Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry C Emerging Investigators

Journal of Materials Chemistry C profiles contributors to the Emerging Investigators issue.

2D materials display unique optical/electronic/mechanical properties and a manipulable bidimensional morphology. High throughput assembly processes can be applied for their large scale manufacturing leading to integration into mass produced products.

Fibrotic diseases affect all human organs (left), yet the selective visualization of tissue microstructure remains challenging in clinical and industrial settings. Colorimetric metasurfaces (right) address this challenge with an on-chip platform.

This article explores the fundamental σ-π orbital interactions that underlie the physical properties of conjugated organosilane molecular materials in single-molecule electronics and single-molecule imaging.

The physics of materials with strong spin–orbit coupling is currently highly topical. Here we present an accessible outline of the chemistry of these materials, issues in determining their structure–property relationships, and opportunities afforded.

The origins of the remarkable performance of halide perovskite scintillators are presented, along with solutions to the challenges facing the field, followed by a discussion of applications that will benefit from the unique properties of these materials.

The preparation, properties and use of magnetic cellulose are reviewed with focus on use in devices.

Electrochemical methods are commonly used in the preparation of functional polymers on flexible conducting substrates to design and fabricate advanced electronic devices.

Computational approaches accelerate design and discovery of conductive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs).

Nonlinear optical techniques are emerging as powerful in-situ probes of crystallization processes due to their inherent sensitivity to crystal structure and morphology.

Here, we review the state-of-the-art progress in the construction of smart multifunctional enhancing substrates. These substrates hold the key to achieving sustainability and widespread applications of SERS.

The functionalization of 2D materials (2DMs) holds great promise future applications. Here we review the various ways in which 2DMs can be functionalized and how these methodologies influence the physicochemical properties of resulting 2DM composites.

This review summarizes the application of AIE molecules in the study of the structure and property of polymers, and the prospect of development by AIE molecules in the polymer field.

The present review describes recent developments in nanoscale molecular films, and discusses why devices comprising redox-active organic, organometallic, complexes, and biomolecules might hold the potential for next-generation electronic applications.

Layered hybrid perovskites incorporating organic moieties with enhanced functionalities within the perovskite scaffold enable the development of advanced multifunctional materials.

In this review, we summarize the recent progress on how to circumvent FLP between 2D TMD semiconductors and metals.

This review paper provides an overview of the recent successful simulation of pattern recognition with TFT-based artificial synapses from device- to system-level.

This review illustrates structural design principles for molecular solar thermal (MOST) energy storage materials based on photoswitches that operate in different phases or result in a solid–liquid phase transition during their photo-isomerization.

Combining structural design (led by FDTD simulations) and innovative hydrogel materials (via ionic liquid cosolvents), we fabricate dynamic responsive photonic arrays.

Monodispersed VO₂@Au core–semishell submicroparticles have been synthesized and optically characterized. The single-particle spectra demonstrate that the plasmonic resonance is temperature-dependent and reversibly tunable in the range of over 200 nm.

We achieved fully-printed SnO₂ based n-type thin-film transistors with high electrical performance and robust mechanical flexibility, promising for constructing low-cost, high-performance flexible electronic devices and circuits.

The accommodation of chromophore-dissolved microdroplets in semicrystalline protein matrices succeeds in achieving upconverting bioplastics with high efficiency, air-stability, and long-term durability for the first time.

The design of novel chiral donor–acceptor emitters based on C₂-symmetric bicarbazoles is reported together with their photophysical and CPL properties, both displaying an interesting modulation as a function of the solvent polarity.

We develop a magnetic resonance sensor (MRS) based on the assembly of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles and metal organic framework (MOF) materials, which have high T₂ proton relaxation rates (r₂).

Naphthalene monoimide derivatives produced distinct stimuli-responsive luminescent nanostructures through orthogonal dipole–dipole interactions and halogen bonding (XB) with diverse graftable XB donors and acceptors in organic solvents.

The role of aggregation and isomeric impurities on the excited state mechanisms in crystalline carbazole are revisited considering exciton, Dexter energy transfer and electron transport based on Marcus and Marcus–Levich–Jortner theories.

Neutron spectroscopy as a master microscopic probe of the composition-dependent phase behaviour and miscibility of organic solar cell active layers.

High performance green and red phosphorescent OLEDs with double-sensitized structure by using deep lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level iridium(III) complex as sensitizer.

Electron delocalisation times are significantly faster for SnS than for SnS₂. Ultrafast times, as low as 30 attoseconds, were measured thanks to the application of the core hole clock method.

The time-temperature-transformation diagram describing crystallization of the semiconducting molecule TES-ADT from its melt was constructed and found to correlate with the thin-film micro/nanostructure and electronic performance.

A nucleobase adenine (A)-based polymer passivates the defects, improves the conductivity, and reduces the work function of the ZnO nanoparticle interlayers, affording high performance inverted fullerene- or non-fullerene-based organic solar cells.

Here we add BMIMBF₄ during the mechanochemical synthesis of MAPbI₃. Based on detailed photoluminescence and electrical measurements, we demonstrate a passivation of defects in the powder pellets that also leads to a suppression of ion migration.

Bifunctional additive design for OPV provides joint improvement in (1) device lifetime via carotenoid and (2) flexibility via silicone.

Angle dependent magneto-photocurrent in organic single crystal transistors reveals the anisotropy of triplets, verified by a spin-Hamiltonian model with zero-field splitting, providing a basis for metrics of singlet fission–triplet fusion devices.

Liquid metal chemistry offers a new pathway towards the creation of functional 2D metal oxysulfides.

The pyridinium salt of CPBBr undergoes crystalline phase transformation under water vapor, accompanied by emission turn-on from deep blue to green. The reversible mechanochromism luminescence indicates the formation of a charge transfer excimer.

A novel organic electrochemical transistor is proposed by adopting a dual-network hydrogel as the electrolyte.

We develop and test three models for the lattice thermal conductivity of the Sn(S_0.1875Se_0.8125) alloy, and show that the reported lower κ_latt relative to SnSe arises from reduced phonon velocities due to a “smearing” of the phonon dispersion.

With bay- and ortho-substituted perylenetetracarboxylic diimide derivatives, one-photon and two-photon excited ACQ-to-AIE conversion is realized through simple positional isomerization.

Conductive hydrogels are promising material candidates in artificial skin and muscles, flexible and implantable bioelectronics, and tissue engineering.

Janus photonic crystal supraparticles with novel structures and properties were magnetically assembled from a colloidal mixture of nonmagnetic spheres and magnetic ellipsoids.

Metalloprotein junctions are used as model systems in the field of molecular bioelectronics to mimic electronic circuits. The junction lifetime increase achieved with electrochemical nearfield trapping enables thorough junction characterisation.

A novel broadband near-infrared Y_0.57La_0.72Sc_2.71(BO₃)₄:Cr³⁺ phosphor based on one-site occupation was designed by introducing a distorted octahedral structure.

An extended-gate-type organic transistor functionalized with a carboxylate attached 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivative (TMT) allowed multi-polyamine discrimination based on a competitive assay among the TMT-based monolayer, copper(II) ions, and polyamines.

A photoexcitation-induced molecular realignment strategy is demonstrated to yield steady-state crystals with fluorescence–phosphorescence behavior.

The cross-linked PVK doping with F4TCNQ demonstrated outstanding hole extraction and transport capability, has been successfully used in p–i–n perovskite photodetectors as an efficient hole transport layer (HTL).

Planar heterojunction organic solar cells exhibit lower trap density, higher electroluminescence efficiency, smaller non-radiative open-circuit voltage loss and better stability than bulk heterojunction counterparts.

UV-induced doping reduces the resistance of the ZnO interlayer in an organic solar cell, leading to an increased photoactive area. This results in a significantly overestimated J_sc in the solar cell characterized without using a mask.