Flexible Nanogenerators Based on Enhanced Flexoelectricity in MnO Membranes.

Atomically thin, few-layered membranes of oxides show unique physical and chemical properties compared to their bulk forms. Manganese oxide (MnO) membranes are exfoliated from the naturally occurring mineral Hausmannite and used to make flexible, high-performance nanogenerators (NGs). An enhanced power density in the membrane NG is observed with the best-performing device showing a power density of 7.

Colossal Optical Anisotropy from Atomic-Scale Modulations.

Materials with large birefringence (Δn, where n is the refractive index) are sought after for polarization control (e.g., in wave plates, polarizing beam splitters, etc.

Equilibrium phase diagrams of isostructural and heterostructural two-dimensional alloys from first principles.

Alloying is a successful strategy for tuning the phases and properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). To accelerate the synthesis of TMDC alloys, we present a method for generating temperature-composition equilibrium phase diagrams by combining first-principles total-energy calculations with thermodynamic solution models. This method is applied to three representative 2D TMDC alloys: an isostructural alloy, MoSTe , and two heterostructural alloys, Mo W Te and WSTe .

Quasi-Binary Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Alloys: Thermodynamic Stability Prediction, Scalable Synthesis, and Application.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDCs) alloys could have a wide range of physical and chemical properties, ranging from charge density waves to superconductivity and electrochemical activities. While many exciting behaviors of unary TMDCs have been demonstrated, the vast compositional space of TMDC alloys has remained largely unexplored due to the lack of understanding regarding their stability when accommodating different cations or chalcogens in a single-phase. Here, a theory-guided synthesis approach is reported to achieve unexplored quasi-binary TMDC alloys through computationally predicted stability maps.

Role of Solid-State Miscibility during Anion Exchange in Cesium Lead Halide Nanocrystals Probed by Single-Particle Fluorescence.

In this Letter, we used fluorescence microscopy to image the reversible transformation of individual CsPbCl nanocrystals to CsPbBr, which enables us to quantify heterogeneity in reactivity among hundreds of nanocrystals prepared within the same batch. We observed a wide distribution of waiting times for individual nanocrystals to react as has been seen previously for cation exchange and ion intercalation. However, a significant difference for this reaction is that the switching times for changes in fluorescence intensity are dependent on the concentration of substitutional halide ions in solution (i.

Controlling Nanoscale Thermal Expansion of Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides by Alloy Engineering.

2D materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), graphene, and boron nitride, are seen as promising materials for future high power/high frequency electronics. However, the large difference in the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) between many of these 2D materials could impose a serious challenge for the design of monolayer-material-based nanodevices. To address this challenge, alloy engineering of TMDs is used to tailor their TECs.

New Class of Electrocatalysts Based on 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides in Ionic Liquid.

The optimization of traditional electrocatalysts has reached a point where progress is impeded by fundamental physical factors including inherent scaling relations among thermokinetic characteristics of different elementary reaction steps, non-Nernstian behavior, and electronic structure of the catalyst. This indicates that the currently utilized classes of electrocatalysts may not be adequate for future needs. This study reports on synthesis and characterization of a new class of materials based on 2D transition metal dichalcogenides including sulfides, selenides, and tellurides of group V and VI transition metals that exhibit excellent catalytic performance for both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions in an aprotic medium with Li salts.