Lead halide perovskite nanowires stabilized by block copolymers for Langmuir-Blodgett assembly

The rapid development of solar cells based on lead halide perovskites (LHPs) has prompted very active research activities in other closely-related fields. Colloidal nanostructures of such materials display superior optoelectronic properties. Especially, one-dimensional (1D) LHPs nanowires show anisotropic optical properties when they are highly oriented. However, the ionic nature makes them very sensitive to external environment, limiting their large scale practical applications. Here, we introduce an amphiphilic block copolymer, polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-P4VP), to chemically modify the surface of colloidal CsPbBr₃ nanowires. The resulting core-shell nanowires show enhanced photoluminescent emission and good colloidal stability against water. Taking advantage of the stability enhancement, we further applied a modified Langmuir-Blodgett technique to assemble monolayers of highly aligned nanowires, and studied their anisotropic optical properties.

     

Tensor-vector-scalar-modified gravity: from small scale to cosmology

The impressive success of the standard cosmological model has suggested to many that its ingredients are all that one needs to explain galaxies and their systems. I summarize a number of known problems with this programme. They might signal the failure of standard gravity theory on galaxy scales. The requisite hints as to the alternative gravity theory may lie with the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) paradigm, which has proved to be an effective summary of galaxy phenomenology. A simple nonlinear modified gravity theory does justice to MOND at the non-relativistic level, but cannot be consistently promoted to relativistic status. The obstacles were first side-stepped with the formulation of tensor-vector-scalar theory (TeVeS), a covariant-modified gravity theory. I review its structure, its MOND and Newtonian limits, and its performance in the face of galaxy phenomenology. I also summarize features of TeVeS cosmology and describe the confrontation with data from strong and weak gravitational lensing.     

Highly Controlled Zigzag Perovskite Nanocrystals Enabled by Dipole-Induced Self-Assembly of Nanocubes for Low-Threshold Amplified Spontaneous Emission and Lasing

Self-assembly of nanocrystals into controlled structures while uncompromising their properties is one of the key steps in optoelectronic device fabrication. Herein, zigzag CsPbBr₃ perovskite nanocrystals are demonstrated with a precise number of components with nanocube morphology, these can be successfully obtained through a dipole-induced self-assembly process. The addition of a trace amount of deionized water facilitates the transfer from CsPbBr₃ nanocubes to intermediates of CsPb₂Br₅ and Cs₃In₂Br₉, which then fastly release reaction monomers leading to further homogenous nucleation of CsPbBr₃ nanocubes, followed by the formation of zigzag CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals through a dipole-induced self-assembly process. Dipole moment along <110> axis is found to be the driving force for the assembly of nanocubes into zigzag nanocrystals. The zigzag CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals exhibit desirable optical properties comparable to their nanocube counterparts and offer advantages for amplified spontaneous emission and lasing applications with low pump thresholds of 3.1 and 6.02 µJ cm⁻², respectively. This study not only develops a strategy for producing highly controlled zigzag perovskite nanocrystals and provides insights on the dipole-induced self-assembly mechanisms, but also opens an avenue for their application in lasing.