Abstract
The predicted strong piezoelectricity for monolayers of group IV monochalcogenides, together with their inherent flexibility, makes them likely candidates for developing flexible ...nanogenerators. Within this group, SnS is a potential choice for such nanogenerators due to its favourable semiconducting properties. To date, access to large-area and highly crystalline monolayer SnS has been challenging due to the presence of strong inter-layer interactions by the lone-pair electrons of S. Here we report single crystal across-the-plane and large-area monolayer SnS synthesis using a liquid metal-based technique. The characterisations confirm the formation of atomically thin SnS with a remarkable carrier mobility of ~35 cm
2
V
−1
s
−1
and piezoelectric coefficient of ~26 pm V
−1
. Piezoelectric nanogenerators fabricated using the SnS monolayers demonstrate a peak output voltage of ~150 mV at 0.7% strain. The stable and flexible monolayer SnS can be implemented into a variety of systems for efficient energy harvesting.
Eutectic gallium‐indium (EGaIn) liquid metal droplets have been considered as a suitable platform for producing customized 3D composites with functional nanomaterials owing to their soft and highly ...reductive surface. Herein, the synthesis of a 3D plasmonic oxide framework (POF) is reported by incorporating the ultra‐thin angstrom‐scale‐porous hexagonal molybdenum oxide (h‐MoO3) onto the spherical EGaIn nanodroplets through ultrasonication. Simultaneously, a large number of oxygen vacancies form in h‐MoO3, boosting its free charge carrier concentration and therefore generating a broad surface plasmon resonance across the whole visible light spectrum. The plasmonic chemical sensing properties of the POF is investigated by the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering detection of rhodamine 6G (R6G) at 532 nm, in which the minimum detectable concentration is 10−8 m and the enhancement factor reached up to 6.14 × 106. The extended optical absorption of the POF also allowed the efficient degradation of the R6G dye under the excitation of ultraviolet‐filtered simulated solar light. Furthermore, the POF exhibits remarkable photocurrent responses towards the entire visible light region with the maximum response of ≈1588 A W−1 at 455 nm. This work demonstrates the great potential of the liquid metal‐based POFs for high‐performance sensing, catalytic, and optoelectronic devices.
A liquid metal‐based 3D plasmonic oxide framework (POF) is developed, which consists of eutectic EGaIn nanodroplets coated with sub‐stoichiometric ultra‐thin hexagonal MoO3–x. The POF shows a broadband surface plasmon resonance across the visible and near‐infrared region. Together with the ultra‐high surface active area, the 3D POF demonstrates excellent performances in chemical sensing, photocatalytic, and optoelectronic applications.
The alluring electronic, optoelectronic, and photonic properties of low‐dimensional materials have allowed brain‐inspired electronics to evolve in unprecedented ways. With highly efficient ...neuromorphic devices and architecture being concocted lately, an understanding of the underlying device mechanisms has emerged. The question of what types of materials and physical mechanisms will be used in future neuromorphic hardware is still open for debate. Herein, a critical review of the mechanisms among various configurations in state‐of‐the‐art low‐dimensional neuromorphic devices is presented. The factors are also reviewed that influence the working paradigm of low‐dimensional neuromorphic devices under different stimuli. Finally, a forward‐looking outlook on the challenges and perspectives in analyzing the mechanisms in this emerging research direction to drive next‐generation neuromorphic computing is provided.
Brain‐inspired neuromorphic devices have attracted growing research interest for enabling next‐generation intelligent and autonomous systems. Underlying working mechanism in neuromorphic devices based on low‐dimensional materials is heavily based on device architecture and their electrical, optical, and photonic operating modes. This article presents an overview of the mechanisms among various configurations in state‐of‐the‐art low‐dimensional neuromorphic devices.
Thin film transistors (TFTs) are key components for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices, resulting in a push for the wider exploration of semiconducting materials and ...cost‐effective synthesis processes. In this report, a simple approach is proposed to achieve 2‐nm‐thick indium oxide nanosheets from liquid metal surfaces by employing a squeeze printing technique and thermal annealing at 250 °C in air. The resulting materials exhibit a high degree of transparency (>99 %) and an excellent electron mobility of ≈96 cm2 V−1 s−1, surpassing that of pristine printed 2D In2O3 and many other reported 2D semiconductors. UV‐detectors based on annealed 2D In2O3 also benefit from this process step, with the photoresponsivity reaching 5.2 × 104 and 9.4 × 103 A W−1 at the wavelengths of 285 and 365 nm, respectively. These values are an order of magnitude higher than for as‐synthesized 2D In2O3. Utilizing transmission electron microscopy with in situ annealing, it is demonstrated that the improvement in device performances is due to nanostructural changes within the oxide layers during annealing process. This work highlights a facile and ambient air compatible method for fabricating high‐quality semiconducting oxides, which will find application in emerging transparent electronics and optoelectronics.
2‐nm‐thick indium oxide nanosheets with high electron mobility have been synthesized utilizing a liquid metal printing technique and thermal annealing in air. Transmission electron microscopy with in situ annealing reveals that the improvement in device performances is due to nanostructural changes during annealing process. This work highlights a facile and ambient air compatible method for fabricating high‐quality semiconductors, which find application in emerging electronics and optoelectronics.
Chalcohalide semiconductors are an emergent class of materials for optoelectronics. Here, the first work on BiSI chalcohalide thin film photodetectors (PDs) is presented. An entirely new method for ...the fabrication of bismuth chalcohalide thin films (BiOI and BiSI) is developed. This method circumvents the use of any ligands or counter ions during fabrication and provides highly pure thin films free of carbon residues and other contaminants. When integrated into lithographically patterned lateral PDs these BiSI thin films show outstanding performances and high stability. The direct ≈1.55 eV bandgap of BiSI perfectly accommodates optical sensing over the full visible spectrum. The responsivity (R) of the BiSI PDs reaches 62.1 A W−1, which is the best value reported to date across chalcohalide materials of any type. The BiSI PDs display remarkable sensitivity to low light levels, supporting a broad operational detectivity ≈1012 Jones over four decades in light intensity, with a peak specific detectivity (D*) of 2.01 × 1013 Jones. The dynamics of photocurrent generation are demonstrated to be dominated by photoconductive gain. These results cement BiSI as an exciting candidate for high performance photodetector applications and encourage ongoing work in BiSX (X = Cl, Br, I) materials for optoelectronics.
Chalcohalides semiconductors are an emergent class of materials for optoelectronics. The hybrid composition of chalcohalides enables access to materials with improved stabilities, common to metal sulfides, but with the processability afforded by metal halides. In this article, bismuth sulfide iodide photodetectors with performances that surpass those of all other chalcohalide materials reported to date are presented.
Atomically thin materials face an ongoing challenge of scalability, hampering practical deployment despite their fascinating properties. Tin monosulfide (SnS), a low‐cost, naturally abundant layered ...material with a tunable bandgap, displays properties of superior carrier mobility and large absorption coefficient at atomic thicknesses, making it attractive for electronics and optoelectronics. However, the lack of successful synthesis techniques to prepare large‐area and stoichiometric atomically thin SnS layers (mainly due to the strong interlayer interactions) has prevented exploration of these properties for versatile applications. Here, SnS layers are printed with thicknesses varying from a single unit cell (0.8 nm) to multiple stacked unit cells (≈1.8 nm) synthesized from metallic liquid tin, with lateral dimensions on the millimeter scale. It is reveal that these large‐area SnS layers exhibit a broadband spectral response ranging from deep‐ultraviolet (UV) to near‐infrared (NIR) wavelengths (i.e., 280–850 nm) with fast photodetection capabilities. For single‐unit‐cell‐thick layered SnS, the photodetectors show upto three orders of magnitude higher responsivity (927 A W−1) than commercial photodetectors at a room‐temperature operating wavelength of 660 nm. This study opens a new pathway to synthesize reproduceable nanosheets of large lateral sizes for broadband, high‐performance photodetectors. It also provides important technological implications for scalable applications in integrated optoelectronic circuits, sensing, and biomedical imaging.
Miniaturized photodetectors are key for the next generation of sensing, communication, and imaging technologies. Single‐atom‐thick SnS layers are printed on a millimeter scale to showcase application in high‐performance photodetectors. These SnS‐based ultrafast photodetectors show a broadband spectral response ranging from deep ultraviolet to near infrared wavelengths (i.e., 280 to 850 nm) with excellent figures of merit.
Wearable sweat sensors rely either on electronics for electrochemical detection or on colorimetry for visual readout. Non-ideal form factors represent disadvantages of the former, while ...semiquantitative operation and narrow scope of measurable biomarkers characterize the latter. Here, we introduce a battery-free, wireless electronic sensing platform inspired by biofuel cells that integrates chronometric microfluidic platforms with embedded colorimetric assays. The resulting sensors combine advantages of electronic and microfluidic functionality in a platform that is significantly lighter, cheaper, and smaller than alternatives. A demonstration device simultaneously monitors sweat rate/loss, pH, lactate, glucose, and chloride. Systematic studies of the electronics, microfluidics, and integration schemes establish the key design considerations and performance attributes. Two-day human trials that compare concentrations of glucose and lactate in sweat and blood suggest a potential basis for noninvasive, semi-quantitative tracking of physiological status.
Abstract
Liquid metals (LMs) are emerging as unique fluids for a variety of applications, but their nanoscale solvation properties remain largely understudied. In this work, a combination of atomic ...force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to investigate the structure of the interface between the bulk room temperature liquid metal (RTLM) and the LM oxide in nanodroplet systems of gallium, EGaIn (75.5% gallium, 24.5% indium), and Galinstan (68.5% gallium, 21.5% indium, 10% tin). Field's metal (51% indium, 32.5% bismuth, 16.5% tin) is also investigated, which melts at ≈62 °C, as a contrast to the other systems. AFM measurements reveal distinct sub‐oxide nanostructured layering in all three RTLM systems, and Field's metal above the melting point, to differing degrees. EGaIn and Galinstan show multiple penetration events between 20 and 30 nm, with smaller, less complex events in Ga. MD simulations suggest that this layering is a result of the near‐surface ordering of LM atoms beneath the oxide layer. Importantly, the atoms in this region do not behave as solids but are more ordered than in a pure disordered liquid system. The surface nanostructure elucidated here significantly expands the understanding of LM systems and their behavior at interfaces.
Atomically thin 2D materials are highly sought for high‐performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Despite being a widely recognized functional material for a plethora of applications, ...ultra‐thin nanosheets of zinc oxide (ZnO) at a millimeter‐scale for developing high‐performance electronic/optoelectronic devices have not been reported. This has prevented the exploration of electronic and optical properties of ZnO when it is only a few atoms thick. Here, a liquid metal exfoliation technique is used that takes advantage of the van der Waals forces between the interfacial oxide and the chosen substrate to obtain ZnO nanosheets with lateral dimensions in the millimeter scale and thickness down to 5 nm. Their suitability for applications is shown by demonstrating a visible‐blind photodetector with high figures of merit as compared to other ZnO morphologies. At extremely low operating bias of 50 mV and low optical intensity of 0.5 mW cm−2, the ZnO photodetector demonstrates an external quantum efficiency (EQE), responsivity (R), and detectivity (D*) of 4.3 × 103%, 12.64 A W−1, and 5.81 × 1015 Jones at a wavelength of 365 nm. The trap‐mediated photoresponse in the ZnO nanosheets is further utilized to demonstrate optoelectronic synapses. Versatile synaptic functions of the nervous systems are optically emulated with the ultra‐thin ZnO nanosheets.
Liquid metal exfoliated ZnO nanosheets provide a simple yet effective platform to demonstrate two key optoelectronic applications in a two‐terminal configuration—one as a miniaturized UV photodetector and the other as an artificial optoelectronic synapse. By exploiting the trap mediated states in the material, many key cognitive functionalities are emulated solely through optical stimuli.
PDF
