Themed collection 2018 Journal of Materials Chemistry C HOT Papers

Metallomesogens – liquid crystals containing metal centers – have attracted much interest owing to their interesting magnetic and electro-optical properties. Due to the theoretical 100% internal quantum efficiency, here, a brief overview of recent research on platinum/iridium-based metallomesogens including their molecular design and structure-property relationships is reported.

A review of materials design strategies and efficient study methods for modeling of anthracene derivatives, with a description of their significant application in light-emitting transistors.

The microwave absorption, electromagnetic interference shielding, and microwave response mechanism of graphene hybrids are highlighted, including relaxation, charge transport, magnetic resonance, etc.

Tunable, narrow-linewidth photoluminescence and solution processability make colloidal quantum dots, especially their anisotropic heterostructures, unique emitter materials for a variety of photonic and optoelectronic applications.

This review discusses several aspects regarding ultrasmall magnetic nanoparticles as T₁ contrast agents, including synthesis, parameters affecting T₁, and applications.

An externally controlled color-tunable light-emitting device was developed by integrating the power density sensitive upconversion materials into the NIR-LED.

High-performance vertical GaN-based near-ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si substrates with an electroluminescence emission wavelength of 395 nm have been fabricated by designing epitaxial structures to reduce the dislocation density and enhance the electron confinement and hole injection.

Four new 2D MH₂ crystals with anisotropic and spin-polarized Fermi–Dirac cones are reported by using first-principles calculations.

A new levorotatory compound ((S)-9,9′-(6-(1-phenylethoxy)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diyl)bis(9H-carbazole)) and its corresponding racemic compound show different intermolecular interactions to restrain nonradiative transition, resulting in an enhanced ultralong organic phosphorescence lifetime from 229.0 ms to 419.8 ms.

Two dimensional materials with a pentagonal structure and ultra-high carrier mobilities have been designed theoretically.

An efficient crystalline organic light-emitting diode based on high-quality crystalline heteroepitaxy films has been constructed, which exhibits high efficiency.

Interaction of the hole transporting material with tert-butylpyridine as a possible degradation pathway of perovskite solar cells.

The green persistent luminescence from SrAl₂O₄:Eu is assigned to Eu²⁺ at the Sr2 site based on a multiconfigurational ab initio study.

Two small molecule donors achieved over 5% PCEs when combined with fullerene, non-fullerene or blended acceptors.

Phosphorescent 2D covalent organic frameworks were utilized as a research platform to study the relationship between phosphorescence emission and interlayer distance.

The partitioning of rare earth ions (REs: Yb³⁺, Er³⁺, Eu³⁺ and Nd³⁺) in γ-Ga₂O₃ nanocrystals (NCs) precipitated in a nanostructured silicate glass ceramic is revealed, and the enrichment of REs in the NCs (bulk doping) rather than on the interfaces between the NCs and the surrounding glassy phase (surface doping) is differentiated.

In this report we describe the efficient synthesis and characterization of a series of water-soluble, self-doped PEDOT hybrid copolymers based on a polyaryloxyphosphazene platform, which brings a new perspective to the challenging solubility problem of PEDOT.

Uniformly aligned single crystal arrays of C₈-BTBT were prepared by the LSVC method and their OFETs exhibit high mobility with uniform distribution.

The symmetry breaking originating from the order–disorder dynamic transition of organic cations results in moderate spontaneous polarization as well as switchable SHG signal and pyroelectric property with feasible “on/off” contrasts.

We report a van der Waals heterostructure based graphene–stanene–graphene (C–Sn–C) quantum wall (QW), which shows a topologically protected hybrid state in the graphene–stanene interface.

Inspired by the water self-circulation mechanism that contributes to the motion of Mimosa leafs, a hydrogel actuator with a reverse thermal responsive bilayer structure was prepared, which can generate motions in water, oil and even in open-air environment.

The up-conversion luminescence of Er³⁺ doped Sr₂SnO₄ can be reversibly modulated by alternating 290 nm-light and 460 nm-light irradiation based on a photochromic reaction.

The impact of solution temperature-dependent aggregation of PffBT4T-2OD and PBT4T-2OD polymers on their electronic and solid-state packing properties is investigated using MD simulations and DFT calculations.

Cl-Incorporated triple-cation perovskite, as a novel absorber, has been developed to suppress hysteresis and enhance photoelectric performance.

Enhanced red emission of Mn⁴⁺ and photoluminescence tuning by Bi³⁺ → Mn⁴⁺ energy transfer and symmetric changes in Bi³⁺/Mn⁴⁺-doped La₂ATiO₆ (A = Mg, Zn) double perovskite structure phosphors.

Fusion of the pyrazine moiety onto bowl-shaped trichalcogenasumanenes results in a remarkable nonlinear optical response and optical power limiting performance that is better than C₆₀.

(C₃N₃O₃)³⁻ is first proposed to be an excellent birefringent active group and the representative compounds Ba₂M(C₃N₃O₃)₂ (M = Mg and Ca) are studied in detail.

Saturated emission from light-emitting electrochemical cells integrated with CsPbX₃ perovskite color conversion layers.

The fully phenylated C₆₀ derivative C₆₀Ph₆ for organic solar cells with high open-circuit voltage of 1.04 V.

A single-component white phosphor with a high color rendering index (R_a = 82.2) and good color stability was achieved by nonequivalent doping as the proposed strategy, which induces B-site disordering and compensates the intrinsic oxygen defects of SZN.

An ultrahigh energy storage density E_s of 20.7 J cm⁻³ and a maximum instantaneous power density of 78.2 MW cm⁻³ were obtained in BPNN-AS glass-ceramics.

The F–P resonator enhances the lasing performances of Tm-doped C(NH₂)₃PbI₃ perovskite thin films. It exhibits a high Q-factor value with a low threshold. When compared to previous literature, this GAPbI₃:Tm-based F–P resonator achieves better lasing performances.

Two new aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active cationic Ir(III) complexes with relatively rigid ligands have been rationally designed and synthesized, exhibiting excellent piezochromic luminescence (PCL) properties.

Engineering the stability of the metastable phase of 2D MoS₂ by appropriate choice of metal substrate determined by the electron occupation of Mo d-orbitals.

We report a water-based micromotor with both positive and negative phototaxis under light illumination, which not only enables controlled cargo capture and transportation but also allows droplet coalescence so that it may function as a microreactor.

A new sulfate Li₈NaRb₃(SO₄)₆·2H₂O exhibits a short cutoff edge below λ < 190 nm and has a moderate second-harmonic generation response in type-I phase-matchable behavior.

Addition of KNN to BNT–BT moves the phase diagram to lower temperatures while introduced oxygen vacancies move it to higher temperatures.

Direct control of the optical path length of each layer inside anodic alumina produces a high quality photonic crystal.

Full-spectral emissive perovskite nanogels present outstandingly improved photo-stability, thermal-stability and humidity-stability for anti-counterfeiting two-dimensional barcode application.

A series of luminescent non-conjugated polyurethane derivatives (PUs) has been obtained in a facile way in high yields. TNP is selectively detected in water with a concentration of 10⁻¹⁰ M.

Combination between electron traps and host phonon energy for Ho³⁺ persistent luminescence in perovskites.

Strongly quantum confined ZnS quantum dots were synthesized and solar-blind deep ultraviolet photodetectors were fabricated via a solution process.

This article reports a new research method for oxygen vacancy regulation in microwave ceramics and its high frequency response mechanism.

A diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small bandgap polymer (DPPT-TT) with high mobility is introduced as an additive to D–A1–D–A2 type thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-based random copolymer (P3):(6,6)-phenyl-C₇₀-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) polymer solar cells (PSCs).

The assembled supercrystals induced by crosslinking of L-cysteine exhibit strong fluorescence, high stability and a PL lifetime of 642 ns.

Ring-closing of ROF⁺X⁻ generated biomimetic inverse proton gradient was successfully achieved via varying microenvironment for improved performance of water-jet rewritable paper.

The zero-thermal-quenching behavior at high temperature up to 225 °C was benefited from the carriers captured by deeper traps, which can be verified by thermoluminescence spectra.

A turn-on fluorescent probe based on Si-rhodamine for sensitive and selective detection of phosgene in solution and in the gas phase.

Previously unreported High-Entropy Alloy (HEA) superconductors in the pentanary (ZrNb)_1−x[MoReRu]_x, (HfTaWIr)_1−x[Re]_x, and (HfTaWPt)_1−x[Re]_x systems are described and characterized.

Gold nanocages are directly into PVDF nanofibers during electrospinning to greatly improve their performance in tactile and near-infrared sensing.

Multilayered magnetite-embedded core/shell silica/titania (SiO₂/TiO₂) nanoparticles with an outermost silica shell (SiO₂/TiO₂@Fe₃O₄/SiO₂) were synthesized and used to develop stimuli-responsive smart fluids.

In this article, we report a newly designed molecule, RhTPE, synthesized by fusing rhodamine with TPE, which realizes both emission color change and on/off switching.

Applying an external electric field can induce a transition from a type-I to a type-II band alignment in an α-tellurene/MoS₂ heterostructure.

Optimized white light emitting Ag,Mn:Zn–In–S quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized via a simple, scalable, reproducible, and low-cost one-pot non-injection synthetic approach.

Recently, carbon dots have emerged as novel luminous materials due to their excellent luminous performance.

A self-powered electronic-skin has been fabricated for real-time perspiration analysis of lactate, glucose, Na⁺, K⁺, urea and uric acid concentration.

Fluorescent carbon dots were synthesized by microwave irradiation of cyclen and citric acid to construct a ratiometric probe for tetracycline detection.

Beyond the ideal nanosphere dimer hotspot model, small morphology variations can have great influences on the plasmonic properties.

Non-doped OLEDs using phenanthroimidazole–acridine derivatives PhImAc and PhImEn were designed and fabricated. They display deep blue with the CIE (0.15, 0.07) and (0.15, 0.05).

Lightweight and biodegradable crosslinked CB/CPPC foams exhibit a remarkable nearly-linear negative temperature coefficient effect, which has great potential in temperature sensors.

High-performance multiple blend polymer solar cells (PSCs) were firstly achieved via a multiple cascade energy level engineering strategy. By introducing more different bandgap copolymers with the similar molecular backbones, steadier energy level alignment and more charge transfer channels in devices could be realized.

Improved breakdown strength and energy storage density of a core–shell structure with a high permittivity core and a highly insulating shell.

A nanoporous material bearing a high ion density and inherent organic radical character was synthesized by a facile one-pot process, which exhibits photo-, piezo- and chemochromism, driven by the diverse electron transfer processes between the acceptor framework and different electron donors.

The emission spectra of Bi³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ co-doped Ca₃Al₄ZnO₁₀ phosphors match well with the absorption spectra of plant pigments for indoor plant growth lighting.

The octahedral tilting approach used in this study will be useful for many more tungsten-bronze-type structures with similar pseudo-symmetry problems.

High energy storage density and high power density combined in novel BaTiO₃-based lead-free ceramics for multilayer ceramic capacitors.

Flexible CNT-based transparent conductive films with strong adhesion were continuously fabricated by a home-made roll-to-roll (R2R) spraying method and used as a smart window with switchable transparency.

In this study, we report a facile dip-coating printing method using a floating non-solvent technique to produce highly crystalline nanofibrils.

We report an up-conversion charging (UCC) technique, which offers a new way to study persistent luminescence and utilize persistent phosphors

The 2D-microdisk polymorphs of TPDSB exhibit a higher photoluminescence quantum yield (Φ), a lower laser threshold and a higher carrier mobility than 1D-microwire polymorphs.