Timo Piecuch, Nina Daneu, Jeffrey A. Brock, Xiaochun Huang, Tina Radoševič, Arnold M. Müller, Christof Vockenhuber, Christof W. Schneider, Thomas Lippert, Nick A. Shepelin
Flexoelectricity – polarization induced by strain gradients – offers a route to polar functionality in centrosymmetric dielectrics, where traditional piezoelectric effects are absent. This study investigates the flexoelectric effect in epitaxial BaHfO 3 (BHO) thin films, a centrosymmetric and paraelectric perovskite. While a large lattice mismatch induces defect‐driven relaxation, a coherently grown BHO film undergoes elastic relaxation, forming intrinsic strain gradients exceeding 10 5 m −1 . A 29‐fold enhancement in spontaneous polarization is observed at an electric field of 4 MV cm −1 for BHO exhibiting a strain gradient compared to relaxed BHO. This enhancement is attributed to flexoelectric coupling, which is isolated from ferroelectric and piezoelectric contributions due to the centrosymmetric nature and the absence of phase transitions in BHO. The findings establish a clear link between engineered strain gradients and enhanced polarizability in oxide thin films, offering a benchmark system for deconvoluting the flexoelectric effect from other polar effects. These results provide a basis for exploiting flexoelectricity in dielectric devices and advance the fundamental understanding of strain‐coupled phenomena in functional oxides.
{"title":"Flexoelectric Polarization Enhancement in Paraelectric BaHfO 3 via Strain Gradient Engineering","authors":"Timo Piecuch, Nina Daneu, Jeffrey A. Brock, Xiaochun Huang, Tina Radoševič, Arnold M. Müller, Christof Vockenhuber, Christof W. Schneider, Thomas Lippert, Nick A. Shepelin","doi":"10.1002/smll.202507756","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202507756","url":null,"abstract":"Flexoelectricity – polarization induced by strain gradients – offers a route to polar functionality in centrosymmetric dielectrics, where traditional piezoelectric effects are absent. This study investigates the flexoelectric effect in epitaxial BaHfO <jats:sub>3</jats:sub> (BHO) thin films, a centrosymmetric and paraelectric perovskite. While a large lattice mismatch induces defect‐driven relaxation, a coherently grown BHO film undergoes elastic relaxation, forming intrinsic strain gradients exceeding 10 <jats:sup>5</jats:sup> m <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> . A 29‐fold enhancement in spontaneous polarization is observed at an electric field of 4 MV cm <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> for BHO exhibiting a strain gradient compared to relaxed BHO. This enhancement is attributed to flexoelectric coupling, which is isolated from ferroelectric and piezoelectric contributions due to the centrosymmetric nature and the absence of phase transitions in BHO. The findings establish a clear link between engineered strain gradients and enhanced polarizability in oxide thin films, offering a benchmark system for deconvoluting the flexoelectric effect from other polar effects. These results provide a basis for exploiting flexoelectricity in dielectric devices and advance the fundamental understanding of strain‐coupled phenomena in functional oxides.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145759844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleic acid therapeutics (NATs) promise to revolutionize the fight against diseases like cancer, yet their full potential remains untapped due to significant delivery challenges. In this study, innovative nano‐cell vesicle technology systems (nCVTs) are developed to target NATs to cancer cells. nCVTs are created by fusing cationic lipids with pre‐emptied cell membranes that can efficiently bind and transport NATs such as antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). In the study, nCVTs loaded with an anti‐cancer ASO, AS014 (nCVTs AS014 ) outperformed both liposomes and free AS014 in delivering the therapeutic payload into cancer cells, reaching both the cytoplasm and nuclei with remarkable efficiency while displaying lower intrinsic cytotoxicity. Most impressively, nCVTsAS014 demonstrated potent inhibition of tumor growth in vivo, underscoring its potential as a powerful cancer therapy platform. Altogether, the findings highlight nCVTs as a promising strategy to unlock the therapeutic power of NATs, paving the way toward more effective and targeted treatments for cancer.
{"title":"Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides Using the Nano‐Cell Vesicle Technology System (nCVTs) for Targeted Cancer Therapy","authors":"Yi Hsuan Ou, Wei Heng Chng, Ram Pravin Kumar Muthuramalingam, Prathyusha Raghunathan, Nichakan Khunkitchai, Choon Keong Lee, Jae Ha Jun, Zi Xiu Ng, Phua Tian Xin, Wei Jiang Goh, Jiong‐Wei Wang, Bertrand Czarny","doi":"10.1002/smll.202509094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202509094","url":null,"abstract":"Nucleic acid therapeutics (NATs) promise to revolutionize the fight against diseases like cancer, yet their full potential remains untapped due to significant delivery challenges. In this study, innovative nano‐cell vesicle technology systems (nCVTs) are developed to target NATs to cancer cells. nCVTs are created by fusing cationic lipids with pre‐emptied cell membranes that can efficiently bind and transport NATs such as antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). In the study, nCVTs loaded with an anti‐cancer ASO, AS014 (nCVTs <jats:sub>AS014</jats:sub> ) outperformed both liposomes and free AS014 in delivering the therapeutic payload into cancer cells, reaching both the cytoplasm and nuclei with remarkable efficiency while displaying lower intrinsic cytotoxicity. Most impressively, nCVTsAS014 demonstrated potent inhibition of tumor growth in vivo, underscoring its potential as a powerful cancer therapy platform. Altogether, the findings highlight nCVTs as a promising strategy to unlock the therapeutic power of NATs, paving the way toward more effective and targeted treatments for cancer.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"156 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145759865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Panpan Zhang,Keteng Zhu,Jing Zhang,Yuanchuan Tian,Junyu Li,Yaowen Li,Chaohua Cui,Haijun Bin,Yongfang Li
The efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs) is fundamentally constrained by the trade-off between enhanced light absorption and voltage loss, driven by strong non-radiative recombination as dictated by the energy gap law. To address this limitation, a co-additive treatment strategy utilizing solid additive 4-bromochlorobenzene (BCB) and liquid additive 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) is introduced to modulate the molecular aggregation in PM6:BTP-eC9 active layers. DIO promotes acceptor aggregation, reducing the optical bandgap, while BCB stabilizes molecular stacking through J-aggregation, mitigating blending-induced bandgap shifts. The co-additive treatment enhances molecular ordering and aggregation simultaneously, leading to broader absorption and reduced non-radiative recombination losses. Consequently, the OSCs processed by the co-additive treatment strategy achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.72%, an exceptionally high fill factor of 81.3%, and a short-circuit current density (JSC) of 28.61 mA cm-2, while effectively suppressing voltage loss. Anti-reflective layer MgF2 further increases JSC to 29.62 mA cm-2 and PCE to 20.34% for the OSCs, which is among the highest JSC and PCE reported for binary OSCs. This work underscore the effectiveness of BCB and DIO co-treatment in optimizing molecular arrangement and charge dynamics, providing a practical pathway for overcoming efficiency limitations and advancing organic photovoltaics toward higher performance.
有机太阳能电池（OSCs）的效率从根本上受到增强光吸收和电压损失之间的权衡的限制，由能量间隙定律规定的强非辐射复合驱动。为了解决这一限制，引入了一种利用固体添加剂4-溴氯苯（BCB）和液体添加剂1,8-二碘辛烷（DIO）的共添加剂处理策略来调节PM6:BTP-eC9活性层中的分子聚集。DIO促进受体聚集，减小光带隙，而BCB通过j聚集稳定分子堆叠，减轻共混引起的带隙位移。共加处理同时增强了分子的有序性和聚集性，导致更广泛的吸收和减少非辐射重组损失。因此，通过共加处理策略处理的OSCs的功率转换效率（PCE）为19.72%，填充系数高达81.3%，短路电流密度（JSC）为28.61 mA cm-2，同时有效地抑制了电压损失。抗反射层MgF2进一步将OSCs的JSC提高到29.62 mA cm-2， PCE提高到20.34%，这是二元OSCs中最高的JSC和PCE。这项工作强调了BCB和DIO共处理在优化分子排列和电荷动力学方面的有效性，为克服效率限制和推动有机光伏向更高性能发展提供了一条实用途径。
{"title":"Enhancing Binary Organic Solar Cell Performance by Manipulating Molecular J-aggregation to Broaden Absorption and Reduce Energy Loss.","authors":"Panpan Zhang,Keteng Zhu,Jing Zhang,Yuanchuan Tian,Junyu Li,Yaowen Li,Chaohua Cui,Haijun Bin,Yongfang Li","doi":"10.1002/smll.202514190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514190","url":null,"abstract":"The efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs) is fundamentally constrained by the trade-off between enhanced light absorption and voltage loss, driven by strong non-radiative recombination as dictated by the energy gap law. To address this limitation, a co-additive treatment strategy utilizing solid additive 4-bromochlorobenzene (BCB) and liquid additive 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) is introduced to modulate the molecular aggregation in PM6:BTP-eC9 active layers. DIO promotes acceptor aggregation, reducing the optical bandgap, while BCB stabilizes molecular stacking through J-aggregation, mitigating blending-induced bandgap shifts. The co-additive treatment enhances molecular ordering and aggregation simultaneously, leading to broader absorption and reduced non-radiative recombination losses. Consequently, the OSCs processed by the co-additive treatment strategy achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.72%, an exceptionally high fill factor of 81.3%, and a short-circuit current density (JSC) of 28.61 mA cm-2, while effectively suppressing voltage loss. Anti-reflective layer MgF2 further increases JSC to 29.62 mA cm-2 and PCE to 20.34% for the OSCs, which is among the highest JSC and PCE reported for binary OSCs. This work underscore the effectiveness of BCB and DIO co-treatment in optimizing molecular arrangement and charge dynamics, providing a practical pathway for overcoming efficiency limitations and advancing organic photovoltaics toward higher performance.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"3 1","pages":"e14190"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yang Bai,Jiayi Ju,Yujie Pan,Boyuan Zhang,Yihe Yan,Guiqiang Fei
In the increasingly complex electromagnetic environment, the development of polymer-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with recyclability and adjustable performance holds significant potential. However, achieving precise structural control and tunable functionality remains a major challenge. In this study, a multifunctional shape memory polyurethane (SMPU)-based composite system is proposed that integrates electromagnetic shielding and infrared stealth capabilities with intelligent responsiveness. SMPU is synthesized using polytetramethylene ether glycol, 4,4'-dicarboxydiphenyl disulfide, isophorone diisocyanate, and tannic acid. Through the incorporation of dynamic disulfide bonds and abundant hydrogen bonding, the dynamic polymeric network with self-healing and shape memory properties is established. Furthermore, by introducing silver nanowires (AgNWs) and layered MXene, the stable 1D/2D hybrid conductive pathway is formed via Ag-S covalent bonding and adhesive interfacile interactions, significantly enhancing the system's electrical conductivity stability and interfacial stability. The resulting composite film enables tunable adjustment of EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) from 60.0 to 11.0 dB under 0-30% tensile strain in the X-band (8-12 GHz). During the shape memory recovery process at 50 °C, the surface temperature remains stable at ≈20 °C, demonstrating excellent infrared stealth performance. This work provides both theoretical insights and a practical approach for achieving long-term stability and tunable functionality in intelligent electronic materials.
{"title":"Shape Memory-Driven Intelligent Composite Film for Infrared Stealth and Adjustable EMI Shielding.","authors":"Yang Bai,Jiayi Ju,Yujie Pan,Boyuan Zhang,Yihe Yan,Guiqiang Fei","doi":"10.1002/smll.202510825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202510825","url":null,"abstract":"In the increasingly complex electromagnetic environment, the development of polymer-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with recyclability and adjustable performance holds significant potential. However, achieving precise structural control and tunable functionality remains a major challenge. In this study, a multifunctional shape memory polyurethane (SMPU)-based composite system is proposed that integrates electromagnetic shielding and infrared stealth capabilities with intelligent responsiveness. SMPU is synthesized using polytetramethylene ether glycol, 4,4'-dicarboxydiphenyl disulfide, isophorone diisocyanate, and tannic acid. Through the incorporation of dynamic disulfide bonds and abundant hydrogen bonding, the dynamic polymeric network with self-healing and shape memory properties is established. Furthermore, by introducing silver nanowires (AgNWs) and layered MXene, the stable 1D/2D hybrid conductive pathway is formed via Ag-S covalent bonding and adhesive interfacile interactions, significantly enhancing the system's electrical conductivity stability and interfacial stability. The resulting composite film enables tunable adjustment of EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) from 60.0 to 11.0 dB under 0-30% tensile strain in the X-band (8-12 GHz). During the shape memory recovery process at 50 °C, the surface temperature remains stable at ≈20 °C, demonstrating excellent infrared stealth performance. This work provides both theoretical insights and a practical approach for achieving long-term stability and tunable functionality in intelligent electronic materials.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"51 1","pages":"e10825"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gels with high and convertible tribological performance are of great importance for constructing smart devices, sensors, and biomimetic soft matter systems. Of these materials, lubricious gels capable of being manufactured into objects with arbitrary, controllable shapes can exhibit superb adaptability to complex working environments and broader materials design freedoms, but still remain challenging for a number of oleogel and hydrogel systems. Herein, by exploiting a nanoparticle surfactant assembled using N-isopropylacrylamide-methacrylic acid copolymerized nanogel and diamine-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, which can yield near-zero oil/water interfacial tensions and high-strength interfacial films, as both an emulsifier and physical crosslinker, highly stable, viscoelastic, shear-thinning and thixotropic water-in-oil Pickering emulsion gels available for creating various high-resolution 3D-printing patterns and architectures with long-term structural stability and swelling resistance as well as providing favorable macroscale lubrication both in air and under water, can be fabricated. And their lubricious property can be maintained for at least 400 000 continuous reciprocating friction cycles. Further building on the temperature- and pH-controlled reversible assembly of the nanoparticle surfactant, effective shape reconfigurations of the printed gel macrostructures and multilevel switched frictional behavior of the gels can be achieved. Our study may provide new indications for developing novel, versatile, smart, and adaptive soft materials.
{"title":"4D-Printable, Smart Lubricious Pickering Emulsion Gels Fabricated with Reversibly Assembled Nanogel Surfactants.","authors":"Yu Zhang,Yujie Yang,Yunjing Wang,Wenlong Xu,Weiyan Yu,Lu Xu","doi":"10.1002/smll.202512282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202512282","url":null,"abstract":"Gels with high and convertible tribological performance are of great importance for constructing smart devices, sensors, and biomimetic soft matter systems. Of these materials, lubricious gels capable of being manufactured into objects with arbitrary, controllable shapes can exhibit superb adaptability to complex working environments and broader materials design freedoms, but still remain challenging for a number of oleogel and hydrogel systems. Herein, by exploiting a nanoparticle surfactant assembled using N-isopropylacrylamide-methacrylic acid copolymerized nanogel and diamine-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, which can yield near-zero oil/water interfacial tensions and high-strength interfacial films, as both an emulsifier and physical crosslinker, highly stable, viscoelastic, shear-thinning and thixotropic water-in-oil Pickering emulsion gels available for creating various high-resolution 3D-printing patterns and architectures with long-term structural stability and swelling resistance as well as providing favorable macroscale lubrication both in air and under water, can be fabricated. And their lubricious property can be maintained for at least 400 000 continuous reciprocating friction cycles. Further building on the temperature- and pH-controlled reversible assembly of the nanoparticle surfactant, effective shape reconfigurations of the printed gel macrostructures and multilevel switched frictional behavior of the gels can be achieved. Our study may provide new indications for developing novel, versatile, smart, and adaptive soft materials.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"28 1","pages":"e12282"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Water is a remarkable yet enigmatic substance with a unique array of anomalous properties, and nanoconfined water exhibits behavior starkly distinct from its bulk counterpart. Herein, two new isomorphic supramolecular polar crystals, [M(18-crown-6)]3[Al(ox)3]·9H2O (M+ = K+ for 1; NH4 + for 2) are reported, self-assembled from the cake-shaped [M(18-crown-6)]+ cations (18-crown-6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane) and Werner-type [Al(ox)3]3- coordination anions (ox2- = oxalate). The crystals contain tetranuclear supramolecular clusters and double-stranded helical water chains, undergoing an isostructural phase transition near room temperature. This transition stems from volume-conserving rotational motion of crown ether rings and an order-to-disorder transformation of lattice water molecules. Strikingly, 1 and 2 exhibits colossal negative thermal expansion behavior (β = -345.3 m K-1 for 1 and -261.8 m K-1 for 2) between 293-333 K, linked to the disordering of lattice water molecules, a process analogous to the structural transition from hexagonal ice to liquid water. This is the rare example of water confined within sub-nanochannels exhibiting characteristics of an ice-to-water transition. The findings deepen insights into the functional significance of nanoconfined water in biological systems and propose pathways to modulate physical properties in supramolecular materials.
水是一种非凡而神秘的物质，具有一系列独特的异常性质，纳米水表现出与体积水截然不同的行为。本文报道了由饼状[M(18-crown-6)]+阳离子（18-crown-6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-六氧六环十六烷）和werner型[Al(ox)3]3-配位阴离子（ox2- =草酸盐）自组装而成的两种新的同构超分子极性晶体[M(18-crown-6)]3[Al(ox)3]·9H2O （M+ = K+, NH4 +）。该晶体含有四核超分子簇和双链螺旋水链，在室温附近发生了等结构相变。这种转变源于冠醚环的体积守恒旋转运动和晶格水分子的有序到无序转变。引人注目的是，1和2在293-333 K之间表现出巨大的负热膨胀行为（β = -345.3 m K-1, 1 = -261.8 m K-1, 2 = -261.8 m K-1），这与晶格水分子的无序有关，类似于从六边形冰到液态水的结构转变过程。这是一个罕见的例子，水被限制在亚纳米通道中，表现出冰到水的转变特征。这些发现加深了对纳米密闭水在生物系统中的功能意义的认识，并提出了调节超分子材料物理性质的途径。
{"title":"Water Confined in Sub-Nanochannels of Supramolecular Crystals Exhibiting Ice-Water-Like Phase Transition near Room Temperature.","authors":"Xue-Wei Pan,Jia-Yi Yuan,Lu Zhai,Zheng-Fang Tian,Xiao-Ming Ren","doi":"10.1002/smll.202508618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202508618","url":null,"abstract":"Water is a remarkable yet enigmatic substance with a unique array of anomalous properties, and nanoconfined water exhibits behavior starkly distinct from its bulk counterpart. Herein, two new isomorphic supramolecular polar crystals, [M(18-crown-6)]3[Al(ox)3]·9H2O (M+ = K+ for 1; NH4 + for 2) are reported, self-assembled from the cake-shaped [M(18-crown-6)]+ cations (18-crown-6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane) and Werner-type [Al(ox)3]3- coordination anions (ox2- = oxalate). The crystals contain tetranuclear supramolecular clusters and double-stranded helical water chains, undergoing an isostructural phase transition near room temperature. This transition stems from volume-conserving rotational motion of crown ether rings and an order-to-disorder transformation of lattice water molecules. Strikingly, 1 and 2 exhibits colossal negative thermal expansion behavior (β = -345.3 m K-1 for 1 and -261.8 m K-1 for 2) between 293-333 K, linked to the disordering of lattice water molecules, a process analogous to the structural transition from hexagonal ice to liquid water. This is the rare example of water confined within sub-nanochannels exhibiting characteristics of an ice-to-water transition. The findings deepen insights into the functional significance of nanoconfined water in biological systems and propose pathways to modulate physical properties in supramolecular materials.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"169 1","pages":"e08618"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently, the development of environmentally friendly etch-free micro-printed circuit boards with fine-line traces has garnered significant attention. A novel photonic-assisted fabrication method is introduced that utilizes ultraviolet (UV) light and intense pulsed light (IPL) to produce highly conductive silver films on flexible substrates. Although silver organometallics can be reduced by the heating effect from localized surface plasmons (LSPs), this process alone is inefficient. Introducing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) under UV illumination leverages their photocatalytic activity to accelerate Ag+ reduction, enabling faster film formation than silver-only samples However, the resulting films initially exhibit relatively high resistivity (377.77 µΩ cm) due to insufficient light intensity. To address this, IPL is utilized to facilitate the reduction and sintering process. Optimizing IPL power and ZnO NP thermal uniformity produced ZnO/Ag films with low resistivity (6.3 µΩ cm) and fine lines (37.46 µm) in seconds, while suppressing defects typical of Ag-only films. The resulting films demonstrate excellent mechanical and oxidative stability. Its conductivity arises from the synergistic interaction between the plasmonic resonance of silver and the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs, with the former also amplifying the latter. This tunable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly method is promising for photonic-integrated flexible systems and organic light-emitting diodes.
{"title":"Photocatalysis-Assisted Silver Reduction via ZnO Nanoparticles for High-Resolution, Flexible, and Etch-Free Printed Electronics.","authors":"Thi Tu Linh To,Thuy-Kieu Truong,Ly Thi Trinh,Pyeongsam Ko,Kyoohee Woo,Sin Kwon,Jinsung Rho,Hongseok Youn","doi":"10.1002/smll.202511791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202511791","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, the development of environmentally friendly etch-free micro-printed circuit boards with fine-line traces has garnered significant attention. A novel photonic-assisted fabrication method is introduced that utilizes ultraviolet (UV) light and intense pulsed light (IPL) to produce highly conductive silver films on flexible substrates. Although silver organometallics can be reduced by the heating effect from localized surface plasmons (LSPs), this process alone is inefficient. Introducing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) under UV illumination leverages their photocatalytic activity to accelerate Ag+ reduction, enabling faster film formation than silver-only samples However, the resulting films initially exhibit relatively high resistivity (377.77 µΩ cm) due to insufficient light intensity. To address this, IPL is utilized to facilitate the reduction and sintering process. Optimizing IPL power and ZnO NP thermal uniformity produced ZnO/Ag films with low resistivity (6.3 µΩ cm) and fine lines (37.46 µm) in seconds, while suppressing defects typical of Ag-only films. The resulting films demonstrate excellent mechanical and oxidative stability. Its conductivity arises from the synergistic interaction between the plasmonic resonance of silver and the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs, with the former also amplifying the latter. This tunable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly method is promising for photonic-integrated flexible systems and organic light-emitting diodes.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"9 1","pages":"e11791"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lei Hou,Siyu Li,Wencong Li,Bingchen Xiao,Yaoqing Chu,Bingbing Zhang,Ying Wang,Xinglong Chen,Lili Liu
The exploration of novel nonlinear optical (NLO) materials plays a pivotal role in advancing laser science and technology. It remains a challenge to achieve a trade-off among bandgap, second harmonic generation (SHG), and birefringence in NLO crystals. Here, pursuing these target properties, KCd(IO3)2Cl, a novel NLO crystal, is rationally designed and synthesized through a multi-ion substitution strategy. KCd(IO3)2Cl crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric (NCS) chiral space group P212121 (No. 19), and it features a 3D framework composing with 2D [Cd(IO3)Cl]∞ layers linked by [I(1)O3]‒ pyramids. KCd(IO3)2Cl exhibits excellent balanced optical properties with strong SHG response (2.2 × KDP), large birefringence (0.18 @ 546 nm), wider optical transparent window (206 nm-12.0 µm), and good thermal stability (up to 392 °C). Notably, KCd(IO3)2Cl possesses the shortest UV cutoff edge (≈206 nm) and correspondingly the broadest bandgap (6.0 eV) among the reported NCS inorganic metal iodates. As a promising UV NLO crystal, the discovery of KCd(IO3)2Cl not only enriches the iodate halide family but also provides an effective strategy for increasing the bandgap of iodate compounds.
{"title":"KCd(IO3)2Cl: A New UV NLO Crystal with Balanced Optical Properties Engineering via Target-Driven Multi-Ion Substitution Strategy.","authors":"Lei Hou,Siyu Li,Wencong Li,Bingchen Xiao,Yaoqing Chu,Bingbing Zhang,Ying Wang,Xinglong Chen,Lili Liu","doi":"10.1002/smll.202513032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202513032","url":null,"abstract":"The exploration of novel nonlinear optical (NLO) materials plays a pivotal role in advancing laser science and technology. It remains a challenge to achieve a trade-off among bandgap, second harmonic generation (SHG), and birefringence in NLO crystals. Here, pursuing these target properties, KCd(IO3)2Cl, a novel NLO crystal, is rationally designed and synthesized through a multi-ion substitution strategy. KCd(IO3)2Cl crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric (NCS) chiral space group P212121 (No. 19), and it features a 3D framework composing with 2D [Cd(IO3)Cl]∞ layers linked by [I(1)O3]‒ pyramids. KCd(IO3)2Cl exhibits excellent balanced optical properties with strong SHG response (2.2 × KDP), large birefringence (0.18 @ 546 nm), wider optical transparent window (206 nm-12.0 µm), and good thermal stability (up to 392 °C). Notably, KCd(IO3)2Cl possesses the shortest UV cutoff edge (≈206 nm) and correspondingly the broadest bandgap (6.0 eV) among the reported NCS inorganic metal iodates. As a promising UV NLO crystal, the discovery of KCd(IO3)2Cl not only enriches the iodate halide family but also provides an effective strategy for increasing the bandgap of iodate compounds.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"29 1","pages":"e13032"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Filamentous M13 phages are promising self-adjuvanting nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy, but their efficacy remains limited by antigen versatility and immune targeting. Here, SCP is developed as an M13 phage-based vector that conjugates antigens via a SpyCatcher-SpyTag interface and presents dendritic cell (DC)-targeting peptides to enhance antigen uptake. SCP activates DCs in vitro, upregulating co-stimulatory markers and inflammatory gene signatures, which subsequently enhances T cell cytotoxicity. In vivo, SCP can be administered subcutaneously as a vaccine adjuvant or intratumourally as a therapy in multiple murine tumour models. SCP induces robust local inflammation, immunogenic cell death, and in situ tumour antigen release, driving tumour-specific cytotoxic T cell responses without requiring predefined neoantigens. Beyond promoting immune infiltration, SCP also reduces neovascularization, downregulates immune checkpoints, and elicits durable systemic immunity to prevent recurrence. Overall, SCP offers a scalable, cost-effective platform for enhancing tumour immunogenicity, bypassing the need for predefined neoantigen selection and exogenous vaccine production.
{"title":"Engineering M13 Filamentous Phages to Target Dendritic Cells and Elicit Anti-Tumour Immunity.","authors":"Yee Man AuYeung,Zheng Zeng,Luyao Coco Zhou,Jiani Zhan,Zhe Wang,JiaXin Guo,Renhao Li,Yangfan Wu,Chao Mun,Masami Yamamoto,Tetsuya Tsukamoto,Sachiyo Nomura,Jian-Dong Huang","doi":"10.1002/smll.202505791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202505791","url":null,"abstract":"Filamentous M13 phages are promising self-adjuvanting nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy, but their efficacy remains limited by antigen versatility and immune targeting. Here, SCP is developed as an M13 phage-based vector that conjugates antigens via a SpyCatcher-SpyTag interface and presents dendritic cell (DC)-targeting peptides to enhance antigen uptake. SCP activates DCs in vitro, upregulating co-stimulatory markers and inflammatory gene signatures, which subsequently enhances T cell cytotoxicity. In vivo, SCP can be administered subcutaneously as a vaccine adjuvant or intratumourally as a therapy in multiple murine tumour models. SCP induces robust local inflammation, immunogenic cell death, and in situ tumour antigen release, driving tumour-specific cytotoxic T cell responses without requiring predefined neoantigens. Beyond promoting immune infiltration, SCP also reduces neovascularization, downregulates immune checkpoints, and elicits durable systemic immunity to prevent recurrence. Overall, SCP offers a scalable, cost-effective platform for enhancing tumour immunogenicity, bypassing the need for predefined neoantigen selection and exogenous vaccine production.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"56 1","pages":"e05791"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanuj Kumar,Mohit Kumar,Ankush Saini,Ramesh Kumar,Dinesh Dudi,Rahul Thakuria,Monojit Bag
Perovskite-inspired materials are a new class of semiconductors to address several challenges faced by lead-based halide perovskites. These lead-free halide perovskites potentially eliminate the lead toxicity and improve the stability under operating conditions. However, a lack of understanding of the photophysical and electronic properties of these materials prevents further progress. Here, the effect of cooling rate on defect formation in lead-free Cs3Bi2Br9 single crystals has been investigated. The crystal synthesized under controlled cooling shows reduced trap density. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image analysis of these materials reveals that the perovskite crystals synthesized from the controlled-cooling method does not show the presence of point defects or dislocations, while naturally cooled perovskite crystals have both point defects and dislocations, increasing grain resistivity by an order of magnitude, as supported by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, contact angle measurements show that the film obtained via controlled cooling exhibits greater surface hydrophobicity, indicating enhanced stability. Cyclic voltammetry measurements of the fabricated thin film-based monolithic photo-supercapacitor under illumination show that devices based on naturally cooled perovskites exhibit only 40% enhancement in photo-capacitance. In contrast, devices fabricated from controlled-cooled perovskites exhibit a photo-capacitance enhancement of over 130% at a scan rate of 140 mV s-1.
{"title":"Tailoring Defects in Bismuth-Based Cs3Bi2Br9 Perovskite-Inspired Materials through Cooling-Rate Modulation for Photo-Supercapacitors.","authors":"Tanuj Kumar,Mohit Kumar,Ankush Saini,Ramesh Kumar,Dinesh Dudi,Rahul Thakuria,Monojit Bag","doi":"10.1002/smll.202512040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202512040","url":null,"abstract":"Perovskite-inspired materials are a new class of semiconductors to address several challenges faced by lead-based halide perovskites. These lead-free halide perovskites potentially eliminate the lead toxicity and improve the stability under operating conditions. However, a lack of understanding of the photophysical and electronic properties of these materials prevents further progress. Here, the effect of cooling rate on defect formation in lead-free Cs3Bi2Br9 single crystals has been investigated. The crystal synthesized under controlled cooling shows reduced trap density. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image analysis of these materials reveals that the perovskite crystals synthesized from the controlled-cooling method does not show the presence of point defects or dislocations, while naturally cooled perovskite crystals have both point defects and dislocations, increasing grain resistivity by an order of magnitude, as supported by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, contact angle measurements show that the film obtained via controlled cooling exhibits greater surface hydrophobicity, indicating enhanced stability. Cyclic voltammetry measurements of the fabricated thin film-based monolithic photo-supercapacitor under illumination show that devices based on naturally cooled perovskites exhibit only 40% enhancement in photo-capacitance. In contrast, devices fabricated from controlled-cooled perovskites exhibit a photo-capacitance enhancement of over 130% at a scan rate of 140 mV s-1.","PeriodicalId":228,"journal":{"name":"Small","volume":"20 1","pages":"e12040"},"PeriodicalIF":13.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145752690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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