Wuhan University of Technology

About: Wuhan University of Technology is a education organization based out in Wuhan, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Microstructure & Photocatalysis. The organization has 40384 authors who have published 36724 publications receiving 575695 citations. The organization is also known as: WUT.

Phosphorene nanoribbon as a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications.

Abstract: In this work, the electronic properties of phosphorene nanoribbons with different width and edge configurations are studied by using density functional theory It is found that the armchair phosphorene nanoribbons are semiconducting while the zigzag nanoribbons are metallic The band gaps of armchair nanoribbons decrease monotonically with increasing ribbon width By passivating the edge phosphorus atoms with hydrogen, the zigzag series also become semiconducting, while the armchair series exhibit a larger band gap than their pristine counterpart The electronic transport properties of these phosphorene nanoribbons are then investigated using Boltzmann theory and relaxation time approximation We find that all the semiconducting nanoribbons exhibit very large values of Seebeck coefficient and can be further enhanced by hydrogen passivation at the edge Taking pristine armchair nanoribbons and hydrogen-passivated zigzag naoribbons with width N = 7, 8, 9 as examples, we calculate the lattice thermal conductivity with the help of phonon Boltzmann transport equation and evaluate the width-dependent thermoelectric performance Due to significantly enhanced Seebeck coefficient and decreased thermal conductivity, we find that at least one type of phosphorene nanoribbons can be optimized to exhibit very high figure of merit (ZT values) at room temperature, which suggests their appealing thermoelectric applications

Atomic Structure and Kinetics of NASICON NaxV2(PO4)(3) Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract: Na3V2(PO4)(3) is one of the most important cathode materials for sodiumion batteries, delivering about two Na extraction/insertion from/into the unit structure. To understand the mechanism of sodium storage, a detailed structure of rhombohedral Na3V2(PO4)(3) and its sodium extracted phase of NaV2(PO4)(3) are investigated at the atomic scale using a variety of advanced techniques. It is found that two different Na sites (6b, M1 and 18e, M2) with different coordination environments co-exist in Na3V2(PO4)(3), whereas only one Na site (6b, M1) exists in NaV2(PO4)(3). When Na is extracted from Na3V2(PO4)(3) to form NaV2(PO4)(3), Na+ occupying the M2 site (CN = 8) is extracted and the rest of the Na remains at M1 site (CN = 6). In addition, the Na atoms are not randomly distributed, possibly with an ordered arrangement in M2 sites locally for Na3V2(PO4)(3). Na+ ions at the M1 sites in Na3V2(PO4)(3) tend to remain immobilized, suggesting a direct M2- to -M2 conduction pathway. Only Na occupying the M2 sites can be extracted, suggesting about two Na atoms able to be extracted from the Na3V2(PO4)(3) structure.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Visible-light Photocatalytic Activity of Novel Cage-like Ferric Oxide Hollow Spheres

Abstract: Fe2O3 hollow spheres with novel cage-like architectures and porous crystalline shells were successfully fabricated by a controlled hydrothermal precipitation reaction using urea as a precipitating agent and carbonaceous polysaccharide spheres as templates in a mixed solvent of water and ethanol, and then calcined at 500 °C for 4 h. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption−desorption isotherms, and UV−visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The visible-light photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples was evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization of rhodamine B aqueous solution at ambient temperature under visible-light illumination in the presence of H2O2. The results indicated that the diameter, shell thickness, average crystallite size, specific surface areas, pore structures, and photocatalytic activity of Fe2O3 hollow spheres could be easily controlled...