Photoluminescent Semiconducting Graphene Nanoribbons via Longitudinally Unzipping Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

The lack of a sizeable band gap has so far prevented graphene from building effective electronic and optoelectronic devices despite its numerous exceptional properties. Intensive theoretical research reveals that a band gap larger than 1 eV can only be achieved in sub-3 nm wide graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), but real fabrication of such ultranarrow GNRs still remains a critical challenge. Herein, we demonstrate an approach for the synthesis of ultranarrow and photoluminescent semiconducting GNRs by longitudinally unzipping single-walled carbon nanotubes.

An Artificial Sensory Neuron with Tactile Perceptual Learning.

Sensory neurons within skin form an interface between the external physical reality and the inner tactile perception. This interface enables sensory information to be organized identified, and interpreted through perceptual learning-the process whereby the sensing abilities improve through experience. Here, an artificial sensory neuron that can integrate and differentiate the spatiotemporal features of touched patterns for recognition is shown.