Showing Spotlights 41 - 48 of 295 in category All (newest first):
The electronic and optical properties of 2D materials can be controlled by mechanical deformations of their crystal structure. This route to tailor the properties of materials is called strain engineering and it is a rapidly evolving field of research in nanomaterials. Straintronics, however, is somewhat hampered by technical issues related to the fast and reliable control of the applied strain. Researchers have now developed a versatile and straightforward platform to control the biaxial strain in atomically thin layers.
Jun 17th, 2020
Superconducting materials, which entirely lose their electrical resistance at low temperatures, have become ever more widespread over recent years. Nevertheless, the fascinating phenomenon of superconductivity does not cease to surprise, as the kinds of materials able to superconduct, as well as the mechanisms through which superconductivity emerges, have become increasingly diverse. One of the prime examples is found in the compound 2D material tantalum disulfide, where the critical temperature below which superconductivity appears increases multifold as the crystal is made thinner down to a monolayer.
May 8th, 2020
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for many neurological disorders, but despite its widespread utilization the underlying mechanisms and downstream effects of DBS remain poorly understood. One major issue to understand the therapeutic mechanism of DBS is to map the wide variety of brain responses at both the local and global levels. Researchers have developed a highly MRI-compatible graphene fiber electrode that enables full activation pattern mapping by functional magnetic resonance imaging under DBS without the occurence of artifacts resulting from magnetic field interference.
Apr 20th, 2020
Researchers have developed black phosphorus (BP) functionalized graphene films, resulting in record toughness. The formation of covalent bonding between BP and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets not only reduces the voids of GO film but also improves the alignment degree of GO nanosheets, resulting in high compactness of the GO film. After further chemical reduction and pi-pi stacking interactions by conjugated AD molecules, the alignment degree of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets was further improved, and the voids in lamellar graphene film were also further reduced. The toughness of this graphene film reaches the highest value recorded to date.
Apr 9th, 2020
Researchers report the direct writing of laser-induced graphene on a Kevlar textile. The transformation of Kevlar into graphene can be attributed to the photothermal effect induced by CO2 laser irradiation. Specifically, this resulted in high localized temperature, leading to the ablation and depolymerization of the Kevlar fiber. The remaining carbon atoms are recombined and 'recrystallized' into graphene. Based on this technique, it becomes feasible to prepare various types of flexible electronics on different commercial textiles such as silk and cotton. This will enable the efficient and customized preparation of multi-functional textile electronics.
Mar 11th, 2020
Nanofluidic membranes based on two-dimensional materials are promising materials for next-generation water desalination and purification. For instance, pristine and chemically modified graphene oxide membranes (GOMs) effectively block organic dyes and nanoparticles as small as 9 Å. However, these nanomembranes fail to exclude smaller inorganic salt ions, which would be required to extract pure potable water from unconventional water sources such as, salt water, industrial waste water, and rain water. With a novel approach called planar heterogeneous interface desalination researchers can now achieve a high salt rejection rate close to 97%.
Mar 3rd, 2020
Two-dimensional (2D) materials could offer new building blocks for future technologies, but this requires approaches to control the carrier type in 2D semiconductors. A number of pioneering works have demonstrated different methods to program the carrier type in 2D materials, such as electrostatic doping, chemical doping, ion implantation, charge transfer, and annealing control. Recently, a team of researchers have developed a technique to dope 2D materials for redefinable nanoelectronics using nonvolatile ferroelectric domains.
Feb 20th, 2020
Hematite as a magnetic photocatalyst can support the production of oxygen in its magnetic ground state and thereby improve the efficiency of hydrogen production. When hematite is made thinner, another important improvement in the efficiency of the reaction could be accomplished by expectedly more efficient separation of charge carriers upon the absorption of light on the surface. Scientists now elucidate exactly how optical and magnetic properties of hematite change when decreased in thickness to the atomistic scale.
Feb 14th, 2020
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