Overcoming Intrinsic Quantum Confinement and Ultrafast Self-Trapping in Ag-Bi-I- and Cu-Bi-I-Based 2D Double Perovskites through Electroactive Cations.

The possibility to combine organic semiconducting materials with inorganic halide perovskites opens exciting pathways toward tuning optoelectronic properties. Exploring stable and nontoxic, double perovskites as a host for electroactive organic cations to form two-dimensional (2D) hybrid materials is an emerging opportunity to create both functional and lead-free materials for optoelectronic applications. By introducing naphthalene and pyrene moieties into Ag-Bi-I and Cu-Bi-I double perovskite lattices, intrinsic electronic challenges of double perovskites are addressed and the electronic anisotropy of 2D perovskites can be modulated.

Interplay between disorder and electronic correlations in compositionally complex alloys.

Owing to their exceptional mechanical, electronic, and phononic transport properties, compositionally complex alloys, including high-entropy alloys, represent an important class of materials. However, the interplay between chemical disorder and electronic correlations, and its influence on electronic structure-derived properties, remains largely unexplored. This is addressed for the archetypal CrMnFeCoNi alloy using resonant and valence band photoemission spectroscopy, electrical resistivity, and optical conductivity measurements, complemented by linear response calculations based on density functional theory.

Signatures of magnetism control by flow of angular momentum.

Exploring new strategies to manipulate the order parameter of magnetic materials by electrical means is of great importance not only for advancing our understanding of fundamental magnetism but also for unlocking potential applications. A well-established concept uses gate voltages to control magnetic properties by modulating the carrier population in a capacitor structure. Here we show that, in Pt/Al/Fe/GaAs(001) multilayers, the application of an in-plane charge current in Pt leads to a shift in the ferromagnetic resonance field depending on the microwave frequency when the Fe film is sufficiently thin.

Synthesis and in-depth structure determination of a novel metastable high-pressure CrTe phase.

This study reports the synthesis and crystal structure determination of a novel CrTe phase using various experimental and theoretical methods. The average stoichiometry and local phase separation of this quenched high-pressure phase were characterized by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and total scattering. Several structural models were obtained using simulated annealing, but all suffered from an imperfect Rietveld refinement, especially at higher diffraction angles.

The poor reliability of thermal conductivity data in the aerogel literature: a call to action!

Aerogels are an exciting class of materials with record-breaking properties including, in some cases, ultra-low thermal conductivities. The last decade has seen a veritable explosion in aerogel research and industry R&D, leading to the synthesis of aerogels from a variety of materials for a rapidly expanding range of applications. However, both from the research side, and certainly from a market perspective, thermal insulation remains the dominant application.