Zuju Ma

Bio: Zuju Ma is an academic researcher from Yantai University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Band gap & Second-harmonic generation. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 84 publications receiving 1885 citations. Previous affiliations of Zuju Ma include Anhui University of Technology & Fuzhou University.

Active Sites Implanted Carbon Cages in Core–Shell Architecture: Highly Active and Durable Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract: Low efficiency and poor stability are two major challenges we encounter in the exploration of non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline environment. Herein, the hybrid of cobalt encapsulated by N, B codoped ultrathin carbon cages (Co@BCN) is first introduced as a highly active and durable nonprecious metal electrocatalysts for HER, which is constructed by a bottom-up approach using metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as precursor and self-sacrificing template. The optimized catalyst exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen production from both both acidic and alkaline media. Stability investigation reveals the overcoating of carbon cages can effectively avoid the corrosion and oxidation of the catalyst under extreme acidic and alkaline environment. Electrochemical active surface area (EASA) evaluation and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the synergetic effect between the encapsulated cobalt nanoparticl...

Anisotropic thermoelectric properties of layered compounds in SnX2 (X = S, Se): a promising thermoelectric material

Abstract: Thermoelectrics interconvert heat to electricity and are of great interest in waste heat recovery, solid-state cooling and so on Here we assessed the potential of SnS2 and SnSe2 as thermoelectric materials at the temperature gradient from 300 to 800 K Reflecting the crystal structure, the transport coefficients are highly anisotropic between a and c directions, in particular for the electrical conductivity The preferred direction for both materials is the a direction in TE application Most strikingly, when 800 K is reached, SnS2 can show a peak power factor (PF) of 1550 μW cm(-1) K(-2) along the a direction, while a relatively low value (1172 μW cm(-1) K(-2)) is obtained in the same direction of SnSe2 These values are comparable to those observed in thermoelectrics such as SnSe and SnS At 300 K, the minimum lattice thermal conductivity (κmin) along the a direction is estimated to be about 067 and 055 W m(-1) K(-1) for SnS2 and SnSe2, respectively, even lower than the measured lattice thermal conductivity of Bi2Te3 (128 W m(-1) K(-1) at 300 K) The reasonable PF and κmin suggest that both SnS2 and SnSe2 are potential thermoelectric materials Indeed, the estimated peak ZT can approach 088 for SnSe2 and a higher value of 096 for SnS2 along the a direction at a carrier concentration of 194 × 10(19) (SnSe2) vs 287 × 10(19) cm(-3) (SnS2) The best ZT values in SnX2 (X = S, Se) are comparable to that in Bi2Te3 (08), a typical thermoelectric material We hope that this theoretical investigation will provide useful information for further experimental and theoretical studies on optimizing the thermoelectric properties of SnX2 materials

A highly luminescent chameleon: fine-tuned emission trajectory and controllable energy transfer

Abstract: By varying the stoichiometric ratio of Eu3+, Tb3+ and Gd3+ ions in a lanthanide metal–organic framework, a mixed-Ln MOF, [Eu0.0040Tb0.0460Gd0.9500(BTB)(DMSO)2]·H2O, has been designed to display white-light emission. In addition, the switch between blue, white, and yellow for this material has been achieved by controlling the energy transfer process.

Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)-Based Photocatalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis and Environmental Remediation: Are We a Step Closer To Achieving Sustainability?

Abstract: As a fascinating conjugated polymer, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has become a new research hotspot and drawn broad interdisciplinary attention as a metal-free and visible-light-responsive photocatalyst in the arena of solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. This is due to its appealing electronic band structure, high physicochemical stability, and “earth-abundant” nature. This critical review summarizes a panorama of the latest progress related to the design and construction of pristine g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based nanocomposites, including (1) nanoarchitecture design of bare g-C3N4, such as hard and soft templating approaches, supramolecular preorganization assembly, exfoliation, and template-free synthesis routes, (2) functionalization of g-C3N4 at an atomic level (elemental doping) and molecular level (copolymerization), and (3) modification of g-C3N4 with well-matched energy levels of another semiconductor or a metal as a cocatalyst to form heterojunction nanostructures. The constructi...

Ab initio calculation of vibrational absorption and circular dichroism spectra using density functional force fields

Abstract: : The unpolarized absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the fundamental vibrational transitions of the chiral molecule, 4-methyl-2-oxetanone, are calculated ab initio. Harmonic force fields are obtained using Density Functional Theory (DFT), MP2, and SCF methodologies and a 5S4P2D/3S2P (TZ2P) basis set. DFT calculations use the Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA), BLYP, and Becke3LYP (B3LYP) density functionals. Mid-IR spectra predicted using LSDA, BLYP, and B3LYP force fields are of significantly different quality, the B3LYP force field yielding spectra in clearly superior, and overall excellent, agreement with experiment. The MP2 force field yields spectra in slightly worse agreement with experiment than the B3LYP force field. The SCF force field yields spectra in poor agreement with experiment.The basis set dependence of B3LYP force fields is also explored: the 6-31G* and TZ2P basis sets give very similar results while the 3-21G basis set yields spectra in substantially worse agreements with experiment. jg