Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chen Chen, Yang Hang, Hui Shan Wang, Yang Wang, Xiujun Wang, Chengxin Jiang, Yu Feng, Chenxi Liu, Eli Janzen, James H. Edgar, Zhipeng Wei, Wanlin Guo, Weida Hu, Zhuhua Zhang, Haomin Wang, Xiaoming Xie
Summary: The bandgap of hBN nanoribbons (BNNRs) can be changed by spatial/electrostatic confinement. Water adsorption greatly reduces the bandgap of zigzag-oriented BNNRs (zBNNRs) and can tune their conductance and optical bandgaps.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Vidur Raj, Dipankar Chugh, Lachlan E. Black, M. M. Shehata, Li Li, Felipe Kremer, Daniel H. Macdonald, Hark Hoe Tan, Chennupati Jagadish
Summary: Research has shown that wafer-scale, few monolayers thick hBN as a passivation layer can significantly improve solar cell performance, with a relatively low interface defect density and potential for high-quality passivation. hBN-based passivation layers are especially useful in cases where the growth of lattice-matched passivation layers is complicated.
NPJ 2D MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Eli Janzen, Hannah Schutte, Juliette Plo, Adrien Rousseau, Thierry Michel, Wilfried Desrat, Pierre Valvin, Vincent Jacques, Guillaume Cassabois, Bernard Gil, James H. Edgar
Summary: The changes in the properties of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) induced by isotopic purification are reported. The study extends the purification to N-15 isotopes. Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies show that the monoisotopic hBN crystals exhibit similar vibrational and optical properties to N-14 purified hBN. The growth of high-quality h(10)B(14)N, h(11)B(14)N, h(10)B(15)N, and h(11)B(15)N crystals opens up new possibilities for thermal conductivity control and advanced functionalities in quantum technologies.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Rasel Das, Pablo Solis-Fernandez, Daniel Breite, Andrea Prager, Andriy Lotnyk, Agnes Schulze, Hiroki Ago
Summary: This study demonstrates a high-flux enabled non-functionalized hexagonal boron nitride membrane with excellent pollutant adsorption and membrane stability properties, as well as high removal efficiency for organic dyes in water.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seokho Moon, Jiye Kim, Jeonghyeon Park, Semi Im, Jawon Kim, Inyong Hwang, Jong kyu Kim
Summary: Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is attracting significant interest due to its extraordinary properties in optoelectronics, quantum optics, and electronics. It can be used as an ideal substrate and insulating layer for other 2D materials, and has potential applications in emerging electronics and photonics fields.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Igor Aharonovich, Jean-Philippe Tetienne, Milos Toth
Summary: Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a fascinating platform for exploring quantum emitters and their applications. This Mini Review discusses the unique properties of hBN quantum emitters and highlights progress in their implementation in practical devices, specifically in engineering and integrating with scalable photonic resonators. It also highlights the discovery of spin defects in hBN and their potential utility for quantum sensing.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jia Zhang, Biying Tan, Xin Zhang, Feng Gao, Yunxia Hu, Lifeng Wang, Xiaoming Duan, Zhihua Yang, PingAn Hu
Summary: Atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a promising 2D material with unique properties for applications in optoelectronics and electronics. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is considered a promising method for producing large-scale, high-quality h-BN films and heterostructures. The epitaxial growth of 2D materials onto h-BN and building heterostructures can lead to novel properties.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nermina Brljak, Ruitao Jin, Tiffany R. Walsh, Marc R. Knecht
Summary: The study identified a peptide sequence with affinity for h-BN, called BP7, and developed a new method to manipulate the surface properties of nanosheet materials through mutation studies and bio-conjugation. When conjugated with a fatty acid, BP7 was able to create highly viscoelastic interfaces, offering a new pathway for organizing and conjugating h-BN nanosheets in liquid water.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Johannes E. Froech, Lesley P. Spencer, Mehran Kianinia, Daniel D. Totonjian, Minh Nguyen, Andreas Gottscholl, Vladimir Dyakonov, Milos Toth, Sejeong Kim, Igor Aharonovich
Summary: Color centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have shown efficient coupling to bullseye cavities, demonstrating a 6.5-fold enhancement in boron vacancy spin defects. Through finite-difference time-domain modeling, emission dipole orientation and enhanced contrast in optically detected magnetic resonance readout have been elucidated. This paves the way for integrating hBN spin defects with photonic resonators for a scalable spin-photon interface.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrew J. Ramsay, Reza Hekmati, Charlie J. Patrickson, Simon Baber, David R. M. Arvidsson-Shukur, Anthony J. Bennett, Isaac J. Luxmoore
Summary: Spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride foils are used for magnetic field imaging. The authors extend the coherence time to 4 microseconds using a strong continuous microwave drive and show full control of a protected qubit.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Soumyabrata Roy, Xiang Zhang, Anand B. Puthirath, Ashokkumar Meiyazhagan, Sohini Bhattacharyya, Muhammad M. Rahman, Ganguli Babu, Sandhya Susarla, Sreehari K. Saju, Mai Kim Tran, Lucas M. Sassi, M. A. S. R. Saadi, Jiawei Lai, Onur Sahin, Seyed Mohammad Sajadi, Bhuvaneswari Dharmarajan, Devashish Salpekar, Nithya Chakingal, Abhijit Baburaj, Xinting Shuai, Aparna Adumbumkulath, Kristen A. Miller, Jessica M. Gayle, Alec Ajnsztajn, Thibeorchews Prasankumar, Vijay Vedhan Jayanthi Harikrishnan, Ved Ojha, Harikishan Kannan, Ali Zein Khater, Zhenwei Zhu, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, Pedro Alves da Silva Autreto, Eliezer Fernando Oliveira, Guanhui Gao, A. Glen Birdwell, Mahesh R. Neupane, Tony G. Ivanov, Jaime Taha-Tijerina, Ram Manohar Yadav, Sivaram Arepalli, Robert Vajtai, Pulickel M. Ajayan
Summary: Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a strong candidate for two-dimensional (2D) materials due to its exciting optoelectrical properties, combined with mechanical robustness, thermal stability, and chemical inertness. Various synthesis strategies for 2D h-BN, including chemical exfoliation, chemical, and physical vapor deposition, have been developed in recent years. The potential applications of h-BN structures in nanoelectronics, photonics, biomedical, anti-corrosion, and catalysis are described based on their extraordinary properties and stability.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andreas Gottscholl, Matthias Diez, Victor Soltamov, Christian Kasper, Andreas Sperlich, Mehran Kianinia, Carlo Bradac, Igor Aharonovich, Vladimir Dyakonov
Summary: The research team successfully realized coherent control of ensembles of boron vacancy centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and measured the spin characteristics at different temperatures. They proposed a method to substantially reduce the magnetic resonance linewidth, providing important insights for the employment of van der Waals materials in quantum technologies.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Banan El-Kerdi, Andre Thiaville, Stanislas Rohart, Sujit Panigrahy, Nuno Bras, Joao Sampaio, Alexandra Mougin
Summary: The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) induced by the Co/h-BN interface was found to be comparable to that of the Pt/Co interface, one of the largest known values. Even stronger perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and DMI were observed in Pt/Co/h-BN heterostructures, which can stabilize skyrmions at room temperature and a low magnetic field.
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Minggan Chen, Jiwei Xie, Canguang Xiong, Hui Wang
Summary: The study successfully synthesized h-BN-based aerogels through a cast-freezing method, which are characterized by low cost, low energy consumption, controllable porosity, and hydrophobicity. By using CMC as a compounding agent, the structure and properties of the aerogels were controlled, leading to high oil absorption performance.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
K. Harikrishnan, Gajendar Singh, Amisha Kushwaha, Varun Pratap Singh, Umesh Kumar Gaur, Manu Sharma
Summary: The presence of organic pollutants in the environment poses significant health risks, therefore, monitoring and controlling their levels is imperative. In this study, g-C3N4/BN nanocomposites were synthesized and used as a basis for an electrochemical sensor for detecting hazardous hydroquinone. The sensor demonstrated good sensitivity and practicality.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Shantanu Shahane, Erman Guleryuz, Diab W. Abueidda, Allen Lee, Joe Liu, Xin Yu, Raymond Chiu, Seid Koric, Narayana R. Aluru, Placid M. Ferreira
Summary: Surrogate neural network models are used in cell phone camera systems to accurately evaluate lens configurations and analyze optical properties. They provide efficient handling of large amounts of data for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, and are valuable tools for optimizing tolerance design and component matching.
COMPUTERS & STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Thanh Chinh Nguyen, N. R. Aluru
Summary: The on-surface synthesis method is a promising technology for producing nanometer-wide graphene nanoribbons with well-preserved edge structures. This study investigates the surface-assisted synthesis of 7-armchair graphene nanoribbons using a multiscale simulation method. The effect of monomer coverage and substrate type on the polymerization process is studied, and a mathematical model is developed for predicting the percentage of long nanoribbons.
COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
A. Moradzadeh, H. Oliaei, N. R. Aluru
Summary: Water plays a crucial role in various processes and understanding its phases is important for nanodevice engineering. Our study develops a graph neural network method to directly distinguish water phases from data. We compare this approach with conventional order parameter methods to study phase transitions in different water systems.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Samuel Faucher, Matthias Kuehne, Hananeh Oliaei, Rahul Prasanna Misra, Sylvia Xin Li, Narayana R. Aluru, Michael S. Strano
Summary: Recent measurements have shown that fluids under extreme confinement, such as water in narrow carbon nanotubes, deviate significantly from theoretical descriptions. In this study, precise replicas of carbon nanotubes filled with water were generated and analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed the presence of submicron vapor-like and liquid-like domains in partially filled nanodroplet states, and a Clausius-Clapeyron-type model was used to calculate the heats of condensation of water inside different diameter carbon nanotubes. The findings suggest the potential of molecular engineering of nanoconfined liquid/vapor interfaces for water treatment or membrane distillation.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Narayana R. Aluru, Fikret Aydin, Martin Z. Bazant, Daniel Blankschtein, Alexandra H. Brozena, J. Pedro de Souza, Menachem Elimelech, Samuel Faucher, John T. Fourkas, Volodymyr B. Koman, Matthias Kuehne, Heather J. Kulik, Hao-Kun Li, Yuhao Li, Zhongwu Li, Arun Majumdar, Joel Martis, Rahul Prasanna Misra, Aleksandr Noy, Tuan Anh Pham, Haoran Qu, Archith Rayabharam, Mark A. Reed, Cody L. Ritt, Eric Schwegler, Zuzanna Siwy, Michael S. Strano, YuHuang Wang, Yun-Chiao Yao, Cheng Zhan, Ze Zhang
Summary: Confined fluids and electrolyte solutions in nanopores exhibit rich and surprising physics and chemistry that impact the mass transport and energy efficiency in many important natural systems and industrial applications. Exploiting these effects presents myriad opportunities in both basic and applied research that stand to impact a host of new technologies. In this review article, the progress on nanofluidics of single-digit nanopores (SDNs) is summarized, with a focus on the confinement effects. The recent development of precision model systems, transformative experimental tools, and multiscale theories in this field are reviewed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
William A. Wheeler, Shivesh Pathak, Kevin G. Kleiner, Shunyue Yuan, Joao N. B. Rodrigues, Cooper Lorsung, Kittithat Krongchon, Yueqing Chang, Yiqing Zhou, Brian Busemeyer, Kiel T. Williams, Alexander Munoz, Chun Yu Chow, Lucas K. Wagner
Summary: PyQMC is a new open-source Python package for high accuracy correlated electron calculations using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) in real space. It implements modern versions of QMC algorithms in an accessible format, enabling algorithmic development and easy implementation of complex workflows. The tight integration with the PySCF environment allows for a straightforward comparison with other many-body wave function techniques and access to high accuracy trial wave functions.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fanfan Chen, Yunhong Zhao, Anshul Saxena, Chunxiao Zhao, Mengdi Niu, Narayana R. Aluru, Jiandong Feng
Summary: Classical nanofluidic frameworks focus on confined fluid and ion transport at solid-liquid interface under an electrostatic field, but overlook the electronic property of the solid. We discovered a nanofluidic analogy of Coulomb drag at the liquid-graphene interface, which effectively couples ion and electron dynamics. Our experiments and calculations reveal that the induced electric current in graphene by ionic flow is a result of confined ion-electron interactions through the nanofluidic Coulomb drag mechanism. This finding opens up new possibilities for nanofluidics and transport control by ion-electron coupling.
Article
Physics, Applied
Yechan Noh, N. R. Aluru
Summary: In this study, the impact of vibrational coupling on atomic transport was examined using molecular dynamics simulations. The findings showed that atomic transport can be activated when the natural frequency of the atomic slit is close to the natural frequency of the atom being transported. Fluctuating forces induced by vibrational coupling were observed, with higher amplitudes observed when the coupling is strong. The high force fluctuations allow the atom to temporarily surpass the transport barrier of the slit, leading to transport activation. These findings provide a foundation for further exploration of vibrational coupling in mass transport.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenxing Liang, Archith Rayabharam, N. R. Aluru
Summary: In this study, the structural and dynamical properties of water and heavy water under nanoscale confinement were investigated using path integral molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that under nanoscale confinement, the bond length and bond angle of both water and heavy water were smaller compared to the bulk state. The number of hydrogen bonds decreased, indicating a weakened hydrogen bond interaction. Heavy water had a higher dipole moment and stronger hydrogen bonding than water.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Matthew J. Coupin, Yi Wen, Sungwoo Lee, Anshul Saxena, Colin Ophus, Christopher S. Allen, Angus I. Kirkland, Narayana R. Aluru, Gun-Do Lee, Jamie H. Warner
Summary: Defects in crystalline lattices cause modulation of the atomic density, leading to variations in the associated electrostatics at the nanoscale. Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) was used to measure electric fields near point dislocations in a monolayer, overcoming the challenges of traditional phase contrast imaging. The increased electric field magnitude near the (1,0) edge dislocation core in graphene is shown to arise from long-range interactions beyond the nearest atomic neighbor. These results provide insights into using 4D-STEM for quantifying electrostatics and mapping potential variations in thin materials.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Archith Rayabharam, Haoran Qu, YuHuang Wang, N. R. Aluru
Summary: The study demonstrates that nanosized pores with controlled pore sizes can separate ethanol-water mixtures through molecular sieving at room temperature and pressure, eliminating the need for energy-intensive and expensive distillation. A selectivity ratio as high as 6700 for water/ethanol separation was achieved with a (6,4) nanotube, which diminishes as the pore size increases beyond 0.306 nm.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yechan Noh, Narayana R. Aluru
Summary: Ion transport is crucial for cell proliferation, energy conversion, and homeostasis in living systems. This mechanism has inspired various nanofluidic applications, such as electricity harvesting, molecular sensors, and molecular separation. Through extensive molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated ion conduction across flexible 2D nanoporous membranes and found that the microscopic fluctuations of these membranes significantly increase ion conductance. Our analysis revealed that when the membrane fluctuated within a specific frequency range, the ion hydration was destabilized, leading to improved ion conduction. The dynamic coupling between the fluctuating membrane and ions plays a crucial role in ion conduction across 2D nanoporous membranes.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Matthew T. Gole, Mohan T. Dronadula, Narayana R. Aluru, Catherine J. Murphy
Summary: Understanding the adsorption behavior of proteins on rough and wrinkled surfaces is crucial for biosensor and flexible biomedical device applications. This study investigates the nanoscale adsorption behavior of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) on wrinkled and crumpled surfaces using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the presence of negative curvature on the wrinkled surface reduces protein surface coverage, mainly due to geometric hindrance and reduced binding energy, while smaller IgG molecules are not affected by this degree of curvature.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Mohammad Heiranian, Narayana R. Aluru
Summary: This study focuses on the water transport in carbon nanotubes (CNTs), corrects the Lucas-Washburn theory, and validates it using molecular dynamics simulations. The findings are important for understanding the water filling dynamics and capillary rise in CNTs.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Yechan Noh, N. R. Aluru
Summary: This study reports the influence of atomic-scale vibrational coupling at the solid-fluid interface on interfacial properties such as wettability and fluid slip. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals that the contact angle increases and solid-fluid adsorption weakens when the oscillation frequency of the substrate matches the bending frequency of liquid water. The study also shows that vibrational matching at the interface reduces wall-fluid friction and enhances water transport through nanopores.
