2D Bismuthene as a Functional Interlayer between BiVO_{4} and NiFeOOH for Enhanced Oxygen-Evolution Photoanodes

BiVO_{4} has attracted wide attention for oxygen-evolution photoanodes in water-splitting photoelectrochemical devices. However, its performance is hampered by electron-hole recombination at surface states. Herein, partially oxidized two-dimensional (2D) bismuthene is developed as an effective, stable, functional interlayer between BiVO4 and the archetypal NiFeOOH co-catalyst. Comprehensive (photo)electrochemical and surface photovoltage characterizations show that NiFeOOH can effectively increase the lifetime of photogenerated holes by passivating hole trap states of BiVO_{4}; however, it is limited in influencing electron trap states related to oxygen vacancies (V_{O}). Loading bismuthene on BiVO_{4} photoanodes increases the density of V_{O} that are beneficial for the oxygen evolution reaction via the formation of oxy/hydroxyl-based water oxidation intermediates at the surface. Moreover, bismuthene increases interfacial band bending and fills the V_{O}-related electron traps, leading to more efficient charge extraction. With the synergistic interaction of bismuthene and NiFeOOH on BiVO_{4}, this composite photoanode achieves a 5.8-fold increase in photocurrent compared to bare BiVO4 reaching a stable 3.4 (±0.2) mA cm^{–2} at a low bias of +0.8 V_{RHE} or 4.7(±0.2) mA cm^{–2} at +1.23 V_{RHE}. The use of 2D bismuthene as functional interlayer provides a new strategy to enhance the performance of photoanodes

Prospective memory in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia

Although a number of studies have found prospective memory (PM) impairment in patients with schizophrenia, very little is known about the PM performance in non-psychotic relatives of these patients. The current study aimed to explore the PM performance in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of these patients. Two groups of participants (26 non-psychotic first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and 26 healthy comparison participants) were administered three PM tasks (time-, event-, and activity-based) and a set of neurocognitive tests. Results showed that the relatives performed significantly worse than the comparisons on most indices of the PM tasks, with a similar pattern of impairment found in other neurocognitive measures. Together with findings from previous studies, results of the current study suggest that PM may be a potential endophenotype for schizophrenia. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.</p