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Synthetic chiral platforms can be a powerful platform for enantioselective interactions, especially when coupled with redox‐mediated electrochemical processes. While metallopolymers are versatile platforms for molecularly selective binding, their application for chiral applications is limited. In particular, the recognition and separation of biologically relevant chiral molecules can be key for biomanufacturing and diagnostics. Here, the design of chiral redox‐polymers enables electrochemically‐controlled enantioselective interactions, and supramolecular chirality is leveraged for enhancing recognition towards target enantiomers. Chiral redox‐metallopolymers are synthesized based on Ugi's amine‐inspired chiral monomers, and their enantioselective recognition toward ionic enantiomers such as tryptophan and naproxen is demonstrated, with higher enanhcement provided by the chiral redox‐polymer over the single‐site, chiral building bloack itelf. 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and solid‐state circular dichroism support the emergence of supramolecular chirality resulting from the intramolecular interaction between the ferrocene and the alkyl group in the backbone. The half potential shift of the redox‐polymers behaves linearly from 0% to 100%eel‐tryptophan to enable enantiomer quantification. Investigation on solvent polarity and pH effect reveal that the enantioselective mechanism is attributed to the subtle balance between hydrogen bonding and π–π interaction. This study highlights the potential of chiral redox‐metallopolymers as platforms for electrochemically‐modulated enantioselective interactions towards a range of amino acids and pharmaceutical carboxylates.

The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) supported the twist-angle-induced flat band structure predictions made a decade earlier. Numerous physical properties have since been linked to the interlayer twist angle using the flat band prediction as a guideline. However, some key observations like the nematic phase and striped charge order behind the superconductivity are missing in this initial model. Here we show that a thermodynamically stable large out-of-plane displacement, or corrugation of the bilayer, induced by the interlayer twist, demonstrates partially filled states of the flat band structure, accompanied by a broken symmetry, in the magic-angle regime and the presence of symmetry breaking associated with the superconductivity in tBLG. The distinction between low and high corrugation can also explain the observed evolution of the vibrational spectra of tBLG as a function of twist angle. Our observation that large out-of-plane deformation modes enable partial filling of states near the Fermi energy may lead to a strategy for offsetting the effects of disorder in the local twist angle, which suppresses unconventional superconductivity and correlated insulator behavior in magic-angle tBLG.

The past decade has witnessed a rapid growth of graphene plasmonics and their applications in different fields. Compared with conventional plasmonic materials, graphene enables highly confined plasmons with much longer lifetimes. Moreover, graphene plasmons work in an extended wavelength range, i.e., mid-infrared and terahertz regime, overlapping with the fingerprints of most organic and biomolecules, and have broadened their applications towards plasmonic biological and chemical sensors. In this review, we discuss intrinsic plasmonic properties of graphene and strategies both for tuning graphene plasmons as well as achieving higher performance by integrating graphene with plasmonic nanostructures. Next, we survey applications of graphene and graphene-hybrid materials in biosensors, chemical sensors, optical sensors, and sensors in other fields. Lastly, we conclude this review by providing a brief outlook and challenges of the field. Through this review, we aim to provide an overall picture of graphene plasmonic sensing and to suggest future trends of development of graphene plasmonics.

Higher order topological insulators (HOTIs) are a new class of topological materials which host protected states at the corners or hinges of a crystal. HOTIs provide an intriguing alternative platform for helical and chiral edge states and Majorana modes, but there are very few known materials in this class. Recent studies have proposed Bi as a potential HOTI, however, its topological classification is not yet well accepted. In this work, we show that the (110) facets of Bi and BiSb alloys can be used to unequivocally establish the topology of these systems. Bi and Bi_0.92Sb_0.08(110) films were grown on silicon substrates using molecular beam epitaxy and studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The surfaces manifest rectangular islands which show localized hinge states on three out of the four edges, consistent with the theory for the HOTI phase. This establishes Bi and Bi_0.92Sb_0.08as HOTIs, and raises questions about the topological classification of the full family of Bi_xSb_1−xalloys.

Previous band structure calculations predicted Ag₃AuSe₂to be a semiconductor with a band gap of approximately 1 eV. Here, we report single crystal growth of Ag₃AuSe₂and its transport and optical properties. Single crystals of Ag₃AuSe₂were synthesized by slow‐cooling from the melt, and grain sizes were confirmed to be greater than 2 mm using electron backscatter diffraction. Optical and transport measurements reveal that Ag₃AuSe₂is a highly resistive semiconductor with a band gap and activation energy around 0.3 eV. Our first‐principles calculations show that the experimentally determined band gap lies between the predicted band gaps from GGA and hybrid functionals. We predict band inversion to be possible by applying tensile strain. The sensitivity of the gap to Ag/Au ordering, chemical substitution, and heat treatment merit further investigation.

Recent discoveries of exotic physical phenomena, such as unconventional superconductivity in magic‐angle twisted bilayer graphene, dissipationless Dirac fermions in topological insulators, and quantum spin liquids, have triggered tremendous interest in quantum materials. The macroscopic revelation of quantum mechanical effects in quantum materials is associated with strong electron–electron correlations in the lattice, particularly where materials have reduced dimensionality. Owing to the strong correlations and confined geometry, altering atomic spacing and crystal symmetry via strain has emerged as an effective and versatile pathway for perturbing the subtle equilibrium of quantum states. This review highlights recent advances in strain‐tunable quantum phenomena and functionalities, with particular focus on low‐dimensional quantum materials. Experimental strategies for strain engineering are first discussed in terms of heterogeneity and elastic reconfigurability of strain distribution. The nontrivial quantum properties of several strain‐quantum coupled platforms, including 2D van der Waals materials and heterostructures, topological insulators, superconducting oxides, and metal halide perovskites, are next outlined, with current challenges and future opportunities in quantum straintronics followed. Overall, strain engineering of quantum phenomena and functionalities is a rich field for fundamental research of many‐body interactions and holds substantial promise for next‐generation electronics capable of ultrafast, dissipationless, and secure information processing and communications.

The physical realization of Chern insulators is of fundamental and practical interest, as they are predicted to host the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect and topologically protected chiral edge states which can carry dissipationless current. Current realizations of the QAH state often require complex heterostructures and sub-Kelvin temperatures, making the discovery of intrinsic, high temperature QAH systems of significant interest. In this work we show that time-reversal symmetry breaking Weyl semimetals, being essentially stacks of Chern insulators with inter-layer coupling, may provide a new platform for the higher temperature realization of robust chiral edge states. We present combined scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretical investigations of the magnetic Weyl semimetal, Co₃Sn₂S₂. Using modeling and numerical simulations we find that depending on the strength of the interlayer coupling, chiral edge states can be localized on partially exposed kagome planes on the surfaces of a Weyl semimetal. Correspondingly, our dI/dVmaps on the kagome Co₃Sn terraces show topological states confined to the edges which display linear dispersion. This work provides a new paradigm for realizing chiral edge modes and provides a pathway for the realization of higher temperature QAH effect in magnetic Weyl systems in the two-dimensional limit.

Universal platforms for biomolecular analysis using label‐free sensing modalities can address important diagnostic challenges. Electrical field effect‐sensors are an important class of devices that can enable point‐of‐care sensing by probing the charge in the biological entities. Use of crumpled graphene for this application is especially promising. It is previously reported that the limit of detection (LoD) on electrical field effect‐based sensors using DNA molecules on the crumpled graphene FET (field‐effect transistor) platform. Here, the crumpled graphene FET‐based biosensing of important biomarkers including small molecules and proteins is reported. The performance of devices is systematically evaluated and optimized by studying the effect of the crumpling ratio on electrical double layer (EDL) formation and bandgap opening on the graphene. It is also shown that a small and electroneutral molecule dopamine can be captured by an aptamer and its conformation change induced electrical signal changes. Three kinds of proteins were captured with specific antibodies including interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and two viral proteins. All tested biomarkers are detectable with the highest sensitivity reported on the electrical platform. Significantly, two COVID‐19 related proteins, nucleocapsid (N‐) and spike (S‐) proteins antigens are successfully detected with extremely low LoDs. This electrical antigen tests can contribute to the challenge of rapid, point‐of‐care diagnostics.

Atomic force microscopy-infrared (AFM-IR) spectroscopic imaging offers non-perturbative, molecular contrast for nanoscale characterization. The need to mitigate measurement artifacts and enhance sensitivity, however, requires narrowly-defined and strict sample preparation protocols. This limits reliable and facile characterization; for example, when using common substrates such as Silicon or glass. Here, we demonstrate a closed-loop (CL) piezo controller design for responsivity-corrected AFM-IR imaging. Instead of the usual mode of recording cantilever deflection driven by sample expansion, the principle of our approach is to maintain a zero amplitude harmonic cantilever deflection by CL control of a subsample piezo. We show that the piezo voltage used to maintain a null deflection provides a reliable measure of the local IR absorption with significantly reduced noise. A complete analytical description of the CL operation and characterization of the controller for achieving robust performance are presented. Accurate measurement of IR absorption of nanothin PMMA films on glass and Silicon validates the robust capability of CL AFM-IR in routine mapping of nanoscale molecular information.

Atomically thin 2D materials are good templates to grow organic semiconductor thin films with desirable features. However, the 2D materials typically exhibit surface roughness and spatial charge inhomogeneity due to nonuniform doping, which can affect the uniform assembly of organic thin films on the 2D materials. A hybrid template is presented for preparation of highly crystalline small‐molecule organic semiconductor thin film that is fabricated by transferring graphene onto a highly ordered self‐assembled monolayer. This hybrid graphene template has low surface roughness and spatially uniform doping, and it yields highly crystalline fullerene thin films with grain sizes >300 nm, which is the largest reported grain size for C₆₀thin films on 2D materials. A graphene/fullerene/pentacene phototransistor fabricated directly on the hybrid template has five times higher photoresponsivity than a phototransistor fabricated on a conventional graphene template supported by a SiO₂wafer.