Subsecond optically controlled domain switching in freestanding ferroelectric BaTiO membrane.

The quest to develop energy-efficient and fast optoelectronic control of memory devices is essential. In this respect, ferroelectric materials are gaining tremendous importance in information and communication technology. Here, we demonstrate light-controlled polarisation switching on a subsecond timescale ( <500 ms) in a freestanding BaTiO membrane, which is nearly 1200 times faster than the previously reported response using a BaTiO thin film.

Highly Responsive Self-Healing and Degradable Piezoelectric Soft Machines.

Piezoelectric materials that are simultaneously healable, stretchable, and degradable have remained an unmet challenge, limiting advancements in wearable and implantable electronics, where devices face multidimensional mechanical deformation, causing a risk of damage. To address this critical gap, a biocompatible piezoelectric material is developed for ultrahigh piezoelectric effects with DL-alanine amino acid crystals, which is stretchable, healable, and degradable. The in situ grown DL-alanine piezoelectric crystals within an ionically cross-linked gelatin hydrogel matrix strengthen the piezoelectric properties with an ultrahigh voltage coefficient of 1.

Biomass-derived functional additive for highly efficient and stable lead halide perovskite solar cells with built-in lead immobilisation.

Despite notable progress in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), their commercial viability remains limited by stability issues and the risk of lead contamination. Uncoordinated lead ions can introduce defects during perovskite crystallization, resulting in reduced stability and potential environmental contamination. Here, we synthesized a biomass-derived tetrabutylammonium alginate (TBA-Alg) polymer that forms a connected network at the perovskite surface and grain boundaries to effectively manage lead ions and passivate defects.

Versatile Solid-State Medical Superglue Precursors of α-Lipoic Acid.

α-Lipoic acid () is an attractive building block for medical adhesives. However, due to poor water solubility of and high hydrophobicity of poly(αLA), elevated temperatures, organic solvents, or complex preparations are typically required to obtain and deliver -based adhesives to biological tissue. Here, we report -based powder and low-viscosity liquid superglues that polymerize and bond rapidly upon contact with wet tissue.

Oxygen Vacancy-Mediated Microflower-like BiOI for Reactive Oxygen Species Generation through Piezo-Photocoupling Effect.

Photocatalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS) evolution with BiOI still suffers from sluggish charge carrier dynamics and limited light absorption. Herein, abundant oxygen vacancies (OVs) were introduced into the microflower-like BiOI, and its ROS generation toward organic dye degradation under the synergistic effect of visible light and ultrasound irradiation was investigated. Benefiting from the broadened visible-light absorption range, stronger piezoresponse, and higher carrier transport efficiency in OV-enriched BiOI (2-PEG-BiOI), both its photocatalytic and piezocatalytic degradations were improved.

Postsynaptic Density Proteins and Their Role in the Trafficking of Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system that regulates multiple different forms of synaptic plasticity, including learning and memory. Glutamate transduces its signal by activating ionotropic glutamate receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Group I mGluRs belong to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family.

Recyclable surgical, consumer, and industrial adhesives of poly(α-lipoic acid).

Polymer adhesives play an important role in many medical, consumer, and industrial products. Polymers of α-lipoic acid (αLA) have the potential to fulfill the need for versatile and environmentally friendly adhesives, but their performance is plagued by spontaneous depolymerization. We report a family of stabilized αLA polymer adhesives that can be tailored for a variety of medical or nonmedical uses and sustainably sourced and recycled in a closed-loop manner.

Understanding the impact of Bi stoichiometry towards optimised BiFeO photocathodes: structure, morphology, defects and ferroelectricity.

BiFeO thin films have been widely studied for photoelectrochemical water splitting applications because of its narrow bandgap and good ferroelectricity which can promote the separation of photo-generated charges. Bismuth is well known as a volatile element and excess bismuth is usually added into the precursor to compensate the loss of bismuth during heat treatment, but the amount of excess bismuth required and how excess bismuth will affect PEC performance have not been clearly studied. Herein, self-doped Bi FeO thin films are prepared simple chemical solution deposition method with excess bismuth from 0-30% in the precursor.

Precursor-Engineered Volatile Inks Enable Reliable Blade-Coating of Cesium-Formamidinium Perovskites Toward Fully Printed Solar Modules.

Reliable fabrication of large-area perovskite films with antisolvent-free printing techniques requires high-volatility solvents, such as 2-methoxyethanol (2ME), to formulate precursor inks. However, the fabrication of high-quality cesium-formamidinium (Cs-FA) perovskites has been hampered using volatile solvents due to their poor coordination with the perovskite precursors. Here, this issue is resolved by re-formulating a 2ME-based CsFAPbI ink using pre-synthesized single crystals as the precursor instead of the conventional mixture of raw powders.

Efficacy of yellow gypsum application on mitigating arsenic bioavailability in groundnut and -rice grown under arsenic contaminated soil.

Agricultural soils naturally enriched with Arsenic (As) represent a significant global human health risk. In the present investigation, a series of pot experiments were conducted to study the efficacy of three levels of Yellow Gypsum (YG) application on bioavailability of As to groundnut followed by -rice grown under 17 different levels of soil As contamination for two consecutive years. The results revealed that application of YG @ 60 kg ha effectuated the lowest soil As content and the highest percent decline in soil extractable As at pegging (9.

Giant electrostriction-like response from defective non-ferroelectric epitaxial BaTiO integrated on Si (100).

Lead-free, silicon compatible materials showing large electromechanical responses comparable to, or better than conventional relaxor ferroelectrics, are desirable for various nanoelectromechanical devices and applications. Defect-engineered electrostriction has recently been gaining popularity to obtain enhanced electromechanical responses at sub 100 Hz frequencies. Here, we report record values of electrostrictive strain coefficients (M) at frequencies as large as 5 kHz (1.

Honing in on a topological zero-bias conductance peak.

A popular signature of Majorana bound states in topological superconductors is the quantized zero-energy conductance peak. However, a similar zero energy conductance peak can also arise due to non-topological reasons. Here we show that these trivial and topological zero energy conductance peaks can be distinguished via the zero energy local density of states (LDOSs) and local magnetization density of states (LMDOSs).

Diverse functional polyethylenes by catalytic amination.

Functional polyethylenes possess valuable bulk and surface properties, but the limits of current synthetic methods narrow the range of accessible materials and prevent many envisioned applications. Instead, these materials are often used in composite films that are challenging to recycle. We report a Cu-catalyzed amination of polyethylenes to form mono- and bifunctional materials containing a series of polar groups and substituents.

Chemical Modification of Oxidized Polyethylene Enables Access to Functional Polyethylenes with Greater Reuse.

Polyethylene is a commodity material that is widely used because of its low cost and valuable properties. However, the lack of functional groups in polyethylene limits its use in applications that include adhesives, gas barriers, and plastic blends. The inertness of polyethylene makes it difficult to install groups that would enhance its properties and enable programmed chemical decomposition.

Biochemical Defense Responses in Red Rice Genotypes Possessing Differential Resistance to Brown Planthopper, (Stål).

The brown planthopper [ (Stål.)] is one of the most destructive insect pests in all the rice-growing regions of the world. The pest is complicated to manage through the blanket application of chemical pesticides.

Controlled Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization of a New Monomer: On Switching the Solvent-Water-Soluble Homopolymers to Degradable Copolymers.

A new heterocyclic monomer is developed via simple Diels-Alder reaction which is reluctant to polymerize in dichloromethane (DCM) whereas undergoes facile polymerization in tetrahydrofuran with excellent control over molecular weight (M ) and dispersities (Đ) using Grubbs' third generation catalyst (G3). The deprotection of the tert-butoxycarbonyl group from the polymeric backbone yielded a water-soluble ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) polymer easily. Moreover, in DCM this new monomer copolymerizes with 2,3-dihydrofuran under catalytic living ROMP conditions to give backbone degradable polymers.

A vital role for PICK1 in the differential regulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor internalization and synaptic AMPA receptor endocytosis.

Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) play important roles in many neuronal processes and are believed to be involved in synaptic plasticity underlying the encoding of experience, including classic paradigms of learning and memory. These receptors have also been implicated in various neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Fragile X syndrome and autism. Internalization and recycling of these receptors in the neuron are important mechanisms to regulate the activity of the receptor and control the precise spatiotemporal localization of these receptors.

Plasticization of a Semicrystalline Metallosupramolecular Polymer Network.

The assembly of ligand-functionalized (macro)monomers with suitable metal ions affords metallosupramolecular polymers (MSPs). On account of the reversible and dynamic nature of the metal-ligand complexes, these materials can be temporarily (dis-)assembled upon exposure to a suitable stimulus, and this effect can be exploited to heal damaged samples, to facilitate processing and recycling, or to enable reversible adhesion. We here report on the plasticization of a semicrystalline, stimuli-responsive MSP network that was assembled by combining a low-molecular-weight building block carrying three 2,6-bis(1'-methylbenzimidazolyl) pyridine (Mebip) ligands and zinc bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (Zn(NTf)).

Spatial pattern of groundwater arsenic contamination in Patna, Saran, and Vaishali districts of Gangetic plains of Bihar, India.

Groundwater is an essential source of drinking as well as irrigation water. It has recently become a significant challenge to maintain good and safe drinking water for all living beings. The continuous supply of arsenic detected in groundwater poses a severe health problem and has adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem.

Controlled Alternating Metathesis Copolymerization of Terminal Alkynes.

Terminal alkynes display high reactivity toward Ru-carbene metathesis catalysts. However, the formation of a less reactive bulky carbene hinders their homopolymerization. Simultaneously, the higher reactivity of alkynes does not allow efficient cross propagation with sterically less-hindered cycloalkene monomers, resulting in inefficient copolymerization.

Josephson quantum spin thermodynamics.

A 1D Josephson junction (JJ) loop, doped with a spin-flipper and attached to two thermal reservoirs is shown to operate as a heat engine, or a refrigerator, or a Joule pump or even as a cold pump. When operating as a quantum heat engine, the efficiency of this device exceeds that of some recent Josephson heat engine proposals. Further, as a quantum refrigerator, the coefficient of performance of this device is much higher than previously proposed JJ based refrigerators.

Photoelectrocaloric effect in ferroelectric oxide.

The enhanced electrocaloric (EC) effect in solid-state-based lead-free ferroelectric Ba(BiLi)TiO system is investigated under light as an external stimulus. The sample exhibits an analogous value of maximum change in entropy at Curie temperature, extracted from the two different measurements process. Notably, the sample depicts maximum value of adiabatic change in temperature (ΔT) as 1.