Publications

ZnO nanowire inorganic/organic hybrid ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have attracted considerable attention as they not only combine the high flexibility of polymers with the structural and chemical stability of inorganic nanostructures but also have a higher light extraction efficiency than thin film structures. However, up to date, the external quantum efficiency of UV LED based on ZnO nanostructures has been limited by a lack of efficient methods to achieve a balance between electron contributed current and hole contributed current that reduces the nonradiative recombination at interface. Here we demonstrate that the piezo-phototronic effect can largely enhance the efficiency of a hybridized inorganic/organic LED made of a ZnO nanowire/p-polymer structure, by trimming the electron current to match the hole current and increasing the localized hole density near the interface through a carrier channel created by piezoelectric polarization charges on the ZnO side. The external efficiency of the hybrid LED was enhanced by at least a factor of 2 after applying a proper strain, reaching 5.92%. This study offers a new concept for increasing organic LED efficiency and has a great potential for a wide variety of high-performance flexible optoelectronic devices.

Abstract An acoustic wave is a type of energy that is clean and abundant but almost totally unused because of its very low density. This study investigates a novel dual‐tube Helmholtz resonator‐based triboelectric nanogenerator (HR‐TENG) for highly efficient harvesting of acoustic energy. This HR‐TENG is composed of a Helmholtz resonant cavity, a metal film with evenly distributed acoustic holes, and a dielectric soft film with one side ink‐printed for electrode. Effects of resonant cavity structure, acoustic conditions, and film tension on the HR‐TENG performance are investigated systematically. By coupling the mechanisms of triboelectric nanogenerator and acoustic propagation, a theoretical guideline is provided for improving energy output and broadening the frequency band. Specifically, the present HR‐TENG generates the maximum acoustic sensitivity per unit area of 1.23 VPa −1 cm −2 and the maximum power density per unit sound pressure of 1.82 WPa −1 m −2 , which are higher than the best results from the literature by 60 and 20%, respectively. In addition, the HR‐TENG may also serve as a self‐powered acoustic sensor.

Memristors that emulate synaptic plasticity are building blocks for opening a new era of energy-efficient neuromorphic computing architecture, which will overcome the limitation of the von Neumann bottleneck. Layered two-dimensional (2D) Bi2O2Se, as an emerging material for next-generation electronics, is of great significance in improving the efficiency and performance of memristive devices. Herein, high-quality Bi2O2Se nanosheets are grown by configuring mica substrates face-down on the Bi2O2Se powder. Then, bipolar Bi2O2Se memristors are fabricated with excellent performance including ultrafast switching speed (<5 ns) and low-power consumption (<3.02 pJ). Moreover, synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation/depression (LTP/LTD), paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), and spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), are demonstrated in the Bi2O2Se memristor. Furthermore, MNIST recognition with simulated artificial neural networks (ANN) based on conductance modification could reach a high accuracy of 91%. Notably, the 2D Bi2O2Se enables the memristor to possess ultrafast and low-power attributes, showing great potential in neuromorphic computing applications.

Discovering and utilizing the unique optoelectronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is of great significance for developing next-generation electronic devices. In particular, research on Dirac state modulations of TMDCs under external strains is lacking. To fill this research gap, it has established a comprehensive database of 90 types of TMDCs and their response behaviors under external strains have been systematically investigated regarding the presence of Dirac cones and electronic structure evolutions. Among all the conditions, 27.3% of the TMDCs are Dirac materials with three distinct types of Dirac cones, which are mainly attributed to the electron localizations induced by external strains. TMDCs based on tellurides with 1H phase favor the formation of Dirac cones under stresses, leading to metallic-like properties and ultra-fast charge transportation. Correlations among Dirac cones, energy, electronic properties, and lattice structures have been revealed, offering critical references for modulating the properties of well-known TMDCs. More importantly, it has confirmed that the phase transition points are not sufficient for the appearance of Dirac cones. This work provides critical guidance to facilitate the development of TMDCs-based superconducting and optoelectronic devices for broad applications.

Abstract The low melting point of Zn and the high melting point of ZnO, as well as their hexagonal crystal structures, present great advantages for designing and fabricating various metal/semiconductor core/shell nanostructures. By controlling the kinetics in the Zn and ZnO system, the lower‐energy facets, and the oxidation rates of different surfaces, we can control the fabrication of Zn/ZnO core/shell single‐crystal, polycrystalline, and mesoporous nanodisks, as well as a variety of ZnO nanotubes. The oxidation of a Zn nano‐object leads to the formation of Zn/ZnO core/shell nanodisks. A lower oxidation temperature results in the formation of a single‐crystal‐like Zn/ZnO core/shell structure, while a higher oxidation temperature leads to the formation of textured and even polycrystalline nanostructures. A re‐sublimation process of Zn in the core leaves a ZnO shell structure. This is an approach for synthesizing metal/semiconductor core/shell or composite nanostructures. This article offers a detailed description of the kinetics controlling the procedures, the nanostructures obtained, their morphological and crystal structures, and their formation mechanisms.

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is considered as one of the critical parts for the construction of Internet of Things (IoTs) by harvesting distributed energy. However, its high alternating current voltage output characteristic is not suitable for directly driving electronics and the undesirable heat generated during friction will cause friction of dielectric layer and energy loss. Herein, an energy‐harvesting device is designed, which includes an adaptive rotating triboelectric nanogenerator (AR‐TENG) coupling of a thermoelectric generator (ThEG) and a matching transformers circuit. The AR‐TENG is beneficial to reduce the friction by dielectric layer's inherent elasticity and the ThEG can reuse the inevitable heat with Seebeck effect. Besides, the maximal output conversion efficiency of the designed transformers circuit for AR‐TENG is enhanced up to 96.4%. Therefore, the energy storage velocity of the whole device charging supercapacitor is improved almost by 28 times than that of alone AR‐TENG. This finding not only provides a strategy to improve the energy‐harvesting efficiency of TENG, but also offers a wide application for TENG in IoTs.

Iontronic sensors represent a novel class of soft electronics which not only replicate the biomimetic structures and perception functions of human skin but also simulate the mechanical sensing mechanism. Relying on the similar mechanism with skin perception, the iontronic sensors can achieve ion migration/redistribution in response to external stimuli, promising iontronic sensing to establish more intelligent sensing interface for human-robotic interaction. Here, a comprehensive review on advanced technologies and diversified applications for the exploitation of iontronic sensors toward ionic skins and artificial intelligence is provided. By virtue of the excellent stretchability, high transparency, ultrahigh sensitivity, and mechanical conformality, numerous attempts have been made to explore various novel ionic materials to fabricate iontronic sensors with skin-like perceptive properties, such as self-healing and multimodal sensing. Moreover, to achieve multifunctional artificial skins and intelligent devices, various mechanisms based on iontronics have been investigated to satisfy multiple functions and human interactive experiences. Benefiting from the unique material property, diverse sensing mechanisms, and elaborate device structure, iontronic sensors have demonstrated a variety of applications toward ionic skins and artificial intelligence.

In article number 2003921, Zhuoqing Yang, Chi Zhang, Zhong Lin Wang and co-workers theoretically and experimentally verify the output characteristics of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) based on Maxwell's equations, which include both polarization and magnetization effects. For the first time, the discovered output characteristics of TENGs are precisely derived from the working principle of TENGs, simultaneously, a completed and unified theoretical system is constructed for TENGs.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanobelts synthesized by thermal evaporation have been ion implanted with 30 keV Mn+ ions. Both transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence investigations show highly defective material directly after the implantation process. Upon annealing to 800 °C, the implanted Mn remains in the ZnO nanobelts and the matrix recovers both in structure and luminescence. The produced high-quality ZnO:Mn nanobelts are potentially useful for spintronics.