Dopant-additive synergism enhances perovskite solar modules.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are among the most promising photovoltaic technologies owing to their exceptional optoelectronic properties. However, the lower efficiency, poor stability and reproducibility issues of large-area PSCs compared with laboratory-scale PSCs are notable drawbacks that hinder their commercialization. Here we report a synergistic dopant-additive combination strategy using methylammonium chloride (MACl) as the dopant and a Lewis-basic ionic-liquid additive, 1,3-bis(cyanomethyl)imidazolium chloride ([Bcmim]Cl).

Bifunctional Square-Planar NiO Coordination of Topotactic LaNiO Films for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The high-efficient and low-cost oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is decisive for applications of oxide catalysts in metal-air batteries, electrolytic cells, and energy-storage technologies. Delicate regulations of active surface and catalytic reaction pathway of oxide materials principally determine thermodynamic energy barrier and kinetic rate during catalytic reactions, and thus have crucial impacts on OER performance. Herein, a synergistic modulation of catalytically active surface and reaction pathway through facile topotactic transformations switching from perovskite (PV) LaNiO film to infinite-layer (IL) LaNiO film is demonstrated, which absolutely contributes to improving OER performance.

Inducing Fe 3d Electron Delocalization and Spin-State Transition of FeN Species Boosts Oxygen Reduction Reaction for Wearable Zinc-Air Battery.

Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon materials (M-N-Cs), particularly Fe-N-Cs, have been found to be electroactive for accelerating oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. Although substantial efforts have been devoted to design Fe-N-Cs with increased active species content, surface area, and electronic conductivity, their performance is still far from satisfactory. Hitherto, there is limited research about regulation on the electronic spin states of Fe centers for Fe-N-Cs electrocatalysts to improve their catalytic performance.

Perpendicular Manganite Magnetic Tunnel Junctions Induced by Interfacial Coupling.

The half-metallic manganite oxide LaSrMnO (LSMO) has a very high spin polarization of ∼100%, making it ideal for ferromagnetic electrodes to realize tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). Because of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy of the ferromagnetic LSMO electrode, which leads to the density limit of memory, realizing perpendicular tunneling in manganite-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) is critical for future applications. Here, we design and fabricate manganite-based MTJs composed of alternately stacked cobaltite and manganite layers that demonstrate strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) induced by interfacial coupling.

Super-Flexible Freestanding BiMnO Membranes with Stable Ferroelectricity and Ferromagnetism.

Multiferroic materials with flexibility are expected to make great contributions to flexible electronic applications, such as sensors, memories, and wearable devices. In this work, super-flexible freestanding BiMnO membranes with simultaneous ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism are synthesized using water-soluble Sr Al O as the sacrificial buffer layer. The super-flexibility of BiMnO membranes is demonstrated by undergoing an ≈180° folding during an in situ bending test, which is consistent with the results of first-principles calculations.

High-Conductive Protonated Layered Oxides from H O Vapor-Annealed Brownmillerites.

Protonated 3d transition-metal oxides often display low electronic conduction, which hampers their application in electric, magnetic, thermoelectric, and catalytic fields. Electronic conduction can be enhanced by co-inserting oxygen acceptors simultaneously. However, the currently used redox approaches hinder protons and oxygen ions co-insertion due to the selective switching issues.

Ferroelectricity and Ferromagnetism Achieved via Adjusting Dimensionality in BiFeO/BiMnO Superlattices.

Integrating characteristics of materials through constructing artificial superlattices (SLs) has raised extensive attention in multifunctional materials. Here, we report the synthesis of BiFeO/BiMnO SLs with considerable ferroelectric polarizations and tunable magnetic moments. The polarization of BiFeO/BiMnO SLs presents a decent value of 12 μC/cm, even as the dimensionality of BiFeO layers per period is reduced to about five-unit cells when keeping the BiMnO layers same.

Electric Polarization Switching on an Atomically Thin Metallic Oxide.

Materials with reduced dimensions have been shown to host a wide variety of exotic properties and novel quantum states that often defy textbook wisdom. Polarization switching and metallic screening are well-known examples of mutually exclusive properties that cannot coexist in bulk solids. Here we report the fabrication of (SrRuO)/(BaTiO) superlattices that exhibits reversible polarization switching in an atomically thin metallic layer.

Modulation of Abnormal Poisson's Ratios and Electronic Properties in Mixed-Valence Perovskite Manganite Films.

Epitaxy and misfit strain imposed by underlying substrates have been intensively used to tailor the microstructure and electronic properties of oxide films, but this approach is largely restricted by commercially limited substrates. In contrast to the conventional epitaxial misfit strains with a positive Poisson's constant, we show here a tunable Poisson's ratio with anomalous values from negative, zero, to positive. This permits effective control over the out-of-plane lattice parameters that strongly correlate the magnetic and transport properties in perovskite mixed-valence LaSr MnO thin films.

Molecular Dynamics of Hexamethylbenzene at Low Temperatures: Evidence of Unconventional Magnetism Based on Rotational Motion of Protons.

The types of magnetism known to date are all mainly based on contributions from electron motion. We show how rotational motion of protons (H ) within the methyl groups in hexamethylbenzene (C (CH ) ) also contribute significantly to the magnetic susceptibility. Starting from below 118 K, as the rotational motion of the methyl groups set in, an associated magnetic moment positive in nature due to charge of the protons renders the susceptibility to become anomalously dependent on temperature.