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Self-powered photodetectors with broadband and polarization-sensitive photoresponse are desirable for many important applications such as wearable electronic devices and wireless communication systems. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have been demonstrated as promising candidates for self-powered photodetectors owing to their advantages in light–matter interaction, transport, electronic properties, and so on. However, their performance in speed, broadband response, and multifunction is still limited. Here, we report a PdSe2 photodetector with asymmetric van der Waals (vdWs) contacts formed by using a homojunction configuration. This device achieves a high responsivity approaching 53 mA/W, a rise/decay time of about 0.72 ms/0.24 ms, and a detectivity of more than 5.17 × 1011 Jones in the visible-near infrared regime (532–1470 nm). In addition, a linear polarization-sensitive response can be observed with an anisotropy ratio of 1.11 at 532 nm and 1.62 at 1064 nm. Furthermore, a strong anisotropic response endows this photodetector with outstanding polarization imaging capabilities, realizing a contrast-enhanced degree of linear polarization imaging. Our proposed device architecture demonstrated the great potential of PdSe2-based asymmetric vdWs contacts for high-performance photodetectors operating without any external bias.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted great attention in the field of photodetection due to their excellent electronic and optoelectronic properties. However, the weak optical absorption caused by atomically thin layers and the short lifetime of photocarriers limit their optoelectronic performance, especially for weak light detection. In this work, we design a high-gain photodetector induced by carrier recirculation based on a vertical InSe/GaSe heterojunction. In this architecture, the photogenerated holes are trapped in GaSe due to the built-in electric field, suppressing the recombination rate of photocarriers, so the electrons can recirculate for multiple times in the InSe channel following the generation of a single electron-hole pair, resulting a high photoconductive gain (10

Infrared machine vision system for object perception and recognition is becoming increasingly important in the Internet of Things era. However, the current system suffers from bulkiness and inefficiency as compared to the human retina with the intelligent and compact neural architecture. Here, we present a retina-inspired mid-infrared (MIR) optoelectronic device based on a two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure for simultaneous data perception and encoding. A single device can perceive the illumination intensity of a MIR stimulus signal, while encoding the intensity into a spike train based on a rate encoding algorithm for subsequent neuromorphic computing with the assistanceofanall-opticalexcitationmechanism, a stochastic near-infrared (NIR) sampling terminal. The device features wide dynamic working range, high encoding precision, and flexible adaption ability to the MIR intensity. Moreover, an inference accuracy more than 96% toMIR MNIST data set encoded by the device is achieved using a trained spiking neural network (SNN). Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Ministry of Education (MOE) National Medical Research Council (NMRC) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE-T2EP50120-0009 (Q.J.W.)), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) (A18A7b0058 (Q.J.W.) and A2090b0144 (Q.J.W.)), National Medical Research Council (NMRC) (021528- 00001 (Q.J.W.)), and National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF-CRP22-2019-0007 (Q.J.W.)), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB2802803 (N.C.)), the Natural Science Foundation of China Project (61925104 (N.C.), 62031011 (N.C.)) and Major Key Project of PCL (N.C.), and F.H. acknowledges the support from the China Scholarship Council.

Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) photodetection is important for heat-seeking technologies, such as thermal imaging, all-weather surveillance, and missile guidance. Among various detection techniques, photothermoelectric (PTE) detectors are promising in that they can realize ultra-broadband photodetection at room temperature without an external power supply. However, their performance in terms of speed, responsivity, and noise level in the LWIR regime still needs further improvement. Here, we demonstrated a high-performance PTE photodetector based on low-symmetry palladium selenide (PdSe2) with asymmetric van der Waals contacts. The temperature gradient induced by asymmetric van der Waals contacts even under global illumination drives carrier diffusion to produce a photovoltage via the PTE effect. A responsivity of over 13 V/W, a response time of ∼50 μs, and a noise equivalent power of less than 7 nW/Hz1/2 are obtained in the 4.6-10.5 μm regime at room temperature. Furthermore, due to the anisotropic absorption of PdSe2, the detector exhibits a linear polarization angle sensitive response with an anisotropy ratio of 2.06 at 4.6 μm and 1.21 at 10.5 μm, respectively. Our proposed device architecture provides an alternative strategy to design high-performance photodetectors in the LWIR regime by utilizing van der Waals layered materials. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) Accepted version This research was also supported partially by National Research Foundation Singapore program (NRF-CRP18- 2017-02 and NRF-CRP22-2019-0007) and Ministry of Education Tier 2 program (MOE2018-T2-1-176).

Filter-free miniaturized polarization-sensitive photodetectors based on anisotropic absorption in natural or artificial birefringent materials have important applications in the next-generation on-chip polarimeters. However, their polarization sensitivity, which is a key parameter based on polarization ratio (PR) and responsivity, is thus far limited by the intrinsic low diattenuation and inefficient photon-to-electron conversion. To tackle these challenges, we implement experimentally a miniaturized detector based on one-dimensional (1D) tellurium nanoribbon, which can significantly improve the photothermoelectric responses by translating the polarization-sensitive absorption into a large temperature gradient and combining the finite-size effect of perfect plasmonic absorber. Our devices work at room-temperature with a zero-bias responsivity of 410 V/W and an infinite polarization ratio (PR=∞). A peak polarization angle sensitivity of 7.10 V/W•degree, which is one order of magnitude higher than those reported in the literature, is observed in the long-wave infrared region (λ = 8.0 µm). The proposed device can simultaneously achieve full linear polarimetry detection of the power intensity, polarization angle, and linear polarization degree, with its simple geometrical configuration. To demonstrate its potentials in practical applications, we apply our polarization-sensitive photodetector to polarization-coded communication and optical strain measurement. Our work offers a feasible solution to develop miniaturized room-temperature photodetectors with ultrahigh polarization sensitivity at the long-wave infrared. The approach proposed here can be easily extended to other frequencies by simply adjusting the resonance wavelength of the plasmonic metamaterials.

Multilayer InSe is a promising material for high-performance optoelectronic applications because of its small direct band gap and good light absorption. However, as a photoconductive photodetector,...

Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) photodetection is important for heat-seeking technologies, such as thermal imaging, all-weather surveillance, and missile guidance. Among various detection techniques, photothermoelectric (PTE) detectors are promising in that they can realize ultra-broadband photodetection at room temperature without an external power supply. However, their performance in terms of speed, responsivity, and noise level in the LWIR regime still needs further improvement. Here, we demonstrated a high-performance PTE photodetector based on low-symmetry palladium selenide (PdSe

Van der Waals layered indium selenide (InSe) is an emerging star of the 2D semiconducting materials because of its excellent fundamental properties, such as ultrahigh carrier mobility, layer-tunable bandgap, large elastic deformability, and rich polytypes. In addition, 2D layered indium selenide has demonstrated outstanding device performance including photodetector, field-effect transistor, memory and synapse, mechanical and gas sensor, which has offered a new chance to next-generation electrical and optoelectronic devices. This review presents a comprehensive summary of recent progress in 2D layered indium selenide. The novel fundamental properties and synthetic methods are summarized. Also, the indium selenide-based state-of-the-art electronic/optoelectronic devices, such as a functional field-effect transistor, photodetector, and mechanical and gas sensors are systematically summarized. The techniques to enhance the performances of devices are also discussed. Finally, a brief discussion on the challenges and future opportunities as a guideline for this field is provided. This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (Grant No. 19ZR1473400), the NSAF Foundation of China (Grant No. U1830130), and the young scientist project of MOE innovation platform (Fudan University).

On-chip polarimeters are highly desirable for the next-generation ultra-compact optical and optoelectronic systems. Polarization-sensitive photodetectors relying on anisotropic absorption of natural/artificial materials have emerged as a promising candidate for on-chip polarimeters owing to their filterless configurations. However, these photodetectors can only be applied for detection of either linearly or circularly polarized light, not applicable for full-Stokes detection. Here, we propose and demonstrate three-ports polarimeters comprising on-chip chiral plasmonic metamaterial-mediated mid-infrared photodetectors for full-Stokes detection. By manipulating the spatial distribution of chiral metamaterials, we could convert polarization-resolved absorptions to corresponding polarization-resolved photovoltages of three ports through the photothermoelectric effect. We utilize the developed polarimeter in an imaging demonstration showing reliable ability for polarization reconstruction. Our work provides an alternative strategy for developing polarization-resolved photodetectors with a bandgap-independent operation range in the mid-infrared. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version This research was supported by National Research Foundation Singapore programme (NRF-CRP18-2017-02 (Q.J.W.) and NRF-CRP22-2019- 0007 (Q.J.W.)) and A*STAR grant number A18A7b0058 (Q.J.W.), A20E5c0095 (Y.L., Q.J.W.), and A2090b0144 (Q.J.W.)

Seebeck effect is one of the desirable pathways for developing advanced room-temperature (RT) broadband photothermoelectric (PTE) detectors, which are important for infrared spectroscopy applications. However, achieving high performance PTE detectors utilizing materials with high Seebeck coefficient remains a great challenge and further improvements are highly desired. Herein, we introduce a layered material SnSe with high Seebeck coefficient up to 507 ± 20 μV K−1 and further demonstrate an RT ultra-broadband PTE detector ranging from a visible region to a mid-infrared (MIR) region (0.532–13.2 μm). The detector yields a high responsivity of 0.47 V W−1 and a moderate response speed of 107 ms at an excitation wavelength of 8.1 μm at zero bias, which is comparable or higher than those parameters of the commercial products. Moreover, we have retrieved absorption fingerprints of molecular gases during MIR spectroscopy by using this detector owing to its wide response range, which illustrates great potential of this type of broadband high performance PTE detector toward advanced optoelectronics applications. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Research Foundation (NRF) Submitted/Accepted version This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant Nos. 61922005 and U1930105) and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (BNSF, Grant No. JQ20027). This research was also supported partially by the National Research Foundation Singapore programme (Nos. NRF-CRP19-2017-01 and NRF-CRP22-2019-0007) and A*STAR Grant Nos. A18A7b0058 and A2090b0144.

Biomimetic eyes, with their excellent imaging functions such as large fields of view and low aberrations, have shown great potentials in the fields of visual prostheses and robotics. However, high power consumption and difficulties in device integration severely restrict their rapid development. In this study, an artificial synaptic device consisting of a molybdenum disulfide (MoS

Self-powered photodetectors have attracted widespread attention due to their low power consumption which can be driven by the built-in electric field instead of external power, but it is very difficult to achieve high responsivity and fast response speed concurrently. Here, a self-powered photodetector with light-induced electric field enhancement based on a 2D InSe/WSe

We report a cost-efficient method to demonstrate the beam combining of five laser elements in an array of tunable slot waveguide quantum cascade lasers in the mid-infrared region at around 10 µm. An aspherical lens with five fine-tuned mini mirrors was employed to collimate the individual beams from the laser array. To verify the feasibility of this beam combining approach, the combined beams were coupled into a hollow-core fiber gas cell with a low numerical aperture (N.A.) of 0.03 and a coupling efficiency >= 0.82, for gas sensing of binary compound gases of ammonia and ethylene simultaneously. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version A*STAR grants (A18A7b0058, A2090b0144); National Research Foundation Singapore programme (NRF-CRP18-2017-02, NRF-CRP22-2019-0007).

The current practice involves blood sampling from the circuit line to measure acid-base and electrolyte parameters during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). However, there is limited evidence supporting its reliability due to the effects of anticoagulant mechanism and access recirculation associated with regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA).To evaluate the reliability of monitoring acid-base and electrolyte parameters through circuit lines in regular and reversed connections during RCA-CRRT.In this prospective cohort study, we included critically ill patients receiving RCA-CRRT via a double-lumen catheter. During the second hour after CRRT initiation, we collected blood samples to monitor acid-base and electrolyte parameters and their levels were compared between samples from the circuit lines (at 0, 3, and 5 minutes) and those from the central venous catheter (CVC) line (at 0 minute). During this time, CRRT switched to the replacement state as controls.We observed 128 CRRT circuits in 60 adult patients receiving RCA-CRRT. Ninety-eight (76.6%) circuits had regular connections, while 30 (23.4%) had reversed connections. Among regular connections, no differences were observed in any acid-base or electrolyte parameters between samples from the CVC line and those from the circuit line at all time points (P .05). Among reversed connections, ionized calcium levels were dramatically decreased at all three time points in samples from the circuit line compared with those from the CVC line (0.65 ± 0.12, 0.72 ± 0.11, and 0.78 ± 0.99 vs 0.98 ± 0.07 mmol/L, P .001), with comparable levels of other acid-base or electrolyte parameters between the sampling patterns (P .05).Acid-base and electrolyte parameters could be reliably monitored through the circuit line during RCA-CRRT in regular connections. However, in reversed connections, pre-filter ionized calcium concentrations determined through the circuit line were lower than those determined through the CVC line.We suggest sampling from arterial or CVC lines rather than from the circuit line in a reversed connection during RCA-CRRT.

IntroductionIntradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a frequent and serious complication of maintaining haemodialysis (HD) patients and associated with subsequent cardiovascular events and higher mortality. Furosemide is commonly used in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients and can effectively manage the volume and blood pressure. However, these agents are often discontinued on initiation of dialysis. Two large observational studies have demonstrated that furosemide can lower the rate of IDH episodes. However, there is still no randomised controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the efficacy and safety of furosemide for prevention of IDH in HD patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of furosemide in reducing IDH in HD patients with residual renal function.Methods and analysisA two-arm, parallel, multicente RCT will be conducted at 12 hospitals in China. An estimated sample of 560 HD patients will be recruited. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to treatment group (patients receive oral furosemide 80 mg/day; after a 2-week treatment, if their urine volume is less than 400 mL/day, the dose of furosemide is adjusted to 160 mg/day) and blank control group via a central randomisation system using 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome is the occurrence of IDH. Outcome assessors and data analysts will be blinded and participants will be asked not to reveal their allocation to assessors. The outcome analyses will be performed both on the intention-to-treat, which includes all patients randomised, and per-protocol population, which includes eligible patients who adhere to the planned treatment and follow-ups.Ethics and disseminationThe trial protocol has been approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (2019.385)Results will be presented at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberChiCTR2000039724.

Although single ultra-high-performance indicators have been achieved based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, the comprehensive performances of the photodetectors of them are not so desirable. The response speed and responsivity are two key figures of merit for photodetectors, while these two parameters are always mutually suppressive and can not be synchronously satisfied. Here, we proposed a feasible strategy that can simultaneously improve the responsivity and response speed of In2Se3-based photodetectors by applying the mechanical strain and producing the piezoresistive effect, which can synergistically modulate the band structure and boost the overall photodetecting performances. Through studying the optoelectronic properties of In2Se3 photodetector under strain modulations, we found that the responsivity under 0.65% tensile strain is improved by almost 68.6% on average, while responsivity under 0.65% compressive strain is lowered by about 57.3% in the wavelength range of 200-1000 nm. More importantly, the response speed of the In2Se3-based photodetector under two different mechanical strains rises distinctly (from 244 to 214 and 180 μs, accordingly). The strain-engineering can accommodate the band structure and enhance the electric and optical properties of the semiconducting crystals, ultimately realizing high-performance photodetectors. The strategy proposed in this work for improving the performance of photodetectors provides a promising route to practical applications in next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Tin disulfide (SnS2) has a larger band gap (>2.0 eV) than other two-dimensional (2D) materials, which can achieve a higher on/off current ratio, a much lower off-current, and standby power dissipat...

Polarization-resolved photodetection in a compact footprint is of great interest for ultraminiaturized polarimeters to be used in a wide range of applications. However, probing the states of polarization (SOP) in materials with natural anisotropy are usually weak, limited by the material's natural dichroism or diattenuation. Here, a twisted unipolar-barrier van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) to construct a bias-switchable polarization detection for retrieval of full SOP (from 0 to 180°) for linear polarized incident light is reported. As a demonstration example, this study realizes the concept in a b-AsP/WS2 /b-AsP vdWH relying on the natural anisotropic properties of the materials without using additional plasmonic/metasurface nanostructures to realize linear polarimetry in the mid-infrared range. Polarimetric imaging is further demonstrated with the developed linear polarimetry by directly displaying the Jones-vector-described SOP distribution of certain target object. This method, with the capabilities of detecting full linear SOP, is promising for the next-generation on-chip miniaturized polarimeters. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Research Foundation (NRF) Submitted/Accepted version This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant Nos. 61922005 and U1930105) and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (BNSF, Grant No. JQ20027). This research was also supported partially by National Research Foundation Singapore programme (NRF-CRP19-2017-01 and NRF-CRP22-2019-0007) and A*STAR Grant Nos. A18A7b0058 and A2090b0144.

Self-powered photodetectors with great potential for implanted medical diagnosis and smart communications have been severely hindered by the difficulty of simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and fast response speed. Here, we report an ultrafast and highly sensitive self-powered photodetector based on two-dimensional (2D) InSe, which is achieved by applying a device architecture design and generating ideal Schottky or ohmic contacts on 2D layered semiconductors, which are difficult to realize in the conventional semiconductors owing to their surface Fermi-level pinning. The as-fabricated InSe photodiode features a maximal lateral self-limited depletion region and a vertical fully depleted channel. It exhibits a high detectivity of 1.26 × 1013 Jones and an ultrafast response speed of ∼200 ns, which breaks the response speed limit of reported self-powered photodetectors based on 2D semiconductors. The high sensitivity is achieved by an ultralow dark current noise generated from the robust van der Waals (vdW) Schottky junction and a high photoresponsivity due to the formation of a maximal lateral self-limited depletion region. The ultrafast response time is dominated by the fast carrier drift driven by a strong built-in electric field in the vertical fully depleted channel. This device architecture can help us to design high-performance photodetectors utilizing vdW layered semiconductors.

Solar-blind photodetectors have widespread applications due to the unique merit of a "black background" on the earth. However, most solar-blind photodetectors reported previously exhibited quite low rejection ratios (R200nm/R280nm 103 and R220nm/R290nm > 104), a low dark current (102 fA), and a large detectivity (3.9 × 1010 Jones). It is noteworthy that the rejection ratio (R220nm/R290nm) here is superior to most of those previously reported based on traditional semiconductors. This large-scale, clean, and uniform multilayer h-BN film will contribute to the progress of next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Multilayer InSe is a promising material for high-performance optoelectronic applications because of its small direct band gap and good light absorption. However, as a photoconductive photodetector, multilayer InSe photodetectors endure large dark current and high driving power. In this work, we study the electrical properties of InGaSe alloys and demonstrate the high-performance devices based on multilayer InSe-In

Mixed-dimension van der Waals (vdW) p-n heterojunction photodiodes have inspired worldwide efforts to combine the excellent properties of 2D materials and traditional semiconductors without consideration of lattice mismatch. However, owing to the scarcity of intrinsic p-type semiconductors and insufficient optical absorption of the few layer 2D materials, a high performance photovoltaic device based on a vdW heterojunction is still lacking. Here, a novel mixed-dimension vdW heterojunction consisting of 1D p-type Se nanotubes and a 2D flexible n-type InSe nanosheet is proposed by a facile method, and the device shows excellent photovoltaic characteristics. Due to the superior properties of the hybrid p-n junction, the mix-dimensional van der Waals heterojunction exhibited high on/off ratios (103) at a relatively weak light intensity of 3 mW cm-2. And a broadband self-powered photodetector ranging from the UV to visible region is achieved. The highest responsivity of the device could reach up to 110 mA W-1 without an external energy supply. This value is comparable to that of the pristine Se device at 5 V and InSe device at 0.1 V, respectively. Furthermore, the response speed is enhanced by one order of magnitude over the single Se or InSe device even at a bias voltage. This work paves a new way for the further development of high performance, low cost, and energy-efficient photodetectors by using mixed-dimensional vdW heterostructures.

Recent discovery of piezoelectricity that existed in two-dimensional (2D) layered materials represents a key milestone for flexible electronics and miniaturized and wearable devices. However, so far the reported piezoelectricity in these 2D layered materials is too weak to be used for any practical applications. In this work, we discovered that grain boundaries (GBs) in monolayer MoS2 can significantly enhance its piezoelectric property. The output power of piezoelectric devices made of the butterfly-shaped monolayer MoS2 was improved about 50% by the GB-induced piezoelectric effect. The enhanced piezoelectricity is attributed to the additional piezoelectric effect induced by the existence of deformable GBs which can promote polarization and generates spontaneous polarization with different piezoelectric coefficients along various directions. We further made a flexible piezoelectric device based on the 2D MoS2 with the GBs and demonstrated its potential application in self-powered precision sensors for in situ detecting pressure changes in human blood for health monitoring.

Multilayer van der Waals (vdWs) semiconductors have great promising application in high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the photoconductive photodetectors based on layered semiconductors often suffer from large dark current and high external driven bias voltage. Here, we report a vertical van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) consisting of multilayer indium selenide (InSe) and tellurium (Te). The multilayer InSe-Te vdWHs device shows a record high forward rectification ratio greater than 107 at room temperature. Furthermore, an ultrasensitive and broadband photoresponse photodetector is achieved by the vdWHs device with an ultrahigh photo/dark current ratio over 104, a high detectivity of 1013, and a comparable responsivity of 0.45 A/W under visible light illumination with weak incident power. Moreover, the vdWHs device has a photovoltaic effect and can function as a self-powered photodetector (SPPD). The SPPD is also ultrasensitive to the broadband spectra ranging from 300 nm to 1000 nm and is capable of detecting weak light signals. This work offers an opportunity to develop next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices based on multilayer vdWs structures., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

Recent discovery of piezoelectricity that existed in two-dimensional (2D) layered materials represents a key milestone for flexible electronics and miniaturized and wearable devices. However, so far the reported piezoelectricity in these 2D layered materials is too weak to be used for any practical applications. In this work, we discovered that grain boundaries (GBs) in monolayer MoS

A dual-band self-powered photodetector (SPPD) with high sensitivity is realized by a facile combination of InSe Schottky diode and Au plasmonic nanoparticle (NP) arrays. Comparing with pristine InSe devices, InSe/Au photodetectors possess an additional capability of photodetection in visible to near-infrared (NIR) region. This intriguing phenomenon is attributed to the wavelength selective enhancement of pristine responsivities by hybridized quadrupole plasmons resonance of Au NPs. It is worth pointing out that the maximum of enhancement ratio in responsivity reaches up to ∼1200% at a wavelength of 685 nm. In addition, owing to a large Schottky barrier difference formed between active layer and two asymmetric electrodes, the responsivities of dual-band InSe/Au photodetector could reach up to 369 and 244 mA/W at the wavelength of 365 and 685 nm under zero bias voltage, respectively. This work would provide an additional opportunity for developing multifunctional photodetectors with high performance based on two-dimensional materials, upgrading their capacity of photodetection in a complex environment.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, such as MoS2, are greatly attractive for flexible devices due to their unique layered structures, novel physical and electronic properties, and high mechanical strength. However, their limited mechanical strains (

Here, we report electronic and optoelectronic performance of multilayer In2Se3 are effectively regulated by phase engineering. The electron mobility is increased to 22.8 cm2 V-1 s-1 for β-In2Se3 FETs, which is 18 times higher than 1.26 cm2 V-1 s-1 of α-In2Se3 FETs. The enhanced electronic performance is attributed to larger carrier sheet density and lower contact resistance. Multilayer β-In2Se3 photodetector exhibits an ultrahigh responsivity of 8.8 × 104 A/W under 800 nm illumination, which is 574 times larger than 154.4 A/W of α-In2Se3 photodetector. Our results demonstrate phase-engineering is a valid way to tune and further optimize electronic and optoelectronic performance of multilayer In2Se3 nanodevices.

The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has attracted increasing attention in the field of hydrogen-based economy, whereat developing cheap and efficient catalysts to reduce the use of Pt-based catalysts is highly required. Tin disulfide (SnS2) as a new rising star has exhibited intriguing properties in energy storage and conversion applications, while showing slow progress in HER due to the inherent poor activity. Herein, we demonstrate the successful structural engineering and simultaneous integration of trace amount Pt in SnS2 nanosheets via a facile and effective in situ cycling voltammetry activation process, leading to the efficiently synergistic HER. Defect-rich SnS2 nanosheets decorated with a trace amount (0.37 wt %) of Pt exhibit greatly enhanced HER activity due to the synergy between them, revealing low onset potential of 32 mV and overpotential of 117 mV at 10 mA/cm2, small Tafel slope of 69 mV/dec, and large exchange current density of 394.46 μA/cm2. Present work provides an i...

The development trend of modern electronics and optoelectronics is towards continuous high integration and miniaturization. Using vertical configurations with three-dimensional geometry, it is easy to establish a higher integration density than the traditional planar one, and thus, this technology shows great promise for designing the next-generation electronics/optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) layered metal dichalcogenides (2D-LMDs) are important building blocks for electronic/optoelectronic devices, where they are usually grown in parallel to the substrates during chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and consequently they are solely exploited to fabricate lateral structure devices with planar geometry. In this research, for the first time the vertical growth of free standing 2D layered nanosheets of hexagonal tin disulfide (SnS2) on a flat substrate was realized using a modified CVD method. Furthermore, it was successfully demonstrated, at the first attempt, that a type of non-planar vertical photodetector could be fabricated using free standing SnS2 nanosheets and this detector showed promise for photodetection applications. This work prepares the way for the growth of monodisperse vertical 2D-LMD nanosheets on flat substrates, and expands their use from conventional lateral structure devices to non-planar vertical electronic/optoelectronic devices.

Although single ultra-high-performance indicators have been achieved based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, the comprehensive performances of the photodetectors of them are not so desirable. The response speed and responsivity are two key figures of merit for photodetectors, while these two parameters are always mutually suppressive and can not be synchronously satisfied. Here, we proposed a feasible strategy that can simultaneously improve the responsivity and response speed of In

Piezoelectric two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdWs) materials are highly desirable for applications in miniaturized and flexible/wearable devices. However, the reverse-polarization between adjacent layers in current 2D layered materials results in decreasing their in-plane piezoelectric coefficients with layer number, which limits their practical applications. Here, we report a class of 2D layered materials with an identical orientation of in-plane polarization. Their piezoelectric coefficients (e22) increase with layer number, thereby allowing for the fabrication of flexible piezotronic devices with large piezoelectric responsivity and excellent mechanical durability. The piezoelectric outputs can reach up to 0.363 V for a 7-layer α-In2Se3 device, with a current responsivity of 598.1 pA for 1% strain, which is 1 order of magnitude higher than the values of the reported 2D piezoelectrics. The self-powered piezoelectric sensors made of these newly developed 2D layered materials have been successfully used for real-time health monitoring, proving their suitability for the fabrication of flexible piezotronic devices due to their large piezoelectric responses and excellent mechanical durability.

The piezo-phototronic effect has been promising as an effective means to improve the performance of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor based optoelectronic devices. However, the current reported monolayer 2D semiconductors are not regarded as suitable for actual flexible piezotronic photodetectors due to their insufficient optical absorption and mechanical durability, although they possess strong piezoelectricity. In this work, we demonstrate that, unlike 2H-phase transition-metal dichalcogenides, γ-phase InSe with a hexagonal unit cell possesses broken inversion symmetry in all the layer numbers and has a strong second-harmonic generation effect. Moreover, driven by the piezo-phototronic effect, a flexible self-powered photodetector based on multilayer γ-InSe, which can work without any energy supply, is proposed. The device exhibited ultrahigh photon responsivity of 824 mA/W under light illuminations of 400 nm (0.368 mW/cm2). Moreover, the responsivity and response speed of this photodetector were enhanced further by as much as 696% and 1010%, respectively, when a 0.62% uniaxial tensile strain was applied. Our devices exhibit high reliability and stability during a 6 month test time. These significant findings offer a promising pathway to construct high-performance flexible piezo-phototronic photodetectors based on multilayer 2D semiconductors.

Multilayer InSe has emerged as a promising candidate for applications in novel electronic and optoelectronic devices due to its direct bandgap, high electron mobility, and excellent photoresponse with a broad response range. Here, we report synthesis of superlattice InSe nanosheets by simple thermal annealing for the first time. The mobility is increased to 299.1 cm

A novel photo-Fenton catalyst named Ag/AgCl/MIL-101(Fe) was synthesized by the method of precipitation and photo reduction and characterized by X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the synthesized catalyst was tested using methylene blue (MB) as the target pollutant. The obtained results illustrated that the plasmonic material Ag/AgCl was successfully loaded on MIL-101(Fe) and the obtained catalyst exhibited an excellent catalytic activity under visible light at the neutral pH. According to the analyses of Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design, the optimum conditions for MB degradation were obtained. Under these conditions, the MB decolorization and mineralization efficiencies could reach to 99.75% and 65.43%, respectively. The recycling experiments also showed that the as-prepared catalyst displayed good reusability. In addition, the possible reaction mechanisms for the heterogeneous photo-Fenton system catalyzed by Ag/AgCl/MIL-101(Fe) were derived. The synthesized catalyst provides a promising approach to degrade organic pollutants in waste water.

Two dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has attracted extensive attention due to its high thermal and chemical stability, excellent dielectric characteristic, and unique optical properties. However, the chemical vapor deposition synthesis of 2D h-BN is not fully explored, such as morphology regulation and size control. Here we demonstrate the growth of 2D h-BN single domains on Cu/Ni alloy via atmospheric chemical vapor deposition (APCVD). We discover that the shape of the as-grown h-BN single domains can be controlled from triangles, hexagons, to circles by adjusting the Ni content of the Cu/Ni substrates. Moreover, we find out that increasing the nickel content can suppress the nucleation density while the average domain size is accordingly improved. The grown single-crystalline h-BN demonstrates ultralow dark current about 0.9 pA and outstanding ultraviolet response with the responsivity up to 5.45 mAW-1. The response time are 376 and 198 ms. Our work sheds light on the controllable synthesis of 2D h-BN and promotes its applications in high ultraviolet detection.

The electronic and optoelectronic properties of 2D alloy Ga

Two-dimensional (2D) In

Here, we report electronic and optoelectronic performance of multilayer In

The development trend of modern electronics and optoelectronics is towards continuous high integration and miniaturization. Using vertical configurations with three-dimensional geometry, it is easy to establish a higher integration density than the traditional planar one, and thus, this technology shows great promise for designing the next-generation electronics/optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) layered metal dichalcogenides (2D-LMDs) are important building blocks for electronic/optoelectronic devices, where they are usually grown in parallel to the substrates during chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and consequently they are solely exploited to fabricate lateral structure devices with planar geometry. In this research, for the first time the vertical growth of free standing 2D layered nanosheets of hexagonal tin disulfide (SnS

Miniaturization of device elements, such as ferroelectric diodes, depends on the downscaling of ferroelectric film, which is also crucial for developing high‐density information storage technologies of ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs). Recently emerged ferroelectric two‐dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdWs) layered materials bring an additional opportunity to further increase the density of FeRAMs. A lateral, switchable rectifier is designed and fabricated based on atomically thin 2D α‐In2Se3 ferroelectric diodes, thus breaking the thickness limitation of conventional ferroelectric films and achieving an unprecedented level of miniaturization. This is realized through the interrelated coupling between out‐of‐plane and in‐plane dipoles at room temperature; that is, horizontal polarization reversal can be effectively controlled through a vertical electric field. Being further explored as a switchable rectifier, the obtained maximum value of rectification ratio for the α‐In2Se3 based ferroelectric diode can reach up to 2.5 × 103. These results indicate that 2D ferroelectric semiconductors can offer a pathway to develop next‐generation multifunctional electronics.

Controllably selective growth of two-dimensional (2D) layered single crystals plays an important role for their applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Among these 2D materials, indium selenide (InxSey), especially InSe and In2Se3, are typical III-VI compound semiconductors which have attracted particular attention due to their excellent electronic transport properties, photoresponse and nonlinear effect. However, controllably selective growth of 2D InSe and In2Se3 by a common method is still a great challenge due to the existence of various stoichiometric substances and crystalline phases of each substance in the indium selenide system. Here, we demonstrate a temperature-dependent chemical vapor transport (CVT) strategy to synthesize few-layer β-InSe and α-In2Se3 single crystals at 400 °C and 450 °C on mica substrate, respectively. A few-layer β-InSe photodetector was fabricated, which displayed high sensitivity to a broad photoresponse range from visible light (500 nm) to near infrared light (850 nm) with a high responsivity of 2103 A W−1 and detectivity of 4.25 × 1012 Jones illuminated by 500 nm. Moreover, we first demonstrate the piezo-phototronic effect of 2D α-In2Se3. The photodetection performance of α-In2Se3 photodetector was increased by 35% with a uniaxial tensile strain of 0.44% under 700 nm light. Our work demonstrates that few-layer β-InSe and α-In2Se3 single crystals can not only be synthesized selectively, but also exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties, which paves a way for their application in optoelectronic and flexible devices.

Two-dimensional (2D) In2Se3 with unique optical and electrical properties has great potential in next generation optoelectronics and multilevel phase-change memories. Here, for the first time, we report high-performance rigid and flexible photodetectors based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown 2D In2Se3. Both rigid and flexible 2D In2Se3 photodetectors show a broadband response range from ultraviolet (254 nm) to visible light (700 nm). High photoresponsivities of 578 and 363 A · W-1 are achieved using rigid and flexible 2D In2Se3 photodetectors, respectively, under 700 nm light illumination, which are higher than those of photodetectors based on mechanically exfoliated 2D In2Se3 and physical vapor deposition grown 2D In2Se3. Furthermore, flexible 2D In2Se3 photodetectors show good mechanical durability and photoresponse stability under repeated bending tests. A high and stable photoresponse provides an opportunity for CVD-grown 2D In2Se3 applications in flexible optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), have attracted tremendous interest due to their atom-thickness structures and excellent physical properties. h-BN has predominant advantages as the dielectric substrate in FET devices due to its outstanding properties such as chemically inert surface, being free of dangling bonds and surface charge traps, especially the large-band-gap insulativity. h-BN involved vertical heterostructures have been widely exploited during the past few years. Such heterostructures adopting h-BN as dielectric layers exhibit enhanced electronic performance, and provide further possibilities for device engineering. Besides, a series of intriguing physical phenomena are observed in certain vertical heterostructures, such as superlattice potential induced replication of Dirac points, band gap tuning, Hofstadter butterfly states, gate-dependent pseudospin mixing. Herein we focus on the rapid developments of h-BN synthesis and fabrication of vertical heterostructures devices based on h-BN, and review the novel properties as well as the potential applications of the heterostructures composed of h-BN.