Double-Spiral Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Shear Strained Coalescence Boundary.

Among the different growth mechanisms for two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, spiraling growth of h-BN has not been reported. Here we report the formation of intertwined double-spiral few-layer h-BN that is driven by screw dislocations located at the antiphase boundaries of monolayer domains. The microstructure and stacking configurations were studied using a combination of dark-field and atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy. Distinct from other 2D materials with single-spiral structures, the double-spiral structure enables the intertwined h-BN layers to preserve the most stable AA' stacking configuration. We also found that the occurrence of shear strains at the boundaries of merged spiral islands is dependent on the propagation directions of encountering screw dislocations and presented the strained features by density functional theory calculations and atomic image simulations. This study unveils the double-spiral growth of 2D h-BN multilayers and the creation of a shear strain band at the coalescence boundary of two h-BN spiral clusters.

The Electrochemical Response of Single Crystalline Copper Nanowires to Atmospheric Air and Aqueous Solution.

In this paper, single crystalline copper nanowires (CuNWs) have been electrochemically grown through anodic aluminum oxide template. The environmental stability of the as-obtained CuNWs in both 40% relative humidity (RH) atmosphere and 0.1 m NaOH aqueous solution has been subsequently studied. In 40% RH atmosphere, a uniform compact Cu2 O layer is formed as a function of exposure time following the logarithmic law and epitaxially covers the CuNW surfaces. It is also found that the oxide layers on CuNWs are sequentially grown when subjected to the cyclic voltammetry measurement in 0.1 m NaOH solution. An epitaxially homogeneous Cu2 O layer is initially formed over the surface of the CuNW substrates by solid-state reaction (SSR). Subsequently, the conversion of Cu2 O into epitaxial CuO based on the SSR takes place with the increase of applied potential. This CuO layer is partially dissolved in the solution forming Cu(OH)2 , which then redeposited on the CuNW surfaces (i.e., dissolution-redeposition (DR) process) giving rise to a mixed polycrystalline CuO/Cu(OH)2 layer. The further increase of applied potential allows the complete oxidation of Cu2 O into CuO to form a dual-layer structure (i.e., CuO inner layer and Cu(OH)2 outer layer) with random orientations through an enhanced DR process.

Controllable Synthesis of Highly Luminescent Boron Nitride Quantum Dots.

Boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs), as a new member of heavy metal-free quantum dots, have aroused great interest in fundamental research and practical application due to their unique physical/chemical properties. However, it is still a challenge to controllably synthesize high-quality BNQDs with high quantum yield (QY), uniform size and strong fluorescent. In this work, BNQDs have been successfully fabricated by the liquid exfoliation and the subsequent solvothermal process with respect to its facileness and easy large scale up. Importantly, BNQDs with high-quality can be controllably obtained by adjusting the synthetic parameters involved in the solvothermal process including filling factor, synthesis temperature, and duration time. Encouragingly, the as-prepared BNQDs possess strong blue luminescence with QY as high as 19.5%, which can be attributed to the synergetic effect of size, surface chemistry and edge defects. In addition, this strategy presented here provides a new reference for the controllable synthesis of other heavy metal-free QDs. Furthermore, the as-prepared BNQDs are non-toxic to cells and exhibit nanosecond-scaled lifetimes, suggesting they have great potential biological and optoelectronic applications.

3D Graphene-Infused Polyimide with Enhanced Electrothermal Performance for Long-Term Flexible Space Applications.

Polyimides (PIs) have been praised for their high thermal stability, high modulus of elasticity and tensile strength, ease of fabrication, and moldability. They are currently the standard choice for both substrates for flexible electronics and space shielding, as they render high temperature and UV stability and toughness. However, their poor thermal conductivity and completely electrically insulating characteristics have caused other limitations, such as thermal management challenges for flexible high-power electronics and spacecraft electrostatic charging. In order to target these issues, a hybrid of PI with 3D-graphene (3D-C), 3D-C/PI, is developed here. This composite renders extraordinary enhancements of thermal conductivity (one order of magnitude) and electrical conductivity (10 orders of magnitude). It withstands and keeps a stable performance throughout various bending and thermal cycles, as well as the oxidative and aggressive environment of ground-based, simulated space environments. This makes this new hybrid film a suitable material for flexible space applications.

Growth of large single-crystalline two-dimensional boron nitride hexagons on electropolished copper.

Hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) or "white graphene" has many outstanding properties including high thermal conductivity, high mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and high electrical resistance, which open up a wide range of applications such as thermal interface material, protective coatings, and dielectric in nanoelectronics that easily exceed the current advertised benefits pertaining to the graphene-based applications. The development of h-BN films using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has thus far led into nucleation of triangular or asymmetric diamond shapes on different metallic surfaces. Additionally, the average size of the triangular domains has remained relatively small (∼ 0.5 µm(2)) leading to a large number of grain boundaries and defects. While the morphology of Cu surfaces for CVD-grown graphene may have impacts on the nucleation density, domain sizes, thickness, and uniformity, the effects of the decreased roughness of Cu surface to develop h-BN films are unknown. Here, we report the growth and characterization of novel large area h-BN hexagons using highly electropolished Cu substrate under atmospheric pressure CVD conditions. We found that the nucleation density of h-BN is significantly reduced while domain sizes increase. In this study, the largest hexagonal-shape h-BN domain observed is 35 µm(2), which is an order of magnitude larger than a typical triangular domain. As the domains coalesce to form a continuous film, the larger grain size offers a more pristine and smoother film with lesser grain boundaries induced defects.

Configurable three-dimensional boron nitride-carbon architecture and its tunable electronic behavior with stable thermal performances.

Recent developments of 3D-graphene and 3D-boron-nitride have become of great interest owing to their potential for ultra-light flexible electronics. Here we demonstrate the first synthesis of novel 3D-BNC hybrids. By specifically controlling the compositions of C and BN, new fascinating properties are observed, such as highly tunable electrical conductivity, controllable EMI shielding properties, and stable thermal conductivity. This ultra-light hybrid opens up many new applications such as for electronic packaging and thermal interface materials (TIMs).

Identifying the mechanisms of p-to-n conversion in unipolar graphene field-effect transistors.

The mechanisms of p-to-n conversion and vice versa in unipolar graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) were systematically studied using Raman spectroscopy. Unipolar p-type GFETs are achieved by decorating the graphene surface with a thin layer of titanium (Ti) film, resulting in a Raman D peak. The D peak is observed to recover by annealing the GFET in nitrogen ambient followed by silicon nitride (Si3N4) deposition, suggesting that the Ti adatoms are being partially removed. Furthermore, unipolar n-type GFETs are obtained after the passivation on p-type GFETs. The threshold voltage of the n-type GFET is dependent on the thickness of the Si3N4 layer, which increases as the thickness decreases. A comparison between the Si3N4 and SiO2 passivation layers shows that SiO2 passivation does not convert the GFET into n-type graphene, which identifies the significance of ammonia (NH3) for the formation of the n-type GFETs. This study provides an insight into the mechanism of controlling the conduction behavior of unipolar GFETs.

3D Printed Conformal Strain and Humidity Sensors for Human Motion Prediction and Health Monitoring via Machine Learning.

Wearable sensors have garnered considerable attention due to their flexibility and lightweight characteristics in the realm of healthcare applications. However, developing robust wearable sensors with facile fabrication and good conformity remains a challenge. In this study, a conductive graphene nanoplate-carbon nanotube (GC) ink is synthesized for multi jet fusion (MJF) printing. The layer-by-layer fabrication process of MJF not only improves the mechanical and flame-retardant properties of the printed GC sensor but also bolsters its robustness and sensitivity. The direction of sensor bending significantly impacts the relative resistance changes, allowing for precise investigations of joint motions in the human body, such as those of the fingers, wrists, elbows, necks, and knees. Furthermore, the data of resistance changes collected by the GC sensor are utilized to train a support vector machine with a 95.83% accuracy rate for predicting human motions. Due to its stable humidity sensitivity, the sensor also demonstrates excellent performance in monitoring human breath and predicting breath modes (normal, fast, and deep breath), thereby expanding its potential applications in healthcare. This work opens up new avenues for using MJF-printed wearable sensors for a variety of healthcare applications.

Electronic/Optoelectronic Memory Device Enabled by Tellurium-based 2D van der Waals Heterostructure for in-Sensor Reservoir Computing at the Optical Communication Band.

Although 2D materials are widely explored for data storage and neuromorphic computing, the construction of 2D material-based memory devices with optoelectronic responsivity in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) region for in-sensor reservoir computing (RC) at the optical communication band still remains a big challenge. In this work, an electronic/optoelectronic memory device enabled by tellurium-based 2D van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure is reported, where the ferroelectric CuInP2 S6 and tellurium channel endow this device with both the long-term potentiation/depression by voltage pulses and short-term potentiation by 1550 nm laser pulses (a typical wavelength in the conventional fiber optical communication band). Leveraging the rich dynamics, a fully memristive in-sensor RC system that can simultaneously sense, decode, and learn messages transmitted by optical fibers is demonstrated. The reported 2D vdW heterostructure-based memory featuring both the long-term and short-term memory behaviors using electrical and optical pulses in SWIR region has not only complemented the wide spectrum of applications of 2D materials family in electronics/optoelectronics but also paves the way for future smart signal processing systems at the edge.

Stability of Wafer-Scale Thin Films of Vertically Aligned Hexagonal BN Nanosheets Exposed to High-Energy Ions and Reactive Atomic Oxygen.

Stability of advanced functional materials subjected to extreme conditions involving ion bombardment, radiation, or reactive chemicals is crucial for diverse applications. Here we demonstrate the excellent stability of wafer-scale thin films of vertically aligned hexagonal BN nanosheets (hBNNS) exposed to high-energy ions and reactive atomic oxygen representative of extreme conditions in space exploration and other applications. The hBNNS are fabricated catalyst-free on wafer-scale silicon, stainless steel, copper and glass panels at a lower temperature of 400 °C by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and subsequently characterized. The resistance of BNNS to high-energy ions was tested by immersing the samples into the plasma plume at the anode of a 150 W Hall Effect Thruster with BNNS films facing Xenon ions, revealing that the etching rate of BNNS is 20 times less than for a single-crystalline silicon wafer. Additionally, using O2/Ar/H2 plasmas to simulate the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment, it is demonstrated that the simulated plasma had very weak influence on the hBNNS surface structure and thickness. These results validate the strong potential of BNNS films for applications as protective, thermally conductive and insulating layers for spacecrafts, electric plasma satellite thrusters and semiconductor optoelectronic devices.

One-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride conducting channel.

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an insulating two-dimensional (2D) material with a large bandgap. Although known for its interfacing with other 2D materials and structural similarities to graphene, the potential use of hBN in 2D electronics is limited by its insulating nature. Here, we report atomically sharp twin boundaries at AA'/AB stacking boundaries in chemical vapor deposition-synthesized few-layer hBN. We find that the twin boundary is composed of a 6'6' configuration, showing conducting feature with a zero bandgap. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the atomically sharp twin boundaries is suggested by an analogy with stacking combinations of AA'/AB based on the observations of extended Klein edges at the layer boundaries of AB-stacked hBN. The atomically sharp AA'/AB stacking boundary is promising as an ultimate 1D electron channel embedded in insulating pristine hBN. This study will provide insights into the fabrication of single-hBN electronic devices.

Phonon Polaritons in Monolayers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

Phonon polaritons in van der Waals materials reveal significant confinement accompanied with long propagation length: important virtues for tasks pertaining to the control of light and energy flow at the nanoscale. While previous studies of phonon polaritons have relied on relatively thick samples, here reported is the first observation of surface phonon polaritons in single atomic layers and bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Using antenna-based near-field microscopy, propagating surface phonon polaritons in mono- and bilayer hBN microcrystals are imaged. Phonon polaritons in monolayer hBN are confined in a volume about one million times smaller than the free-space photons. Both the polariton dispersion and their wavelength-thickness scaling law are altered compared to those of hBN bulk counterparts. These changes are attributed to phonon hardening in monolayer-thick crystals. The data reported here have bearing on applications of polaritons in metasurfaces and ultrathin optical elements.

Scalable Production of Few-Layer Boron Sheets by Liquid-Phase Exfoliation and Their Superior Supercapacitive Performance.

Although two-dimensional boron (B) has attracted much attention in electronics and optoelectronics due to its unique physical and chemical properties, in-depth investigations and applications have been limited by the current synthesis techniques. Herein, we demonstrate that high-quality few-layer B sheets can be prepared in large quantities by sonication-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. By simply varying the exfoliating solvent types and centrifugation speeds, the lateral size and thickness of the exfoliated B sheets can be controllably tuned. Additionally, the exfoliated few-layer B sheets exhibit excellent stability and outstanding dispersion in organic solvents without aggregates for more than 50 days under ambient conditions, owing to the presence of a solvent residue shell on the B sheet surface that provides excellent protection against air oxidation. Moreover, we also demonstrate the use of the exfoliated few-layer B sheets for high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials. This as-prepared device exhibits impressive electrochemical performance with a wide potential window of up to 3.0 V, excellent energy density as high as 46.1 Wh/kg at a power density of 478.5 W/kg, and excellent cycling stability with 88.7% retention of the initial specific capacitance after 6000 cycles. This current work not only demonstrates an effective strategy for the synthesis of the few-layer B sheets in a controlled manner but also makes the resulting materials promising for next-generation optoelectronics and energy storage applications.

Engineering of High-Density Thin-Layer Graphite Foam-Based Composite Architectures with Superior Compressibility and Excellent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance.

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene architectures with well-controlled structure and excellent physiochemical properties have attracted considerable interest due to their potential applications in flexible electronic devices. However, the majority of the existing 3D graphene still encounters several drawbacks such as brittleness, non-uniform building units, and limited scale (millimeter or even micrometer), which severely limits its practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate a new scalable technique for the preparation of thin-layer graphite foam (GF) with controllable densities (27.2-69.2 mg cm-3) by carbonization of polyacrylonitrile using a template-directed thermal annealing approach. By integrating the GF with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), macroscopic porous GF@PDMS with variable thin-layer GF contents ranging from 15.9 to 31.7% was further fabricated. Owing to the robust interconnected porous network of the GF and the synergistic effect between GF and PDMS, GF@PDMS with a 15.9% thin-layer GF content exhibited an impressive 254% increase in compressive strength over the bare GF. In addition, such 15.9% GF@PDMS can totally recover after the first compression cycle at a 95% strain and maintain ∼88% recovery even after 1000 compression cycles at an 80% strain, demonstrating its superior compressibility. Moreover, all of the as-prepared GF@PDMS samples possessed high electrical conductivity (up to 34.3 S m-1), relatively low thermal conductivity (0.062-0.076 W m-1 K-1), and excellent electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (up to 36.1 dB) over a broad frequency range of 8.2-18 GHz, indicating their great potential as promising candidates for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption in flexible electronic devices.

Supercompressible Coaxial Carbon Nanotube@Graphene Arrays with Invariant Viscoelasticity over -100 to 500 °C in Ambient Air.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays have been recognized as promising cushion materials because of their superior thermal stability, remarkable compressibility, and viscoelastic characteristics. However, most of the previously reported CNT arrays still suffer from permanent shape deformation at only moderate compressive strains, which considerably restricts their practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile strategy of fabricating supercompressible coaxial CNT@graphene (CNT@Gr) arrays by using a two-step route involving encapsulating polymer layers onto plastic CNT arrays and subsequent annealing processes. Notably, the resulting CNT@Gr arrays are able to almost completely recover from compression at a strain of up to 80% and retain ∼80% recovery even after 1000 compression cycles at a 60% strain, demonstrating their excellent compressibility. Furthermore, they possess outstanding strain- and frequency-dependent viscoelastic responses, with storage modulus and damping ratio of up to ∼6.5 MPa and ∼0.19, respectively, which are nearly constant over an exceptionally broad temperature range of -100 to 500 °C in ambient air. These supercompressibility and temperature-invariant viscoelasticity together with facile fabrication process of the CNT@Gr arrays enable their promising multifunctional applications such as energy absorbers, mechanical sensors, and heat exchangers, even in extreme environments.

Smoothening of wrinkles in CVD-grown hexagonal boron nitride films.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an ideal substrate for two-dimensional (2D) materials because of its unique electrically insulating nature, atomic smoothness and low density of dangling bonds. Although mechanical exfoliation from bulk crystals produces the most pristine flakes, scalable fabrication of devices is still dependent on other more direct synthetic routes. To date, the most utilized method to synthesize large-area h-BN films is by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using catalytic metal substrates. However, a major drawback for such synthetic films is the manifestation of thermally-induced wrinkles, which severely disrupt the smoothness of the h-BN films. Here, we provide a detailed characterization study of the microstructure of h-BN wrinkles and demonstrate an effective post-synthesis smoothening route by thermal annealing in air. The smoothened h-BN film showed an improved surface smoothness by up to 66% and resulted in a much cleaner surface due to the elimination of polymer residues with no substantial oxidative damage to the film. The unwrinkling effect is attributed to the hydroxylation of the h-BN film as well as the substrate surface, resulting in a reduction in adhesion energy at the interface. Dehydroxylation occurs over time under ambient conditions at room temperature and the smoothened film can be restored back with the intrinsic properties of h-BN. This work provides an efficient route to achieve smoother h-BN films, which are beneficial for high-performance 2D heterostructure devices.

Human Rett-derived neuronal progenitor cells in 3D graphene scaffold as an in vitro platform to study the effect of electrical stimulation on neuronal differentiation.

Studies of electrical stimulation therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders, such as deep brain stimulation, have almost exclusively been performed using animal-models. However, because animal-models can only approximate human brain disorders, these studies should be supplemented with an in vitro human cell-culture based model to substantiate the results of animal-based studies and further investigate therapeutic benefit in humans. This study presents a novel approach to analyze the effect of electrical stimulation on the neurogenesis of patient-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neural progenitor cell (NPC) lines, in vitro using a 3D graphene scaffold system. The iPSC-derived hNPCs used to demonstrate the system were collected from patients with Rett syndrome, a debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder. The graphene scaffold readily supported both the wild-type and Rett NPCs. Electrical stimulation parameters were optimized to accommodate both wild-type and Rett cells. Increased cell maturation and improvements in cell morphology of the Rett cells was observed after electrical stimulation. The results of the pilot study of electrical stimulation to enhance Rett NPCs neurogenesis were promising and support further investigation of the therapy. Overall, this system provides a valuable tool to study electrical stimulation as a potential therapy for neurological disorders using patient-specific cells.

Large-Area Atomic Layers of the Charge-Density-Wave Conductor TiSe2.

Layered transition metal (Ti, Ta, Nb, etc.) dichalcogenides are important prototypes for the study of the collective charge density wave (CDW). Reducing the system dimensionality is expected to lead to novel properties, as exemplified by the discovery of enhanced CDW order in ultrathin TiSe2 . However, the syntheses of monolayer and large-area 2D CDW conductors can currently only be achieved by molecular beam epitaxy under ultrahigh vacuum. This study reports the growth of monolayer crystals and up to 5 × 105 µm2 large films of the typical 2D CDW conductor-TiSe2 -by ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition. Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy indicates the as-grown samples are highly crystalline 1T-phase TiSe2 . Variable-temperature Raman spectroscopy shows a CDW phase transition temperature of 212.5 K in few layer TiSe2 , indicative of high crystal quality. This work not only allows the exploration of many-body state of TiSe2 in 2D limit but also offers the possibility of utilizing large-area TiSe2 in ultrathin electronic devices.

High-Density 3D-Boron Nitride and 3D-Graphene for High-Performance Nano-Thermal Interface Material.

Compression studies on three-dimensional foam-like graphene and h-BN (3D-C and 3D-BN) revealed their high cross-plane thermal conductivity (62-86 W m-1 K-1) and excellent surface conformity, characteristics essential for thermal management needs. Comparative studies to state-of-the-art materials and other materials currently under research for heat dissipation revealed 3D-foam's improved performance (20-30% improved cooling, temperature decrease by ΔT of 44-24 °C).

Biocompatible Hydroxylated Boron Nitride Nanosheets/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Interpenetrating Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical and Thermal Responses.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels with tissue-like viscoelasticity, excellent biocompatibility, and high hydrophilicity have been considered as promising cartilage replacement materials. However, lack of sufficient mechanical properties is a critical barrier to their use as load-bearing cartilage substitutes. Herein, we report hydroxylated boron nitride nanosheets (OH-BNNS)/PVA interpenetrating hydrogels by cyclically freezing/thawing the aqueous mixture of PVA and highly hydrophilic OH-BNNS (up to 0.6 mg/mL, two times the highest reported so far). Encouragingly, the resulting OH-BNNS/PVA hydrogels exhibit controllable reinforcements in both mechanical and thermal responses by simply varying the OH-BNNS contents. Impressive 45, 43, and 63% increases in compressive, tensile strengths and Young's modulus, respectively, can be obtained even with only 0.12 wt% (OH-BNNS:PVA) OH-BNNS addition. Meanwhile, exciting improvements in the thermal diffusivity (15%) and conductivity (5%) can also be successfully achieved. These enhancements are attributed to the synergistic effect of intrinsic superior properties of the as-prepared OH-BNNS and strong hydrogen bonding interactions between the OH-BNNS and PVA chains. In addition, excellent cytocompatibility of the composite hydrogels was verified by cell proliferation and live/dead viability assays. These biocompatible OH-BNNS/PVA hydrogels are promising in addressing the mechanical failure and locally overheating issues as cartilage substitutes and may also have broad utility for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensors, and actuators.