By means of first principles calculations, we compute the effective electron-phonon coupling constant G(0) governing the electron cooling in photoexcited bismuth. G(0) strongly increases as a function of electron temperature, which can be traced back to the semimetallic nature of bismuth. We also use a thermodynamical model to compute the time evolution of both electron and lattice temperatures...

BiOI nanosheets are easily synthesized by direct thermal treatment of commercial BiI3 powder, serving as a novel anode material for lithium-ion batteries. A high volumetric capacity of ∼5678 mA h cm(-3) was achieved. This work demonstrates that the BiOI nanosheets hold great promise as high-energy anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Abstract: Bismuth(III) compounds (BiX3, X = Cl, Br, NO3 and OTf etc.) are moistureand air-tolerant Lewis acids, which have been widely applied as green catalyst in diverse organic synthesis in the past few years. This review illustrates significant advances in this field over recent five years, and mainly focuses on the bismuth-catalyzed formation of carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-sulfu...

Topological insulators are a relatively new class of materials, which are insulating in the bulk and conductive on the surface. Surface conductance measurements of topological insulators are often obscured by impurities in the bulk. Nanowires made of a topologically insulating material provide a solution to this problem with their large surface-area-to-volume ratio. I examine the growth procedu...

Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), a common constituent of household products, triggers the transformation of bismuth to the volatile toxic derivative trimethylbismuth by Methanosarcina barkeri, which is a representative member of the sewage sludge microflora. Comparative studies with the ionophores monensin and lasalocid, which induce effects similar to those observed for OMCTS, indicated t...

The high temperature treatment of kaolinite-muscovite alternate layers doped by bismuth oxide was studied by TGA and DTA, X ray diffraction, and electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal analyses shows that the two main transformation stages are the dehydroxylation of phyllosilicates and the structural reorganization of the whole assembly. During dehydroxylation, a progressive decrease of the structur...

The paper consists of two parts – experiments for students and experiments for teachers. First part contains two experiments, which were found in literature or internet, verified and quantitatively measured. The second part concerns about two workshops for physics teachers. Introduction There are many experiments from the area of electricity and magnetism, but quite often these experiments are ...

Four patients who had undergone abdominoperineal resection for carcinoma of the colon and who had been taking oral bismuth subgallate developed a stereotyped recurrent and reversible neurological syndrome. This was characterized by confusion, tremulousness, clumsiness, myoclonic jerks, and an inability to walk. All patients were extensively investigated and no cause could be found, but symptoms...

Intensely yellow β -bismuth trioxide in the form of about 41 nm large crystallites has been prepared by thermal decomposition of (BiO)2CO3 at 400 ◦C. From the band gap energy of 2.3 eV obtained under the assumption of an indirect band-to-band transition and the quasi-Fermi level of −0.28± 0.02 V (vs. NHE) a valence band edge position of 2.02 V is calculated. This semiconducting oxide assists a ...

n-Type bismuth vanadate has been identified as one of the most promising photoanodes for use in a water-splitting photoelectrochemical cell. The major limitation of BiVO4 is its relatively wide bandgap (∼2.5 eV), which fundamentally limits its solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. Here we show that annealing nanoporous bismuth vanadate electrodes at 350 °C under nitrogen flow can result in n...