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Nano-rough surface offered by vertical graphene with nano-hill type morphology of corresponding peaks and valleys. These nano-hills result in the formation of smaller sized nitrogen bubbles when utilized for the oxidation of hydrazine. Due to their low adhesion force on the electrode surface, these bubbles leave the surface quickly and hence render the superaerophobic property to vertical graphene nano-hills.
By thermally evaporated through a tilted shadow mask, metal vapor scatters and lands on the substrate to form an ultrathin layer. Absence of screening effect from bulk metal enables direct measurement of the buried dipole formed at the organic/metal interface. It is found that polar species of the organic, Fermi-level pinning and interface morphology can all influence the dipole orientation. The proposed method provides a quick and easy approach to assess interfacial materials and design electrode interfaces in organic electronic devices.
Shape transformation of hydro/organo Janus films: A hydro/organo Janus copolymer film has been designed and fabricated via a novel strategy, an unconventional one-step interfacial polymerization of the immiscible hydrophilic vinyl monomer solution and hydrophobic vinyl monomer solution. Under the binary cooperative effect of the hydrogel network and organogel network, the Janus film is able to work both in the aqueous solutions and organic solvents, and exhibit excellent shape-transformation performance, such as bidirectional and site-specific bendings.
Supramolecular polymeric materials constitute a unique class of materials held together by non-covalent interactions. Here we report a novel type of supramolecular rubber based on mixing of low molar mass, oligomeric, ABA-triblock copolyacrylates with oppositely charged outer blocks revealing unique mechanical properties. A broad set of materials is reported with systematic variations in triblock copolymer structures revealing insights in the mechanical properties and self-healing ability in correlation with the nanomorphology of the materials.
Bio-realistic flexible artificial synapses integrated with a nanogenerator were demonstrated for self-powered neuromorphic biomedical device applications. Biocompatible (Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 (NKN) was used in both memristors as an artificial synapse and a nanogenerator. Biological synaptic functions were produced in the NKN memristor driven by the NKN nanogenerator. Finally, metaplasticity was implemented in the integrated devices to facilitate bio-realistic functions in the artificial synapse.
Recently, it was found that an electronic state can have hidden, site-dependent spin polarization even in non-magnetic materials with inversion symmetry. Our paper provides a new concept, so far not considered, of hidden orbital polarization and a proof that the hidden spin polarization is not the fundamental physical quantity but a secondary quantity that is completely derived from the hidden orbital polarization proposed in our paper. The hidden orbital polarizations can be important in many physical phenomena, including photoemission, current-induced magnetization, magnetic-field-induced currents, etc. The figure illustrates hidden orbital polarizations of Bloch states in diamond whose spin–orbit coupling is negligible (left) and the current-induced antiferromagnetic magnetization in silicon (right).
Photodynamic therapy is a promising and effective strategy for being trialed for clinical application. However, poor targeting accumulation of traditional nanoprobes in tumor tissues has hindered its clinical use. Herein, ultra-small and highly stable Fe3O4@P-NPO/PEG-Glc@Ce6 nanoprobes were developed to improve the tumor-targeting efficiency and photodynamic therapeutic efficacy based on small size effect. The nanoprobes effectively prolong the residence time in the tumor region, reduce the accumulation in vital organs and significantly inhibit the growth of tumors in vivo. The successful application of small size effect in nanoprobes provides a new path for clinical therapies and translation in the near future.
The capability of fabricating lightweight, small and flexible power sources is a key to cope with the increasing demand for smart and ubiquitous energy sources for current and future flexible electronics. We herein report a portable, lightweight and rollable polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Because of its highly thin and flexible design, the device exhibited excellent durability against repetitive bending and easily deformed to any desired shape such as rolled-up or S-shape geometries. In addition, we introduced a portable flexible planar stack that demonstrates real practical applications of these devices.
