Interactive Deformable Colored Sound Display Achieved with Electrostrictive Fluoropolymer and Halide Perovskite.

The association of color and sound helps human cognition through a synergetic effect like intersensory facilitation. Although soft human-machine interfaces (HMIs) providing unisensory expression have been widely developed, achieving synchronized optic and acoustic expression in one device system has been relatively less explored. It is because their operating principles are different in terms of materials, and implementation has mainly been attempted through structural approaches.

Revival of Degraded CsPbI Nanocrystals by Diselenide Ligand and Nanocrystal Self-Assembly on Nanofibrilar Ligand Template.

Among the lead halide perovskite (LHP) family, CsPbI is known to be significantly vulnerable to moisture, which hinders its use in real device applications. It is reported that chalcogen-based ligands can better stabilize CsPbI and revive nanocrystals (NCs). Here, diphenyl diselenide (DPhDSe) ligand is used to revive the degraded CsPbI NCs through a post-synthetic treatment of adding a small amount of DPhDSe in the degraded NC dispersion.

Superior white electroluminescent devices using nitrogen-doped carbon dots/TiOnanorods heterostructures.

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs), exhibiting strong yellow emission in aqueous solution and solid matrices, have been utilized for fabricating heterostructure white electroluminescence devices. These devices consist of nitrogen-doped carbon dots as an emissive layer sandwiched between an organic hole transport layer (PEDOT:PSS) and an array of rutile TiOnanorods, acting as an electron transport layer. Under an applied forward bias of 5 V, the device exhibits broadband electroluminescence covering the wavelength range of 390-900 nm, resulting in pure white light emission characteristics at room temperature.

Ligand-Mediated Revival of Degraded α-CsPbI to Stable Highly Luminescent Perovskite.

Although α-CsPbI is regarded as an attractive optical luminophore, it is readily degraded to the optically inactive δ-phase under ambient conditions. Here, we present a simple approach to revive degraded ("optically sick") α-CsPbI through "medication" with thiol-containing ligands. The effect of different types of thiols is systematically studied through optical spectroscopy.

CsPbI/N-GQDs dual layer phosphor-converted white-LEDs with ultrahigh luminous efficiency and color rendering index.

Phosphor-converted LEDs or pc-LEDs, as a solid-state lighting source, are attractive for next-generation display technologies because of their energy savings, and green environmentally friendly nature. Recently, white LEDs are being produced commercially by coating blue LED (440-470 nm) chips with various yellow-emitting phosphors. However, the LEDs produced by this technique often exhibit high correlated color temperature (CCT) and low color rendering index (CRI) values, due to sufficient red spectral components not being present, and thus aren't suitable for commercial grade white illumination.

New Approaches to Produce Large-Area Single Crystal Thin Films.

Wafer-scale growth of single crystal thin films of metals, semiconductors, and insulators is crucial for manufacturing high-performance electronic and optical devices, but still challenging from both scientific and industrial perspectives. Recently, unconventional advanced synthetic approaches have been attempted and have made remarkable progress in diversifying the species of producible single crystal thin films. This review introduces several new synthetic approaches to produce large-area single crystal thin films of various materials according to the concepts and principles.

Atomic-Scale Imaging and Nano-Scale Mapping of Cubic α-CsPbI Perovskite Nanocrystals for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Colloidal synthesized cubic α-CsPbI perovskite nanocrystals having a smaller lattice constant ( = 6.2315 Å) compared to the standard structure, and nanoscale mapping of their surfaces are reported to achieve superior photovoltaic performance under 45-55% humidity conditions. Atomic scale transmission electron microscopic images have been utilized to probe the precise arrangement of Cs, Pb, and I atoms in a unit cell of α-CsPbI NCs, which is well supported by the VESTA structure.

Exfoliated Molybdenum Disulfide-Wrapped CdS Nanoparticles as a Nano-Heterojunction for Photo-Electrochemical Water Splitting.

We developed a heterojunction photocathode, MoS@CdS, based on the wrapping of CdS nanoparticles by the MoS nanocrystals. The liquid-phase exfoliation method was adopted for preparing few-layer MoS nanocrystals of a layer thickness of ∼7.9 nm, whereas CdS nanoparticles of an average diameter of ∼17 nm were synthesized by the one-step hydrothermal process.

A Multifunctional Smart Textile Derived from Merino Wool/Nylon Polymer Nanocomposites as Next Generation Microwave Absorber and Soft Touch Sensor.

In recent times e-textiles have emerged as wonder safeguards due to the great potential background in space, military, healthcare, or portable electronics. As a result, widespread research and development have been done to make significant advancement in this field, but it still remains a key challenge to use one single product with multifunctional attributes with the past performance of key characteristics. In this work, phase-separated PEDOT:PSS ornamented with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, deposited on the newly fabricated ultralightweight, superhydrophobic, and mechanically enriched merino wool/nylon (W-N) composite textile followed by the dipping and drying strategy.

Surfactant-Induced Anion Exchange and Morphological Evolution for Composition-Controlled Caesium Lead Halide Perovskites with Tunable Optical Properties.

Environmentally stable lead halide perovskite nanostructures with engineered composition and morphology are attractive because of their exotic optical properties. Here, we report the synthesis of monodispersed (∼20 nm) CsPbI cubic perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) using edible olive oil as a solvent as well as a chelating reagent. Thereafter, bromide anion exchange reaction using the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide surfactant in hexane is carried out at relatively lower temperatures to synthesize caesium lead halide perovskites with variable halide compositions and tunable band gaps.

Application of tungsten disulfide quantum dot-conjugated antimicrobial peptides in bio-imaging and antimicrobial therapy.

Two-dimensional (2D) tungsten disulfide (WS) quantum dots offer numerous promising applications in materials and optoelectronic sciences. Additionally, the catalytic and photoluminescence properties of ultra-small WS nanoparticles are of potential interest in biomedical sciences. Addressing the use of WS in the context of infection, the present study describes the conjugation of two potent antimicrobial peptides with WS quantum dots, as well as the application of the resulting conjugates in antimicrobial therapy and bioimaging.

Multivalent gold nanoparticle-peptide conjugates for targeting intracellular bacterial infections.

Although nanoparticle-tagged antimicrobal peptides have gained considerable importance in recent years, their structure-function correlation has not yet been explored. Here, we have studied the mechanism of action of a designed antimicrobial peptide, VG16KRKP (VARGWKRKCPLFGKGG), delivered via gold nanoparticle tagging against Salmonella infection by combining biological experiments with high- and low-resolution spectroscopic techniques. In comparison with the free VG16KRKP peptide or gold nanoparticle alone, the conjugated variant, Au-VG16KRKP, is non-cytotoxic to eukaryotic cells, but exhibits strong bacteriolytic activity in culture.

Superior heterojunction properties of solution processed copper-zinc-tin-sulphide quantum dots on Si.

CZTS nanocrystals have been synthesized via a new facile and environmentally friendly route using olive oil at a relatively low temperature. Nanocrystals synthesized using olive oil have a smaller average size in comparison to those synthesized with a conventional solvent-like ethylenediamine. Nanocrystals with an average diameter of 40, 20 and 6 nm have been extracted from the olive oil at different centrifugation speeds of 500, 1000 and 2000 rpm, respectively.

Highly Luminescent WS Quantum Dots/ZnO Heterojunctions for Light Emitting Devices.

Sonication induced vertical fragmentation of two-dimensional (2D) WS nanosheets into highly luminescent, monodispered, zero-dimensional (0D) quantum dots (QDs) is reported. The formation of 0D structures from 2D sheets and their surface/microstructure characterization are revealed from their microscopic and spectroscopic investigations. Size dependent optical properties of WS nanostructures have been explored by UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy.

Exfoliation of WS2 in the semiconducting phase using a group of lithium halides: a new method of Li intercalation.

Lithium halide assisted high yield synthesis of few layers of 2H phase semiconducting WS2 in organic solvents is reported. A group of lithium halides (LiCl, LiBr and LiI) has been employed for the first time to intercalate WS2 by using Li, followed by mild sonication to exfoliate in dispersive polar solvents. In contrast to the n-butyllithium (n-BuLi) assisted exfoliation method, which yields only the metallic 1T phase on prolonged reaction (3-7 days) at higher temperatures, the proposed exfoliation method produces only semiconducting 2H WS2 in a much shorter time (5 minute sonication).

Novel silicon compatible p-WS2 2D/3D heterojunction devices exhibiting broadband photoresponse and superior detectivity.

We report for the first time, the fabrication of novel two-dimensional (2D) p-WS2/n-Si vertical heterostructures with superior junction and photoresponse characteristics. Few layer WS2 has been synthesized by a lithium-ion intercalation technique in hexane and coated on Si substrates for realization of CMOS compatible devices. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy have been used to confirm the 2D nature of WS2 layers.