Chapter 1554 It's time to use some connections

This time, Zhang Tao did not hesitate at all.

He knew that Chang Haonan's "prescription" based on powerful computing and accurate diagnosis was the highest action order:

"Understood! We will adjust the plan immediately and give priority to achieving uniform deposition of h-BN single atomic layer on carbon nanotubes!"

The laboratory of Lianhai Institute of Chemical Physics has once again entered a state of high-efficiency breakthrough.

The chemical vapor deposition equipment is precisely controlled, and the reaction gas ratio, temperature, and pressure parameters are repeatedly optimized, gradually approaching the ideal result...

For a moment, the only sound in the huge laboratory was the squeaking sound of the pulse laser.

On the induction operating table, hexagonal boron nitride with a thickness of a single atomic layer is like the most perfect "atomic-level carpet", evenly and densely covering the surface of the carbon nanotube carrier to form a smooth and inert new interface.

Subsequently, the process of laser-induced film shrinkage self-assembly was started again.

On the flat h-BN surface, the cobalt metal phthalocyanine precursor molecules began a new round of "aggregation" under the orderly guidance of the polarized laser.

This time, the atmosphere of the synthesis process was noticeably different.

Although there are still slight differences between consecutive batches of products, the uniformity of color and density of texture of each synthesized sample are significantly better than all previous batches.

"The laser power density is locked at 12.7 mW/cm34.5, the polarization angle θ = 1064 degrees, and the near-infrared band λ = nm narrow-band filtering..."

"..."

Wang Lingxiao reported the final parameters——

The difference between the results of the two iterations was close to the minimum graduation value allowed by the programmable laser, and it was meaningless to continue.

In other words, this is the best result that can be achieved with the current algorithm and current instrumentation.

As for how good it is...

That can only be confirmed after the electrode test.

"Deposition complete!"

The researcher in charge of monitoring had been sitting in front of the screen for more than ten hours in a row, and there was even a hint of relief in his voice at this moment.

The chamber opened, and a piece of carbon nanotube film evenly covered with deep blue-black substance was carefully taken out.

The electronic balance shows: the synthetic product is 7.283 grams.

Due to the additional surface loading, the product quality is higher than before under the same conditions.

This will undoubtedly affect the energy density of the battery to a certain extent, but if the theoretical performance improvement can be achieved, no one will care about this problem at all.

No cheering, just faster action.

The samples were quickly cut into pieces, with one part sent to the battery testing line next door and the other part flying again to Sun Fei's "Stitched Monster" characterization platform in Yangcheng.

Electrode preparation, battery packaging, testing rack... a series of actions are completed in efficient silence.

The waiting process that followed seemed long and torturous.

Even Zhang Tao seemed a little uneasy for the first time.

Perhaps to liven up the atmosphere, Wang Lingxiao suddenly spoke:

"Teacher, which journal do you think we should submit our paper to?"

Discussing this kind of thing now might seem like popping champagne at halftime, but as a doctoral student who has been struggling for several years, he couldn't help but think about it further.

Looking at the hopeful disciples, Zhang Tao smiled knowingly.

Unlike most of the academicians of the same era, he had no experience studying abroad, but was a "local PhD" trained entirely by the Lianhai Institute of Physics and Chemistry.

In the 1980s, the difficulty for Zhang Tao to publish a high-level paper was almost as difficult as that for him to be evaluated as an academician later.

And the Wang Lingxiao of today seems to have overlapped with his own figure more than 20 years ago.

Zhang Tao suddenly had the idea of ​​playing a joke on the other party.

"Actually, I think...this kind of article should be published in JCAS."

The sudden answer almost made Wang Lingxiao jump up in anxiety.

Although the impact factor of the Journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been rising in recent years, there is still some gap between it and the traditional top journals in the industry in terms of both recognition and the actual quality of its articles.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost right, Zhang Tao finally changed the subject and said:

“However, considering the international influence, we should still choose a foreign journal this time…” Zhang Tao touched his chin, “I guess… at least it will be Nature Materials…”

"call--"

Wang Lingxiao, whose mood had been a roller coaster, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Even if it's just a sub-publication, my past few years have finally been complete..."

"..."

"Don't think too much. Go back and take a rest." Zhang Tao patted his shoulder. "Even if it's a button battery, the cycle test can't be completed so quickly."

……

When the first charge and discharge curve was slowly generated on the screen, the entire testing room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The data above is a thunderbolt at the opening:

Starting capacity density: 1680 mAh/g.

At 0.5C rate, 100th cycle: 1595 mAh/g.

200th cycle: 1448 mAh/g.

……

600th cycle: 1421 mAh/g!

Capacity retention rate: 84.6%.

"hiss--"

Someone gasped.

Compared with a control group using a common single-atom cobalt catalyst under the same structure and testing conditions, the performance improvement was more than 25%.

More importantly, its voltage platform is extremely stable and the attenuation of the high-voltage section is significantly suppressed.

"This is just... a one-dimensional chain?" a young researcher muttered, his eyes full of disbelief. "If it can really be expanded to a two-dimensional or even three-dimensional array..."

Zhang Tao did not answer immediately. He stared at the circular curve that extended almost horizontally, as if he was staring at a magnificent pyramid whose base had just been revealed.

what does this mean?

The battery life of consumer electronics could double.

Electric vehicles will have a real chance of becoming commercially available.

It even provides revolutionary energy solutions for cutting-edge fields such as deep space exploration and hypersonic aircraft.

Just at this moment, the notification sound from the computer mailbox rang.

It was an urgent email sent by Sun Fei from Yangcheng, with several thrilling images attached.

In the high-resolution TEM image, bright and continuous "bright lines" extending along specific crystal directions can be clearly seen on the surface of the carbon nanotube carrier.

"High density of cobalt atoms!"

The APT three-dimensional point cloud reconstruction image next to it is perfectly superimposed with it, and each light spot representing a cobalt atom falls precisely on the chain structure displayed by the TEM.

"The breakage rate has been successfully suppressed to an astonishing 25% or less! In some local areas, chain structures with a length of more than 50 nanometers have even been observed..."

"Done!" Zhang Tao waved his hand violently with such force that people around him could feel the wind.

"Ling Xiao, essay! Start writing immediately!"

Wang Lingxiao's heart was beating wildly in his chest, and the data in front of him seemed unreal.

"Teacher Zhang, shouldn't we...first make every effort to build a more solid patent barrier?"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Just 12 hours ago, the paper was as important to him as his life.

But in the face of such a result, it seems that it can already take second place.

"Why, you're not in a hurry to publish your paper?"

Zhang Tao joked.

Wang Lingxiao shook his head solemnly and continued, "Also, should we not disclose all the core details of the synthesis process, especially the precise control of the hBN interface layer and the dynamic matching algorithm of laser parameters, in the paper for the time being? What if our competitors..."

His concerns are reasonable. Such a disruptive achievement is enough to make any giant salivate.

Zhang Tao understands his students' caution, but he is more aware of the overall situation: "Ling Xiao, your concerns are reasonable. However, the international patent crackdown pressure faced by Academician Chang is imminent. We need this paper as the first shot of a strategic counterattack."

"Besides," he said firmly, "the core black box - the quantum chemical dynamic model developed by Academician Chang to guide the precise control of laser parameters, and the correlation function between the boron nitride transition layer and the specific defect shielding mechanism, will not appear in the paper."

"In this way, even if others get the paper, they can only try to reproduce our results in the specific system of Co-hBN. Without that computational model, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack for them to find a new efficient system. The time cost is huge... This time difference is enough for us to complete the global patent layout."

……

A week later, with the report and full of expectations, Wang Lingxiao and Zhang Tao flew to Beijing overnight and went straight to the Torch Laboratory.

In Chang Haonan's office, Wang Lingxiao presented the manuscript.

The title is——

"Construction of single-atom catalysts based on three-dimensional structures and their electrochemical reactivity".

"The data is solid, the logic is clear, and overall... it's excellent." Chang Haonan put down the manuscript and looked at Wang Lingxiao with praise in his eyes, but then changed the subject, "The only thing is that the preset title is a bit long and lacks impact."

Wang Lingxiao's heart tightened, and he quickly asked humbly:

"Academician Chang, what do you mean?"

Chang Haonan picked up a pen, crossed out the original title on the manuscript paper, and wrote a new line of text:

"Light-field programmed atomic arrays to achieve ultrastable electrochemical interfaces".

"How is it?" Chang Haonan glanced at the two of them. "Light field programming - directly points out the core means of our control of atoms, which is an unprecedented active control accuracy; atomic array - highlights the essential characteristics of the material; ultra-stable electrochemical interface - directly points to the core of the application value, which is also the most shocking part of our data. It is concise, powerful and eye-catching."

Wang Lingxiao chewed on the new title again and again, his eyes shining brighter and brighter: "The word 'programming' is so accurate! Describing laser intervention as a kind of programming of atoms instantly elevates the technology to a new level, full of futuristic sense and control. I totally agree!"

Zhang Tao also nodded and smiled, "Academician Chang has added the finishing touch. It's hard for editors and readers not to click on this title."

"Okay, that's the title." Chang Haonan made the decision immediately.

"What about the length?" Zhang Tao asked again, "Our principle for completing this report is to be detailed and reflect the complete workload as much as possible, but if it is directly used as a paper, it seems a bit too long, and the structure is also relatively loose."

"Indeed." Chang Haonan nodded, and after a little thought, he answered, "How about this, I will separate some of the specific content at the application level, and I will arrange for an industry-oriented sister paper to be published simultaneously and quickly in the Journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (JCAS) in China."

"The title of the sister article can be more straightforward, such as: "Light field programmed single atom array coating significantly improves the cycle life of lithium-ion batteries." The focus is on showing the specific performance data of Co-C-hBN in lithium batteries, especially the 'hard core' indicator of 600mAh/g in 2021 cycles, and its great significance to industries such as consumer electronics and electric vehicles. In this way, basic breakthroughs and application value will fly together."

Zhang Tao and Wang Lingxiao naturally had no objection to this "buy one get one free" result.

"As for the core paper," Chang Haonan pointed at the report in front of him. "With the results like this, I don't need to consider any sub-journals. It's no problem to submit it directly to Nature."

Wang Lingxiao felt relieved instantly when he heard the result.

However, Zhang Tao raised a realistic concern: "Academician Chang, according to experience, the average review period of Nature is 5-8 months or even longer. Will the time be... After all, due to the lawsuit and public pressure from FEI, I am afraid we can't wait that long."

He knew the entire plan made by Chang Haonan and was well aware that time was the strategic initiative.

However, Chang Haonan waved his hand and said, "Five to eight months is a normal submission period."

"?"

The two people opposite were stunned at the same time.

"I have a fast delivery channel." Chang Haonan explained nonchalantly, "If the content is fine, it will be published in about two months at the earliest. If you want to jump the queue, you can publish it next month."

"what?"

Wang Lingxiao never expected that an authoritative journal like Nature, which was so sacred in his heart, could be played in this way.

Just like the goddess you can’t bear to part with, someone else... ahem.

Anyway, something in my heart was broken.

Chang Haonan continued to open his computer: "Also, we don't have to passively wait for Nature to go through the process."

He rotated the display to show the interface of the arXiv preprint platform:

“After the paper is finalized, it is uploaded to arXiv immediately! Physics, materials science, condensed matter physics... all related categories are uploaded. Preprints have legal academic priority and are recognized by the international academic community as a platform for the first announcement of results.”

"arXiv?" Zhang Tao certainly knew about this platform, but he basically just browsed it and rarely published anything on it. "Isn't the influence and coverage of the preprint platform somewhat insufficient?"

Traditional chemical research does not have strict requirements on timeliness, so not everyone pays attention to a platform like arXiv on a daily basis.

The vast majority of scholars still focus on journals.

"Don't worry about the impact." Chang Haonan said confidently, "The power of truly disruptive results lies in the data itself and the innovation of ideas. Preprints are enough to spread them quickly and unimpeded to every corner of the world... The endorsement of the journal is icing on the cake, not a timely help. By the time the paper is officially published in Nature, the global discussion triggered by the preprint will have been in full swing, which will only further increase its influence."

"As for coverage..." He paused, then opened a drawer, pulled out a business card and placed it on the table: "I will contact my friends at Cornell University Library (the operator of arXiv) and ask them to list our paper as 'Editor's Choice' and recommend it on the platform homepage and email push."

“Editor’s Choice?”

Zhang Tao, who has 30 years of scientific research experience, feels like an undergraduate graduate who has just entered the laboratory.

"Yes." Chang Haonan nodded and explained while editing an email on his computer, "As long as users register with arXiv and have not chosen to refuse to receive push notifications in the website settings, even if they do not log in to the website, they will receive the preprint files and the website editor's summary of the content in their mailbox."

"How come I didn't know about this feature?" Zhang Tao was dumbfounded. "Besides the researchers I chose to follow, I've never received any push notifications about other content?"

"Well... this is a long story." Chang Haonan stopped what he was doing and recalled, "The paper that solved the Poincare conjecture was not officially published, but was exclusively posted on arXiv. Academician Zhang, you should know about this, right?"

Zhang Tao nodded.

"After that, in order to express gratitude, the Cornell University Library designed this feature specifically for the two of us authors..." Chang Haonan started typing again, "It is equivalent to letting all users follow us by default. It's just that we haven't used it for such a long time, so not many people know about it..."