Vibrational circular dichroism unveils hidden clues.

Infrared chiral plasmonic metamaterials based on perpendicularly positioned nanorods enable surface-enhanced vibrational circular dichroism for more selective and sensitive identification of protein fingerprints and enantioselective sensing, which creates a new pathway for chemical or biomedical applications.

Recent Advances in Metaphotonic Biosensors.

Metaphotonic devices, which enable light manipulation at a subwavelength scale and enhance light-matter interactions, have been emerging as a critical pillar in biosensing. Researchers have been attracted to metaphotonic biosensors, as they solve the limitations of the existing bioanalytical techniques, including the sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limit. Here, we briefly introduce types of metasurfaces utilized in various metaphotonic biomolecular sensing domains such as refractometry, surface-enhanced fluorescence, vibrational spectroscopy, and chiral sensing. Further, we list the prevalent working mechanisms of those metaphotonic bio-detection schemes. Furthermore, we summarize the recent progress in chip integration for metaphotonic biosensing to enable innovative point-of-care devices in healthcare. Finally, we discuss the impediments in metaphotonic biosensing, such as its cost effectiveness and treatment for intricate biospecimens, and present a prospect for potential directions for materializing these device strategies, significantly influencing clinical diagnostics in health and safety.

Tunable Interlayer Interactions in Reduced Graphene Oxide Paper.

Free-standing graphene-based paper-like materials have garnered significant interest for various applications because of their tunable physical and chemical properties, along with unique multilayered structures. Because of the layered configuration of graphene paper, characterization of the interactions between graphene sheets is critical for understanding its fundamental properties and applications. We investigate the interlayer cohesion energies in graphene papers using the mode I fracture concept with double cantilever beam specimens. Mechanical separation along the middle of the graphene paper thickness enables the evaluation of interlayer bonding strength in the paper. Starting from graphene oxide paper, the chemical reduction using hydroiodic acid tunes the interlayer cohesion energy from 11.30 ± 0.25 to 4.78 ± 0.18 J/m2 as the reduction time increases. The interlayer cohesion energy is correlated with the oxygen content, interlayer spacing, and electrical conductivity of graphene papers. This work provides a fundamental characterization of the interlayer cohesion energy of graphene paper and establishes the potential for tunability of the interlayer interactions in graphene paper.

Interlayer Separation in Graphene Paper Comprising Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene.

The emergence of graphene paper comprising well-stacked graphene flakes has promoted the application of graphene-based materials in diverse fields such as energy storage devices, membrane desalination, and actuators. The fundamental properties of graphene paper such as mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties are critical to the design and fabrication of paper-based devices. In this study, the interlayer interactions in graphene paper were investigated by double cantilever beam (DCB) fracture tests. Graphene papers fabricated by flow-directed stacking of electrochemically exfoliated few-layer graphene flakes were mechanically separated into two parts, which generated force-displacement responses of the DCB sample. The analysis based on fracture mechanics revealed that the interlayer separation energy of the graphene paper was 9.83 ± 0.06 J/m2. The results provided a fundamental understanding of the interfacial properties of graphene papers, which will be useful for developing paper-based devices with mechanical integrity.

Electrical Measurements of Thermally Reduced Graphene Oxide Powders under Pressure.

Graphene powders obtained via the reduction of graphene oxide flakes have been widely used in various applications as they can be synthesized in large quantities with outstanding properties. The electrical conductivity of graphene powders is critical for their uses in fabricating high-performance devices or materials. Here, we investigated the bulk electrical conductivity of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) powders depending on the applied pressure and additional thermal annealing. The electrical conductivity of the rGO powders was correlated with the change in the carbon-to-oxygen ratio via additional thermal reduction. Furthermore, the effect of the morphology of the rGO powders was studied through electromechanical measurements. This study provides a reliable method for the electromechanical characterization of rGO powders and a better understanding of the electrical conductivity of graphene-based materials.