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| Open AccessSolution epitaxy of polarization-gradient ferroelectric oxide films with colossal photovoltaic current
Developing low-temperature solution epitaxy and elucidating its underlying mechanisms is highly desired for low-cost fabrication of single-crystal ferroelectric films. Here, the authors show that a polarization screening between ferroelectrics and substrates can tailor the interface energy and drive the solution epitaxy of polarization-gradient ferroelectric oxide films, demonstrating a remarkable photovoltaic effect.
- Chen Lin
- , Zijun Zhang
- & Gaorong Han
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Article
| Open AccessTransient and general synthesis of high-density and ultrasmall nanoparticles on two-dimensional porous carbon via coordinated carbothermal shock
Well-dispersed nanoparticles are critical for catalysis but face challenges of easy agglomeration. Here the authors report synthesis of ultrasmall nanoparticles anchored on two-dimensional porous carbon via coordinated carbothermal shock and the application of resulted nanoparticles as catalysts for oxygen electrocatalysis.
- Wenhui Shi
- , Zezhou Li
- & Zhong-Qun Tian
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Article
| Open AccessInterfacial engineered superelastic metal-organic framework aerogels with van-der-Waals barrier channels for nerve agents decomposition
Personal protective equipment used to prevent exposure to chemical warfare agents are devoid of detoxifying activity. Here, the authors report MOF aerogels via a hydrogen bonding-assisted interfacial engineering strategy for nerve agent decomposition.
- Zishuo Yan
- , Xiaoyan Liu
- & Yang Si
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Article
| Open AccessSubtle tuning of nanodefects actuates highly efficient electrocatalytic oxidation
Achieving controllable fine-tuning of defects is desired for electrocatalysts. Here, the authors present a facile and controllable thermal tuning strategy that enables fine control of nanodefects, thereby endowing common carbon materials with high electrocatalytic oxidation efficiency.
- Yifan Gao
- , Shuai Liang
- & Xia Huang
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Article
| Open AccessSubstantial lifetime enhancement for Si-based photoanodes enabled by amorphous TiO2 coating with improved stoichiometry
Residual Cl ligands are found critical to the stability of amorphous TiO2 coatings by atomic layer deposition. Here, in-situ water treatment is developed to remove residual Cl, while preserve its uniform amorphous phase, which improves the lifetime of Si photoanode to 600 h for hydrogen production.
- Yutao Dong
- , Mehrdad Abbasi
- & Xudong Wang
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Article
| Open AccessReal-time insight into the multistage mechanism of nanoparticle exsolution from a perovskite host surface
The separation of nanoparticles from oxide hosts by exsolution forms the basis for catalytic and energy-related applications. Here, the authors elucidate the multistep mechanism of exsolution at perovskite surfaces by combining real-time electron microscopy and computational methods.
- Eleonora Calì
- , Melonie P. Thomas
- & David J. Payne
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Article
| Open AccessGeneral approach to surface-accessible plasmonic Pickering emulsions for SERS sensing and interfacial catalysis
The preparation of Pickering emulsions from nanoparticles commonly requires modification of the particles’ surface chemistry. Here, the authors demonstrate a chemical modifier-free approach for the preparation of long-term stable Pickering emulsions for SERS sensing and catalytic applications.
- Yingrui Zhang
- , Ziwei Ye
- & Yikai Xu
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Article
| Open AccessIn-situ forming dynamic covalently crosslinked nanofibers with one-pot closed-loop recyclability
Polymeric nanofibers are attractive nanomaterials owing to their high surfacearea- to-volume ratio and superior flexibility but designing durable and recyclable polymer nanofibers is challenging. Here, the authors integrate the concept of covalent adaptable networks to produce dynamic covalently crosslinked nanofibers via electrospinning.
- Sheng Wang
- , Nannan Wang
- & Zibiao Li
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Article
| Open AccessScalable and switchable CO2-responsive membranes with high wettability for separation of various oil/water systems
Smart membranes with responsive wettability show promise for controllably separating oil/water mixtures but it remains challenging to fabricate responsive and stable scalable membranes. Here, the authors develop a capillary force-driven self-assembling strategy to construct a scalable and stable CO2-responsive membrane for the smart separation of various oil/water systems.
- Yangyang Wang
- , Shaokang Yang
- & Xiaowei Yang
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Article
| Open AccessScalable synthesis of Cu clusters for remarkable selectivity control of intermediates in consecutive hydrogenation
Scalable synthesis of stable Cu clusters for heterogeneous catalysis is still a major challenge. Here the authors report a low-temperature atomic diffusion approach for synthesis of stable Cu cluster catalysts, which exhibit high yield of intermediate product in consecutive hydrogenation reactions.
- Dawei Yao
- , Yue Wang
- & Xinbin Ma
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Article
| Open AccessMagnetically boosted 1D photoactive microswarm for COVID-19 face mask disruption
Most single-use face masks are made of synthetic plastics, thus their disposal poses a direct threat to wildlife as well as potential ecotoxicological effects in the form of microplastics. Here, the authors introduce a 1D magnetic photoactive microswarm capable of actively navigating, adhering to, and accelerating the degradation of the polypropylene microfiber of single-use face masks.
- Jeonghyo Kim
- , Carmen C. Mayorga-Martinez
- & Martin Pumera
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Article
| Open AccessMicrowave-assisted design of nanoporous graphene membrane for ultrafast and switchable organic solvent nanofiltration
Layered 2D materials can be used for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane fabrication due to precise molecular sieving by the interlayer structure and stability in harsh conditions. Here authors synthesise sp2-enriched nanoporous graphene by microwave treatment and demonstrate its excellent OSN performance.
- Junhyeok Kang
- , Yeongnam Ko
- & Dae Woo Kim
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Article
| Open AccessHybrid assembly of polymeric nanofiber network for robust and electronically conductive hydrogels
Mechanically robust and electrically conductive hydrogels remain challenging to fabricate. Here, the authors present polymeric nanofiber networks with structural robustness and high electronic conductivity and show that cardiomyocytes cultured on these hydrogels exhibit spontaneous and synchronous beating.
- Huimin He
- , Hao Li
- & Lizhi Xu
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Article
| Open AccessConformation-dependent dynamic organic phosphorescence through thermal energy driven molecular rotations
Organic room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials exhibiting stimuli responsive reversible changes in optical properties show great potential in diverse optoelectronic fields but a lack of mechanistic understanding limits their development. Here, the authors prepare a series of RTP polymers by incorporating phosphorescent rotors into polymer backbones and demonstrate colortunable persistent luminescence upon excitation at different wavelengths
- Juan Wei
- , Chenyuan Liu
- & Qiang Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessDirect synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials from thermoplastic elastomers
Scaled manufacturing of ordered mesoporous materials has been historically challenging. This work reports a simple and generalizable method to directly convert low-cost thermoplastic elastomers to mesoporous polymer, carbon, and silica, with controlled pore textures by altering precursor identity.
- Mark Robertson
- , Alejandro Guillen-Obando
- & Zhe Qiang
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Article
| Open AccessA sweat-responsive covalent organic framework film for material-based liveness detection and sweat pore analysis
Covalent organic frameworks are more and more used in the design of stimuli responsive materials. Here, the authors expand the application range of COFs by demonstrating a sweat induced colour change for detection of fingerprints using a sweat responsive COF.
- Qing Hao
- , Xiao-Rui Ren
- & Hong Liu
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Article
| Open AccessMulticolor hyperafterglow from isolated fluorescence chromophores
The development of organic afterglow materials with sufficient color purity and high quantum efficiency for hyperafterglow is a great challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate an efficient strategy to achieve hyperafterglow emission through sensitizing and stabilizing isolated fluorescence chromophores by integrating multiresonance fluorescence chromophores into afterglow host in a singlecomponent copolymer.
- Xiao Zhang
- , Mingjian Zeng
- & Wei Huang
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Article
| Open AccessExclusive detection of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons using bilayer oxide chemiresistors with catalytic overlayers
Bilayer sensors and sensor arrays with a catalytic CeO2 filter are proposed as a facile platform for high-performance gas sensors and electronic noses. Authors show the bilayer sensors enhance selectivity toward aromatic compounds, and the arrays provide comprehensive information such as gas concentration and composition.
- Seong-Yong Jeong
- , Young Kook Moon
- & Jong-Heun Lee
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Article
| Open AccessScalable high yield exfoliation for monolayer nanosheets
Top-down exfoliation is one of the most promising approaches for the scalable production of 2D materials, but the current techniques are limited by low yield of monolayers. Here, the authors report the exfoliation of graphene and other layered materials via viscous-polymer-assisted ball-milling, leading to a production of graphene products with monolayer percentage up to 97.9% at a yield of 78.3%.
- Zhuyuan Wang
- , Xue Yan
- & Xiwang Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessHeteroepitaxial chemistry of zinc chalcogenides on InP nanocrystals for defect-free interfaces with atomic uniformity
Heteroepitaxy on colloidal nanocrystals often yields defective heterostructures due to intricate reaction pathways. Here, the authors decode the surface chemistry at the molecular level to realise defect-free interfaces with atomic uniformity.
- Yeongho Choi
- , Donghyo Hahm
- & Jaehoon Lim
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Article
| Open AccessMicroporous organic nanotube assisted design of high performance nanofiltration membranes
Microporous organic nanotubes (MONs) hold considerable promise for designing molecular-sieving membranes because of high microporosity, customizable chemical functionalities, and favorable polymer affinity. Here, the authors report the usage of MONs derived from covalent organic frameworks to engineer 15-nm-thick microporous membranes via interfacial polymerization.
- Shuangqiao Han
- , Junyong Zhu
- & Menachem Elimelech
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Article
| Open AccessObservation of enhanced nanoscale creep flow of crystalline metals enabled by controlling surface wettability
Solid-solid interface friction usually becomes the bottleneck at micro/nanoscale. Here, Xiang and Liu show that the nanoscale creep flow rate of crystalline metals can increase by orders of magnitude when the contact metal is in diffusion deformation and the thermally activated boundary slip is active.
- Jun-Xiang Xiang
- & Ze Liu
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Comment
| Open AccessAmorphous chalcogels with local crystallinity
Chalcogenide aerogels are receiving widespread attention due to their unique properties. Here we comment on a recent work about amorphous Na–Mn–Sn–S chalcogels featuring local structural control, and provide an outlook for the development of chalcogels and the metal-organic sulfide framework.
- Lijun Yang
- & Jian Liu
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Article
| Open AccessMultiscale structural control of thiostannate chalcogels with two-dimensional crystalline constituents
Chalcogenide aerogels (chalcogels) are 3D porous materials with unique properties. Here the authors present a multiscale structure-controlled chalcogel that is synthesized via thiostannate motif-transformation-induced self-assembly.
- Thanh Duy Cam Ha
- , Heehyeon Lee
- & Myung-Gil Kim
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Article
| Open AccessSwitchable Na+ and K+ selectivity in an amino acid functionalized 2D covalent organic framework membrane
Biological cell membranes can efficiently switch Na+/K+ selectivity in response to external stimuli but achieving analogous functions in a single artificial membrane is challenging. Here, the authors report highly crystalline covalent organic framework membranes with well-defined nanochannels and coordinative sites that act as ion-selective switches to manipulate Na+ and K+ transport.
- Li Cao
- , I-Chun Chen
- & Zhiping Lai
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Article
| Open AccessA smart adhesive Janus hydrogel for non-invasive cardiac repair and tissue adhesion prevention
Reversible and asymmetric adhesion is needed in removable post-operative patches to reduce trauma and prevent tissue adhesions. Here, the authors report on a conductive musselinspired adhesive Janus hydrogel with an anti-adhesive top for cardiac repair which can be removed using glutathione solutions.
- Yutong He
- , Qian Li
- & Xiaozhong Qiu
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Article
| Open AccessAn ionic vinylene-linked three-dimensional covalent organic framework for selective and efficient trapping of ReO4− or 99TcO4−
The synthesis of ionic olefin linked threedimensional covalent organic frameworks (3D COFs) is challenging because of the difficulties in forming stable carbon-carbon double bonds. Here, the authors report a general synthesis of an ionic sp2 carbon linked COFs and demonstrate selective capture of ReO4− ions.
- Cheng-Rong Zhang
- , Wei-Rong Cui
- & Jian-Ding Qiu
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Article
| Open AccessGradient area-selective deposition for seamless gap-filling in 3D nanostructures through surface chemical reactivity control
Integrating bottom-up and top-down fabrication techniques can overcome limits in nanofabrication. Here authors demonstrate an approach for area selective deposition using Ti as an inhibitor in the atomic layer deposition process to achieve controlled growth of seamless TiO2 layers on 3D structures.
- Chi Thang Nguyen
- , Eun-Hyoung Cho
- & Han-Bo-Ram Lee
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Article
| Open AccessPrecise atom manipulation through deep reinforcement learning
Engineering quantum states requires precise manipulations at the atomic level. Here, the authors use deep reinforcement learning to manipulate Ag adatoms on Ag surfaces, which combined with path planning algorithms enables autonomous atomic assembly.
- I-Ju Chen
- , Markus Aapro
- & Adam S. Foster
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Article
| Open AccessAqueous synthesis of highly functional, hydrophobic, and chemically recyclable cellulose nanomaterials through oxime ligation
Water is a standing challenge in the chemical modification of cellulose nanofibrils. Here, authors employ oxime-ligation to solve this by direct covalent chemistry on dialdehyde-CNF in water and assess the material for potential applications in green electronics and triboelectric nanogenerators.
- Elena Subbotina
- , Farsa Ram
- & Peter Olsén
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Article
| Open AccessFlexomagnetism and vertically graded Néel temperature of antiferromagnetic Cr2O3 thin films
Flexomagnetism refers to the modification of the magnetic properties of a material due to inhomogeneous strain, and offers a promising pathway to the control and manipulation of magnetism. Here, Makushko et al. explore flexomagnetism in antiferromagnetic thin films of Cr2O3, demonstrating a gradient of the Néel temperature as a result of an inhomogeneous strain.
- Pavlo Makushko
- , Tobias Kosub
- & Denys Makarov
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Article
| Open AccessControlled filamentation instability as a scalable fabrication approach to flexible metamaterials
The simple and scalable fabrication of high aspect ratio encapsulated flexible nanowire arrays with controlled size and periodicity is demonstrated and modelled, enabling nanophotonics applications requiring long-range order over several meters.
- William Esposito
- , Louis Martin-Monier
- & Fabien Sorin
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Article
| Open AccessVersatile self-assembled electrospun micropyramid arrays for high-performance on-skin devices with minimal sensory interference
Designing efficient on-skin devices with minimal sensory interference remains challenging. Here, Zhang et al. develop versatile electrospun micropyramid array-based on-skin devices, achieving both imperceptibility and high performances in pressure sensing, radiative cooling, and bioenergy harvesting.
- Jia-Han Zhang
- , Zhengtong Li
- & Lijia Pan
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Article
| Open AccessContinuously processing waste lignin into high-value carbon nanotube fibers
Towards high-value utilization of biomass materials, authors demonstrate continuous preparation of high-performance carbon nanotube fibers using lignin as carbon source by solvent dispersion, high-temperature pyrolysis, catalytic synthesis, and assembly.
- Fuyao Liu
- , Qianqian Wang
- & Meifang Zhu
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Article
| Open AccessBuilding up libraries and production line for single atom catalysts with precursor-atomization strategy
The application of single atom catalysts (SACs) is hindered by the lack of versatile and scalable preparation approaches. Here the authors report a precursor-atomization strategy that can be scaled up with productivity over 1 kg/day for the synthesis of a series of SACs and derivatives.
- Xiaohui He
- , Hao Zhang
- & Ding Ma
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Article
| Open AccessStructural materials with afterglow room temperature phosphorescence activated by lignin oxidation
Sustainable afterglow room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) Structural materials are difficult to achieve. Here, the authors demonstrate a wood based RTP material by oxidation of lignin to realize an afterglow RTP material with a lifetime of ~ 408 ms.
- Keliang Wan
- , Bing Tian
- & Zhijun Chen
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Article
| Open AccessPhotoinduced loading of electron-rich Cu single atoms by moderate coordination for hydrogen evolution
While atomically dispersed metals can maximize reaction catalytic sites, it is challenging to achieve high atomic densities without agglomeration. Here, authors prepared Cu single-atoms on black phosphorous using a photochemical strategy and auxiliary H2 as proton reduction electrocatalysts.
- Weiwei Fu
- , Jin Wan
- & Yu Wang
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Article
| Open AccessGrowth of bilayer MoTe2 single crystals with strong non-linear Hall effect
2D transition metal ditellurides exhibit nontrivial topological phases, but the controlled bottom-up synthesis of these materials is still challenging. Here, the authors report the layer-by-layer growth of large-area bilayer and trilayer 1T’ MoTe2 films, showing thickness-dependent ferroelectricity and nonlinear Hall effect.
- Teng Ma
- , Hao Chen
- & Kian Ping Loh
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Article
| Open AccessA library of polytypic copper-based quaternary sulfide nanocrystals enables efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion
While polytypic semiconductors are promising for solar-to-fuel applications, preparing homojunction nanomaterials has proven challenging. Here, authors obtain a library of polytypic copper-based quaternary sulfide nanocrystals by selective epitaxial growth of kesterite phase on wurtzite structure.
- Liang Wu
- , Qian Wang
- & Shu-Hong Yu
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Article
| Open AccessExceptional water production yield enabled by batch-processed portable water harvester in semi-arid climate
Sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting has the potential to realize flexible water production but reaching high water yield in semi-arid climate is still challenging. Here, the authors report a portable and modularized water harvester with scalable, low-cost, and lightweight hygroscopic composite sorbent which shows an exceptional water production in semi-arid climate with low relative humidity of 15%.
- He Shan
- , Chunfeng Li
- & Ruzhu Wang
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Article
| Open AccessUltrafine nanoporous intermetallic catalysts by high-temperature liquid metal dealloying for electrochemical hydrogen production
Nanoscale intermetallic compounds are promising catalysts but the synthesis remains a challenge. The authors develop a dealloying technique to fabricate nanoporous intermetallic electrocatalysts with fine structures for efficient hydrogen production.
- Ruirui Song
- , Jiuhui Han
- & Hidemi Kato
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Article
| Open AccessElectrocatalytic synthesis of adipic acid coupled with H2 production enhanced by a ligand modification strategy
Adipic acid is an important building block of polymers, although its production relies on harmful reagents. Here, authors examined surfactant-modified nickel hydroxide for adipic acid electrosynthesis coupled with hydrogen gas evolution.
- Zhenhua Li
- , Xiaofan Li
- & Haohong Duan
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Article
| Open AccessSpontaneous formation of a self-healing carbon nanoskin at the liquid–liquid interface
Biological membranes exhibit the ability to self-repair and dynamically change their shape while remaining impermeable but these defining features are difficult to reconcile with mechanical robustness. Here, the authors report on the spontaneous formation of a carbon nanoskin at the oil-water interface that uniquely combines self-healing attributes with high stiffness.
- Enzo Bomal
- , Paul Grandgeorge
- & Holger Frauenrath
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Article
| Open AccessThree-dimensional nanoframes with dual rims as nanoprobes for biosensing
Most SERS-active nanostructures suffer from low robustness against misalignment to field polarization. Here, the authors demonstrate three-dimensional nanoframes of octahedral geometry, with two rims engraved on each facet, as polarization-independent SERS nanoprobes.
- Hajir Hilal
- , Qiang Zhao
- & Sungho Park
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Article
| Open AccessTailoring thermal insulation architectures from additive manufacturing
Nanoscale porous building blocks hold great promise for a range of thermal management technologies but often porous nanoparticle assemblies are intrinsically brittle. Here, the authors report 3D printing of porous silica voxels with polymeric additives to enable the coupling between additive manufacturing and hierarchical assembly for superior machinability and structural controllability.
- Lu An
- , Zipeng Guo
- & Shenqiang Ren
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Article
| Open AccessRational design of a topological polymeric solid electrolyte for high-performance all-solid-state alkali metal batteries
Solid-state polymer electrolytes are crucial for developing future rechargeable batteries, but they are still limited in performance. Here, the authors designed a topological polymeric solid electrolyte, enabling an all-solid-state high-voltage lithium metal pouch cell to cycle 200 times efficiently.
- Yun Su
- , Xiaohui Rong
- & Yong-Sheng Hu
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Article
| Open AccessLow-defect-density WS2 by hydroxide vapor phase deposition
Chemical vapor deposition enables the scalable production of 2D semiconductors, but the grown materials are usually affected by high defect densities. Here, the authors report a hydroxide vapour phase deposition method to synthesize wafer-scale monolayer WS2 with reduced defect density and electrical properties comparable to those of exfoliated flakes.
- Yi Wan
- , En Li
- & Lain-Jong Li
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Article
| Open AccessCation-selective two-dimensional polyimine membranes for high-performance osmotic energy conversion
Two-dimensional (2D) membranes are emerging candidates for osmotic energy conversion but the trade-off between ion selectivity and conductivity remains the key bottleneck. Here, the authors demonstrate a fully crystalline imine-based 2D polymer membrane capable of combining excellent ionic conductivity and high selectivity for osmotic energy conversion.
- Zhen Zhang
- , Preeti Bhauriyal
- & Xinliang Feng
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Article
| Open AccessFluorescence turn on amine detection in a cationic covalent organic framework
Ionic covalent organic frameworks (iCOFs) are new examples of porous materials and show great potential for various applications. Here, the authors demonstrate functionalization of an iCOFs with suitable emission sites and application as chemosensor for amine detection with high sensitivity which can be used to monitor meat spoilage.
- Gobinda Das
- , Bikash Garai
- & Ali Trabolsi