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The Bowei Research Conference (BRC) series, established by Mr. Bowei Lee in Taiwan, provides a platform for young scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to network and exchange ideas. The article highlights past conferences, such as BRC-2 and BRC-3, and the upcoming BRC-4 conference with the theme "The Magic of Synthesis - New Frontiers of Molecular Architecture." The LCY Group and the LCY Education Foundation organize and sponsor the BRC series. The opening ceremony of BRC-4 featured distinguished guests, a buffet dinner, and traditional Chinese music, emphasizing the importance of chemistry in solving global challenges and promoting innovation. Keynote lectures covered topics like sustainable chemistry, natural product synthesis, and molecular machines, providing valuable insights into advancements in the field. The conference also included a poster session and retreat activities, and the next conference, BRC-5, will focus on "The Magic of Chemical Biology." [Extracted from the article]

The versatility of advanced microscopy and spectroscopy is demonstrated by the wide range of applications that span across the Materials Science/Life Science boundary. It underpins the push for high-resolution correlative, three-dimensional and time resolved characterisation of organic and inorganic as well as composite materials that play key roles in the development e.g. of new drugs and medical treatments as well as environmentally friendly and energetically efficient alternatives to current material systems and the cultural heritage. This addresses some of the most urgent topics of our society such as sustainable health care and climate change and provides important contributions to the protection of cultural artifacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The table of contents for the September 1, 2016 issue of the periodical "Physica Status Solidi: A: Applications & Materials Science," is presented.

The table of contents for the August 5, 2015 issue of the periodical "Advanced Energy Materials" is presented.

The table of contents for the March 2015 issue of the "Physica Status Solidi. A: Applications and Materials Science" is pesented.

The table of contents for the September 2014 issue of "Physica Status Solidi. A: Applications & Materials Science" is presented.

The table of contents for the May 2014 issue of the journal "Advanced Functional Materials" is presented.

The article presents the front and back cover and table of contents of the journal and provides an overview of the articles featured in the journal.

The materials we use today for mechanical design are the outcome of at least 3000 years of development, much of it empirical but much the outcome of systematic science. Both approaches have been motivated by the desire for stiffer, stronger, more durable, and lighter structures, progressively populating material property ''space''. We first examine the extent to which this space is now filled and estimate the ultimate constraints on this filling. Strategies for expanding the filled regions further include hybrid material design-making materials by combining two or more monolithic materials in chosen configurations and connectivity. Here we explore two classes of hybrid-lattice materials and sandwich structures-developing ways of comparing their properties with those of conventional monolithic materials. The comparison reveals the potential of hybrids. This paper builds on ideas that have grown from a long and rewarding collaboration with Tony Evans with whom it has been a privilege to have worked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship of the properties of the hyperspherical harmonics with the analysis of crystallographic orientation information and the orientation distribution functions (ODF). It provides an addition theorem for the hyperspherical harmonics and an exact expressions for the matrices that determine the effect of rotations on the hyperspherical harmonics. It indicates a possible increase in the use of the hypersherical harmonic expansion for the crystallography community and the materials science community as a whole.

We here present the results of the first materials science analyses obtained with the prototype of a serial block-face sectioning and imaging tool, 3View™ of Gatan, Inc (Pleasanton, CA, U.S.A.). It is a specially designed ultramicrotome operating in situ within an environmental scanning electron microscope originally developed for life science research. The microtome removes thin slices from the sample and the environmental scanning electron microscope images each new block surface of the specimen (serial block-face scanning electron microscopy). The Schottky emitter (FEG) of the microscope delivers high spatial resolution and has the advantage of stable performance and high durability. The slice thickness can typically be selected between 50 and 100 nm. It is possible to cut hundreds of slices and simultaneously acquire images with Digital Micrograph™ Model 700 (Gatan, Inc.). This article outlines the set-up and describes the automated process. The preparation of specimens for in situ ultramicrotomy is explained and the parameters for good image quality are discussed. In addition, special operative and analytic features of the controlling software are presented. Three different technical materials and one botanical specimen were analyzed delivering first results of this method for materials science and for botany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present application of computer algebra is reviewed for its use in physical and quantum chemistry. After the rapid development of a great deal of numerical algorithms and codes during the past five decades, it is time that symbolic techniques become available in the chemical sciences. A careful implementation of such symbolic methods will make many tasks more efficient and will facilitate the investigation of many quantum systems. Following a brief account of the advantages and specific requests of applying computer algebra in chemistry and physics, emphasis is placed in this contribution on the BETHE program, a recently developed tool for using point-group symmetries in various fields of chemistry, including molecular spectroscopy, ligand-field theory, and material science, or even for the construction of molecular wave functions. Besides the great promise of symbolic techniques for modern research, their merits for education are pointed out, as computer algebra systems are likely to replace the traditional program languages in the undergraduate programs of chemistry and physics. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to materials science. One of the papers analyzes and compares the pH value, the conductivity, the particle size distribution and the surface characteristics of grey and white Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and Portland Cement. Another paper examines the effect of condensation pressure after mixing on the surface hardness, micro-structure and compressive strength of MTA. The topic of discussion in another paper is to determine the chemical composition of eleven commercially available gutta-percha materials for root canal filling and evaluate the differences between cold and warm gutta-percha products.

Sintering with zero radial shrinkage of low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) was investigated by means of loading dilatometry. The results indicate that constant compressive loads tend to produce either decreased or increased radial shrinkages, and this can vary as a function of density, depending on the magnitude of the applied stresses. Coupling the real-time applied uniaxial load to the radial strain of cylindrical samples afforded a sintering scheme where the radial strain was precisely kept near zero (±0.02%). This approach possibly perfects an existing hot-pressing technique for zeroshrinkage sintering technology of LTCC materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanograined BaTiO3 ceramics prepared from 40-nm-size BaTiO3 nanopowders exhibited the cubic as well as the tetragonal phase, while nanograined BaTiO3 ceramics prepared from BaTiO3 nanopowders coated with Mn had only the tetragonal phase. The dielectric constant of the latter was 10 times larger than that of the former; the latter exhibited PTCR behavior with a resistivity jump ratio of about 5.0 × 104. These physical properties of the BaTiO3 ceramics appeared to be significantly affected by the strain near grain boundaries; such strain resulted in a phase transition from the cubic to the tetragonal phase in the nanograined BaTiO5 ceramics, even though the grain size was about 40 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“…︁ Taiwan has successfully developed semiconductor, and information and communication technology industries that earned Taiwan a good reputation and brought prosperity to the country. Now Taiwan has recognized the need for a disruptive change that will require the establishment of new industries. Basic research remains the major focus of the chemistry community …︁” Read more in the Editorial by Chi‐Huey Wong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are combined with a butyl acrylate/methyl methacrylate emulsion polymerization formulation in situ to form nanocomposite adhesives. The addition of CNCs provides a means to simultaneously increase tack, peel strength and shear strength. Further details can be found in the article by Zahra Dastjerdi, Emily D. Cranston and Marc A. Dubé, article number 1700013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the journal's commitment to conduct peer review of significant results in all fields of solid state physics and materials science, from basic science to applications and devices. The approval needed by the journal from at least two independent referees is mentioned. It cites the main categories of the journal which include original papers and feature and review articles.

Among electronic devices, flash memory is one of the most aggressively scaled technologies, already approaching minimum limits of miniaturization. The nano‐floating‐gate memory (NFGM), which is based on semiconductor or metal nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric matrix, is regarded as one promising route for future nonvolatile memory applications. In their article on pp. 2446–2451, Ilse et al. present a new fabrication process for multilayers of silicon nanoparticles (Si–NPs) embedded in amorphous Al2O3, combining a nonthermal low‐pressure inductively coupled plasma process (LPICP) for Si–NPs and thermalatomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3. This low‐temperature process provides some advantages compared to common fabrication techniques of Si–NPs in Al2O3, which mostly include annealing steps with temperatures up to 1150 °C to enable Si–NP formation. At temperatures above 800 °C, the number of the typical fixed oxide charges in amorphous Al2O3 vanishes due to crystallization processes. The influence of the fixed oxide charges in Al2O3 on the programming process and retention is investigated and discussed as possibility to enhance long‐term storage of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Review Article by Mishra et al. (pp. 2277–2289) provides detailed insight into the graphene growth on SiC surfaces, its properties and technological relevance. The outstanding properties of graphene and the leading graphene growth techniques such as micromechanical exfoliation, CVD growth on metals and thermal decomposition of SiC are summarized. From the perspective of electronic device fabrication, thermal decomposition of SiC appears the most promising, thanks to its direct–growth process on a semiconductor surface, and the extent of control on number of layers, quality, and uniformity obtained. However, bulk SiC substrates present limitations in terms of costs, sizes and difficulty in micromachining. Direct growth of graphene on heteroepitaxial 3C–SiC on Si substrates is a promising alternative, fully compatible with established silicon fabrication technologies and allowing seamless integration. The cover image shows STM atomicscale snapshots of the sequence of surface transformations on 3C–SiC(111)/Si(111) leading from SiC(111) to monolayer graphene in UHV by high–temperature annealing (1250 °C). The sequence of surface reconstructions in the three insets occurs from bottom right to top left. Background image: bilayer graphene. (Dr. Bharati Gupta is kindly acknowledged for the images.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information that contributors to the journal "Physica Status Solidi" need to know in 2013. It states that the journal aims to publish articles that focus on solid state physics and materials science. It offers tips on how to prepare a manuscript including the template, the use of keywords, and fonts.

The article presents the aims and scope and the editorial policy of the journal "Physica Status Solidi: A. Applications & Materials Science."

The article discusses the contribution and impact regarding the research on novel materials wherein it is considered as among the fastest growing fields of scientific activity. It mentions that the quest for novel materials possess tremendous technological and social impact and added that it has boosted the development of novel techniques for improving material fabrication. Moreover, it also provides an overview of the workshop on structural transitions in solids.

The article reports that the Royal Microscopical Society Council has constituted a Physical and Engineering Sciences Section to replace the Materials Science Section.

The resistive switching mechanism has been suggested for the design of oxide‐based resistive random access memory. Typically, oxygen ion drift is the main mechanism of resistive switching. Commercially available electrodes including TiN are preferable for cost‐saving and fabrication‐effective memory mass production. That is why Heeyoung Jeon and coworkers (pp. 2189–2194) studied the self‐compliant (SC) bipolar resistive switching (BRS) phenomenon of Pt/TaOx/TiN geometries under different oxygen fl ow rates. As the oxygen content of the TaOx layer was increased, the device stability was significantly improved. According to X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and I–V results, the SCBRS behavior was led by the TiON interfacial layer. Higher oxygen content might form a more uniform TiON interfacial layer. Thus, the stability of the devices, including I–V characteristics, distribution and power consumption, was improved. To understand the nature of SCBRS behavior in more detail, the authors analyzed the electrical conduction mechanisms. They found that Poole‐Frenkel conduction is the dominant conduction mechanism for SC devices in the high‐resistance state, whereas ohmic conduction dominates in the low‐resistance state indicating the formation of conductive filaments. The cover image illustrates schematically the SCBRS behavior and its mechanism induced by oxygen ion drift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport of electronic and ionic charges across the interfaces between solids and electrolytes is the key element of energyconverting or energy‐storing devices, which are in the focus of the research activities of Wolfram Jaegermann (see p. 1953). In this issue, the topical section on “Physical chemistry and chemical physics of energy materials” (pp. 1954–2062), dedicated to him on the occasion of his 60th birthday, covers current aspects of energy materials, including their growth, surface, interface and device properties, as well as special characterization techniques. The fields of application include chalcopyrite, kesterite and dye‐sensitized solar cells, photoelectrochemical cells for solar fuel generation, intercalation batteries, and organic electronic devices. Specifically, transparent electrodes, electronic and ionic space charge regions at interfaces, PbS‐ and dye‐sensitized ZnO electrodes, RuS2 and Pt catalysts, and the lifetime of organic LEDs are dealt with. Furthermore, research results on the surface properties of SnO2 and GaP as well as the growth of WSe2, CuInS2, Cu2ZnSnSe4 RuS2 and SnO2 are presented in this issue. A viewpoint on energy strategies of nature by Wolfram Jaegermann's mentor Helmut Tributsch (see pp. 2052–2062) complements the selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Y. L. Zhao and colleagues develop biocompatible, uniform, and redispersible mesoporous silica nanoparticle‐based nanocarriers towards controlled and cancer‐targeted drug delivery for significantly inhibiting the tumor growth in vivo. On page 2450, the research team demonstrates a successful cancer therapy protocol of 1) intravenous injection of drug‐loaded nanocarriers, 2) controlled and targeted drug delivery to tumor sites for therapy, and 3) excretion of the nanocarriers from the animal bodies after the drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical or chemical integration of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles into the 3D collagen‐based scaffold matrix of tissue‐engineered implants by T. Lammers and co‐workers on page 754 allows highly sensitive visualization and monitoring using MRI, and enables the longitudinal assessment of implant localization, function, remodeling, and resorption. Labeled scaffolds are shown to be highly biocompatible and suitable for tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of common N‐heteroaromatic onium fluorophores with striking reversible mechanochromic luminescence are designed and synthesized on page 747 based on a cation–anion interactiondirected molecular design strategy, which has great potential for a wide variety of applications such as sensors, memory devices, motion systems, security systems, rewritable optical media, etc. The image by J. You and co‐workers illustrates how color printing could be realized without ink through the adoption of their mechanochromic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the advancement of the materials science and discusses the 25th anniversary of the journal in 2014. Topics of discussion included were several sections of the journal including the "Advanced Energy Materials" launched in 2010, "Advanced Healthcare Materials" in 2012 and "Advanced Optical Materials" in 2013.

A preface to a 2013 issue of the journal "Physica Status Solidi" is presented.

The article presents abstracts of studies on materials science that were published and will be published in the journal "Physica Status Solidi. A: Applications & Materials Science," which include design of nanowire photovoltaics, order-disorder processes in adamantine ternary ordered-vacancy compounds and triplet harvesting and outcoupling efficiency in highly efficient two-color hybrid white organic light-emitting diodes.

The article announces that the periodical has received the first ISI Impact Factor of 0.465. The rating will rank the periodical in the 15th place in the subject category of Materials Science, Characterization and Testing. The said impact factor is measured as the number of cites in 2005 to articles published in the periodical in 2004 and 2003.