To facilitate the next generation of high-power white-light-emitting diodes (white LEDs), the discovery of more efficient red-emitting phosphor materials is essential. In this regard, the hardly explored compound class of nitridoaluminates affords a new material with superior luminescence properties. Doped with Eu(2+), Sr[LiAl3N4] emerged as a new high-performance narrow-band red-emitting phosphor material, which can efficiently be excited by GaN-based blue LEDs. Owing to the highly efficient red emission at λ(max) ~ 650 nm with a full-width at half-maximum of ~1,180 cm(-1) (~50 nm) that shows only very low thermal quenching (>95% relative to the quantum efficiency at 200 °C), a prototype phosphor-converted LED (pc-LED), employing Sr[LiAl3N4]:Eu(2+) as the red-emitting component, already shows an increase of 14% in luminous efficacy compared with a commercially available high colour rendering index (CRI) LED, together with an excellent colour rendition (R(a)8 = 91, R9 = 57). Therefore, we predict great potential for industrial applications in high-power white pc-LEDs.

How particles can move on a catalyst surface that, under the conditions of an industrial process, is highly covered by adsorbates and where most adsorption sites are occupied has remained an open question. We have studied the diffusion of O atoms on a fully CO-covered Ru(0001) surface by means of high-speed/variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy combined with density functional theory calculations. Atomically resolved trajectories show a surprisingly fast diffusion of the O atoms, almost as fast as on the clean surface. This finding can be explained by a “door-opening” mechanism in which local density fluctuations in the CO layer intermittently create diffusion pathways on which the O atoms can move with low activation energy.

A plasma‐enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) process is presented, capable of producing thin conformal films of nickel(II) oxide (NiO) on various substrates. Nickelocene (NiCp2) is used as an inexpensive metal precursor with oxygen plasma as the oxidant. The film growth rate saturates with both nickel precursor and plasma exposure. An ALD window is observed between 225 and 275 °C. Linear growth is achieved at 250 °C with a growth rate of 0.042 nm per cycle. The thickness is highly uniform and the surface roughness is below 1 nm rms for 52 nm thick films on Si(100). Substrates with aspect ratios up to 1:10 can be processed. As‐deposited, the films consist of polycrystalline, cubic NiO, and are transparent over the entire visible range with an optical bandgap of 3.7 eV. The films consist of stoichiometric NiO and contain ≈1% of carbon impurities. Two promising applications of these films are showcased in renewable energy conversion and storage devices: The films are pinhole‐free and exhibit excellent electron blocking capabilities, making them potential hole‐selective contact layers in solar cells. Also, high electrocatalytic activity of ultrathin NiO films is demonstrated for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction, especially in electrolytes containing Fe3+.

We report on the ability of the meteoritic material schreibersite to catalyze the generation of higher sugars from simple carbohydrates in the formose reaction network. Since the analysis of carbonaceous meteorites like the Murchison meteorite it has become generally accepted that a substantial amount of organic material has been delivered to the early earth and, therefore, ought to be considered in scenarios for the origin(s) of life. Also for the open question of accessible phosphorus sources, an extraterrestrial material called schreibersite has been identified that is capable of releasing soluble and reactive phosphorus oxyanions that would react with organics to form for instance nucleotides and membrane associated molecules. We have reinvestigated this material using capillary electrophoresis to monitor its corrosion process in water and probed its ability to phosphorylate a wide range of organics. Although showing a poor reactivity of schreibersite, we have found that the material catalyzes the aldol reaction of small carbohydrates forming larger sugar molecules. This reaction in the formose reaction network is a prebiotically likely route to biologically relevant sugars. The results of our study present one of the first instances of connecting extraterrestrial material to prebiotic chemistry on the early earth.