Recently, from the University of Illinois, University of Michigan,Pennsylvania State UniversityKristen A. Fichthorn, Sharon C. Glotzer, and Qian Chen, as co corresponding authors, published an article titled 'Patchy Nanoparticles by Atomic Solidification' in the journal Nature.

Researchers have proposed an innovative atomic template method for preparing nanoparticles with polymer spots on their surfaces（NPs）. Traditional template technology mainly relies on top-down microfabrication methods, such as photolithography, which achieves patterning on a mask. However, these methods are limited in further reducing feature size and applying them to complex 3D surfaces. In contrast, the atomic template method developed by researchers adopts a bottom-up self-assembly process, achieving precise patterning at the nanoscale through chemical reactions or physical interactions.

In this study, researchers used a surface adsorbed monolayer of iodide as a mask and coated the polymer onto the unmasked area through ligand mediated methods, successfully preparing up to 20 different types of nanoparticles with highly uniform polymer spots on the surface. Through polymer scaling theory and molecular dynamics simulations, the research team found that the spot particles generated by this method have unprecedented unique morphologies. These nanoparticles with polymer spots can self assemble into different non tightly packed superlattices due to their highly uniform spots.

This study not only achieved significant breakthroughs in nanoscale patterning, but also opened up new avenues for precise chemical, reactivity, and interaction control of other substrates. This technology is expected to be widely applied in fields such as precision drug delivery, catalysis, microelectronics, integrated metamaterials, and tissue engineering.

Image: Octahedron wrapped in iodide

Recently, a study on non van der Waals superlattices was published in the journal Nature, titled 'Non van der Waals superlattices of carbides and carbonitrides'. Yang Shubin from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Beihang University is the corresponding author.

Traditionally, artificial superlattices are constructed by stacking atomic layers layer by layer or sequentially epitaxially growing them, such as graphene superlattices. This van der Waals superlattice is limited in its performance improvement due to weak interface coupling. Our research team has proposed an efficient synthesis method and successfully fabricated a series of non van der Waals superlattices of carbides and carbonitrides. These superlattices are bonded through interlayer hydrogen bonds and achieved through a stiffness mediated curling strategy.

The key step of the research is to create metal vacancies in the MX layer, customize the bending stiffness of the atomic layer derived from the MAX phase, and trigger ordered curling under rapid bending deformation. Unlike van der Waals superlattices, these non vdW superlattices have hydrogen bonding, providing strong interlayer electronic coupling and highly concentrated charge carriers (10)²²cm⁻³）. Therefore, these superlattices exhibit approximately 30000 S cm⁻¹The significant conductivity is about 22 times that of its counterpart.

In electromagnetic interference shielding applications, the optimal non vdW superlattice film exhibits an excellent shielding effect of 124dB, surpassing any known synthetic material with similar thickness. It is expected that non vdW superlattices will significantly broaden the material platform, provide diverse compositions and crystal structures, and provide possibilities for the new development of artificial stacking systems.

Image: TEM characterization of superlattice

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,Florida State UniversityYunfeng Shi, Hanwei Gao, and Jian Shi, as corresponding authors, published the research results of "Long distance remote epidemiology". This study reveals a new breakthrough in remote epitaxial technology, bringing new opportunities for the development of electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Remote epitaxy is a technique that establishes epitaxial relationships between thin films and substrates through remote interactions, enabling the growth of high-quality single crystal epitaxial layers and their transfer to other important substrates. In traditional views, the effective distance of remote epitaxy is usually considered to be less than 1 nanometer, as the potential rapidly decays after a few atomic distances. However, Professor Jian Shi's team's research shows that the effective distance of remote epitaxy can reach 2 to 7 nanometers.

In the experiment, researchers successfully achieved remote epitaxy of CsPbBr3 thin films on NaCl substrates, remote epitaxy of KCl thin films on KCl substrates, and remote epitaxy of ZnO nanorods on GaN. Research has found that there is a dislocation beneath each remote epitaxial ZnO micro rod on a GaN substrate, indicating that remote epitaxy can be designed and engineered by controlling defects.

Remote epitaxy is an emerging epitaxial growth technology that is expected to bring abundant opportunities for designing advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices, breaking free from the limitations of lattice matching concepts. In remote epitaxy, a typical single-layer two-dimensional material serves as an electrostatic semi transparent buffer layer, with a weakened substrate potential but still strong enough to guide atomic nucleation and growth. The weak interaction between the film and the substrate allows the film component to be transferred to other chemically or structurally completely different substrates in subsequent steps.

The research team demonstrated the application of remote epitaxial technology on different materials, including GaAs, InP, GaP, VO ₂ SrTiO₃、BaTiO₃、CoFe ₂O₄、Y₃Fe₅O₁₂、Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-- PbTiO₃、CsPbBr₃、 GaN, ZnO, and AlN, and remote epitaxial thin films are applied in various designs and device implementations, including reconfigurable diodes, magneto electric devices, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, and electronic skins.

The potential applications of this technology are not limited to the growth of high-quality single crystal thin films, but can also improve the performance and design freedom of electronic and optoelectronic devices. This breakthrough in remote epitaxy provides a new perspective for future materials science and engineering applications.

Figure Extraepitaxial growth of ZnO on a-C/GaN

Zhou Peng and Liu Chunsen from Fudan University have published the research results of "A fully featured 2D flash chip enabled by system integration" as corresponding authors.

The paper introduces a fully functional NOR flash memory chip with 2D materials as its core, which achieves system integration through atomic level device to chip technology (ATOM2CHIP). This technology combines superior 2D electronic devices as storage cores and is equipped with a powerful CMOS platform to support complex instruction control. The ATOM2CHIP technology blueprint includes full stack chip processes and cross platform system design, providing a complete framework for the transition from emerging device concepts to applicable chips.

This full stack chip process is specifically designed to include processes such as planar integration, 3D architecture, and chip packaging, ensuring a high yield of 94.34%. The cross platform system design handled 2D circuit design and 2D-CMOS module compatibility verification design, ultimately achieving a fully functional chip driven by high complexity instructions with 8-bit commands and 32-bit parallelism.

The paper shows that 2D materials exhibit excellent electronic properties even at single-layer thickness, and van der Waals heterostructures enable fine tuning of electronic energy bands. These features enable 2D electronic devices to continue the scaling capabilities of silicon technology and create fundamental device mechanisms. As an integrated circuitsemiconductor equipmentAs a demonstration, 2D flash memory exhibits faster Fowler Nordheim tunneling programming speed and better channel length scaling advantages than silicon flash memory (mainstream non-volatile storage technology).

In recent years, research on integrated 2D semiconductors has received increasing attention from both the industrial and academic communities. 2D electronic devices and mature siliconCMOS logic circuitCombining will be an ideal way to showcase the advantages of 2D electronic devices at the system level and accelerate the transition of emerging devices from laboratories to factories. The research in the paper proposes an effective system integration strategy, demonstrating the superiority of 2D electronic systems.

Image: STEM image of 2D flash memory chip

Recently, Zhao Yixin, Chen Yuetian, Miao Yanfeng, and Guo Yongsheng from Shanghai Jiao Tong University published a research article titled "A matrix confined molecular layer for perovskite photovoltaic modules" as co corresponding authors in Nature.

Perovskite materials have become a research hotspot in the field of photovoltaics in recent years due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. Energy Conversion Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells（PCE）Gradually approaching commercial silicon batteries, paving the way for their industrial application. However, currently most efficient inverted perovskite solar cells still face many challenges due to the aggregation and hydrophobicity of self-assembled molecules (SAMs).

To address this issue, the research team proposed a "self-assembled molecule matrix" (SAM in matrix) strategy, which breaks the aggregation problem caused by molecular stacking by distributing some self-assembled molecules in a stable tri (pentafluorophenyl) boron matrix. The two-dimensional lattice Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results show that this strategy can form efficient charge transfer channels. Devices based on this SAM in matrix hole transport layer (HTL) demonstrate generally higher efficiency in various self-assembled molecules, with tight surface coverage, good conductivity, and significantly reduced buried nanovoids. In addition, this strategy has shown significant potential for application in large-scale production.

The use of SAM in matrix HTL on FTO/NiOx substrates helps to form large-area thin films of perovskite with good crystal quality and enhanced conductivity. In the end, the research team successfully prepared a large-area perovskite solar module with an area of 1m × 2m, and set a new record with a certified efficiency of 20.05%.

Image: Perovskite in NiOx/ Me4PA@BCF HRTEM image of substrate

Recently, Yu Yi from ShanghaiTech University, Timothy Pennycook from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, and Dou Letian from Purdue University in the United States published a research paper titled "Atomically resolved edges and defects in lead halide perovskites" in Nature. Their research revealed the detailed atomic structure and dynamic characteristics of the edges and defects of lead halide perovskite materials.

Lead halide perovskite is an organic-inorganic semiconductor material with superior cost-effectiveness and interesting optoelectronic properties, which has attracted much attention. However, due to its extremely high sensitivity, it has been difficult to obtain clear images of its edges so far. The research team used advanced four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy technology to perform overlapping imaging at extremely low doses, revealing for the first time the structure of perovskite edges and internal defects at atomic resolution. Research has found that in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3), the edge termination of methylammonium and iodine is predominant, and the damage rate of edge and internal defects is related to the concentration and type of vacancies present, especially the presence of iodine vacancies associated with higher damage rates.

Perovskite materials have attracted much attention in solar applications due to their high efficiency, ease of manufacturing, tunable properties, and versatility. However, addressing edge, defect, and stability issues is crucial for realizing its potential. The structural form of perovskite material is ABX3, where A represents monovalent cation, B is metal cation, and X is halide anion. Each element plays a different but crucial role in the stability of perovskite. Calculations and experimental studies have shown that the low coordination of the B site may be the most unstable, and its stability and photovoltaic efficiency can be significantly improved through the passivation of various Lewis base molecules. However, due to the atomic resolution imaging challenges of these highly sensitive materials, atomic level insights are still limited.

This study not only provides important atomic level information for understanding the edges and defects of lead halide perovskites, but also offers new ideas and methods for improving the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells in the future.

Image: MAPbI₃Atomic Resolution Imaging

Recently, Kang Feiyu, He Yanbing, Lv Wei, Hou Tingzheng from Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, together with Yang Quanhong from Tianjin University as corresponding authors, published a research paper titled "A Ductile Solid Electron Interphase for Solid State Batteries" in Nature. This study proposes innovative solutions to the significant challenges faced by solid-state lithium metal batteries (SLMBs) under actual working conditions.

Solid state lithium metal batteries are considered one of the most promising candidates for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems. However, under practical conditions of high areal capacity and high current density, uncontrolled lithium dendrite growth severely hinders its commercial applications. Although existing solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have better interfacial affinity than solid inorganic electrolytes, their ion conductivity and stability are not sufficient to achieve uniform and rapid transport of lithium ions. Even if the ion conductivity of composite SPEs (CSPEs) is significantly improved through microstructure design or mixing with ceramics, the battery still struggles to achieve current densities higher than 5 mA/cm ² and areal capacities of 5 mAh/cm ² under the fast charging requirements of actual SLMBs.

The research team found that although traditional solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) rich in lithium fluoride (LiF) can suppress lithium penetration, their inherent brittleness and lithium ion diffusion barriers make it difficult to maintain interface integrity at high current densities and high areal capacities, leading to severe lithium dendrite growth, side reactions, and interface cracking. For this purpose, the research team developed a tough SEI rich in silver sulfide (Ag ₂ S) and silver fluoride (AgF) components. This SEI has a symmetrical rich inorganic structure on the electrolyte side, while on the lithium metal side it is a lithium friendly silver/lithium structure, ensuring high structural stability and rapid ion transport at high current densities and high areal capacities.

The experimental results show that even at a high current density of 15 mA/cm ² and an area capacity of 15 mAh/cm ², symmetric lithium batteries using this SEI still have a long cycle life of over 4500 hours. In addition, even in a low-temperature environment of -30 ° C, the tough SEI can still work for over 7000 hours under actual conditions of 5 mA/cm ² and 5 mAh/cm ².

This study provides a practical solution for achieving long cycle life solid-state lithium metal batteries, which can maintain high performance even under extreme conditions. This discovery has significant implications for the future development of electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems.

Image: Cryo electron microscopy image of SEI