| In a paper published this week in Nature (“Freestanding crystalline oxide perovskites down to the monolayer limit”), materials science researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions unveil a new process for producing oxide perovskite crystals in exquisitely flexible, free-standing layers. | |
| A two-dimensional rendition of this substance is intriguing to scientists and engineers, because 2D materials have been shown to possess remarkable electronic properties, including high-temperature superconductivity. Such compounds are prized as potential building blocks in multifunctional high-tech devices for energy and quantum computing, among other applications. |
| “Through our successful fabrication of ultrathin perovskite oxides down to the monolayer limit, we’ve created a new class of two-dimensional materials,” said co-author Xiaoqing Pan, professor of materials science & engineering and Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering at UCI. “Since these crystals have strongly correlated effects, we anticipate they will exhibit qualities similar to graphene that will be foundational to next-generation energy and information technologies.” | |
| For all of their promising physical and chemical properties, oxide perovskites are difficult to render in flat layers due to the clunky, strongly bonded structure of their crystals. Earlier efforts at making free-standing, monolayer films of the material through the pulsed laser deposition method failed. | |
| Pan’s cross-disciplinary group of researchers applied a technique called molecular beam epitaxy to grow the thin oxide films layer by layer on a template with a water-dissolvable buffer, followed by etching and transfer. | |
| “Most of the known two-dimensional materials can be synthesized by exfoliation or by chemical deposition, as their bulk crystals consist of unique layered structures in which many strong covalently bonded planes are held together by weak van der Waals interactions,” he said. “But oxide perovskite is different; like most oxide materials, it has strong chemical bonds in three dimensions, making it especially challenging to fabricate into two dimensions.” |
Image Credit: YuXiaoqing Pan / UCI
News This Week
Cardiovascular Crystal Ball: New Tool Predicts Future Heart Disease Risk
Faculty members at the UM School of Medicine have created a cutting-edge tool that enables the early identification and assessment of risks in vulnerable patients. Heart disease, being the leading cause of death globally, [...]
Scientists analyze a single atom with X-rays for the first time
In the most powerful X-ray facilities in the world, scientists can analyze samples so small they contain only 10,000 atoms. Smaller sizes have proved exceedingly difficult to achieve, but a multi-institutional team has scaled [...]
AI Demonstrates Superior Performance in Predicting Breast Cancer
AI algorithms outperformed traditional clinical risk models in a large-scale study, predicting five-year breast cancer risk more accurately. These models use mammograms as the single data source, offering potential advantages in individualizing patient care [...]
Stanford Medicine Reveals: Tiny DNA Circles Defying Genetic Laws Drive Cancer Formation
Tiny circles of DNA harbor cancer-associated oncogenes and immunomodulatory genes promoting cancer development. They arise during the transformation from pre-cancer to cancer, say Stanford Medicine-led team. Tiny circles of DNA that defy the accepted laws of [...]
Death to Blood Cancer Cells: New Drug Combination Could Revive the Power of Leading Treatment
Future clinical trials will be conducted to investigate whether the combination of chloroquine and venetoclax can prevent disease recurrence. Although new drugs have been developed to induce cancer cell death in individuals with acute [...]
Illuminating Science: X-Rays Visualize How One of Nature’s Strongest Bonds Breaks
Scientists have deciphered how an activated catalyst breaks down the strong carbon-hydrogen bonds in potent greenhouse gas methane, according to a study published in Science. Using advanced X-ray technology and quantum-chemical calculations, they tracked the [...]
Using magnetic nanoparticles as a rapid test for sepsis
Qun Ren, an Empa researcher, and her team are currently developing a diagnostic procedure that can rapidly detect life-threatening blood poisoning caused by staphylococcus bacteria. Staphylococcal sepsis is fatal in up to 40% of [...]
Team develops nanoparticles to deliver brain cancer treatment
University of Queensland researchers have developed a nanoparticle to take a chemotherapy drug into fast growing, aggressive brain tumors. Research team lead Dr. Taskeen Janjua from UQ's School of Pharmacy said the new silica [...]
Tumor Avatars – A New Approach to Personalized Cancer Treatment
A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has devised a novel method for customizing treatments by testing them on artificial tumors. Determining the optimal treatment for colon cancer can be challenging as each [...]
STING Like a Bee: MIT’s Revolutionary Approach to Cancer Immunotherapy
A cancer vaccine combining checkpoint blockade therapy and a STING-activating drug eliminates tumors and prevents recurrence in mice. MIT researchers have engineered a therapeutic cancer vaccine that targets the STING pathway, vital for immune response [...]
AI Battles Superbugs: Helps Find New Antibiotic Drug To Combat Drug-Resistant Infections
The machine-learning algorithm identified a compound that kills Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that lurks in many hospital settings. Using an artificial intelligence algorithm, researchers at MIT and McMaster University have identified a new antibiotic that can kill a [...]
Cancer and AI – Can ChatGPT Be Trusted?
A study published in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute Cancer Spectrum delved into the increasing use of chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) in providing cancer-related information. The researchers discovered that these digital resources accurately [...]
Breathing New Life: Oxygen Therapy Improves Heart Function in Long COVID Patients
A small trial has found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may help restore proper heart function in patients with post-COVID syndrome, with participants in the HBOT group experiencing a significant increase in global longitudinal [...]
Wireless Brain-Spine Interface: A Leap Towards Reversing Paralysis
Summary: In a pioneering study, researchers designed a wireless brain-spine interface enabling a paralyzed man to walk naturally again. The ‘digital bridge’ comprises two electronic implants — one on the brain and another on the [...]
New study reveals a gel that promises to wipe out brain cancer for good
An anti-cancer gel promises to wipe out glioblastoma permanently, a feat that's never been accomplished by any drug or surgery. So what makes this gel so special? Scientists at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have [...]
New production process for therapeutic nanovesicles
Particles known as extracellular vesicles play a vital role in communication between cells and in many cell functions. Released by cells into their environment, these “membrane particles” consist of a cellular membrane carrying a [...]
Leave A Comment