Superabsorbent Capped Truncated Silica Microcone Arrays: Fabrication and Extended Laplace Pressure and Gibbs Free Energy Study.

The ability of a surface to completely absorb a liquid droplet is an important property that can be controlled by geometrical structure and chemical composition of the surface. Here, using Laplace pressure and Gibbs free energy (GFE) considerations, a capped truncated microcone array geometry is proposed to obtain a near zero degree for contact angle (θ) of a water droplet. Our results showed that two essential conditions must be met to achieve a superabsorbent surface.

Quantum Hall coherent perfect absorption in graphene.

[Formula: see text] absorption in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Dirac spectrum is demonstrated to be obtained by controlling the interference of multiple incident radiations, referred to as coherent perfect absorption (CPA). However, when a 2DEG such as graphene is exposed to a magnetostatic bias, it resonantly could absorb electromagnetic radiation by transitions of its Dirac electrons between non-equidistant and nonlinear Landau levels. Here, the magneto-optical terahertz (THz) CPA in graphene under the quantum Hall effect (QHE) regime at both strong and subtesla magnetostatic bias fields is addressed.

Crystallization Retardation and Synergistic Trap Passivation in Perovskite Solar Cells Incorporated with Magnesium-Decorated Graphene Quantum Dots.

One of the encouraging strategies for enhancing the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is to reduce defects, trap states of pinholes, and charge recombination rate in the light absorber layer of perovskite, which can be addressed by increasing the perovskite grain size. The utilization of Mg-decorated graphene quantum dots (MGQD) or graphene quantum dots (GQDs) into a perovskite precursor solution for further crystal modification is introduced in this study. Studies on the crystalline structure and morphology of MGQD generated from GQDs demonstrate that MGQD has a greater crystal size than GQD.

Correction to "Engineering Water and Solute Dynamics and Maximal Use of CNT Surface Area for Efficient Water Desalination".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00188.

Encapsulation Strategies for Highly Stable Perovskite Solar Cells under Severe Stress Testing: Damp Heat, Freezing, and Outdoor Illumination Conditions.

A key direction toward managing extrinsic instabilities in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is encapsulation. Thus, a suitable sealing layer is required for an efficient device encapsulation, preventing moisture and oxygen ingression into the perovskite layer. In this work, a solution-based, low-cost, and commercially available bilayer structure of poly(methyl methacrylate)/styrene-butadiene (PMMA/SB) is investigated for PSCs encapsulation.

Interfacial Linkage and Carbon Encapsulation Enable Full Solution-Printed Perovskite Photovoltaics with Prolonged Lifespan.

Simplified perovskite solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated with the perovskite layer sandwiched and encapsulated between carbon-based electron transport layer (ETL) and counter electrode (CE) by a fully blade-coated process. A self-assembled monolayer of amphiphilic silane (AS) molecules on transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrate appeals to the fullerene ETL deposition and preserves its integrity against the solvent damage. The AS serves as a "molecular glue" to strengthen the adhesion toughness at the TCO/ETL interface via robust chemical interaction and bonding, facilitating the interfacial charge extraction, increasing PCEs by 77 % and reducing hysteresis.

Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting Using CuO-Based Electrodes for Hydrogen Production: A Review.

The cost-effective, robust, and efficient electrocatalysts for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting has been extensively studied over the past decade to address a solution for the energy crisis. The interesting physicochemical properties of CuO have introduced this promising photocathodic material among the few photocatalysts with a narrow bandgap. This photocatalyst has a high activity for the PEC hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under simulated sunlight irradiation.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Two-Dimensional Boron Sheets by Thermal Decomposition of Diborane.

Two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets (borophenes) are promising materials for the next generation of electronic devices because of their metallic conductivity. Molecular beam epitaxy has remained the main approach for the growth of borophene, which considerably restricts large-scale production of 2D boron sheets. The high melting point of boron and the growth of borophenes at moderate temperatures posed a significant challenge for the synthesis of borophenes.

Nanofibrous Scaffolds Containing Hydroxyapatite and Microfluidic-Prepared Polyamidoamin/BMP-2 Plasmid Dendriplexes for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications.

Objective: The aim of this study is to fabricate functional scaffolds to gene delivery bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) plasmid for bone formation in bone tissue engineering.

Methods: Dendriplexes (DPs) of generation 4 polyamidoamin (G4-PAMAM)/BMP-2 plasmid were prepared through microfluidic (MF) platform. The physiochemical properties and toxicity of DPs were evaluated by DLS, AFM, FESEM and MTT assay.

Engineering Water and Solute Dynamics and Maximal Use of CNT Surface Area for Efficient Water Desalination.

While polymer-based membranes and the consistent plants and elements have long been considered and optimized, there are only few studies on optimization of the new generation of carbon-based porous membranes for water desalination. By modeling the elements and their corresponding parameters in a vertical configuration via COMSOL Multiphysics software, an experimental setup was modified that contained various bare and carbon nanotube (CNT)-covered microprocessed porous membranes in parallel and in series. Several design parameters such as inlet pressure, length of outlet, vertical distance of the parallel membranes, and horizontal distances of the series membranes were optimized.

A graphene/Si Schottky diode for the highly sensitive detection of protein.

Herein, a graphene/Si-based device was introduced for bovine serum albumin (BSA) sensing. In this study, it is shown that the Schottky junction at the interface of graphene/Si is highly sensitive to BSA under UV light exposure. The reverse bias current of the junction, which is sensitive to UV light, changes under exposure to BSA at different concentrations.

Water Softening Using a Light-Responsive, Spiropyran-Modified Nanofiltration Membrane.

A novel technique for the covalent attachment of a light-responsive spiropyran onto polyamide thin film composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes in a one-step reaction using low-energy electron beam technology is described. The effect of illumination of the immobilized spiropyran was studied, as well as the resulting membrane properties with respect to MgSO₄ retention, water permeability rate, and chlorine resistance. Electron beam irradiation showed a direct effect on the transformation of the rough PA NF membrane surface into a ridge-and-valley structure.

Electron Transport in Quasi-Two-Dimensional Porous Network of Titania Nanoparticles, Incorporating Electrical and Optical Advantages in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

The integration of fast electron transport and large effective surface area is critical to attaining higher gains in the nanostructured photovoltaic devices. Here, we report facilitated electron transport in the quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) porous TiO . Liquid electrolyte dye-sensitized solar cells were prepared by utilizing photoanodes based on the Q2D porous substructures.

Variable electron beam diameter achieved by a titanium oxide/carbon nanotube hetero-structure suitable for nanolithography.

We report the fabrication of a titanium oxide/carbon nanotube based field emission device suitable for nanolithography and fabrication of transistors. The growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is performed on silicon substrates using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. The vertically grown CNTs are encapsulated by titanium oxide (TiO(2)) using an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition system.