Epitaxial Synthesis of Blue Phosphorene

Phosphorene is a new two-dimensional material composed of a single or few atomic layers of black phosphorus. Phosphorene has both an intrinsic tunable direct band gap and high carrier mobility values, which make it suitable for a large variety of optical and electronic devices. However, the synthesis of single-layer phosphorene is a major challenge. The standard procedure to obtain phosphorene is by exfoliation. More recently, the epitaxial growth of single-layer phosphorene on Au(111) has been investigated by molecular beam epitaxy and the obtained structure has been described as a blue-phosphorene sheet. In the present study, large areas of high-quality monolayer phosphorene, with a band gap value at least equal to 0.8 eV, have been synthesized on Au(111). Our experimental investigations, coupled with DFT calculations, give evidence of two distinct phases of blue phosphorene on Au(111), instead of one as previously reported, and their atomic structures have been determined.Comment: This paper reports on the epitaxial synthesis of blue phosphoren

Purification of emulsified oily polluted waters with modified melamine foams

Oil and gas industry operations produce tremendous amounts of wastewater (produced water; PW). Tertiary treatment of the PW in the final treatment stage is challenging due to the presence of colloids with sizes < 500 nm and a low concentration target for the effluent of <10 mg/L. This study was focused on the purification of colloidal PW with modified melamine foams (MFs) and ferric chloride. The modified MFs exhibited superhydrophobic and superoleophilic character due to increasing roughness and complexation of Fe3＋ ions within the MF structure. The modified MF showed separation efficiencies up to 86 ± 3% for emulsions containing 120 ppm carbon. The Fe3＋ cations changed the hydrophilicities of the foams and made them highly hydrophobic, and they also contributed significantly to the adsorption of negatively charged species, such as crude oil droplets modified with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate). The demulsification mechanism involved multiple diffusion processes run over different time scales, including diffusion of an emulsion into the foam and diffusion of the oil droplets within the foam, combined with parallel adsorption of the oil droplets onto the solid skeleton of the foam. The adsorption capacity of the MFs increased linearly with increasing initial concentration of crude oil content in the PW. The MFs were reusable for six consecutive cycles.This research was made possible by a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund under its National Priorities Research Program (award number NPRP12S-0311-190299 ) and by financial support from the ConocoPhillips Global Water Sustainability Center (GWSC), Qatar and Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) . The paper's content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Qatar National Research Fund or ConocoPhillips and QAPCO.Scopu

Auto-assemblage de molécules organiques sur des substrats métalliques réactifs

Dans cette thèse, la formation de monocouches auto-assemblées de différentes molécules de chalcogénure et de molécules p-conjuguées planaire et leurs caractéristiques structurelles et électroniques ont été systématiquement étudiées principalement par spectroscopie photoélectronique à rayons X effectuée utilisant la lumière synchrotron, microscopie à effet tunnel à balayage et diffraction d'électrons à faible énergie. Une étude de la formation de structures hybrides organiques-inorganiques auto-assemblées a été réalisée par assemblage couche par couche d'un dithiol sur ZnO (0001) avec dépôt de métal intermédiaire. De plus en complément de l'étude des molécules comportant un atome de chalcogènure, les caractéristiques d'adsorption du sélénium et du soufre ont été étudiées. La spectroscopie XPS à haute résolution et la spectroscopie de structure fine d’absorption au seuil d’excitation (NEXAFS) ont permis d'étudier les caractéristiques des monocouches auto-assemblées du sélénure de benzène et du sélénophène sur Cu (100) et dihexyldiselénure sur Ni (111) et Pd (111) et ont montré en particulier l’existence de processus de rupture de liaison Se-C ainsi que l’existence de différents sites d'adsorption de molécules. Ces conclusions ont été soutenues par l'étude de l'adsorption atomique du sélénium, qui montre également l'existence de différents sites d'adsorption pour le Se atomique avec différents environnements chimiques. Ces conclusions sont principalement basées sur une étude XPS haute résolution des spectres caractéristiques Se3d, Se3p, du spectre de bande de valence et de l'imagerie LEED. La formation de monocouche de 5,5-bis (mercaptéthyl) -2,20-bipyridine (BPD) avec terminaison SH libre sur ZnO(0001) a été démontrée, permettant le greffage ultérieur d'Ag et Ni et de l’ assemblage d’une autre couche de BPD sur cette couche de métal-dithiol. Les changements dans les propriétés électroniques ont été déterminés à partir des spectres de la bande de valence. La molécule π-conjuguée, NTCDA, a été déposée sur différentes surfaces métalliques et sa morphologie structurelle et ses propriétés chimiques par rapport à la surface métallique ont été étudiées. Les molécules NTCDA affichent une structure « couchée » avec deux domaines différents sur Ag (110) et Cu (100) mais trois domaines sur la surface de Cu (111). Par rapport à celui sur la surface inerte de Au, une forte interaction entre les molécules et les substrats de Cu, Ag existe et joue un rôle important dans la détermination de l'orientation et de l'état de liaison des films organiques.In this thesis, the formation of self-assembled monolayers of different chalcogenide molecules and planer π-conjugated molecules and their electronic and structural characteristics were systematically studied mainly by synchrotron based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. A study of formation of hybrid organic-inorganic self assembled structure was performed by layer by layer assembly of a dithiol on ZnO(0001) with intermediate metal deposition. Additionally as a complement to the study of chalcogen head group molecules the adsorption characteristics of selenium and sulfur were investigated. The high resolution XPS and near edge absorption fine structure spectroscopy allowed to investigate the characteristics of self-assembled monolayers of benzene selenide and selenophene on Cu (100), and dihexyldiselenide on Ni(111) and Pd(111) and showed in particular the existence of Se-C bond breaking processes and existence of different adsorption sites of molecules. These conclusions were supported by the study of atomic selenium adsorption, which also shows existence different adsorption sites for the atomic Se with different chemical environments. These conclusions are mainly based on high resolution XPS study of characteristic Se3d, Se3p spectra, valance band spectrum and LEED imaging. The formation of a 5,5- bis (mercaptomethyl)-2,20- bipyridine (BPD) with SH termination on ZnO(0001) was demonstrated allowing subsequent grafting of Ag and Ni and further assembly of BPD on this metal-dithiol layer. The changes in electronic properties were determined from valence band spectra. The large π-conjugated molecule, NTCDA, was deposited on different metal surfaces and its structure morphology and chemical properties with respect to the metal surface was investigated. The NTCDA molecules displays a lying down structure with two different domains on Ag (110) and Cu(100) but three domain on Cu(111) surface. Compared with the one on the inert Au surface, a strong interface interaction between the molecules and Cu, Ag substrates plays an important role in determining the orientation and bonding state of the organic films

Epitaxial Synthesis Of Blue Phosphorene

Phosphorene is a new 2D material composed of a single or few atomic layers of black phosphorus. Phosphorene has both an intrinsic tunable direct bandgap and high carrier mobility values, which make it suitable for a large variety of optical and electronic devices. However, the synthesis of single-layer phosphorene is a major challenge. The standard procedure to obtain phosphorene is by exfoliation. More recently, the epitaxial growth of single-layer phosphorene on Au(111) was investigated by molecular beam epitaxy and the obtained structure described as a blue phosphorene sheet. In the present study, large areas of high-quality monolayer phosphorene, with a bandgap value equal to at least 0.8 eV, are synthesized on Au(111). The experimental investigations, coupled with density functional theory calculations, give evidence of two distinct phases of blue phosphorene on Au(111), instead of one as previously reported, and their atomic structures are determined

Thiophene Derivatives On Gold And Molecular Dissociation Processes

We report a systematic study of thiophene derivatives on gold surfaces. These molecules are of interest in molecular electronics, and the characracteristics of the thiophene-electrode interface in devices needs to be understood as it affects electron transport characteristics. Some experiments indicated S-C bond scission in contact with metals resulting in disruption of the π-electron system that affects charge transport, which would also be affected by presence of split-off chemisorbed sulfur. We explored this dissociation aspect by photoemission for the case of monocrystalline Au(111) surfaces and Au films grown on mica for a series of polythiophenes molecules (nT, n = 1-4, 6) as well as for α,ω-diquaterthiophene (DH4T) and dihexylsexithiophene (DH6T). The S 2p X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy peaks are found to have complex line shapes corresponding to S atoms with different core level binding energies (CLBE). Density functional theory calculations of adsorption energies and CLBEs were performed for various adsorption configurations of thiophene on a perfect Au(111) plane and for comparison, calculations were also performed for bithiophene, terthiophene, alkenethiol, alkenethiol chain, and a broken thiophene related metallocycle, incorporating an Au adatom and an S atom. On the basis of these results we relate the different contributions to the S 2p peak to intact molecules on different adsorption sites and broken molecules. Calculations in particular show that the CLBEs for intact thiophene (1T) can be the same as for the alkene and alkanethiol cases as opposed to usual assumptions in the literature. The existence of intact thiophenes is confirmed by the presence of clear π resonance peaks in the near edge X-ray fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra. Spontaneous dissociation appears to a variable extent in different samples, and we tentatively relate this to the presence of a more or less large number of steps and defects sites. X-ray induced beam damage was investigated for 1T and 3T using an intense synchrotron beam of 260 eV photons, and showed changes in the S 2p spectra related to S-C bond scission

Synthesis of an Al-Based Composite Reinforced by Multi-Phase ZrB2, Al3BC and Al2O3 with Good Mechanical and Thermal Properties at Elevated Temperature

To synthesize Al composite with high strength at elevated temperature, high modulus and thermal stability, ZrB2, Al3BC and Al2O3 particles have been chosen as reinforcements simultaneously. A (9.2 wt.% ZrB2 + 5.6 wt.% Al3BC + 5.5 wt.% Al2O3)/Al composite has been prepared, and the in-situ synthesized particles are nano-sized. Mechanical property tests reveal that the nanoparticles exhibit a remarkable synergistic enhancement effect. The elasticity modulus of the composite is 89 GPa, and the ultimate tensile strengths at 25 &deg;C and 350 &deg;C can be as high as 371 MPa and 154 MPa, respectively