Browsing by Author "Wei, Da-Hua"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Electronic properties of free-standing TiO2 nanotube arrays fabricated by electrochemical anodization
(2015-01-01)
Chen, Chi Liang
;
Dong, Chung-Li
;
Chen, Chia-Hao
;
Wu, Jen-Wei
;
Lu, Ying-Rui
Nanotubular TiO2 has attracted considerable attention owing to its unique functional properties, including high surface area and vectorial charge transport along the nanotube, making it a good photocatalytic material. Anodic TiO2-nanotube (TiNT) arrays on a Ti foil substrate were prepared by electrochemical anodic oxidation and SEM/HRTEM/XRD analyses have suggested that the walls of TiO2 tubes are formed from stacked [101] planes (anatase). Both HRTEM and XRD indicate an interplanar spacing of d(101) = 0.36 nm in the wall structure. Despite the large amount of work done on nanotube synthesis, a thorough investigation of the electronic and atomic structures of free-standing TiNT arrays has not yet been carried out. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) and scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) are employed herein to examine the electronic and atomic structures at the top and bottom of TiNT arrays. These analyses demonstrate the presence of mixed valence states of the Ti ions (Ti3+ and Ti4+) and a structural distortion at the bottom cap region of the TiNT. Additionally, the results obtained herein suggest the formation of a defective anatase phase at the bottom cap barrier layer between the Ti foil substrate and TiNT during the growth of electrochemically anodized nanotubes.
Enhancing thermoelectric performance by Fermi level tuning and thermal conductivity degradation in (Ge1-xBix)Te crystals
(2019-06-13)
Wei, Pai-Chun
;
Cai, Cheng-Xun
;
Hsing, Cheng-Rong
;
Wei, Ching-Ming
;
Yu, Shih-Hsun
In this work, a high thermoelectric figure of merit, zT of 1.9 at 740 K is achieved in Ge1-xBixTe crystals through the concurrent of Seebeck coefficient enhancement and thermal conductivity reduction with Bi dopants. The substitution of Bi for Ge not only compensates the superfluous hole carriers in pristine GeTe but also shifts the Fermi level (E-F) to an eligible region. Experimentally, with moderate 6-10% Bi dopants, the carrier concentration is drastically decreased from 8.7 x 10(20) cm(-3) to 3-5 x 10(20) cm(-3) and the Seebeck coefficient is boosted three times to 75 mu VK-1. In the meantime, based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculation, the Fermi level E-F starts to intersect with the pudding mold band at L point, where the band effective mass is enhanced. The enhanced Seebeck coefficient effectively compensates the decrease of electrical conductivity and thus successfully maintain the power factor as large as or even superior than that of the pristine GeTe. In addition, the Bi doping significantly reduces both thermal conductivities of carriers and lattices to an extremely low limit of 1.57W m(-1)K(-1) at 740 K with 10% Bi dopants, which is an about 63% reduction as compared with that of pristine GeTe. The elevated figure of merit observed in Ge1-xBixTe specimens is therefore realized by synergistically optimizing the power factor and downgrading the thermal conductivity of alloying effect and lattice anharmonicity caused by Bi doping.
Silicon microwire arrays decorated with amorphous heterometal-doped molybdenum sulfide for water photoelectrolysis
(2017-02-01)
Chen, Chih-Jung
;
Yang, Kai-Chih
;
Liu, Chi-Wei
;
Lu, Ying-Rui
;
Dong, Chung-Li
Silicon is a promising photocathode material for solar hydrogen evolution because of its small band gap, negative conduction band position, and ideal theoretical current density. In this study, p-type Si microwire (p-Si MW) arrays were prepared as photocathodes because of the large surface area and high light-harvesting capability. However, Si MWs suffered from low photocatalytic activity because of slow photo-induced carriers during driving of water-splitting reaction. Therefore, molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) with appropriate band alignment with p-Si material was employed for surface modification to function as a co-catalyst for collecting photo-generated minority carriers and reducing recombination possibility. The onset potential and current density at 0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) of Si@MoS2 MWs were + 0.122 V and -8.41 mA cm(-2). Heterometal atoms were employed to dope MoS2 co-catalyst and expose more sulfurterminated active sites to further boost photoelectrochemical performance. Optimal activity of Si@MMoSx (M = Fe, Co, Ni) was achieved by doping Co heteroatoms, and its turn-on voltage and photocurrent density at 0 V (vs. RHE) were respectively increased to + 0.192 V and -17.2 mA cm(-2). X-ray absorption spectroscopy was applied to demonstrate that Fe ions of FeMoSx were dichalcogenide materials, forming a composite with MoS2 and contributing better photoelectrolytic efficiency. By contrast, two-valent heteroatoms of CoMoSx and NiMoSx substituted the Mo4+ ions in MoS2. For charge compensation, more defects and edges were revealed as active sites of solar hydrogen production by adding Co or Ni dopants in MoS2 co-catalyst, which led to lower overpotential.