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Regular microhelics on a heterogenous spindle knot are obtained by controlled biaxial stresses in three dimensions. The spindle knot has a tough core and a brittle shell, resulting in biaxial stresses that arise from a thermal expansion mismatch during a heating process. Surface cleavage and interface delamination are harmonized due to the special spindle geometry and cooperate to 3D helical crack. This study not only widens our understanding of the cracking phenomena, but also sheds light on the control and design of regular cracks in arbitrary dimensions. It holds promise for applications in eliminating or controlling cracks for manufacturing process, especially at micro/nanosales, which domains are difficult to be generated by routine methods.
We have studied an unconventional polar switching associated with an electro–optical response in the columnar oblique phase of a dipeptide derivative. Observations were made using a large monodomain with the column axis perpendicular to substrates, as shown here. The interplay between polarity and chirality was found as the rotation of columns about the column axis, that is, the rotation angle linearly depends on an applied electric field and the rotational sense is reversed by either reversing the field direction or using opposite isomers. On the basis of the detailed SHG and FT-IR measurements, molecular and polar structures are shown.
Water-dispersed nanowires for phototherapy: Without passivation of any water-friendly functional groups in its backbone, one-dimensional zinc phthalocyanine nanowires show remarkably increased dispersibility in water. Upon irradiation with near infrared light, the zinc phthalocyanine nanowires exhibit dual photodynamic and photothermal properties, which enhance the cytotoxic efficiency against tumor cells.
Heusler compound spin injector with a high spin polarization dramatically improves the generation efficiency of the pure spin current compared with a conventional ferromagnetic metal.
We describe a novel method for liquid crystal (LC) alignment using nano-patterns of electrically conductive indium–tin oxide (ITO) layers with high resolution (ca<20 nm) and high aspect ratio (ca 8), fabricated based on the secondary sputtering phenomenon. The ITO pattern developed in this manner can function as an electrode and alignment layer at the same time, which facilitates successful fabrication of bifunctional conductive alignment layer for LC devices.
An electric field-enhanced transport gap is well established in a dual-gated field effect transistor (FET) based on the h-BN/single-layer graphene/h-BN sandwich structure, and the on/off current ratio is increased by a factor of 8.0 compared with pure single-layer graphene FET. The tunable and sizeable band gap and structural integrity render this sandwich structure a promising candidate for high-performance single-layer graphene FETs.
We have fabricated and tested encoders and decoders based on a multiplex, DNA-based electrochemical biosensor that uses electronic (electrochemical) signals as its readout. We have demonstrated these multifunctional, bio-electrochemical devices, for example, 4-to-2 and 8-to-3 encoders and 1-to-2 and 2-to-3 decoders. In doing so, these devices bridge the barrier between DNA-based devices and silicon-based electronics.
Indium-free quaternary chalcogenide, Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe), has driven much attention for its potential application in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. High-quality CZTSe nanocrystals (NCs) with thermodynamically metastable wurtzite phase were herein synthesized via a facile, lost-cost and safe-solution method, in which high reaction rate and low surface energy are favorable for the formation of wurtzite structure. The promising application of the as-synthesized NCs in photovoltaics and optoelectronics has been demonstrated by the high-performance hybrid photodetector made from CZTSe NCs and P3HT.
Where does carbon go when it is doped into magnesium diboride (MgB2) and why the superconducting properties are improved? In this work, malic acid-doped MgB2 was investigated and it was shown that carbon encapsulates boron powder, prevents agglomeration and as a result reduces void fraction as was confirmed by the first detailed X-ray tomogram analysis. It was also found that carbon induces a lot of stacking faults within MgB2 grains. The critical current density is now comparable to commercial niobium titanium (NbTi) wire and further improvements are expected.
