Seaweeds-derived proteins and peptides: preparation, virtual screening, health-promoting effects, and industry applications.

Seaweed, a promising source of nutritional proteins, including protein hydrolysates, bioactive peptides, phycobiliproteins, and lectins with multi-biological activities. Seaweeds-derived proteins and peptides have attracted increasing interest for their potential applications in dietary supplements, functional foods, and pharmaceuticals industries. This work aims to comprehensively review the preparation methods and virtual screening strategies for seaweed-derived functional peptides.

High-κ monocrystalline dielectrics for low-power two-dimensional electronics.

The downscaling of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology has produced breakthroughs in electronics, but more extreme scaling has hit a wall of device performance degradation. One key challenge is the development of insulators with high dielectric constant, wide bandgap and high tunnel masses. Here, we show that two-dimensional monocrystalline gadolinium pentoxide, which is devised through combining particle swarm optimization algorithm and theoretical calculations and synthesized via van der Waals epitaxy, could exhibit a high dielectric constant of ~25.

Non-covalent interaction between lactoferrin and theaflavin: Focused on the structural changes, binding mechanism, and functional properties.

In this study, non-covalent binding mechanism of lactoferrin (LaF)-theaflavin (TF) complex and its functional properties were investigated. Multi-spectroscopic analyses showed that the secondary structure of LaF was altered with increasing TF concentration. The non-covalent binding of TF to LaF resulted in a reduction in the content of the α-helix and β-sheet, as well as a decrease in the fluorescence intensity of LaF.

Enhancing Light Out-coupling in Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes through Plasmonic Nanostructures.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have emerged as promising candidates for lighting and display technologies owing to their high photoluminescence quantum efficiency and high carrier mobility. However, the performance of planar PeLEDs is limited by the out-coupling efficiency, predominantly governed by photonic losses at device interfaces. Most notably, the plasmonic loss at the metal electrode interfaces can account for up to 60% of the total loss.

Constructing Ultra-Shallow Near-Edge States for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Electronic band structure engineering of metal-halide perovskites (MHP) lies at the core of fundamental materials research and photovoltaic applications. However, reconfiguring the band structures in MHP for optimized electronic properties remains challenging. This article reports a generic strategy for constructing near-edge states to improve carrier properties, leading to enhanced device performances.

Cutting-Edge Research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Celebrating the 130th Anniversary of Wuhan University.

Thanks to the fast-paced progress of microscopic theories and nanotechnologies, a tremendous world of fundamental science and applications has opened up at the nanoscale. Ranging from quantum physics to chemical and biological mechanisms and from device functionality to materials engineering, nanoresearch has become an essential part of various fields. As one of the top universities in China, Wuhan University (WHU) aims to promote cutting-edge nanoresearch in multiple disciplines by leveraging comprehensive academic programs established throughout 130 years of history.

Versatile optical manipulation of trions, dark excitons and biexcitons through contrasting exciton-photon coupling.

Various exciton species in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as neutral excitons, trions (charged excitons), dark excitons, and biexcitons, have been individually discovered with distinct light-matter interactions. In terms of valley-spin locked band structures and electron-hole configurations, these exciton species demonstrate flexible control of emission light with degrees of freedom (DOFs) such as intensity, polarization, frequency, and dynamics. However, it remains elusive to fully manipulate different exciton species on demand for practical photonic applications.

Exciton Polaritons in Emergent Two-Dimensional Semiconductors.

The "marriage" of light (i.e., photon) and matter (i.

Phase Diagram of High-Temperature Electron-Hole Quantum Droplet in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors.

Quantum liquids, systems exhibiting effects of quantum mechanics and quantum statistics at macroscopic levels, represent one of the most exciting research frontiers of modern physical science and engineering. Notable examples include Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), superconductivity, quantum entanglement, and a quantum liquid. However, quantum liquids are usually only stable at cryogenic temperatures, significantly limiting fundamental studies and device development.

Non-dispersive Fano resonances in hybrid plasmonic-distributed Bragg reflector structures.

Fano resonance due to coupling of plasmon mode and Bragg modes is revealed without strong angular dependence based on Au nanoparticle on distributed Bragg reflectors (Au NPoDBRs). This Fano interference involves three-modes-coupling: the nanoparticle's plasmon resonance, dispersive Bragg modes, and non-dispersive Bragg modes. It can be interpreted as a consequence of two processes: plasmonic coupling between dispersive Bragg modes and broad plasmon mode, and the strong coupling between narrowed plasmonic mode and non-dispersive Bragg mode.

Ferromagnetism emerged from non-ferromagnetic atomic crystals.

The recently emerged ferromagnetic two-dimensional (2D) materials provide unique platforms for compact spintronic devices down to the atomic-thin regime; however, the prospect is hindered by the limited number  of ferromagnetic 2D materials discovered with limited choices of magnetic properties. If 2D antiferromagnetism could be converted to 2D ferromagnetism, the range of 2D magnets and their potential applications would be significantly broadened. Here, we discovered emergent ferromagnetism by interfacing non-magnetic WS layers with the antiferromagnetic FePS.

Strong Electron-Phonon Coupling Mediates Carrier Transport in BiFeO.

The electron-phonon interaction is known as one of the major mechanisms determining electrical and thermal properties. In particular, it alters the carrier transport behaviors and sets fundamental limits to carrier mobility. Establishing how electrons interact with phonons and the resulting impact on the carrier transport property is significant for the development of high-efficiency electronic devices.

Passivated Interfacial Traps of Monolayer MoS with Bipolar Electrical Pulse.

Heterogeneous integration of monolayers is an emergent route of spatially combining materials with available platforms for unprecedented properties. A long-standing challenge along this route is to manipulate interfacial configurations of each unit in stacking architecture. A monolayer of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offers an embodiment of studying interface engineering of integrated systems because optoelectronic performances generally trade off with each other due to interfacial trap states.

Self-Induced Valley Bosonic Stimulation of Exciton Polaritons in a Monolayer Semiconductor.

The newly discovered valley degree of freedom in atomically thin two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides offers a promising platform to explore rich nonlinear physics, such as spinor Bose-Einstein condensate and novel valleytronics applications. However, the critical nonlinear effect, such as valley polariton bosonic stimulation, has long remained an unresolved challenge due to the generation of limited polariton ground state densities necessary to induce the stimulated scattering of polaritons in specific valleys. Here, we report the self-induced valley bosonic stimulation of exciton polaritons via spin-valley locking in a WS_{2} monolayer microcavity.

Distinguishing Ultrafast Energy Transfer in Atomically Thin MoS /WS Heterostructures.

Van der Waals semiconducting heterostructures, known as stacks of atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layers, have recently been reported as new quantum materials with fascinating optoelectronic properties and novel functionalities. These discoveries are significantly related to the interfacial carrier dynamics of the excited states. Carrier dynamics have been reported to be predominantly driven by the ultrafast charge transfer (CT) process; however, the energy transfer (ET) process remains elusive.

Several natural phytochemicals from Chinese traditional fermented food-pickled .: Purification and characterization.

In this study, we aimed to isolate and identify the bioactive compounds from 5-year pickled radish. The pickled radish was extracted with methanol or ethyl acetate. Sephadex LH-20, normal phase and reverse phase silica gel column chromatography were used for separation and purification, combined with thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) technology for structural identification.

Electrically Pumped Polarized Exciton-Polaritons in a Halide Perovskite Microcavity.

Recently, exciton-polaritons in lead halide perovskite microcavities have been extensively investigated to address striking phenomena such as polariton condensation and quantum emulation. However, a critical step in advancing these findings into practical applications, i.e.

Characterization of xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of phenols from pickled radish with molecular simulation.

Pickled radish is a general source of natural bioactive compounds that include phenols. Here, we used molecular docking, fluorescence quenching, circular dichroism spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations to identify potential inhibitors against xanthine oxidase from a library of pickled radish compounds. The most effective compounds were selected for validation through experiments including enzyme activity inhibition tests, and cell-based assays.

Nonlinear valley phonon scattering under the strong coupling regime.

Research efforts of cavity quantum electrodynamics have focused on the manipulation of matter hybridized with photons under the strong coupling regime. This has led to striking discoveries including polariton condensation and single-photon nonlinearity, where the phonon scattering plays a critical role. However, resolving the phonon scattering remains challenging for its non-radiative complexity.

Observation of strong excitonic magneto-chiral anisotropy in twisted bilayer van der Waals crystals.

The interplay between chirality and magnetism generates a distinct physical process, the magneto-chiral effect, which enables one to develop functionalities that cannot be achieved solely by any of the two. Such a process is universal with the breaking of parity-inversion and time-reversal symmetry simultaneously. However, the magneto-chiral effect observed so far is weak when the matter responds to photons, electrons, or phonons.

Nonlinear Optics at Excited States of Exciton Polaritons in Two-Dimensional Atomic Crystals.

Exciton polaritons (EPs) are partial-light partial-matter quasiparticles in semiconductors demonstrating striking quantum phenomena such as Bose-Einstein condensation and single-photon nonlinearity. In these phenomena, the governing process is the EP relaxation into the ground states upon excitation, where various mechanisms are extensively investigated with thermodynamic limits. However, the relaxation process becomes drastically different and could significantly advance the understanding of EP dynamics for these quantum phenomena, when excited states of EPs are involved.

Observation of Rydberg exciton polaritons and their condensate in a perovskite cavity.

The condensation of half-light half-matter exciton polaritons in semiconductor optical cavities is a striking example of macroscopic quantum coherence in a solid-state platform. Quantum coherence is possible only when there are strong interactions between the exciton polaritons provided by their excitonic constituents. Rydberg excitons with high principal value exhibit strong dipole-dipole interactions in cold atoms.

Ultrafast fluorescent decay induced by metal-mediated dipole-dipole interaction in two-dimensional molecular aggregates.

Two-dimensional molecular aggregate (2DMA), a thin sheet of strongly interacting dipole molecules self-assembled at close distance on an ordered lattice, is a fascinating fluorescent material. It is distinctively different from the conventional (single or colloidal) dye molecules and quantum dots. In this paper, we verify that when a 2DMA is placed at a nanometric distance from a metallic substrate, the strong and coherent interaction between the dipoles inside the 2DMA dominates its fluorescent decay at a picosecond timescale.