Selective enhancement of optical nonlinearity in two-dimensional organic-inorganic lead iodide perovskites

Reducing the dimensionality of three-dimensional hybrid metal halide perovskites can improve their optoelectronic properties. Here, we show that the third-order optical nonlinearity, n₂, of hybrid lead iodide perovskites is enhanced in the two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper series, (CH₃(CH₂)₃NH₃)₂(CH₃NH₃)_n-1Pb_nI_3n+1 (n = 1–4), where the layer number (n) is engineered for bandgap tuning from E_g = 1.60 eV (n = ∞; bulk) to 2.40 eV (n = 1). Despite the unfavorable relation, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${n_2} \propto E_{\rm{g}}^{ - 4}$$\end{document}n2∝Eg-4, strong quantum confinement causes these two-dimensional perovskites to exhibit four times stronger third harmonic generation at mid-infrared when compared with the three-dimensional counterpart, (CH₃NH₃)PbI₃. Surprisingly, however, the impact of dimensional reduction on two-photon absorption, which is the Kramers-Kronig conjugate of n₂, is rather insignificant as demonstrated by broadband two-photon spectroscopy. The concomitant increase of bandgap and optical nonlinearity is truly remarkable in these novel perovskites, where the former increases the laser-induced damage threshold for high-power nonlinear optical applications.

Hybrid metal halide perovskites can exhibit improved optoelectronic properties when their dimensionality is reduced. Here, Saouma et al. study the enhancement of third-order nonlinearities in two-dimensional lead iodide perovskites in the Ruddlesden-Popper series.

Synthesis of nanobelt-like 1-dimensional silver/nanocarbon hybrid materials for flexible and wearable electroncs

Most synthetic processes of metallic nanostructures were assisted by organic/inorganic or polymeric materials to control their shapes to one-dimension or two-dimension. However, these additives have to be removed after synthesis of metal nanostructures for applications. Here we report a straightforward method for the low-temperature and additive-free synthesis of nanobelt-like silver nanostructures templated by nanocarbon (NC) materials via bio-inspired shape control by introducing supramolecular 2-ureido-4[1H]pyrimidinone (UPy) groups into the NC surface. The growth of the Ag nanobelt structure was found to be induced by these UPy groups through observation of the selective formation of Ag nanobelts on UPy-modified carbon nanotubes and graphene surfaces. The synthesized NC/Ag nanobelt hybrid materials were subsequently used to fabricate the highly conductive fibres (>1000S/cm) that can function as a conformable electrode and highly tolerant strain sensor, as well as a highly conductive and robust paper (>10000S/cm after thermal treatment).

Colloidal Synthesis of Te-Doped Bi Nanoparticles: Low-Temperature Charge Transport and Thermoelectric Properties

Electronically doped nanoparticles formed by incorporation of impurities have been of great interest because of their controllable electrical properties. However, the development of a strategy for n-type or p-type doping on sub-10 nm-sized nanoparticles under the quantum confinement regime is very challenging using conventional processes, owing to the difficulty in synthesis. Herein, we report the colloidal chemical synthesis of sub-10 nm-sized tellurium (Te)-doped Bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles with precisely controlled Te content from 0 to 5% and systematically investigate their low-temperature charge transport and thermoelectric properties. Microstructural characterization of nanoparticles demonstrates that Te ions are successfully incorporated into Bi nanoparticles rather than remaining on the nanoparticle surfaces. Low-temperature Hall measurement results of the hot-pressed Te-doped Bi-nanostructured materials, with grain sizes ranging from 30 to 60 nm, show that the charge transport properties are governed by the doping content and the related impurity and nanoscale grain boundary scatterings. Furthermore, the low-temperature thermoelectric properties reveal that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient expectedly change with the Te content, whereas the thermal conductivity is significantly reduced by Te doping because of phonon scattering at the sites arising from impurities and nanoscale grain boundaries. Accordingly, the 1% Te-doped Bi sample exhibits a higher figure-of-merit ZT by ∼10% than that of the undoped sample. The synthetic strategy demonstrated in this study offers the possibility of electronic doping of various quantum-confined nanoparticles for diverse applications.

Bioinspired Multifunctional Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Carbon-Nanotube-Based Conducting Pastes by Facile and Scalable Printing

Directly printed superhydrophobic surfaces containing conducting nanomaterials can be used for a wide range of applications in terms of nonwetting, anisotropic wetting, and electrical conductivity. Here, we demonstrated that direct-printable and flexible superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated on flexible substrates via with an ultrafacile and scalable screen printing with carbon nanotube (CNT)-based conducting pastes. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) copolymer was used as an additive for conducting pastes to realize the printability of the conducting paste as well as the hydrophobicity of the printed surface. The screen-printed conducting surfaces showed a high water contact angle (WCA) (>150°) and low contact angle hysteresis (WCA < 5°) at 25 wt % PDMS-PEG copolymer in the paste, and they have an electrical conductivity of over 1000 S m^-1. Patterned superhydrophobic surfaces also showed sticky superhydrophobic characteristics and were used to transport water droplets. Moreover, fabricated films on metal meshes were used for an oil/water separation filter, and liquid evaporation behavior was investigated on the superhydrophobic and conductive thin-film heaters by applying direct current voltage to the film.

Twinning and its formation mechanism in a binary Mg2Si thermoelectric material with an anti-fluorite structure

We investigated twinning and its formation mechanism in a binary Mg₂Si thermoelectric material with an anti-fluorite structure.

Enhanced transparent conducting networks on plastic substrates modified with highly oxidized graphene oxide nanosheets

Atomically thin and two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) is a very fascinating material because of its functional groups, high transparency, and solution processability. Here we show that highly oxidized GO (HOGO) nanosheets serve as an effective interfacial modifier of transparent conducting films with one-dimensional (1D) silver nanowires (AgNWs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Optically transparent and small-sized GO nanosheets, with minimal sp(2) domains, were successfully fabricated by step-wise oxidation and exfoliation of graphite. We demonstrated that under-coated HOGO further decreases the sheet resistance of the SWCNT film top-coated with HOGO by increasing the contact area between the SWCNTs and HOGO nanosheets by generating hole carriers in the SWCNT as a result of charge transfer. Moreover, HOGO nanosheets with AgNWs contribute to the efficient thermal joining of AgNW networks on plastic substrates by limiting the thermal embedding of AgNWs into the plastic surface, resulting in efficient decrease of the sheet resistance. Furthermore, flexible organic photovoltaic cells with GO-modified AgNW anodes on a flexible substrate were successfully demonstrated.

Sheet Size-Induced Evaporation Behaviors of Inkjet-Printed Graphene Oxide for Printed Electronics

The size of chemically modified graphene nanosheets is a critical parameter that affects their performance and applications. Here, we show that the lateral size of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets is strongly correlated with the concentration of graphite oxide present in the suspension as graphite oxide is exfoliated by sonication. The size of the GO nanosheets increased from less than 100 nm to several micrometers as the concentration of graphite oxide in the suspension was increased up to a critical concentration. An investigation of the evaporation behavior of the GO nanosheet solution using inkjet printing revealed that the critical temperature of formation of a uniform film, T(c), was lower for the large GO nanosheets than for the small GO nanosheets. This difference was attributed to the interactions between the two-dimensional structures of GO nanosheets and the substrate as well as the interactions among the GO nanosheets. Furthermore, we fabricated organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using line-patterned reduced GO as electrodes. The OTFTs displayed different electrical performances, depending on the graphene sheet size. We believe that our new strategy to control the size of GO nanosheets and our findings about the colloidal and electrical properties of size-controlled GO nanosheets will be very effective to fabricate graphene based printed electronics.

Evidence for room temperature electric polarization in RMn(2)O(5) multiferroics

It is established that the multiferroics RMn(2)O(5) crystallize in the centrosymmetric Pbam space group and that the magnetically induced electric polarization appearing at low temperature is accompanied by a symmetry breaking. However, both our present x-ray study-performed on compounds with R=Pr,Nd,Gd,Tb, and Dy-and first-principles calculations unambiguously rule out this picture. Based on structural refinements, geometry optimization, and physical arguments, we demonstrate in this Letter that the actual space group is likely to be Pm. This turns out to be of crucial importance for RMn(2)O(5) multiferroics since Pm is not centrosymmetric. Ferroelectricity is thus already present at room temperature, and its enhancement at low temperature is a spin-enhanced process. This result is also supported by direct observation of optical second harmonic generation. This fundamental result calls into question the actual theoretical approaches that describe the magnetoelectric coupling in this multiferroic family.

Rearrangement of 1D conducting nanomaterials towards highly electrically conducting nanocomposite fibres for electronic textiles

Nanocarbon-based conducting fibres have been produced using solution- or dry-spinning techniques. Highly conductive polymer-composite fibres containing large amounts of conducting nanomaterials have not been produced without dispersants, however, because of the severe aggregation of conducting materials in high-concentration colloidal solutions. Here we show that highly conductive (electrical conductivity ~1.5 × 10⁵ S m⁻¹) polymer-composite fibres containing carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires can be fabricated via a conventional solution-spinning process without any other treatment. Spinning dopes were fabricated by a simple mixing of a polyvinyl alcohol solution in dimethylsulfoxide with a paste of long multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in organic solvents, assisted by quadruple hydrogen-bonding networks and an aqueous silver nanowire dispersion. The high electrical conductivity of the fibre was achieved by rearrangement of silver nanowires towards the fibre skin during coagulation because of the selective favourable interaction between the silver nanowires and coagulation solvents. The prepared conducting fibres provide applications in electronic textiles such as a textile interconnector of light emitting diodes, flexible textile heaters, and touch gloves for capacitive touch sensors.

Doping graphene with an atomically thin two dimensional molecular layer

Atomically thin and chemically versatile GO sheets are used as p-type dopants of CVD-graphene. This method enables the strong, stable, large-scale, low-temperature, and controllable p-doping of graphene with preserved charge mobility, intrinsic roughness, and transmittance.

Highly efficient infrared optical nonlinearity of a wide-bandgap chalcogenide Li(2)CdGeS(4)

A quaternary chalcogenide Li(2)CdGeS(4) is an excellent candidate for a nonlinear optical (NLO) material exhibiting wide transparency spanning from its fundamental band edge (3.15 eV) to the terahertz regime (23.5 μm). Strong optical nonlinearity of Li(2)CdGeS(4) has been investigated over a wide spectral range (λ=1.064-3.3  μm) based on second- and third-harmonic generation. The compound has a high damage threshold at λ=1.064  μm because of saturable three-photon absorption, and is phase-matchable for λ>1.5  μm with χ(2) ≃50  pm/V. It also exhibits strong third-order nonlinearity of χ(3) ≃10(5) pm(2)/V(2). Li(2)CdGeS(4) is promising for high-power NLO applications in the broad infrared spectrum.

Extremely efficient liquid exfoliation and dispersion of layered materials by unusual acoustic cavitation

Layered materials must be exfoliated and dispersed in solvents for diverse applications. Usually, highly energetic probe sonication may be considered to be an unfavourable method for the less defective exfoliation and dispersion of layered materials. Here we show that judicious use of ultrasonic cavitation can produce exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets extraordinarily dispersed in non-toxic solvent by minimising the sonolysis of solvent molecules. Our method can also lead to produce less defective, large graphene oxide nanosheets from graphite oxide in a short time (within 10 min), which show high electrical conductivity (>20,000 S m⁻¹) of the printed film. This was achieved by adjusting the ultrasonic probe depth to the liquid surface to generate less energetic cavitation (delivered power ~6 W), while maintaining sufficient acoustic shearing (0.73 m s⁻¹) and generating additional microbubbling by aeration at the liquid surface.

Highly efficient polymer-based optoelectronic devices using PEDOT:PSS and a GO composite layer as a hole transport layer

We demonstrate highly efficient polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs), as well as polymer solar cells (PSCs), using a solution-processable poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS):graphene oxide (GO) (PEDOT:GO) composite layer as hole transport layers (HTLs). The PEDOT:GO composite HTL layer shows enhanced charge carrier transport due to improved conductivity by benzoid-quinoid transitions with a well-matched work function between GO (4.89 eV) and PEDOT:PSS (4.95 eV). Moreover, it reduces remarkably exciton quenching and suppresses recombinations that bring higher charge extraction in PSCs and increases the recombinations of holes and electrons within the active layer by the blocking behavior of the electrons from a fluorescent semiconductor due to the existence of GO with large bandgap (∼3.6 eV) in the PEDOT:GO composite layer, therefore leading to an enhancement of device efficiency in PLEDs and PSCs. The optimized PLEDs and PSCs with a PEDOT:GO composite HTL layer shows the maximum luminous efficiency of 21.74 cd/A (at 6.4 V) for PLEDs, as well as the power conversion efficiency of 8.21% for PSCs, which were improved by ∼220 and 12%, respectively, compared to reference PLEDs and PSCs with a PEDOT:PSS layer.

Abstract P2-06-05: Association of promoter methylation status of the FHIT gene and Fhit expression with HER2/neu status in breast cancer

Purpose: Aberrant DNA methylation has been recognized to contribute to breast carcinogenesis, and promoter hypermethylation of many tumor suppressor genes has been correlated with decreased gene expression. The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene is a putative tumor suppressor gene in breast and other cancers, and loss of Fhit expression has been observed in breast cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between methylation of the FHIT gene and its expression in breast cancer, and to investigate whether methylation and expression of the FHIT gene would correlate with clinicopathological characteristics in relation to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status.

Methods: Pyrosequencing of bisulfite treated DNA was performed to study the methylation status of the FHIT gene in 60 breast cancer samples from Korean women obtained at Daegu Catholic University Hospital. We examined the expression of FHIT using tissue microarrays by immunohistochemical staining. Association between the methylation status of the FHIT gene and its expression was analyzed, and the relationship between the FHIT expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients was evaluated.

Results: FHIT methylation was detected in 96.7% and positive expression rate of Fhit was 87.3% of the patients. The mean methylation level of the FHIT gene was associated with intratumoral inflammation. Methylation level of the FHIT gene had no significant differences according to molecular subtypes. Loss of Fhit expression was associated with large tumor size, basal-like subtype and positive expression of EGFR. In HER2-negative breast cancers, loss of Fhit expression was significantly associated with tumor size, estrogen receptor status and Ki-67 proliferation index. There was no significant correlation between methylation of the FHIT gene and its expression in this study.

Conslusion: Our study revealed that loss of Fhit expression in breast cancer is associated with poor prognostic features, although there is no significance association between the FHIT gene methylation and Fhit expression. We found that in HER2-negatvie breast cancers, loss of Fhit expression was associated with poor prognostic features. These results support the possibility of potential complementation between HER2 and the Fhit pathway. The clinical significance of our findings needs to be further evaluated in larger cohorts with longer follow-up.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P2-06-05.

K4GeP4Se12: a case for phase-change nonlinear optical chalcogenide

We report on broadband nonlinear optical (NLO) responses from a phase-change chalcogenide compound K(4)GeP(4)Se(12). Its glassy phase exhibits unusual second-harmonic generation (SHG) due to the preservation of local crystallographic order. The SHG efficiency of the glassy form can be boosted by more than 2 orders of magnitude by simple heat treatment. Strong SHG and third-harmonic generation from both glassy and crystalline compounds were characterized over a wide wavelength range of 1.2-4.0 μm. Our results imply that K(4)GeP(4)Se(12) can be utilized for various NLO applications in the mid-infrared spectrum.

One-dimensional long-range plasmonic-photonic structures

We have fabricated line gratings from periodically etched fused silica on which a thin silver film is deposited that is in turn covered with a silica index-matched fluid. This dielectrically symmetric geometry supports an independent long-range surface plasmon-polariton (LRSPP) and a short-range surface plasmon polariton, and the associated plasmonic band structure has been probed. Coupling to external light is achieved via the patterned grating, and an ultrasharp LRSPP linewidth of 4 nm is observed. The experimental results are compared with finite-difference time-domain simulations.

Metal complexes of N-tosylamidoporphyrin: cis-acetato-N-tosylimido-meso-tetraphenylporphyrinatothallium(III) and trans-acetato-N-tosylimido-meso-tetraphenylporphyrinatogallium(III)

The crystal structures of acetato-N-tosylimido-meso-tetraphenylporphyrinatothallium(III), Tl(N-NTs-tpp)(OAc) (1), and acetato-N-tosylimido-meso-tetraphenylporphyrinatogallium(III), Ga(N-NTs-tpp)(OAc) (2), were determined. The coordination sphere around the Tl3+ ion is a distorted square-based pyramid in which the apical site is occupied by a chelating bidentate OAc- group, whereas for the Ga3+ ion, it is a distorted trigonal bipyramid with O(3), N(3), and N(5) lying in the equatorial plane. The porphyrin ring in the two complexes is distorted to a large extent. For the Tl3+ complex, the pyrrole ring bonded to the NTs ligand lies in a plane with a dihedral angle of 50.8 degrees with respect to the 3N plane, which contains the three pyrrole nitrogens bonded to Tl3+, but for the Ga3+ complex, this angle is found to be only 24.5 degrees. In the former complex, Tl3+ and N(5) are located on the same side at 1.18 and 1.29 A from its 3N plane, but in the latter one, Ga3+ and N(5) are located on different sides at -0.15 and 1.31 A from its 3N plane. The free energy of activation at the coalescence temperature Tc for the intermolecular acetate exchange process in 1 in CD2Cl2 solvent is found to be delta G++171 = 36.0 kJ/mol through 1H NMR temperature-dependent measurements. In the slow-exchange region, the methyl and carbonyl (CO) carbons of the OAc- group in 1 are separately located at delta 18.5 [3J(Tl-13C) = 220 Hz] and 176.3 [2J(Tl-13C) = 205 Hz] at -110 degrees C.