Abstract: Recent experiments have revealed that the macroscopic Kelvin equation remains surprisingly accurate even for nanoscale capillaries. This phenomenon was so far explained by the oscillatory behavior of the solid−liquid interfacial free energy. We here demonstrate thermodynamic and capillarity inconsistencies with this explanation. After revising the Kelvin equation, we ascribe its validity at nanoscale confinement to the effect of disjoining pressure.
To substantiate our hypothesis, we employed molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate interfacial heat transfer and wetting properties. Our assessments unveil a breakdown in a previously established proportionality between the work of adhesion and the Kapitza conductance at capillary heights below 1.3 nm, where the dominance of the work of adhesion shifts primarily from energy to entropy. Alternatively, the peak density of the initial water layer can effectively probe the work of adhesion. Unlike under bulk conditions, high confinement renders the work of adhesion entropically unfavorable.

Abstract: The vibrational properties of 2H-TaSe_2-xS_x (0≤x≤2) single crystals were probed using Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The end members revealed two out of four symmetry-predicted Raman active modes, together with the pronounced two-phonon structure, attributable to the enhanced electron-phonon coupling. Additional peaks become observable due to crystallographic disorder for the doped samples. The evolution of the E₂g² mode Fano parameter reveals that the disorder has a weak impact on electron-phonon coupling, which is also supported by the persistence of two-phonon structure in doped samples. As such, this research provides thorough insights into the lattice properties, the effects of crystallographic disorder on Raman spectra, and the interplay of this disorder with the electron-phonon coupling in 2H-TaSe_2-xS_x compounds.

Abstract: In this study, we conducted a systematic density functional theory (DFT) investigation of the interaction between Ti3C2-MXene monolayer and biological molecules dopamine (DA) and serine (Ser) as neurotransmitter and amino acid, respectively. Our calculations show good agreement with previous literature findings for the optimized Ti3C2 monolayer. We found that DA and Ser molecules bind to the Ti3C2 surface with adsorption energies of -2.244 eV and -3.960 eV, respectively. The adsorption of Ser resulted in the dissociation of one H atom. Electronic density of states analyses revealed little changes in the electronic properties of the Ti3C2-MXene monolayer upon adsorption of the biomolecules. We further investigated the interaction of DA and Ser with Ti3C2 monolayers featuring surface -termination with OH functional group, and Ti -vacancy. Our calculations indicate that the adsorption energies significantly decrease in the presence of surface termination, with adsorption energies of -0.097 eV and -0.330 eV for DA and Ser, respectively. Adsorption energies on the Ti -vacancy surface, on the other hand, are calculated to be -3.584 eV and -3.856 eV for DA and Ser, respectively. Our results provide insights into the adsorption behavior of biological molecules on Ti3C2-MXene, demonstrating the potential of this material for biosensing and other biomedical applications. These findings highlight the importance of surface modifications in the development of functional materials and devices based on Ti3C2-MXene, and pave the way for future investigations into the use of 2D materials for biomedical applications.

Abstract: Seminal Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson (GKA) rules provide an inceptive understanding of the superexchange interaction of two magnetic metal ions bridged with an anion, and suggest fostered ferromagnetic interaction for orthogonal bridging bonds. However, there are no examples of two-dimensional (2D) materials with structure that optimizes the GKA arguments towards enhanced ferromagnetism and its critical temperature. Here we reveal that an ideally planar GKA ferromagnetism is indeed stable in selected tetragonal transition-metal xenes (tTMXs), with Curie temperature above 300 K found in CrC and MnC. We provide the general orbitally-resolved analysis of magnetic interactions that supports the claims and sheds light at the mechanisms dominating the magnetic exchange process in these structures. Furthermore, we propose the set of three GKA-like rules that will guarantee room temperature ferromagetnism. With recent advent of epitaxially-grown tetragonal 2D materials, our findings earmark tTMXs for facilitated spintronic and magnonic applications, or as a desirable magnetic constituent of functional 2D heterostructures.

Abstract: The McMillan-Ginzburg-Landau (MGL) model for charge density waves (CDW) is employed in a systematic phenomenological study of the different phases that have been probed in recent experiments involving transition metal dichalcogenides. We implemented an efficient imaginary time evolution method to solve the MGL equations, which enabled us to investigate the role of different coupling parameters on the CDW patterns and to perform calculations with different energy functionals that lead to several experimentally observed singularities in the CDW phase profiles. In particular, by choosing the appropriate energy functionals, we were able to obtain phases that go beyond the well-known periodic phase slips (discommensurations), exhibiting also topological defects (i.e., vortex-antivortex pairs), domain walls where the CDW order parameter is suppressed, and even CDW with broken rotational symmetry. Finally, we briefly discuss the effect of these different CDW phases on the profile and critical temperature of the competing superconducting state.

Abstract: Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most promising candidates for next generation of atomically thin membranes. Nevertheless, one of the major issues for real world application of GO membranes is their undesirable swelling in an aqueous environment. Recently, we demonstrated that generation of H3O+ and OH- ions (e.g., with an external electric field) in the interlayer gallery could impart aqueous stability to the layered GO membranes (A. Gogoi, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2022, 14, 34946). This, however, compromises the water flux through the membrane. In this study, we report on reducing the GO nanosheets as a solution to this issue. With the reduction of the GO nanosheets, the water flux through the layered GO membrane initially increases and then decreases again beyond a certain degree of reduction. Here, two key factors are at play. Firstly, the instability of the H-bond network between water molecules and the GO nanosheets, which increases the water flux. Secondly, the pore size reduction in the interlayer gallery of the membranes, which decreases the water flux. We also observe a significant improvement in the salt rejection of the membranes, due to the dissociation of water molecules in the interlayer gallery. In particular, for the case of 10% water dissociation, the water flux through the membranes can be enhanced without altering its selectivity. This is an encouraging observation as it breaks the traditional tradeoff between water flux and salt rejection of a membrane.

Abstract: Spin-orbit torques (SOT) allow ultrafast, energy-efficient toggling of magnetization state by an in-plane charge current for applications such as magnetic random-access memory (SOT-MRAM). Tailoring the SOT vector comprising of antidamping (T-AD) and fieldlike (T-FL) torques could lead to faster, more reliable, and low-power SOT-MRAM. Here, we establish a method to quantify the longitudinal (T-AD) and transverse (T-FL) components of the SOT vector and its efficiency chi(AD) and chi(FL), respectively, in nanoscale three-terminal SOT magnetic tunnel junctions (SOT-MTJ). Modulation of nucleation or switching field (B-SF) for magnetization reversal by SOT effective fields (B-SOT) leads to the modification of SOT-MTJ hysteresis loop behavior from which chi(AD) and chi(FL) are quantified. Surprisingly, in nanoscale W/CoFeB SOT-MTJ, we find chi(FL) to be (i) twice as large as chi(AD) and (ii) 6 times as large as chi(FL) in micrometer-sized W/CoFeB Hall-bar devices. Our quantification is supported by micromagnetic and macrospin simulations which reproduce experimental SOT-MTJ Stoner-Wohlfarth astroid behavior only for chi(FL) > chi(AD). Additionally, from the threshold current for current-induced magnetization switching with a transverse magnetic field, we show that in SOT-MTJ, T-FL plays a more prominent role in magnetization dynamics than T-AD. Due to SOT-MRAM geometry and nanodimensionality, the potential role of nonlocal spin Hall spin current accumulated adjacent to the SOT-MTJ in the mediation of T-FL and chi(FL) amplification merits to be explored.

Abstract: Nitrogen-doped diamond (N-D) is one of the most important carbon-based electronic and optical materials. Here we study the terahertz (THz) magneto-optical (MO) properties of N-D grown by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The optical microscope, SEM, XRD, Raman spectrum, FTIR spectroscopy and XPS are used for the characterization of N-D samples. Applying THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS), in combination with the polarization test and the presence of magnetic field in Faraday geometry, THz MO transmissions through N-D are measured from 0 to 8 T at 80 K. The complex right- and left-handed circular transmission coefficients and MO conductivities for N-D are obtained accordingly. Through fitting the experimental results with theoretical formulas of the dielectric constant and MO conductivities for an electron gas, we are able to determine magneto-optically the key electronic parameters of N-D, such as the static dielectric constant epsilon b, the electron density ne, the electronic relaxation time tau, the electronic localization factor alpha and, particularly, the effective electron mass m* obtained under non-resonant condition. The dependence of these parameters upon magnetic field is examined and analyzed. We find that the MO conductivities of N-D can be described rightly by the MO Drude-Smith formulas developed by us previously. It is shown that N-doping and the presence of the magnetic field can lead towards the larger epsilon b and heavier m* in diamond, while ne/tau/alpha in N-D decreases/increases/decreases with increasing magnetic field. The results obtained from this work are benefit to us in gaining an in-depth understanding of the electronic and optoelectronic properties of N-D.

Abstract: Symmetry breaking plays a pivotal role in unlocking intriguing properties and functionalities in material systems. For example, the breaking of spatial and temporal symmetries leads to a fascinating phenomenon: the superconducting diode effect. However, generating and precisely controlling the superconducting diode effect pose significant challenges. Here, we take a novel route with the deliberate manipulation of magnetic charge potentials to realize unconventional superconducting flux-quantum diode effects. We achieve this through suitably tailored nanoengineered arrays of nanobar magnets on top of a superconducting thin film. We demonstrate the vital roles of inversion antisymmetry and its breaking in evoking unconventional superconducting effects, namely a magnetically symmetric diode effect and an odd-parity magnetotransport effect. These effects are nonvolatilely controllable through in situ magnetization switching of the nanobar magnets. Our findings promote the use of antisymmetry (breaking) for initiating unconventional superconducting properties, paving the way for exciting prospects and innovative functionalities in superconducting electronics.

Abstract: We present a Ginzburg-Landau theory for a two-band superconductor with emphasis on MgB2. We propose experiments which lead to identification of the possible scenarios: whether both sigma- and pi-bands superconduct or sigma-alone. According to the second scenario a microscopic theory of superconducting MgB2 is proposed based on the strongly interacting or-electrons and non-correlated pi-electrons of boron ions. The kinematic and Coulomb interactions of sigma-electrons provide the superconducting state with an anisotropic gap of s(*)-wave symmetry. The critical temperature T-c has a non-monotonic dependence on the distance r between the centers of gravity of sigma- and pi-bands. The position of MgB2 on a bell-shaped curve T-c (r) is identified in the overdoped region. The derived superconducting density of electronic states is in agreement with available experimental and theoretical data. It is argued that the effects of pressure are crucial to identify the microscopic origin of superconductivity in MgB2. Possibilities for increase of T, are discussed.

Abstract: The cyclotron resonance (CR) absorption spectrum is calculated for a II-VI parabolic quantum dot (QD) containing few electrons and a single magnetic dopant (Mn(2+)). We find that Kohn's theorem no longer holds for this system and that the CR spectrum depends on the number of electrons inside the QD. The electron-Mn-ion interaction strength can be tuned for example by the magnetic field and by moving the Mn-ion to different positions inside the QD. We demonstrate that due to the presence of the Mn-ion the relative motion of the electrons couple with their center-of-mass motion through the electron-Mn-ion spin-spin exchange term resulting in an electron-electron interaction dependence of the magneto-optical absorption spectrum. At the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic transition we observe significant discontinuities in the CR lines.

Abstract: We have studied the molecular energy terms of the hole configurations (h(u)(+))(m), m=2,3,4,5 of C-60(m+) cations and the electronic configurations (t(1u))(n) n=2,3,4, as well as (t(1u))(n-1)t(1g) of the C-60(n-) anions. The lowest terms (within an energy span of 0.03 eV) for C-60(2+) are three triplets T-3(1g), (3)G(g), T-3(2g) and for C-60(3+) are three quartets T-4(1u), (4)G(u), T-4(2u), which favor Jahn-Teller distortions. For the ground state of C-60(2-) we find a triplet T-3(1g) in agreement with Hund's rules. Our method takes into account intramolecular direct and exchange multipolar Coulomb interactions.

Abstract: The superexchange interactions between the fullerenes arise as a result of the electron transfer from the C-60 molecule to the alkali atom and back. We present a scheme, which is a configuration interaction approach based on the valence bond (Heitler-London) method. The effect of superexchange is described together with chemical bonding by constructing and solving a secular equation, rather than by using a perturbation treatment. We have considered 180degrees and 90degrees superexchange for the C-60 Cs-C-60 pathways. The calculations account for unusual electronic properties of polymer orthorhombic and quenched cubic phases of CsC60: two lines in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments, the development of a spin-singlet ground state and a decrease of magnetic susceptibility as T-->0.

Abstract: We describe an experimental distinction between giant vortex and multivortex states in mesoscopic superconducting disks by using two methods: the multiple-small-tunnel-junction method and the temperature dependence of vortex expulsion fields. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical simulations based on the non-linear Ginzburg-Landau theory.