9 research outputs found
Codoping in SnTe: Enhancement of Thermoelectric Performance through Synergy of Resonance Levels and Band Convergence
We
report a significant enhancement of the thermoelectric performance
of p-type SnTe over a broad temperature plateau with a peak <i>ZT</i> value of ∼1.4 at 923 K through In/Cd codoping
and a CdS nanostructuring approach. Indium and cadmium play different
but complementary roles in modifying the valence band structure of
SnTe. Specifically, In-doping introduces resonant levels inside the
valence bands, leading to a considerably improved Seebeck coefficient
at low temperature. Cd-doping, however, increases the Seebeck coefficient
of SnTe remarkably in the mid- to high-temperature region via a convergence
of the light and heavy hole bands and an enlargement of the band gap.
Combining the two dopants in SnTe yields enhanced Seebeck coefficient
and power factor over a wide temperature range due to the synergy
of resonance levels and valence band convergence, as demonstrated
by the Pisarenko plot and supported by first-principles band structure
calculations. Moreover, these codoped samples can be hierarchically
structured on all scales (atomic point defects by doping, nanoscale
precipitations by CdS nanostructuring, and mesoscale grains by SPS
treatment) to achieve highly effective phonon scattering leading to
strongly reduced thermal conductivities. In addition to the high maximum <i>ZT</i> the resultant large average <i>ZT</i> of ∼0.8
between 300 and 923 K makes SnTe an attractive p-type material for
high-temperature thermoelectric power generation
Valence Band Modification and High Thermoelectric Performance in SnTe Heavily Alloyed with MnTe
We
demonstrate a high solubility limit of >9 mol% for MnTe alloying
in SnTe. The electrical conductivity of SnTe decreases gradually while
the Seebeck coefficient increases remarkably with increasing MnTe
content, leading to enhanced power factors. The room-temperature Seebeck
coefficients of Mn-doped SnTe are significantly higher than those
predicted by theoretical Pisarenko plots for pure SnTe, indicating
a modified band structure. The high-temperature Hall data of Sn<sub>1–<i>x</i></sub>Mn<sub><i>x</i></sub>Te
show strong temperature dependence, suggestive of a two-valence-band
conduction behavior. Moreover, the peak temperature of the Hall plot
of Sn<sub>1–<i>x</i></sub>Mn<sub><i>x</i></sub>Te shifts toward lower temperature as MnTe content is increased,
which is clear evidence of decreased energy separation (band convergence)
between the two valence bands. The first-principles electronic structure
calculations based on density functional theory also support this
point. The higher doping fraction (>9%) of Mn in comparison with
∼3%
for Cd and Hg in SnTe gives rise to a much better valence band convergence
that is responsible for the observed highest Seebeck coefficient of
∼230 μV/K at 900 K. The high doping fraction of Mn in
SnTe also creates stronger point defect scattering, which when combined
with ubiquitous endotaxial MnTe nanostructures when the solubility
of Mn is exceeded scatters a wide spectrum of phonons for a low lattice
thermal conductivity of 0.9 W m<sup>–1</sup> K<sup>–1</sup> at 800 K. The synergistic role that Mn plays in regulating the electron
and phonon transport of SnTe yields a high thermoelectric figure of
merit of 1.3 at 900 K
Coexistence of High‑<i>T</i><sub>c</sub> Ferromagnetism and <i>n</i>‑Type Electrical Conductivity in FeBi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>4</sub>
The
discovery of <i>n</i>-type ferromagnetic semiconductors
(<i>n</i>-FMSs) exhibiting high electrical conductivity
and Curie temperature (<i>T</i><sub>c</sub>) above 300 K
would dramatically improve semiconductor spintronics and pave the
way for the fabrication of spin-based semiconducting devices. However,
the realization of high-<i>T</i><sub>c</sub> <i>n</i>-FMSs and <i>p</i>-FMSs in conventional high-symmetry semiconductors
has proven extremely difficult due to the strongly coupled and interacting
magnetic and semiconducting sublattices. Here we show that decoupling
the two functional sublattices in the low-symmetry semiconductor FeBi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>4</sub> enables unprecedented coexistence of high <i>n</i>-type electrical conduction and ferromagnetism with <i>T</i><sub>c</sub> ≈ 450 K. The structure of FeBi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>4</sub> consists of well-ordered magnetic sublattices
built of [Fe<sub><i>n</i></sub>Se<sub>4<i>n</i>+2</sub>]<sub>∞</sub> single-chain edge-sharing octahedra,
coherently embedded within the three-dimensional Bi-rich semiconducting
framework. Magnetotransport data reveal a negative magnetoresistance,
indicating spin-polarization of itinerant conducting electrons. These
findings demonstrate that decoupling magnetic and semiconducting sublattices
allows access to high-<i>T</i><sub>c</sub> <i>n</i>- and <i>p</i>-FMSs as well as helps unveil the mechanism
of carrier-mediated ferromagnetism in spintronic materials
Intuitive Label-Free SERS Detection of Bacteria Using Aptamer-Based <i>in Situ</i> Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis
The
characteristic of an ideal bacteria-detection method should
have high sensitivity and specificity, be easy to operate, and not
have a time-consuming culture process. In this study, we report a
new bacteria-detection strategy that can recognize bacteria quickly
and directly by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with the
formation of well-defined bacteria-aptamer@AgNPs. SERS signals generated
by bacteria-aptamer@AgNPs exhibited a linear dependence on bacteria
(<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.9671) concentration ranging from
10<sup>1</sup> to 10<sup>7</sup> cfu/mL. The detection limit is sensitive
down to 1.5 cfu/mL. Meanwhile, the bacteria SERS signal was dramatically
enhanced by its specifically recognized aptamer, and the bacteria
could be identified directly and visually through the SERS spectrum.
This strategy eliminates the puzzling data analysis of previous studies
and offers significant advantages over existing approaches, getting
a critical step toward the creation of SERS-based biochips for rapid <i>in situ</i> bacteria detection in mixture samples
Origin of the High Performance in GeTe-Based Thermoelectric Materials upon Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> Doping
As a lead-free material,
GeTe has drawn growing attention in thermoelectrics,
and a figure of merit (<i>ZT</i>) close to unity was previously
obtained via traditional doping/alloying, largely through hole carrier
concentration tuning. In this report, we show that a remarkably high <i>ZT</i> of ∼1.9 can be achieved at 773 K in Ge<sub>0.87</sub>Pb<sub>0.13</sub>Te upon the introduction of 3 mol % Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>. Bismuth telluride promotes the solubility of PbTe
in the GeTe matrix, thus leading to a significantly reduced thermal
conductivity. At the same time, it enhances the thermopower by activating
a much higher fraction of charge transport from the highly degenerate
Σ valence band, as evidenced by density functional theory calculations.
These mechanisms are incorporated and discussed in a three-band (L
+ Σ + C) model and are found to explain the experimental results
well. Analysis of the detailed microstructure (including rhombohedral
twin structures) in Ge<sub>0.87</sub>Pb<sub>0.13</sub>Te + 3 mol %
Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> was carried out using transmission electron
microscopy and crystallographic group theory. The complex microstructure
explains the reduced lattice thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity
as well
Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties in the Counter-Doped SnTe System with Strained Endotaxial SrTe
We
report enhanced thermoelectric performance in SnTe, where significantly
improved electrical transport properties and reduced thermal conductivity
were achieved simultaneously. The former was obtained from a larger
hole Seebeck coefficient through Fermi level tuning by optimizing
the carrier concentration with Ga, In, Bi, and Sb dopants, resulting
in a power factor of 21 μW cm<sup>–1</sup> K<sup>–2</sup> and <i>ZT</i> of 0.9 at 823 K in Sn<sub>0.97</sub>Bi<sub>0.03</sub>Te. To reduce the lattice thermal conductivity without
deteriorating the hole carrier mobility in Sn<sub>0.97</sub>Bi<sub>0.03</sub>Te, SrTe was chosen as the second phase to create strained
endotaxial nanostructures as phonon scattering centers. As a result,
the lattice thermal conductivity decreases strongly from ∼2.0
Wm<sup>–1</sup> K<sup>–1</sup> for Sn<sub>0.97</sub>Bi<sub>0.03</sub>Te to ∼1.2 Wm<sup>–1</sup> K<sup>–1</sup> as the SrTe content is increased from 0 to 5.0% at room temperature
and from ∼1.1 to ∼0.70 Wm<sup>–1</sup> K<sup>–1</sup> at 823 K. For the Sn<sub>0.97</sub>Bi<sub>0.03</sub>Te-3% SrTe sample, this leads to a <i>ZT</i> of 1.2 at
823 K and a high average <i>ZT</i> (for SnTe) of 0.7 in
the temperature range of 300–823 K, suggesting that SnTe is
a robust candidate for medium-temperature thermoelectric applications
Image_1_Discovery and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies from humanized CAMouseHG mice through rapid hybridoma screening and high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing.tif
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused more than 532 million infections and 6.3 million deaths to date. The reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are effective detection tools and therapeutic measures. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, a large number of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies will be produced. Most SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies are isolated from human and frequently encoded by convergent heavy-chain variable genes. However, SARS-CoV-2 viruses can mutate rapidly during replication and the resistant variants of neutralizing antibodies easily survive and evade the immune response, especially in the face of such focused antibody responses in humans. Therefore, additional tools are needed to develop different kinds of fully human antibodies to compensate for current deficiency. In this study, we utilized antibody humanized CAMouseHG mice to develop a rapid antibody discovery method and examine the antibody repertoire of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-reactive hybridoma cells derived from CAMouseHG mice by using high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing analysis. CAMouseHG mice were immunized by 28-day rapid immunization method. After electrofusion and semi-solid medium screening on day 12 post-electrofusion, 171 hybridoma clones were generated based on the results of SARS-CoV-2 RBD binding activity assay. A rather obvious preferential usage of IGHV6-1 family was found in these hybridoma clones derived from CAMouseHG mice, which was significantly different from the antibodies found in patients with COVID-19. After further virus neutralization screening and antibody competition assays, we generated a noncompeting two-antibody cocktail, which showed a potent prophylactic protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques. These results indicate that humanized CAMouseHG mice not only provide a valuable platform to obtain fully human reactive and neutralizing antibodies but also have a different antibody repertoire from humans. Thus, humanized CAMouseHG mice can be used as a good complementary tool in discovery of fully human therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies.</p
Table_1_Discovery and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies from humanized CAMouseHG mice through rapid hybridoma screening and high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing.xlsx
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused more than 532 million infections and 6.3 million deaths to date. The reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are effective detection tools and therapeutic measures. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, a large number of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies will be produced. Most SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies are isolated from human and frequently encoded by convergent heavy-chain variable genes. However, SARS-CoV-2 viruses can mutate rapidly during replication and the resistant variants of neutralizing antibodies easily survive and evade the immune response, especially in the face of such focused antibody responses in humans. Therefore, additional tools are needed to develop different kinds of fully human antibodies to compensate for current deficiency. In this study, we utilized antibody humanized CAMouseHG mice to develop a rapid antibody discovery method and examine the antibody repertoire of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-reactive hybridoma cells derived from CAMouseHG mice by using high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing analysis. CAMouseHG mice were immunized by 28-day rapid immunization method. After electrofusion and semi-solid medium screening on day 12 post-electrofusion, 171 hybridoma clones were generated based on the results of SARS-CoV-2 RBD binding activity assay. A rather obvious preferential usage of IGHV6-1 family was found in these hybridoma clones derived from CAMouseHG mice, which was significantly different from the antibodies found in patients with COVID-19. After further virus neutralization screening and antibody competition assays, we generated a noncompeting two-antibody cocktail, which showed a potent prophylactic protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques. These results indicate that humanized CAMouseHG mice not only provide a valuable platform to obtain fully human reactive and neutralizing antibodies but also have a different antibody repertoire from humans. Thus, humanized CAMouseHG mice can be used as a good complementary tool in discovery of fully human therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies.</p
Table_2_Discovery and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies from humanized CAMouseHG mice through rapid hybridoma screening and high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing.xlsx
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused more than 532 million infections and 6.3 million deaths to date. The reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are effective detection tools and therapeutic measures. During SARS-CoV-2 infection, a large number of SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing antibodies will be produced. Most SARS-CoV-2 reactive and neutralizing fully human antibodies are isolated from human and frequently encoded by convergent heavy-chain variable genes. However, SARS-CoV-2 viruses can mutate rapidly during replication and the resistant variants of neutralizing antibodies easily survive and evade the immune response, especially in the face of such focused antibody responses in humans. Therefore, additional tools are needed to develop different kinds of fully human antibodies to compensate for current deficiency. In this study, we utilized antibody humanized CAMouseHG mice to develop a rapid antibody discovery method and examine the antibody repertoire of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-reactive hybridoma cells derived from CAMouseHG mice by using high-throughput single-cell V(D)J sequencing analysis. CAMouseHG mice were immunized by 28-day rapid immunization method. After electrofusion and semi-solid medium screening on day 12 post-electrofusion, 171 hybridoma clones were generated based on the results of SARS-CoV-2 RBD binding activity assay. A rather obvious preferential usage of IGHV6-1 family was found in these hybridoma clones derived from CAMouseHG mice, which was significantly different from the antibodies found in patients with COVID-19. After further virus neutralization screening and antibody competition assays, we generated a noncompeting two-antibody cocktail, which showed a potent prophylactic protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques. These results indicate that humanized CAMouseHG mice not only provide a valuable platform to obtain fully human reactive and neutralizing antibodies but also have a different antibody repertoire from humans. Thus, humanized CAMouseHG mice can be used as a good complementary tool in discovery of fully human therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies.</p