Article
Physics, Applied
Y. Wang, T. Sohier, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, M. J. Verstraete, E. Tutuc
Summary: Electron transport measurements were conducted on dual-gated monolayer WS2 encapsulated in hexagonal boron-nitride. The study revealed a strong temperature dependence of mobility at high temperatures due to phonon scattering, and a saturation of mobility at low temperature caused by impurity and long-range Coulomb scattering. Experimental results were in good agreement with first-principles calculations, indicating proximity to the intrinsic limit of transport in these two-dimensional layers.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ping Wang, Woncheol Lee, Joseph P. Corbett, William H. Koll, Nguyen M. Vu, David Arto Laleyan, Qiannan Wen, Yuanpeng Wu, Ayush Pandey, Jiseok Gim, Ding Wang, Diana Y. Qiu, Robert Hovden, Mackillo Kira, John T. Heron, Jay A. Gupta, Emmanouil Kioupakis, Zetian Mi
Summary: This study proposes a growth process mediated by an hBN/G interface for the controlled synthesis of high-quality monolayer hBN. The scalable epitaxy of unidirectional monolayer hBN on graphene aligned to the underlying graphene lattice is achieved. Additionally, it is discovered that monolayer hBN exhibits deep-ultraviolet emission with a giant renormalized direct bandgap on graphene.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jun Ge, Haiming Huang, Zelin Ma, Weilong Chen, Xucheng Cao, Huaheng Fang, Jianfeng Yan, Zhiyu Liu, Weiliang Wang, Shusheng Pan
Summary: This study introduces an interface engineering strategy by inserting an interfacial polymer layer between monolayer hexagonal boron nitride and top electrodes, which successfully improves the performance of vertical memristive devices based on single-layer materials. The device demonstrates stable resistive switching behavior with low operating voltage, high on/off ratio, long retention time, and excellent flexibility, showing promising potential for large-scale integrated ultrathin flexible memory applications.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad Mahdi Tavakoli, Ji-Hoon Park, Jeremiah Mwaura, Mayuran Saravanapavanantham, Vladimir Bulovic, Jing Kong
Summary: This study suggests monolayer h-BN grown via CVD as an effective replacement for HTLs in the fabrication of efficient inverted OPVs. The use of h-BN creates smaller barriers for holes and larger barriers for electrons, allowing for efficient charge separation and stability in the devices.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Prabath Hewageegana
Summary: This theoretical study examines the interaction between an ultrafast intense circularly polarized optical pulse and monolayer hexagonal Boron Nitride (h-BN), revealing a topological origin for the fastest valley polarization generation in this material. The valley polarization and residual conduction band population decrease and vanish after a certain pulse duration, leading to the creation of a new interference pattern in reciprocal space. The ultrafast valley polarization observed in monolayer h-BN may have implications for petahertz-band information processing.
PHYSICA E-LOW-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS & NANOSTRUCTURES
(2021)
Article
Optics
Muhammad Bilal, Wen Xu, Hua Wen, Xingjia Cheng, Yiming Xiao, Lan Ding
Summary: This study demonstrates, for the first time, the observation of the optical Hall effect (OHE) in p-type monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) under linearly polarized tera-hertz irradiation on a fused silica substrate. The enhancement of Rashba spin-orbit coupling, inducing in-plane spin component and lifting of valley degeneracy, leads to the nonzero transverse optical conductivity in the presence of linearly polarized THz radiation.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yifan Ding, Junkai Yang, Huaixiang Wang, Yu Ji, Qinwen Guo, Weipeng Wang, Xi Shen, Yuan Yao, Richeng Yu
Summary: The density of antisite defects significantly affects the stability of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride, influencing the crystal structure and electronic structure, as well as the energy level transitions between atoms.
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI-RAPID RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
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
Chemistry, Physical
J. Guerrero-Sanchez, R. Ponce-Perez, D. M. Hoat, Vo Van On
Summary: This work investigates the effects of vacancy, voids, atom adsorption, and domain substitution on the gallium nitride (GaN) monolayer using first-principles calculations. The study finds that creating defects and adsorbing atoms can induce significant magnetism and modify the electronic properties of the material. The introduction of voids and domains can also effectively modify the energy gap. These findings are important for the development of 2D materials for spintronic and optoelectronic applications.
SURFACES AND INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Siyu Chen, Pan Li, Chi Zhang, Wenkai Wu, Guoliang Zhou, Changjin Zhang, Shirui Weng, Tao Ding, De-Yin Wu, Liangbao Yang
Summary: Fabricating ultrasmall nanogaps for significant electromagnetic enhancement is a long-standing goal of SERS research. The quantum plasmonics limits the electromagnetic enhancement when the gap size decreases below the quantum tunneling regime. In this study, by sandwiching hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as a gap spacer in a NPoM structure, electron tunneling is effectively blocked, leading to layer-dependent SERS enhancement.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yanwei He, Yuan Li, Miguel Isarraraz, Pedro Pena, Jason Tran, Long Xu, Hao Tian, Tianchen Yang, Peng Wei, Cengiz S. Ozkan, Mihrimah Ozkan, Jianlin Liu
Summary: An effective method to synthesize high-quality single-crystal h-BN monolayer films was reported in this study. Single-crystal metal substrates were produced through thermal annealing of Ni foils, followed by electropolishing to remove the passivated surface layer.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jagannath Datta, Chiranjib Majumder
Summary: Recently, significant progress has been made in the research of heterogeneous catalysis due to the potential of single atom catalysis (SAC) with higher activity and selectivity. However, the industrial application of SAC catalysts remains limited due to the challenge of stabilizing singular atoms without affecting their atom-like behavior. In this study, the researchers investigated metal atom embedded hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers supported on copper surfaces, and demonstrated the effect of vacancy defects on the binding strength of ad-atoms, which can potentially stabilize single atom based catalysts.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(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, Physical
Jia-Xin Liu, Ming Yang, Ren-Feng Jiang, Xiu-Cheng Zheng, Pu Liu
Summary: This study developed a catalyst suitable for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB by stabilizing dispersed ruthenium nano-particles on h-BN. The catalyst exhibited high turnover frequency and low apparent activation energy, showing promising potential in the field of chemical storage material hydrolysis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Taeeun Kim, Youngho Sihn, In-Ho Yoon, Sang Jun Yoon, Kwangse Lee, Jae Hwan Yang, Soonyong So, Chan Woo Park
Summary: The study investigates the potential of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) as an effective hydrogen gas barrier for PEMs in a water electrolyzer. The hBN/Nafion composite membrane significantly enhances the hydrogen barrier property of Nafion 117, even at high temperatures, and improves water electrolysis efficiency while maintaining mechanical stability. By reducing hydrogen permeability and increasing long-term stability, the composite membrane shows promising applications in the field of water electrolysis.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Baowen Li, Xiaofei Liu, Wanlin Guo
Summary: A comprehensive quantitative investigation was conducted on interactions at the interfaces of BN-BN, BN-molybdenum disulfide, and BN-graphite using a BN-wrapped atomic force microscope tip and first-principle theory. The adhesion forces at BN-molybdenum disulfide and BN-graphite interfaces increase after exposure to radiation, highlighting the crucial roles of dispersion and electrostatic interactions in two-dimensional heterostructures.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chun Shen, Hu Qiu, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The nano-porous graphene membrane can break through the Robeson upper bound with high hydrogen permeance and ultrahigh hydrogen/nitrogen selectivity, making it a competitive candidate for hydrogen/nitrogen gas separation.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hu Qiu, Wen Zhao, Wanqi Zhou, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The research shows that edges of a two-dimensional bilayer hexagonal ice adsorbed on solid surfaces undergo premelting, forming quasi-liquid bands, similar to the quasi-liquid layer on the surface of three-dimensional ice. This adds a new perspective to understanding the phenomenon of premelting.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiabao Yang, Xiaofei Liu, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The study reveals that the screening ratio of van der Waals interaction by a bulky dielectric layer depends on both the interobject distance and the thicknesses of the separated layers. Surprisingly, the screening ratio shows a nonmonotonous distance dependence, first increasing and then decreasing towards zero after a critical distance. The positive correlation between the screening ratio and the dielectric constant observed for atomistic layers is also replicated for bulky dielectric layers.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xuemei Li, Zhengyang Li, Yuyang Long, Yanshuang He, Baowen Li, Jidong Li, Hu Qiu, Jun Yin, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The wetting stability of supported graphene in ambient environment is evaluated and found to be independent of substrate materials, graphene layer numbers, and long-term air exposure. Both experimental results and theoretical calculations suggest that a monolayer graphene coating can alter the water contact angles of various substrates to a converged value around 80-85 degrees. The stable wettability of graphene is important for its practical applications in functional coatings, liquid gated electronic devices, and other areas requiring its exposure to water.
ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Minmin Xue, Zhili Hu, Hu Qiu, Chun Shen, Wanlin Guo, Zhuhua Zhang
Summary: Water confined in nanochannels with localized perturbations exhibits pronounced density oscillations, similar to the Friedel oscillations in metals. These oscillations result from perturbation-induced molecular scattering and confinement-enhanced correlation of water dipoles, and are independent of channel geometries and specific forms of perturbation. The oscillations can have non-trivial effects at large distances, such as repelling all ions from the channels with their long-range force. These findings deepen the understanding of biological functions and have implications for applications in domains such as ionic sensing and seawater desalination.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Minmin Xue, Hu Qiu, Chun Shen, Zhuhua Zhang, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The hydration of ions in nanoconfined spaces is influenced by the dimensionality and scale of the confinement. Lower dimensionality leads to a greater impact on ion hydration due to water layering effects and reduced probability of ions staying away from confining surfaces. These findings are significant for understanding ion transport in biological channels and designing functional nanofluidic devices.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wen Zhao, Hu Qiu, Wanlin Guo
Summary: In this study, a machine learning potential for water confined in graphene nanocapillaries was developed using deep neural networks trained on quantum mechanical density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. This potential offers near-DFT accuracy at a much lower computational cost and accurately reproduces a wide range of properties, opening the door to simulations of nanoconfined water with large system sizes and time scales at near-DFT accuracy.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Junliang Zhu, Hu Qiu, Wanlin Guo
Summary: Cav1.1 is a voltage-gated calcium channel essential for skeletal muscle contraction. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed the existence of two Ca2+-binding sites, S1 and S2, within the selectivity filter of Cav1.1. These findings enhance our understanding of ion permeation and selectivity in calcium channels.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
YuWei Cao, Chun Shen, Hu Qiu, WanLin Guo
Summary: Dendritic spines receive synaptic inputs and play a crucial role in initiating dendritic NMDA spikes and action potentials. The number and morphology of spines constantly change during learning and memory processes. This study investigates the influence of spine number and morphology on dendritic NMDA spikes and reveals that the threshold number of spines differs between distal and proximal dendrites due to differences in impedance. Additionally, the presence of more AMPA receptors on spines leads to larger NMDA spikes. The findings highlight the importance of the dynamic distribution of spine number and morphology in neurodegenerative diseases.
SCIENCE CHINA-TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Wanqi Zhou, Yufeng Guo, Zhuhua Zhang, Wanlin Guo, Hu Qiu
Summary: Electro-osmotic flow can occur in electrically neutral nanochannels without definable electric double layers, as shown in molecular dynamics simulations. An applied electric field induces channel selectivity between cations and anions by reorienting the hydration shells of confined ions. The resulting ion selectivity leads to unconventional electro-osmotic flow, the direction of which can be controlled by the field strength and channel size, informing the development of nanofluidic systems with complex flow control.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhiqiang Zhao, Minmin Xue, Hu Qiu, Wanlin Guo, Zhuhua Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the giant mechanocaloric effect in nanoconfined water by utilizing a synergy between nanoconfinement and mechanical pressures. The estimated entropy changes and temperature variations in water confined in slit nanopores show remarkably high values. The practical applicability of this effect is demonstrated by the high refrigerant performance of water-filled nano porous carbon matrices. This effect has the potential to be extended to other polar liquids and offers new prospects for liquid-state caloric effects.
CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xiaofei Liu, Fangyuan Chen, Wanlin Guo
Summary: Using density-functional theory-calculated dielectric functions, the contribution of ionic polarizabilities to the van der Waals interactions of typical polar compounds was investigated. It was found that ionic polarizabilities contribute up to 3.4% of the dispersion energy between parallel half-spaces and up to 25% in parallel slabs separated distantly.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wanqi Zhou, Hu Qiu, Yufeng Guo, Wanlin Guo
Summary: The passage of molecules through nanoscale pores is common in biology, and inspired the development of nanopore-based biosensors for probing, analyzing, and manipulating single biomolecules like DNA, RNA, and protein. These sensors offer advantages such as low cost, high efficiency, and ultra-long reads, making them promising for DNA sequencing applications, especially when using 2D material nanopores.
CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xin Zhao, Hu Qiu, Wanqi Zhou, Yufeng Guo, Wanlin Guo
Summary: Through molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated the effect of the phase state of nanoscale meniscus on the frictional behavior during tip sliding. Our results show a transition from continuous sliding to stick-slip friction as the meniscus undergoes a liquid-to-solid phase transition, accompanied by an increase in friction forces. The stick-slip friction can be adjusted by manipulating the lattice orientation of the monolayer ice domain, choosing sliding direction, or applying in-plane strains to the substrate, offering insights for designing high-performance micro- and nano-electromechanical systems based on hydration lubrication.
