent concept only recently demonstrated for model molecules in solution. Extending VC to state-of-the-art materials may lead to new applications and improved performance for optoelectronic devices. Metal halide perovskites are promising targets for VC due to their mechanical softness and the rich array of vibrational motions of both their inorganic and organic sublattices. Here, we demonstrate the ultrafast VC of FAPbBr3 perovskite solar cells via intramolecular vibrations of the formamidinium cation using spectroscopic techniques based on vibrationally promoted electronic resonance. The observed short (~300 fs) time window of VC highlights the fast dynamics of coupling between the cation and inorganic sublattice. First-principles modelling reveals that this coupling is mediated by hydrogen bonds that modulate both lead halide lattice and electronic states. Cation dynamics modulating this coupling may suppress non-radiative recombination in perovskites, leading to photovoltaics with reduced voltage losses.
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    Direct chemical vapor deposition synthesis of large area single-layer brominated graphene
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2019) Hasan, M.; Meiou, W.; Yulian, L.; Ullah, S.; Ta, H.Q.; Zhao, L.; Mendes, R.G.; Malik, Z.P.; Ahmad, N.M.; Liu, Z.; Rümmeli, M.H.
    Graphene and its derivatives such as functionalized graphene are considered to hold significant promise in numerous applications. Within that context, halogen functionalization is exciting for radical and nucleophilic substitution reactions as well as for the grafting of organic moieties. Historically, the successful covalent doping of sp2 carbon with halogens, such as bromine, was demonstrated with carbon nanotubes. However, the direct synthesis of brominated graphene has thus far remained elusive. In this study we show how large area brominated graphene with C-Br bonds can be achieved directly (i.e. a single step) using hydrogen rich low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The direct synthesis of brominated graphene could lead to practical developments. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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    B12X11(H2)−: exploring the limits of isotopologue selectivity of hydrogen adsorption
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2021) Wulf, Toshiki; Warneke, Jonas; Heine, Thomas
    We study the isotopologue-selective binding of dihydrogen at the undercoordinated boron site of B12X11− (X = H, F, Cl, Br, I, CN) using ab initio quantum chemistry. With a Gibbs free energy of H2 attachment reaching up to 80 kJ mol−1 (ΔG at 300 K for X = CN), these sites are even more attractive than most undercoordinated metal centers studied so far. We thus believe that they can serve as an edge case close to the upper limit of isotopologue-selective H2 adsorption sites. Differences of the zero-point energy of attachment average 5.0 kJ mol−1 between D2 and H2 and 2.7 kJ mol−1 between HD and H2, resulting in hypothetical isotopologue selectivities as high as 2.0 and 1.5, respectively, even at 300 K. Interestingly, even though attachment energies vary substantially according to the chemical nature of X, isotopologue selectivities remain very similar. We find that the H–H activation is so strong that it likely results in the instantaneous heterolytic dissociation of H2 in all cases (except, possibly, for X = H), highlighting the extremely electrophilic nature of B12X11− despite its negative charge. Unfortunately, this high reactivity also makes B12X11− unsuitable for practical application in the field of dihydrogen isotopologue separation. Thus, this example stresses the two-edged nature of strong H2 affinity, yielding a higher isotopologue selectivity on the one hand but risking dissociation on the other, and helps define a window of adsorption energies into which a material for selective adsorption near room temperature should ideally fall.