No abstract

Fast and reliable DNA sequencing is a long-standing target in biomedical research. Recent advances in graphene-based electrical sensors have demonstrated their unprecedented sensitivity to adsorbed molecules, which holds great promise for label-free DNA sequencing technology. To date, the proposed sequencing approaches rely on the ability of graphene electric devices to probe molecular-specific interactions with a graphene surface. Here we experimentally demonstrate the use of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) as probes of the presence of a layer of individual DNA nucleobases adsorbed on the graphene surface. We show that GFETs are able to measure distinct coverage-dependent conductance signatures upon adsorption of the four different DNA nucleobases; a result that can be attributed to the formation of an interface dipole field. Comparison between experimental GFET results and synchrotron-based material analysis allowed prediction of the ultimate device sensitivity, and assessment of the feasibility of single nucleobase sensing with graphene.

The search for lead‐free alternatives to lead‐halide perovskite photovoltaic materials resulted in the discovery of copper(I)‐silver(I)‐bismuth(III) halides exhibiting promising properties for optoelectronic applications. The present work demonstrates a solution‐based synthesis of uniform CuxAgBiI4+x thin films and scrutinizes the effects of x on the phase composition, dimensionality, optoelectronic properties, and photovoltaic performance. Formation of pure 3D CuAgBiI5 at x = 1, 2D Cu2AgBiI6 at x = 2, and a mix of the two at 1 < x < 2 is demonstrated. Despite lower structural dimensionality, Cu2AgBiI6 has broader optical absorption with a direct bandgap of 1.89 ± 0.05 eV, a valence band level at ‐5.25 eV, improved carrier lifetime, and higher recombination resistance as compared to CuAgBiI5. These differences are mirrored in the power conversion efficiencies of the CuAgBiI5 and Cu2AgBiI6 solar cells under 1 sun of 1.01 ± 0.06% and 2.39 ± 0.05%, respectively. The latter value is the highest reported for this class of materials owing to the favorable film morphology provided by the hot‐casting method. Future performance improvements might emerge from the optimization of the Cu2AgBiI6 layer thickness to match the carrier diffusion length of ≈40–50 nm. Nonencapsulated Cu2AgBiI6 solar cells display storage stability over 240 days.

A TiO2|Co3O4|MoO3 all‐oxide solar cell produced by spray pyrolysis and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto a fluorine‐doped tin‐oxide (FTO) glass substrate with gold (Au) back contacts is demonstrated for the first time. A combinatorial approach is implemented to study the effect of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) as a recombination contact and the influence of the cobalt oxide (Co3O4) light‐absorber thickness on the performance of the solar cells. An increase of more than 200 mV in the open circuit voltage (Voc) is observed with a concurrent enhancement in terms of short‐circuit current (Jsc) and maximum power in comparison with TiO2|Co3O4 devices without the MoO3 layer. To understand the mechanism, full drift diffusion simulations are performed. The higher performance is attributed to elimination of a recombination process at the absorber/metal back‐contact interface and surface passivation by the MoO3 layer.