This review captures the synthesis, assembly, properties, and applications of copper chalcogenide NCs, which have achieved significant research interest in the last decade due to their compositional and structural versatility. The outstanding functional properties of these materials stems from the relationship between their band structure and defect concentration, including charge carrier concentration and electronic conductivity character, which consequently affects their optoelectronic, optical, and plasmonic properties. This, combined with several metastable crystal phases and stoichiometries and the low energy of formation of defects, makes the reproducible synthesis of these materials, with tunable parameters, remarkable. Further to this, the review captures the progress of the hierarchical assembly of these NCs, which bridges the link between their discrete and collective properties. Their ubiquitous application set has cross-cut energy conversion (photovoltaics, photocatalysis, thermoelectrics), en...

Compound Copper Chalcogenide Nanocrystals

We present a review on the emerging materials for novel plasmonic colloidal nanocrystals. We start by explaining the basic processes involved in surface plasmon resonances in nanoparticles and then discuss the classes of nanocrystals that to date are particularly promising for tunable plasmonics: non-stoichiometric copper chalcogenides, extrinsically doped metal oxides, oxygen-deficient metal oxides and conductive metal oxides. We additionally introduce other emerging types of plasmonic nanocrystals and finally we give an outlook on nanocrystals of materials that could potentially display interesting plasmonic properties.

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New materials for tunable plasmonic colloidal nanocrystals

Selenium contaminated waters: An overview of analytical methods, treatment options and recent advances in sorption methods.

Graphene/layered double hydroxide nanocomposite: Properties, synthesis, and applications

Structural degradation and low conductivity of transition-metal oxides lead to severe capacity fading in lithium-ion batteries. Recent efforts to solve this issue have mainly focused on using nanocomposites or hybrids by integrating nanosized metal oxides with conducting additives. Here we design specific hierarchical structures and demonstrate their use in flexible, large-area anode assemblies. Fabrication of these anodes is achieved via oxidative growth of copper oxide nanowires onto copper substrates followed by radio-frequency sputtering of carbon-nitride films, forming freestanding three-dimensional arrays with core-shell nano-architecture. Cable-like copper oxide/carbon-nitride core-shell nanostructures accommodate the volume change during lithiation-delithiation processes, the three-dimensional arrays provide abundant electroactive zones and electron/ion transport paths, and the monolithic sandwich-type configuration without additional binders or conductive agents improves energy/power densities of the whole electrode.

/pdf/freestanding-three-dimensional-core-shell-nanoarrays-for-48h2zwp9tj.pdf

Freestanding three-dimensional core–shell nanoarrays for lithium-ion battery anodes

A hexagonal Cu2SnS3 with uniform and well-dispersed nanoparticle morphology has been synthesized, representing an example of hexagonal system in the Cu–Sn–E (S, Se) ternary chalcogenides. Both theoretical calculation and experimental results give the unique metallic character of Cu2SnS3, which is significantly different from the traditional opinion that I-IV-VI ternary chalcogenides were regarded previously as small or middle band-gap semiconductors. Also, M(I)2SnS3 (M=Ag, Au, Rb, and Cs) serial compounds are another potential family of conducting sulfides. The conducting Cu2SnS3 product with the interlayer space and tunnels in the crystal structures could be fascinatingly introduced to the lithium battery application.

Hexagonal Cu2SnS3 with metallic character: Another category of conducting sulfides

A method is disclosed for the preparation of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) by providing a metal-containing solution containing either monovalent or divalent and trivalent metal cations and mixing with an amine or quaternary ammonium surfactant at a pre-determined ratio and hydrothermally treating the reaction mixture at a pre-determined temperature for a pre-determined period. Preferably, the method enables the particle size, particle size distribution and/or morphology of the LDHs to be controlled. Also disclosed are LDHs having a controlled particle size in the range 30-1 OOnm and composites comprising such LDHs.

Preparation of layered double hydroxides

The authors constructed the finite cluster model of bamboolike carbon nitride nanotubes taking the C9N5H3 as an example As desired, the C9N5H3 bamboolike nanotubes were prepared in a facile solvent-free system Both x-ray photoelectron microscopy and elemental analysis give its formula of C9N5H3, while the UV-vis and Fourier transform infrared results agree well with the theoretical predictions Due to the existence of pore structure in this carbon nitride tube wall, the lithium battery experimental results exhibit a much higher irreversible and reversible capacity than that of the theoretical capacity of graphite (372mAhg−1)

Bamboolike carbon nitride nanotubes (C9N5H3): Atomic-scale construction, synthesis and lithium battery applications

NiS hollow spheres with controllable diameter sizes have been prepared in large scale by a simple method, where cyclohexylamine, as both solvent and reductant, successfully controlled the rate of r...

Large Scale Fabrication of NiS Hollow Spheres with Controllable Diameter Sizes

A method is disclosed for the preparation of layered double hydroxides with particles having a rod-like morphology by preparing a precursor of rod-like aluminium hydroxide particles and contacting the precursor with an aqueous lithium salt. Preferably, the precursor will be prepared by templated hydrothermal synthesis. Also disclosed are lithium aluminium layered double hydroxides with rod-like particles and composites comprising such particles.

Chengle Wang

Papers

Hexagonal Cu2SnS3 with metallic character: Another category of conducting sulfides

Preparation of layered double hydroxides

Bamboolike carbon nitride nanotubes (C9N5H3): Atomic-scale construction, synthesis and lithium battery applications

Large Scale Fabrication of NiS Hollow Spheres with Controllable Diameter Sizes

Method for the preparation of layered double hydroxides