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Gas-filled vesicles derived from photosynthetic microbes are shown to elicit magnetic resonance imaging contrast in vitro and in vivo with the potential for acoustically modulated multiplexing and molecular sensing.
Whether you like exploring the mysteries of light–matter interactions, playing with a versatile chemical platform, or developing the most efficient devices, metal halide perovskites could be the materials for you.
Solar cells based on metal halide perovskites continue to approach their theoretical performance limits thanks to worldwide research efforts. Mastering the materials properties and addressing stability may allow this technology to bring profound transformations to the electric power generation industry.
Claudine Katan, Aditya D. Mohite and Jacky Even discuss the possible impact of various entropy contributions (stochastic structural fluctuations, anharmonicity and lattice softness) on the optoelectronic properties of halide perovskite materials and devices.
Kiyoshi Miyata and X.-Y. Zhu analyse the ferroelectric-like dielectric response of lead halide perovskites in the terahertz region and discuss the potential role of polar nanodomains in accounting for the defect tolerance and low recombination rates of these materials.
Heavy atoms and crystal or inversion symmetry breaking may promote Rashba effects in halide perovskites. Sam Stranks and Paulina Plochocka propose experiments to assess the existence of these effects and their implications on the photophysics of perovskites.
Charge carriers in metal halide perovskites seem to be only marginally affected by defect-related trap states. Filippo De Angelis and Annamaria Petrozza suggest that the key to this behaviour lies in the redox chemistry of halide defects.
Using a thin-film geometry and electric-field-driven enhancement of pyroelectric response, a relaxor ferroelectric is shown to display superior power densities for thermal harvesting.
Microbial gas vesicles have been developed for use as MRI contrast agents whose contrast can be inactivated by applying ultrasound waves to collapse the vesicles.
Unlike conventional inorganic semiconductors, which are typically brittle, α-Ag2S exhibits room-temperature ductility with favourable electrical properties, offering promise for use in high-performance flexible and stretchable devices.
The ionic conductivity of a halide perovskite can be boosted by light. This may be detrimental for perovskite solar cells, but also holds promise for solid-state photoelectrochemical devices.
Lead-halide perovskites have entered the family of colloidal nanocrystals, showing excellent optical properties and easy synthesizability. This Review provides an insight into their chemical versatility, stability challenges and use in optoelectronics.
The application of electric fields enables reversible switching of the magnetic order of CrI3 bilayers between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states.
Measurements of the chemical potential in a monolayer of WSe2 using a single electron transistor sensing scheme allows for the exact mapping of the level spacing of Landau levels of monolayer WSe2 in the conductance and valence bands.
Pump–probe, time-resolved ARPES experiments with underdoped cuprates reveal the transient enhancement of the density of phase fluctuations, eventually leading to the collapse of superconductivity.
Inorganic α-Ag2S semiconductor, which has preferential slip planes in the crystal structure and irregularly distributed bonds of silver atoms preventing cleavage, demonstrates metal-like ductility at room temperature.
Electrostrain, an important value for actuators, larger than 1% is only achieved in single crystals. Here, a pseudo-ternary polycrystalline ferroelectric with spontaneous lattice strain has 1.3% electrostrain, which may enable cheaper piezoelectrics.
Pyroelectric energy conversion in a thin-film relaxor ferroelectric is studied under an electric field, resulting in high energy and power densities. Performance is equivalent to a ZT = 1.16 thermoelectric, competitive for low-grade thermal harvesting.
The doping efficiency of n-type molecular dopants in organic semiconductors is shown to depend on the energy difference between the electron affinity of the host and the ionization potential of the doped system.
The ionic conductivity of methylammonium lead iodide is enhanced up to two orders of magnitude when the material is exposed to light. This effect may also have implications for the photostability of perovskites.
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with nanometre spatial resolution and low-energy electron microscopy/diffraction reveal that interaction with the Cu substrate can induce up to 7.5% lattice expansion in graphene adlayers.
Gas-filled vesicles derived from photosynthetic microbes are shown to elicit magnetic resonance imaging contrast in vitro and in vivo with the potential for acoustically modulated multiplexing and molecular sensing.
An ionogram based on a layer-free nanotransistor reveals the ability to selectively measure target ions in serum. Experimental and theoretical assessment of the mechanism of the surface–ion interaction is also revealed.