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1. The Strain Rate Sensitivity of Heterogeneous Thin Film Metallic Glasses: Interplay Between Nanoscale Heterogeneity and Dynamic Plasticity

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2022.925096  

   Gu, Yucong; Han, Xiao; Yan, Feng; Li, Lin (June 2022, Frontiers in Materials)

   The dynamic mechanical properties of metallic glasses (MGs) are crucial to capturing the deformation signatures as well as for structural and functional applications. In this work, we investigate the influence of nanoscale structural heterogeneity of MGs on dynamic plasticity, focusing on the variation in strain rate sensitivity and the transition of deformation mechanisms, using a combined experimental and simulation approach. The Cu 50 Zr 50 thin-film MGs with different nanoscale heterogeneities are synthesized using magnetron sputtering and further characterized using dynamic force microscopy and nanoindentation. All the films exhibit a strain rate hardening effect, but a transition in strain rate sensitivity as the indentation rate increases has been found in the MG with a higher heterogeneity. To understand the underlying mechanisms, mesoscale shear transformation zone dynamics simulations are performed on model Cu 50 Zr 50 MGs. The simulation results are able to capture the experimental trend. Notably, the transition in strain rate sensitivity for a heterogenous MG stems from a change in deformation mechanisms: from structure-dictated strain localization at a lower strain rate to stress-dictated strain percolation into a shear band at a higher strain rate. The observed strain rate sensitivity and the corresponding mechanisms are summarized in a deformation mechanism map where nanoscale structural heterogeneity and strain rate are varied. We envision our study not only providing insights into the structure and property relationship of MGs on the nanoscale but also will facilitate the design of heterogeneous MGs for dynamic applications. 

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2. Dynamically Reconfigurable Bipolar Optical Gradient Force Induced by Mid‐Infrared Graphene Plasmonic Tweezers for Sorting Dispersive Nanoscale Objects

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202101744  

   Paul, Puspita; Liu, Peter_Q (December 2021, Advanced Optical Materials)

   Abstract Existing techniques for optical trapping and manipulation of microscopic objects, such as optical tweezers and plasmonic tweezers, are mostly based on visible and near‐infrared light sources. As it is in general more difficult to confine light to a specific length scale at a longer wavelength, these optical trapping and manipulation techniques have not been extended to the mid‐infrared spectral region or beyond. Here, it is shown that by taking advantage of the fact that many materials have large permittivity dispersions in the mid‐infrared region, optical trapping and manipulation using mid‐infrared excitation can achieve additional functionalities and benefits compared to the existing techniques in the visible and near‐infrared regions. In particular, it is demonstrated that by exploiting the exceedingly high field confinement and large frequency tunability of mid‐infrared graphene plasmonics, high‐performance and versatile mid‐infrared plasmonic tweezers can be realized to selectively trap or repel nanoscale objects of different materials in a dynamically reconfigurable way. This new technique can be utilized for sorting, filtering, and fractionating nanoscale objects in a mixture. 

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3. Peak Force Infrared–Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

   https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202004211  

   Jakob, Devon S.; Wang, Haomin; Zeng, Guanghong; Otzen, Daniel E.; Yan, Yong; Xu, Xiaoji G. (June 2020, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)

   Abstract Correlative scanning probe microscopy of chemical identity, surface potential, and mechanical properties provide insight into the structure–function relationships of nanomaterials. However, simultaneous measurement with comparable and high resolution is a challenge. We seamlessly integrated nanoscale photothermal infrared imaging with Coulomb force detection to form peak force infrared–Kelvin probe force microscopy (PFIR‐KPFM), which enables simultaneous nanomapping of infrared absorption, surface potential, and mechanical properties with approximately 10 nm spatial resolution in a single‐pass scan. MAPbBr₃perovskite crystals of different degradation pathways were studied in situ. Nanoscale charge accumulations were observed in MAPbBr₃near the boundary to PbBr₂. PFIR‐KPFM also revealed correlations between residual charges and secondary conformation in amyloid fibrils. PFIR‐KPFM is applicable to other heterogeneous materials at the nanoscale for correlative multimodal characterizations. 

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4. 6 nm super-resolution optical transmission and scattering spectroscopic imaging of carbon nanotubes using a nanometer-scale white light source

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27216-5  

   Ma, Xuezhi; Liu, Qiushi; Yu, Ning; Xu, Da; Kim, Sanggon; Liu, Zebin; Jiang, Kaili; Wong, Bryan M.; Yan, Ruoxue; Liu, Ming (November 2021, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Optical transmission and scattering spectroscopic microscopy at the visible and adjacent wavelengths denote one of the most informative and inclusive characterization methods in material research. Unfortunately, restricted by the diffraction limit of light, it cannot resolve the nanoscale variation in light absorption and scattering, diagnostics of the local inhomogeneity in material structure and properties. Moreover, a large quantity of nanomaterials has anisotropic optical properties that are appealing yet hard to characterize through conventional optical methods. There is an increasing demand to extend the optical hyperspectral imaging into the nanometer length scale. In this work, we report a super-resolution hyperspectral imaging technique that uses a nanoscale white light source generated by superfocusing the light from a tungsten-halogen lamp to simultaneously obtain optical transmission and scattering spectroscopic images. A 6-nm spatial resolution in the visible to near-infrared wavelength regime (415–980 nm) is demonstrated on an individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SW-CNT). Both the longitudinal and transverse optical electronic transitions are measured, and the SW-CNT chiral indices can be identified. The band structure modulation in a SW-CNT through strain engineering is mapped. 

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5. Dynamic adhesion of 2D materials to mixed-phase BiFeO 3 structural phase transitions

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0096686  

   Watson, Carla; Peña, Tara; Abdin, Marah; Khan, Tasneem; Wu, Stephen M. (July 2022, Journal of Applied Physics)

   Two-dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, have generated much interest due to their strain-sensitive electronic, optical, magnetic, superconducting, or topological properties. Harnessing control over their strain state may enable new technologies that operate by controlling these materials’ properties in devices such as straintronic transistors. Piezoelectric oxides have been proposed as one method to control such strain states on the device scale. However, there are few studies of how conformal 2D materials remain on oxide materials with respect to dynamic applications of the strain. Non-conformality may lead to non-optimal strain transfer. In this work, we explore this aspect of oxide-2D adhesion in the nanoscale switching of the substrate structural phase in thin 1T′-MoTe 2 attached to a mixed-phase thin-film BiFeO 3 (BFO), a multiferroic oxide with an electric-field induced structural phase transition that can generate mechanical strains of up to 2%. We observe that flake thickness impacts the conformality of 1T′-MoTe 2 to structural changes in BFO, but below four layers, 1T′-MoTe 2 fully conforms to the nanoscale BFO structural changes. The conformality of few-layer 1T′-MoTe 2 suggests that BFO is an excellent candidate for deterministic, nanoscale strain control for 2D materials. 

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