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Metal nanowire networks (MNNs) are promising as transparent electrode materials for a diverse range of optoelectronic devices and also work as active materials for electrical heating and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. However, the relatively low performance and poor durability of MNNs are limiting the practical application of the resulting devices. Here, we report a controllable approach to enhance the conductivity and the stability of MNNs with their transmittance remaining unchanged, in which reduced graphene oxide conformally wrapped silver nanowire networks (AgNW@rGO networks) are synthesized by selective electrodeposition of GO nanosheets on AgNWs followed by a pulsed laser irradiation treatment. Experimental characterizations and finite-difference time-domain simulations indicate that pulsed laser irradiation at a specific wavelength not only reduces the GO but also welds the AgNWs together through a surface plasmon resonance process. As a result, the AgNW@rGO networks exhibit low sheet resistance of 3.3 Ω/□, average transmittance of 91.1%, and good flexibility. Wrapping with rGO improves the maximum electrical heating temperature of the AgNW network transparent heaters due to the effective suppression of the oxidation and the migration of surface silver atoms. In addition, excellent EMI shielding effectiveness of up to 35.5 dB in the 8.2-12.4 GHz frequency range is obtained as a consequence of the combined effects of dual reflection, conduction loss, and multiple dielectric polarization relaxation processes.

As grown graphene by chemical vapor deposition typically degrades greatly due to the presence of grain boundaries, which limit graphene’s excellent properties and integration into advanced applications. It has been demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between substrate morphology and graphene domain density. Here, we investigate how thermal annealing and electro-polishing affects the morphology of Cu foils. Ultra-smooth Cu surfaces can be achieved and maintained at elevated temperatures by electro-polishing after a pre-annealing treatment. This technique has shown to be more effective than just electro-polishing the Cu substrate without pre-annealing. This may be due to the remaining dislocations and point defects within the Cu bulk material moving to the surface when the Cu is heated. Likewise, a pre-annealing step may release them. Graphene grown on annealed electro-polished Cu substrates show a better quality in terms of lower domain density and higher layer uniformity than those grown on Cu substrates with only annealing or only electro-polishing treatment.

Stable and cost-effective catalysts for efficient ammonia synthesis under mild conditions particularly at ambient pressure and temperature have been pursued widely and intensively. Recently we have reported a method using a composite catalyst with nano iron oxide hosted in a three-dimensional cross-linked graphene template material, Fe@3DGraphene. With this catalyst, a light driven and efficient ammonia synthesis from N 2 and H 2 directly at ambient pressure was achieved, where graphene works as an electron reservoir under light illumination. But, the catalytic activity dropped over time due to the aggregation of the Fe 2 O 3 particles. Here we report the new version of this catalyst, a nano Al 2 O 3 modified Fe@3DGraphene catalyst (Fe Al@3DGraphene) through a simple solvothermal method, where nano Al 2 O 3 serves as a barrier among nano Fe 2 O 3 to efficiently prevent the aggregation of the Fe 2 O 3 particles. The optimized ammonia synthesis rate of 430 μg g cat −1 h −1 was achieved and kept steady for a 60-h test which was enhanced to more than twice of the previous catalyst without Al 2 O 3 structural promoter.

Assembling nanomaterials into hybrid structures provides a promising and flexible route to reach ultrahigh responsivity by introducing a trap‐assisted gain (G) mechanism. However, the high‐gain photodetectors benefitting from long carrier lifetime often possess slow response time (t) due to the inherent G–t tradeoff. Here, a light‐driven junction field‐effect transistor (LJFET), consisting of an n‐type ZnO belt as the channel material and a p‐type WSe2 nanosheet as a photoactive gate material, to break the G–t tradeoff through decoupling the gain from carrier lifetime is reported. The photoactive gate material WSe2 under illumination enables a conductive path for externally applied voltage, which modulates the depletion region within the ZnO channel efficiently. The gain and response time are separately determined by the field effect modulation and the switching speed of LJFET. As a result, a high responsivity of 4.83 × 103 A W−1 with a gain of ≈104 and a rapid response time of ≈10 µs are obtained simultaneously. The LJFET architecture offers a new approach to realize high‐gain and fast‐response photodetectors without the G–t tradeoff., The concept of a light‐driven junction field‐effect transistor (LJFET) is proposed to break the gain‐response time tradeoff for high‐gain phototransistors. The gain and response time are separately determined by the field effect modulation and the switching speed of LJFET. The design offers a new approach for photodetectors to reach high gain and fast response simultaneously.

Electrochromic devices with tunable infrared radiation can meet the steadily growing demands in energy saving and thermal camouflage applications. Here, a mid-infrared radiation modulator based on flexible multilayer graphene thin films gated by nonvolatile ionic liquid on both rigid and flexible substrates is designed. The thermal emissivity of the device decreases nearly 80% within 2 s with the accumulation of anions in the multilayer graphene. The effective reduction of the emissivity results from the dramatic decrease in film's intraband absorption of graphene according to the Drude model. It has been demonstrated that with electrical control the film's mid-infrared radiation is capable of adapting to different backgrounds for thermal camouflage applications. Moreover, a sandwiched structure with stacked graphene films is designed to realize structural flexibility and double-sided radiation control for a wide range of potential applications, including energy-efficient buildings, infrared sources, and electrochromic displays.

With the rapid development of detection technologies, compatible stealth in the infrared and radar ranges has become increasingly essential not only for military application but also for personal privacy protection. In this study, we design a metamaterial window that possesses stealth ability in both the thermal infrared and broadband microwave ranges, using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to realize multi-band optimization. We experimentally verify that the proposed structure can achieve over 90% microwave absorption in the range 5.1 to 19.2 GHz (covering the X and Ku bands), with low infrared emissivity (∼0.15), and also maintain visible transmittance above 60%. Moreover, the window retains good performance up to 200 °C owing to the intrinsic properties of the material. Our multi-band optimization method enables the application of the transparent metamaterial windows in electromagnetic shielding and stealth and can potentially be applied in smart window related industries.

Quantum dots (QDs) are promising materials used for room temperature mid-infrared (MIR) photodetector due to their solution processing, compatibility with silicon and tunability of band structure. Up to now, HgTe QDs is the most widely studied material for MIR detection. However, photodetectors assembled with HgTe QDs usually work under cryogenic cooling to improve photoelectric performance, greatly limiting their application at room temperature. Here, less-toxic SnTe QDs were controllably synthesized with high crystallinity and uniformity. Through proper ligand exchange and annealing treatment, the photoconductive device assembled with SnTe QDs demonstrated ultralow dark current and broadband photo-electric response from visible light to 2 μm at room temperature. In addition, the visible and near infrared photo-electric performance of the SnTe QDs device were well maintained even standing 15 d in air. This excellent performance was due to the effective protection of the ligand on surface of the QDs and the effective transport of photo-carriers between the SnTe interparticles. It would provide a new idea for environmentally friendly mid-IR photodetectors working at room temperature.

A 3D crosslinked reduced bulk graphene oxide material with switchable absorption capability between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity is achieved by a simple O3 and annealing treatment.

We report on a WSe2 gated transistor. The photocarriers excited in WSe2 enhance the conductivity of WSe2. Negative gate voltages are applied to the ZnO channel through WSe2. Remarkable negative photo currents are obtained.

Ammonia synthesis is the single most important chemical process in industry and has used the successful heterogeneous Haber–Bosch catalyst for over 100 years and requires processing under both high temperature (300–500 °C) and pressure (200–300 atm); thus, it has huge energy costs accounting for about 1–3% of human’s energy consumption. Therefore, there has been a long and vigorous exploration to find a milder alternative process. Here, we demonstrate that by using an iron- and graphene-based catalyst, Fe@3DGraphene, hot (ejected) electrons from this composite catalyst induced by visible light in a wide range of wavelength up to red could efficiently facilitate the activation of N2 and generate ammonia with H2 directly at ambient pressure using light (including simulated sun light) illumination directly. No external voltage or electrochemical or any other agent is needed. The production rate increases with increasing light frequency under the same power and with increasing power under the same frequency. ...

Smart actuators have many potential applications in various areas, so the development of novel actuation materials, with facile fabricating methods and excellent performances, are still urgent needs. In this work, a novel electromechanical bimorph actuator constituted by a graphene layer and a PVDF layer, is fabricated through a simple yet versatile solution approach. The bimorph actuator can deflect toward the graphene side under electrical stimulus, due to the differences in coefficient of thermal expansion between the two layers and the converse piezoelectric effect and electrostrictive property of the PVDF layer. Under low voltage stimulus, the actuator (length: 20 mm, width: 3 mm) can generate large actuation motion with a maximum deflection of about 14.0 mm within 0.262 s and produce high actuation stress (more than 312.7 MPa/g). The bimorph actuator also can display reversible swing behavior with long cycle life under high frequencies. on this basis, a fish-like robot that can swim at the speed of 5.02 mm/s is designed and demonstrated. The designed graphene-PVDF bimorph actuator exhibits the overall novel performance compared with many other electromechanical avtuators, and may contribute to the practical actuation applications of graphene-based materials at a macro scale.