"Popping the Ion-Basket": Enhancing Thermoelectric Performance of Conjugated Polymers by Blending with Latently Dissociable Perovskite Quantum Dots.

A novel additive method to boost the Seebeck coefficient of doped conjugated polymers without a significant loss in electrical conductivity is demonstrated. Perovskite (CsPbBr) quantum dots (QDs) passivated by ligands with long alkyl chains are mixed with a conjugated polymer in a solution phase to form polymer-QD blend films. Solution sequential doping of the blend film with AuCl solution not only doped the conjugated polymer but also decomposed the QDs, resulting in a doped conjugated polymer film embedded with separated ions dissociated from the QDs.

Plasmon-Driven Gold Nanopillar Multiarrayed Gene Amplification Methodology for the High-Throughput Discrimination of Pathogens.

Molecular diagnosis limitations, including complex treatment processes, low cost-effectiveness, and operator-dependent low reproducibility, interrupt the timely prevention of disease spread and the development of medical devices for home and outdoor uses. A newly fabricated gold nanopillar array-based film is presented for superior photothermal energy conversion. Magnifying the metal film surface-to-volume ratio increases the photothermal energy conversion efficiency, resulting in a swift reduction in the gene amplification reaction time.

Spatiotemporal Dynamic Immunomodulation by Infection-Mimicking Gels Enhances Broad and Durable Protective Immunity Against Heterologous Viruses.

Despite their safety and widespread use, conventional protein antigen-based subunit vaccines face significant challenges such as low immunogenicity, insufficient long-term immunity, poor CD8 T-cell activation, and poor adaptation to viral variants. To address these issues, an infection-mimicking gel (IM-Gel) is developed that is designed to emulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of immune stimulation in acute viral infections through in situ supramolecular self-assembly of nanoparticulate-TLR7/8a (NP-TLR7/8a) and an antigen with tannic acid (TA). Through collagen-binding properties of TA, the IM-Gel enables sustained delivery and enhanced retention of NP-TLR7/8a and protein antigen in the lymph node subcapsular sinus of mice for over 7 days, prolonging the exposure of vaccine components in both B cell and T cell zones, leading to robust humoral and cellular responses.

Reconfigurable Sequential-Logic-in-Memory Implementation Utilizing Ferroelectric Field-Effect Transistors.

In modern digital systems, sequential logic circuits store and process information over time, whereas combinational logic circuits process only the current inputs. Conventional sequential systems, however, are complex and energy-inefficient due to the separation of volatile and nonvolatile memory components. This study proposes a compact, nonvolatile, and reconfigurable van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET)-based sequential logic-in-memory (S-LiM) unit that performs sequential logic operations in two nonvolatile states.

Half-Metallic Antiferromagnetic 2D Nonlayered CrSe Nanosheets.

Half-metallic magnetism, characterized by metallic behavior in one spin direction and semiconducting or insulating behavior in the opposite spin direction, is an intriguing and highly useful physical property for advanced spintronics because it allows for the complete realization of 100% spin-polarized current. Particularly, half-metallic antiferromagnetism is recognized as an excellent candidate for the development of highly efficient spintronic devices due to its zero net magnetic moment combined with 100% spin polarization, which results in lower energy losses and eliminates stray magnetic fields compared to half-metallic ferromagnets. However, the synthesis and characterization of half-metallic antiferromagnets have not been reported until now as the theoretically proposed materials require a delicate and challenging approach to fabricate such complex compounds.

Evaporative Morphology Tuning of Conducting Polymer Films Under Controlled Vacuum Conditions.

The evaporation of drops on solid surfaces is a ubiquitous natural phenomenon, and their dynamics play a pivotal role in many biological, environmental, and industrial processes. However, the complexity of the underlying mechanisms has largely confined previous studies to liquid drop evaporation under atmospheric conditions. In this study, the first comprehensive investigation of the evaporation dynamics of conducting polymer-containing drops under controlled vacuum environments is presented.

Direct Evidence of Excessive Charge-Carrier-Induced Degradation in InP Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

The limited operational lifetime of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) poses a critical obstacle that must be addressed before their practical application. Specifically, cadmium-free InP-based QLEDs, which are environmentally benign, experience significant operational degradation due to challenges in charge-carrier confinement stemming from the composition of InP quantum dots (QDs). This study investigates the operational degradation of InP QLEDs and provides direct evidence of the degradation process.

Controllable Synthesis of Magnetic 2D Non-Layered Cobalt Sulfide Nanocrystals Using Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Among 2-dimensional (2D) non-layered transition-metal chalcogenides (TMCs), cobalt sulfides are highly interesting because of their diverse structural phases and unique properties. The unique magnetic properties of TMCs have generated significant interest in their potential applications in future spintronic devices. In addition, their high conductivity, large specific surface area, and abundant active sites have attracted attention in the field of catalysis.

Electron-Beam-Induced Negative Differential Transconductance Homojunction Device Based on van der Waals Materials for Functionally Complete Ternary Computing.

Negative differential transconductance (NDT) devices have emerged as promising candidates for multivalued logic computing, and particularly for ternary logic systems. To enable computation of any ternary operation, it is essential to have a functionally complete set of ternary logic gates, which remains unrealized with current NDT technologies, posing a critical limitation for higher-level circuit design. Additionally, NDT devices typically rely on heterojunctions, complicating fabrication and impacting reliability due to the introduction of additional materials and interfaces.

Convergence Analysis and Predictions for Optimizing Reciprocal Grids: A First-Principles and Machine Learning Study.

When crystalline materials are investigated by performing first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the reciprocal grid should be fine enough to obtain the converged total energy and electronic structure. Herein, we performed a convergence test of the total energy for the density of reciprocal points to determine fine enough reciprocal grids for high-throughput calculations. Our results show that the nonlinearity of the band structures affects the convergence of the total energy, especially for materials with a finite band gap.

Spectroscopic Signatures of Ultra-Thin Amorphous Carbon with the Tuned Disorder Directly Grown on a Dielectric Substrate.

The reduced structural complexity of atomically thin amorphous carbons makes it suitable for semiconductor technology. Inherent challenges arise from transfer processes subsequent to growth on metallic substrates, posing significant challenges to the accurate characterization of amorphous materials, thereby compromising the reliability of spectroscopic analysis. Here this work presents a novel approach: direct growth of ultra-thin amorphous carbon with tuned disorder on a dielectric substrate (SiO/Si) using photochemical reaction and thermal annealing process with a solid precursor.

Microsecond triplet emission from organic chromophore-transition metal dichalcogenide hybrids via through-space spin orbit proximity effect.

Efficient light generation from triplet states of organic molecules has been a hot yet demanding topic in academia and the display industry. Herein, we propose a strategy for developing triplet emitter by creating heterostructures of organic chromophores and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). These heterostructures emit microsecond phosphorescence at room temperature, while their organic chromophores intrinsically exhibit millisecond phosphorescence under vibration dissipation-free conditions.

Robust Anticorrosive Polymer Thin Film for Reliable Protection of Ingestible Devices.

Ingestible devices (ID) provide a safe and noninvasive method for monitoring, diagnosing, and delivering drugs to specific sites in the human body, particularly within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, the GI environment is highly acidic and humid, which can cause IDs to fail, and their corrosion in the acidic environment can cause leaching of toxic metal ions, thereby substantially limiting their long-term use. Thus, an efficient method is required to protect IDs, especially in the chemically and mechanically harsh GI environment.

Strategy for Enhancing Catalytic Active Site: Introduction of 1D material InSeI for Electrochemical CO Reduction to Formate.

The presence of oxygen vacancies (V) in electrocatalysts plays a significant role in improving the selectivity and activity of CO reduction reaction (CORR). In this study, 1D material with large surface area is utilized to enable uniform V formation on the catalyst. 1D structured indium selenoiodide (InSeI) is synthesized and used as an electrocatalyst for the conversion of CO to formate.

Selective Identification of Hazardous Gases Using Flexible, Room-Temperature Operable Sensor Array Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles via Machine Learning.

Selective detection and monitoring of hazardous gases with similar properties are highly desirable to ensure human safety. The development of flexible and room-temperature (RT) operable chemiresistive gas sensors provides an excellent opportunity to create wearable devices for detecting hazardous gases surrounding us. However, chemiresistive gas sensors typically suffer from poor selectivity and zero-cross selectivity toward similar types of gases.