New Insights into The Photoactivity of Shape-Tailored BiVO4 Semiconductors via Photocatalytic Degradation Reactions and Classical Reduction Processes

In the present study, additive-free, pH-driven, hydrothermal crystallization was used to obtain shape-tailored monoclinic BiVO4 photocatalysts. The as-prepared BiVO4 products were systematically characterized, uncovering their crystallographic, morphologic and optical properties, while their applicability was verified in the visible light-driven photodegradation of oxalic acid and rhodamine B. Monoclinic clinobisvanite was obtained in most cases, with their band gap values located between 2.1 and 2.4 eV. The morphology varied from large, aggregated crystals, individual microcrystals to hierarchical microstructures. It was found that the degradation efficiency values obtained in the case of oxalic acid were directly related to the presence of (040) crystallographic plane, while the degradation of rhodamine B was partially independent by the presence of this structural feature. The importance of (040) crystallographic plane was also demonstrated via the reduction of Cu2+ to Cu, by analyzing the Raman spectra of the Cu containing samples, the mean primary crystallite size of Cu and Cu content. Furthermore, the presence of (040) crystallographic plane was directly proportional with the hydrodynamic properties of the powders as well.

Identification of the Miller indices of a crystallographic plane: a tutorial and a comprehensive review on fundamental theory, universal methods based on different case studies and matters needing attention

A tutorial review on the identification of the Miller indices of a crystallographic plane is presented, which will be a beneficial theoretical reference for beginners focusing on the facet-dependent investigation of micro-/nanocrystals.

Insight into the Ga/In flux ratio and crystallographic plane dependence of MBE self-assembled growth of InGaN nanorods on patterned sapphire substrates

A lower Ga/In flux ratio and a high index sapphire plane favor MBE self-assembled growth of dense, uniform, and high-aspect-ratio InGaN nanorods.

Sodium rubidium disaccharinate tetrahydrate

1,2-Benzothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1 dioxide (more commonly known under its commercial name saccharin) forms a double salt with sodium and rubidium, Na+·Rb+·2C7H4NO3S−·4H2O. The coordination numbers of the sodium and rubidium ions are 6 and 8, respectively; the coordination polyhedra can be described as distorted triangular and rectangular prisms. Both Rb+ and Na+ cations and flat saccharinate moieties are positioned at mirror planes parallel to the (010) crystallographic plane. Metal ions and saccharinate anions are assembled into infinite layers parallel to the (001) plane via electrostatic interactions and hydrogen-bonded networks. These layers are connected by stacking interactions and C—H...O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional structure.

Copper Pentagonal Micropyramids Grown by Mechanically Activated Electrodeposition

The formation of copper pentagonal micropyramids (PMPs) with high (multiatomic) spiral growth steps, which are grown by electrocrystallization with mechanical activation of the cathode, is studied experimentally. A new spiral-layer growth mechanism for the formation of such PMP is proposed. It is shown that PMPs grow on flat pentagonal microcrystals (PMCs) formed initially and containing fivefold twins with one of the twin boundaries being inclined by the angle of 35°16’ to the {110}-type substrate crystallographic plane. Such crystal geometry causes an inclined growth step on the PMC surface. The preferential deposition of metal atoms on this step leads to the spiral-layer PMC growth and the formation of PMPs with a structure inherited from the PMCs.

Crystallographic plane and topography-dependent growth of semipolar InGaN nanorods on patterned sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

A patterned sapphire substrate with exposed high-index crystallographic planes, with well-organized step-terrace structures, facilitates the growth of well-aligned semipolar InGaN nanorods.