Facile Generation of L10‐FePt Nanodot Arrays from a Nanopatterned Metallopolymer Blend of Iron and Platinum Homopolymers

Hard ferromagnetic (L1₀ phase) FePt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with extremely high magnetocrystalline anisotropy are considered to be one of the most promising candidates for the next generation of ultrahigh‐density data storage system. The question of how to generate ordered patterns of L1₀‐FePt NPs and how to transform the technology for practical applications represents a key current challenge. Here the direct synthesis of L1₀ phase FePt NPs by pyrolysis of Fe‐containing and Pt‐containing metallopolymer blend without post‐annealing treatment is reported. Rapid single‐step fabrication of large‐area nanodot arrays (periodicity of 500 nm) of L1₀‐ordered FePt NPs can also be achieved by employing the metallopolymer blend, which possesses excellent solubility in most organic solvents and good solution processability, as the precursor through nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging of the nanodot pattern indicates that the patterned L1₀ phase FePt NPs are capable of exhibiting decent magnetic response, which suggests a great potential to be utilized directly in the fabrication of bit patterned media (BPM) for the next generation of magnetic recording technology.     

Iron Oxide‐Labeled Collagen Scaffolds for Non‐Invasive MR Imaging in Tissue Engineering

Non‐invasive imaging holds significant potential for implementation in tissue engineering. It can be used to monitor the localization and function of tissue‐engineered implants, as well as their resorption and remodelling. Thus far, however, the vast majority of effort in this area of research have focused on the use of ultrasmall super‐paramagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticle‐labeled cells, colonizing the scaffolds, to indirectly image the implant material. Reasoning that directly labeling scaffold materials might be more beneficial (enabling imaging also in the case of non‐cellularized implants), more informative (enabling the non‐invasive visualization and quantification of scaffold degradation), and easier to translate into the clinic (cell‐free materials are less complex from a regulatory point‐of‐view), three different types of USPIO nanoparticles are prepared and incorporated both passively and actively (via chemical conjugation; during collagen crosslinking) into collagen‐based scaffold materials. The amount of USPIO incorporated into the scaffolds is optimized, and correlated with MR signal intensity, showing that the labeled scaffolds are highly biocompatible, and that scaffold degradation can be visualized using MRI. This provides an initial proof‐of‐principle for the in vivo visualization of the scaffolds. Consequently, USPIO‐labeled scaffold materials seem to be highly suitable for image‐guided tissue engineering applications.     

Photo‐Stable Organic Thin‐Film Transistor Utilizing a New Indolocarbazole Derivative for Image Pixel and Logic Applications

Small molecule pentacene layer has been a representative among many organic thin‐film transistor (OTFT) channels with decent p‐type mobilities, but it is certainly light‐sensitive due to its relatively small highest occupied molecular orbital‐lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO‐LUMO) gap (1.85 eV). Although a few other small molecule‐based layers have been reported later, their photo‐stabilities or related device applications have hardly been addressed. Here, a new photostable organic layer is reported, heptazole (C₂₆H₁₆N₂), which has almost the same HOMO level as that of pentacene but with a higher HOMO‐LUMO gap (≈2.95 eV). This heptazole OTFT displays a decent mobility comparable to that of conventional amorphous Si TFTs, showing good photostability unlike pentacene OTFTs. An image pixel driving the photostable heptazole OTFT connected to a pentacene/Al Schottky photodiode is demonstrated. This heptazole OTFT also conveniently forms a logic inverter coupled with a pentacene OTFT, sharing Au for source/drain.     

Relaxor/Ferroelectric Composites: A Solution in the Quest for Practically Viable Lead‐Free Incipient Piezoceramics

Recently developed lead‐free incipient piezoceramics are promising candidates for off‐resonance actuator applications with their exceptionally large electromechanical strains. Their commercialization currently faces two major challenges: high electric field required for activating the large strains and large strain hysteresis. It is demonstrated that design of a relaxor/ferroelectric composite provides a highly effective way to resolve both challenges. Experimental results in conjunction with numerical simulations provide key parameters for the development of viable incipient piezoceramics.     

Carbon‐Based Anodes for Lithium Sulfur Full Cells with High Cycle Stability

The lithium sulfur battery system has been studied since the late 1970s and has seen renewed interest in recent years. However, even after three decades of intensive research, prolonged cycling can only be achieved when a large excess of electrolyte and lithium is used. Here, for the first time, a balanced and stable lithium sulfur full cell is demonstrated with silicon–carbon as well as all‐carbon anodes. More than 1000 cycles, a specific capacity up to 1470 mAh g^?1 _sulfur (720 mAh g^?1 _cathode), and a high coulombic efficiency of over 99% even with a low amount of electrolyte are achieved. The alternative anodes do not suffer from electrolyte depletion, which is found to be the main cause of cell failure when using metallic lithium anodes.     

Cell‐Tethered Ligands Modulate Bone Remodeling by Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts

The goals of the present study are to establish an in vitro co‐culture model of osteoblast and osteoclast function and to quantify the resulting bone remodeling. The bone is tissue engineered using well‐defined silk protein biomaterials in 2D and 3D formats in combination with human cells. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) are selected because of their roles in bone remodeling for expression in tethered format on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The cell‐modified biomaterial surfaces are reconstructed from scanning electron microscopy images into 3D models for quantitative measurement of surface characteristics. Increased calcium deposition and surface roughness are found in 3D surface models of silk protein films remodeled by co‐cultures containing tethered PTH, and decreased surface roughness is found for the films remodeled by tethered GIP co‐cultures. Increased surface roughness is not found in monocultures of hMSCs expressing tethered PTH, suggesting that osteoclast‐osteoblast interactions in the presence of PTH signaling are responsible for the increased mineralization. These data point towards the design of in vitro bone models in which osteoblast‐osteoclast interactions are mimicked for a better understanding of bone remodeling.     

Fast Switching ITO Free Electrochromic Devices

Indium‐doped tin oxide free electrochromic devices are prepared by coating electrochromic polymers onto polyethylene terephthalate substrates encompassing two different silver grids as electrodes. One design comprises a flexoprinted highly conductive silver grid electrode, yielding electrochromic devices with a response time of 2 s for an optical contrast of 27%. The other design utilizes an embedded silver grid electrode whereupon response times of 0.5 s for a 30% optical contrast are realized when oxidizing the device. A commercially available conductive poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4‐styrenesulfonate acid) formulation (PEDOT:PSS) is coated onto the silver grids as a charge balancing polymer, and is in this setting found to be superior to a polypyrrole previously employed in electrochromic devices. In addition, the PEDOT:PSS layer increases the conductivity in the hexagonal grid structure.     

Triboelectric Nanogenerator as an Active UV Photodetector

Self‐powered nanosensors and nanosystems have attracted significant attention in the past decades and have gradually become the most desirable and promising prototype for environmental protection/detection because no battery is needed to power the device. Therefore, in this paper a design is proposed for a self‐powered photodetector based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) configuration. 3D dendritic TiO₂ nanostructures are synthesized as the built‐in UV photodetector as well as the contact material of the TENG. The cost‐effective, robust, and easily fabricated TENG‐based photodetector presents superior photoresponse characteristics, which include an excellent responsivity over 280 A W^?1, rapid rise time (18 ms) and decay time (31 ms), and a wide detection range of light intensity from 20 μW cm^?2 to 7 mW cm^?2. In the last part of the paper, a stand‐alone and self‐powered environmental sensing device is developed by applying poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates and springs to assemble the TENG‐based photodetector. These results indicate that the new prototype sensing device based on the TENG configuration shows great potential as a self‐powered photodetector.     

Bisanthracene‐Based Donor–Acceptor‐type Light‐Emitting Dopants: Highly Efficient Deep‐Blue Emission in Organic Light‐Emitting Devices

Deep‐blue fluorescent compounds are particularly important in organic light‐emitting devices (OLEDs). A donor–accepotor (DA)‐type blue‐emitting compound, 1‐(10‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)anthracen‐9‐yl)‐4‐(10‐(4‐cyanophenyl)anthracen‐9‐yl)benzene ( BD3 ), is synthesized, and for comparison, a nonDA‐type compound, 1,4‐bis(10‐phenylanthracene‐9‐yl)benzene ( BD1 ) and a weak DA‐type compound, 1‐(10‐phenylanthracen‐9‐yl)‐4‐(10‐(4‐cyanophenyl)anthracen‐9‐yl)‐benzene ( BD2 ), are also synthesized. The twisted conformations of the two anthracene units in the compounds, confirmed by single crystal X‐ray analysis, effectively prevent π‐conjugation, and the compound shows deep‐blue photoluminescence (PL) with a high PL quantum efficiency, almost independent of the solvent polarity, resulting from the absence of an intramolecular charge transfer state. The DA‐type molecule BD3 in a non‐doped device exhibits a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.2% with a slight roll‐off, indicating good charge balance due to the DA‐type molecular design. In the doped device with 4,4′‐bis(N‐carbazolyl)‐1,1′‐biphenyl (CBP) host, the BD3 exhibits higher EQE than 10% with Commission International de L'Eclairge (CIE) coordinates of (0.15, 0.06) and a narrow full‐width at half‐maximum of 45 nm, which is close to the CIE of the high definition television standard blue.     

Highly Fluorescent and Color‐Tunable Exciplex Emission from Poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) Film Containing Nanostructured Supramolecular Acceptors

Highly fluorescent excited‐state charge‐transfer complexes (exciplexes) formed at the interfacial region between a polymeric donor matrix, here, poly(N‐vinylcarbazole), and embedded nanostructured acceptors are characterized for their photophysical properties. Exciplex‐to‐exciton emission switching is observed after solvent vapor annealing (SVA) due to the size evolution of the nanostructures beyond the exciton diffusion length. Color‐tunable exiplex emission (sky blue, green, and orange) is demonstrated for three different nanostructured acceptors with the same HOMO–LUMO gap (i.e., the same blue excitonic emission) but with different electron affinity. White‐emitting poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) film is also fabricated, simply by incorporating mixed supramolecular acceptors, which provide independent exciplex emissions. This study presents important insights into the excited‐state intermolecular interaction at the well‐defined nanoscale interface and suggests an efficient way to obtain multicolored exciplex emissions.