Browsing by Author "Song, Haili"

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Electrical polarization induced by atomically engineered compositional gradient in complex oxide solid solution
(2019-04-12)
Wu, Ping-Chun
;
Huang, Rong
;
Hsieh, Ying-Hui
;
Wang, Bo
;
Yen, Min
Control of inhomogeneity in materials in order to avoid unexpected effects to the system remains a challenge. In this study, we seek to engineer inhomogeneity in materials and anticipate new properties. Through precise control of composition at the atomic scale, an electrical polarization is induced in the composition-graded LaAIO(3)-SrTiO3 solid solution epitaxially deposited on NdGaO3 substrates. By tailoring the direction of compositional gradient, the relationship between structure and electrical polarization is simulated via phase-field modeling and revealed by a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. The analysis of the results indicates that the induced polarization is due to the flexoelectric effect in the compositional gradient system. The results of this study provide a new pathway for obtaining a new material genome. Moreover, by a suitable design of the new genome, that is, by using different combinations of compositional gradient geometries, local conduction can be obtained and manipulated, providing a new approach to obtain the desired properties.
Microstructure evolution determined by the crystalline phases competition in self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 hetero nanostructures
(2018-02-28)
Song, Haili
;
Li, Chao
;
Chien Nguyen Van
;
Dong, Wenxia
;
Qi, Ruijuan
A series of self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 nanostructured thin films were grown on the (001) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate at the substrate temperatures of 400 degrees C, 500 degrees C, 550 degrees C, 600 degrees C, 650 degrees C and 700 degrees C by a pulsed laser deposition method. The microstructures including crystalline phases, epitaxial relationships, surface morphologies and interface structures were investigated by a combination of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The sample grown at 400 degrees C was amorphous due to the low driving forces for nucleation and diffusion. For the samples made at 500 degrees C, 550 degrees C and 600 degrees C, the monoclinic BiVO4 matrix epitaxially grew on YSZ, forming the matrix, where the WO3 nanopillars were embedded in with a specific orientation relationship among BiVO4, WO3 and YSZ. However, in thin films deposited at 650 degrees C and 700 degrees C, the WO3 grains randomly grew on the YSZ substrate, which dominated the microstructures of the resultant thin films. Quantitative analyses of the microstructures revealed that the lateral grain sizes of BiVO4 and WO3 increased and the volume fraction of BiVO4 in the thin films decreased with the increase of the deposition temperature. A three-regime growth mechanism of the WO3-BiVO4 composite thin film was proposed based on the growth dynamics determined by the competition between BiVO4 and WO3. Published by AIP Publishing.
Microstructure evolution with composition ratio in self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 hetero nanostructures for water splitting
(2017-07-01)
Song, Haili
;
Li, Chao
;
Chien Nguyen Van
;
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Qi, Ruijuan
A series of self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 nanostructured thin films with 17, 25, 50, 67, and 100 mol% WO3 were grown on the (001) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate by pulsed laser deposition method. The microstructures including crystalline phases, epitaxial relationship, interface structures, and chemical composition distributions were investigated by a combination of various electron microscopy techniques including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The monoclinic BiVO4 formed the matrix, in which WO3 nanopillars were embedded with specific epitaxial relationships. In BiVO4-rich sample, orthorhombic Bi2WO6 was formed. However, metastable hexagonal WO3 phase and orthorhombic WO3 phase coexisted in other composite samples. The thin amorphous layer at the film/substrate interface indicated that the mismatch strain between films and substrate is released. The hydrostatic tensile strain due to thermal expansion mismatch between BiVO4 and WO3 as well as the diffusion of Bi into the WO3 stabilized the metastable h-WO3. A WO3-BiVO4 pseudobinary phase diagram was proposed based on the magnitude of the thermal expansion mismatch and the distance of Bi diffusion, which can be applied to design the microstructures of WO3-BiVO4 heterojunctions and optimize their photoelectrochemical properties.
Role of indium tin oxide electrode on the microstructure of self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 hetero nanostructures
(2017-11-07)
Song, Haili
;
Li, Chao
;
Chien Nguyen Van
;
Dong, Wenxia
;
Qi, Ruijuan
Self-assembled WO3-BiVO4 nanostructured thin films were grown on a (001) yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate by the pulsed laser deposition method with and without the indium tin oxide (ITO) bottom electrode. Their microstructures including surface morphologies, crystalline phases, epitaxial relationships, interface structures, and composition distributions were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. In both samples, WO3 formed nanopillars embedded into the monoclinic BiVO4 matrix with specific orientation relationships. In the sample with the ITO bottom electrode, an atomically sharp BiVO4/ITO interface was formed and the orthorhombic WO3 nanopillars were grown on a relaxed BiVO4 buffer layer with a mixed orthorhombic and hexagonal WO3 transition layer. In contrast, a thin amorphous layer appears at the interfaces between the thin film and the YSZ substrate in the sample without the ITO electrode. In addition, orthorhombic Bi2WO6 lamellar nanopillars were formed between WO3 and BiVO4 due to interdiffusion. Such a WO3-Bi2WO6-BiVO4 double heterojunction photoanode may promote the photo-generated charge separation and further improve the photoelectrochemical water splitting properties. Published by AIP Publishing.
Thickness dependence of transport behaviors in SrRuO3 /SrTiO3 superlattices
(2020-01-03)
Wu, Ping-Chun
;
Song, Haili
;
Yuan, Ye
;
Feng, Bin
;
Ikuhara, Yuichi
Ultrathin oxide films have attracted considerable attention due to the potential for the integration of next-generation devices. However, the transport behaviors of the ultrathin oxide films are yet to be explored due to the high resistance caused by the strong influence of the interface and substrates. In this paper, an attempt is made to engineer the transport behaviors in ultrathin oxides. To exclude the high-resistance issue, conductive SrRuO3 with thickness down to two unit cells is embedded in insulating SrTiO3 in the form of superlattices. With precise control of the thickness in each layer, the transport behaviors, as well as the anomalous Hall effects, in SrRuO3 can be systematically manipulated. The analysis indicates that the diversity of the anomalous Hall effects is attributed to the change of Berry curvatures. The results give a pathway to the control of physical properties in ultrathin oxide systems by thickness engineering.
WO3 mesocrystal-assisted photoelectrochemical activity of BiVO4
(2017-03-01)
Chien Nguyen Van
;
Thi Hien Do
;
Chen, Jhih-Wei
;
Tzeng, Wen-Yen
;
Tsai, Kai-An
Self- assembled nanocomposites have gained much attention over the past decade due to their intriguing properties and functionalities. In this work, we developed a self-assembled nanocomposite photoanode composed of an epitaxial BiVO4 matrix embedded with WO3 mesocrystals for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications in the visible- light regime. The orientation of the crystal facet and interface provides a superior template to understand the intimate contact between the two constituent phases. We demonstrate that the interfacial coupling of the mesocrystal and matrix improves the separation of photoexcited carriers and the properties of charge transfer, resulting in a greatly enhanced PEC performance compared with their parent compounds. The current study demonstrates that the utilization of the interface-to-volume ratio to optimize charge interactions in the nanocomposite is essential for the advanced design of novel mesocrystal-embedded nanocomposite photoelectrodes.