Strain-Induced Large Exciton Energy Shifts in Buckled CdS Nanowires

Strain engineering can be utilized to tune the fundamental properties of semiconductor materials for applications in advanced electronic and photonic devices. Recently, the effects of large strain on the properties of nanostructures are being intensely investigated to further expand our insights into the physics and applications of such materials. In this Letter, we present results on controllable buckled cadmium-sulfide (CdS) optical nanowires (NWs), which show extremely large energy bandgap tuning by >250 meV with applied strains within the elastic deformation limit. Polarization and spatially resolved optical measurements reveal characteristics related to both compressive and tensile regimes, while microreflectance spectroscopy clearly demonstrates the effect of strain on the different types of excitons in CdS. Our results may enable strained NWs-based optoelectronic devices with tunable optical responses

Highly Stretchable and Notch-Insensitive Hydrogel Based on Polyacrylamide and Milk Protein

Protein-based hydrogels have received attention for biomedical applications and tissue engineering because they are biocompatible and abundant. However, the poor mechanical properties of these hydrogels remain a hurdle for practical use. We have developed a highly stretchable and notch-insensitive hydrogel by integrating casein micelles into polyacrylamide (PAAm) networks. In the casein-PAAm hybrid gels, casein micelles and polyacrylamide chains synergistically enhance the mechanical properties. Casein-PAAm hybrid gels are highly stretchable, stretching to more than 35 times their initial length under uniaxial tension. The hybrid gels are notch-insensitive and tough with a fracture energy of approximately 3000 J/m². A new mechanism of energy dissipation that includes friction between casein micelles and plastic deformation of casein micelles was suggested

Epitaxial Growth and Ordering of GeTe Nanowires on Microcrystals Determined by Surface Energy Minimization

We report self-assembly of highly aligned GeTe nanowires epitaxially grown on octahedral GeTe microcrystals in two well-defined directions by using one-step vapor transport process. The epitaxial relationship of nanowires with underlying microcrystals along with the growth orientations of nanowires were investigated in detail by electron microscopy combined with atomic unit cell models. We demonstrate that maximizing atomic planar density to minimize energy of the exposed surfaces is the determining factor that governs the unique growth characteristics of micro/nanostructures that evolve from three-dimensional octahedral microcrystals to tetrahedral bases to finally one-dimensional nanowires. The crystallographic understanding of structuring of crystalline nanomaterials obtained from this study will be critical to understand, predict, and control the growth orientation of nanostructures in three-dimensions

Dehydrogenation Reaction Pathway of the LiBH₄–MgH₂ Composite under Various Pressure Conditions

This paper investigates dehydrogenation reaction behavior of the LiBH₄–MgH₂ composite at 450 °C under various hydrogen and argon back-pressure conditions. While the individual decompositions of LiBH₄ and MgH₂ simultaneously occur under 0.1 MPa H₂, the dehydrogenation of MgH₂ into Mg first takes place and subsequent reaction between LiBH₄ and Mg into LiH and MgB₂ after an incubation period under 0.5 MPa H₂. Under 1 MPa H₂, enhanced dehydrogenation kinetics for the same reaction pathway as that under 0.5 MPa H₂ is obtained without the incubation period. However, the dehydrogenation reaction is significantly suppressed under 2 MPa H₂. The formation of Li₂B₁₂H₁₂ as an intermediate product during dehydrogenation seems to be responsible for the incubation period. The degradation in hydrogen capacity during hydrogen sorption cycles is not prevented with the dehydrogenation under 1 MPa H₂, which effectively suppresses the formation of Li₂B₁₂H₁₂. The overall dehydrogenation behavior under argon pressure conditions is similar to that at hydrogen pressure conditions, except that under 2 MPa Ar

Robust Heteroepitaxial Growth of GaN Formulated on Porous TiN Buffer Layers

Gallium nitride (GaN) heteroepitaxial growth is widely studied as a semiconductor material due to its various benefits. Especially, development of a buffer layer between GaN and the substrate verifies to be an effective strategy to reduce high threading dislocation density. However, the buffer layer often impedes strong adhesion between the epilayer and foreign substrate because thermally induced residual stress often causes delamination of the epilayer during fabrication. Here, we developed a robust GaN heteroepitaxy employing a porous buffer layer formulated by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. A sufficiently low but completely coated thin Ti layer was deposited on the sapphire substrate, which led to a rough and porous TiN layer after nitridation. This porous structure enables the penetration of the GaN source into the porous structure, allowing GaN epitaxy initiation throughout the TiN layer. As a result, GaN crystal growth can fill the porous area during the GaN heteroepitaxy. Integrated visualization demonstrated that the voids were successfully removed by GaN infiltration, enabling the heteroepitaxial structure to show little deformation, confirmed by multiple indentations. Last, the void-free GaN heteroepitaxy with the porous TiN buffer layer displayed robust adhesion after delamination tests

Robust Heteroepitaxial Growth of GaN Formulated on Porous TiN Buffer Layers

Gallium nitride (GaN) heteroepitaxial growth is widely studied as a semiconductor material due to its various benefits. Especially, development of a buffer layer between GaN and the substrate verifies to be an effective strategy to reduce high threading dislocation density. However, the buffer layer often impedes strong adhesion between the epilayer and foreign substrate because thermally induced residual stress often causes delamination of the epilayer during fabrication. Here, we developed a robust GaN heteroepitaxy employing a porous buffer layer formulated by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. A sufficiently low but completely coated thin Ti layer was deposited on the sapphire substrate, which led to a rough and porous TiN layer after nitridation. This porous structure enables the penetration of the GaN source into the porous structure, allowing GaN epitaxy initiation throughout the TiN layer. As a result, GaN crystal growth can fill the porous area during the GaN heteroepitaxy. Integrated visualization demonstrated that the voids were successfully removed by GaN infiltration, enabling the heteroepitaxial structure to show little deformation, confirmed by multiple indentations. Last, the void-free GaN heteroepitaxy with the porous TiN buffer layer displayed robust adhesion after delamination tests

Robust Heteroepitaxial Growth of GaN Formulated on Porous TiN Buffer Layers

Gallium nitride (GaN) heteroepitaxial growth is widely studied as a semiconductor material due to its various benefits. Especially, development of a buffer layer between GaN and the substrate verifies to be an effective strategy to reduce high threading dislocation density. However, the buffer layer often impedes strong adhesion between the epilayer and foreign substrate because thermally induced residual stress often causes delamination of the epilayer during fabrication. Here, we developed a robust GaN heteroepitaxy employing a porous buffer layer formulated by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. A sufficiently low but completely coated thin Ti layer was deposited on the sapphire substrate, which led to a rough and porous TiN layer after nitridation. This porous structure enables the penetration of the GaN source into the porous structure, allowing GaN epitaxy initiation throughout the TiN layer. As a result, GaN crystal growth can fill the porous area during the GaN heteroepitaxy. Integrated visualization demonstrated that the voids were successfully removed by GaN infiltration, enabling the heteroepitaxial structure to show little deformation, confirmed by multiple indentations. Last, the void-free GaN heteroepitaxy with the porous TiN buffer layer displayed robust adhesion after delamination tests

Robust Heteroepitaxial Growth of GaN Formulated on Porous TiN Buffer Layers

Gallium nitride (GaN) heteroepitaxial growth is widely studied as a semiconductor material due to its various benefits. Especially, development of a buffer layer between GaN and the substrate verifies to be an effective strategy to reduce high threading dislocation density. However, the buffer layer often impedes strong adhesion between the epilayer and foreign substrate because thermally induced residual stress often causes delamination of the epilayer during fabrication. Here, we developed a robust GaN heteroepitaxy employing a porous buffer layer formulated by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. A sufficiently low but completely coated thin Ti layer was deposited on the sapphire substrate, which led to a rough and porous TiN layer after nitridation. This porous structure enables the penetration of the GaN source into the porous structure, allowing GaN epitaxy initiation throughout the TiN layer. As a result, GaN crystal growth can fill the porous area during the GaN heteroepitaxy. Integrated visualization demonstrated that the voids were successfully removed by GaN infiltration, enabling the heteroepitaxial structure to show little deformation, confirmed by multiple indentations. Last, the void-free GaN heteroepitaxy with the porous TiN buffer layer displayed robust adhesion after delamination tests

Direct Growth of Compound Semiconductor Nanowires by On-Film Formation of Nanowires: Bismuth Telluride

Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanowires are of great interest as nanoscale building blocks for high-efficiency thermoelectric devices. Their low-dimensional character leads to an enhanced figure-of-merit (ZT), an indicator of thermoelectric efficiency. Herein, we report the invention of a direct growth method termed On-Film Formation of Nanowires (OFF-ON) for making high-quality single-crystal compound semiconductor nanowires, that is, Bi2Te3, without the use of conventional templates, catalysts, or starting materials. We have used the OFF-ON technique to grow single crystal compound semiconductor Bi2Te3 nanowires from sputtered BiTe films after thermal annealing at 350 °C. The mechanism for wire growth is stress-induced mass flow along grain boundaries in the polycrystalline film. OFF-ON is a simple but powerful method for growing perfect single-crystal compound semiconductor nanowires of high aspect ratio with high crystallinity that distinguishes it from other competitive growth approaches that have been developed to date