Spontaneous Liquefaction of Solid Metal-Liquid Metal Interfaces in Colloidal Binary Alloys.

Crystallization of alloys from a molten state is a fundamental process underpinning metallurgy. Here the direct imaging of an intermetallic precipitation reaction at equilibrium in a liquid-metal environment is demonstrated. It is shown that the outer layers of a solidified intermetallic are surprisingly unstable to the depths of several nanometers, fluctuating between a crystalline and a liquid state. This effect, referred to herein as crystal interface liquefaction, is observed at remarkably low temperatures and results in highly unstable crystal interfaces at temperatures exceeding 200 K below the bulk melting point of the solid. In general, any liquefaction process would occur at or close to the formal melting point of a solid, thus differentiating the observed liquefaction phenomenon from other processes such as surface pre-melting or conventional bulk melting. Crystal interface liquefaction is observed in a variety of binary alloy systems and as such, the findings may impact the understanding of crystallization and solidification processes in metallic systems and alloys more generally.

Structural Evolution of Liquid Metals and Alloys.

Low-melting liquid metals are emerging as a new group of highly functional solvents due to their capability to dissolve and alloy various metals in their elemental state to form solutions as well as colloidal systems. Furthermore, these liquid metals can facilitate and catalyze multiple unique chemical reactions. Despite the intriguing science behind liquid metals and alloys, very little is known about their fundamental structures in the nanometric regime. To bridge this gap, this work employs small angle neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations, revealing that the most commonly used liquid metal solvents, EGaIn and Galinstan, are surprisingly structured with the formation of clusters ranging from 157 Å to 15.7 Å. Conversely, non-eutectic liquid metal alloys of GaSn or GaIn at low solute concentrations of 1, 2, and 5wt%, as well as pure Ga, do not exhibit these structures. Importantly, the eutectic alloys retain their structure even at elevated temperatures of 60 and 90 °C, highlighting that they are not just simple homogeneous fluids consisting of individual atoms. Understanding the complex soft structure of liquid alloys will assist in comprehending complex phenomena occurring within these fluids and contribute to deriving reaction mechanisms in the realm of synthesis and liquid metal-based catalysis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Doped 2D SnS materials derived from liquid metal-solution for tunable optoelectronic devices.

Gas-liquid reaction phenomena on liquid-metal solvents can be used to form intriguing 2D materials with large lateral dimensions, where the free energies of formation determine the final product. A vast selection of elements can be incorporated into the liquid metal-based nanostructures, offering a versatile platform for fabricating novel optoelectronic devices. While conventional doping techniques of semiconductors present several challenges for 2D materials. Liquid metals provide a facile route for obtaining doped 2D semiconductors. In this work, we successfully demonstrate that the doping of 2D SnS can be realized in a glove box containing a diluted H2S gas. Low melting point elements such as Bi and In are alloyed with base liquid Sn in varying concentrations, resulting in the doping of 2D SnS layers incorporating Bi and In sulphides. Optoelectronic properties for photodetectors and piezoelectronics can be fine-tuned through the controlled introduction of selective migration doping. The structural modification of 2D SnS results in a 22.6% enhancement of the d11 piezoelectric coefficient. In addition, photodetector response times have increased by several orders of magnitude. Doping methods using liquid metals have significantly changed the photodiode and piezoelectric device performances, providing a powerful approach to tune optoelectronic device outputs.

Interface chemistry of two-dimensional heterostructures - fundamentals to applications.

Two-dimensional heterostructures (2D HSs) have emerged as a new class of materials where dissimilar 2D materials are combined to synergise their advantages and alleviate shortcomings. Such a combination of dissimilar components into 2D HSs offers fascinating properties and intriguing functionalities attributed to the newly formed heterointerface of constituent components. Understanding the nature of the surface and the complex heterointerface of HSs at the atomic level is crucial for realising the desired properties, designing innovative 2D HSs, and ultimately unlocking their full potential for practical applications. Therefore, this review provides the recent progress in the field of 2D HSs with a focus on the discussion of the fundamentals and the chemistry of heterointerfaces based on van der Waals (vdW) and covalent interactions. It also explains the challenges associated with the scalable synthesis and introduces possible methodologies to produce large quantities with good control over the heterointerface. Subsequently, it highlights the specialised characterisation techniques to reveal the heterointerface formation, chemistry and nature. Afterwards, we give an overview of the role of 2D HSs in various emerging applications, particularly in high-power batteries, bifunctional catalysts, electronics, and sensors. In the end, we present conclusions with the possible solutions to the associated challenges with the heterointerfaces and potential opportunities that can be adopted for innovative applications.

Liquid-Metal Synthesized Ultrathin SnS Layers for High-Performance Broadband Photodetectors.

Atomically thin materials face an ongoing challenge of scalability, hampering practical deployment despite their fascinating properties. Tin monosulfide (SnS), a low-cost, naturally abundant layered material with a tunable bandgap, displays properties of superior carrier mobility and large absorption coefficient at atomic thicknesses, making it attractive for electronics and optoelectronics. However, the lack of successful synthesis techniques to prepare large-area and stoichiometric atomically thin SnS layers (mainly due to the strong interlayer interactions) has prevented exploration of these properties for versatile applications. Here, SnS layers are printed with thicknesses varying from a single unit cell (0.8 nm) to multiple stacked unit cells (≈1.8 nm) synthesized from metallic liquid tin, with lateral dimensions on the millimeter scale. It is reveal that these large-area SnS layers exhibit a broadband spectral response ranging from deep-ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (i.e., 280-850 nm) with fast photodetection capabilities. For single-unit-cell-thick layered SnS, the photodetectors show upto three orders of magnitude higher responsivity (927 A W-1 ) than commercial photodetectors at a room-temperature operating wavelength of 660 nm. This study opens a new pathway to synthesize reproduceable nanosheets of large lateral sizes for broadband, high-performance photodetectors. It also provides important technological implications for scalable applications in integrated optoelectronic circuits, sensing, and biomedical imaging.

Liquid metal-based synthesis of high performance monolayer SnS piezoelectric nanogenerators.

The predicted strong piezoelectricity for monolayers of group IV monochalcogenides, together with their inherent flexibility, makes them likely candidates for developing flexible nanogenerators. Within this group, SnS is a potential choice for such nanogenerators due to its favourable semiconducting properties. To date, access to large-area and highly crystalline monolayer SnS has been challenging due to the presence of strong inter-layer interactions by the lone-pair electrons of S. Here we report single crystal across-the-plane and large-area monolayer SnS synthesis using a liquid metal-based technique. The characterisations confirm the formation of atomically thin SnS with a remarkable carrier mobility of ~35 cm2 V-1 s-1 and piezoelectric coefficient of ~26 pm V-1. Piezoelectric nanogenerators fabricated using the SnS monolayers demonstrate a peak output voltage of ~150 mV at 0.7% strain. The stable and flexible monolayer SnS can be implemented into a variety of systems for efficient energy harvesting.

Battery-free, skin-interfaced microfluidic/electronic systems for simultaneous electrochemical, colorimetric, and volumetric analysis of sweat.

Wearable sweat sensors rely either on electronics for electrochemical detection or on colorimetry for visual readout. Non-ideal form factors represent disadvantages of the former, while semiquantitative operation and narrow scope of measurable biomarkers characterize the latter. Here, we introduce a battery-free, wireless electronic sensing platform inspired by biofuel cells that integrates chronometric microfluidic platforms with embedded colorimetric assays. The resulting sensors combine advantages of electronic and microfluidic functionality in a platform that is significantly lighter, cheaper, and smaller than alternatives. A demonstration device simultaneously monitors sweat rate/loss, pH, lactate, glucose, and chloride. Systematic studies of the electronics, microfluidics, and integration schemes establish the key design considerations and performance attributes. Two-day human trials that compare concentrations of glucose and lactate in sweat and blood suggest a potential basis for noninvasive, semi-quantitative tracking of physiological status.