Inorganic Polymer Micropillar‐Based Solution Shearing of Large‐Area Organic Semiconductor Thin Films with Pillar‐Size‐Dependent Crystal Size

It is demonstrated that the crystal size of small‐molecule organic semiconductors can be controlled during solution shearing by tuning the shape and dimensions of the micropillars on the blade. Increasing the size and spacing of the rectangular pillars increases the crystal size, resulting in higher thin‐film mobility. This phenomenon is attributed as the microstructure changing the degree and density of the meniscus line curvature, thereby controlling the nucleation process. The use of allylhybridpolycarbosilane (AHPCS), an inorganic polymer, is also demonstrated as the microstructured blade for solution shearing, which has high resistance to organic solvents, can easily be microstructured via molding, and is flexible and durable. Finally, it is shown that solution shearing can be performed on a curved surface using a curved blade. These demonstrations bring solution shearing closer to industrial applications and expand its applicability to various printed flexible electronics.     

Influence of Anvil Alignment on Shearing Patterns in High‐Pressure Torsion

A two‐phase duplex stainless steel was used as a model material in order to investigate the development of flow patterns when processing using high‐pressure torsion (HPT). The results show that double‐swirls are visible on the disc surfaces when processing with controlled amounts of anvil misalignment but not when the anvils are in an essentially perfect alignment. There are also shear vortices visible on the disc surfaces when processing with controlled amounts of misalignment but not when using perfect alignment. These results demonstrate the need for exercising significant care when processing discs by HPT. Prior to introducing torsional straining, it is important to ensure that the upper and lower anvils are in good alignment to within ≈25 µm.     

Inverse Sub‐structuring Method for Multi‐coordinate Rigidly Coupled Product Transport System based on a Novel Shearing Probe Technique

The inverse sub‐structuring method can predict the component‐level frequency response functions (FRFs) of product (critical component) for product transport system from only measured system‐level FRFs, facilitating the cushioning packaging design. However, the FRFs of the coupling interface between product and vehicle are usually of extreme difficulty to be measured due to the limited accessible space. To overcome this difficulty, the authors suggested a so‐called FRF probe technique method in the previous study, which may be more suitable for the single‐coordinate coupled system. In practice, most of the product transport systems should be treated as multi‐coordinate coupled system. The aim of this paper is to derive a new FRF‐based inverse sub‐structuring method for multi‐coordinate rigidly coupled product transport system and develop a new shearing probe technique to obtain the difficult‐to‐monitor FRFs at the coupling interface, which will be validated by a lumped mass model and finite element models, respectively, showing perfect agreement. Finally, the experiment on a physical prototype of multi‐coordinate rigidly coupled product transport system is performed to further check the feasibility of the application prospect of the shearing probe technique for inverse analysis of product transport system. The method proposed in this study will provide the packaging designers an alternative method to monitor the integrity of product transport system. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Sorting of 10‐µm‐Long Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution

Single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a class of 1D nanomaterials that exhibit extraordinary electrical and optical properties. However, many of their fundamental studies and practical applications are stymied by sample polydispersity. SWCNTs are synthesized in bulk with broad structural (chirality) and geometrical (length and diameter) distributions; problematically, all known post‐synthetic sorting methods rely on ultrasonication, which cuts SWCNTs into short segments (typically <1 µm). It is demonstrated that ultralong (>10 µm) SWCNTs can be efficiently separated from shorter ones through a solution‐phase “self‐sorting”. It is shown that thin‐film transistors fabricated from long semiconducting SWCNTs exhibit a carrier mobility as high as ≈90 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which is ≈10 times higher than those which use shorter counterparts and well exceeds other known materials such as organic semiconducting polymers (<1 cm² V^?1 s^?1), amorphous silicon (≈1 cm² V^?1 s^?1), and nanocrystalline silicon (≈50 cm² V^?1 s^?1). Mechanistic studies suggest that this self‐sorting is driven by the length‐dependent solution phase behavior of rigid rods. This length sorting technique shows a path to attain long‐sought ultralong, electronically pure carbon nanotube materials through scalable solution processing.     

Dual‐Hole Excitons Activated Photoelectrolysis in Neutral Solution

II–VI semiconductors exhibit unique behaviors that can generate dual‐holes (“heavy and light”), but the application in photocatalysis is still missing. Herein, an empirical utilization of light/heavy holes in a hybrid metal cluster‐2D semiconductor nanoplatelets is reported. This hybrid material can boost the hole‐transfer at the surface and suppress the recombination. Different roles are enacted by light‐holes and heavy‐holes, in which the light‐holes with higher energy and mobility can facilitate the slow kinetics of water oxidation and further reduce the onset voltage, while the massive heavy‐holes can increase the resulting photocurrent by about five times, achieving a photocurrent of 2 mA cm^?2 at 1.23 V versus RHE under AM 1.5 G illumination in nonsacrificial neutral solution. These strategies can be the solutions for photoelectrolysis and be beneficial for sustainable development in solar conversion.