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The applicability of protein fibrils as functional biomaterials is limited due to low scalability of production process, slow kinetics, and requirement of expensive purified proteins. Here, instantaneous production of protein fibrils from egg white proteome using cholinium tosylate as a fibrillation agent is shown, with the obtained fibrils displaying enhanced mechanical stiffness and cytocompatibility.
Perovskite solar cells have substantial potential for solar conversion, but developing simple and scalable fabrication processes is challenging. Here, a drop-casting process compatible with roll-to-roll production of quasi-2D/3D perovskite layers is developed, with a conversion efficiency of up to 16%.
Common issues facing perovskite solar cells are current-voltage hysteresis and degradation during illumination. Here, a self-assembled monolayer is applied to an SnO2 electron transport layer, helping to achieve hysteresis-less behavior and limited degradation after 1,000 hours of illumination.
Glasses and ceramics offer attractive properties for optical applications, but shaping them into components is challenging. Here, photo-cross-linkable suspensions enable the fabrication of structured, transparent SiO2 glass components quicker than for typical photo-curing processes.
Fluoride ion batteries receive substantial interest, but are limited by their cyclic performance. Here, an La2NiO4.13 cathode in an all-solid-state fluoride ion battery achieves up to 220 cycles for a 30 mAh/g cut-off capacity.
Vanadium dioxide is well known to display a metal-insulator transition, making it an attractive option for functional devices. Here, the growth of single crystal VO2 microtube arrays is achieved via a thermal oxidation process that is faster and simpler than many existing fabrication technologies.
Paper is a ubiquitous material used in a range of applications, many of which expose it to fatigue loading. Here, a detailed study of the mechanical response of paper during high‐cycle fatigue loading is reported, with fiber fracture found to be a key degradation mechanism.
Strain engineering can enhance oxygen transport in cathodes in solid oxide fuel cells. Here, atomic scale imaging is used to probe local structures in tensile- and compressive-strained La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-δ films, revealing higher oxygen vacancy concentration in tensile films, and vacancy ordering.
The current surge in data generation necessitates devices that can store and analyze data in an energy efficient way. This Review summarizes and discusses developments on the use of spintronic devices for energy-efficient data storage and logic applications, and energy harvesting based on spin.
The pairing symmetry of superconducting Sr2RuO4 is debated, and analysis is complicated by difficulties in preparing high-quality thin films. Here, thin films of Sr2RuO4 are reproducibly grown by pulsed laser deposition with a Sr3Ru2O7 single crystalline target, and the structural defect responsible for the suppression of the superconductivity on thin films has been identified.
Shock loading of materials alters the microstructure and considerably degrades mechanical performance. Here, shock loading of a nanocrystalline Cu–Ta alloy is found to induce minor changes to microstructure and mechanical performance, attributed to the annihilation of defects during deformation.
Organic materials are attractive for photovoltaic interfaces in bioelectronics, but are limited by adhesion in aqueous environments and responsiveness in the visible spectrum. Here, an organic interface is reported for neuronal stimulation in the near-infrared and tested on explanted mice retinas.
The nephrons in the kidney transport ions and organic molecules, but may not work effectively in patients with kidney disease. Here, a synthetic nephron is created, based on activated wafer electrodeionization, and shown to enable the transport of several physiologically relevant ions.
Coherent x-ray diffractive imaging is a powerful technique for determining strain on the nanometer scale. Here, it is used to image semiconducting GaAs1-yNy structures on a GaAs substrate and to measure strain, demonstrating its potential for studying highly strained interfaces in devices.
Improving the lifetime of organic light-emitting diodes requires that degradation processes are understood. Here it is demonstrated that magnetic field effects can be used as a non-destructive indicator of device degradation.
Rational design of photoelectrodes is a key requirement to boost conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical redox flow cells. Here, band alignment design and surface coverage control are used to design single-photon photoelectrodes that achieve 9.4% solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency.
Superconductivity was recently observed in Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2 films. Here, superconductivity is found to be absent in bulk polycrystalline samples of Sr-doped NdNiO2, raising questions regarding the origin of superconductivity in this material.
Controlling the microstructure of thin films is vital for tuning their properties. Here, machine learning is applied to obtain synthesis-composition-microstructure relationships in the form of structure zone diagrams for thin films, enabling microstructure prediction.