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In this review, we highlight the recent progress in two rising areas: solar energy conversion through plasmon-assisted interfacial electron transfer and plasmonic nanofabrication. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of plasmonic nanoparticles and nanostructures has attracted increasing attention because of their strong near-field enhancement by interacting with visible light. Recent studies have demonstrated the capability of such plasmonic systems in producing ‘LSPR-induced hot-electrons’ that are useful in photoenergy conversion and storage when combined with electron-accepting semiconductors. Concurrently, ‘hot-electron decay’ results in strong photothermal responses or plasmonic local heating. This heating has received renewed interest in photothermal manipulation of nanoparticles and molecules.
We have developed a phage display-based solution for breast cancer precision medicine. The patient-specific tumor-targeting peptide was first selected through in vivo biopanning. The as-selected peptide was then coupled with an anti-cancer nanomaterial drug. Enhanced nanodrug accumulation was achieved, which resulted in improved tumor killing efficacy. This study demonstrates a systematic strategy for discovering and testing patient-specific tumor targeting small molecules for cancer precision medicine.
Highly efficient voltage control of magnetic anisotropy has been demonstrated utlizing an ultrathin Ir-doped Fe layer in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions. Ir adoms are dispersed inside the ultrathin Fe layer through the interdiffusion process. Large spin–orbit interaction of Ir atoms having proximity-induced magnetism is attributed to the enhancement of the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect. High speed response of the VCMA effect was also confirmed by voltage-induced ferromagnetic resonance. The achieved properties first satisfy the required specification for the new type of magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) driven by voltage.
Well-defined and stable nanomicelles (20−30 nm in diameter) were demonstrated for the first time by the self-assembly of amphiphilic brush (comb-like) cyclic and tadpole-shaped copolymers based on a poly(glycidyl ether) backbone. In particular, the brush cyclic topology formed the most compact and most stable nanomicelles with an extremely narrow (pseudo-monodisperse) size distribution, which are unattainable by other conventional means. This study provides a unique opportunity for designing advanced functional high-performance amphiphile materials for micelles and facilitating their applications in various fields.
