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At least 919 records · Page 51

Charge Transfer Dynamics in MoSe 2 /hBN/WSe 2 Heterostructures

Ultrafast charge transfer processes provide a facile way to create interlayer excitons in directly contacted transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layers. More sophisticated heterostructures composed of TMD/hBN/TMD enable new ways to control interlayer exciton properties and achieve novel exciton phenomena, such as exciton insulators and condensates, where longer lifetimes are desired. In this work, we experimentally study the charge transfer dynamics in a heterostructure composed of a 1 nm thick hBN spacer between MoSe 2 and WSe 2 monolayers. We observe the hole transfer from MoSe 2 to WSe 2 through the hBN barrier with a time constant of 500 ps, which is over 3 orders of magnitude slower than that between TMD layers without a spacer. Furthermore, we observe strong competition between the interlayer charge transfer and intralayer exciton–exciton annihilation processes at high excitation densities. Here, our work opens possibilities to understand charge transfer pathways in TMD/hBN/TMD heterostructures for the efficient generation and control of interlayer excitons.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structural Gating Enhances Long-Distance Light-Driven Interfacial Electron Transfer

Structural gating provides a molecular means to transfer electrons preferentially in one desired vectorial direction, a behavior needed for applications in artificial photosynthesis. At the interfaces utilized herein, visible-light absorption by a transition metal complex opens a “structural gate” by planarization of otherwise rotating phenyl rings in p-phenylene ethynylene (PE) bridge units. Planarization provides a conjugated pathway for electron flow toward a conductive oxide surface. Interfacial electron transfer to the oxide restores rotation and closes the gate to the unwanted recombination reaction. This structural gating results in nearly quantitative long-distance (>20 Å) interfacial electron transfer that occurs ~1000 times faster than transfer in the opposite direction. A comparative kinetic study of these complexes with those that contain ionic bridge units, without gating function, as a function of the applied potential and hence –ΔG° provided a physical basis for the structural gating. A small distance-dependent reorganization energy with weak electronic coupling underlies the success of this gate that enables efficient long-distance electron transfer and slow recombination.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Revisiting Understanding of Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction on Cu(111): Competing Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Reaction Mechanisms Revealed by Embedded Correlated Wavefunction Theory

Copper (Cu) electrodes, as the most efficacious of CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) electrocatalysts, serve as prototypes for determining and validating reaction mechanisms associated with electrochemical CO 2 reduction to hydrocarbons. As in situ electrochemical mechanism determination by experiments is still out of reach, such mechanistic analysis typically is conducted using density functional theory (DFT). The semilocal exchange-correlation (XC) approximations most often used to model such catalysis unfortunately engender a basic error: predicting the wrong adsorption site for CO (a key CO 2 RR intermediate) on the most ubiquitous facet of Cu, namely, Cu(111). This longstanding inconsistency casts lingering doubt on previous DFT predictions of the attendant CO 2 RR kinetics. Here, we apply embedded correlated wavefunction (ECW) theory, which corrects XC functional error, to study the CO 2 RR on Cu(111) via both surface hydride (*H) transfer and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). We predict that adsorbed CO (*CO) reduces almost equally to two intermediates, namely, hydroxymethylidyne (*COH) and formyl (*CHO) at –0.9 V vs the RHE. In contrast, semilocal DFT approximations predict a strong preference for *COH. With increasing applied potential, the dominance of *COH (formed via potential-independent surface *H transfer) diminishes, switching to the competitive formation of both *CHO and *COH (both formed via potential-dependent PCET). Furthermore, our results also demonstrate the importance of including explicitly modeled solvent molecules in predicting electron-transfer barriers and reveal the pitfalls of overreliance on simple surface *H transfer models of reduction reactions.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Multisite Proton–Coupled Electron Transfer at a Keggin-Type Polyoxotungstate

Proton−coupled electron transfer (PCET) governs many redox transformations, but is thermodynamically constrained when proton and electron transfer occur at a single site. Here, we introduce a new multisite PCET (MSPCET) platform, based on the Keggin-type polyoxotungstate, [VW 12 O 40 ] 3− (VW 12 ). Pairing VW 12 with either Brønsted bases or acids yields reagent pairs with tunable effective bond dissociation free energies (BDFE eff ) over 15 kcal mol −1 , enabling both oxidative and reductive H atom transfer reactions. Kinetic studies on the oxidative pathway by using 2,4,6- t Bu 3 PhOH as a model hydrogen atom (H atom) donor reveal a product-like, entropy-dominated concerted proton−electron transfer (CPET) pathway from a preorganized hydrogen-bonded complex. By contrast, reductive H atom transfer reactions exhibit larger ΔH ‡ values, measurable kinetic isotope effects, and balanced Brønsted slope, consistent with synchronous CPET-type mechanism. Extension to N−H, O−H, and C−H substrates demonstrates the versatility of the VW 12 MS-PCET platform for tunable (de)hydrogenation.

Charge transfer↗

Axial vs equatorial: Capturing the intramolecular charge transfer state geometry in conformational polymorphic crystals of a donor–bridge–acceptor dyad in nanosecond-time-scale

Two conformational polymorphs of a donor–bridge–acceptor (D-B-A) dyad, p-(CH 3 ) 2 N-C 6 H 4 -(CH 2 ) 2 -(1-pyrenyl)/PyCHDMA, were studied, where the electron donor (D) moiety p-(CH 3 ) 2 N-C 6 H 4 /DMA is connected through a bridging group (B), –CH 2 –CH 2 –, to the electron acceptor (A) moiety pyrene. Though molecular dyads like PyCHDMA have the potential to change solar energy into electrical current through the process of photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), the major challenge is the real-time investigation of the photoinduced ICT process in crystals, necessary to design solid-state optoelectronic materials. The time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) measurements with the single crystals showed that the ICT state lifetime of the thermodynamic form, PyCHDMA1 (pyrene and DMA: axial), is ~3 ns, whereas, for the kinetic form, PyCHDMA20 (pyrene and DMA: equatorial), it is ~7 ns, while photoexcited with 375 nm radiation. The polymorphic crystals were photo-excited and subsequently probed with a pink Laue x-ray beam in time-resolved x-ray diffraction (TRXRD) measurements. The TRXRD results suggest that in the ICT state, due to electron transfer from the tertiary N-atom in DMA moiety to the bridging group and pyrene moiety, a decreased repulsion between the lone-pair and the bond-pair at N-atom induces planarity in the C–N–(CH 3 ) 2 moiety, in both polymorphs. The Natural Bond Orbital calculations and partial atomic charge analysis by Hirshfeld partitioning also corroborated the same. Although the interfragment charge transfer (IFCT) analysis using the TDDFT results showed that for the charge transfer excitation in both conformers, the electrons were transferred from the DMA moiety to mostly the pyrene moiety, the bridging group has little role to play in that.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electron transfer in a crystalline cytochrome with four hemes

Diffusion of electrons over distances on the order of 100 μm has been observed in crystals of a small tetraheme cytochrome (STC) from Shewanella oneidensis [J. Huang et al . J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142, 10459–10467 (2020)]. Electron transfer between hemes in adjacent subunits of the crystal is slower and more strongly dependent on temperature than had been expected based on semiclassical electron-transfer theory. Here, in this work, we explore explanations for these findings by molecular-dynamics simulations of crystalline and monomeric STC. New procedures are developed for including time-dependent quantum mechanical energy differences in the gap between the energies of the reactant and product states and for evaluating fluctuations of the electronic-interaction matrix element that couples the two hemes. Rate constants for electron transfer are calculated from the time- and temperature-dependent energy gaps, coupling factors, and Franck–Condon-weighted densities of states using an expression with no freely adjustable parameters. Back reactions are considered, as are the effects of various protonation states of the carboxyl groups on the heme side chains. Interactions with water are found to dominate the fluctuations of the energy gap between the reactant and product states. The calculated rate constant for electron transfer from heme IV to heme Ib in a neighboring subunit at 300 K agrees well with the measured value. However, the calculated activation energy of the reaction in the crystal is considerably smaller than observed. We suggest two possible explanations for this discrepancy. The calculated rate constant for transfer from heme I to II within the same subunit of the crystal is about one-third that for monomeric STC in solution.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Interaction between the PH and START domains of ceramide transfer protein competes with phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate binding by the PH domain

De novo synthesis of the sphingolipid sphingomyelin requires non-vesicular transport of ceramide from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi by the multidomain protein ceramide transfer protein (CERT). CERT's N-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain targets it to the Golgi by binding to phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns(4)P) in the Golgi membrane, whereas its C-terminal StAR-related lipid transfer domain (START) carries out ceramide transfer. Hyperphosphorylation of a serine-rich motif immediately after the PH domain decreases both PtdIns(4)P binding and ceramide transfer by CERT. This down-regulation requires both the PH and START domains, suggesting a possible inhibitory interaction between the two domains. In this study we show that isolated PH and START domains interact with each other. The crystal structure of a PH–START complex revealed that the START domain binds to the PH domain at the same site for PtdIns(4)P-binding, suggesting that the START domain competes with PtdIns(4)P for association with the PH domain. We further report that mutations disrupting the PH–START interaction increase both PtdIns(4)P-binding affinity and ceramide transfer activity of a CERT-serine–rich phosphorylation mimic. We also found that these mutations increase the Golgi localization of CERT inside the cell, consistent with enhanced PtdIns(4)P binding of the mutant. Collectively, our structural, biochemical, and cellular investigations provide important structural insight into the regulation of CERT function and localization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High flux boiling heat transfer enhancement using triangle shaped vertical walls in two-phase microchannel heat exchangers

Two-phase heat exchangers allow heat loads to be dissipated with lower fluid flow rates without inducing thermal gradients, and high surface area microchannels further reduce the thermal resistance of these heat exchangers. However, there are many practical limits that prevent widespread use of two-phase microchannel heat exchangers. Many authors have looked to address these practical limits by treating the channel floors or creating artificial nucleation sites. Few works look to enhance heat transfer in the walls of channels with hydraulic diameters below 200 μm. This work is aimed at increasing the efficacy of high aspect ratio silicon microchannels that use R134a as the working fluid. The 125 parallel channels are 40 μm wide, 200 μm deep, and 2 mm long and contain a 15 μm wide, 150 μm long restriction at each inlet. The thermal resistance and dryout characteristics of traditional, plain-walled channels are compared to channels with 2 area enhancement patterns each of which increases the area available for heat transfer by 41%. Furthermore, a resistance to dryout is seen in both area-enhanced test sections, and a 15.5% reduction in thermal resistance is shown for the area-enhanced part with a 6 μm triangular pitch. Only a 7.8% performance increase is seen in the test section with a 3 μm pitch. Both area enhancement patterns induce an average 27% increase in pressure drop for all tests. Heat transfer characteristics are solved for using a finite element analysis (FEA) model. By examining heat transfer coefficients and local heat fluxes, it is postulated that the area enhancement reduces heat transfer coefficients and the performance increase is caused by increasing the number of active nucleation sites.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Mimicking Natural Photosynthesis: Designing Ultrafast Photosensitized Electron Transfer into Multiheme Cytochrome Protein Nanowires

Efficient nanomaterials for artificial photosynthesis require fast and robust unidirectional electron transfer (ET) from photosensitizers through charge-separation and accumulation units to redox-active catalytic sites. We explored the ultrafast time-scale limits of photo-induced charge transfer between a Ru(II)tris(bipyridine) derivative photosensitizer and PpcA, a 3-heme c-type cytochrome serving as a nanoscale biological wire. Four covalent attachment sites (K28C, K29C, K52C, and G53C) were engineered in PpcA enabling site-specific covalent labeling with expected donor-acceptor (DA) distances of 4–8 Å. X-ray scattering results demonstrated that mutations and chemical labeling did not disrupt the structure of the proteins. Time-resolved spectroscopy revealed three orders of magnitude difference in charge transfer rates for the systems with otherwise similar DA distances and the same number of covalent bonds separating donors and acceptors. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations provided additional insight into the structure-function requirements for ultrafast charge transfer and the requirement of van der Waals contact between aromatic atoms of photosensitizers and hemes in order to observe sub-nanosecond ET. This work demonstrates opportunities to utilize multi-heme c-cytochromes as frameworks for designing ultrafast light-driven ET into charge-accumulating biohybrid model systems, and ultimately for mimicking the photosynthetic paradigm of efficiently coupling ultrafast, light-driven electron transfer chemistry to multi-step catalysis within small, experimentally versatile photosynthetic biohybrid assemblies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Human Factors Considerations for Pressurized Crew Transfer Between Ascent or Lander Spacecraft and Surface Assets

An option for pressurized crew transfer between surface assets and lander or ascent spacecraft offers multiple advantages. The most important are the loss of life risks due to crew member injuries or surface spacesuit failures. However, even in nominal scenarios pressurized crew transfer is advantageous, protecting lander and ascent spacecraft as well as launch and entry spacesuits from dust exposure and aiding in adaptation to gravity following prolonged periods of microgravity. Several examples of lunar and Mars lander or ascent spacecraft have been released publicly and can serve as examples of the range of potential vehicles that may benefit from pressurized crew transfer. There are also examples of surface assets that can be used to provide crew transfer, including both current surface mobility or crew transfer concepts and terrestrial examples that could be adapted to use on the Moon or Mars. In all cases, the resulting passageway must be acceptable for use and protected from itself experiencing dust contamination. Key design considerations will be discussed.

Artemis↗

Heat transfer research on supercritical water flow upward in tube

The experimental research of heat transfer on supercritical water has been carried out on the supercritical water multipurpose test loop with a 7.6 mm upright tube. The experimental data of heat transfer is obtained. The experimental results of thermal-hydraulic parameters on flow and heat transfer of supercritical water show that: Heat transfer enhancement occurs when the fluid temperature reaches pseudo-critical point with low mass flow velocity, and peters out when the mass flow velocity increases. The heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number decrease with the heat flux or system pressure increases, and increase with the increasing of mass flow velocity. The wall temperature increases when the mass flow velocity decreases or the system pressure increases. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Multidimensional mechanistic modeling of interfacial heat and mass transfer

A combined theoretical and computational study in modeling multidimensional, diabatic vapor/liquid flows is presented. Models have been developed governing kinematic aspects of multiphase flow as well as interfacial mass and heat transfer for flows of condensable gas (vapor) and liquids. The modeling formulation is based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) type multi-field approach which utilizes a complete set of conservation equations for each fluid component 1. The modeled interfacial interactions include energy, mass, and momentum transfer. Emphasis in the model development work has been placed on the mechanisms governing coupled interfacial heat and mass transfer between the liquid and vapor fields (condensation and/or boiling). A method for tracking changes in bubble size is presented and tested. Locally based models of multidimensional effects have been analyzed, including distributions of fluid temperatures and volume fractions. The overall model accounts for both kinematic and thermodynamic nonequilibrium between the component fluids including superheated vapor. The model has been implemented in the NPHASE-CMFD computer code. Results from the kinematic model are compared to experimental data and good agreement is demonstrated. The heat and mass transfer model is parametrically tested to show the multidimensional effects on the rate of heat and mass transfer. These effects are explained in terms of local characteristics of the two-phase flow. The model is applied to a scenario of saturated vapor injected into a subcooled flow through a heated, porous wall. This provides a reasonable approximation to subcooled boiling. The results are found to be dependent on the partitioning of the wall heat flux between direct liquid heating and vapor generation. However, the observed dependencies are explained and the modeling is considered consistent. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Triplet Transfer Mediates Triplet Pair Separation during Singlet Fission in 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-Pentacene

Triplet population dynamics of solution cast films of isolated polymorphs of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn) provide quantitative experimental evidence that triplet excitation energy transfer is the dominant mechanism for correlated triplet pair (CTP) separation during singlet fission. Variations in CTP separation rates are compared for polymorphs of TIPS-Pn with their triplet diffusion characteristics that are controlled by their crystal structures. Since triplet energy transfer is a spin-forbidden process requiring direct wavefunction overlap, simple calculations of electron and hole transfer integrals are used to predict how molecular packing arrangements would influence triplet transfer rates. The transfer integrals reveal how differences in the packing arrangements affect electronic interactions between pairs of TIPS-Pn molecules, which are correlated with the relative rates of CTP separation in the polymorphs. Here these findings suggest that relatively simple computations in conjunction with measurements of molecular packing structures may be used as screening tools to predict a priori whether new types of singlet fission sensitizers have the potential to undergo fast separation of CTP states to form multiplied triplets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Coherent Phonon-Induced Modulation of Charge Transfer in 2D Hybrid Perovskites

Electron–phonon interactions play an essential role in charge transport and transfer processes in semiconductors. For most structures, tailoring electron–phonon interactions for specific functionality remains elusive. Here, it is shown that, in hybrid perovskites, coherent phonon modes can be used to manipulate charge transfer. In the 2D double perovskite, (AE2T) 2 AgBiI 8 (AE2T: 5,5“-diylbis(amino-ethyl)-(2,2”-(2)thiophene)), the valence band maximum derived from the [Ag 0.5 Bi 0.5 I4] 2– framework lies in close proximity to the AE2T-derived HOMO level, thereby forming a type-II heterostructure. During transient absorption spectroscopy, pulsed excitation creates sustained coherent phonon modes, which periodically modulate the associated electronic levels. Thus, the energy offset at the organic–inorganic interface also oscillates periodically, providing a unique opportunity for modulation of interfacial charge transfer. Density-functional theory corroborates the mechanism and identifies specific phonon modes as likely drivers of the coherent charge transfer. These observations are a striking example of how electron–phonon interactions can be used to manipulate fundamentally important charge and energy transfer processes in hybrid perovskites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ab Initio Simulation of Charge Transfer at the Semiconductor Quantum Dot/TiO 2 Interface in Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells

Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) have emerged as a promising solar architecture for next-generation solar cells. The QDSSCs exhibit a remarkably fast electron transfer from the quantum dot (QD) donor to the TiO 2 acceptor with size quantization properties of QDs that allows for the modulation of band energies to control photoresponse and photoconversion efficiency of solar cells. In order to understand the mechanisms that underpin this rapid charge transfer, the electronic properties of CdSe and PbSe QDs with different sizes on the TiO 2 substrate are simulated using a rigorous ab initio density functional method. Our method capitalizes on localized orbital basis set, which is computationally less intensive. Quite intriguingly, a remarkable set of electron bridging states between QDs and TiO 2 occurring via the strong bonding between the conduction bands of QDs and TiO 2 is revealed. Such bridging states account for the fast adiabatic charge transfer from the QD donor to the TiO 2 acceptor, and may be a general feature for strongly coupled donor/acceptor systems. All the QDs/TiO 2 systems exhibit type II band alignments, with conduction band offsets that increase with the decrease in QD size. This facilitates the charge transfer from QDs donors to TiO 2 acceptors and explains the dependence of the increased charge transfer rate with the decreased QD size.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Charge Transfer Properties of Heterostructures Formed by Bi 2 O 2 Se and Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers

Atomically thin bismuth oxyselenide (Bi 2 O 2 Se) exhibits attractive properties for electronic and optoelectronic applications, such as high charge-carrier mobility and good air stability. Recently, the development of Bi 2 O 2 Se-based heterostructures have attracted enormous interests with promising prospects for diverse device applications. Although the electrical properties of Bi 2 O 2 Se-based heterostructures have been widely studied, the interlayer charge transfer in these heterostructures remains elusive, despite its importance in harnessing their emergent functionalities. Here, a comprehensive experimental investigation on the interlayer charge transfer properties of two heterostructures formed by Bi 2 O 2 Se and representative transition metal dichalcogenides (namely, WS 2 /Bi 2 O 2 Se and MoS 2 /Bi 2 O 2 Se) is reported. In this work, Kelvin probe force microscopy is used to measure the work functions of the samples, which are further employed to establish type-II band alignment of both heterostructures. Photoluminescence quenching is observed in each heterostructure, suggesting high charge transfer efficiency. Time-resolved and layer-selective pump–probe measurements further prove the ultrafast interlayer charge transfer processes and formation of long-lived interlayer excitons. These results establish the feasibility of integrating 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se with other 2D semiconductors to fabricate heterostructures with novel charge transfer properties and provide insight for understanding the performance of optoelectronic devices based on such 2D heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Detecting anomalous packets in network transfers: investigations using PCA, autoencoder and isolation forest in TCP

Large-scale scientific workflows rely heavily on high-performance file transfers. These transfers require strict quality parameters such as guaranteed bandwidth, no packet loss or data duplication. To have successful file transfers, methods such as predetermined thresholds and statistical analysis need to be done to determine abnormal patterns. Network administrators routinely monitor and analyze network data for diagnosing and alleviating these, making decisions based on their experience. However, as networks grow and become complex, monitoring large data files and quickly processing them, makes it improbable to identify errors and rectify these. Abnormal file transfers have been classified by simply setting alert thresholds, via tools such as PerfSonar and TCP statistics (Tstat). This paper investigates the feasibility of unsupervised feature extraction methods for identifying network anomaly patterns with three unsupervised classification methods—principal component analysis, autoencoder and isolation forest. Here, we collect file transfer statistics from two experiment sets—synthetic iPerf generated traffic and 1000 Genome workflow runs, with synthetically introduced anomalies. Our results show that while PCA and a simple autoencoder finds it difficult to detect clusters, the tree-variant isolation forest is able to identify anomalous packets by breaking down TCP traces into tree classes early.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

An Assessment of the General Applicability of the Relationship Between Nucleation of CO Bubbles and Mass Transfer of Phosphorus in Liquid Iron Alloys

The current paper seeks to demonstrate the general applicability of the authors’ recently developed treatment of surface renewal during decarburization of Fe-C-S alloys and its effect on the mass transport of phosphorus in the metal phase. The proposed model employs a quantitative model of CO bubble nucleation in the metal to predict the rate of surface renewal, which can then in turn be used to predict the mass-transfer coefficient for phosphorus. A model of mixed transport control in the slag and metal phases was employed to investigate the dephosphorization kinetics between a liquid iron alloy and oxidizing slag. Based on previous studies of the mass-transfer coefficient of FeO in the slag, it was possible to separate the mass transfer coefficient of phosphorus in metal phase, k m , from the overall mass-transfer coefficient k o . Using this approach, k m was investigated under a wide range of conditions and shown to be represented reasonably by the mechanism proposed. The mass-transfer model was tested against results from the literature over a wide range of conditions. The analysis showed that the FeO content in the slag, silicon in the metal and the experimental temperature have strong impact on, k m , almost entirely because of their effect on decarburization behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗