Strategic Customization of Polymeric Nanocomposites Modified by 2D Titanium Oxide Nanosheet for High-k and Flexible Gate Dielectrics.

Organic polymer-based dielectrics with intrinsic mechanical flexibility and good processability are excellent candidates for the dielectric layer of flexible electronics. These polymer films can become even more rigid and electrically robust when modified through cross-linking processes. Moreover, the composites formed by dispersing nanoscale inorganic fillers in a polymer matrix can exhibit further improved polarization property. However, these strategies can be challenging as homogeneous dispersion of nanomaterials in the matrix is difficult to achieve; thus, degradation of electrically insulating properties of nanocomposite layers is often observed. Here, a high-k, pinhole-free, and flexible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based nanocomposite dielectric is presented, incorporating 2D TiO2 nanosheets (NSs) for the first time. Despite the attractive dielectric constant, exceptional flexibility, and electrically insulating property of PVA-TiO2 nanocomposites, only few studies on these materials have been reported. The organic/inorganic nanosheet hybrid layer, which reaches an unprecedentedly high dielectric constant of 43.8 (more than four times higher than that of cross-linked PVA), also exhibits an outstanding leakage current density as low as 10-9 A cm-2 . Furthermore, the repeated bending tests for nanocomposite capacitors reveal their capability of operating without any deterioration of their performances even after 1000 iterations of bending cycles at a bending radius of 3 mm.

Versatile porous graphene flakes derived from alkali metal carbonates using an ultrafast and sulfuric acid-free solid-state oxidation reaction.

Herein, we report on an unprecedented synthetic method for single-layered GO that takes just a few tens of minutes. This rationally designed solid-state oxidation based on alkali metal carbonates (Li2CO3, Na2CO3, K2CO3) involves a molten salt reaction, which enables the effective exfoliation and oxidation of graphene layers without using H2SO4 and KMnO4. The advantage of this approach is not only the ability to avoid the introduction of strong acid reactants in the reaction process, but this approach also leads to a 4.2 times larger specific surface area than conventional GO. For these reasons, we anticipate that this green, safe, fast and effective approach enables practical applications in graphene-based energy storage and light-absorbing black materials.

Roll-to-Roll Production of Layer-Controlled Molybdenum Disulfide: A Platform for 2D Semiconductor-Based Industrial Applications.

A facile methodology for the large-scale production of layer-controlled MoS2 layers on an inexpensive substrate involving a simple coating of single source precursor with subsequent roll-to-roll-based thermal decomposition is developed. The resulting 50 cm long MoS2 layers synthesized on Ni foils possess excellent long-range uniformity and optimum stoichiometry. Moreover, this methodology is promising because it enables simple control of the number of MoS2 layers by simply adjusting the concentration of (NH4 )2 MoS4 . Additionally, the capability of the MoS2 for practical applications in electronic/optoelectronic devices and catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction is verified. The MoS2 -based field effect transistors exhibit unipolar n-channel transistor behavior with electron mobility of 0.6 cm2 V-1 s-1 and an on-off ratio of ≈10³. The MoS2 -based visible-light photodetectors are fabricated in order to evaluate their photoelectrical properties, obtaining an 100% yield for active devices with significant photocurrents and extracted photoresponsivity of ≈22 mA W-1 . Moreover, the MoS2 layers on Ni foils exhibit applicable catalytic activity with observed overpotential of ≈165 mV and a Tafel slope of 133 mV dec-1 . Based on these results, it is envisaged that the cost-effective methodology will trigger actual industrial applications, as well as novel research related to 2D semiconductor-based multifaceted applications.

Dimensional-Hybrid Structures of 2D Materials with ZnO Nanostructures via pH-Mediated Hydrothermal Growth for Flexible UV Photodetectors.

Complementary combination of heterostructures is a crucial factor for the development of 2D materials-based optoelectronic devices. Herein, an appropriate solution for fabricating complementary dimensional-hybrid nanostructures comprising structurally tailored ZnO nanostructures and 2D materials such as graphene and MoS2 is suggested. Structural features of ZnO nanostructures hydrothermally grown on graphene and MoS2 are deliberately manipulated by adjusting the pH value of the growing solution, which will result in the formation of ZnO nanowires, nanostars, and nanoflowers. The detailed growth mechanism is further explored for the structurally tailored ZnO nanostructures on the 2D materials. Furthermore, a UV photodetector based on the dimensional-hybrid nanostructures is fabricated, which demonstrates their excellent photocurrent and mechanical durability. This can be understood by the existence of oxygen vacancies and oxygen-vacancies-induced band narrowing in the ZnO nanostructures, which is a decisive factor for determining their photoelectrical properties in the hybrid system.

Toward Arbitrary-Direction Energy Harvesting through Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerators Using Perovskite PbTiO3 Nanotube Arrays.

New fiber-type piezoelectric nanogenerator devices consisting of radially aligned perovskite PbTiO3 nanotubes are designed for energy harvesting from arbitrary mechanical motion. The free-standing fiber-type nanogenerators generate constant amount of electric power by bending or wind motion regardless of direction, thus, extending the possibility of their practical applications.

Thermomechanical liquid crystalline elastomer capillaries with biomimetic peristaltic crawling function.

It is highly desirable to fabricate liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) devices with novel functions for applications in different areas. In this study, LCE capillaries with biomimetic peristaltic function are fabricated for the first time to mimic the peristaltic crawling locomotion of earthworms. A specifically designed LC cell was prepared for this purpose, which consisted of two coaxial glass capillaries coated with polyimide alignment layers on the inner cell surfaces. The side-on LCE capillaries were fabricated by photoinitiated polymerization/crosslinking of a monomer and a crosslinker in the LC cells. The results show that owing to the effect of the alignment layers on the LC cell walls, the mesogenic units in the network structures are predominantly oriented along the capillary axis. Reversible thermomechanical contraction and expansion are observed for the LCE capillaries, which show a relative contraction of 16% in the length and a relative expansion of 12% in the diameter upon the nematic to isotropic phase transition. When placed in a glass tube with an appropriate inner diameter, reversible peristaltic crawling locomotion of the LCE capillaries is realized by moving a heating source outside the tube along its axis. Under typical conditions, the peristaltic crawling motion shows a moving speed of 0.31 mm s-1. The mechanism of the peristaltic crawling of the LCE capillary is elucidated with the assistance of the finite elemental analysis (FEA) simulation. A five-stage motion model is established to rationalize these observations and correlate the observations with the crawling locomotion of earthworms. The LCE capillary with the peristaltic crawling locomotion function promises its potential applications in biomimetic miniature robots and actuators.

Flexible, Highly Durable, and Thermally Stable SWCNT/Polyimide Transparent Electrodes.

Flexible, transparent, and electrically conducting electrode materials are highly desired for flexible electronic applications. With a highly transparent polyimide (PI) as a substrate, a comprehensive and comparative study was performed to investigate four different fabrication schemes in producing transparent and electrically conducting SWCNT/PI electrodes. A very promising method that involves an in situ imidization process and nitric acid doping treatment was identified, which led to the fabrication of highly durable and thermally stable SWCNT/PI electrodes. The best performed electrode has a transmission of 77.6% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance (Rs) of 1169 ± 172 Ω/□, which appeared no changes after repeating tests of bending, folding-unfolding, adhesive-tape-peeling-off, and wet tissue-paper scratching/wiping. The excellent thermal stability of such fabricated SWCNT/PI electrode is manifested by the very high glass transition temperature of 290.1 °C and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 28.5 ppm °C(-1) in the temperature range from 75 to 200 °C. The new method expects to be able to pave the way in facile production of high-performance flexible, transparent, and conducting electrodes.

Nonlinear intermodulation distortion suppression in coherent analog fiber optic link using electro-optic polymeric dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator.

A linearized dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) based on electro-optic (EO) polymer was both fabricated, and experimentally used to suppress the third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) in a coherent analog fiber optic link. This optical transmitter design was based on a new EO chromophore called B10, which was synthesized for applications dealing with the fiber-optic communication systems. The chromophore was mixed with amorphous polycarbonate (APC) to form the waveguide's core material. The DPMZM was configured with two MZMs, of different lengths in parallel, with unbalanced input and output couplers and a phase shifter in one arm. In this configuration each of the MZMs carried a different optical power, and imposed a different depth of optical modulation. When the two optical beams from the MZMs were combined to generate the transmitted signal it was possible to set the IMD3 produced by each modulator to be equal in amplitude but 180° out of phase from the other. Therefore, the resulting IMD3 of the DPMZM transmitter was effectively canceled out during two-tone experiments. A reduction of the IMD3 below the noise floor was observed while leaving fifth-order distortion (IMD5) as the dominant IMD product. This configuration has the capability of broadband operation and shot-noise limited operation simultaneously.

Continuous renal replacement therapy for the treatment of acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has been widely used for treating critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Whether CRRT is better than intermittent hemodialysis for the treatment of AKI remains controversial. We sought to identify the clinical features that can predict survival for the patients who are treated with CRRT. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 125 patients who received CRRT between 2005 and 2007. We identified the demographic variables, the underlying diagnoses, the duration of CRRT, the mean arterial blood pressure (ABP) and the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II. The classification/staging system for acute kidney injury (AKI) was applied to all the patients, who were then divided into stage 1-3 subgroups. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 61.414.3 years and the mortality rate was 60% (75 of 125 patients). The survivors had a significantly higher mean ABP and a higher mean serum bicarbonate level, which were measured the day after CRRT, than the nonsurvivors (86.723.7 vs. 69.224.6 mm Hg, respectively, 21.43.5 vs. 16.45.4 mmol/L, respectively,; p<0.05 for each). The stage 3 AKI patients showed the worst parameters for the SAPS II score and the serum levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. The mortality rate was higher for the stage 3 subgroup than the other groups (70.5%, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The patients with AKI and who require CRRT continue to have a high mortality rate. A higher mean ABP and a higher serum bicarbonate level measured the day after CRRT may predict a more favorable prognosis. The staging system for AKI can improve the ability to predict the outcomes of CRRT patients.

Electro-optic polymer frequency shifter activated by input optical pulses.

We demonstrate electro-optic frequency shifting of 1.55-microm optical pulses by as much as 86 GHz in a polymer traveling-wave phase modulator. The optical pulses were modulated with the linear region of quasi-sinusoidal microwave pulses. In the implemented configuration the electro-optic frequency shifter does not require synchronization with the source of the optical pulses, making it transparent to the optical-pulse repetition rate and increasing its utility. Electro-optic frequency conversion has a number of advantages compared with other methods of all-optical frequency conversion, including no need for a second optical source, high conversion efficiency, and simple control of the output frequency.

Vertical adiabatic transition between a silica planar waveguide and an electro-optic polymer fabricated with gray-scale lithography.

We report on a vertical adiabatic transition between silica planar waveguides and electro-optic (EO) polymer. Gray-scale lithography was used to pattern a polymer transition with an exponential profile. Excess losses of the order of 1 dB were measured, and good mode matching to simulation was observed. This configuration, which married the advantages of both silica and EO-polymer planar-optic technologies, demonstrates a new technique for fabricating hybrid active devices with high modulation speed, low insertion loss, and complex geometries.