A new phototransistor based on the mechanically exfoliated single-layer MoS(2) nanosheet is fabricated, and its light-induced electric properties are investigated in detail. Photocurrent generated from the phototransistor is solely determined by the illuminated optical power at a constant drain or gate voltage. The switching behavior of photocurrent generation and annihilation can be completely finished within ca. 50 ms, and it shows good stability. Especially, the single-layer MoS(2) phototransistor exhibits a better photoresponsivity as compared with the graphene-based device. The unique characteristics of incident-light control, prompt photoswitching, and good photoresponsivity from the MoS(2) phototransistor pave an avenue to develop the single-layer semiconducting materials for multifunctional optoelectronic device applications in the future.

The future development of chemistry entails environmentally friendly and energy sustainable alternatives for organic transformations. Visible light photocatalysis can address these challenges, as reflected by recent intensive scientific endeavours to this end. This review covers state-of-the-art accomplishments in visible-light-induced selective organic transformations by heterogeneous photocatalysis. The discussion comprises three sections based on the photocatalyst type: metal oxides such as TiO2, Nb2O5 and ZnO; plasmonic photocatalysts like nanostructured Au, Ag or Cu supported on metal oxides; and polymeric graphitic carbon nitride. Finally, recent strides in bridging the gap between photocatalysis and other areas of catalysis will be highlighted with the aim of overcoming the existing limitations of photocatalysis by developing more creative synthetic methodologies.

Flexible, compact, ultrathin and all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors are prepared by coating H₃PO₄/PVA gel electrolyte onto micro-patterned rGO interdigitated electrodes prepared by combining photolithography with selective electrophoretic deposition.

Stretchable conductors developed through structural and materials engineering are contributing to the realization of next-generation soft electronic devices for healthcare and soft-robotics.

Highly stretchable, integrated, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film supercapacitors are prepared by combining directly grown SWCNT films with continuous reticulate architecture with polydimethylsiloxane with enhanced prestrain. The performance of the prepared stretchable supercapacitors remains nearly unchanged even during the stretching process under 120% strain.

The electrodes with the hierarchical nanoarchitectures could offer a huge increase in energy storage capacity. However, the ability to achieve such hierarchical architectures on a multiple scale still has remained a great challenge. In this paper, we report a scalable self-assembly strategy to create bioinspired hierarchical structures composed of functionalized graphene sheets to work as anodes of lithium-ion batteries. The resulting electrodes with novel multilevel architectures simultaneously optimize ion transport and capacity, leading to a high performance of reversible capacity of up to 1600 mAh/g, and 1150 mAh/g after 50 cycles. Importantly, the process to fabricate such hierarchical structures is facile, low-cost, green, and scalable, providing a universal approach for the rational design and engineering of electrode materials with enhanced performance, and it may have utility in various applications, including biological scaffold, catalysis, and sensors.

We report an environment-friendly approach to synthesize transition metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets hybrids by combining the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) with the growth of metal oxide NPs in one step. Either Fe2O3 or CoO NPs were grown onto rGO sheets in ethanol solution through a solvothermal process, during which GOs were reduced to rGO without the addition of any strong reducing agent, e.g. hydrazine, or requiring any post-high-temperature annealing process. The GO or rGO during the precipitation of metal oxide NPs may act as heterogeneous nucleation seeds to facilitate the formation of small crystal grains. This may allow more efficient diffusion of Li ions and lead to high specific capacities. These metal oxide NPs-rGO hybrids were used as anodes for Li-ion batteries, which showed high capacities and excellent charge-discharge cycling stability in the voltage window between 0.01 and 3.0 V. For example, Fe2O3 NPs/rGO hybrids showed specific capacity of 881 mA h g(-1) in the 90th cycle at a discharge current density of 302 mA g(-1) (0.3 C), while CoO NPs/rGO hybrids showed a lower capacity of 600 mA h g(-1) in the 90th cycle at a discharge current density of 215 mA g(-1) (0.3 C). These nanohybrids also show excellent capacities at high C rate currents, e.g. 611 mA h g(-1) for Fe2O3/rGO sample in the 300th cycle at 2014 mA g(-1) (2 C). Such synthesis technique can be a promising route to produce advanced electrode materials for Li-ion batteries.

Silver/copper-filament-based resistive switching memory relies on the formation and disruption of a metallic conductive filament (CF) with relatively large surface-to-volume ratio. The nanoscale CF can spontaneously break after formation, with a lifetime ranging from few microseconds to several months, or even years. Controlling and predicting the CF lifetime enables device engineering for a wide range of applications, such as non-volatile memory for data storage, tunable short/long term memory for synaptic neuromorphic computing, and fast selection devices for crosspoint arrays. However, conflictive explanations for the CF retention process are being proposed. Here we show that the CF lifetime can be described by a universal surface-limited self-diffusion mechanism of disruption of the metallic CF. The surface diffusion process provides a new perspective of ion transport mechanism at the nanoscale, explaining the broad range of reported lifetimes, and paving the way for material engineering of resistive switching device for memory and computing applications.