Advent of 2D Rhenium Disulfide (ReS2): Fundamentals to Applications

Rhenium disulfide (ReS₂) is a two‐dimensional (2D) group VII transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). It is attributed with structural and vibrational anisotropy, layer‐independent electrical and optical properties, and metal‐free magnetism properties. These properties are unusual compared with more widely used group VI‐TMDs, e.g., MoS₂, MoSe₂, WS₂ and WSe₂. Consequently, it has attracted significant interest in recent years and is now being used for a variety of applications including solid state electronics, catalysis, and, energy harvesting and energy storage. It is anticipated that ReS₂ has the potential to be equally used in parallel with isotropic TMDs from group VI for all known applications and beyond. Therefore, a review on ReS₂ is very timely. In this first review on ReS₂, we critically analyze the available synthesis procedures and their pros/cons, atomic structure and lattice symmetry, crystal structure, and growth mechanisms with an insight into the orientation and architecture of domain and grain boundaries, decoupling of structural and vibrational properties, anisotropic electrical, optical, and magnetic properties impacted by crystal imperfections, doping and adatoms adsorptions, and contemporary applications in different areas.     

Proactive multipath routing with a predictive mechanism in software‐defined networks

With the growth of network traffic volume, link congestion cannot be avoided efficiently with conventional routing protocols. By utilizing the single shortest‐path routing algorithm from link state advertisement information, standard routing protocols lack of global awareness and are difficult to be modified in a traditional network environment. Recently, software‐defined network (SDN) provided innovative architecture for researchers to program their own network protocols. With SDN, we can divert heavy traffic to multiple paths in order to resolve link congestion. Furthermore, certain network traffics come in periodic fashion such as peak hours at working days so that we can leverage forecasting for resource management to improve its performance. In this paper, we propose a proactive multipath routing with a predictive mechanism (PMRP) to achieve high‐performance congestion resolution. PMRP has two main concepts: (a) a proactive mechanism where PMRP deploys M/M/1 queue and traffic statistics to simulate weighted delay for possible combinations of multipaths placement of all subnet pairs, and leverage genetic algorithm for accelerating selection of optimized solution, and (b) a predictive mechanism whereby PMRP uses exponential smoothing for demand traffic volumes and variance predictions. Experimental results show a 49% reduction in average delay as compared with single shortest routing, and a 16% reduction in average delay compared with utilization & topology‐aware multipath routing (UTAMP). With the predictive mechanism, PMRP can decrease an additional 20% average delay. Furthermore, PMRP reduces 93% of flow table usage on average as compared with UTAMP.     

Reversible Formation of g‐C3N4 3D Hydrogels through Ionic Liquid Activation: Gelation Behavior and Room‐Temperature Gas‐Sensing Properties

Many unique properties arise when the 3D stacking of layered materials is disrupted, originating nanostructures. Stabilization, and further reorganization of these individual layers into complex 3D structures, can be essential to allow these properties to persist in macroscopic systems. It is demonstrated that a simple hydrothermal process, assisted by ionic liquids (ILs), can convert bulk g‐C₃N₄ into a stable hydrogel. The gelation occurs through delamination of the layered structure, driven by particular interactions between the IL and the carbon nitride sheets, forming an amphiphilic foam‐like network. This study employs spectroscopic and computational tools to unravel the gelation mechanism, and provides a rational approach toward the stabilization of 2D materials in hydrogels. The solution‐processable hydrogels can also be used as building blocks of complex devices. Chemiresistive gas sensors employing g‐C₃N₄ 3D hydrogels exhibit superior response at room temperature, enabling effective gas sensing under low power conditions.     

A Facile Microwave Avenue to Electrochemiluminescent Two‐Color Graphene Quantum Dots

With the assistance of microwave irradiation, greenish‐yellow luminescent graphene quantum dots (gGQDs) with a quantum yield (QY) up to 11.7% are successfully prepared via cleaving graphene oxide (GO) under acid conditions. The cleaving and reduction processes are accomplished simultaneously using microwave treatment without additional reducing agent. When the gGQDs are further reduced with NaBH₄, bright blue luminescent graphene quantum dots (bGQDs) are obtained with a QY as high as 22.9%. Both GQDs show well‐known excitation‐dependent PL behavior, which could be ascribed to the transition from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) with a carbene‐like triplet ground state. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is observed from the graphene quantum dots for the first time, suggesting promising applications in ECL biosensing and imaging. The ECL mechanism is investigated in detail. Furthermore, a novel sensor for Cd²⁺ is proposed based on Cd²⁺ induced ECL quenching with cysteine (Cys) as the masking agent.     

Simultaneous Control of Light Polarization and Phase Distributions Using Plasmonic Metasurfaces

Harnessing light for modern photonic applications often involves the control and manipulation of light polarization and phase. Traditional methods require a combination of multiple discrete optical components, each of which contributes to a specific functionality. Here, plasmonic metasurfaces are proposed that accomplish the simultaneous manipulation of polarization and phase of the transmitted light. Arbitrary spatial field distribution of the optical phase and polarization direction can be obtained. The multifunctional metasurfaces are validated by demonstrating a broadband near‐perfect anomalous refraction with controllable linear polarization through introducing a constant phase gradient along the interface. Furthermore, the power of the proposed metasurfaces is demonstrated by generating a radially polarized beam. The new degrees of freedom of metasurfaces facilitate arbitrary manipulation of light and will profoundly affect a wide range of photonic applications.     

Rolling Friction Enhanced Free‐Standing Triboelectric Nanogenerators and their Applications in Self‐Powered Electrochemical Recovery Systems

Heavy metals contained in wastewater are one of the most serious pollutions in natural resources. A self‐powered electrochemical recovery system for collecting Cu ions in wastewater by incorporating a rolling friction enhanced freestanding triboelectric nanogenerator (RF‐TENG) is developed here. The RF‐TENG utilizes integrated cylindrical surfaces using the conjunction of rolling electrification and freestanding electrostatic induction, which shows outstanding output performance and ultrarobust stability. By using the kinetic energy of flowing water, a collection efficiency of up to 80% for Cu²⁺ ions in wastewater has been achieved. Self‐powered electrochemical systems are one of the most promising applications of TENGs for independent and sustainable driving of electrochemical reactions without the need for any additional power supply. This research is a substantial advancement towards the practical applications of triboelectric nanogenerators and self‐powered electrochemical systems.     

Facile Two‐Step Synthesis of All‐Inorganic Perovskite CsPbX3 (X = Cl,Br, and I) Zeolite‐Y Composite Phosphors for Potential Backlight Display Application

Recently developed CsPbX₃ (X = Cl, Br, and I) perovskite quantum dots (QDs) hold great potential for various applications owing to their superior optical properties, such as tunable emissions, high quantum efficiency, and narrow linewidths. However, poor stability under ambient conditions and spontaneous ion exchange among QDs hinder their application, for example, as phosphors in white‐light‐emitting diodes (WLEDs). Here, a facile two‐step synthesis procedure is reported for luminescent and color‐tunable CsPbX₃–zeolite‐Y composite phosphors, where perovskite QDs are encapsulated in the porous zeolite matrix. First zeolite‐Y is infused with Cs⁺ ions by ion exchange from an aqueous solution and then forms CsPbX₃ QDs by diffusion and reaction with an organic solution of PbX₂. The zeolite encapsulation reduces degradation and improves the stability of the QDs under strong illumination. A WLED is fabricated using the resulting microscale composites, with Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) color coordinates (0.38, 0.37) and achieving 114% of National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) and 85% of the ITU‐R Recommendation BT.2020 (Rec.2020) coverage.     

CdS Quantum Dots Encapsulated in Chiral Nematic Mesoporous Silica: New Iridescent and Luminescent Materials

Simultaneous integration of light emission and iridescence into a semiconducting photonic material is attractive for the design of new optical devices. Here, a straightforward, one‐pot approach for liquid crystal self‐assembly of semiconductor quantum dots into cellulose nanocrystal‐templated silica is developed. Through a careful balance of the intermolecular interactions between a lyotropic tetraalkoxysilane/cellulose nanocrystal dispersion and water‐soluble polyacrylic acid/mercaptopropionic acid‐stabilized CdS quantum dots, CdS/silica/nanocellulose composites that retain both chiral nematic order of the cellulose nanocrystals and emission of the quantum dots are successfully co‐assembled. Subsequent removal of the cellulose template and organic stabilizers in the composites by controlled calcination generates new freestanding iridescent, luminescent chiral nematic mesoporous silica‐encapsulated CdS films. The pores of these materials are accessible to analytes and, consequently, the CdS quantum dots undergo strong luminescence quenching when exposed to TNT solutions or vapor.