Solar cells are conventionally used to harvest energy in outer space, but they are ineffective in dark locations. Here, we show that superconducting materials – which work best in cold environments, such as those found in outer space—provide a mechanism to harvest energy that does not require light. A superconducting maglev (magnetic levitation) magnetoelectric generator (SMMG) can convert mechanical

Turbostratic layers in 2D materials have an interlayer misalignment. The lack of alignment expands the intrinsic interlayer distances and weakens the optical and electronic interactions between adjacent layers. This introduces properties distinct from those structures with well-aligned lattices and strong coupling interactions. However, direct, and rapid synthesis of turbostratic materials remains

Developing advanced electrocatalysts with exceptional two electron (2e–) selectivity, activity and stability are crucial for driving oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Herein, a composition engineering strategy has been adapted to flexibly regulate the intrinsic activity of amorphous nickel boride nanoarchitectures for efficient 2e– ORR by oriented reduction of Ni2+

A major challenge hindering the further development of all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) employing polymerized small-molecule acceptors is the relatively low fill factor (FF) due to the difficulty in controlling active layer morphology. The issues typically arise from oversized phase separation resulting from the thermodynamically unfavorable mixing between two macromolecular species, and disordered

Reducing particle size in supported metal catalyst to single atom level isolates the active metal sites and maximizes the atomic utilization efficiency. However, the large inter-atom distance, particularly in low-loading single atom catalyst (SAC), is not favourable for a complex reaction where two (or more) reactants have to be activated. A key question is how to control the inter-atom distances to

Polarization-resolved photodetection in a compact footprint is of great interests for ultra-miniaturized polarimeter to be used in a wide range of applications. However, states of polarization (SOP) probing in natural anisotropy materials are usually weak, limited by material's natural dichroism or diattenuation. Here, we report a twisted unipolar-barrier van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) to construct

The shape-controlled synthesis of nanocrystals remains a hot research topic in nanotechnology. Particularly, the fabrication of one-dimensional (1D) structures such as wires, rods, belts, and tubes has been an interesting and important subject within nanoscience in the last few decades. 1D necklace-like micro/nano-structures are a sophisticated geometry that has attracted increasing attention due to

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an intractable malignancy with high recurrence and mortality. Temozolomide (TMZ) and cisplatin (CDDP) based combinational therapy shows promising potential for GBM therapy in clinical trials. However, significant challenges include limited blood-brain-barrier (BBB) penetration, poor targeting of GBM tissue/cells and systemic side effect which hinder its efficacy in GBM therapy

Metal oxides possessing distinctive physical/chemical properties due to different crystal structures and stoichiometries play a pivotal role in numerous current technologies, especially heterogeneous catalysis for production/conversion of high-valued chemicals and energy. To date, many researchers have investigated the effect of the structure and composition of these materials on their reactivity to

Multifunctional interfacial engineering on Zn anode to conquer the dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution and sluggish kinetics associated with Zn deposition is highly desirable for boosting the commercialization of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Herein, a spontaneous construction of carbonyl-containing layer on Zn anode (Zn@ZCO) is rationally designed as an ion redistributor and functional protective interphase

It is still very urgent and challenging to simultaneously develop high-rate and long-cycle oxide cathodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of its sluggish kinetics and complex multiphase evolution during cycling. Here, we report the concept of accurately manipulating structural evolution and formulating high-performance heterostructured biphasic layered oxide cathodes by local chemistry and

The variation of vertical component distribution can significantly influence photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs), mainly due to its impact on the exciton dissociation, and the charge carrier transport and recombination. Herein, the binary devices are fabricated via sequential deposition (SD) of D18 and L8-BO materials in a two-step process. Upon independently regulating the spin-coating

Molecular imprinting technology (MIT) produces artificial binding sites with precise complementarity to substrates and thereby is capable of exquisite molecular recognition. Over five decades of evolution, it was predicted that the resulting host imprinted materials would overtake natural receptors for research and application purposes, but in practice, this has not yet been realized due to the unsustainability

Diverse microscopic ionic dynamics help mediate the ability of a biological neural network to handle complex tasks with low energy consumption. Thus, rich internal ionic dynamics in transition metal oxide-based memristors are expected to provide a unique and useful platform for implementing energy-efficient neuromorphic computing. To this end, a TiOx-based interface-type dynamic memristor and an NbOx-based

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), an insulating two-dimensional (2D) layered material, has recently attracted tremendous interest motivated by the extraordinary properties it shows across the fields of optoelectronics, quantum optics, and electronics, being exotic material platforms for various applications. At an early stage of h-BN research, it has been explored as an ideal substrate and insulating

Excising epileptic foci (EF) is the most efficient approach for treating drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). However, owing to the vast heterogeneity of epilepsies, EF in one-third of patients cannot be accurately located, even after exhausting all current diagnostic strategies. Therefore, identifying biomarkers that truly represent the status of epilepsy and fabricating probes with high targeting specificity

Band edges at the high symmetry points in reciprocal space of periodic structures hold special interest in materials engineering for their high density of states. In optical metamaterials, standing waves found at these points have facilitated lasing, bound-states-in-the-continuum, and Bose-Einstein condensation. However, because high symmetry points by definition are localized, properties associated

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have shown promise as transducers and amplifiers of minute electronic potentials due to their large transconductances. Tuning OECT threshold voltage is important to achieve low-powered devices with amplification properties within the desired operational voltage range. However, traditional design approaches have struggled to decouple channel and materials

The rapid growth of the electronics industry and proliferation of electronic materials and telecommunications technologies has led to the release of a massive amount of untreated electronic waste (e-waste) into the environment. Consequently, catastrophic environmental damage at the microbiome level and serious human health diseases threaten the natural fate of our planet. Currently, the demand for

Wafer-scale growth of single crystal thin films of metals, semiconductors, and insulators is crucial in manufacturing high-performance electronic and optical devices, but still challenging from both scientific and industrial perspectives. Recently, unconventional advanced synthetic approaches have been attempted and have made remarkable progress in diversifying the species of producible single crystal

Black phase formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) with narrow band gap and high thermal stability has emerged as the most promising candidate for highly efficient and stable perovskite photovoltaics. In order to overcome the intrinsic difficulty of black phase crystallization and to eliminate the PbI2 residue, most sequential deposition methods of FAPbI3-based perovskite would introduce external ions

Recently, electrically conducting heterointerfaces between dissimilar band-insulators (such as lanthanum aluminate and strontium titanate) have attracted considerable research interest. Charge transport has been thoroughly explored and fundamental aspects of conduction firmly established. Perhaps surprisingly, similar insights into conceptually much simpler conducting homointerfaces, such as the domain

Materials technology plays an important role in many industry sectors. It is a critical element to focus on when one seeks to achieve a quantum leap in technology development. For Singapore, the focus on high-value-added advanced manufacturing and building up of expertise in materials technology is an important goal in the planning on science and technology, in particular, a plan that consists of both

Light–Matter Interactions

Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Design and fabrication of macroscopic functional devices by molecular engineering is an emerging and effective strategy in exploration of advanced materials. Photo-responsive overcrowded alkene-based molecular motor (OAMM) has been considered as one of the most promising molecular machines due to the unique rotary motion driven by light with high temporal and spatial precision. Amplifying the molecular

Small-scale soft robots have been attracting increasing interest for visible and potential applications owing to their safety and tolerance resulting from their intrinsic soft bodies or compliant structures. However, it is not sufficient that the soft bodies merely provide support or system protection. More importantly, to meet the increasing demands of controllable operation and real-time feedback

We report a bio-inspired continuous wearable respiration sensor modeled after the lateral line system of fish which is used for detecting mechanical disturbances in the water. Despite the clinical importance of monitoring respiratory activity in humans and animals, continuous measurements of breathing patterns and rates are rarely performed in or outside of clinics. This is largely because conventional

Polymorphism allows one to design symmetry of the lattice and spatial charge distributions of atomically thin materials. While various polymorphs for superconducting, magnetic, and topological states have been extensively studied, polymorphic control is a challenge for robust ferroelectricity in atomically thin geometries. Here, we report the atomic and electric manipulation of ferroelectric polymorphs

Manipulating ferroic orders and realizing their coupling in multiferroics at room temperature are promising for designing future multifunctional devices. Single external stimulation has been extensively proved to demonstrate the ability of ferroelastic switching in multiferroic oxides, which is crucial to bridge the ferroelectricity and magnetism. However, it is still challenging to directly realize

Three-dimensional printing is a powerful manufacturing technology for shaping materials into complex structures. While the palette of printable materials continues to expand, the rheological and chemical requisites for printing are not always easy to fulfill. Here, we report a universal manufacturing platform for shaping materials into intricate geometries without the need for their printability, but

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have garnered considerable research attention owing to their excellent luminescence properties and potential application prospects in anti-counterfeiting, information storage, and optoelectronics. However, several RTP systems are extremely sensitive to humidity, and consequently, the realisation of long-lived RTP in water remains a formidable challenge

Microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds are generated from assembled hydrogel microparticles (HMPs). We previously demonstrated that MAP scaffolds are porous, biocompatible, and recruit neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to the stroke cavity after injection into the stroke core. Here, our goal is to study NPC fate inside MAP scaffolds in vitro. To create plain HMPs that can later be converted to

The future of Halide Perovskites, HaPs, which are of enormous interest for light ⟷ electrical energy conversion, is beclouded by limited scientific understanding of their long-term stability. While HaPs can be altered by absorbed radiation that induces multiple processes, remarkably, they can also return to their original state by “self-healing”. Here we use 2-photon absorption to effect light-induced

The properties of high theoretical capacity, low cost and large potential of metallic sodium (Na) has strongly promoted the development of rechargeable sodium-based batteries. However, the issues of infinite volume variation, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and dendritic sodium causes a rapid decline in performance and notorious safety hazards. Herein, we achieve a highly reversible encapsulation-based

Immunotherapy is one of the most promising clinical modalities for the treatment of malignant tumors and has shown excellent therapeutic outcomes in clinical settings. However, it continues to face several challenges, including long treatment cycles, high costs, immune-related adverse events, and low response rates. Thus, it is critical to predict the response rate to immunotherapy by using imaging

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), have attracted tremendous attention in constructing advanced monolithic integrated circuits (ICs) for future flexible and energy-efficient electronics. However, the development of large-scale ICs based on 2D materials is still in its early stage, mainly due to the non-uniformity of the individual devices and little investigation

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have experienced rapid progress with the innovation of near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing small-molecular acceptors (SMAs), while the unique electronic properties of the SMAs raise new challenges in relation to cathode engineering for effective electron collection. To address this issue, we synthesized two fluorinated perylene-diimides (PDIs), PDINN-F and PDINN-2F by a simple

Dislocations are one-dimensional crystallographic line defects and are usually seen as detrimental to the functional properties of classic semiconductors. It is shown here that this not necessarily accounts for oxide semiconductors in which dislocations are capable of boosting the photoconductivity. Strontium titanate single crystals are controllably deformed to generate a high density of ordered dislocations

Conformational changes in macromolecules significantly affect their functions and assembly into high-level structures. Despite advances in theoretical and experimental studies, investigations into the intrinsic conformational variations and dynamic motions of single macromolecules remain challenging. Here, liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy enables the real-time tracking of single-chain

Solid polymer electrolytes with large ionic conductivity, high ionic transference number, and good interfacial compatibility with electrodes are highly desired for solid-state batteries. However, unwanted polarizations and side reactions occurring in traditional dual ion polymer conductors hinder their practical applications. Here, single ion polymer conductors (SIPCs) with exceptional selectivity

Although immunotherapy that harnesses the activity of the immune system against tumors has made great progress, the treatment efficacy remains limited in most cancers. Current anticancer immunotherapy is primarily based on T cell-mediated cellular immunity, which highly relies on the efficiency of triggering cancer-immunity cycle, namely tumor antigen release, antigen presentation by antigen presenting

Multiple resonance (MR) effect-induced thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials have garnered significant attention because they can achieve both high color purity and high external quantum efficiency (EQE). However, the reported green-emitting MR-TADF materials exhibit broader emission compared to those of blue-emitting ones and suffer from severe efficiency roll-off due to insufficient

Highly stretchable conducting polymer hydrogel strain sensors are rapidly emerging as a promising candidate towards diverse wearable skins and sensing devices for soft machines. However, due to the intrinsic limitations of low stretchability and large hysteresis, existing strain sensors cannot fully exploit their potential when used in a wearable or robotic system. Here, we present a PEDOT:PSS-PVA

Boiling is an effective energy transfer process with substantial utility in energy applications. Boiling performance is described mainly by the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flux (CHF). Recent efforts for the simultaneous enhancement of HTC and CHF have been limited by an intrinsic trade-off between them — HTC enhancement requires high nucleation site density, which can increase

Water electrolysis involves two parallel reactions, i.e., oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution (HER), in which sluggish oxygen evolution is a significant limiting step, that results in high energy consumption. Coupling the thermodynamically favorable electrooxidation of organic alternatives to value-added fine chemicials HER is a promising approach for the simultaneous cost-effective production

Tuning structures of solution-state aggregation and aggregation-mediated assembly pathways of conjugated polymers is crucial for optimizing their solid-state morphology and charge transport property. However, it remains challenging to unravel and control the exact structures of solution aggregates, let alone to modulate assembly pathways in a controlled fashion. Herein, we largely modulate aggregate

A record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 19% has been realized in planar-mixed heterojunction (PMHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs) by adopting the asymmetric selenium substitution strategy in making a pseudo-symmetric electron acceptor, BS3TSe-4F. The combined molecular asymmetry with more polarizable selenium substitution increases the dielectric constant of D18/BS3TSe-4F blend, helping lower

The fields of brain-inspired computing, robotics, and, more broadly, artificial intelligence seek to implement knowledge gleaned from the natural world into human-designed electronics and machines. Most advances to date have happened in software and algorithms. However, there is growing interest in designing hardware, i.e., new semiconductor materials and devices and their interconnections that can

Here we show a highly crystalline perovskite grain structure with compressed surface lattice realized by a thermal-shocking fabrication. The strained perovskite grain structure is stabilized by Cl–-reinforcing surface lattice and show enhanced bonding energy and ionic activation temperature, which contributes to hysteresis-free operation of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) at much higher temperature up

Controlling phase transitions in correlated materials yields emergent functional properties, providing new aspects to future electronics and a fundamental understanding of condensed matter systems. With vanadium dioxide (VO2), a representative correlated material, we develop an approach to control a metal-insulator transition (MIT) behavior by employing a heteroepitaxial structure with a ferroelectric

The search for ultra-fast photonic memory devices is inspired by the ever-increasing number of cloud computing, supercomputing, and artificial intelligence applications, together with the unique advantages of signal processing in the optical domain such as high speed, large bandwidth, and low energy consumption. By embracing silicon photonics with chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs), non-volatile

Realizing a sustainable, technologically advanced future will necessitate solving the electronic waste problem. Biodegradable forms of electronics offer a viable path through their environmental benignity. With both the sheer number of devices produced every day as well as their areas of application ever increasing, new concepts of degradable batteries able to sustain the high power demands of modern

Battery designs are swiftly changing from metal-ion to rechargeable metal batteries. Theoretically, metals can deliver maximum anode capacity and enable cells with improved energy density. In practice, these advantages are only possible if the parasitic surface reactions associated with metal anodes are controlled. These undesirable surface reactions are responsible for many troublesome issues, like

There are significant applications for miniature on-chip spectrometers in many fields. However, at present, on-chip spectrometers have to utilize an integrated strategy to achieve spectral analysis, which undoubtedly squanders the photosensitive area and adds pressure to the miniaturization of the spectrometer. Here, we demonstrate a unique spectrometer design that adopts a single detection point with