Research articles

Filter By:

  • Despite enormous efforts by many research groups, Sr2IrO4 was found to stay remarkably insulating in thin film form. Now, a high-pressure oxygen annealing treatment on the Sr2IrO4 thin film realized the long-sought metallicity for the first time. An emerging transport phase diagram was deduced from the experiment that features an interplay between two states: the robust insulating state, which is likely dominated by the defect scattering effect of planar oxygen vacancies O(2), and the new metallic state, which likely reflects an intrinsic bulk-like property of the IrO2 planes with effective electron doping due to apical oxygen vacancies O(1).

    • Zhen Song
    • You-Shan Zhang
    • Rui-Hua He
    ArticleOpen Access
  • This paper introduces OPV, an organic semiconductor material, as a novel photosensitizer to kill intracellular bacteria that are infectious and antibiotic-resistant. It explains how OPV binds to bacterial membranes and produces reactive oxygen species by blue light, guiding photodynamic therapy design. It proves the excellent antibacterial effect of OPV against Porphyromonas gingivalis and MRSA in vitro and in vivo, without damaging normal cells or tissues, indicating good biocompatibility and safety. It also shows that OPV can be excited by dental blue light curing lamps, facilitating clinical applications.

    • Lintian Yuan
    • Xuancheng Fu
    • Yuguang Wang
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Although the electrostatic tuning by three-terminal devices is generally weak for phase transition materials, it can control phases with much hither precision than temperature or pressure. This technique was applied to the scaled-down VO2 metal-insulator transitions, where the material phase is controlled by the gate voltage. The crossover from continuous to binary transition with scaling down was demonstrated, and the critical channel length was given by domain boundary instability. Interestingly, below the critical channel length, the influence of the noncritical stimulus (drain voltage in this case) disappeared because the spatial degree of freedom is lost in the single-domain VO2 channel.

    • Takeaki Yajima
    • Yusuke Samata
    • Akira Toriumi
    ArticleOpen Access
  • The coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism has been a traditional challenge for a long time. In this work, we propose a method of transition metal implantation into hybrid perovskites, which realizes the mutual regulation of magnetism and electricity, and obtains an obvious multiferroic magnetic-electric coupling effect. This study provides a new idea for realizing room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling of multiferroic materials employing ion implantation and paves the way for the realization of a new generation of spin-dependent electronic devices.

    • Xiangqian Lu
    • Renjie Hu
    • Wei Qin
    ArticleOpen Access
  • A modular assembly strategy has been demonstrated to construct metal nanoparticles functionalized mesoporous carbon two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets by organizing zero-dimensional (0D) spherical monomicelle modules on the 2D supporting blocks. The resultant materials exhibit an excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction, which holds a great potential as a catalyst for fuel cells.

    • Pengpeng Qiu
    • Xingmiao Zhang
    • Dongyuan Zhao
    ArticleOpen Access
  • This work aims to fabricate well-ordered nanonetwork Au through a bottom-up approach using templated electrochemical deposition for enhanced mechanical properties. As evidenced by nanoindentation and micro-compression tests, diamond-structured Au fabricated exhibits high reduced modulus and yield strength above the Hashin-Shtrikman upper bound due to the deliberate structuring and nanosized effects.

    • Suhail K. Siddique
    • Hassan Sadek
    • Rong-Ming Ho
    ArticleOpen Access
  • The use of an identical electrolyte in electrochemical metallization (ECM)-based neuron and synaptic devices has not yet been achieved. We demonstrate ECM devices containing the same ferroelectric PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) electrolyte, which can sustain both neuron and synaptic behavior depending on the active electrode. The Ag/PZT/La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSMO) threshold switching memristor exhibits abrupt and volatile resistive switching characteristics, resulting in neuron devices. In contrast, the Ni/PZT/LSMO memory switching memristor displays gradual, non-volatile resistive switching behavior which leads to synaptic devices. The divergent behavior of the ECM devices is attributed to greater control of cation migration through the ultrathin ferroelectric PZT.

    • Chansoo Yoon
    • Gwangtaek Oh
    • Bae Ho Park
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Topological semimetal HoPtBi exhibits anomalous AMR effect in paramagnetic state. The AMR exhibits a novel transition from a quasi-twofold to fourfold symmetry and finally forms a stable rotated fourfold symmetry as B increases. C2 and C4 signals with phase angle transitions dominate the novel AMR. Anisotropy of magnetic-field tunable effect induces the topological band change and leads to the phase angle transition.

    • Jie Chen
    • Hang Li
    • Wenhong Wang
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Infrared-active InAs quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized with zinc coordination complexes for surface passivation, resulting in improved optoelectronic properties. The resulting InAs QDs doped with Zn showed narrowed size distributions, reduced surface defects, and modulation of electronic properties through Zn surface doping. These InAs:Zn QDs exhibited improved electrical properties when integrated into infrared photodiodes.

    • Seongchan Kim
    • Sooyeon Yeon
    • Nuri Oh
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Silica-polymer hybrids are promising materials for bone repair. Here, biodegradable, tough and porous silica-polyurethane hybrid scaffold was successfully fabricated. Polyurethane is a versatile polymer that can be designed to have desired properties. Polymerization and alkoxysilane functionalization under high-temperature formed polyurethanes with high molecular weight, which enabled rapid gelation during the sol-gel process. This allowed porous hybrid scaffold fabrication through the facile salt-leaching method. The hybrid scaffold had self-healing properties which can self-fit into irregular bone defects. Furthermore, silicate ion release from the hybrid scaffold induced angiogenesis and osteogenic differentiation, while the porous structure suppressed chronic inflammation.

    • Su Jeong Park
    • Seung Hyuk Im
    • Justin J. Chung
    ArticleOpen Access
  • We developed a novel surface engineering technique using electrospinning and hydrothermal processes to create a flexible, binder-free electrode composed of Ti3C2Tx MXene/carbon nanofibers (MCNFs) coated with amorphous RuOx. The MXene served as a template for the growth of amorphous and disordered state RuOx that positively impacted electrochemical performance. The combination of RuOx and MXene resulted in an enhanced pseudocapacitive reaction, resulting in a supercapacitor with a record-high energy density of 8.5 Wh kg–1 at 85.8 W kg–1, as well as excellent flexibility.

    • Hyewon Hwang
    • Sungeun Yang
    • Dongju Lee
    ArticleOpen Access
  • We developed a ROS-responsive and controllable nanocarrier (GC-EB) that efficiently delivered a clinically used antifungal drug, voriconazole (VOR). GC-EB-VOR exhibited high penetration through corneal barriers, good retention in the cornea and controllable drug release under low concentrations of ROS. Mechanistically, the successful delivery and accumulation of GC-EB-VOR in the cornea followed by the inhibition of oxidative stress and of the inflammatory response contributed to the therapeutic effect of GC-EB-VOR against fungal keratitis.

    • Panhong Niu
    • Yuelan Wu
    • Hua Gao
    ArticleOpen Access
  • This study provided a universality method for synthesis of nanotherapeutics for encapsulating various metal complexes. The dual-targeted MP3/AA@NPs greatly improved discrimination between cancer cells and normal cells, moreover, MP3/AA@NPs displayed good in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities as well as stimulating immunotherapeutic response.

    • Jinggong Liu
    • Wenying Li
    • Tianfeng Chen
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Owing to both solid- and liquid-like nature, gels are unique smart materials with several potential applications. However, most gels are inherently susceptible to harsh environments. Inspired by the “tun forming mechanism” of tardigrades, we proposed a simple two-step process to fabricate extremotolerant glycerogels with extremoprotected polymer-glycerol networks, which can survive from −50 to 80 °C for prolonged periods. The method is applicable to various types of polymers and crosslinkers and can be integrated with various functional materials to realize glycerogels with wide-ranging functionalities and properties. Therefore, this method dramatically enhances the selection of gels for bio, electrical/electronic, and soft robotics applications.

    • Md. Tariful Islam Mredha
    • Yoonseong Lee
    • Insu Jeon
    ArticleOpen Access
  • A core/shell structured hybrid film comprised of N-doped carbon covering on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized by a rapid electropolymerization method, which not only contains abundant exposed pyridinic N that leads to excellent catalytic activity for both ORR and OER, but also perfectly inherits the high conductivity, excellent flexibility, and porous structure of original SWCNT film, making it a desirable integrated oxygen electrode for Zn-air batteries.

    • Yu Meng
    • Yi-Ming Zhao
    • Hui-Ming Cheng
    ArticleOpen Access
  • A freestanding three-dimensional graphdiyne-hollowed FeCoNi Prussian blue analog electrode (h-FeCoNi PBA@GDY) with highly selective and active interfaces was synthesized by in situ growth of GDY layer on the surface of h-FeCoNi PBA for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (ECNtRR) at ambient temperatures and pressures. Experimental results demonstrate the presence of the unique incomplete charge transfer between metal atoms and GDY can effectively enhance the intrinsic activity and the ability to increase the active sites of the electrocatalyst, promote fast redox switching, and high-density charge transport at the interface resulting in high reaction selectivity, activity and stability for ammonia production.

    • Yaqi Gao
    • Huimin Liu
    • Yuliang Li
    ArticleOpen Access
  • In this work, a photodynamic therapy system based on conjugated polymers (CPs) is developed to inhibit the infection of RNA viruses. Three cationic CPs with different backbone structures fluorene-co-phenylene (PFP), thiophene (PMNT), and phenylene vinylene (PPV) exhibit different photoinactivation effects. PPV and PMNT cause effective inactivation of viruses under light irradiation, while SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped viruses keep infectious after treated by PFP, which is determined by the interactions between CPs with the proteins and gene of viruses. This work preliminarily reveals the effect of CP-virus interactions on their photoinactivation activity and would be beneficial to develop high-efficient antiviral PDT agents.

    • Ruilian Qi
    • Fengting Lv
    • Shu Wang
    ArticleOpen Access