Towards Fabrication of Atomic Dopant Wires via Monolayer Doping Patterned by Resist-Free Lithography

Fabrication of atomic dopant wires at large scale is challenging.We explored the feasibility to fabricate atomic dopant wires by nano-patterning self-assembled dopant carrying molecular monolayers via a resist-free lithographic approach.The resist-free lithography is to use electron beam exposure to decompose hydrocarbon contaminants in vacuum chamber into amorphous carbon that serves as an etching mask for nanopatterning the phosphorus-bearing monolayers.Dopant wires were fabricated in silicon by patterning diethyl vinylphosphonate monolayers into lines with a width ranging from 1 μm down to 8 nm.The dopants were subsequently driven into silicon to form dopant wires by rapid thermal annealing.Electrical measurements show a linear correlation between wire width and conductance,indicating the success of the monolayer patterning process at nanoscale.The dopant wires can be potentially scaled down to atomic scale if the dopant thermal diffusion can be mitigated.     

磁电弹性体中多条位错与Griffith裂纹

根据本征方程，研究磁电弹性体中若干平行螺型位错与Griffith裂纹的相互作用.结合Muskhelishvili方法和算子理论，得到磁电弹性体中由位错和裂纹所诱导的应力场、电场和磁场的解析解.数值算例表明：在裂纹的端点及位错点上仍然存在应力的奇异性，离位错点越远处广义力越小，结论与已有的结果相符，证明了结论的正确性.当位错点与裂纹端点距离越近时，裂纹与位错间的应力场越小，并逐渐趋近于零.     

The antidepressant effect of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate through monoaminergic,GABAergic system and BDNF signaling pathway

Abstract

Gastrodigenin, also known as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA), is one of the main components of Gastrodia elata, which is a perfect lead compound of natural products. In order to get new active compounds, we modified the structure of HBA through esterification with carboxylic acid, and got a series of derivatives in which 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate (NHBA) showed stronger antidepressant activity than HBA. In this paper, we firstly evaluated the antidepressant activity of NHBA by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). Then, we carried out the biochemical assay and western blot to determine its mechanism. The results displayed that NHBA could increase the content of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, γ-aminobutyric acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in mice brain. It suggested that NHBA exhibited an antidepressant-like effect through monoaminergic system, GABAergic system and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways.     

Metal–Organic Frameworks Based Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

In view of the clean and sustainable energy, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based materials, including pristine MOFs, MOF composites, and their derivatives are emerging as unique electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Thanks to their tunable compositions and diverse structures, efficient MOF-based materials provide new opportunities to accelerate the sluggish ORR at the cathode in fuel cells and metal–air batteries. This Minireview first provides some introduction of ORR and MOFs, followed by the classification of MOF-based electrocatalysts towards ORR. Recent breakthroughs in engineering MOF-based ORR electrocatalysts are highlighted with an emphasis on synthesis strategy, component, morphology, structure, electrocatalytic performance, and reaction mechanism. Finally, some current challenges and future perspectives for MOF-based ORR electrocatalysts are also discussed.     

Supramolecular Assembly of TPE-Based Glycoclusters with Dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran (DM) Fluorescent Probes Improve Their Properties for Peroxynitrite Sensing and Cell Imaging

Two red-emitting dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran (DM) based fluorescent probes were designed and used for peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) detection. Nevertheless, the aggregation-caused quenching effect diminished the fluorescence and restricted their further applications. To overcome this problem, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) based glycoclusters were used to self-assemble with these DM probes to obtain supramolecular water-soluble glyco-dots. This self-assembly strategy enhanced the fluorescence intensity, leading to an enhanced selectivity and activity of the resulting glyco-dot comparing to DM probes alone in PBS buffer. The glyco-dots also exhibited better results during fluorescence sensing of intracellular ONOO⁻ than the probes alone, thereby offering scope for the development of other similar supramolecular glyco-systems for chemical biological studies.     

Dredging the Charge-Carrier Transfer Pathway for Efficient Low-Dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Solar Cells

Low-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (LDRP) perovskites still suffer from inferior carrier transport properties. Here, we demonstrate that efficient exciton dissociation and charge transfer can be achieved in LDRP perovskite by introducing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a spacer. The hydrogen bonding links adjacent spacing sheets in (GABA)₂MA₃Pb₄I₁₃ (MA=CH₃NH₃⁺), leading to the charges localized in the van der Waals gap, thereby constructing “charged-bridge” for charge transfer through the spacing region. Additionally, the polarized GABA weakens dielectric confinement, decreasing the (GABA)₂MA₃Pb₄I₁₃ exciton binding energy as low as ≈73 meV. Benefiting from these merits, the resultant GABA-based solar cell yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.73 % with enhanced carrier transport properties. Furthermore, the unencapsulated device maintains 92.8 % of its initial PCE under continuous illumination after 1000 h and only lost 3 % of its initial PCE under 65 °C for 500 h.     

Photo-Activated Circularly Polarized Luminescence Film Based on Aggregation-Induced Emission Copper(I) Cluster-Assembled Materials

In this study, a pair of chiral copper(I) cluster-assembled materials (R/S- 2 ) was prepared, exhibiting unique photo-response characteristics with a concentration-wavelength correlation property in DMSO solution. By the combination of R/S- 2 with a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix, the first photo-activated circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) film was developed, the CPL signal (g_lum=9×10⁻³) of which could be induced by UV light irradiation. Moreover, the film exhibited a reversible photo-response and extremely good fatigue resistance. Mechanism study revealed that the photo-response properties of the R/S- 2 solution and film are attributed to the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics of R/S- 2 and a photo-induced deoxygenation process. This study enriches the types of luminescent cluster-assembled molecules and provides a new strategy for the construction of metal cluster-based stimuli-responsive composite materials.     

High Performance Dynamic X-ray Flexible Imaging Realized Using a Copper Iodide Cluster-Based MOF Microcrystal Scintillator

X-ray imaging technology has achieved important applications in many fields and has attracted extensive attentions. Dynamic X-ray flexible imaging for the real-time observation of the internal structure of complex materials is the most challenging type of X-ray imaging technology, which requires high-performance X-ray scintillators with high X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) efficiency as well as excellent processibility and stability. Here, a macrocyclic bridging ligand with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) feature was introduced for constructing a copper iodide cluster-based metal–organic framework (MOF) scintillator. This strategy endows the scintillator with high XEL efficiency and excellent chemical stability. Moreover, a regular rod-like microcrystal was prepared through the addition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone during the in situ synthesis process, which further enhanced the XEL and processibility of the scintillator. The microcrystal was used for the preparation of a scintillator screen with excellent flexibility and stability, which can be used for high-performance X-ray imaging in extremely humid environments. Furthermore, dynamic X-ray flexible imaging was realized for the first time. The internal structure of flexible objects was observed in real time with an ultrahigh resolution of 20 LP mm⁻¹.     

Highly Efficient Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Chiral Au13 Clusters Stabilized by Enantiopure Monodentate NHC Ligands

Chiral Au nanoclusters have promising application prospects in chiral sensing, asymmetric catalysis, and chiroptics. However, enantiopure superatomic homogold clusters with crystallographic structures emitting bright circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) remain challenging. In this study, we designed chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), and for the first time enantioselectively synthesized a pair of monovalent cationic superatomic Au₁₃ clusters. This new enantiomeric pair of clusters has a quasi-C₂ symmetric core and exhibited CPL with an unprecedent solution-state quantum yield (QY) of 61 % among those of the atomically precise Au nanoclusters. DFT calculations provided insights into the circular dichroism behavior, and revealed the origin of CPL from superatomic Au clusters. This work opens a new avenue for developing novel homochiral nanoclusters using chiral NHC ligands and provides fundamental understanding of the origin of the chiroptics of metal clusters.