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• Newly designed janus semiconductor is a potential photocatalyst for overall water-splitting. • Clean fuel generation of hydrogen and oxygen through solar energy. • Very optimum electronic bandgap of 1.88 eV for water splitting. • Wide range of electronic and optical bandgap tuning possible by applying compressive strain. • Compressive strain application in a lattice direction improves not only solar light harvesting wavelength range but also the intensity. Photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar energy, generating oxygen and hydrogen is one of the clean fuel production processes. Inspired by surface-dependent characteristics of Janus structures, a newly designed Janus monolayer Silicon Phosphorous Arsenide (SiPAs) was analyzed with Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. Hybrid exchange-correlation functional (HSE06) combined with Wannier90-based analysis for electronic and optical properties of SiPAs reveals that it can act as a photocatalyst. SiPAs show an indirect bandgap of 1.88 eV, absorbing visible light range is 350 to 500 nm. The phonon spectrum confirms dynamic stability. The exciton binding energy is computed with GW/BSE methods. The electronic band edge positions are at -5.75 and -4.43 eV, perfectly straddling the water redox potentials. Interestingly the strain application modifies the bandgap and also non-homogenously widens the absorption band. A novel range of photocatalyst designs with Group IV-V elements with great promise for water-splitting, photovoltaic, and narrow bandgap semiconductor (optoelectronics) applications may be feasible. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials have generated considerable interest amongst researchers because of their potential as fundamental building block in future nano- and micro-electronic devices. In this article, we present a review of a focused laser beam system as a versatile tool for the manipulation, structural transformation, micropatterning and chemical modification of 1D nanomaterials. This tool was found to be effective in patterning and modifying various physical and chemical properties of the pristine 1D nanomaterials. It also aids in the fabrication process of heterostructures and 1D nanomaterial based devices. Finally, we present the implementation of the focused laser beam setup as a valuable tool in the study of the origins and photoresponse mechanism of the 1D nanomaterial devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]