Long-Range Proton Channels Constructed via Hierarchical Peptide Self-Assembly.

The quest to understand and mimic proton translocation mechanisms in natural channels has driven the development of peptide-based artificial channels facilitating efficient proton transport across nanometric membranes. It is demonstrated here that hierarchical peptide self-assembly can form micrometers-long proton nanochannels. The fourfold symmetrical peptide design leverages intermolecular aromatic interactions to align self-assembled cyclic peptide nanotubes, creating hydrophilic nanochannels between them.

Constrained DFT for Molecular Junctions.

We have explored the use of constrained density functional theory (cDFT) for molecular junctions based on benzenediamine. By elongating the junction, we observe that the energy gap between the ionization potential and the electronic affinity increases with the stretching distance. This is consistent with the trend expected from the electrostatic screening.

Peltier cooling in molecular junctions.

The study of thermoelectricity in molecular junctions is of fundamental interest for the development of various technologies including cooling (refrigeration) and heat-to-electricity conversion . Recent experimental progress in probing the thermopower (Seebeck effect) of molecular junctions has enabled studies of the relationship between thermoelectricity and molecular structure . However, observations of Peltier cooling in molecular junctions-a critical step for establishing molecular-based refrigeration-have remained inaccessible.

Heat dissipation in atomic-scale junctions.

Atomic and single-molecule junctions represent the ultimate limit to the miniaturization of electrical circuits. They are also ideal platforms for testing quantum transport theories that are required to describe charge and energy transfer in novel functional nanometre-scale devices. Recent work has successfully probed electric and thermoelectric phenomena in atomic-scale junctions.