Observation of A Raman mode splitting in few layer black phosphorus encapsulated with hexagonal boron nitride.

We investigate the impact of encapsulation with hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on the Raman spectrum of few layer black phosphorus. The encapsulation results in a significant reduction of the line width of the Raman modes of black phosphorus, due to a reduced phonon scattering rate. We observe a so far elusive peak in the Raman spectra ∼4 cm-1 above the A mode in trilayer and thicker flakes, which had not been observed experimentally. The newly observed mode originates from the strong black phosphorus inter-layer interaction, which induces a hardening of the surface atom vibration with respect to the corresponding modes of the inner layers. The observation of this mode suggests a significant impact of h-BN encapsulation on the properties of black phosphorus and can serve as an indicator of the quality of its surface.

Probing the Interlayer Exciton Physics in a MoS2/MoSe2/MoS2 van der Waals Heterostructure.

Stacking atomic monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has emerged as an effective way to engineer their properties. In principle, the staggered band alignment of TMD heterostructures should result in the formation of interlayer excitons with long lifetimes and robust valley polarization. However, these features have been observed simultaneously only in MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructures. Here we report on the observation of long-lived interlayer exciton emission in a MoS2/MoSe2/MoS2 trilayer van der Waals heterostructure. The interlayer nature of the observed transition is confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy, as well as by analyzing the temporal, excitation power, and temperature dependence of the interlayer emission peak. The observed complex photoluminescence dynamics suggests the presence of quasi-degenerate momentum-direct and momentum-indirect bandgaps. We show that circularly polarized optical pumping results in long-lived valley polarization of interlayer exciton. Intriguingly, the interlayer exciton photoluminescence has helicity opposite to the excitation. Our results show that through a careful choice of the TMDs forming the van der Waals heterostructure it is possible to control the circular polarization of the interlayer exciton emission.

In situ Raman spectroscopy of the graphene/water interface of a solution-gated field-effect transistor: electron-phonon coupling and spectroelectrochemistry.

We present a novel measurement approach which combines the electrical characterization of solution-gated field-effect transistors based on epitaxial bilayer graphene on 4H-SiC (0001) with simultaneous Raman spectroscopy. By changing the gate voltage, we observed Raman signatures related to the resonant electron-phonon coupling. An analysis of these Raman bands enabled the extraction of the geometrical capacitance of the system and an accurate calculation of the Fermi levels for bilayer graphene. An intentional application of higher gate voltages allowed us to trigger electrochemical reactions, which we followed in situ by Raman spectroscopy. The reactions showed a partially reversible character, as indicated by an emergence/disappearance of peaks assigned to C-H and Si-H vibration modes as well as an increase/decrease of the defect-related Raman D band intensity. Our setup provides a highly interesting platform for future spectroelectrochemical research on electrically-induced sorption processes of graphene on the micrometer scale.

Novel p21-activated kinase-dependent protrusions characteristically formed at the edge of transformed cells.

During long-term culture, certain lines become neoplastic while accumulating changes in cell shape. Early and late cell populations have characteristic shape phenotypes that have been quantified by computerized assay. Phenotypes are determined from variables describing three-dimensional aspects of the subcellular distribution of mass. The features of cells can be recognized by use of latent factors, which are theoretical variables based on the covariance of the primary variables. Factor #7 represented a cell edge feature different from filopodia. We studied the morphological characteristics and morphogenesis of the feature. Brief exposure of cells from rat tracheal epithelium to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) enhanced #7 values. The time to reach maximal #7 values was prolonged if PMA was administered with calcium ionophore or lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). Factor #7 was elevated during periods of ruffling suppression and stress fiber reorganization. Cells showing high #7 values were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to exhibit strap-shaped and cupola-shaped projections. Because RhoA regulates stress fiber formation, we sought to perturb #7 features by introducing dominant-acting negative and positive constructs of RhoA, RhoA-N19, and RhoA-V14. Neither affected #7 values. Although overexpression of the kinase inhibitory domain of p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK) had no effect on #7 values, they were affected by overexpression of a domain binding PAK-interacting guanine nucleotide exchange factor (PIX). Because a PAK-PIX complex is implicated in the remodeling of focal complexes (FCs) and recycling of PAK to the cytoplasm, the results implicate a component of FCs in the formation of #7 features. The data suggested that feature formation is driven by activated Cdc42-binding kinase (ACK) and Rac. Moreover, they suggested that the #7 protrusions are neurite-like structures and that their development involves FC regulation.