An ultra-sensitive ammonia sensor based on a quartz crystal microbalance using nanofibers overlaid with carboxylic group-functionalized MWCNTs.

Detecting ammonia at low concentrations is crucial in various fields, including environmental monitoring, industrial processes, and healthcare. This study explores the development and performance of an ultra-sensitive ammonia sensor using carboxylic group-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) overlaid on polyvinyl acetate nanofibers coated on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The sensor demonstrates high responsiveness, with a frequency shift response of over 120 Hz when exposed to 1.5 ppm ammonia, a sensitivity of 23.3 Hz ppm-1 over a concentration range of 1.5-7.5 ppm, and a detection limit of 50 ppb. Additionally, the sensor exhibits a rapid response time of only 14 s, excellent selectivity against other gases, such as acetic acid, formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol, propanol, benzene, toluene, and xylene, and good stability in daily use. These characteristics make the sensor a promising tool for real-time ammonia detection in diverse applications.

Coexistence of Midgap Antiferromagnetic and Mott States in Undoped, Hole- and Electron-Doped Ambipolar Cuprates.

We report the first observation of the coexistence of a distinct midgap state and a Mott state in undoped and their evolution in electron and hole-doped ambipolar Y_{0.38}La_{0.62}(Ba_{0.82}La_{0.18})_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y} films using spectroscopic ellipsometry and x-ray absorption spectroscopies at the O K and Cu L_{3,2} edges. Supported by theoretical calculations, the midgap state is shown to originate from antiferromagnetic correlation. Surprisingly, while the magnetic state collapses and its correlation strength weakens with dopings, the Mott state in contrast moves toward a higher energy and its correlation strength increases. Our result provides important clues to the mechanism of electronic correlation strengths and superconductivity in cuprates.

Paenibacillus cisolokensis sp. nov., isolated from litter of a geyser.

A Gram-stain-positive, endospore-forming, aerobic and thermophilic bacterium, designated strain LC2-13AT, was isolated from Cisolok geyser, West Java, Indonesia, at 50 °C. The isolate was rod-shaped and motile by means of peritrichous flagella. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0 and the major quinone was menaquinone 7. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The genomic DNA G+C content was 56.6 mol% and the major diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain LC2-13AT is related most closely to Paenibacillus kobensis DSM 10249T (94.86 % similarity), Paenibacillus tarimensis SA-7-6T (94.77 %) and Paenibacillus barengoltzii SAFN-016T (94.77 %). On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic evidence, strain LC2-13AT is affiliated to the genus Paenibacillus, but could be distinguished from recognized species of this genus. A novel species with the name Paenibacillus cisolokensis sp. nov. is thus proposed. The type strain is LC2-13AT (=UICC B-42T=NRRL B-65368T=DSM 101873T).

Full-zone persistent spin textures with giant spin splitting in two-dimensional group IV-V compounds.

Persistent spin texture (PST), a property of solid-state materials maintaining unidirectional spin polarization in the momentumk-space, offers a route to deliver the necessary long carrier spin lifetimes through the persistent spin helix (PSH) mechanism. However, most of the discovered PST locally occurred in the small part around certain high symmetryk-points or lines in the first Brillouin zone (FBZ), thus limiting the stability of the PSH state. Herein, by symmetry analysis and first-principles calculations, we report the emergence of full-zone PST (FZPST), a phenomenon displaying the PST in the whole FBZ, in the two-dimensional group IV-VA2B2(A= Si, Sn, Ge;B= Bi, Sb) compounds. Due to the existence of the in-plane mirror symmetry operation in the wave vector point group symmetry for the arbitraryk⃗in the whole FBZ, fully out-of-plane spin polarization is observed in thek-space, thus maintaining the FZPST. Importantly, we observed giant spin splitting in which the PST sustains, supporting large spin-orbit coupling parameters and small wavelengths of the PSH states. Ourk⃗⋅p⃗analysis demonstrated that the FZPST is robust for the non-degenerate bands, which can be effectively controlled by the application of an external electric field, thus offering a promising platform for future spintronic applications.

The effect of the use of commercial tempeh starter on the diversity of Rhizopus tempeh in Indonesia.

At present, only a single Rhizopus species, R. microsporus, can be found in fresh tempeh produced in Java, Indonesia. The loss of diversity of Rhizopus in tempeh has been associated with the widespread use of commercial tempeh starter in Indonesia since the 2000s. However, the identities of the previous Rhizopus strains associated with tempeh, which have been preserved in a culture collection in Indonesia, have not been verified. The present study aimed to verify the identities of 22 Rhizopus strains isolated from tempeh produced using the traditional tempeh starters from the 1960s to the 2000s. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS regions in the rRNA gene sequence data, revealed that the Rhizopus strains belonged to the species R. arrhizus (five strains); R. delemar (14 strains); and R. microsporus (three strains). Verification of the identities of these Rhizopus strains in the present study confirmed the loss of diversity of Rhizopus species in tempeh produced in Indonesia, particularly in Java. Our findings confirmed that the morphological changes in Rhizopus species isolated from tempeh as a result of centuries of domestication.

Highly persistent spin textures with giant tunable spin splitting in the two-dimensional germanium monochalcogenides.

The ability to control the spin textures in semiconductors is a fundamental step toward novel spintronic devices, while seeking desirable materials exhibiting persistent spin texture (PST) remains a key challenge. The PST is the property of materials preserving a unidirectional spin orientation in the momentum space, which has been predicted to support an extraordinarily long spin lifetime of carriers. Herein, by using first-principles density functional theory calculations, we report the emergence of the PST in the two-dimensional (2D) germanium monochalcogenides (GeMC). By considering two stable formation of the 2D GeMC, namely the pure GeX and Janus Ge2XY monolayers (X, Y = S, Se, and Te), we observed the PST around the valence band maximum where the spin orientation is enforced by the lower point group symmetry of the crystal. In the case of the pure GeX monolayers, we found that the PST is characterized by fully out-of-plane spin orientation protected by C2v point group, while the canted PST in the y - z plane is observed in the case of the Janus Ge2XY monolayers due to the lowering symmetry into Cs point group. More importantly, we find large spin-orbit coupling (SOC) parameter in which the PST sustains, which could be effectively tuned by in-plane strain. The large SOC parameter observed in the present systems leads to the small wavelength of the spatially periodic mode of the spin polarization, which is promising for realization of the short spin channel in the spin Hall transistor devices.

Quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene on SiC (0001) by fluorine intercalation from a molecular source.

We demonstrated a novel method to obtain charge neutral quasi-free-standing graphene on SiC (0001) from the buffer layer using fluorine from a molecular source, fluorinated fullerene (C(60)F(48)). The intercalated product is stable under ambient conditions and resistant to elevated temperatures of up to 1200 °C. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements are performed for the first time on such quasi-free-standing graphene to elucidate changes in the electronic and structural properties of both the graphene and interfacial layer. Novel structures due to a highly localized perturbation caused by the presence of adsorbed fluorine were produced in the intercalation process and investigated. Photoemission spectroscopy is used to confirm these electronic and structural changes.