Matter最新文献

Transient electronic devices can help eliminate the growing environmental problem of “electronic pollution.” However, their applications are severely limited by poor optoelectronic performance. Here, a new degradable polymeric dielectric material is synthesized by a one-step method for organic neuromorphic vision sensors (ONeuVSs). A high mobility of 2.74 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and current on/off ratio greater than 10⁹ were obtained. Moreover, we achieved excellent optical figures of merit with a maximum photosensitivity of 8.7 × 10⁸ and maximum detectivity of 9.42 × 10¹⁶ Jones, which are the best values among transient electronic devices. The ONeuVS array could perform static image recognition with an accuracy of 92.7% and high-pass filtering behavior. More interestingly, both high-performance optical synapses and switching functional devices could be realized by modulating the organic semiconductors with or without alkyl chains. This study provides insights for developing a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach for constructing degradable ONeuVSs with sensing, memory, and processing in one device.

Touch-sensitive stretchable electronic skins (e-skins) hold promise for soft robots, prosthetics, bio-mimetics, and bio-sensors. However, a long-standing challenge has been the interference of stretching in pressure readings. Addressing this, we introduce an intrinsically stretchable hybrid response pressure sensor (SHRPS) composed of a laminate featuring a barely conductive porous nanocomposite and an ultrathin dielectric layer situated between two stretchable electrodes. The combined piezoresistive and piezocapacitive responses of the SHRPS enable ultrahigh pressure sensitivity while effectively negating stretch-induced interference. Our findings are underpinned by an experimentally validated electromechanical model. In practical applications, SHRPS mounted on inflatable probes demonstrated safe and precise palpation on the human wrist and conformable and firm gripping of contoured objects. The debut of SHRPS promises to significantly expand the versatile applications of e-skins.

Features of natural living systems underexplored in engineered living materials (ELMs) are macroscale appearance changes driven by active cellular processes. To overcome this technological gap, we demonstrate an ELM wherein the natural metabolism of Escherichia coli is used to drive reversible changes in pH-responsive hydrogels through the production or consumption of acidic metabolites. A color-changing function of the hydrogels relies on the custom design, synthesis, and coupling of a synthetic pH indicator dye into the polymer network. Manipulation of the starting pH conditions and the identity of the primary carbon source leads E. coli to alter pH, resulting in reversible size and color changes in the gels. Arrayed arrangements of multiple responsive hydrogels can mimic dynamic pixels that respond to changes in cell metabolism. Here, we expand the tool kit of ELMs to include size and color change as functional performance features that can be driven by active cellular processes.

Neuromorphic computing faces long-standing challenges in handling unknown situations beyond the preset boundaries, resulting in catastrophic information loss and model failure. These predicaments arise from the existing brain-inspired hardware’s inability to grasp critical information across diverse inputs, often responding passively within unalterable boundaries. Here, we report self-sensitization in perovskite neurons based on an adaptive hydrogen gradient, transcending the conventional fixed response range to autonomously capture unrecognized information. The networks with self-sensitizable neurons work well under unknown environments by reshaping the information reception range and feature salience. It can address the information loss and achieve seamless transition, processing ∼250% more structural information than traditional networks in building detection. Furthermore, the self-sensitizable convolutional network can surpass model boundaries to tackle the data drift accompanying varying inputs, improving accuracy by ∼110% in vehicle classification. The self-sensitizable neuron enables networks to autonomously cope with unforeseen environments, opening new avenues for self-guided cognitive systems.

To date, major challenges in constructing MXene-polymer composites include incompatible processing conditions and poor control over the organization of MXenes within the polymer matrix. Here, we report a new approach to create MXene-polymer composites in a water-free system by alkylating the nanosheets via electrostatic adsorption of alkyl ammoniums and then using them as surfactants in oil-in-oil emulsions, followed by polymerization. Within these MXene-stabilized non-aqueous emulsions, polymerization of continuous phase, discontinuous phase, and interface result in composite foams, armored particles, and capsules, respectively. This non-aqueous system significantly expands MXene-polymer architecture compositions and highlights the ability to control both nanosheet distribution and composite morphology. We also showcase the rapid volumetric heating of the distinct MXene foam structure in response to low-power radiofrequency fields. This work highlights the importance and opportunities of disconnecting composition and structure to advance fundamental understandings and access new performance-related properties.

Five-micron electroluminescence is realized in a planar device using a film of core/shell HgSe/CdS colloidal quantum dots deposited on interdigitated electrodes. The efficiency is comparable to a prior device in a traditional vertical stack, and the fabrication is simplified. Since the emission is from the intraband transition of the HgSe cores, the device is driven by a single-charge carrier type, and this allows identical electrodes of arbitrary design, without additional charge transport layers. Basic studies of the effects of doping and temperature are done with an added bottom gate electrode. The planar structure eliminates the requirement of the infrared transparency of the electrodes. With a back reflector, a dielectric spacer, and optimized electrode spacing and periodicity, a device emitting at 5 μm achieved an external electron-to-photon conversion of 15% and a power conversion efficiency of 0.085%.

Recent neuroscience reveals the heart’s impact on brain activity through blood pulsations, affecting mitral cells in the olfactory bulb. This connection, involving mechanosensitive ion channels like Piezo2, links cardiovascular dynamics to neuronal function, offering new treatments for neurological disorders, advancing closed-loop brain-computer interfaces, and emphasizing the body-mind interconnectivity.