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Showing papers by "Kostya S. Novoselov published in 2020"


Journal ArticleDOI
27 Oct 2020-ACS Nano
TL;DR: There remains a clear unmet need for coordinating the actions and efforts from scientists, engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, and regulatory bodies to develop and produce safe and effective protective clothing using the technologies that are locally available around the world.
Abstract: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from highly infectious diseases such as COVID-19. However, hospitals have been at risk of running out of the safe and effective PPE including personal protective clothing needed to treat patients with COVID-19, due to unprecedented global demand. In addition, there are only limited manufacturing facilities of such clothing available worldwide, due to a lack of available knowledge about relevant technologies, ineffective supply chains, and stringent regulatory requirements. Therefore, there remains a clear unmet need for coordinating the actions and efforts from scientists, engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, and regulatory bodies to develop and produce safe and effective protective clothing using the technologies that are locally available around the world. In this review, we discuss currently used PPE, their quality, and the associated regulatory standards. We survey the current state-of-the-art antimicrobial functional finishes on fabrics to protect the wearer against viruses and bacteria and provide an overview of protective medical fabric manufacturing techniques, their supply chains, and the environmental impacts of current single-use synthetic fiber-based protective clothing. Finally, we discuss future research directions, which include increasing efficiency, safety, and availability of personal protective clothing worldwide without conferring environmental problems.

194 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a simple and scalable pad−dry−cure method with subsequent roller compression and a fine encapsulation of graphene flakes is used to produce highly conductive, ultraflexible and machine washable graphene-based wearable e-textiles.
Abstract: Graphene‐based textiles show promise for next‐generation wearable electronic applications due to their advantages over metal‐based technologies. However, current reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐based electronic textiles (e‐textiles) suffer from poor electrical conductivity and higher power consumption. Here, highly conductive, ultraflexible, and machine washable graphene‐based wearable e‐textiles are reported. A simple and scalable pad−dry−cure method with subsequent roller compression and a fine encapsulation of graphene flakes is used. The graphene‐based wearable e‐textiles thus produced provide lowest sheet resistance (≈11.9 Ω sq−1) ever reported on graphene e‐textiles, and highly conductive even after 10 home laundry washing cycles. Moreover, it exhibits extremely high flexibility, bendability, and compressibility as it shows repeatable response in both forward and backward directions before and after home laundry washing cycles. The scalability and multifunctional applications of such highly conductive graphene‐based wearable e‐textiles are demonstrated as ultraflexible supercapacitor and skin‐mounted strain sensors.

173 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
29 Jun 2020-ACS Nano
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that during ultrasonic LPE, the transition from graphite flakes to graphene takes place in three distinct stages, which will be of great value in the quest to optimize the lateral dimensions, thickness and yield of graphene and other 2D materials in large-scale LPE for various applications.
Abstract: Liquid- phase exfoliation (LPE) is the principal method of producing two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene in large quantities with a good balance between quality and cost and is now widely adopted by both the academic and industrial sectors The fragmentation and exfoliation mechanisms involved have usually been simply attributed to the force induced by ultrasound and the interaction with the solvent molecules Nonetheless, little is known about how they actually occur, ie, how thick and large graphite crystals can be exfoliated into thin and small graphene flakes Here, we demonstrate that during ultrasonic LPE the transition from graphite flakes to graphene takes place in three distinct stages First, sonication leads to the rupture of large flakes and the formation of kink band striations on the flake surfaces, primarily along zigzag directions Second, cracks form along these striations, and together with intercalation of solvent, lead to the unzipping and peeling off of thin graphite strips that in the final stage are exfoliated into graphene The findings will be of great value in the quest to optimize the lateral dimensions, thickness, and yield of graphene and other 2D materials in large-scale LPE for various applications

136 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using the electro-optical tunability of graphene, adaptive optical textiles with electrically controlled reflectivity and emissivity covering the infrared and near-infrared wavelengths are reported, which provide complementary technologies which could leverage the ubiquitous use of functional textiles.
Abstract: Interactive clothing requires sensing and display functionalities to be embedded on textiles Despite the significant progress of electronic textiles, the integration of optoelectronic materials on fabrics remains as an outstanding challenge In this Letter, using the electro-optical tunability of graphene, we report adaptive optical textiles with electrically controlled reflectivity and emissivity covering the infrared and near-infrared wavelengths We achieve electro-optical modulation by reversible intercalation of ions into graphene layers laminated on fabrics We demonstrate a new class of infrared textile devices including display, yarn, and stretchable devices using natural and synthetic textiles To show the promise of our approach, we fabricated an active device directly onto a t-shirt, which enables long-wavelength infrared communication via modulation of the thermal radiation from the human body The results presented here provide complementary technologies which could leverage the ubiquitous use of functional textiles

82 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
13 Aug 2020-Nature
TL;DR: It is shown that the bulk electronic states in such rhombohedral graphite are gapped and, at low temperatures, electron transport is dominated by surface states, and spontaneous gap opening shows pronounced hysteresis and other signatures characteristic of electronic phase separation.
Abstract: Of the two stable forms of graphite, hexagonal and rhombohedral, the former is more common and has been studied extensively. The latter is less stable, which has so far precluded its detailed investigation, despite many theoretical predictions about the abundance of exotic interaction-induced physics1–6. Advances in van der Waals heterostructure technology7 have now allowed us to make high-quality rhombohedral graphite films up to 50 graphene layers thick and study their transport properties. Here we show that the bulk electronic states in such rhombohedral graphite are gapped8 and, at low temperatures, electron transport is dominated by surface states. Because of their proposed topological nature, the surface states are of sufficiently high quality to observe the quantum Hall effect, whereby rhombohedral graphite exhibits phase transitions between a gapless semimetallic phase and a gapped quantum spin Hall phase with giant Berry curvature. We find that an energy gap can also be opened in the surface states by breaking their inversion symmetry by applying a perpendicular electric field. Moreover, in rhombohedral graphite thinner than four nanometres, a gap is present even without an external electric field. This spontaneous gap opening shows pronounced hysteresis and other signatures characteristic of electronic phase separation, which we attribute to emergence of strongly correlated electronic surface states. High-quality rhombohedral graphite films are found to offer an alternative to twisted bilayer graphene as a platform for studying correlated physics in carbon materials.

80 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: Moiré superlattices generated by twisted insulating crystals of hexagonal boron nitride are shown to have a ferroelectric-like character, attributed to strain-induced polarized dipoles formed by pairs of interfacial bor on and nitrogen atoms that create bilayer-thick ferro electric domains.
Abstract: When two-dimensional crystals are brought into close proximity, their interaction results in strong reconstruction of electronic spectrum and local crystal structure. Such reconstruction strongly depends on the twist angle between the two crystals and has received growing attention due to new interesting electronic and optical properties that arise in graphene and transitional metal dichalcogenides. Similarly, novel and potentially useful properties are expected to appear in insulating crystals. Here we study two insulating crystals of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) stacked at a small twist angle. Using electrostatic force microscopy, we observe ferroelectric-like domains arranged in triangular superlattices with a large surface potential that is independent on the size and orientation of the domains as well as the thickness of the twisted hBN crystals. The observation is attributed to interfacial elastic deformations that result in domains with a large density of out-of-plane polarized dipoles formed by pairs of boron and nitrogen atoms belonging to the opposite interfacial surfaces. This effectively creates a bilayer-thick ferroelectric with oppositely polarized (BN and NB) dipoles in neighbouring domains, in agreement with our modelling. The demonstrated electrostatic domains and their superlattices offer many new possibilities in designing novel van der Waals heterostructures.

77 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
09 Oct 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that biquadratic exchange interactions, which is the simplest and most natural form of non-Heisenberg coupling, assume a key role in the magnetic properties of layered magnets.
Abstract: Magnetism in recently discovered van der Waals materials has opened several avenues in the study of fundamental spin interactions in truly two-dimensions. A paramount question is what effect higher-order interactions beyond bilinear Heisenberg exchange have on the magnetic properties of few-atom thick compounds. Here we demonstrate that biquadratic exchange interactions, which is the simplest and most natural form of non-Heisenberg coupling, assume a key role in the magnetic properties of layered magnets. Using a combination of nonperturbative analytical techniques, non-collinear first-principles methods and classical Monte Carlo calculations that incorporate higher-order exchange, we show that several quantities including magnetic anisotropies, spin-wave gaps and topological spin-excitations are intrinsically renormalized leading to further thermal stability of the layers. We develop a spin Hamiltonian that also contains antisymmetric exchanges (e.g., Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions) to successfully rationalize numerous observations, such as the non-Ising character of several compounds despite a strong magnetic anisotropy, peculiarities of the magnon spectrum of 2D magnets, and the discrepancy between measured and calculated Curie temperatures. Our results provide a theoretical framework for the exploration of different physical phenomena in 2D magnets where biquadratic exchange interactions have an important contribution.

71 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: XPS measurements gave direct evidence that there existed strong interactions between single-site Sn and Zn promoters in this Zn1-Sn1/CuO catalyst, leading to a significant increase of the electron density on the Cu atoms in CuO, exhibiting much higher activity, selectivity and stability in the synthesis of dimethyldichlorosilane via the industrially important Rochow reaction.
Abstract: spectroscopy (XPS) measurements gave direct evidence that there existed strong interactions between single-site Sn and Zn promoters in this Zn1-Sn1/CuO catalyst, leading to a significant increase of the electron density on the Cu atoms in CuO. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that on the Sn-doped CuO(110) surface, the formation energy of Cu vacancy is 0.78 eV lower than that on the clean CuO(110), indicating that it is easier to form Cu vacancies in the Sn-doped surface.The calculation results also support that Zn prefers to fill in the nearbyCu vacancies caused by Sndoping to form Sn-Zn pairs. Compared with conventional catalysts with promoters in the form of nanoparticles, this novel catalyst exhibits much higher activity, selectivity and stability in the synthesis of dimethyldichlorosilane via the industrially important Rochow reaction. The enhanced catalytic performance is attributed to the generated cooperative electronic interaction of single-site Sn and Zn with the CuO support, which further promotes the adsorption of reactant molecules. The authors demonstrated the obvious advantages of the single-site promoters, not only helping to elucidate their real promotion mechanism in the catalytic reaction, but also opening up a new path to optimize catalyst performance. On one hand, the single-site promoters can maximize the catalytic interfaces between the promoter and the catalyst; on the other hand, the specific coordination between the single-site promoters and the catalyst can generate unique electronic properties, thereby promoting the catalytic reaction. As two or more types of promoters are often used in one industrial catalyst, thisworkwill stimulate research in singlesite promoters in catalyst design and thus provide better understanding of the synergistic effect among various promoters. In a certain distance range, the multiple single-site promoters will have strong electronic interactions with the catalyst, which can optimize the electronic structure of the catalyst and thus change its surface adsorption properties. Therefore, it is believed that optimizing the distance between metal atoms is the key to achieving synergy of multiple singlesite promoters. Moreover, as the catalyst support is the bridge of electronic interaction, the synergy is expected to be further optimized by adjusting the local microstructure of the catalyst support. Conflict of interest statement.None declared.

68 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the specific vibrational and binding energy fingerprints of MoS2-Au interaction were identified using Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which indicate substantial strain and charge doping in monolayer MoS 2.
Abstract: Gold-mediated exfoliation of MoS2 has recently attracted considerable interest. The strong interaction between MoS2 and Au facilitates preferential production of centimeter-sized monolayer MoS2 with near-unity yield and provides a heterostructure system noteworthy from a fundamental standpoint. However, little is known about the detailed nature of the MoS2-Au interaction and its evolution with the MoS2 thickness. Here, we identify the specific vibrational and binding energy fingerprints of this interaction using Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which indicate substantial strain and charge doping in monolayer MoS2. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy reveals heterogeneity of the MoS2-Au interaction at the nanoscale, reflecting the spatial nonconformity between the two materials. Micro-Raman spectroscopy shows that this interaction is strongly affected by the roughness and cleanliness of the underlying Au. Our results elucidate the nature of the MoS2-Au interaction and guide strain and charge doping engineering of MoS2.

61 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate that biquadratic exchange interactions, which is the simplest and most natural form of non-Heisenberg coupling, assume a key role in the magnetic properties of layered magnets.
Abstract: Magnetism in recently discovered van der Waals materials has opened new avenues in the study of fundamental spin interactions in truly two-dimensions. A paramount question is what effect higher-order interactions beyond bilinear Heisenberg exchange have on the magnetic properties of few-atom thick compounds. Here we demonstrate that biquadratic exchange interactions, which is the simplest and most natural form of non-Heisenberg coupling, assume a key role in the magnetic properties of layered magnets. Using a combination of nonperturbative analytical techniques, non-collinear first-principles methods and classical Monte Carlo calculations that incorporate higher-order exchange, we show that several quantities including magnetic anisotropies, spin-wave gaps and topological spin-excitations are intrinsically renormalized leading to further thermal stability of the layers. We develop a spin Hamiltonian that also contains antisymmetric exchanges (e.g. Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions) to successfully rationalize numerous observations currently under debate, such as the non-Ising character of several compounds despite a strong magnetic anisotropy, peculiarities of the magnon spectrum of 2D magnets, and the discrepancy between measured and calculated Curie temperatures. Our results lay the foundation of a universal higher-order exchange theory for novel 2D magnetic design strategies.

51 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Exitonic transistor and router based on bilayer WSe2, which can be controlled by transverse electric field, and naturally stacked bilayers, which are much simpler in fabrication are demonstrated.
Abstract: Optoelectronic devices that allow rerouting, modulation, and detection of the optical signals would be extremely beneficial for telecommunication technology. One of the most promising platforms for these devices is excitonic devices, as they offer very efficient coupling to light. Of especial importance are those based on indirect excitons because of their long lifetime. Here, we demonstrate excitonic transistor and router based on bilayer WSe2. Because of their strong dipole moment, excitons in bilayer WSe2 can be controlled by transverse electric field. At the same time, unlike indirect excitons in artificially stacked heterostructures based on transition metal dichalcogenides, naturally stacked bilayers are much simpler in fabrication.

Journal ArticleDOI
Abstract: Semiconducting ferromagnet-nonmagnet interfaces in van der Waals heterostructures present a unique opportunity to investigate magnetic proximity interactions dependent upon a multitude of phenomena including valley and layer pseudospins, moire periodicity, or exceptionally strong Coulomb binding. Here, we report a charge-state dependency of the magnetic proximity effects between MoSe2 and CrBr3 in photoluminescence, whereby the valley polarization of the MoSe2 trion state conforms closely to the local CrBr3 magnetization, while the neutral exciton state remains insensitive to the ferromagnet. We attribute this to spin-dependent interlayer charge transfer occurring on timescales between the exciton and trion radiative lifetimes. Going further, we uncover by both the magneto-optical Kerr effect and photoluminescence a domain-like spatial topography of contrasting valley polarization, which we infer to be labyrinthine or otherwise highly intricate, with features smaller than 400 nm corresponding to our optical resolution. Our findings offer a unique insight into the interplay between short-lived valley excitons and spin-dependent interlayer tunneling, while also highlighting MoSe2 as a promising candidate to optically interface with exotic spin textures in van der Waals structures.

Journal ArticleDOI
30 Apr 2020-Carbon
TL;DR: In this article, a three-layer, Jaumann structured microwave absorber has been designed, fabricated and characterised, and the maximum microwave absorption rate is up to 99.9997% where the −10 dB fractional bandwidth is over 153%, which covers L, S and C bands.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the ability to control the position and orientation of the domain walls leads to fine control of the local structural phases and properties of graphene, offering a simple but effective approach to create artificial two-dimensional materials with designed atomic structures and electronic and optical properties.
Abstract: A crystal structure has a profound influence on the physical properties of the corresponding material. By synthesizing crystals with particular symmetries, one can strongly tune their properties, even for the same chemical configuration (compare graphite and diamond, for instance). Even more interesting opportunities arise when the structural phases of crystals can be changed dynamically through external stimulations. Such abilities, though rare, lead to a number of exciting phenomena, such as phase-change memory effects. In the case of trilayer graphene, there are two common stacking configurations (ABA and ABC) that have distinct electronic band structures and exhibit very different behaviors. Domain walls exist in the trilayer graphene with both stacking orders, showing fascinating new physics such as the quantum valley Hall effect. Extensive efforts have been dedicated to the phase engineering of trilayer graphene. However, the manipulation of domain walls to achieve precise control of local structures and properties remains a considerable challenge. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that we can switch from one structural phase to another by laser irradiation, creating domains of different shapes in trilayer graphene. The ability to control the position and orientation of the domain walls leads to fine control of the local structural phases and properties of graphene, offering a simple but effective approach to create artificial two-dimensional materials with designed atomic structures and electronic and optical properties.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the van der Waals ferromagnetic CrCl 3 can host merons and anti-merons, and the dynamics and interactions of these quasi-particles are explored, pushing the boundary to what is currently known about non-trivial spin structures in 2D magnets.
Abstract: Merons are nontrivial topological spin textures highly relevant for many phenomena in solid state physics. Despite their importance, direct observation of such vortex quasiparticles is scarce and has been limited to a few complex materials. Here we show the emergence of merons and antimerons in recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) CrCl3 at zero magnetic field. We show their entire evolution from pair creation, their diffusion over metastable domain walls, and collision leading to large magnetic monodomains. Both quasiparticles are stabilized spontaneously during cooling at regions where in-plane magnetic frustration takes place. Their dynamics is determined by the interplay between the strong in-plane dipolar interactions and the weak out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy stabilising a vortex core within a radius of 8-10 nm. Our results push the boundary to what is currently known about non-trivial spin structures in 2D magnets and open exciting opportunities to control magnetic domains via topological quasiparticles.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors leverage the thickness of exfoliated 2D crystals to control the quantum well dimensions in few-layer semiconductor InSe and investigate the resonance features in the tunnelling current, photoabsorption and light emission spectra.
Abstract: Control over the quantization of electrons in quantum wells is at the heart of the functioning of modern advanced electronics; high electron mobility transistors, semiconductor and Capasso terahertz lasers, and many others. However, this avenue has not been explored in the case of 2D materials. Here we apply this concept to van der Waals heterostructures using the thickness of exfoliated crystals to control the quantum well dimensions in few-layer semiconductor InSe. This approach realizes precise control over the energy of the subbands and their uniformity guarantees extremely high quality electronic transport in these systems. Using tunnelling and light emitting devices, we reveal the full subband structure by studying resonance features in the tunnelling current, photoabsorption and light emission spectra. In the future, these systems could enable development of elementary blocks for atomically thin infrared and THz light sources based on intersubband optical transitions in few-layer van der Waals materials.

Journal ArticleDOI
02 Sep 2020-ACS Nano
TL;DR: It is shown that the presence of nanometer scale wrinkles formed due to transfer-induced stress relaxation can lead to strong changes in the optical properties of MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructures and the emergence of the linearly polarized interlayer exciton photoluminescence.
Abstract: The availability of accessible fabrication methods based on deterministic transfer of atomically thin crystals has been essential for the rapid expansion of research into van der Waals heterostruct...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that, in graphene-on-boron-nitride superlattices, Brown-Zak fermions can exhibit mobilities above 106 cm2 V−1 s−1 and the mean free path exceeding several micrometers and all the degeneracies (spin, valley and mini-valley) can be lifted by exchange interactions below 1 K.
Abstract: In quantizing magnetic fields, graphene superlattices exhibit a complex fractal spectrum often referred to as the Hofstadter butterfly It can be viewed as a collection of Landau levels that arise from quantization of Brown-Zak minibands recurring at rational ($p/q$) fractions of the magnetic flux quantum per superlattice unit cell Here we show that, in graphene-on-boron-nitride superlattices, Brown-Zak fermions can exhibit mobilities above 10$^6$ cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ and the mean free path exceeding several micrometers The exceptional quality of our devices allows us to show that Brown-Zak minibands are $4q$ times degenerate and all the degeneracies (spin, valley and mini-valley) can be lifted by exchange interactions below 1K We also found negative bend resistance at $1/q$ fractions for electrical probes placed as far as several micrometers apart The latter observation highlights the fact that Brown-Zak fermions are Bloch quasiparticles propagating in high fields along straight trajectories, just like electrons in zero field


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that Brown-Zak minibands are 4q times degenerate and all the degeneracies (spin, valley and mini-valley) can be lifted by exchange interactions below 1'K.
Abstract: In quantizing magnetic fields, graphene superlattices exhibit a complex fractal spectrum often referred to as the Hofstadter butterfly. It can be viewed as a collection of Landau levels that arise from quantization of Brown-Zak minibands recurring at rational (p/q) fractions of the magnetic flux quantum per superlattice unit cell. Here we show that, in graphene-on-boron-nitride superlattices, Brown-Zak fermions can exhibit mobilities above 106 cm2 V−1 s−1 and the mean free path exceeding several micrometers. The exceptional quality of our devices allows us to show that Brown-Zak minibands are 4q times degenerate and all the degeneracies (spin, valley and mini-valley) can be lifted by exchange interactions below 1 K. We also found negative bend resistance at 1/q fractions for electrical probes placed as far as several micrometers apart. The latter observation highlights the fact that Brown-Zak fermions are Bloch quasiparticles propagating in high fields along straight trajectories, just like electrons in zero field. Here, the authors show that Brown-Zak fermions in graphene-on-boron-nitride superlattices exhibit mobilities above 106 cm2/V s and micrometer scale ballistic transport.

Journal ArticleDOI
18 May 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate a full integration of an electroluminescent van der Waals heterostructure in a monolithic optical microcavity made of two high reflectivity dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs).
Abstract: Vertical stacking of atomically thin layered materials opens new possibilities for the fabrication of heterostructures with favorable optoelectronic properties. The combination of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides allows fabrication of electroluminescence (EL) devices, compatible with a wide range of substrates. Here, we demonstrate a full integration of an electroluminescent van der Waals heterostructure in a monolithic optical microcavity made of two high reflectivity dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Owing to the presence of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride protecting the WSe2 during the top mirror deposition, we fully preserve the optoelectronic behaviour of the device. Two bright cavity modes appear in the EL spectrum featuring Q-factors of 250 and 580 respectively: the first is attributed directly to the monolayer area, while the second is ascribed to the portion of emission guided outside the WSe2 island. By embedding the EL device inside the microcavity structure, a significant modification of the directionality of the emitted light is achieved, with the peak intensity increasing by nearly two orders of magnitude at the angle of the maximum emission compared with the same EL device without the top DBR. Furthermore, the coupling of the WSe2 EL to the cavity mode with a dispersion allows a tuning of the peak emission wavelength exceeding 35 nm (80 meV) by varying the angle at which the EL is observed from the microcavity. This work provides a route for the development of compact vertical-cavity surface-emitting devices based on van der Waals heterostructures.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors use optical second harmonic generation (OSG) to investigate the alignment of graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures and find that this structural change in the system can be directly observed via a strong modification of a nonlinear optical signal.
Abstract: Commensurability effects play a crucial role in the formation of electronic properties of novel layered heterostructures. The interest in these moire superstructures has increased tremendously since the recent observation of a superconducting state (Nature 2018, 556, 43–50) and metal–insulator transition (Nature 2018, 556, 80–84) in twisted bilayer graphene. In this regard, a straightforward and efficient experimental technique for detection of the alignment of layered materials is desired. In this work, we use optical second harmonic generation, which is sensitive to the inversion symmetry breaking, to investigate the alignment of graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures. To achieve that, we activate a commensurate–incommensurate phase transition by a thermal annealing of the sample. We find that this structural change in the system can be directly observed via a strong modification of a nonlinear optical signal. Unambiguous interpretation of obtained results reveals the potential of a second harmonic generation technique for probing of structural changes in layered systems.

Journal ArticleDOI
28 Jan 2020-ACS Nano
TL;DR: This work presents a study of electron tunneling across a hexagonal boron nitride acting as a barrier between a graphite electrode and redox couples in a liquid solution, and analysis of voltammetric measurements yielded several electrochemical parameters that depart significantly from the Butler-Volmer kinetics.
Abstract: Marcus–Hush theory of electron transfer is one of the pillars of modern electrochemistry with a large body of supporting experimental evidence presented to date. However, some predictions, such as the electrochemical behavior at disk ultramicroelectrodes, remain unverified. Herein, we present a study of electron tunneling across a hexagonal boron nitride acting as a barrier between a graphite electrode and redox mediators in a liquid solution. This was achieved by the fabrication of disk ultramicroelectrodes with a typical diameter of 5 μm. Analysis of voltammetric measurements, using two common outer-sphere redox mediators, yielded several electrochemical parameters, including the electron transfer rate constant, limiting current, and transfer coefficient. They depart significantly from the Butler–Volmer kinetics and instead show behavior previously predicted by the Marcus–Hush theory of electron transfer. In addition, our system provides a noteworthy experimental platform, which could be applied to addr...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the PTIR sensitivity to those weakly-scattering, high-Q (up to ≈280) modes is, contrary to a previous hypothesis, unrelated to the probe operation (contact or tapping) and is instead linked to PTIR ability to detect tip-launched dark, volumetrically-confined polaritons, rather than nanostructure launched HPhPs modes observed by other techniques.
Abstract: The anisotropy of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) gives rise to hyperbolic phonon-polaritons (HPhPs), notable for their volumetric frequency-dependent propagation and strong confinement. For frustum (truncated nanocone) structures, theory predicts five, high-order HPhPs, sets, but only one set was observed previously with far-field reflectance and scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy. In contrast, the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique has recently permitted sampling of the full HPhP dispersion and observing such elusive predicted modes; however, the mechanism underlying PTIR sensitivity to these weakly-scattering modes, while critical to their understanding, has not yet been clarified. Here, by comparing conventional contact- and newly developed tapping-mode PTIR, we show that the PTIR sensitivity to those weakly-scattering, high-Q (up to ≈280) modes is, contrary to a previous hypothesis, unrelated to the probe operation (contact or tapping) and is instead linked to PTIR ability to detect tip-launched dark, volumetrically-confined polaritons, rather than nanostructure-launched HPhPs modes observed by other techniques. Furthermore, we show that in contrast with plasmons and surface phonon-polaritons, whose Q-factors and optical cross-sections are typically degraded by the proximity of other nanostructures, the high-Q HPhP resonances are preserved even in high-density hBN frustum arrays, which is useful in sensing and quantum emission applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) provide an answer to this quest owing to their fundamental differences between intralayer strong covalent bonding and weak interlayer van der Walls interaction.
Abstract: Large optical anisotropy observed in a broad spectral range is of paramount importance for efficient light manipulation in countless devices. Although a giant anisotropy was recently observed in the mid-infrared wavelength range, for visible and near-infrared spectral intervals, the problem remains acute with the highest reported birefringence values of 0.8 in BaTiS3 and h-BN crystals. This inspired an intensive search for giant optical anisotropy among natural and artificial materials. Here, we demonstrate that layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) provide an answer to this quest owing to their fundamental differences between intralayer strong covalent bonding and weak interlayer van der Walls interaction. To do this, we carried out a correlative far- and near-field characterization validated by first-principle calculations that reveals an unprecedented birefringence of 1.5 in the infrared and 3 in the visible light for MoS2. Our findings demonstrate that this outstanding anisotropy allows for tackling the diffraction limit enabling an avenue for on-chip next-generation photonics.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Surprisingly, the monolayer graphene device is demonstrated to have a comparable energy dissipation efficiency per unit volume with that of a few-layer graphene device, overturning the traditional understanding that the energy Dissipation efficiency will reduce with the decrease of functional materials dimensions.
Abstract: The energy dissipation issue has become one of the greatest challenges of the modern electronic industry. Incorporating graphene into the electronic devices has been widely accepted as a promising approach to solve this issue, due to its superior carrier mobility and thermal conductivity. Here, using Raman spectroscopy and infrared thermal microscopy, we identify the energy dissipation behavior of graphene device with different thicknesses. Surprisingly, the monolayer graphene device is demonstrated to have a comparable energy dissipation efficiency per unit volume with that of a few-layer graphene device. This has overturned the traditional understanding that the energy dissipation efficiency will reduce with the decrease of functional materials dimensions. Additionally, the energy dissipation speed of the monolayer graphene device is very fast, promising for devices with high operating frequency. Our finding provides a new insight into the energy dissipation issue of two-dimensional materials devices, which will have a global effect on the development of the electronic industry.

Journal ArticleDOI
02 Nov 2020
TL;DR: This work depicts an electrochemical hydrogel-eutectic gallium indium alloy interface for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus that accurately recognizes the TBE antibody, antigen, and an antibody-antigen complex in mixture with interfering bovine serum albumin with 93% accuracy.
Abstract: This work depicts an electrochemical hydrogel–eutectic gallium indium alloy interface for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus. This interface allows recording of nonlinear current–...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that second-order effects allow for further information to be obtained regarding stacking arrangements between the crystals, and it is shown that twisted multilayer samples exhibit extra modulations of interference fringes in CBED patterns.