I09-Surface and Interface Structural Analysis
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Adam J.
Jackson
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Benjamin J.
Parrett
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Joe
Willis
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Alex M.
Ganose
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W. W. Winnie
Leung
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Yuhan
Liu
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Benjamin A. D.
Williamson
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Timur K.
Kim
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Moritz
Hoesch
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Larissa S. I.
Veiga
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Raman
Kalra
,
Jens
Neu
,
Charles A.
Schmuttenmaer
,
Tien-Lin
Lee
,
Anna
Regoutz
,
Tung-Chun
Lee
,
Tim D.
Veal
,
Robert G.
Palgrave
,
Robin
Perry
,
David O.
Scanlon
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[24449]
Open Access
Abstract: Transparent conducting oxides have become ubiquitous in modern optoelectronics. However, the number of oxides that are transparent to visible light and have the metallic-like conductivity necessary for applications is limited to a handful of systems that have been known for the past 40 years. In this work, we use hybrid density functional theory and defect chemistry analysis to demonstrate that tri-rutile zinc antimonate, ZnSb2O6, is an ideal transparent conducting oxide and to identify gallium as the optimal dopant to yield high conductivity and transparency. To validate our computational predictions, we have synthesized both powder samples and single crystals of Ga-doped ZnSb2O6 which conclusively show behavior consistent with a degenerate transparent conducting oxide. This study demonstrates the possibility of a family of Sb(V)-containing oxides for transparent conducting oxide and power electronics applications.
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Oct 2022
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Abstract: Thermoelectric materials offer the possibility of enhanced energy efficiency due to waste heat scavenging. Based on their high-temperature stability and ease of synthesis, efficient oxide-based thermoelectrics remain a tantalizing research goal; however, their current performance is significantly lower than the industry standards such as Bi2Te3 and PbTe. Among the oxide thermoelectrics studied thus far, the development of n-type thermoelectric oxides has fallen behind that of p-type oxides, primarily due to limitations on the overall dimensionless figure of merit, or ZT, by large lattice thermal conductivities. In this article, we propose a simple strategy based on chemical intuition to discover enhanced n-type oxide thermoelectrics. Using state-of-the-art calculations, we demonstrate that the PbSb2O6-structured BaBi2O6 represents a novel structural motif for thermoelectric materials, with a predicted ZT of 0.17–0.19. We then suggest two methods to enhance the ZT up to 0.22, on par with the current best earth-abundant n-type thermoelectric at around 600 K, SrTiO3, which has been much more heavily researched. Our analysis of the factors that govern the electronic and phononic scattering in this system provides a blueprint for optimizing ZT beyond the perfect crystal approximation.
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Sep 2021
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Abstract: The importance of metal migration during multi-electron redox activity has been characterized, revealing a competing demand to satisfy bonding requirements and local strains in structures upon alkali intercalation. The local structural evolution required to accommodate intercalation in Y2(MoO4)3 and Al2(MoO4)3 has been contrasted by operando characterization methods, including X-ray absorption spectroscopy and diffraction, along with nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. Computational modeling further rationalized behavioral differences. The local structure of Y2(MoO4)3 was maintained upon lithiation while the structure of Al2(MoO4)3 underwent substantial local atomic rearrangements as the stronger ionic character of the bonds in Al2(MoO4)3 allowed Al to mix off its starting octahedral position to accommodate strain during cycling. However, this mixing was prevented in the more covalent Y2(MoO4)3 which accommodated strain through rotational motion of polyhedral subunits. Knowing that an increased ionic character can facilitate the diffusion of redox-inactive metals when cycling multi-electron electrodes offers a powerful design principle when identifying next-generation intercalation hosts.
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Apr 2020
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Open Access
Abstract: Mixed anion compounds in the Fm-3m vacancy ordered perovskite structure were synthesised and characterised experimentally and computationally with a focus on compounds where A = Cs+. Pure anion Cs2SnX6 compounds were formed with X = Cl, Br and I using a room temperature solution phase method. Mixed anion compounds were formed as solid solutions of Cs2SnCl6 and Cs2SnBr6 and a second series from Cs2SnBr6 and Cs2SnI6. Single phase structures formed across the entirety of both composition series, with no evidence of long range anion ordering observed by diffraction. A distortion of the cubic A2BX6 structure was identified in which the spacing of the BX6 octahedra changes to accommodate the A site cation without reduction of overall symmetry. Optical band gap values varied with anion composition between 4.89 eV in Cs2SnCl6 to 1.35 eV in Cs2SnI6, but proved highly non-linear with changes in composition. In mixed halide compounds it was found that lower energy optical transitions appeared that were not present in the pure halide compounds, and this could be attributed to lowering of the local symmetry within the tin halide octahedra. The electronic structure was characterised by photoemission spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy revealed vibrational modes in the mixed halide compounds that could be assigned to particular mixed halide octahedra. This analysis was used to determine the distribution of octahedra types in mixed anion compounds, which was found to be consistent with a near-random distribution of halide anions throughout the structure, although some deviations from random halide distribution were noted in mixed iodide-bromide compounds, where the larger iodide anions preferentially adopted trans configurations.
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Nov 2019
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Kealan J.
Fallon
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Peter
Budden
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Enrico
Salvadori
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Alex M.
Ganose
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Christopher N.
Savory
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Lissa
Eyre
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Simon
Dowland
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Qianxiang
Ai
,
Stephen
Goodlett
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Chad
Risko
,
David O.
Scanlon
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Christopher W. M.
Kay
,
Akshay
Rao
,
Richard H.
Friend
,
Andrew J.
Musser
,
Hugo
Bronstein
Open Access
Abstract: Singlet fission, the process of forming two triplet excitons from one photon, is a characteristic reserved for only a handful of organic molecules due to the atypical energetic requirement for low energy excited triplet states. The predominant strategy for achieving such trait is by increasing ground state diradical character, however this greatly reduces ambient stability. Herein, we exploit Baird’s rule of excited state aromaticity to manipulate the singlet-triplet energy gap and create novel singlet fission candidates. We achieve this through the inclusion of a [4n] 5-membered heterocycle, whose electronic resonance promotes aromaticity in the triplet state, stabilizing its energy relative to the singlet excited state. Using this theory, we design a family of derivatives of indolonaphthyridine thiophene (INDT) with highly tunable excited state energies. Not only do we access novel singlet fission materials, they also exhibit excellent ambient stability, imparted due to the delocalized nature of the triplet excited state. Spin-coated films retained up to 85% activity after several weeks of exposure to oxygen and light, whilst analo-gous films of TIPS-pentacene showed full degradation after four days, showcasing the excellent stability of this class of singlet fission scaffold. Extension of our theoretical analysis to almost ten thousand candidates reveals an unprecedented degree of tuneability and several thousand potential fission-capable candidates, whilst clearly demonstrating the relationship between triplet aromaticity and singlet-triplet energy gap, confirming this novel strategy for manipulating the exchange energy in organic materials.
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Aug 2019
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I09-Surface and Interface Structural Analysis
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Anna
Regoutz
,
Alex M.
Ganose
,
Lars
Blumenthal
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Christoph
Schlueter
,
Tien-Lin
Lee
,
Gregor
Kieslich
,
Anthony K.
Cheetham
,
Gwilherm
Kerherve
,
Ying-Sheng
Huang
,
Ruei-San
Chen
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Giovanni
Vinai
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Tommaso
Pincelli
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Giancarlo
Panaccione
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Kelvin H. L.
Zhang
,
Russell G.
Egdell
,
Johannes
Lischner
,
David O.
Scanlon
,
David J.
Payne
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[12673]
Abstract: Theory and experiment are combined to gain an understanding of the electronic properties of OsO2, a poorly studied metallic oxide that crystallizes in the rutile structure. Hard and soft valence-band x-ray photoemission spectra of OsO2 single crystals are in broad agreement with the results of density-functional-theory calculations, aside from a feature shifted to high binding energy of the conduction band. The energy shift corresponds to the conduction electron plasmon energy measured by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy. The plasmon satellite is reproduced by many-body perturbation theory.
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Feb 2019
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Abstract: Hybrid organic–inorganic halide perovskites are promising materials for thin-film solar cells. However, the toxicity and instability of best-in-class lead–halide perovskite materials make them nonideal. To combat these issues, we replaced lead with bismuth and explored the sensitivity of these new lead-free materials to the valency and bonding of their cationic organic groups. Specifically, we synthesized and characterized the materials properties and photophysical properties of hexane-1,6-diammonium bismuth pentaiodide ((HDA2+)BiI5) and compared them to an analogue containing a more volatile organic group with half the number of carbon and nitrogen atoms in the form of n-propylammonium ((PA+)xBiI3+x, where 1 < x < 3). The full crystallographic structures of (HDA2+)BiI5 and (PA+)xBiI3+x were resolved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. (HDA2+)BiI5 was shown to be pure-phase and have a one-dimensional structure, whereas (PA+)xBiI3+x was shown to be a mix of one-dimensional and zero-dimensional phases. Structures of the materials were confirmed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction of powders. Both (HDA2+)BiI5 and (PA+)xBiI3+x exhibit steady-state photoluminescence at room temperature. Density functional theory calculations of (HDA2+)BiI5 predict electronic absorption features and a ∼2 eV bandgap that are consistent with those observed experimentally. Structure–property relationships of the materials were examined, and moisture tolerance and film quality were found to be superior for dication-containing (HDA2+)BiI5 in relation to monocation-containing (PA+)xBiI3+x. We hypothesize that these trends are in part due to a molecular bridging effect enabled by the presence of the dicationic hexanediammonium groups in (HDA2+)BiI5. Solar cells fabricated using (HDA2+)BiI5 as the photoactive layer exhibited photovoltaic action while those containing (PA+)xBiI3+x did not, suggesting that organic dicationic groups are beneficial to light-absorber morphology and ultimately solar-cell performance.
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Feb 2019
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Abstract: Halide perovskite semiconductors such as methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) have achieved great success in photovoltaic devices; however, concerns surrounding toxicity of lead and material stability have motivated the field to pursue alternative perovskite compositions and structures. Vacancy-ordered double perovskites are a defect-ordered variant of the perovskite structure characterized by an antifluorite arrangement of isolated octahedral units bridged by A-site cations. In this perspective, we focus upon the structure-dynamics-property relationships in vacancy-ordered double perovskite semiconductors as they pertain to applications in photovoltaics, and propose avenues of future study within the context of the broader perovskite halide literature. We describe the compositional and structural motifs that dictate the optical gaps and charge transport behavior and discuss the implications of charge ordering, lattice dynamics, and organic-inorganic coupling upon the properties of these materials. The design principles we elucidate here represent an important step towards extending our understanding of perovskite functionality to defect-ordered perovskites.
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Jan 2019
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Nicholas H.
Bashian
,
Shiliang
Zhou
,
Mateusz
Zuba
,
Alex M.
Ganose
,
Joseph W.
Stiles
,
Allyson
Ee
,
David S.
Ashby
,
David O.
Scanlon
,
Louis F. J.
Piper
,
Bruce S.
Dunn
,
Brent C.
Melot
Open Access
Abstract: Understanding the structural transformations that materials undergo during the insertion and deinsertion of Li-ions is crucial for designing high performance intercalation hosts as these deformations can lead to significant capacity fade over time. Here we present a study of the metallic defect perovskite ReO3, with the goal of determining whether these distortions are driven by polaronic charge transport (i.e. the electrons and ions moving through the lattice in a coupled way) due to the semiconducting nature of most oxide hosts. Employing a range of techniques including galvanostatic/potentiometric electrochemical probes, operando X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations we nd that the cubic structure of ReO3 experiences multiple phase changes involving the correlated twisting of rigid octahedral subunits during the insertion of two equivalents of Li-ions. This extensive rearrangement of the structure results in exceptionally poor long-term cyclability due to large strains that result within the structure, all in spite of the fact that the phase retains its metallic character for all values of Li content from ReO3 to Li2ReO3. These results suggest that phase transformations during alkali ion intercalation are the result of local strains in the lattice and not exclusively due to polaron migration.
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Sep 2018
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Abstract: The world is currently experiencing an energy crisis; as energy reserves continue to be depleted at record pace, there is a growing demand for a clean and renewable energy source capable of sustaining economic growth. Arguably, solar power is the most promising renewable technology due to the enormous amount of energy that reaches the earth in the form of solar radiation. Traditional solar cells, such as those based on crystalline silicon, have achieved efficiencies up to 25 % but are limited in their widespread application due to limits in their costcompetitiveness. Recently, the lead hybrid perovskites have emerged as a highly efficient class of solar absorber, with efficiencies reaching over 23 % within just nine years. Unfortunately, the stability of these materials is poor and concerns over the toxicity of lead have sparked significant research effort toward the search for alternative absorbers capable of achieving comparable efficiencies. This thesis investigates a number of materials for their suitability as solar absorbers. Throughout, ab initio methods are used to provide insight into the structural, electronic, and optical properties that determine their performance. Special attention is paid to understanding the behaviour of intrinsic defects due to their critical role in determining carrier recombination and transport. Initially, perovskite-based materials are discussed, including a new family of layered perovskites, and the lead-free vacancy-ordered double perovskites. In the second part of this thesis, the search for emerging photovoltaics is extended to a promising family of bismuth-based absorbers, of interest due to their non-toxic and earth-abundant nature. Throughout this work, we aim to provide specific guidance for experimental researchers hoping to produce more efficient photovoltaic devices.
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Aug 2018
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