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A functional nerve growth factor NGF–Tropomyosin Receptor kinase A (TrkA) system is an essential requisite for the generation and maintenance of long-lasting thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia in adult mammals. Indeed, mutations in the gene encoding for TrkA are responsible for a rare condition, named Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy type IV (HSAN IV), characterized by the loss of response to noxious stimuli, anhidrosis and cognitive impairment. However, to date, there is no available mouse model to properly understand how the NGF–TrkA system can lead to pathological phenotypes that are distinctive of HSAN IV. Here, we report the generation of a knock-in mouse line carrying the HSAN IV TrkAR649W mutation. First, by in vitro biochemical and biophysical analyses, we show that the pathological R649W mutation leads to kinase-inactive TrkA also affecting its membrane dynamics and trafficking. In agreement with the HSAN IV human phenotype, TrkAR649W/m mice display a lower response to thermal and chemical noxious stimuli, correlating with reduced skin innervation, in addition to decreased sweating in comparison to TrkAh/m controls. Moreover, the R649W mutation decreases anxiety-like behavior and compromises cognitive abilities, by impairing spatial-working and social memory. Our results further uncover unexplored roles of TrkA in thermoregulation and sociability. In addition to accurately recapitulating the clinical manifestations of HSAN IV patients, our findings contribute to clarifying the involvement of the NGF–TrkA system in pain sensation.

The employment of two-dimensional materials, as growth substrates or buffer layers, enables the epitaxial growth of layered materials with different crystalline symmetries with a preferential crystalline orientation and the synthesis of heterostructures with a large lattice constant mismatch. In this work, we employ single crystalline graphene to modify the sulfurization dynamics of copper foil for the deterministic synthesis of large-area Cu9S5 crystals. Molecular dynamics simulations using the Reax force-field are used to mimic the sulfurization process of a series of different atomistic systems specifically built to understand the role of graphene during the sulphur atom attack over the Cu(111) surface. Cu9S5 flakes show a flat morphology with an average lateral size of hundreds of micrometers. Cu9S5 presents a direct band-gap of 2.5 eV evaluated with light absorption and light emission spectroscopies. Electrical characterization shows that the Cu9S5 crystals present high p-type doping with a hole mobility of 2 cm(2) V-1 s(-1).

SummaryMechanical force is crucial in guiding axon outgrowth, before and after synapse formation. This process is referred to as “stretch-growth”. However, how neurons transduce mechanical inputs into signaling pathways remains poorly understood. Another open question is how stretch-growth is coupled in time with the intercalated addition of new mass along the entire axon. Here, we demonstrate that active mechanical force generated by magnetic nano-pulling induces a remodeling of the axonal cytoskeleton. Specifically, the increase in the axonal density of microtubules leads to an accumulation of organelles and signaling vesicles which, in turn, promotes local translation by increasing the probability of assembly of the “translation factories”. The modulation of axonal transport and local translation sustains enhanced axon outgrowth and synapse maturation.

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), sometimes referred to as white graphene, receives growing interest in the scientific community, especially when combined into van der Waals (vdW) homo- and heterostacks, in which novel and interesting phenomena may arise. hBN is also commonly used in combination with two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). The realization of hBN-encapsulated TMDC homo- and heterostacks can indeed offer opportunities to investigate and compare TMDC excitonic properties in various stacking configurations. In this work, we investigate the optical response at the micrometric scale of mono- and homo-bilayer WS2 grown by chemical vapor deposition and encapsulated between two single layers of hBN. Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry is exploited to extract the local dielectric functions across one single WS2 flake and detect the evolution of excitonic spectral features from monolayer to bilayer regions. Exciton energies undergo a redshift by passing from hBN-encapsulated single layer to homo-bilayer WS2, as also confirmed by photoluminescence spectra. Our results can provide a reference for the study of the dielectric properties of more complex systems where hBN is combined with other 2D vdW materials into heterostructures and are stimulating towards the investigation of the optical response of other technologically-relevant heterostacks.

Hydrogen spillover and storage for single-site metal catalysts, including single-atom catalysts (SACs) and single nanocluster catalysts, have been elucidated for various supports but remain poorly understood for inert carbon supports. Here, we use synchrotron radiation-based methods to investigate the role of single-site Ti catalysts on graphene for hydrogen spillover and storage. Our in-situ angle-resolved photoemission spectra results demonstrate a bandgap opening and the X-ray absorption spectra reveal the formation of C-H bonds, both indicating the partial graphene hydrogenation. With increasing Ti deposition and H2 exposure, the Ti atoms tend to aggregate to form nanocluster catalysts and yield 13.5% sp3-hybridized carbon atoms corresponding to a hydrogen-storage capacity of 1.11 wt% (excluding the weight of the Ti nanoclusters [1]). Our results demonstrate how a simple spillover process at Ti SACs can lead to covalent hydrogen bonding on graphene, thereby providing a strategy for a rational design of carbon-supported single-site catalysts.

Out of the different structural phases of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2), the distorted octahedral 1T′ possesses great interest for fundamental physics and is a promising candidate for the implementation of innovative devices such as topological transistors. Indeed, 1T′-MoTe2 is a semimetal with superconductivity, which has been predicted to be a Weyl semimetal and a quantum spin Hall insulator in bulk and monolayer form, respectively. Large instability of monolayer 1T′-MoTe2 in environmental conditions, however, has made its investigation extremely challenging so far. In this work, we demonstrate homogeneous growth of large single-crystal (up to 500 μm) monolayer 1T′-MoTe2via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and its stabilization in air with a scalable encapsulation approach. The encapsulant is obtained by electrochemically delaminating CVD hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) from copper foil, and it is applied on the freshly grown 1T′-MoTe2via a top-down dry lamination step. The structural and electrical properties of encapsulated 1T′-MoTe2 have been monitored over several months to assess the degree of degradation of the material. We find that when encapsulated with hBN, the lifetime of monolayer 1T′-MoTe2 successfully increases from a few minutes to more than a month. Furthermore, the encapsulated monolayer can be subjected to transfer, device processing, and heating and cooling cycles without degradation of its properties. The potential of this scalable heterostack is confirmed by the observation of signatures of low-temperature phase transition in monolayer 1T′-MoTe2 by both Raman spectroscopy and electrical measurements. The growth and encapsulation methods reported in this work can be employed for further fundamental studies of this enticing material as well as facilitate the technological development of monolayer 1T′-MoTe2.

Several works reported increased differentiation of neuronal cells grown on graphene; however, the molecular mechanism driving axon elongation on this material has remained elusive. Here, we study the axonal transport of nerve growth factor (NGF), the neurotrophin supporting development of peripheral neurons, as a key player in the time course of axonal elongation of dorsal root ganglion neurons on graphene. We find that graphene drastically reduces the number of retrogradely transported NGF vesicles in favor of a stalled population in the first two days of culture, in which the boost of axon elongation is observed. This correlates with a mutual charge redistribution, observed via Raman spectroscopy and electrophysiological recordings. Furthermore, ultrastructural analysis indicates a reduced microtubule distance and an elongated axonal topology. Thus, both electrophysiological and structural effects can account for graphene action on neuron development. Unraveling the molecular players underneath this interplay may open new avenues for axon regeneration applications. Several works reported increased differentiation of neuronal cells grown on graphene; however, the molecular mechanism driving axon elongation on this material has remained elusive. Here, we study the axonal transport of nerve growth factor (NGF), the neurotrophin supporting development of peripheral neurons, as a key player in the time course of axonal elongation of dorsal root ganglion neurons on graphene. We find that graphene drastically reduces the number of retrogradely transported NGF vesicles in favor of a stalled population in the first 2 days of culture, in which the boost of axon elongation is observed. This correlates with a mutual charge redistribution, observed via Raman spectroscopy and electrophysiological recordings. Furthermore, ultrastructural analysis indicates a reduced microtubule distance and an elongated axonal topology. Thus, both electrophysiological and structural effects can account for graphene action on neuron development. Unraveling the molecular players underneath this interplay may open new avenues for axon regeneration applications.

We report on the superlubric sliding of monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) on epitaxial graphene (EG) on silicon carbide (SiC). WS2 single-crystalline flakes with lateral size of hundreds of nanometers are obtained via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on EG and microscopic and diffraction analyses indicate that the WS2/EG stack is predominantly aligned with zero azimuthal rotation. Our experimental findings show that the WS2 flakes are prone to slide over graphene surfaces at room temperature when perturbed by a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tip. Atomistic force field based molecular dynamics simulations indicate that through local physical deformation of the WS2 flake, the scanning tip releases enough energy to the flake to overcome the motion activation barrier and to trigger an ultra-low friction roto-translational displacement, that is superlubric. Experimental observations indicate that after the sliding, the WS2 flakes rest with a rotation of npi/3 with respect to graphene. Atomically resolved investigations show that the interface is atomically sharp and that the WS2 lattice is strain-free. These results help to shed light on nanotribological phenomena in van der Waals (vdW) heterostacks and suggest that the applicative potential of the WS2/graphene heterostructure can be extended by novel mechanical prospects., 27 pages, main text and supplementary information

Monolayer tungsten disulfide ($WS_2$) has recently attracted large interest as a promising material for advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices such as photodetectors, modulators, and sensors. Since these devices can be integrated in a silicon (Si) chip via back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes, the stability of monolayer $WS_2$ in BEOL fabrication conditions should be studied. In this work, the thermal stability of monolayer single-crystal $WS_2$ at typical BEOL conditions is investigated; namely (i) heating temperature of $300$ $^\circ C$, (ii) pressures in the medium- ($10^{-3}$ mbar) and high- ($10^{-8}$ mbar) vacuum range; (iii) heating times from $30$ minutes to $20$ hours. Structural, optical and chemical analyses of $WS_2$ are performed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that monolayer single-crystal $WS_2$ is intrinsically stable at these temperature and pressures, even after $20$ hours of thermal treatment. The thermal stability of $WS_2$ is also preserved after exposure to low-current electron beam ($12$ pA) or low-fluence laser ($0.9$ $mJ/\mu m^2$), while higher laser fluencies cause photo-activated degradation upon thermal treatment. These results are instrumental to define fabrication and in-line monitoring procedures that allow the integration of $WS_2$ in device fabrication flows without compromising the material quality., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures

The article Superlubricity of epitaxial monolayer WS2 on graphene, written by Holger Buch, Antonio Rossi, Stiven Forti, Domenica Convertino, Valentina Tozzini, and Camilla Coletti, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on June 18th 2018 without open access. With the author(s)’ decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed in August 2018 to © The Author(s) 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The original article has been corrected.

This work presents a comparison of the structural, chemical and electronic properties of multi-layer graphene grown on SiC(000-1) by using two different growth approaches: thermal decomposition and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The topography of the samples was investigated by using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to examine the sample on a large scale. Raman spectroscopy was used to assess the crystallinity and electronic behavior of the multi-layer graphene and to estimate its thickness in a non-invasive way. While the crystallinity of the samples obtained with the two different approaches is comparable, our results indicate that the CVD method allows for a better thickness control of the grown graphene., 6 pages, 5 figures

Recently, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been shown to act as an ideal substrate to graphene by greatly improving the material transport properties thanks to its atomically flat surface, low interlayer electronic coupling and almost perfect reticular matching [1]. Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is presently considered the most scalable approach to grow graphene directly on h-BN. However, for the catalyst-free approach, poor control over the shape and crystallinity of the graphene grains and low growth rates are typically reported [2–5]. In this work we investigate the crystallinity of differently shaped grains and identify a path towards a real van der Waals epitaxy of graphene on h-BN by adopting a catalyst-free CVD process. We demonstrate the polycrystalline nature of circular-shaped pads and attribute the stemming of different oriented grains to airborne contamination of the h-BN flakes. We show that single-crystal grains with six-fold symmetry can be obtained by adopting high hydrogen partial pressures during growth. Notably, growth rates as high as 100 nm/min are obtained by optimizing growth temperature and pressure. The possibility of synthesizing single-crystal graphene on h-BN with appreciable growth rates by adopting a simple CVD approach is a step towards an increased accessibility of this promising van der Waals heterostructure.

The article Superlubricity of epitaxial monolayer WS2 on graphene, written by Holger Büch, Antonio Rossi, Stiven Forti, Domenica Convertino, Valentina Tozzini, and Camilla Coletti, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on June 18th 2018 without open access. With the author(s)' decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed in August 2018 to © The Author(s) 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The original article has been corrected. Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The surface structure of Few-Layer Graphene (FLG) epitaxially grown on the C-face of SiC has been investigated by TM-AFM in ambient air and upon interaction with dilute aqueous solutions of bioorganic molecules (L-methionine and dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO). Before interaction with molecular solutions, we observe nicely ordered, three-fold oriented rippled domains, with a 4.7 +/- 0.2 nm periodicity (small periodicity, SP) and a peak-to-valley distance in the range 0.1-0.2 nm. Upon mild interaction with the molecular solution, the ripple periodicity `` relaxes'' to 6.2 +/- 0.2 nm (large periodicity, LP), while the peak-to-valley height increases to 0.2-0.3 nm. When additional energy is transferred to the system through sonication in solution, graphene planes are peeled off, as shown by quantitative analysis of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy which indicate a neat reduction of thickness. Upon exfoliation rippled domains are no longer observed. In comparative experiments on cleaved HOPG, we could not observe ripples on pristine samples in ambient air, while LP ripples develop upon interaction with the molecular solutions. Recent literature on similar systems is not univocal regarding the interpretation of rippling. The ensemble of our comparative observations on FLG and HOPG can be hardly rationalized solely on the basis of the surface assembly of molecules, either organic molecules coming from the solution or adventitious species. We propose to consider rippling as the manifestation of the free-energy minimization of quasi-2D layers, eventually affected by factors such as interplanar stacking, and interactions with molecules and/or with the AFM tip.

In this paper we report about the possibility to control a strong signal beam with a much weaker control beam, resorting to the linear optical phenomena known as coherent perfect absorption and transparency (CPA and CPT). First, analytical formulas for CPA and CPT in a realistic yet prototypical configuration of a substrate-backed optically conducting surface (graphene, metallic metasurface...) are reported. Maximal optical control can be achieved by only imposing the conditions for CPA, since CPT is always present in this system. Secondly, we observe that the performance of passive two-port devices as optical switches is always limited by fundamental energy conservation constraints. Meanwhile, we outline how a hybrid gain/loss optical device reminiscent of parity-time symmetric objects can overcome such limitation, enabling the realization of ideal full optical control.

Analytical formulas are derived describing the coherent absorption of light from a realistic multilayer structure composed by an optically conducting surface on a sup- porting substrate. The model predicts two fundamental results. First, the absorption regime named coherent perfect transparency theoretically can always be reached. Second, the optical conductance of the surface can be extrapolated from absorption experimental data even when the substrate thickness is unknown. The theoretical predictions are experimentally verified by analyzing a multilayer graphene structure grown on a silicon carbide substrate. The graphene thickness estimated through the coherent absorption technique resulted in good agreement with the values obtained by two other spectroscopic techniques. Thanks to the high spatial resolution that can be reached and high sensitivity to the probed structure thickness, coherent absorp- tion spectroscopy represents an accurate and non-destructive diagnostic method for the spatial mapping of the optical properties of two-dimensional materials and of metasurfaces on a wafer scale.

In recent years, various doping methods for epitaxial graphene have been demonstrated through atom substitution and adsorption. Here we observe by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) a coupling-induced Dirac cone renormalization when depositing small amounts of Ti onto epitaxial graphene on SiC. We obtain a remarkably high doping efficiency and a readily tunable carrier velocity simply by changing the amount of deposited Ti. First-principles theoretical calculations show that a strong lateral (non-vertical) orbital coupling leads to an efficient doping of graphene by hybridizing the 2pz orbital of graphene and the 3d orbitals of the Ti adsorbate, which attached on graphene without creating any trap/scattering states. This Ti-induced hybridization is adsorbate-specific and has major consequences for efficient doping as well as applications towards adsorbate-induced modification of carrier transport in graphene., 24 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the nonlinear transmission of a ~280-layer turbostratic graphene sheet for near-infrared amplifier laser pulses (775 nm, Ti:sapphire laser) with a duration of 150-fs and 20-fs. Saturable absorption is observed in both cases, however it is not very strong, amounting to ~13% transmittance change for the 20-fs (150-fs) pulses at a peak intensity of 30 GW/cm2 (4 GW/cm2). The dependence on incident peak intensity is reproduced well using a theoretical model for the time-dependent saturable absorption, where the excited carriers vacate the photo-excited energy range within 3-5 fs, which we attribute to energy redistribution due to carrier-carrier scattering. This is also supported by spectrally resolved measurements for the 20-fs pulses, which show a marked dependence of the degree of saturation on the photon energy. A key result is that the shorter pulses do not yield a lower saturation fluence, due to the combined effects of the broader excitation bandwidth, and the rapid and broad energy redistribution. We also predict the potential performance of multilayer graphene samples for removing pedestal and pre-pulse structure from ultrafast high-energy pulses.

Hydrogen adsorption on graphene-supported metal clusters has brought much controversy due to the complex nature of the bonding between hydrogen and metal clusters. The bond types of hydrogen and graphene-supported Ti clusters are experimentally and theoretically investigated. Transmission electron microscopy shows that Ti clusters of nanometer-size are formed on graphene. Thermal desorption spectroscopy captures three hydrogen desorption peaks from hydrogenated graphene-supported Ti clusters. First principle calculations also found three types of interaction: Two types of bonds with different partial ionic character and physisorption. The physical origin for this rests on the charge state of the Ti clusters: when Ti clusters are neutral, H2 is dissociated, and H forms bonds with the Ti cluster. On the other hand, H2 is adsorbed in molecular form on positively charged Ti clusters, resulting in physisorption. Thus, this work clarifies the bonding mechanisms of hydrogen on graphene-supported Ti clusters.

We report on room temperature detection of terahertz radiation by means of antenna-coupled field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated using epitaxial graphene grown on silicon carbide. The achieved photoresponsivity (similar to 0.25 V/W) and noise equivalent power (similar to 80 nW/root Hz) result from the combined effect of two independent detection mechanisms: over-damped plasma wave rectification and thermoelectric effects, the latter ascribed to the presence of carrier density junctions along the FET channel. The calculated plasmonic and thermoelectric response reproduces qualitatively well the measured photovoltages; the experimentally observed sign-switch demonstrates the stronger contribution of plasmonic detection compared to the thermoelectric one. These results unveil the potential of plasmonic detectors exploiting epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide for fast large area imaging of macroscopic samples. We report on room temperature detection of terahertz radiation by means of antenna-coupled field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated using epitaxial graphene grown on silicon carbide. The achieved photoresponsivity (∼0.25 V/W) and noise equivalent power (∼80 nW/ Hz) result from the combined effect of two independent detection mechanisms: over-damped plasma wave rectification and thermoelectric effects, the latter ascribed to the presence of carrier density junctions along the FET channel. The calculated plasmonic and thermoelectric response reproduces qualitatively well the measured photovoltages; the experimentally observed sign-switch demonstrates the stronger contribution of plasmonic detection compared to the thermoelectric one. These results unveil the potential of plasmonic detectors exploiting epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide for fast large area imaging of macroscopic samples.

Graphene-based electrodes are very promising for molecular electronics and spintronics. Here we report a systematic characterization of the electroburning (EB) process, leading to the formation of nanometer-spaced gaps, on different types of few-layer graphene (namely mechanically exfoliated graphene on SiO2, graphene epitaxially grown on the C-face of SiC and turbostratic graphene discs deposited on SiO2) under air and vacuum conditions. The EB process is found to depend on both the graphene type and on the ambient conditions. For the mechanically exfoliated graphene, performing EB under vacuum leads to a higher yield of nanometer-gap formation than working in air. Conversely, for graphene on SiC the EB process is not successful under vacuum. Finally, the EB is possible with turbostratic graphene discs only after the creation of a constriction in the sample using lithographic patterning.

In this work we present a simple pathway to obtain large single-crystal graphene on copper (Cu) foils with high growth rates using a commercially available cold-wall chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactor. We show that graphene nucleation density is drastically reduced and crystal growth is accelerated when: i) using ex-situ oxidised foils; ii) performing annealing in an inert atmosphere prior to growth; iii) enclosing the foils to lower the precursor impingement flux during growth. Growth rates as high as 14.7 and 17.5 micrometers per minute are obtained on flat and folded foils, respectively. Thus, single-crystal grains with lateral size of about one millimetre can be obtained in just one hour. The samples are characterised by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy as well as selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), which confirm the high quality and homogeneity of the films. The development of a process for the quick production of large grain graphene in a commonly used commercial CVD reactor is a significant step towards an increased accessibility to millimetre-sized graphene crystals., Comment: Article: 7 pages, 6 figures. Supplementary Information: 5 pages, 7 figures

Ultranarrow graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with atomically precise structures are considered a promising class of materials for the realization of optoelectronic and photonic devices with improved functionalities. Here we report the optoelectronic characterization of a field-effect transistor device made of a layer of bottom-up synthesized GNRs contacted with multilayer graphene electrodes, showing high photoresponsivity of 5 × 105 A/W for small incident power in the visible-UV range. Our results show that combining the properties of intrinsic graphene with that of semiconducting GNRs is a viable route to realize novel devices for optoelectronic and sensing applications. © 2017 American Chemical Society.