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Dirac semimetals are materials in which the conduction and the valence bands have robust crossing points protected by topology or symmetry. Recently, a new type of Dirac semimetals, so called the Dirac line-node semimetals (DLNSs), have attracted a lot of attention, as they host robust Dirac points along the one-dimensional (1D) lines in the Brillouin zone (BZ). In this work, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles calculations, we systematically investigated the electronic structures of non-symmorphic ZrSiS crystal where we clearly distinguished the surface states from the bulk states. The photon-energy-dependent measurements further prove the existence of Dirac line node along the X–R direction. Remarkably, by in situ surface potassium doping, we clearly observed the different evolutions of the bulk and surface electronic states while proving the robustness of the Dirac line node. Our studies not only reveal the complete electronic structures of ZrSiS, but also demonstrate the method manipulating the electronic structure of the compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The partially reduced TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs) are prepared via an uncomplicated and low-cost liquid phase reduction strategy using NaBH4 as the reducing agent. By controlling and adjusting the reduction temperatures from 30 to 90 °C, the reduction treatment can not only change their surface morphology but also introduce oxygen vacancies into them, resulting in an optimized morphology, elevated Fermi-level, reduced effective work function and improved conductivity of the TNAs. Meanwhile, the thermal and long-term stability of oxygen vacancy are also investigated, indicating that the oxygen vacancies retain long-term stability from room temperature up to 150 °C. More interesting, partially reduced TNAs show drastically enhanced field emission (FE) performances including substantially decreased turn-on field from 18.86 to 1.53 V μm−1, a high current density of 4.00 mA cm−2 at 4.52 V μm−1, and an excellent FE stability and repeatability. These very promising results are attributed to the combination of the optimized morphology and introduced oxygen vacancies, which can increase FE sites, reduce effective work function and increase conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]