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Virus-assisted delivery of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) system represents a promising approach for editing plant genomes. Among the CRISPR/Cas systems, CRISPR/Cas9 is most widely used; however, to pack the relatively large size of the CRISPR/Cas9 system into viral vectors with confined packaging capacity is challenging. To address this technical challenge, we developed a strategy based on split inteins that splits the required CRISPR/Cas9 components across a dual-vector system. The CRISPR/Cas reassembles into an active form following co-infection to achieve targeted genome editing in plant cells. An intein-mediated split system was adapted and optimized in plant cells by a successful demonstration of split-eYGFPuv expression. Using a plant-based biosensor, we demonstrated for the first time that the split-nCas9 can induce efficient base editing in plant cells. We identified several split sites for future biodesign strategies. Overall, this strategy provides new opportunities to bridge different CRISPR/Cas9 tools including base editor, prime editor, and CRISPR activation with virus-mediated gene editing.

Ultrasonic sensors are widely applied in industries near room temperature; however, their application at high temperature is still a challenge mainly due to the lack of high-performance piezoelectric ceramics. Here, the 0.364BiScO3-0.636PbTiO3-0.005CaTiO3 ceramic exhibits excellent piezoelectric performances at 20-440 °C. Its piezoelectric coefficient d33 increases from 475 pC/N at 20 °C to 853 pC/N at 360 °C, and then it gradually decreases to 669 pC/N at 440 °C. Furthermore, the planar electromechanical coupling factor kp gradually increases from 0.59 at 20 °C to 0.67 at 200 °C, and then it remains at a stable value of 0.65-0.67 at 150-350 °C. These achievements are because the ceramic morphotropic phase boundaries have a flat Gibbs free energy versus polarization curve and a wide temperature range. Since the piezoelectric ceramic shows satisfactory piezoelectric properties at 20-440 °C, the corresponding ultrasonic sensors can in situ monitor many high-temperature devices, such as engines, wheels, drills, boilers, etc.

Layered metal-organic structures (LMOSs) as magnetoelectric (ME) multiferroics have been of great importance for realizing new functional devices in nanoelectronics. Until now, however, achieving such room-temperature and single-phase ME multiferroics in LMOSs have proven challenging due to low transition temperature, poor spontaneous polarization, and weak ME coupling effect. Here, we demonstrate the construction of a LMOS in which four Ni-centered {NiN2O4} octahedra form in layer with asymmetric distortions using the coordination bonds between diphenylalanine molecules and transition metal Ni(II). Near room-temperature (283 K) ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism are observed to be both spontaneous and hysteretic. Particularly, the multiferroic LMOS exhibits strong magnetic-field-dependent ME polarization with low-magnetic-field control. The change in ME polarization with increasing applied magnetic field μ0H from 0 to 2 T decreases linearly from 0.041 to 0.011 μC/cm2 at the strongest ME coupling temperature of 251 K. The magnetic domains can be manipulated directly by applied electric field at 283 K. The asymmetrical distortion of Ni-centered octahedron in layer spurs electric polarization and ME effect and reduces spin frustration in the octahedral geometry due to spin-charge-orbital coupling. Our results represent an important step toward the production of room-temperature single-phase organic ME multiferroics.

Perovskite oxide films are widely used in various commercial industries. However, they are usually prepared at high temperature and in oxygen ambience, detrimental to most transparent and flexible substrates and bottom conductive electrodes such as indium tin oxide (ITO). It remains challenging to integrate perovskite oxides into transparent and flexible electronics. Here, the 1.2 wt % Ag-doped ITO (Ag-ITO) grown on a mica substrate is employed as the bottom electrode, which can withstand high temperature and repeated bending, and then we achieve the transparent, flexible, fatigue-free, and optical-read ferroelectric nonvolatile memories based on the mica/Ag-ITO/Bi

The ferroelectric polarization switching along an external electric field is most important for the applications of ferroelectric memories and piezoelectric sensors and actuators; however, the depolarization commonly occurs randomly and cannot be controlled exactly until now. Here, a tip bias introduces the polarization switching and a ∼10 μm-scale domain in a triglycine sulfate crystal, and then the polarization backswitching as a special depolarization introduces a series of ordered granular domains along a line being parallel to the c axis and through the tip which divides the original domain to two similar parts. Such backswitching is controlled by the surface charge change as a result of the interplay among polarization charges, mobile H+ ions at the surface, and the strong crystal anisotropy. The self-organized ferroelectric domains offer us a new freedom to design novel ferroelectric or piezoelectric devices in future.

Flexible, fatigue-free, large-scale, and nonvolatile memory is an emerging technological goal in a variety of fields, including electronic skins, wearable devices, and other flexible electronics. Perovskite oxide films deposited on rigid substrates (e.g., Si and SrTiO3) at 500–700 °C and >1.0 Pa oxygen ambience have been widely used in electronic industries. However, their applications in flexible electronics are challenging, if not impossible. Here, the Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 ferroelectric films with SrRuO3 or Pt electrodes were prepared on the two-dimensional mica substrates, and then the flexible Pt/SrRuO3/Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12/Pt memories have been achieved through reducing the mica to ∼10 μm thickness. These memories show the saturated polarization of Ps ∼ 20 μC/cm2, and either the

Novel CdS/ZnFe2O4 composites were prepared through a two-step hydrothermal process. The homogeneous ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles are decorated on the self-assembled CdS spheres. Compared to those of pure CdS and blank ZnFe2O4, the photocatalytic activity and stability of the magnetically separable CdS/ZnFe2O4 composites are considerably increased. The results of photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy further validate that the performance enhancement results from the construction of heterojunction structure, leading to high charge separation efficiency. On the basis of the calculation and the trapping test, a heterojunction photocatalytic mechanism is proposed.

Multifunctional properties of chiral molecules arise from the coexistence of mirror-symmetry-induced stereoisomers and optical rotation characteristics in one material. One of these complex phenomena in these molecules is chiral ferroelectricity, providing the coupling between polarized light and the spatial asymmetry induced dipole moment. Herein we describe the chiral polarization and electroresistance in molecular ferroelectric (R)-(-)-3-hydroxyquinuclidinium chloride thin films with a Curie temperature of 340 K. The high transmittance of chiral ferroelectrics is coupled with polarized light for a linear electro-optic effect, which exhibits angle-dependent optical behaviors. The polarization-controlled conductance imposes a large on/off ratio (∼26.6) of electroresistive switching in molecular ferroelectrics with superior antifatigue endurance.

Supramolecular assembly utilizing noncovalent interaction to construct ordered molecular charge-transfer solids has led to significant advancement and breakthrough in energy-efficient molecular electronics, memories and solar cells. However, to exploit the coupling across these different energy regimes, the method that is capable of manipulating charge-spin–lattice interactions is indispensable. Here, by rational chemical design of the supramolecular assembled charge-transfer networks, opto-ferroic properties can be coupled, in which a collective electron transfer and ordering strongly influence the dipole and spin orders, as well as their coupling. The supramolecular charge-transfer crystal presented here opens up a new route for the development of multifunctional organics that can lead to significant advancement in molecular ferronics.

Room temperature multiferroics has been a frontier research field by manipulating spin-driven ferroelectricity or charge-order-driven magnetism. Charge-transfer crystals based on electron donor and acceptor assembly, exhibiting simultaneous spin ordering, are drawing significant interests for the development of all-organic magnetoelectric multiferroics. Here, we report that a remarkable anisotropic magnetization and room temperature multiferroicity can be achieved through assembly of thiophene donor and fullerene acceptor. The crystal motif directs the dimensional and compositional control of charge-transfer networks that could switch magnetization under external stimuli, thereby opening up an attractive class of all-organic nanoferronics.