State Key Laboratory for Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China.
State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.
Adv Mater. 2019 Jan;31(4):e1804583. doi: 10.1002/adma.201804583. Epub 2018 Nov 28.
The development of materials with high efficiency and stable signal output in a bent state is important for flexible electronics. Grain boundaries provide lasting inspiration and a promising avenue for designing advanced functionalities using nanomaterials. Combining bulk defects in polycrystalline materials is shown to result in rich new electronic structures, catalytic activities, and mechanical properties for many applications. However, direct evidence that grain boundaries can create new physicochemical properties in flexible electronics is lacking. Here, a combination of bulk electrosensitive measurements, density functional theory calculations, and atomic force microscopy technology with quantitative nanomechanical mapping is used to show that grain boundaries in polycrystalline wires are more active and mechanically stable than single-crystalline wires for real-time detection of chemical analytes. The existence of a grain boundary improves the electronic and mechanical properties, which activate and stabilize materials, and allow new opportunities to design highly sensitive, flexible chemical sensors.
在弯曲状态下具有高效和稳定信号输出的材料的发展对于柔性电子学非常重要。晶界为利用纳米材料设计先进功能提供了持久的灵感和有前途的途径。在多晶材料中结合体缺陷会导致丰富的新电子结构、催化活性和机械性能，适用于许多应用。然而，缺乏晶界可以在柔性电子产品中创造新物理化学性质的直接证据。在这里，使用体电敏感测量、密度泛函理论计算以及原子力显微镜技术与定量纳米力学映射相结合的方法，表明多晶丝中的晶界比单晶丝更活跃，机械更稳定，可实时检测化学分析物。晶界的存在改善了电子和机械性能，使材料活化和稳定，为设计高灵敏度、柔性化学传感器提供了新的机会。
