Selective and durable HO electrosynthesis catalyst in acid by selenization induced straining and phasing.

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for acidic electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (HO) holds considerable significance, while the selectivity and stability of most materials are compromised under acidic conditions. Herein, we demonstrate that constructing amorphous platinum-selenium (Pt-Se) shells on crystalline Pt cores can manipulate the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) pathway to efficiently catalyze the electrosynthesis of HO in acids. The Se‒Pt nanoparticles, with optimized shell thickness, exhibit over 95% selectivity for HO production, while suppressing its decomposition.

Strong and efficient bismuth telluride-based thermoelectrics for Peltier microcoolers.

Thermoelectric Peltier coolers (PCs) are being increasingly used as temperature stabilizers for optoelectronic devices. Increasing integration drives PC miniaturization, requiring thermoelectric materials with good strength. We demonstrate a simultaneous gain of thermoelectric and mechanical performance in (Bi, Sb)Te, and successfully fabricate micro PCs (2 × 2 mm cross-section) that show excellent maximum cooling temperature difference of 89.

Unconventional Crystal Structure of the High-Pressure Superconductor La_{3}Ni_{2}O_{7}.

The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in La_{3}Ni_{2}O_{7} at pressures above 14 GPa has spurred extensive research efforts. Yet, fundamental aspects of the superconducting phase, including the possibility of a filamentary character, are currently subjects of controversial debates. Conversely, a crystal structure with NiO_{6} octahedral bilayers stacked along the c-axis direction was consistently posited in initial studies on La_{3}Ni_{2}O_{7}.

Solvation Effect-Determined Mechanisms of Cation Exchange Reactions for Efficient Multicomponent Nanocatalysts.

Cation exchange (CE) reaction is a classical synthesis method for creating complex structures. A lock of study on intrinsic mechanism limits its understanding and practical application. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we observed that the evolution from Ru-Cl to Ru-O/OH occurs during the CE between KRuCl and CoSn(OH) in aqueous solution, while CE between KPtCl and CoSn(OH) is inhibited due to the failure of structural evolution from Pt-Cl to Pt-O/OH.

Observation of Enhanced Long-Range Ferromagnetic Order in B-Site Ordered Double Perovskite Oxide CdCrSbO.

A B-site ordered double perovskite oxide CdCrSbO was synthesized under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. The compound crystallizes to a monoclinic structure with a space group of 2/. The charge configuration is confirmed to be that of Cd/Cr/Sb.

Pressure-Tuned Quantum Criticality in the Locally Noncentrosymmetric Superconductor CeRh_{2}As_{2}.

The unconventional superconductor CeRh_{2}As_{2} (critical temperature T_{c}≈0.4  K) displays an exceptionally rare magnetic-field-induced transition between two distinct superconducting (SC) phases, proposed to be states of even and odd parity of the SC order parameter, which are enabled by a locally noncentrosymmetric structure. The superconductivity is preceded by a phase transition of unknown origin at T_{0}=0.

Atom-glue stabilized Pt-based intermetallic nanoparticles.

Pt-based nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used in catalysis. However, this suffers from aggregation and/or sintering at working conditions. We demonstrate a robust strategy for stabilizing PtCo NPs under high temperature with strong interaction between M-N-C and PtCo NPs with Pt-M-N coordination, namely, "atom glue.

Irrational Moments and Signatures of Higher-Rank Gauge Theories in Diluted Classical Spin Liquids.

Classical spin liquids (CSLs) have proved to be a fruitful setting for the emergence of exotic gauge theories. Vacancy clusters in CSLs can introduce gauge charges into the system, and the resulting behavior in turn reveals the nature of the underlying theory. We study these effects for a series of CSLs on the honeycomb lattice.

Orbital selective commensurate modulations of the local density of states in ScVSn probed by nuclear spins.

The kagome network is a unique platform that harbors a diversity of special electronic states due to its inherent band structure features comprising Dirac cones, van Hove singularities, and flat bands. Some kagome-based metals have recently been found to exhibit favorable properties, including superconductivity, charge order, and signatures of an anomalous Hall effect. The kagome system ScVSn is a promising candidate for studying the emergence of an unconventional charge order and accompanying effects.

Block Copolymer-Directed Single-Diamond Hybrid Structures Derived from X-ray Nanotomography.

Block copolymers are recognized as a valuable platform for creating nanostructured materials. Morphologies formed by block copolymer self-assembly can be transferred into a wide range of inorganic materials, enabling applications including energy storage and metamaterials. However, imaging of the underlying, often complex, nanostructures in large volumes has remained a challenge, limiting progress in materials development.

Avoided metallicity in a hole-doped Mott insulator on a triangular lattice.

Doping of a Mott insulator gives rise to a wide variety of exotic emergent states, from high-temperature superconductivity to charge, spin, and orbital orders. The physics underpinning their evolution is, however, poorly understood. A major challenge is the chemical complexity associated with traditional routes to doping.

Probing the Shape of the Weyl Fermi Surface of NbP Using Transverse Electron Focusing.

Weyl semimetals are defined by their unique Fermi surface, comprising pairs of Weyl points of opposite chirality, connected through topological surface states. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been used to verify the existence of the Weyl points and the Fermi arcs. However, ARPES is limited in resolution, leading to significant uncertainty when characterizing the shape of the Fermi surface of semimetals and measuring features such as the distance between the Weyl points.

Bacteriophage-like Nanobiocatalysts with Spiky Topography and Dual-Atom Sites for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria.

Overuse of antibiotics leads to the proliferation of drug-resistant bacterial strains, worsening global morbidity, and mortality rates. Bioinspired nanomaterials present a promising avenue for developing nonantibiotic strategies against drug-resistant bacteria. Here, we engineer a bacteriophage-inspired artificial nanobiocatalyst via nonstoichiometric WO that features a spiky topography and synergistic dual-atom sites for combating drug-resistant bacterial infection.

Optical Conductivity and Photo-Induced Polaronic Formation in CoMnGa Topological Semimetal.

Topological materials occupy an important place in the quantum materials family due to their peculiar low-energy electrodynamics, hosting emergent magneto-electrical, and nonlinear optical responses. This manuscript reports on the optical responses for the magnetic topological nodal semimetal CoMnGa, studied in a thin film geometry at various thicknesses. The thickness-dependent optical conductivity is investigated, observing a substantial dependence of the electronic band structure on thickness.

Alkali Metals Activated High Entropy Double Perovskites for Boosted Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

An efficient and facile water dissociation process plays a crucial role in enhancing the activity of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Considering the intricate influence between interfacial water and intermediates in typical catalytic systems, meticulously engineered catalysts should be developed by modulating electron configurations and optimizing surface chemical bonds. Here, a high-entropy double perovskite (HEDP) electrocatalyst La(CoNiMgZnNaLi)RuO, achieving a reduced overpotential of 40.

Mixed-valence state in the dilute-impurity regime of La-substituted SmB.

Homogeneous mixed-valence (MV) behaviour is one of the most intriguing phenomena of f-electron systems. Despite extensive efforts, a fundamental aspect which remains unsettled is the experimental determination of the limiting cases for which MV emerges. Here we address this question for SmB, a prototypical MV system characterized by two nearly-degenerate Sm and Sm configurations.

Delocalization-ratio analysis of 3-center bonding in position-space for closo-boranes and related systems: Approaching the styx picture and beyond.

Closo-boron hydrides BH (n = 5-12) are a conceptually well understood class of compounds. For these and a few related prototype compounds, both the local and the global picture of 3-center bonding are extracted from position-space quantities based on the electron density and the pair density. For this purpose, three-center delocalization indices between quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) atoms in position space are used to develop a consistent set of local bond and triangle, and global cluster delocalization ratios (DRs), which are quantitatively compared with conceptual Γ values derived from the styx code for each cluster.

Hydroflux Synthesis and Structural Phase Transition of Rare-Earth Borate Hydroxides Na[RE(BO)(OH)] (RE=Y, Gd-Er).

Reacting REO and HBO in an ultra-alkaline NaOH hydroflux at about 250 °C yielded pure, crystalline samples of Na[RE(BO)(OH)] (RE=Y, Gd-Er). The compounds dehydrate to NaRE(BO) upon heating in air to about 500 °C. Na[RE(BO)(OH)] (RE=Tb-Er) are photoluminescent under UV radiation.

The Lorenz ratio as a guide to scattering contributions to transport in strongly correlated metals.

In many physical situations in which many-body assemblies exist at temperature , a characteristic quantum-mechanical time scale of approximately [Formula: see text] can be identified in both theory and experiment, leading to speculation that it may be the shortest meaningful time in such circumstances. This behavior can be investigated by probing the scattering rate of electrons in a broad class of materials often referred to as "strongly correlated metals". It is clear that in some cases only electron-electron scattering can be its cause, while in others it arises from high-temperature scattering of electrons from quantized lattice vibrations, i.

Axion topology in photonic crystal domain walls.

Axion insulators are 3D magnetic topological insulators supporting hinge states and quantized magnetoelectric effects, recently proposed for detecting dark-matter axionic particles via their axionic excitations. Beyond theoretical interest, obtaining a photonic counterpart of axion insulators offers potential for advancing magnetically-tunable photonic devices and axion haloscopes based on axion-photon conversion. This work proposes an axionic 3D phase within a photonic setup.