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Metastasis is the main obstacle for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC), leading to low survival rate and adverse outcomes in CG patients. SLC6A14, a general amino acid transporter, can import all the essential amino acids in a manner dependent on the NaCl-generated osmotic gradients. Herein, we constructed GC cell sublines with high (SGC7901-M and MKN28-M) and low (MKN28-NM and SGC7901-NM) metastatic ability. Putative functional genes advancing GC metastasis were identified using mRNA microarray analysis and High-Content Screening. In particular, most significant change with a dampening trend in the migration potentiality of GC cells emerged after SLC6A14 gene was silenced. SLC6A14 expression was positively correlated with the migrated capability of different GC cell lines, and SLC6A14 was also constitutively expressed in GC patients with venous or lymphatic invasion, lymph node, or distant metastasis and poor prognosis, thus prompting SLC6A14 as a nonnegligible presence in supporting GC migration and invasion. Consistently, SLC6A14 depletion drastically depressed GC metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Most importantly, pharmacological blockade and gene silence of SLC6A14 both restricted epithelial-mesenchymal transition- (EMT-) driven GC metastasis, in which attenuated activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 pathway caused by amino acid starvation was involved. In summary, it is conceivable that targeting SLC6A14 has a tremendous promising for the treatment of metastatic GC.

Ultrabroadband photodetectors (PDs) working in the frequency range from the UV to THz regions of the spectrum play a crucial role in integrated multifunction photoelectric detection. Even so, a shortage of high-performance PDs has seriously restricted the overall development of this field. The present work demonstrates a high-performance, ultrabroadband PD with a composite nanostructure comprising a suspended carbon nanotube (CNT) film on which titanium and palladium are deposited. The application of titanium and palladium to the CNT film in this device provides n-doping and p-doping, respectively, and the deposited metal nanoparticles also ensure enhanced thermal localization. This device exhibits short response time, high responsivity, large linear dynamic range, and small noise equivalent power over the ultrabroadband spectrum based on a strong photothermoelectric effect. Numerical simulation results also confirm the effective doping and enhanced thermal localization in this PD resulting from the deposited metals. A theoretical analysis shows that the thermal conductivity of the composite film is no longer independent of the temperature over a wide temperature range. This work provides a simple but novel strategy for the design of high-performance ultrabroadband PDs.

Traditional strategies for self-powered devices face limitations in performance improvement due to the trade-off relationship between different parameters. Here, a new kind of ion-modulation self-powered photodetector is first proposed and fabricated by depositing superionic conductor RbAg

The purpose of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics of a Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) patient carrying a de novo variant ofA Chinese pedigree with TCS containing 8 members was enrolled. Phenotype of the proband was evaluated by a surgeon, then whole exome sequencing of the proband was performed. Then we verified the proband-derived variants by Sanger sequencing in the pedigree. Correlation between genotype and phenotype was analyzed.The study was conducted in a stomatological hospital.A Chinese pedigree with TCS containing 8 members.To ascertain the genetic variants in the Chinese pedigree with TCS.Blood samples were collected.We reported a case of typical TCS with a de novo missense variant (NM_001371623.1:c.38TG, p.(Leu13Arg)) in exon 1 ofThis research found a novel variant of TCS in Chinese, expanding the spectrum of TCS pathogenic variants. Genetic results combined with clinical phenotype can make a definite diagnosis and provide genetic counseling for the family.

Halide mixing in perovskites has been an efficient way to engineer the bandgap, stability, and charge carrier mobility of lead halide perovskites, while its effect on the noise of lead halide perovskite photodetectors is still unknown. We present the preparation of mixed halide methylammonium lead perovskite single crystals by the solution temperature-decreasing method. Planar-structured photodetectors were constructed on the basis of these mixed halide perovskite single crystals. The effect of halogen ion substitution on the noise of devices was investigated by analyzing their dark current spectra. It is shown that the single-crystal photodetectors with higher levels of chloride suffer from larger noise thus have lower detectivity. Density functional theory calculations have also been proposed to reveal the effect of halogens on band structure. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of mixed halide perovskites and may help in the design and preparation of higher-performance devices.

Tetracyclines are a class of antibiotics that exhibited potent activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yet only five members were isolated from actinobacteria, with two of them approved as clinical drugs. In this work, we developed a genome mining strategy using a TetR/MarR-transporter, a pair of common resistance enzymes in tetracycline biosynthesis, as probes to find the potential tetracycline gene clusters in the actinobacteria genome database. Further refinement using the phylogenetic analysis of chain length factors resulted in the discovery of 25 distinct tetracycline gene clusters, which finally resulted in the isolation and characterization of a novel tetracycline, hainancycline (1). Through genetic and biochemical studies, we elucidated the biosynthetic pathway of 1, which involves a complex glycosylation process. Our work discloses nature's huge capacity to generate diverse tetracyclines and expands the chemical diversity of tetracyclines.

Objective Paired box 7 ( PAX7) has been considered as a candidate gene for non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate (NSCL/P). However, there is no research for the XXX, and previous studies concentrated on limited variants. This study aimed to conduct sufficiently dense and powerful scans of variants at PAX7 and explored the roles of variants at PAX7 in NSCL/P among the XXX. Design Targeted region sequencing was performed to thoroughly screen variations, followed by a two-phase association analysis. 159 NSCL/P cases and 542 controls were analyzed in phase 1. Then in phase 2, the validation study was performed using 1626 cases and 2255 controls. We also explored the roles of variants at PAX7 gene in NSCL/P subtypes. Additionally, indirect associations were found by calculating LD and haplotypes. Setting The study was conducted in XXX. Patients, participants 159 NSCL/P cases and 542 controls were analyzed in phase 1. Then in phase 2, the validation study was performed using 1626 cases and 2255 controls. Interventions Blood samples were collected. Main outcome measures To explore the association analysis between variants at PAX7 and NSCL/P in XXX. Results The results showed that rs2236810, rs114882979 and rs2236804 were significantly associated with NSCL/P, which were predicted to have regulatory functions. Besides, variants at PAX7 function differently in the NSCL/P subtypes. We also discovered a PAX7 missense variant, NM_001135254 p.A369 V (NM_002584.2:c.1106C > T). Conclusions In summary, we confirmed 3 SNPs at PAX7 were significantly associated with NSCL/P in XXX and identified a missense variant, NM_001135254 p.A369 V (NM_002584.2:c.1106C > T).

Graphene is considered to be a valuable material in the field of photodetection due to its ultra-high electron mobility. However, its weak light absorption, short carrier lifetime and lack of gain mechanism limit the light responsivity of graphene at the magnitude of mA W−1. Herein, based on the oxidation characteristics of eutectic gallium–indium (EGaIn) alloy and the adoption of low-cost physical vapor deposition methods, we develop nanoparticles with gradient changes in elements to solve the drawback of common quantum dots of a narrow response band, fabricating a composite nanostructure of suspended graphene and oxidized EGaIn nanoparticles. The photodetector achieves wide-spectrum and high-performance detection from ultraviolet to near-infrared, with a responsivity enhancement of three order magnitude compared to that of pristine graphene. Then, the enhancement mechanism is analysed through structural characterization and control experiments, proving the dominant effect of oxidized nanoparticles on improving the responsivity and response band. This paper expands the application of EGaIn in the field of photoelectric detection and offers new idea for constructing high-performance quantun-dot based photodetectors.

The ultraviolet to terahertz band forms the main focus of optoelectronics research, while light detection in different bands generally requires the use of different materials and processing methods. However, researchers are aiming to realize multi-band detection simultaneously in the same device in certain specific application scenarios and ultra-wideband photoelectric detectors can also realize multi-function and multi-system integration. Therefore, the research and development work on ultra-wideband photoelectric detectors has important practical application value. Here, we produced self-powered suspended Pd-reduced graphene oxide-Ti (Pd-rGO-Ti) photodetectors. We varied the properties of the rGO films by using different annealing temperatures and achieved p-doping and n-doping of the films by evaporating palladium films and titanium films, respectively, thus enabling preparation of photothermoelectric (PTE) photodetectors based on rGO films. The resulting detectors have excellent photoelectric responses over a wideband illumination wavelength range from 375 nm to 118.8 μm (2.52 THz). At the same time, we determined the best experimental conditions and device structure by varying the channel width, the laser spot irradiation position and the experimental atmospheric pressure. The maximum responsivity obtained from our detectors is 142.08 mV W−1, the response time is approximately 100–200 ms and the devices have high detection sensitivity. Based on this work, we assumed in the subsequent experiments that detectors with higher performance can be obtained by reducing the channel width and atmospheric pressure. With advantages that include simple fabrication, low cost, large-scale production potential and ultra-wideband responses, these Pd-rGO-Ti photodetectors have broad application prospects in high-performance integrated optoelectronics.

Graphene has excellent electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties that make it an ideal optoelectronic material. However, it still has some problems, such as a very low light absorption rate, which means it cannot meet the application requirements of high-performance optoelectronic devices. Here, we produce a high-responsivity photodetector based on a monolayer graphene/RbAg4I5 composite nanostructure. With the aid of poly(methyl methacrylate), we suspend the monolayer graphene on a hollow carving groove with a width of 100 μm. A RbAg4I5 film evaporated on the back of the graphene causes the composite nanostructure to generate a large photocurrent under periodic illumination. Experimental results show that the dissociation and recombination of ion-electron bound states (IEBSs) are responsible for the excellent photoresponse. The device has very high (>1 A W-1) responsivity in wide-band illumination wavelength from 375 nm to 808 nm, especially at 375 nm, where it shows a responsivity of up to ∼5000 A W-1. We designed the dimensions of the carving groove to allow the light spot to cover the entire groove, and we cut the graphene sheet to match the length of the carving groove. With the structural optimizations, the energy of light can be used more efficiently to dissociate the IEBSs, which greatly improves the photoresponse of optoelectronic devices based on the proposed monolayer graphene/RbAg4I5 composite nanostructure.

Ultra-broadband photodetection is crucial for various applications like imaging and sensing and has become a hot research topic in recent years. However, most of the reported ultra-broadband photod...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antitumor effects of 2,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone (7a) on the A549 human lung cancer cell line. A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of 7a for different time periods. Cells without 7a were used as the negative control group. Cell proliferation, invasion, vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation, heterogeneous adhesion and apoptosis were measured using Cell Counting Kit-8, Transwell invasion, VM, adhesion and flow cytometric assays, respectively. In addition, the expression of related proteins was determined using western blot analysis or ELISA. The present study found that 7a had a significant inhibitory effect on the survival rate of the A549 lung cancer cells but almost no effect on BEAS-2B human lung epithelial cells or human venous endothelial cells. The migration rate, VM length, invasion rate and heterogeneous adhesion number of cells treated with 7a significantly decreased as the concentration increased, while the apoptosis rate increased. Western blot analysis showed that 7a treatment significantly increased the expression levels of E-cadherin, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, Bax and caspase-3 and simultaneously decreased the expression levels of metalloproteinase-2/9, Bcl-2, phosphorylated (p)-PI3K, p-AKT, p-mTOR, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), E-selectin and N-cadherin. At the same time, the ELISA results showed that the level of the pro-angiogenic factor VEGF in the culture media was reduced in the presence of 7a. In addition, 7a could also reduce the nuclear NF-κB protein expression, which could inhibit the gene transcription of tumor apoptosis and metastasis-related proteins. Therefore, 7a may exert inhibitory effects on A549 cells by inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, VM formation and heterogeneous adhesion, as well as by inducing apoptosis through the suppression of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway; these findings suggested that 7a may be a promising agent for the treatment of lung cancer.

Photothermoelectric materials have important applications in many fields. Here, we joined a silver nanostructure film (AgNSF) and a carbon nanotube film (CNTF) by van der Waals force to form a AgNSF/CNTF heterojunction, which shows excellent photothermal and photoelectric conversion properties. The local temperature difference and the output photovoltage increase rapidly when the heterojunction is irradiated by lasers with wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to terahertz. The maximum of the local temperature difference reaches 205.9 K, which is significantly higher than that of other photothermoelectric materials reported in literatures. The photothermal and photoelectric responsivity depend on the wavelength of lasers, which are 175-601 K/W and 9.35-40.4 mV/W, respectively. We demonstrate that light absorption of the carbon nanotube is enhanced by local surface plasmons, and the output photovoltage is dominated by Seebeck effect. The AgNSF/CNTF heterostructure can be used as high-efficiency sensitive photothermal materials or as ultra-wideband fast-response photoelectric material., 11 figures

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films are promising materials for application in ultra-broadband photodetectors because their absorption range covers the entire spectrum from ultraviolet to the terahertz region, and their detection mechanism is the bolometric effect. Because of the different and limited photothermal conversion efficiencies of CNTs with respect to various wavelengths, the response performance of existing photodetector devices is unsatisfactory, particularly in the infrared band. In this paper, we propose for the first time the use of cesium tungsten bronze (Cs

OBJECTIVES Non-syndromic cleft palate only (NSCPO) is a common congenital deformity with complex etiologies. GRHL3, FAF1, and KCNJ2 have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of NSCPO. Up till now, there have been no replication studies based on large Han Chinese. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate associations between GRHL3, FAF1, KCNJ2, and NSCPO sub-phenotypes patients in Han Chinese. MATERIALS AND METHODS Firstly, we selected 2 SNPs based on previous literatures: FAF1 (rs3827730) and GRHL3 (rs41268753). Also, we selected 8 tagSNPs in GRHL3 (rs557811, rs609352, rs10903078, rs6659209, rs12401714, rs12568599, rs3887581, rs12024148) and 2 tagSNPs in KCNJ2 (rs75855040 and rs236514). Afterward, we evaluated these SNPs among 1668 NSCPO patients and 1811 normal controls from Han Chinese. Following data were analyzed by PLINK and Haploview program. RESULTS Association analysis under additive model showed that allele A at rs12568599 in GRHL3 gene is significantly associated with NSCPO (p = 0.0034, OR = 1.38 and 95%CI: 1.11-1.72) and its sub-phenotype incomplete cleft palate (ICP) (p = 0.0039, OR = 1.4 and 95%CI: 1.11-1.75), and it could increase the risk of both NSCPO and ICP. CONCLUSIONS This study firstly found that rs12568599 in GRHL3 is associated with NSCPO and ICP in Han Chinese, indicating that sub-phenotypes of NSCPO have different etiologies.

Self-powered ultra-broadband photothermoelectric photodetectors based on free-standing reduced graphene oxide (RGO) films annealed under various temperatures (200–1000 °C) are developed for the first time. The preparation process of the free-standing RGO films is simple, low-cost, and scalable. An interesting phenomenon was found that with increasing annealing temperature, responsivities of RGO-based photodetectors decreased across the ultra-broadband range from ultraviolet (375 nm) to terahertz (118.8 μm) regions. The dependence of device responsivity on annealing temperature is derived from differences in the oxygen functional groups present on the RGO films. The negative sheet Hall coefficients of the annealed RGO films confirmed that they behaved as n-type semiconductors, indicating that electron-donating groups dominated in all the annealed free-standing RGO films. The content of electron-donating groups gradually decrease as the annealing temperature rose. The response times of our devices (

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a very common chronic hepatic disease, with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) as a major and severe subcategory that can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and thereby to a high mortality rate. Currently, there has been no approved drug to treat NAFLD or NASH. The current study has presented RLA8, a novel and balanced quadruple agonist for hepatic lipid metabolism and inflammation-related peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs)-α/γ/δ and G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40), as a NASH drug candidate. The efficacy of RLA8 to treat NASH was evaluated in vivo using two mouse models induced by methionine/choline-deficient diet or by high-fat diet, respectively. RLA8 was shown to improve serum alanine aminotransferase and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, reduce hepatic free fatty acid and triglyceride levels, and alleviate insulin resistance. Cytokine and lipoperoxide analysis revealed that RLA8 could reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. Histochemical and morphologic examination of mouse livers showed that RLA8 could improve pathologic changes such as steatosis, ballooning, collagen fiber, and inflammation. Polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses proved that RLA8 could result in PPARs and GPR40 activation, accompanied by upregulation of the 5'AMP-activated protein kinase-acetyl-CoA carboxylase pathway and inhibition of the expression of lipogenic genes and proteins, which provided more insights into its action mechanisms. In summary, RLA8 has significantly better efficacy to improve NASH-induced liver damage such as steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis, and, consequently, it represents a new and highly promising NASH drug candidate that is worthy of further investigation and development.

Graphene is receiving significant attention for use in optoelectronic devices because it exhibits a wide range of desirable electrical properties. Although modified graphene that is fabricated on quantum dots (or similar integration strategies) has shown promise, it has not met the requirements for high-speed applications and highly sensitive detection. Herein, we report ion-modulated graphene composite nanostructures that were incorporated into photodetectors. We focus on the dynamical properties of the novel photodetectors, and they exhibit extraordinary photoelectric performances (photoresponsivity ∼1 A/W, response time ∼100 μs) over a broad range of wavelengths from 405 to 1064 nm (the maximum external quantum efficiency is greater than 300% at 635 nm with a 10 kHz chopping frequency). A theoretical model is proposed in this paper, and it is in good agreement with our experimental results. The dynamic analyses further confirmed the dissociation and recombination of ion-electron bound states to be responsible for the fast and sensitive photoresponse from the composite samples. Although ion-modulated optoelectronic nanomaterials are rarely studied, they require further exploration as they offer new insights and alternatives in nanomaterial research.

A cobalt catalyst derived from a unique core–shell structure based on hollow ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 (ZIF-67@ZIF-8) is prepared, which exhibits excellent catalytic efficiency for the synthesis of nitriles from alcohols in water under mild conditions (1 atm O2, 50 °C) owing to its large BET surface area, high pore volume, high basicity and hydrophilicity.

In silicon wafer manufacturing for solar cells, the hazardous sawing waste results in serious environmental problems. In this paper, a novel approach for the recycling and reusing of slurry waste is reported. The results show that slurry waste is recycled and reused completely, and composite material of Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC is prepared. The residual gas from oxygen enrich gas production is used, which reduced cost effectively. In addition, the reaction is exothermic, which is also energy saving and ensure the production to be continuous without external heat source. The mechanism was also discussed in this paper.

A new kind of phototransistor based on graphene and a superionic conductor is fabricated by depositing a layer of RbAg4I5 on transferred graphene by a vacuum thermal evaporation method. Electrons in graphene and silver ions in RbAg4I5 form an ion–electron bound state (IEBS) at the interface due to Coulomb interactions. The bound state, which can be dissociated by photons, greatly influences the electronic conductivity of graphene. The binding energy between ions and electrons is an important parameter to determine the photon energy that can be absorbed to set the free bound state. Through the back-gate bias, we realize controllable modulation of binding energy. The binding energy between electrons and silver ions linearly decreases with the increase of gate voltage, resulting in the increased number of IEBSs that can be dissociated by photons, which is proved by experimental measurement and theoretical analysis. Owing to the decrease in binding energy, the response amplitudes can be increased by up to two orders of magnitude under the illumination of lasers. This phototransistor based on graphene and RbAg4I5 achieves controllable responsivity from several mA W−1 to several hundred mA W−1 while the response speed remains unchanged on the order of 100 milliseconds. This study, on the one hand, gives a better understanding of the modulation of ions on electron transport; on the other hand, it offers a new road for us to achieve modulation of photo-responses, and it is very promising to be applied in optoelectronic devices with current circuit technology.

An interdigitated gold (Au) nanofilm was introduced on graphene, supported by a p-type silicon (p-Si) substrate, as an optoelectronic photodetector based on an Au/graphene/p-Si heterojunction by a low-cost method. Tunable photocurrent (photoconductivity) response to laser power density was realized under the modulation of the Au nanofilm and the Si layer on the carrier transport through graphene. Photoelectric measurements demonstrated that the device generated positive photocurrent when illuminated at low laser power density and negative photocurrent when illuminated at high laser power density. Positive photocurrents of 9 μA and 5 μA were generated at 1.13 μW cm−2 (power ∼ 20 nW) and 0.32 μW cm−2 (power ∼ 40 nW) under irradiation of 532 nm and 1064 nm lasers, respectively; responsivities of up to 450 A W−1 and 125 A W−1, were achieved, respectively, owing to the increase in carrier density caused by photo-induced carrier injection. At high power density, the mobility of graphene declined due to the scattering effect between carriers and phonons (bolometric effect), which was further strengthened by the local high-temperature field caused by the Au nanofilm. The negative photocurrent of up to several milliamperes was clearly observed under irradiation of 532 nm and 1064 nm lasers. The photocurrent response versus power density behavior of the photodetector could be modulated by the source–drain bias and laser wavelength. The device had a rapid response rate of the order of several hundred microseconds and good stability. The photodetector realized high-speed conversion of light density to photocurrent with different signs, demonstrating good potential for future applications in optoelectronic devices.

Low-dimensional materials (LDMs), such as monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides, have emerged as candidate materials for next-generation optoelectronics devices. Detection of the spatial heterogeneity caused by various nanoscale defects in LDMs, is crucial for their applications. Here, we report the super-resolved discrimination of various nanoscale defects in LDMs by near-field photoluminescence (NFPL) spectral imaging of LDMs with scanning near-field optical microscopy. As a demonstration example, a monolayer WS2 sample is characterized with a sub-diffraction spatial resolution of 140 nm in ambient environment. By performing topography and NFPL mapping, different defects, such as the stacks, bubbles, and wrinkles, can be identified through their light emission properties, which strongly correlate with the exciton emission modulation and tensile strain arising from local structural deformations.

Perovskite films are usually fabricated by a solution-processed method due to its low cost and ease of fabrication. The organic solvent plays multiple roles in the growth of perovskites. Here, we i...

Interfacial charge recombination is a main issue causing the efficiency loss of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, ferroelectric Ba0.75Sr0.25TiO3 (BST) is introduced as a polarization tunable layer to promote the interfacial charge transfer of the PSCs. The coexistence of ferroelectric polarization and charge carriers in BST is confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Experimental characterization demonstrates the polarization reversal and the existence of domain in BST film. The BST film conductivity is tested as 2.98 × 10−4 S/cm, which is comparable to the TiO2 being used as the electron transporting layer (ETL) in PSCs. The calculations results prove that BST can be introduced into the PSCs and the interfacial charge transfer can be tuned by ferroelectric polarization. Thus, we fabricated the BST-based PSCs with a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.05% after poling.

Background: A novel curcumin (Cur) derivative 1g can inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer in vitro and in vivo. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of 1g in inducing apoptosis of colon cancer cells, especially mitochondrial apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS).Methods: Bioinformatics was used to analyze differentially expressed mrnas. Gene expression was measured by using qRT-PCR and protein expression was measured by using western blotting. Cell apoptosis, cycle, mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS were analyzed by flow cytometry. Experiments on transplanted tumors in animals.Results: The mechanism of this effect was a change in mitochondrial membrane potential caused by 1g that increased its pro-apoptotic activity. In addition, 1g produced ROS, induced G1 checkpoint blockade, and enhanced ER-stress in colon cancer cells. On the contrary, pretreatment with the ROS scavenging agent N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) inhibited the mitochondrial dysfunction caused by 1g and reversed ER-stress, cell cycle stagnation, and apoptosis. Additionally, pretreatment with the p-PERK inhibitor GSK2606414 significantly reduced ER-stress and reversed the apoptosis induced by colon cancer cells.Conclusions: This study not only found that 1g inherits the safety of Cur and has a more inhibitory effect on colon cancer cells than Cur, but also revealed that excessive production of ROS is one of the mechanisms of anti-tumor action.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2), due to its electrically induced metal-to-insulator transition with dramatic changes in electrical and optical properties, is considered to be a powerful material for electro-optical devices. However, there are still some controversies about phase transition mechanism under voltage. Here, based on optical characterizations on VO2 crystal nanofilm during the whole process of phase transition, temporal evolution and spatial distribution of changes in electricity, optic and temperature are investigated simultaneously, to explore the mechanism. The variations of Raman spectrum and reflected spectrum, and changes in current and temperature are evidences for occurrence of phase transition, which exhibit different changing behaviors with time and space. These results offer a better understanding of the phase transition mechanism, implying that lattice structure of VO2 changes gradually after applying voltage until the structure is completely converted to metallic structure, which causes a rapid increase in carrier density, resulting in a rapid change in current, reflected spectrum and temperature. Temperature rise before phase transition and applied electric field alone are not enough for triggering metal-insulator transition, but these two factors can act synergistically on structural transformation to induce phase transition.

Ultra-broad spectral detection is critical for several technological applications in imaging, sensing, spectroscopy, and communication. Carbon nanotube (CNT) films are a promising material for ultra-broadband photodetectors because their absorption spectra cover the entire ultraviolet to the terahertz range. However, because of the high binding energy of excitons, photodetectors based on CNT films always require a strong electric field, asymmetric electrical contacts, or hybrid structures with other materials. Here, we report an ultra-broadband bolometric photodetector based on a suspended CNT film. With an abundant distribution of tube diameters and an appropriate morphology (spider web-like), the CNT films display a strong absorption spectrum from the ultraviolet up to the terahertz region. Under illumination, heat generated from the electron-photon interaction dominates the photoresponse of our devices. For small changes in temperature, the photocurrent shows a convincing linear dependence with the absorbed light's power across 3 orders of magnitude. When the channel length is reduced to 100 μm, the device demonstrates a high performance with an ultraviolet responsivity of up to 0.58 A/W with a bias voltage of 0.2 V and a short response time of ∼150 μs in vacuum, which is better than that of many other photodetectors based on CNTs. Moreover, this performance could be further enhanced by optimization.

Eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) alloy is a kind of liquid metal and has attracted much attention due to good properties. In order to satisfy the trend of miniaturization and realize more practical applications, the exploration for preparation method and properties of EGaIn at nanoscale are very important. Here, facile vacuum thermal evaporation method is developed to fabricate EGaIn nanostructures. The EGaIn nanoparticle and nanofilm with naturally formed 5 nm thick oxide layers are well prepared. The oxide film formed on the EGaIn surface is an important factor, making the properties of the nanostructure different from the properties of the bulk. Compared with ignorance of oxide layer in bulk materials, the proportion of oxide layer increases evidently in nanostructures, which produce obvious influence on the electric and optical properties. The rectifying characteristic and optoelectronic performance are experimentally observed. The EGaIn nanostructures can generate evident photocurrent responses with good responsivities (∼1 mA W-1) and response speed (∼1 s) under irradiation of 206 nm, 405 nm, 532 nm, 635 nm, 808 nm, 1064 nm and 10.6 μm lasers. These properties are completely different from the metallic properties of EGaIn bulk material.

A stretchable photodetector was fabricated by releasing a prestrained 3 M very high bond (VHB) substrate coated with perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 microwires and graphene. The light harvesting CH3NH3PbI3 microwires were realized through a transformation from CH3NH3PbI3 bulk single crystals. Graphene served as an expressway for photoinduced carriers in the perovskite. Under a very low working voltage bias of 0.01 V and irradiance power of 13.5 mW cm−2 under 785 nm laser illumination, the responsivity could be as high as 2.2 mA W−1. When the device was stretched up to 30%, 50%, and 80% strain, the responsivity was maintained at 0.96, 0.60, and 0.21 mA W−1, respectively. It also showed a fast photoresponse (

With the aid of formic acid, CH3NH3PbI3 single crystal of 9 mm in length was directly harvested within 3 days via a nonseeded solution temperature-lowering (STL) method. It showed a record-narrow full width at half maximum of 13 arcsec for the high-resolution X-ray rocking curve, a low trap-state density of 3.1 × 109 cm−3, a high carrier mobility of 162 cm2 V−1 s−1 and high moisture stability. The addition of formic acid could suppress the oxidation of iodide ions in a conventional STL process, resulting in rapid growth of high-quality CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite single crystals have shown superior photophysical properties when compared with their polycrystalline film counterparts. Perovskite single crystal thin films are highly desirable for high-performance optoelectronic devices, but their growth remains a challenge, particularly for perovskite single crystal thin films with controllable thicknesses. Herein, we report a facile top-down strategy to fabricate hybrid perovskite single-crystalline film from its bulk single crystal. The film thickness can be controlled from several millimetres to 15 micrometres. Most importantly, the strategy is feasible for the fabrication of different types of hybrid perovskite single-crystalline films (such as CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbBr3, and CH3NH3PbCl3) of arbitrary orientations. We demonstrate that vertical-structured photodetectors based on (100)-oriented CH3NH3PbI3 single-crystalline thin films show obvious thickness-dependent photoelectric responses. Such a top-down approach provides a general route to the fabrication of perovskite single-crystalline thin film and may pave the way for the production of a variety of high-performance optoelectronic devices.

New RbAg4I5-on-Au ionic–electronic conductors with a composite nanostructure were fabricated by coating a superionic conductor RbAg4I5 film on an electronic conductor Au thin film by thermal evaporation. Through a synergistic effect of surface ions and plasmon polaritons, this composite nanostructure displays a broadband photoresponse from ultraviolet (375 nm) to near-infrared (1064 nm). Our experimental results indicate that a photocatalytic solid-state electrochemical reaction occurred at the interface of the composite nanostructure. Under ultraviolet or visible light illumination, Au atoms at the interface can be rapidly ionized into electrons and Au+ ions, in which the two components will recombine spontaneously under dark conditions. The formation of Au+ ions has a significant influence on the transportation channel of electrons in the Au thin film. The ionization and recombination of electrons and Au+ ions are responsible for the dynamic process of negative photoconductivity. In addition, we observed a significant negative photoconductivity induced by the excited surface plasmon polaritons in the broadband spectral region from ultraviolet to near-infrared. These results pave the way for exploiting high-performance photodetectors based on ionic–electronic conductors with composite nanostructures. Moreover, the photocatalytic solid-state electrochemical reaction provides a better understanding about the interaction between metals and superionic conductors.

As an environmentally friendly and chemically robust crystal, LiInSe2 (LISe) exhibits promising optoelectronic properties. Here, an ultrasensitive metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) structured photodetector based on a high-quality LISe crystal was systemically investigated. Remarkably, the LISe based photodetectors exhibit an outstanding photosensitivity with a high on/off current ratio (6.80 × 104), fast photoresponse (trise = 180 μs and tdecay = 200 μs), and high detectivity (2.16 × 1012 Jones). This work may lay the foundation and ignite future research interest on chalcogenide crystals in photodetectors.