Enhanced Photovoltaic Performances of La-Doped Bismuth Ferrite/Zinc Oxide Heterojunction by Coupling Piezo-Phototronic Effect and Ferroelectricity.

Ferroelectric materials have drawn widespread attention due to their switchable spontaneous polarization and anomalous photovoltaic effect. The coupling between ferroelectricity and the piezo-phototronic effect may lead to the design of distinctive photoelectric devices with multifunctional features. Here, we report an enhancement of the photovoltaic performances in the ferroelectric -type La-doped bismuth ferrite film (BLFO)/-type zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire array heterojunction by rationally coupling the strain-induced piezoelectricity in ZnO nanowires and the ferroelectricity in BLFO.

Polymer Materials for High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

As an emerging branch of energy conversion technologies, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) pioneers a brand-new path to effectively harness varieties of mechanical energies for the purpose of powering and/or sensing. Since its invention in 2012, the TENG has experienced a booming and revolutionary development in every respect, ranging from materials synthesis and modification, architecture design to performance optimization, power management, and application exploration. In comparison to the organic solar cell and organic light-emitting diodes, TENG is a unique technique that opens the venue of using polymer materials (PMs) for harvesting mechanical energy.

Ultralow Quiescent Power-Consumption Wake-Up Technology Based on the Bionic Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

Wake-up circuits in smart microsystems make huge contributions to energy conservation of electronic networks in unmanned areas, which still require higher pressure-triggering sensitivity and lower power consumption. In this work, a bionic triboelectric nanogenerator (bTENG) is developed to serve as a self-powered motion sensor in the wake-up circuit, which captures slight mechanical disturbances and overcomes the drawback of conventional self-powered motion sensors in the wake-up circuit that the circuit can only be triggered when a considerable pressure is applied on the sensor. The bTENG mimics the structure of plants and the addition of the leaf-shaped tentacle structures can increase the electrical outputs by four times, which largely extends the detection range of the wake-up circuit.

Low Detection Limit and High Sensitivity Wind Speed Sensor Based on Triboelectrification-Induced Electroluminescence.

The rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) has tremendously increased the demands for wind speed sensors in various applications, such as weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. To date, many wind speed sensors are developed based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, the low output current leads to a poor sensing precision, which greatly limits their practical applications.

Two Photon-Pumped Whispering-Gallery Mode Lasing and Dynamic Regulation.

Realizing the dynamic regulation of nonlinear optical signals has a great scientific significance for the development of new-type nonlinear optoelectronic devices and expands its application in the field of laser technology, spectroscopy, material structure analysis, etc. Here, two photon absorption-induced whispering-gallery mode lasing from a single ZnO microresonator with a relatively low lasing threshold (15 µW) and high quality factor ( ≈ 3200) under ambient conditions is demonstrated. Furthermore, success is achieved in obtaining the dynamic regulation of two photon-pumped lasing mode in the UV gain region.

Low-Voltage Oscillatory Neurons for Memristor-Based Neuromorphic Systems.

Neuromorphic systems consisting of artificial neurons and synapses can process complex information with high efficiency to overcome the bottleneck of von Neumann architecture. Artificial neurons are essentially required to possess functions such as leaky integrate-and-fire and output spike. However, previous reported artificial neurons typically have high operation voltage and large leakage current, leading to significant power consumption, which is contrary to the energy-efficient biological model.

Effects of the Structure of TiO Nanotube Arrays on Its Catalytic Activity for Microbial Fuel Cell.

To enhance the microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and chemical oxygen demand degradation, TiO nanotubes arrays (TNA) are successfully synthesized on Ti foil substrate by the anodization process in HF and NHF solution, respectively (hereafter, denoted as TNA-HF and TNA-NF). The differences between the two kinds of TNA are revealed based on their morphologies and spectroscopic characterizations. It should be highlighted that 3D TNA-NF with an appropriate dimension can make a positive contribution to the high photocatalytic activity.

Ferroelectricity-Enhanced Piezo-Phototronic Effect in 2D V-Doped ZnO Nanosheets.

Emerging 2D electronic materials have shown great potential for regulating and controlling optoelectronic processes. A 2D ferroelectric semiconductor coupled with the piezo-phototronic effect may bring unprecedented functional characteristics. Here, a heterojunction photodetector made of p-Si/V-doped-ferroelectric-ZnO 2D nanosheets (FESZ-PD) is fabricated, and the ferroelectricity-enhanced piezo-phototronic effect on the photoresponse behavior of the FESZ-PD is carefully investigated.

Fully Bioabsorbable Capacitor as an Energy Storage Unit for Implantable Medical Electronics.

Implantable medical electronic devices are usually powered by batteries or capacitors, which have to be removed from the body after completing their function due to their non-biodegradable property. Here, a fully bioabsorbable capacitor (BC) is developed for life-time implantation. The BC has a symmetrical layer-by-layer structure, including polylactic acid (PLA) supporting substrate, PLA nanopillar arrays, self-assembled zinc oxide nanoporous layer, and polyvinyl alcohol/phosphate buffer solution (PVA/PBS) hydrogel.

A Dual-Salt Gel Polymer Electrolyte with 3D Cross-Linked Polymer Network for Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal batteries show great potential in energy storage because of their high energy density. Nevertheless, building a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and restraining the dendrite growth are difficult to realize with traditional liquid electrolytes. Solid and gel electrolytes are considered promising candidates to restrain the dendrites growth, while they are still limited by low ionic conductivity and incompatible interphases.

Triboelectrification-Enabled Self-Powered Data Storage.

Data storage by any means usually requires an electric driving power for writing or reading. A novel approach for self-powered, triboelectrification-enabled data storage (TEDS) is presented. Data are incorporated into a set of metal-based surface patterns.

A One-Structure-Based Multieffects Coupled Nanogenerator for Simultaneously Scavenging Thermal, Solar, and Mechanical Energies.

Rapid advances in various energy harvesters impose the challenge on integrating them into one device structure with synergetic effects for full use of the available energies from the environment. Here, a multieffect coupled nanogenerator based on ferroelectric barium titanate is reported. It promotes the ability to simultaneously scavenging thermal, solar, and mechanical energies.

Ultrahigh, Ultrafast, and Self-Powered Visible-Near-Infrared Optical Position-Sensitive Detector Based on a CVD-Prepared Vertically Standing Few-Layer MoS/Si Heterojunction.

MoS, as a typical transition metal dichalcogenide, has attracted great interest because of its distinctive electronic, optical, and catalytic properties. However, its advantages of strong light absorption and fast intralayer mobility cannot be well developed in the usual reported monolayer/few-layer structures, which make the performances of MoS-based devices undesirable. Here, large-area, high-quality, and vertically oriented few-layer MoS (V-MoS) nanosheets are prepared by chemical vapor deposition and successfully transferred onto an Si substrate to form the V-MoS/Si heterojunction.

Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots with Tunable Memory Properties and Multilevel Resistive Switching Characteristics.

is demonstrated with tunable characteristics, multilevel data storage, and ultrahigh ON/OFF ratio. Effects of the black phosphorous quantum dots layer thickness and the compliance current setting on resistive switching behavior are systematically studied. Our devices can yield a series of SET voltages and current levels, hence having the potential for practical applications in the flexible electronics industry.

Recent Progress in Electronic Skin.

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and can sense pressure, temperature, and other complex environmental stimuli or conditions. The mimicry of human skin's sensory ability via electronics is a topic of innovative research that could find broad applications in robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-machine interfaces, all of which promote the development of electronic skin (e-skin). To imitate tactile sensing via e-skins, flexible and stretchable pressure sensor arrays are constructed based on different transduction mechanisms and structural designs.