Superconductivity and unconventional density waves in vanadium-based kagome materials AV3Sb5

Recently, the discovery of vanadium-based kagome metal AV₃Sb₅ (A= K, Rb, Cs) has attracted great interest in the field of superconductivity due to the coexistence of superconductivity, non-trivial surface state and multiple density waves. In this topical review, we present recent works of superconductivity and unconventional density waves in vanadium-based kagome materials AV₃Sb₅. We start with the unconventional charge density waves, which are thought to correlate to the time-reversal symmetry-breaking orders and the unconventional anomalous Hall effects in AV₃Sb₅. Then we discuss the superconductivity and the topological band structure. Next, we review the competition between the superconductivity and charge density waves under different conditions of pressure, chemical doping, thickness, and strains. Finally, the experimental evidence of pseudogap pair density wave is discussed.     

Research Advances of Ferroelectric Semiconductors of 2D Hybrid Perovskites toward Photoelectronic Applications

Ferroelectric materials, characterized by the switchable spontaneous polarization(Ps) through reversing the directions of external electric field, exhibit versatile physical attributes that have been extensively used for practical device applications. Two-dimensional(2D) organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites are recently emerging as a robust family of candidate ferroelectrics, termed ferroelectric semiconductors. In particular, the coexistence and/or coupling of ferroelectric polarization with th...     

LiF and LiNO3 as synergistic additives for PEO-PVDF/LLZTO-based composite electrolyte towards high-voltage lithium batteries with dualinterfaces stability

Solid electrolytes with desirable properties such as high ionic conductivity,wide electrochemical stable window,and suitable mechanical strength,and stable electrode-electrolyte interfaces on both cathode and anode side are essential for high-voltage all-solid-state lithium batteries(ASSLBs)to achieve excellent cycle stability.In this work,a novel strategy of using LiF and LiNO₃ as synergistic additives to boost the performance of PEO-PVDF/LLZTO-based composite solid electrolytes(CSEs)is developed,which also promotes the assembled high-voltage ASSLBs with dual-interfaces stability characteristic.Specifically,LiF as an inactive additive can increase the electrochemical stability of the CSE under high cut-off voltage,and improve the high-voltage compatibility between cathode and CSE,thus leading to a stable cathode/CSE interface.LiNO₃ as an active additive can lead to an enhanced ionic conductivity of CSE due to the increased free-mobile Li+and ensure a stable CSE/Li interface by forming stable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)on Li anode surface.Benefiting from the improved performance of CSE and stable dualinterfaces,the assembled NCM622/9[PEO₁₅-LiTFSI]-PVDF-15 LLZTO-2 LiF-3 LiNO₃/Li cell delivers a high rate capacity of 102.1 mAh g^-1 at 1.0 C and a high capacity retention of 77.4%after 200 cycles at 0.5 C,which are much higher than those of the ASSLB assembled with additive-free CSE,with only 60.0 mAh g^-1 and 52.0%,respectively.Furthermore,novel cycle test modes of resting for 5 h at different charge states after every 5 cycles are designed to investigate the high-voltage compatibility between cathode and CSE,and the results suggest that LiF additive can actually improve the high-voltage compatibility of cathode and CSE.All the obtained results confirm that the strategy of using synergistic additives in CSE is an effective way to achieve high-voltage ASSLBs with dual-interfaces stability.     

Crosslinked polyacrylonitrile precursor for S@pPAN composite cathode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries

S@pPAN has become promising cathode materials in rechargeable batteries due to its high compressed density,low E/S ratio,no polysulfide dissolution,no self-discharge,and stable cycling.However,it is a big challenge to enhance its sulfur content which determines its practical specific capacity.Herein,we prepare crosslinked PAN as precursor,leading to effective enhancement of sulfur content up to 55 wt%and a reversible specific capacity of 838 mAh g _composites^-1 at 0.2C.Because of the microporous structure and high specific area,crosslinked PAN provides more space to accommodate sulfur molecule and improve the interfacial reaction of S@pPAN as well.This work provides a promising direction to design S@pPAN for lithium sulfur batteries with high energy density.     

High-performance nonfused ring electron acceptor with a steric hindrance induced planar molecular backbone

Three nonfused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) TTC6,TT-C8T and TT-TC8 were purposefully designed and synthesized.The molecular geometry can be adjusted by the steric hindrance of lateral substituents.According to the DFT calculations,from TTC6 to TT-C8T and TT-TC8,planarity of the molecular backbone is gradually improved,accompanying with the enhancing of intramolecular charge transfer effect.As for TT-TC8,the two phenyl substituents are almost perpendicular to the molecular backbone,which endues the acceptor with good solubility and suppresses it to form over-aggregation.Multidirectional regular molecular orientation and closer molecular stacking are formed in TT-TC8 film.As a result,TT-TC8 based devices afford the highest PCE of 13.13%,which is much higher than that of TTC6 (4.41%) and TT-C8T (10.42%) and among the highest PCE values based on NFREAs.     

Crown evolution kinematics of a camellia oil droplet impacting on a liquid layer

The phenomenon of droplet impact on an immiscible liquid is encountered in a variety of scenarios in nature and industrial production. Despite exhaustive research, it is not fully clear how the immiscibility of the liquid on which a droplet impacts affects the crown evolution. The present work experimentally investigates the evolution kinematics of a crown formed by the normal impact of a camellia oil droplet on an immiscible water layer. Based on discussion of dynamic impact behaviors for three critical Weber numbers (We), the radius of the crown and its average spreading velocity are compared with those of previous theoretical models to discuss their applicability to the immiscible liquid. The evolution kinematics (morphology and velocity) are analyzed by considering the effects of the We and layer thickness. Furthermore, the ability of crown expansion in radial and vertical directions is characterized by a velocity ratio. The results show that our experimental crown radius still follows a square-root function of evolution time, which agrees with the theoretical predictions. The dimensionless average spreading velocity decreases with We and follows a multivariate power law, while the dimensionless average rising velocity remains constant. The velocity ratio is shown to linearly increase with We, demonstrating that the rising movement in crown evolution gradually enhances with We. These results are helpful for further investigation on the droplet impact on an immiscible liquid layer.     

基于SEIR模型的COVID-19疫情防控效果评估和预测

通过对COVID-19疫情在中国的传播情况进行分析，建立了一个SEIR流行病模型，模型中将确诊人群分成已收治和未收治两类.先从理论上分析了模型的无病平衡点及其稳定性、基本再生数等关键问题；再结合实际数据，对武汉封城前和封城后两个阶段疫情的发展趋势进行数值模拟和比较分析，讨论了模型中一些重要参数对确诊人数的影响；最后，针对上述理论分析和数值模拟的结果，对之前采取的一些控制策略作了分析评估，同时对疫情后期发展进行预测.     

Conformational change-modulated spin transport at single-molecule level in carbon systems

Controlling the spin transport at the single-molecule level, especially without the use of ferromagnetic contacts, becomes a focus of research in spintronics. Inspired by the progress on atomic-level molecular synthesis, through first-principles calculations, we investigate the spin-dependent electronic transport of graphene nanoflakes with side-bonded functional groups, contacted by atomic carbon chain electrodes. It is found that, by rotating the functional group, the spin polarization of the transmission at the Fermi level could be switched between completely polarized and unpolarized states. Moreover, the transition between spin-up and spin-down polarized states can also be achieved, operating as a dual-spin filter. Further analysis shows that, it is the spin-dependent shift of density of states, caused by the rotation, that triggers the shift of transmission peaks, and then results in the variation of spin polarization. Such a feature is found to be robust to the length of the nanoflake and the electrode material, showing great application potential. Those findings may throw light on the development of spintronic devices.     

Electrically driven motion,destruction, and chirality change of polar vortices in oxide superlattices

Topological polar vortices, which are electric analogs of magnetic objects, present great potential in applications of future nanoelectronics because of their nanometer size, anomalous dielectric response, and chirality. To enable the functionalities, it is prerequisite to manipulate the polar states and chirality by using external stimuli. Here, we probe the evolutions of polar state and chirality evolutions of topological polar vortices in Pb TiO;/Sr TiO;superlattices under an electric field by using atomically resolved in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy and phase-field simulations. We find that, under electric field, the chiral vortex cores can be moved laterally to form close-pair structures, transform into a/c domain stripes, and finally become a nonchiral c-domain. Such transition is reversible and spontaneous after bias removal. Interestingly, during switching and backswitching events, the vortex rotation can be changed, offering a potential strategy to manipulate vortex chirality. The revealed dynamic behavior of individual polar vortices at the atomic scale provides fundamentals for future device applications.     

Skyrmion transport driven by pure voltage generated strain gradient

The magnetic skyrmion transport driven by pure voltage-induced strain gradient is proposed and studied via micromagnetic simulation. Through combining the skyrmion with multiferroic heterojunction, a voltage-induced uniaxial strain gradient is adjusted to move skyrmions. In the system, a pair of short-circuited trapezoidal top electrodes can generate the symmetric strain. Due to the symmetry of strain, the magnetic skyrmion can be driven with a linear motion in the middle of the nanostrip without deviation. We calculate the strain distribution generated by the trapezoidal top electrodes pair, and further investigate the influence of the strain intensity as well as the strain gradient on the skyrmion velocity. Our findings provide a stable and low-energy regulation method for skyrmion transport.