Research on inherently nanolaminated transition metal carbides is inspired by their unique properties combining metals and ceramics, such as higher damage tolerance, better machinability and lower brittleness compared to the binary counterparts, yet retaining the metallic conductivity. The interesting properties are related to their laminated structure, composed of transition-metal carbide laye...

The transport properties of metallophthalocyanine thin films are important ingredients in many technological applications. Ohmic conductance of thin film (15 nm to 90 nm) Co-phthalocyanine (CoPc) capacitive devices has been investigated in the temperature range of 40 K to 300 K. For Pd and V electrodes, the electrode-film (E-F) interface and metallic micro-shorts contribute substantially to the...

A current bottleneck in the thin film photovoltaic field is the fabrication of low cost electrodes. We demonstrate ultrasonically spray coated multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) layers as opaque and absorptive metal-free electrodes deposited at low temperatures and free of post-deposition treatment. The electrodes show sheet resistance as low as 3.4 Ω □(-1), comparable to evaporated metallic con...

Typical bilayer wrinkle systems employ soft elastomers as the substrates. In contrast, shape memory polymers have recently emerged as attractive alternatives. Besides the shape fixing capability, shape memory polymers distinguish from elastomers in that they are rigid at room temperature, but experience significant modulus drop upon heating. We hereby report unique aspects of shape memory polym...

Dual-band negative-index metamaterial designs in the near-infrared frequency range are presented and their performance is analyzed using a full-wave numerical electromagnetic scattering method. Negative effective permittivity is provided by a thin layer of metallic film. Negative effective permeabilities are supplied in two distinct frequency bands by magnetic resonators of different dimensions...

At the charge neutral point, graphene exhibits a very unusual high-resistance metallic state and a transition to a complete insulating phase in a strong magnetic field. We propose that the current carriers in this state are the charged vortices of the XY valley-pseudospin order parameter, a situation which is dual to a conventional thin superconducting film. We study energetics and the stabilit...

A reversible plating/stripping of a dendrite-free metallic-sodium anode with a reduced anode/ceramic interfacial resistance is created by a thin interfacial interlayer formed in situ or by the introduction of a dry polymer film. Wetting of the sodium on the interfacial interlayer suppresses dendrite formation and growth at different discharge/charge C-rates. All-solid-state batteries were obtai...

Ultra-low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is an elusive property, and narrow temperature ranges of operation and poor mechanical properties limit the use of conventional materials with low CTE. We structured a periodic micro-array of bi-metallic cells to demonstrate ultra-low effective CTE with a wide temperature range. These engineered tunable CTE thin film can be applied to minimize th...