An ultrasound-driven implantable wireless energy harvesting system using a triboelectric transducer

Biosensors and Bioelectronics

Quantifying trace glycoproteins in biofluids requires ultrasensitive components, but feedback is not available in the current portable platforms of point-of-care (POC) diagnosis technologies. A compact and ultrasensitive bioelectrochemical patch was based on boronate-affinity amplified organic electrochemical transistors (BAAOECTs) for POC use was developed to overcome this dilemma. Benefit from the cascading signal enhancement deriving from boronate-affinity targeting multiple regions of glycoprotein and OECTs’ inherent signal amplification capability, the BAAOECTs achieved a detection limit of 300 aM within 25 min, displaying about 3 orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared with the commercial electrochemical luminescence (ECL) kit. By using a microfluidic chip, a microcontroller module, and a wireless sensing system, the testing workflows of the above patch was automated, allowing for …

Advanced Healthcare Materials

Irregular electrical impulses in atrium are the leading cause of atrial fibrillation (AF), resulting in fatal arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Traditional medication and physical therapies are widely used, but generally suffer problems in serious physical damage and high surgical risks. Flexible and soft implants have great potential to be a novel approach for heart diseases therapy. We develope a conductive hydrogel‐based mesh cardiac patch for application in AF elimination. The designed mesh patch with rhombic‐shaped structure exhibits excellent flexibility, surface conformability, and deformation compliance, making it fit well with heart surface and accommodate to the deformation during heart beating. Moreover, the mechanical elastic and shape‐memory properties of the mesh patch enable a minimally invasive injection of the patch into living animals. The mesh patch is implanted on the atrium surface for one …

Biosensors and Bioelectronics

Quantifying trace glycoproteins in biofluids requires ultrasensitive components, but feedback is not available in the current portable platforms of point-of-care (POC) diagnosis technologies. A compact and ultrasensitive bioelectrochemical patch was based on boronate-affinity amplified organic electrochemical transistors (BAAOECTs) for POC use was developed to overcome this dilemma. Benefit from the cascading signal enhancement deriving from boronate-affinity targeting multiple regions of glycoprotein and OECTs’ inherent signal amplification capability, the BAAOECTs achieved a detection limit of 300 aM within 25 min, displaying about 3 orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared with the commercial electrochemical luminescence (ECL) kit. By using a microfluidic chip, a microcontroller module, and a wireless sensing system, the testing workflows of the above patch was automated, allowing for …

Advanced Healthcare Materials

Irregular electrical impulses in atrium are the leading cause of atrial fibrillation (AF), resulting in fatal arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Traditional medication and physical therapies are widely used, but generally suffer problems in serious physical damage and high surgical risks. Flexible and soft implants have great potential to be a novel approach for heart diseases therapy. We develope a conductive hydrogel‐based mesh cardiac patch for application in AF elimination. The designed mesh patch with rhombic‐shaped structure exhibits excellent flexibility, surface conformability, and deformation compliance, making it fit well with heart surface and accommodate to the deformation during heart beating. Moreover, the mechanical elastic and shape‐memory properties of the mesh patch enable a minimally invasive injection of the patch into living animals. The mesh patch is implanted on the atrium surface for one …

Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited. To ease and to expedite their deployment, here, we identify bottlenecks hindering the maturation of flexible sensors and propose promising solutions. We first analyze challenges in achieving satisfactory sensing performance for real-world applications and then summarize issues in compatible sensor-biology interfaces, followed by brief discussions on powering and connecting sensor networks. Issues en route to commercialization and for sustainable growth of the sector are also analyzed, highlighting environmental concerns and …

Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited. To ease and to expedite their deployment, here, we identify bottlenecks hindering the maturation of flexible sensors and propose promising solutions. We first analyze challenges in achieving satisfactory sensing performance for real-world applications and then summarize issues in compatible sensor-biology interfaces, followed by brief discussions on powering and connecting sensor networks. Issues en route to commercialization and for sustainable growth of the sector are also analyzed, highlighting environmental concerns and …

Advanced Materials

Regulating the activity of specific neurons is essentially important in neurocircuit dissection and neuropathy therapy. As a recently developed strategy, nanomaterial‐enabled nongenetic neuromodulations that realize remote physical stimuli have made vast progress and shown great clinical potential. However, minimal invasiveness and high spatiotemporal resolution are still challenging for nongenetic neuromodulation. Herein, a second near‐infrared (NIR‐II)‐light‐induced transcranial nongenetic neurostimulation via bioinspired nanovesicles is reported. The rationally designed vesicles are obtained from vesicle‐membrane‐confined enzymatic reactions. This study demonstrates that the vesicle‐enabled NIR‐II photothermal stimuli can elicit neuronal signaling dynamics with precise spatiotemporal control and thus evoke defined neural circuits in nontransgenic mice. Moreover, the vesicle‐mediated NIR‐II optical …

Nano Letters

Epilepsy is a prevalent and severe neurological disorder and generally requires prolonged electrode implantation and tether brain stimulation in refractory cases. However, implants may cause potential chronic immune inflammation and permanent tissue damage due to material property mismatches with soft brain tissue. Here, we demonstrated a nanomaterial-enabled near-infrared (NIR) neuromodulation approach to provide nongenetic and nonimplantable therapeutic benefits in epilepsy mouse models. Our study showed that crystal-exfoliated photothermal black phosphorus (BP) flakes could enhance neural activity by altering the membrane capacitive currents in hippocampus neurons through NIR photothermal neuromodulation. Optical stimulation facilitated by BP flakes in hippocampal slices evoked action potentials with a high spatiotemporal resolution. Furthermore, BP flake-enabled NIR neuromodulation …

A composition and method directed to the formation of a biodegradable composition with enhanced mechanical properties is provided. The composition includes starch in an amount from 15-45%, chitosan in an amount ranging from 1-50 wt%, poly acrylamide in an amount ranging from 1-10 wt%, and water in an amount ranging from 25-85 wt%. The composition can be provided for food packaging or otherwise as a protective material.

Nano Research

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) utilize the phenomena of contact electrification and electrostatic induction to harvest mechanical energy from the environment. A good match between the motion frequency and the circuit characteristic frequency is critical for the effective power generation of a TENG. However, most TENGs have a time-dependent inherent capacitance (TIC-TENG), which hinders an optimal design for efficient energy conversion. Here, we propose a novel structure of a TENG with a constant inherent capacitance (CIC-TENG) and a mathematical model is established to provide analytical expressions of key output parameters of the device, which gives numerical simulation results that are in good agreement with the experimentally obtained results. Figures of merit and an optimization strategy are also given as guidelines for the optimization of material selection, geometry design, etc. Furthermore …

Nature chemistry

Interactions between the microbiota and their colonized environments mediate critical pathways from biogeochemical cycles to homeostasis in human health. Here we report a soil-inspired chemical system that consists of nanostructured minerals, starch granules and liquid metals. Fabricated via a bottom-up synthesis, the soil-inspired chemical system can enable chemical redistribution and modulation of microbial communities. We characterize the composite, confirming its structural similarity to the soil, with three-dimensional X-ray fluorescence and ptychographic tomography and electron microscopy imaging. We also demonstrate that post-synthetic modifications formed by laser irradiation led to chemical heterogeneities from the atomic to the macroscopic level. The soil-inspired material possesses chemical, optical and mechanical responsiveness to yield write–erase functions in electrical performance. The …

Described herein are methods and compositions relating to tunable nanoporous coatings. In certain aspects, described herein are methods and compositions wherein a tunable nanoporous coating comprises a tunable nanoporous membrane which transitions from opaque to transparent upon the application of force, and from transparent to opaque after washing with a solvent.

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Biomaterials have shown significant potential in various biomedical fields, including disease prevention, theranostics, and tissue regeneration by controlled delivery of therapeutics, contrast agents, sensing agents, growth factors, and so forth. In recent years, Asian scientists have contributed more to biomaterials with the increasing support of various funds. Through this Research Topic, we expected to collect several state-of-the-art advances in biomaterial science and engineering research within Asia and disseminate them to the global audience. This Research Topic comprised 35 articles (including 7 reviews, 27 original research articles, and 1 case report) contributed by 263 authors, and it has attracted 54,023 views, 11,892 downloads, and 27 citations by researchers worldwide up to 15 January 2023. Undoubtedly, this Research Topic has won great success in displaying the significant contributions of Asian scientists to the next-generation precision medicine and further clinical translation.The reviews from this Research Topic have covered the latest progress in several different types of biomaterials for diverse biomedical applications, including intraocular lens materials and their surface modification for cataract surgery (Luo et al.), drug delivery systems for the treatment of autoimmune diseases (Li et al.) and intervertebral disc degeneration (Liu and Fu), and engineering exosomes for bone defect repair (Ma et al.). Also, anti-biofouling polymer materials with special surface wettability and their biomedical applications are summarized (He et al.). Particularly, this Research Topic included two review articles about the recent development of …

Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited. To ease and to expedite their deployment, here, we identify bottlenecks hindering the maturation of flexible sensors and propose promising solutions. We first analyze challenges in achieving satisfactory sensing performance for real-world applications and then summarize issues in compatible sensor-biology interfaces, followed by brief discussions on powering and connecting sensor networks. Issues en route to commercialization and for sustainable growth of the sector are also analyzed, highlighting environmental concerns and …

Nature chemistry

Interactions between the microbiota and their colonized environments mediate critical pathways from biogeochemical cycles to homeostasis in human health. Here we report a soil-inspired chemical system that consists of nanostructured minerals, starch granules and liquid metals. Fabricated via a bottom-up synthesis, the soil-inspired chemical system can enable chemical redistribution and modulation of microbial communities. We characterize the composite, confirming its structural similarity to the soil, with three-dimensional X-ray fluorescence and ptychographic tomography and electron microscopy imaging. We also demonstrate that post-synthetic modifications formed by laser irradiation led to chemical heterogeneities from the atomic to the macroscopic level. The soil-inspired material possesses chemical, optical and mechanical responsiveness to yield write–erase functions in electrical performance. The …

Device

Wireless passive sensors, being battery-free and simple, are suitable for disposable use across various applications, from tracking food and monitoring the environment to clinical diagnostics. However, their utilization is hampered by the complexity of existing readout techniques and the absence of memory functionality within the sensor. Here, we present a reader technique that can automatically lock to the sensor value wirelessly through inductive coupling, significantly reducing the reader complexity. By integrating a high-frequency audio link and wireless powering, we demonstrate a battery-free and flexible reader. We integrated this reader for wireless temperature logging, which logs temperature data based on the irreversible geometric change of low-melting-point metal during phase transitions, resulting in non-volatile resistance change. As a whole, these results establish the feasibility of a simplistic reader …

A composition and method directed to the formation of a biodegradable composition with enhanced mechanical properties is provided. The composition includes starch in an amount from 15-45%, chitosan in an amount ranging from 1-50 wt%, poly acrylamide in an amount ranging from 1-10 wt%, and water in an amount ranging from 25-85 wt%. The composition can be provided for food packaging or otherwise as a protective material.

Advanced Materials

Regulating the activity of specific neurons is essentially important in neurocircuit dissection and neuropathy therapy. As a recently developed strategy, nanomaterial‐enabled nongenetic neuromodulations that realize remote physical stimuli have made vast progress and shown great clinical potential. However, minimal invasiveness and high spatiotemporal resolution are still challenging for nongenetic neuromodulation. Herein, a second near‐infrared (NIR‐II)‐light‐induced transcranial nongenetic neurostimulation via bioinspired nanovesicles is reported. The rationally designed vesicles are obtained from vesicle‐membrane‐confined enzymatic reactions. This study demonstrates that the vesicle‐enabled NIR‐II photothermal stimuli can elicit neuronal signaling dynamics with precise spatiotemporal control and thus evoke defined neural circuits in nontransgenic mice. Moreover, the vesicle‐mediated NIR‐II optical …

Nano Letters

Epilepsy is a prevalent and severe neurological disorder and generally requires prolonged electrode implantation and tether brain stimulation in refractory cases. However, implants may cause potential chronic immune inflammation and permanent tissue damage due to material property mismatches with soft brain tissue. Here, we demonstrated a nanomaterial-enabled near-infrared (NIR) neuromodulation approach to provide nongenetic and nonimplantable therapeutic benefits in epilepsy mouse models. Our study showed that crystal-exfoliated photothermal black phosphorus (BP) flakes could enhance neural activity by altering the membrane capacitive currents in hippocampus neurons through NIR photothermal neuromodulation. Optical stimulation facilitated by BP flakes in hippocampal slices evoked action potentials with a high spatiotemporal resolution. Furthermore, BP flake-enabled NIR neuromodulation …

Science

Artificial skin that simultaneously mimics sensory feedback and mechanical properties of natural skin holds substantial promise for next-generation robotic and medical devices. However, achieving such a biomimetic system that can seamlessly integrate with the human body remains a challenge. Through rational design and engineering of material properties, device structures, and system architectures, we realized a monolithic soft prosthetic electronic skin (e-skin). It is capable of multimodal perception, neuromorphic pulse-train signal generation, and closed-loop actuation. With a trilayer, high-permittivity elastomeric dielectric, we achieved a low subthreshold swing comparable to that of polycrystalline silicon transistors, a low operation voltage, low power consumption, and medium-scale circuit integration complexity for stretchable organic devices. Our e-skin mimics the biological sensorimotor loop, whereby a …

Matter

Xenes are increasingly pivotal in various applications; particularly, black phosphorene (BP) has recently drawn profuse attention for its tremendous potential in electronics, spintronics, optoelectronics, and energy storage. However, its direct synthesis via bottom-up approaches remains elusive, largely burdened by cumbersome chemistry protocols. Herein, we report a novel large-scale, solution-phase synthesis approach of BP, in which concentrated orthophosphoric acid quickly turns to BP when exposed to microwave irradiation (∼800 W, cumulative ∼10 min consisting of 20 s pulses). While graphene/BP and MoS2/BP heterolayers exhibit metallic and diodic behaviors, respectively, graphene/boron nitride/BP sandwich device displays excellent tunneling (∼20 mA). Interestingly, MoS2-BP hybrid delivers a capacitance of 1,698.8 F g−1, whereas graphene-BP exhibits a larger volumetric current density and a high …

Matter

Compressive strain engineering improves perovskite stability. Two-dimensional compressive strain along the in-plane direction can be applied to perovskites through the substrate; however, this in-plane strain results in an offsetting tensile strain perpendicular to the substrate, linked to the positive Poisson ratio of perovskites. Substrate-induced strain engineering has not yet resulted in state-of-the-art operational stability. Here, we seek instead to implement hydrostatic strain in perovskites by embedding lattice-mismatched perovskite quantum dots (QDs) into a perovskite matrix. QD-in-matrix perovskites show a homogeneously strained lattice as evidenced by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. We fabricate mixed-halide wide-band-gap (Eg; 1.77 eV) QD-in-matrix perovskite solar cells that maintain >90% of their initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) after 200 h of one-sun operation at the maximum power point …

Matter

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.

Matter

Hybrid superlattices, composed of two-dimensional atomic crystals (2DACs) and self-assembled molecular layers, provide a platform for synergizing the rich physical properties of solid-state 2DACs with customizable molecular functionalities. This study introduces a modular electrostatic co-assembly approach for synthesizing 53 distinct hybrid superlattices, using various 2DACs and molecular building blocks. Mechanistic studies reveal that the electrostatic assembly is governed by charge balance and the equilibrium between electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. Leveraging the charge balance principle, we demonstrate a precise control over the number of molecular layers and interlayer spacing by modulating the molecular charge density. Our study establishes a universal approach to a library of layered hybrid superlattices, incorporating versatile molecular functionalities into solid-state 2DACs. It …

Matter

In electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) into chemicals and fuels, it is a long-standing challenge to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and steer selectivity to a single valuable product. Ethylene is a desired model molecule in light of its large market size, range of applications from polymers to sustainable aviation fuel, and large present-day carbon intensity. The reaction pathways and reactivity of CO2R rely on catalyst surface properties and local reaction environments. Here we review the mechanistic understanding of CO2R to ethylene; we then discuss catalyst design strategies in light of the link between catalyst structure, reaction pathways, and ethylene production performance. We close with challenges in catalyst design and provide an outlook for further research directions to accelerate the rational design of catalysts.

Matter

Organic electronics and organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are gaining importance for their potential to replicate complex biological processes of the human brain. Such devices require polymeric materials to efficiently transport and couple ionic and electronic charges in aqueous media, therefore demanding water-insoluble systems capable of efficient electronic and ionic conductions. This has created a fundamental stability-performance compromise for water-soluble conducting polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), whereby stability has been achieved at the expense of electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate a breakthrough in structural stabilization of PEDOT:PSS through electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) that leads to the formation of an efficient mixed conductor in a hydrated state. Benefiting from the multiscale morphology control provided by …

Matter

Complex concentrated oxides (CCOs) are an emerging material class that includes high-entropy and entropy-stabilized oxides whose properties stem from disorder-induced electronic structure and chemistry caused by stabilizing solid solutions of >5 cations. Integrating CCOs into composites will expand material design beyond the single-phase paradigm. We demonstrate tunable CCO-derived nanostructures by a simple method: exsolution-self-assembly (ESA), a one-step approach to direct the evolution of nanoparticles and nanorods in nanocomposites. We have developed a fundamental understanding of driving forces and formation mechanisms in CCOs using atomic-scale probes, which reveal that ESA can be directed using Ellingham's model of cation reducibility in a model CCO perovskite LaFe0.7Ni0.1Co0.1Pd0.05Ru0.05O3-δ. This approach enables tailored growth of multielement nanorod and …

Matter

Granular materials accumulate surface charges through triboelectrification and fractoelectrification—charging resulting from material friction and fracture, respectively. These processes occur during coffee grinding and impact coffee production at both the enthusiast and industrial-length scales. By sourcing commercially roasted coffee as well as roasting our own, we find that roast color and grind coarseness impact the charging; fine, darker roasts acquire charge-to-mass ratios comparable to those inferred from particles in volcanic plumes and thunderclouds. Furthermore, we elucidate the influence of residual internal moisture on electrification, concluding that moisture can tune both the magnitude and polarity of charge. In addition to possible technological applications, we demonstrate that the addition of external water simultaneously suppresses surface charging and clumping of ground coffee and results in …

Matter

Compositional heterogeneity is commonly observed in mixed bromide/iodide perovskite photoabsorbers, typically with minimal effects on charge carrier recombination and photovoltaic performance. Consistently, it has so far received very limited attention in bromide/chloride-mixed perovskites, which hold particular significance for blue light-emitting diodes. Here, we uncover that even a minor degree of localized halide heterogeneity leads to severe non-radiative losses in mixed bromide/chloride blue perovskite emitters, presenting a stark contrast to general observations in photovoltaics. We not only provide a visualization of the heterogeneity landscape spanning from micro-to sub-microscale but also identify that this issue mainly arises from the initially formed chloride-rich clusters during perovskite nucleation. Our work sheds light on a long-term neglected factor impeding the advancement of blue light-emitting …

Matter

The stability of metal-organic frameworks remains a concern in catalysis under harsh conditions. In the December 2023 issue of Matter, Cao and coworkers developed a robust metal-borate-organic network stable up to 560°C that drives the selective oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to light olefins.

Matter

Metal-based nanozymes have shown remarkable potential as therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. However, the issue of off-target side effects associated with metal toxicity remains a significant challenge. Here, we synthesized N/P co-doped graphene quantum dots (NPGQDs) as metal-free nanozymes for catalytic tumor therapy. NPGQDs were derived from erythrocyte membranes, ensuring the absence of organic precursors and solvents that could potentially contaminate the final product. NPGQDs efficiently converted hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl radicals, leading to intracellular oxidative damage and inhibition of tumor cell proliferation. The exceptional peroxidase-mimetic enzymatic activity of NPGQDs was attributed to a synergistic electron effect resulting from co-doping N and P in GQDs. The in vivo experiments demonstrated that NPGQDs exhibited excellent biocompatibility and that the treatment with …

Matter

Low-energy compute-in-memory architectures promise to reduce the energy demand for computation and data storage. Wurtzite-type ferroelectrics are promising options for both performance and integration with existing semiconductor processes. The Al1-xScxN alloy is among the few tetrahedral materials that exhibit polarization switching, but the electric field required to switch the polarization is too high (few MV/cm). Going beyond binary compounds, we explore the search space of multinary wurtzite-type compounds. Through this large-scale search, we identify four promising ternary nitrides and oxides, including Mg2PN3, MgSiN2, Li2SiO3, and Li2GeO3, for future experimental realization and engineering. In 90% of the considered multinary materials, we identify unique switching pathways and non-polar structures that are distinct from the commonly assumed switching mechanism in AlN-based materials. Our …

Matter

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) show promise in areas like wearable electronics and soft robotics but often have low (actuation) energy densities (<1 MJ/m3), limiting their maximum load. Recent work suggests that periodically incorporating directional H-bonds can enable high-energy-density SMPs by forming stable strain-induced supramolecular nanostructures. Here, we found that adding weaker H-bonding units to the polymer can tune its actuation temperature from 60°C to 25°C while maintaining ∼80% of the energy density of the original polymer and achieving self-healing at accessible temperatures (∼70°C). By using this self-healable, high-energy SMP, we realized rapid healing of macroscopic film damage (e.g., centimeter-sized knife punctures) that was not healable in polymers without high-energy shape-memory-assisted self-healing (SMASH) behavior. The self-healing SMP was used to fabricate a …

Matter

Compositional heterogeneity is commonly observed in mixed bromide/iodide perovskite photoabsorbers, typically with minimal effects on charge carrier recombination and photovoltaic performance. Consistently, it has so far received very limited attention in bromide/chloride-mixed perovskites, which hold particular significance for blue light-emitting diodes. Here, we uncover that even a minor degree of localized halide heterogeneity leads to severe non-radiative losses in mixed bromide/chloride blue perovskite emitters, presenting a stark contrast to general observations in photovoltaics. We not only provide a visualization of the heterogeneity landscape spanning from micro-to sub-microscale but also identify that this issue mainly arises from the initially formed chloride-rich clusters during perovskite nucleation. Our work sheds light on a long-term neglected factor impeding the advancement of blue light-emitting …

Matter

Sexually transmitted infections and urogenital-perinatal infections are significant health challenges owing to their asymptomatic nature, multidrug-resistant pathogens, and lack of effective vaccines. Surfactants are under investigation as potential antimicrobial agents and alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Here, we discovered that N-dodecylpyridinium bromide (C12PB), a cationic quaternary ammonium surfactant, has very low potential to induce antimicrobial resistance with no antibiotic cross-resistance or inflammation in vitro. Therefore, we developed a preclinical antibiotic-free cationic surfactant-based cellulose hydrogel for treating sexually transmitted infections. The C12PB-hydrogels provided sustained surfactant release, enhancing their biocompatibility and antibacterial activity without inflammation or epithelial disruption of the vaginal tract. In a preclinical model of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection, a single …

Matter

Compressive strain engineering improves perovskite stability. Two-dimensional compressive strain along the in-plane direction can be applied to perovskites through the substrate; however, this in-plane strain results in an offsetting tensile strain perpendicular to the substrate, linked to the positive Poisson ratio of perovskites. Substrate-induced strain engineering has not yet resulted in state-of-the-art operational stability. Here, we seek instead to implement hydrostatic strain in perovskites by embedding lattice-mismatched perovskite quantum dots (QDs) into a perovskite matrix. QD-in-matrix perovskites show a homogeneously strained lattice as evidenced by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. We fabricate mixed-halide wide-band-gap (Eg; 1.77 eV) QD-in-matrix perovskite solar cells that maintain >90% of their initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) after 200 h of one-sun operation at the maximum power point …

Matter

Optical imaging devices with multiple distinct functionalities are becoming increasingly important for smart displays, high-security encryption, and multilevel anti-counterfeiting applications. However, existing systems are often challenging to reconfigure once formed and lack 3D encoding capacity. Here, we present a protein-based approach to construct rewritable and reprogrammable multifunctional optical platforms that allow 2D/3D encoding, multichannel imaging, and multimode information multiplexing by combining protein self-assembly, micro-/nanoimprinting, and 3D morphing techniques. The use of multi-strategy imprinting enables the encoding of multiple independent optical responses in one material, while the incorporation of 3D architecture offers additional spatial freedom for information integration. The protein's ability for reversible molecular rearrangement allows the rewriting of imprinted optical …

Matter

Wearable kinesthetic communication technology is a critical foundation for the rapidly evolving human-metaverse interface. Here, we introduce a fully embedded textile tactile sensor array that provides accurate and real-time haptic feedback. Benefiting from a reliable and scalable spacer-thread-based woven structure, it allows for tactile detection with a fine resolution of 0.1 mm and a rapid response time of 30 ms. Despite its advanced functionality, our haptic textile maintains superior wearing comfort and is designed to function without crosstalk or interference from environmental factors or motion artifacts. We demonstrate the potential of our haptic textile through the development of a machine-learning-assisted haptic textile glove, which enables individuals to experience virtual objects through the sense of touch. This glove uses tactile feedback to distinguish between materials based on roughness and can even …

Matter

Carbon cannot be erased; we are simply moving it from one storage pool to another. Biomass serves as a carbon reservoir through which carbon cycles. Over time and at scale, the working forests, the earth's most powerful climate regulator and home to a mosaic of vigorously growing trees, sequester atmospheric CO2 at impressive rates through their harvesting-regrowing cycle. Biomass-derived products extend carbon storage beyond the forests' capacity in the forms of thousands of consumer products in daily lives, like our furniture and houses. The more we use and recycle these nature-based, carbon-storing materials, the less dependent we are on carbon-intensive fossil products.

Matter

Soft machines will require soft materials that exhibit a rich diversity of functionality, including shape morphing and photoresponsivity. The combination of these functionalities enables useful behaviors in soft machines that can be further developed by synthesizing materials that exhibit localized responsivity. Localized responsivity of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), which are soft materials that exhibit shape morphing, can be enabled by formulating composite inks for direct ink writing (DIW). Gold nanorods (AuNRs) can be added to LCEs to enable photothermal shape change upon absorption of light through a localized surface plasmon resonance. We compared LCE formulations, focusing on their amenability for printing by DIW and the photoresponsivity of AuNRs. The local responsivity of different three-dimensional architectures enabled soft machines that could oscillate, crawl, roll, transport mass, and display other …