Hierarchical Spatial Organization of Geographical Networks

In this work we propose the use of a hirarchical extension of the polygonality index as a means to characterize and model geographical networks: each node is associated with the spatial position of the nodes, while the edges of the network are defined by progressive connectivity adjacencies. Through the analysis of such networks, while relating its topological and geometrical properties, it is possible to obtain important indications about the development dynamics of the networks under analysis. The potential of the methodology is illustrated with respect to synthetic geographical networks.Comment: 3 page, 3 figures. A wokring manuscript: suggestions welcome

Conformal and continuous deposition of bifunctional cobalt phosphide layers on p-silicon nanowire arrays for improved solar hydrogen evolution

Vertically aligned p-silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays have been extensively investigated in recent years as promising photocathodes for solar-driven hydrogen evolution. However, the fabrication of SiNW photocathodes with both high photoelectrocatalytic activity and long-term operational stability using a simple and affordable approach is a challenging task. Herein, we report conformal and continuous deposition of a di-cobalt phosphide (Co2P) layer on lithography-patterned highly ordered SiNW arrays via a cost-effective drop-casting method followed by a low-temperature phosphorization treatment. The as-deposited Co2P layer consists of crystalline nanoparticles and has an intimate contact with SiNWs, forming a well-defined SiNW@Co2P core/shell nanostructure. The conformal and continuous Co2P layer functions as a highly efficient catalyst capable of substantially improving the photoelectrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and effectively passivates the SiNWs to protect them from photo-oxidation, thus prolonging the lifetime of the electrode. As a consequence, the SiNW@Co2P photocathode with an optimized Co2P layer thickness exhibits a high photocurrent density of -21.9 mA.cm(-2) at 0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode and excellent operational stability up to 20 h for solar-driven hydrogen evolution, outperforming many nanostructured silicon photocathodes reported in the literature. The combination of passivation and catalytic functions in a single continuous layer represents a promising strategy for designing high-performance semiconductor photoelectrodes for use in solar-driven water splitting, which may simplify fabrication procedures and potentially reduce production costsThis work was funded by ERDF funds through the Portuguese Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization COMPETE 2020, and national funds through FCT – The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project “PTDC/CTM-ENE/2349/2014” (Grant Agreement No. 016660). The work is also partially funded by the Portugal-China Bilateral Collaborative Programme (FCT/21102/28/12/2016/S). L. F. Liu acknowledges the financial support of the FCT Investigator Grant (IF/01595/2014) and Exploratory Grant (IF/01595/2014/CP1247/CT0001). L. Qiao acknowledges the financial support of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant Agreement No. 2016YFE0132400).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Silver nanowire arrays electrochemically grown into nanoporous anodic alumina templates

Silver nanowire arrays with high aspect ratios have been prepared using potentiostatic electrodeposition within the confined nanochannels of a commercial porous anodic aluminium oxide template. The nucleation and growth processes are intensively studied by current versus time transients. Scanning electron microscopy results show that the nanowires have a highly anisotropic structure with diameters and lengths of 170 nm and 58 νm, respectively, which coincide with the dimensions of the template used. Structural characterization using x-ray diffraction shows that the Ag nanowires are highly crystalline, and those obtained at higher overpotentials present a very strong [220] preferred crystallographic orientation. The optical properties of the silver nanowires embedded in the alumina template show a clear edge close to 320 nm, that is an expected value for a silver-alumina composite material. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd

Texture vs morphology in ZnO nano-rods: On the x-ray diffraction characterization of electrochemically grown samples

Texture characterization in thin films from standard powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) rely on the comparison between observed peak relative intensities with those of powder diffraction standards of the same compound, trough the so-called texture coefficient (TC). While these methods apply for polycrystalline materials with isotropic grains, they are less accurate-and even wrong-for anisotropic materials like ZnO oriented single-crystal nano-rods, which would require the use of dedicated XRD texture setups. By using simple geometrical considerations, we succeed in discriminating between texture and morphology contributions to the observed intensity ratios in powder diffraction patterns. On this basis, we developed a method that provides a quantitative determination of both texture (polar distribution) and morphology (aspect ratio of nano-rods), using simple x-ray powder diffraction. The method is illustrated on a typical sample from a series of Zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-rod arrays grown onto a gold thin film sputtered onto a F:SnO2-coated glass substrate (FTO) by using cathodic electro-deposition. In order to check the consistency of our method, we confronted our findings with scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, grazing incidence diffraction (GID), and XRD pole-figures of the same sample. Nevertheless, the proposed method is self-consistent and only requires the use of a standard powder diffractometer, nowadays available in most solid-state laboratories. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3669026

XPS and electrochemical studies of ferrocene derivatives anchored on n- and p-Si(100) by Si-O or Si-C bonds

High-coverage functionalization of H-terminated n- and p-Si(1 0 0) with vinylferrocene (VFC) and ferrocenecarboxaldehyde (FCA) has been obtained by wet chemistry methods, via the formation of a covalent bond between silicon atoms and the carbon (VFC) or the oxygen (FCA) termination of the molecules. The resulting functionalized electrodes have been analyzed by XPS, before and after cyclic voltammetry and capacitance-voltage measurements in an electrochemical cell. The very high quality of the hybrid species Si-CH2-CH2-C5H4-Fe2+-C5H5, resulting from VFC, has been certified by the negligible presence of silicon oxide and ferrocenium ions, and by the correct carbon/iron atomic ratio, accounting for the molecular species. The hybrid produced from FCA, Si-O-CH2-C5H4-Fe2+-C5H5, presents a higher amount of silica, carbon and ferrocenium, as a consequence of the higher temperature of the functionalization procedure and of the higher reactivity of FCA. The use of two closely similar redox molecules has allowed to compare the behaviour of the Si-C-Y vs. Si-O-Y bond (Y being the redox moiety), with respect to their electrochemical reactivity in an organic solution. Both hybrids behave similarly on n- and p-Si substrates, in terms of redox potentials, stability to more than 1000 voltammetric cycles, linearity of the current intensity with the scan rate. The vinyl derivative, however, showed a faster and more reversible electron transfer kinetics than the carboxaldehyde derivative and an enhanced stability to long-term electrochemical experiments. VFC/p-Si is the first reported ferrocene derivative anchored to monocrystalline silicon via a C-Si bond. It is also the only large-area hybrid capacitor, to date, to be frequency-independent up to several hundred Hz, having a redox capacitance of 10(-4) F cm(-2), the highest reported so far for a monolayer on a Si(1 0 0) face