King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

About: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Membrane & Catalysis. The organization has 6221 authors who have published 22019 publications receiving 625706 citations. The organization is also known as: KAUST.

Controlling N-doping type in carbon to boost single-atom site Cu catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of quinoline

Abstract: Single-atom site (SA) catalysts on N-doped carbon (CN) materials exhibit prominent performance for their active sites being M-Nx. Due to the commonly random doping behaviors of N species in these CN, it is a tough issue to finely regulate their doping types and clarify their effect on the catalytic property of such catalysts. Herein, we report that the N-doping type in CN can be dominated as pyrrolic-N and pyridinic-N respectively through compounding with different metal oxides. It is found that the proportion of distinct doped N species in CN depends on the acidity and basicity of compounded metal oxide host. Owing to the coordination by pyrrolic-N, the SA Cu catalyst displays an enhanced activity (two-fold) for transfer hydrogenation of quinoline to access the valuable molecule tetrahydroquinoline with a good selectivity (99%) under mild conditions. The higher electron density of SA Cu species induced by the predominate pyrrolic-N coordination benefits the hydrogen transfer process and reduces the energy barrier of the hydrogenation pathway, which accounts for the improved catalytic effeciency.

Room-Temperature Ferroelectricity in Hexagonally Layered α-In2Se3 Nanoflakes down to the Monolayer Limit

Abstract: 2D ferroelectric material has emerged as an attractive building block for highdensity data storage nanodevices. Although monolayer van der Waals ferroelectrics have been theoretically predicted, a key experimental breakthrough for such calculations is still not realized. Here, hexagonally stacking α-In2Se3 nanoflake, a rarely studied van der Waals polymorph, is reported to exhibit out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) ferroelectricity at room temperature. Ferroelectric multidomain states in a hexagonal α-In2Se3 nanoflake with uniform thickness can survive to 6 nm. Most strikingly, the electric-field-induced polarization switching and hysteresis loop are, respectively, observed down to the bilayer and monolayer (≈1.2 nm) thicknesses, which designates it as the thinnest layered ferroelectric and verifies the corresponding theoretical calculation. In addition, two types of ferroelectric nanodevices employing the OOP and IP polarizations in 2H α-In2Se3 are developed, which are applicable for nonvolatile memories and heterostructure-based nanoelectronics/ optoelectronics.

Highly Efficient Laser Scribed Graphene Electrodes for On-Chip Electrochemical Sensing Applications

Abstract: This study reports the fabrication of flexible electrochemical sensors using a direct-write laser scribing process that transforms commercial polyimide sheet into graphitic carbon with self-standing porous 3D morphology, and abundant edge planes. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate (k0) of the laser scribed graphene (LSG) electrodes for both inner-sphere and outer-sphere redox mediators, ferrocyanide ([Fe(CN)6]4−) and hexaammineruthenium ([Ru(NH3)6]3+) are estimated to be 0.1150 and 0.0868 cm s−1, respectively. These values are significantly higher than those for similar carbon based materials, which this study ascribes to the binder free 3D porous network of LSG with enriched edge plane sites. Further, k0 is enhanced up to 0.2823 and 0.2312 cm s−1 for inner and outer-sphere redox mediators by selective anchoring of Pt nanoparticles over LSG. The LSG electrodes exhibit significantly improved electrocatalytic activity toward oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA). Consequently, the detection of these biomarkers is achieved with high sensitivity of 237.76 and 250.69 μA mm−1 cm−2 (AA), 2259.9 and 6995.6 μA mm−1 cm−2 (DA) and 5405 and 8289 μA mm−1 cm−2 (UA) for LSG and Pt/LSG electrodes, respectively, in a wide concentration range. These results outperform previously reported 2D/3D graphene based electrodes.

Global challenges for seagrass conservation

Abstract: Seagrasses, flowering marine plants that form underwater meadows, play a significant global role in supporting food security, mitigating climate change and supporting biodiversity. Although progress is being made to conserve seagrass meadows in select areas, most meadows remain under significant pressure resulting in a decline in meadow condition and loss of function. Effective management strategies need to be implemented to reverse seagrass loss and enhance their fundamental role in coastal ocean habitats. Here we propose that seagrass meadows globally face a series of significant common challenges that must be addressed from a multifaceted and interdisciplinary perspective in order to achieve global conservation of seagrass meadows. The six main global challenges to seagrass conservation are (1) a lack of awareness of what seagrasses are and a limited societal recognition of the importance of seagrasses in coastal systems; (2) the status of many seagrass meadows are unknown, and up-to-date information on status and condition is essential; (3) understanding threatening activities at local scales is required to target management actions accordingly; (4) expanding our understanding of interactions between the socio-economic and ecological elements of seagrass systems is essential to balance the needs of people and the planet; (5) seagrass research should be expanded to generate scientific inquiries that support conservation actions; (6) increased understanding of the linkages between seagrass and climate change is required to adapt conservation accordingly. We also explicitly outline a series of proposed policy actions that will enable the scientific and conservation community to rise to these challenges. We urge the seagrass conservation community to engage stakeholders from local resource users to international policy-makers to address the challenges outlined here, in order to secure the future of the world’s seagrass ecosystems and maintain the vital services which they supply.

Lattice anchoring stabilizes solution-processed semiconductors

Abstract: The stability of solution-processed semiconductors remains an important area for improvement on their path to wider deployment. Inorganic caesium lead halide perovskites have a bandgap well suited to tandem solar cells1 but suffer from an undesired phase transition near room temperature2. Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are structurally robust materials prized for their size-tunable bandgap3; however, they also require further advances in stability because they are prone to aggregation and surface oxidization at high temperatures as a consequence of incomplete surface passivation4,5. Here we report ‘lattice-anchored’ hybrid materials that combine caesium lead halide perovskites with lead chalcogenide CQDs, in which lattice matching between the two materials contributes to a stability exceeding that of the constituents. We find that CQDs keep the perovskite in its desired cubic phase, suppressing the transition to the undesired lattice-mismatched phases. The stability of the CQD-anchored perovskite in air is enhanced by an order of magnitude compared with pristine perovskite, and the material remains stable for more than six months at ambient conditions (25 degrees Celsius and about 30 per cent humidity) and more than five hours at 200 degrees Celsius. The perovskite prevents oxidation of the CQD surfaces and reduces the agglomeration of the nanoparticles at 100 degrees Celsius by a factor of five compared with CQD controls. The matrix-protected CQDs show a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 30 per cent for a CQD solid emitting at infrared wavelengths. The lattice-anchored CQD:perovskite solid exhibits a doubling in charge carrier mobility as a result of a reduced energy barrier for carrier hopping compared with the pure CQD solid. These benefits have potential uses in solution-processed optoelectronic devices. The stability of both colloidal quantum dots and perovskites can be improved by combining them into a hybrid material in which matched lattice parameters suppress the formation of undesired phases.