Comparative study on the magnetic properties of Fe-substituted CoSnFeOspinel oxides and its exchange bias effect.

Herein, we report the Fe-substituted CoSnFeO(0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.4) inverse spinel's oxide using the solid-state reaction method. X-ray reveals the single-phase cubic structure with space group Fd3m.

Lattice Strain Mediated Reversible Reconstruction in CoMoO·0.69HO for Intermittent Oxygen Evolution.

A heterogeneous interface usually plays a versatile role in modulating catalysis and the durability of hybrid electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and its intrinsic mechanism is still in dispute due to an uncertain correlation of initial, intermediate and active phases. In this article, the CoMoO·0.69HO/CoO heterogeneous interface is configured to understand the evolution kinetics of these correlated phases.

Single-Phase Ternary Compounds with a Disordered Lattice and Liquid Metal Phase for High-Performance Li-Ion Battery Anodes.

Si is considered as the promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high capacities of 4200 mAh g and natural abundancy. However, severe electrode pulverization and poor electronic and Li-ionic conductivities hinder their practical applications. To resolve the afore-mentioned problems, we first demonstrate a cation-mixed disordered lattice and unique Li storage mechanism of single-phase ternary GaSiP compound, where the liquid metallic Ga and highly reactive P are incorporated into Si through a ball milling method.

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and nontrivial topological states in Weyl semimetal candidate SmAlSi.

The RAlX (R = Light rare earth; X = Ge, Si) compounds, as a family of magnetic Weyl semimetal, have recently attracted growing attention due to the tunability of Weyl nodes and its interactions with diverse magnetism by rare-earth atoms. Here, we report the magnetotransport evidence and electronic structure calculations on nontrivial band topology of SmAlSi, a new member of this family. At low temperatures, SmAlSi exhibits large non-saturated magnetoresistance (MR) (as large as ∼5500% at 2 K and 48 T) and distinct Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations.

A comparative study on magnetic order and field-induced magnetic transition in double perovskite iridates: REZnIrOand REMgIrO(RE = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd).

We perform a comparative magnetic study on two series of rare-earth (RE) based double perovskite iridates REBIrO(RE = Pr, Nd, Sm-Gd; B = Zn, Mg), which show Mott insulating state with tunable charge energy gap from ∼330 meV to ∼560 meV by changing RE cations. For nonmagnetic RE = Eu cations, EuMgIrOshows antiferromagnetic (AFM) order and field-induced spin-flop transitions below Néel temperature () in comparison with the ferromagnetic (FM)-like behaviors of EuZnIrOat low temperatures. For magnetic-moment-containing RE ions, GdBIrOshow contrasting magnetic behaviors with FM-like transition (B = Zn) and AFM order (B = Mg), respectively.

The effect of carrier doping on magnetism and electronic behavior in double perovskite LaZnIrO.

Tuning of spin-orbit coupling and electron correlation effects in iridates by introducing electron or hole carriers can produce interesting physical phenomena. In this work, we experimentally investigate the electron/hole doping effect on magnetism and electrical transport in the canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) double perovskite LaZnIrO, where hole/electron doping are realized in two serial LaZn Li IrO (0  ⩽  x  ⩽  0.35) and LaZnGa IrO (0  ⩽  y   ⩽  0.

Bioinspired, Spine-Like, Flexible, Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Energy Density.

The rapid development of flexible and wearable electronics proposes the persistent requirements of high-performance flexible batteries. Much progress has been achieved recently, but how to obtain remarkable flexibility and high energy density simultaneously remains a great challenge. Here, a facile and scalable approach to fabricate spine-like flexible lithium-ion batteries is reported.

Nanoporous Au-Ag shell with fast kinetics: integrating chemical and plasmonic catalysis.

Nanoporous noble metals and alloys are widely utilized as efficient catalysts, because they have high surface-to-volume ratios for sufficient active sites and induce molecule polarization through plasmon excitation as well. Herein, we demonstrate one approach to fabricate nanoporous Au-Ag shell. Such material represents the dual functions serving as efficient catalysts and high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate.

N,S co-doped carbon dots as a stable bio-imaging probe for detection of intracellular temperature and tetracycline.

Stable bioimaging with nanomaterials in living cells has been a great challenge and of great importance for understanding intracellular events and elucidating various biological phenomena. Herein, we demonstrate that N,S co-doped carbon dots (N,S-CDs) produced by one-pot reflux treatment of CNS with ethane diamine at a relatively low temperature (80 °C) exhibit a high fluorescence quantum yield of about 30.4%, favorable biocompatibility, low-toxicity, strong resistance to photobleaching and good stability.

Topography-specific isotropic tunneling in nanoparticle monolayer with sub-nm scale crevices.

Material used in flexible devices may experience anisotropic strain with identical magnitude, outputting coherent signals that tend to have a serious impact on device reliability. In this work, the surface topography of the nanoparticles (NPs) is proposed to be a parameter to control the performance of strain gauge based on tunneling behavior. In contrast to anisotropic tunneling in a monolayer of spherical NPs, electron tunneling in a monolayer of urchin-like NPs actually exhibits a nearly isotropic response to strain with different loading orientations.

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Nanoporous Au/CoO Core-Shell Material with Synergistic Catalysis.

An ultrathin CoO layer is deposited on the skeleton surfaces of a nanoporous gold (NPG) film by using atomic layer deposition, creating a flexible electrode. Detailed characterization demonstrates the superior performance of the flexible NPG/CoO hybrids for electrochemical catalysis. The NPG/CoO hybrid not only achieves high catalytic activity for glucose oxidation and H2O2 reduction, but also exhibits a linear dependence of the electrical signal on the concentration of glucose and H2O2 molecules in the electrolyte.

Electrical conduction of nanoparticle monolayer for accurate tracking of mechanical stimulus in finger touch sensing.

A flexible strain gauge is an essential component in advanced human-machine interfacing, especially when it comes to many important mobile and biomedical appliances that require the detection of finger touches. In this paper, we report one such strain gauge made from a strip of nanoparticle monolayer onto a flexible substrate. This proposed gauge operates on the observation that there is a linear relationship between electrical conduction and mechanical displacement in a compressive state.

Hierarchical nanoporous gold-platinum with heterogeneous interfaces for methanol electrooxidation.

The electrocatalysts utilized as the prospective electrodes in fuel cells and high efficient energy conversion devices require both the interconnected channels for efficient electrolyte transportation and the superior catalytic activity with long service life. In this work, nanoporous gold with the rigid skeletons in three dimensions is partially decorated by porous platinum shell containing nanoscale interstitials, aiming to create the heterogeneous gold-platinum interfaces and facilitate the electrolyte transportation as well. In comparison with no catalytic activity of bare nanoporous gold, the catalytic activity of hierarchical nanoporous gold-platinum towards electrochemical oxidation of methanol increases with the loading level of platinum shells, resulting in the highest electrochemical area of 70.

Polarization enhancement and ferroelectric switching enabled by interacting magnetic structures in DyMnO₃ thin films.

The mutual controls of ferroelectricity and magnetism are stepping towards practical applications proposed for quite a few promising devices in which multiferroic thin films are involved. Although ferroelectricity stemming from specific spiral spin ordering has been reported in highly distorted bulk perovskite manganites, the existence of magnetically induced ferroelectricity in the corresponding thin films remains an unresolved issue, which unfortunately halts this step. In this work, we report magnetically induced electric polarization and its remarkable response to magnetic field (an enhancement of ~800% upon a field of 2 Tesla at 2 K) in DyMnO₃ thin films grown on Nb-SrTiO₃ substrates.