Organic semiconductors are proven to efficiently drive photoelectrochemical water splitting.

The photocathode exhibits 100% Faradaic efficiency and a photocurrent density of 3 mA cm2 at 0.0 V RHE.

Charge order in underdoped and optimally doped high-Tc superconductors Bi2Sr2−xLaxCuO 6+δ (Bi2201) is investigated by Cu L3 edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). We have directly observed charge density modulation in the optimally doped Bi2201 at momentum transfer Q 0.23 rlu, with smaller intensity and correlation length with respect to the underdoped sample. This demonstrates the short-range charge order in Bi2201 persists up to optimal doping, as in other hole-doped cuprates. We explored the nodal (diagonal) direction and found no charge order peak, confirming that charge order modulates only along the Cu-O bond directions. We measured the out-of-plane dependence of charge order, finding a flat response and no maxima at half integer L values. This suggests there is no out-of-plane phase correlation in single layer Bi2201, at variance from YBa2Cu3O6+x and La2−x(Ba,Sr)xCuO4. Combining our results with data from the literature we assess that charge order in Bi2201 exists in a large doping range across the phase diagram, i.e. 0.07 p 0.16, demonstrating thereby that it is intimately entangled with the antiferromagnetic background, the pseudogap and superconductivity.

The nanoscale modulation of material properties such as porosity and morphology is used in the natural world to mold the flow of light and to obtain structural colors. The ability to mimic these strategies while adding technological functionality has the potential to open up a broad array of applications. Porous photonic crystals are one such technological candidate, but have typically underachieved in terms of available materials, structural and optical quality, compatibility with different substrates (e.g., silicon, flexible organics), and scalability. We report here an alternative fabrication method based on the bottom-up self-assembly of elementary building blocks from the gas phase into high surface area photonic hierarchical nanostructures at room temperature. Periodic refractive index modulation is achieved by stacking layers with different nanoarchitectures. High-efficiency porous Bragg reflectors are successfully fabricated with sub-micrometer thick films on glass, silicon, and flexible substrates. High diffraction efficiency broadband mirrors (R≈1), opto-fluidic switches, and arrays of photonic crystal pixels with size<10 μm are demonstrated. Possible applications in filtering, sensing, electro-optical modulation, solar cells, and photocatalysis are envisioned.

Photoelectrochemical H production through hybrid organic/inorganic interfaces exploits the capability of polymeric absorbers to drive photo-induced electron transfer to an electrocatalyst in a water environment. Photoelectrode architectures based on solution-processed organic semiconductors are now emerging as low-cost alternatives to crystalline inorganic semiconductors based on Si, oxides and III-V alloys. In this work, we demonstrate that the stability of a hybrid organic/inorganic photocathode, employing a P3HT:PCBM blend as photoactive material, can be considerably improved by introducing an electrochemically stable WO hole selective layer, paired with a TiO electron selective layer. This hybrid photoelectrode exhibits a photocurrent of 2.48 mA cm at 0 V, +0.56 V onset potential and a state-of the art operational activity of more than 10 hours. This work gives the perspective that photoelectrodes based on organic semiconductors, coupled with proper inorganic selective contacts, represent a sound new option for the efficient and durable photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy into fuels.

An atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier plasma discharge has been used to study a thin film deposition process. The DBD device is enclosed in a vacuum chamber and one of the electrodes is a rotating cylinder. Thus, this device is able to simulate continuous processing in arbitrary deposition condition of pressure and atmosphere composition. A deposition process of thin organosilicon films has been studied reproducing a nitrogen atmosphere with small admixtures of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) vapours. The plasma discharge has been characterized with optical emission spectroscopy and voltagecurrent measurements. Thin films chemical composition and morphology have been characterized with FTIR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurements. A strong dependency of deposit character from the HMDSO concentration has been found and then compared with the same dependency of a typical low pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition process.

A Li-ion battery anode based on few-layer graphene flakes and ultra-small Si nanoparticles shows a remarkable stability during cycling (0.04% capacity fading per cycle). Our approach offers a viable approach to develop new generation Li-ion battery anodes.

Nowadays, the efficient, stable, and scalable conversion of solar energy into chemical fuels represents a great scientific, economic, and ethical challenge. Amongst the available candidate technologies, photoelectrochemical water-splitting potentially has the most promising technoeconomic trade-off between cost and efficiency. However, research on semiconductors and photoelectrode architectures suitable for H 2 evolution has focused mainly on the use of fabrication techniques and inorganic materials that are not easily scalable. Here, we report for the first time an all solution-processed approach for the fabrication of hybrid organic/inorganic photocathodes based on organic semiconductor bulk heterojunctions that exhibit promising photoelectrochemical performance. The sequential deposition of inorganic material, charge-selective contacts, visible-light sensitive organic polymers, and earth-abundant, nonprecious catalyst by spin coating leads to state-of-the-art photoelectrochemical parameters, comprising a high onset potential [+0.602 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)] and a positive maximum power point (+0.222 V vs RHE), a photocurrent density as high as 5.25 mA/cm 2 at 0 V versus RHE, an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency at 0 V versus RHE of above 35%, and 100% faradaic efficiency for hydrogen production. The demonstrated all solution-processed hybrid photoelectrodes represent an eligible candidate for the scalable and low-cost solar-to-H 2 conversion technology that embodies the feasibility requirements for large area, plant-scale applications.