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1. Electrochemical studies of tris(cyclopentadienyl)thorium and uranium complexes in the +2, +3, and +4 oxidation states

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SC01906F  

   Wedal, Justin C. ; Barlow, Jeffrey M. ; Ziller, Joseph W. ; Yang, Jenny Y. ; Evans, William J. ( June 2021 , Chemical Science)

   Electrochemical measurements on tris(cyclopentadienyl)thorium and uranium compounds in the +2, +3, and +4 oxidation states are reported with C 5 H 3 (SiMe 3 ) 2 , C 5 H 4 SiMe 3 , and C 5 Me 4 H ligands. The reduction potentials for both U and Th complexes trend with the electron donating abilities of the cyclopentadienyl ligand. Thorium complexes have more negative An( iii )/An( ii ) reduction potentials than the uranium analogs. Electrochemical measurements of isolated Th( ii ) complexes indicated that the Th( iii )/Th( ii ) couple was surprisingly similar to the Th( iv )/Th( iii ) couple in Cp′′-ligated complexes. This suggested that Th( ii ) complexes could be prepared from Th( iv ) precursors and this was demonstrated synthetically by isolation of directly from UV-visible spectroelectrochemical measurements and reactions of with elemental barium indicated that the thorium system undergoes sequential one electron transformations. 

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2. Evaluating electrochemical accessibility of 4f n 5d 1 and 4f n+1 Ln( ii ) ions in (C 5 H 4 SiMe 3 ) 3 Ln and (C 5 Me 4 H) 3 Ln complexes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1DT02427B  

   Trinh, Michael T. ; Wedal, Justin C. ; Evans, William J. ( October 2021 , Dalton Transactions)

   The reduction potentials (reported vs. Fc + /Fc) for a series of Cp′ 3 Ln complexes (Cp′ = C 5 H 4 SiMe 3 , Ln = lanthanide) were determined via electrochemistry in THF with [ n Bu 4 N][BPh 4 ] as the supporting electrolyte. The Ln( iii )/Ln( ii ) reduction potentials for Ln = Eu, Yb, Sm, and Tm (−1.07 to −2.83 V) follow the expected trend for stability of 4f 7 , 4f 14 , 4f 6 , and 4f 13 Ln( ii ) ions, respectively. The reduction potentials for Ln = Pr, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, and Lu, that form 4f n 5d 1 Ln( ii ) ions ( n = 2–14), fall in a narrow range of −2.95 V to −3.14 V. Only cathodic events were observed for La and Ce at −3.36 V and −3.43 V, respectively. The reduction potentials of the Ln( ii ) compounds [K(2.2.2-cryptand)][Cp′ 3 Ln] (Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu) match those of the Cp′ 3 Ln complexes. The reduction potentials of nine (C 5 Me 4 H) 3 Ln complexes were also studied and found to be 0.05–0.24 V more negative than those of the Cp′ 3 Ln compounds. 

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3. Crystal structure of the [(THF)Cs(μ-η 5 :η 5 -Cp′) 3 Yb] n oligomer

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2056989020008051  

   Huh, Daniel N. ; Ziller, Joseph W. ; Evans, William J. ( July 2020 , Acta Crystallographica Section E Crystallographic Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   The green compound poly[(tetrahydrofuran)tris[μ-η 5 :η 5 -1-(trimethylsilyl)cyclopentadienyl]caesium(I)ytterbium(II)], [CsYb(C 8 H 13 Si) 3 (C 4 H 8 O)] n or [(THF)Cs(μ-η 5 :η 5 -Cp′) 3 Yb II ] n was synthesized by reduction of a red THF solution of (C 5 H 4 SiMe 3 ) 3 Yb III with excess Cs metal and identified by X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallizes as a two-dimensional array of hexagons with alternating Cs I and Yb II ions at the vertices and cyclopentadienyl groups bridging each edge. This, based off the six-electron cyclopentadienyl rings occupying three coordination positions, gives a formally nine-coordinate tris(cyclopentadienyl) coordination environment to Yb and the Cs is ten-coordinate due to the three cyclopentadienyl rings and a coordinated molecule of THF. The complex comprises layers of Cs 3 Yb 3 hexagons with THF ligands and Me 3 Si groups in between the layers. The Yb—C metrical parameters are consistent with a 4 f 14 Yb II electron configuration. 

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4. Synthesis, structures, and reactivity of isomers of [RuCp*(1,4-(Me 2 N) 2 C 6 H 4 )] 2

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1DT02155A  

   Longhi, Elena ; Risko, Chad ; Bacsa, John ; Khrustalev, Victor ; Rigin, Sergei ; Moudgil, Karttikay ; Timofeeva, Tatiana V. ; Marder, Seth R. ; Barlow, Stephen ( September 2021 , Dalton Transactions)

   [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 {Cp* = η 5 -pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, R = Me, Et} have previously been found to be moderately air stable, yet highly reducing, with estimated D + /0.5D 2 (where D 2 and D + represent the dimer and the corresponding monomeric cation, respectively) redox potentials of ca. −2.0 V vs. FeCp 2 +/0 . These properties have led to their use as n-dopants for organic semiconductors. Use of arenes substituted with π-electron donors is anticipated to lead to even more strongly reducing dimers. [RuCp*(1-(Me 2 N)-3,5-Me 2 C 6 H 3 )] + PF 6 − and [RuCp*(1,4-(Me 2 N) 2 C 6 H 4 )] + PF 6 − have been synthesized and electrochemically and crystallographically characterized; both exhibit D + /D potentials slightly more cathodic than [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] + . Reduction of [RuCp*(1,4-(Me 2 N) 2 C 6 H 4 )] + PF 6 − using silica-supported sodium–potassium alloy leads to a mixture of isomers of [RuCp*(1,4-(Me 2 N) 2 C 6 H 4 )] 2 , two of which have been crystallographically characterized. One of these isomers has a similar molecular structure to [RuCp*(1,3,5-Et 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 ; the central C–C bond is exo , exo , i.e. , on the opposite face of both six-membered rings from the metals. A D + /0.5D 2 potential of −2.4 V is estimated for this exo , exo dimer, more reducing than that of [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 (−2.0 V). This isomer reacts much more rapidly with both air and electron acceptors than [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 due to a much more cathodic D 2 ˙ + /D 2 potential. The other isomer to be crystallographically characterized, along with a third isomer, are both dimerized in an exo , endo fashion, representing the first examples of such dimers. Density functional theory calculations and reactivity studies indicate that the central bonds of these two isomers are weaker than those of the exo , exo isomer, or of [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 , leading to estimated D + /0.5D 2 potentials of −2.5 and −2.6 V vs. FeCp 2 +/0 . At the same time the D 2 ˙ + /D 2 potentials for the exo , endo dimers are anodically shifted relative to those of [RuCp*(1,3,5-R 3 C 6 H 3 )] 2 , resulting in much greater air stability than for the exo , exo isomer. 

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5. RTD Light Emission around 1550 nm with IQE up to 6% at 300 K

   https://doi.org/10.1109/DRC50226.2020.9135175  

   Brown, E. R. ; Zhang, W-D. ; Fakhimi, P. ; Growden, T. A. ; Berger, P.R. ( June 2020 , IEEE Device Research Conference (DRC), Columbus, OH (June 22-24, 2020))

   Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) have come full-circle in the past 10 years after their demonstration in the early 1990s as the fastest room-temperature semiconductor oscillator, displaying experimental results up to 712 GHz and fmax values exceeding 1.0 THz [1]. Now the RTD is once again the preeminent electronic oscillator above 1.0 THz and is being implemented as a coherent source [2] and a self-oscillating mixer [3], amongst other applications. This paper concerns RTD electroluminescence – an effect that has been studied very little in the past 30+ years of RTD development, and not at room temperature. We present experiments and modeling of an n-type In0.53Ga0.47As/AlAs double-barrier RTD operating as a cross-gap light emitter at ~300K. The MBE-growth stack is shown in Fig. 1(a). A 15-μm-diam-mesa device was defined by standard planar processing including a top annular ohmic contact with a 5-μm-diam pinhole in the center to couple out enough of the internal emission for accurate free-space power measurements [4]. The emission spectra have the behavior displayed in Fig. 1(b), parameterized by bias voltage (VB). The long wavelength emission edge is at  = 1684 nm - close to the In0.53Ga0.47As bandgap energy of Ug ≈ 0.75 eV at 300 K. The spectral peaks for VB = 2.8 and 3.0 V both occur around  = 1550 nm (h = 0.75 eV), so blue-shifted relative to the peak of the “ideal”, bulk InGaAs emission spectrum shown in Fig. 1(b) [5]. These results are consistent with the model displayed in Fig. 1(c), whereby the broad emission peak is attributed to the radiative recombination between electrons accumulated on the emitter side, and holes generated on the emitter side by interband tunneling with current density Jinter. The blue-shifted main peak is attributed to the quantum-size effect on the emitter side, which creates a radiative recombination rate RN,2 comparable to the band-edge cross-gap rate RN,1. Further support for this model is provided by the shorter wavelength and weaker emission peak shown in Fig. 1(b) around = 1148 nm. Our quantum mechanical calculations attribute this to radiative recombination RR,3 in the RTD quantum well between the electron ground-state level E1,e, and the hole level E1,h. To further test the model and estimate quantum efficiencies, we conducted optical power measurements using a large-area Ge photodiode located ≈3 mm away from the RTD pinhole, and having spectral response between 800 and 1800 nm with a peak responsivity of ≈0.85 A/W at  =1550 nm. Simultaneous I-V and L-V plots were obtained and are plotted in Fig. 2(a) with positive bias on the top contact (emitter on the bottom). The I-V curve displays a pronounced NDR region having a current peak-to-valley current ratio of 10.7 (typical for In0.53Ga0.47As RTDs). The external quantum efficiency (EQE) was calculated from EQE = e∙IP/(∙IE∙h) where IP is the photodiode dc current and IE the RTD current. The plot of EQE is shown in Fig. 2(b) where we see a very rapid rise with VB, but a maximum value (at VB= 3.0 V) of only ≈2×10-5. To extract the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), we use the expression EQE= c ∙i ∙r ≡ c∙IQE where ci, and r are the optical-coupling, electrical-injection, and radiative recombination efficiencies, respectively [6]. Our separate optical calculations yield c≈3.4×10-4 (limited primarily by the small pinhole) from which we obtain the curve of IQE plotted in Fig. 2(b) (right-hand scale). The maximum value of IQE (again at VB = 3.0 V) is 6.0%. From the implicit definition of IQE in terms of i and r given above, and the fact that the recombination efficiency in In0.53Ga0.47As is likely limited by Auger scattering, this result for IQE suggests that i might be significantly high. To estimate i, we have used the experimental total current of Fig. 2(a), the Kane two-band model of interband tunneling [7] computed in conjunction with a solution to Poisson’s equation across the entire structure, and a rate-equation model of Auger recombination on the emitter side [6] assuming a free-electron density of 2×1018 cm3. We focus on the high-bias regime above VB = 2.5 V of Fig. 2(a) where most of the interband tunneling should occur in the depletion region on the collector side [Jinter,2 in Fig. 1(c)]. And because of the high-quality of the InGaAs/AlAs heterostructure (very few traps or deep levels), most of the holes should reach the emitter side by some combination of drift, diffusion, and tunneling through the valence-band double barriers (Type-I offset) between InGaAs and AlAs. The computed interband current density Jinter is shown in Fig. 3(a) along with the total current density Jtot. At the maximum Jinter (at VB=3.0 V) of 7.4×102 A/cm2, we get i = Jinter/Jtot = 0.18, which is surprisingly high considering there is no p-type doping in the device. When combined with the Auger-limited r of 0.41 and c ≈ 3.4×10-4, we find a model value of IQE = 7.4% in good agreement with experiment. This leads to the model values for EQE plotted in Fig. 2(b) - also in good agreement with experiment. Finally, we address the high Jinter and consider a possible universal nature of the light-emission mechanism. Fig. 3(b) shows the tunneling probability T according to the Kane two-band model in the three materials, In0.53Ga0.47As, GaAs, and GaN, following our observation of a similar electroluminescence mechanism in GaN/AlN RTDs (due to strong polarization field of wurtzite structures) [8]. The expression is Tinter = (2/9)∙exp[(-2 ∙Ug 2 ∙me)/(2h∙P∙E)], where Ug is the bandgap energy, P is the valence-to-conduction-band momentum matrix element, and E is the electric field. Values for the highest calculated internal E fields for the InGaAs and GaN are also shown, indicating that Tinter in those structures approaches values of ~10-5. As shown, a GaAs RTD would require an internal field of ~6×105 V/cm, which is rarely realized in standard GaAs RTDs, perhaps explaining why there have been few if any reports of room-temperature electroluminescence in the GaAs devices. [1] E.R. Brown,et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 58, 2291, 1991. [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [2] M. Feiginov et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 99, 233506, 2011. [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [3] Y. Nishida et al., Nature Sci. Reports, 9, 18125, 2019. [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [4] P. Fakhimi, et al., 2019 DRC Conference Digest. [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018). [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018). 

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