Advanced Materials

Experimental evidence of magnetochiral dichroism is found in the hard X-ray absorption spectra of paramagnetic enantiopure molecules. An isotropic sample of a {Tb[Ni(pro)₂]₆}³⁺ salt (pro = L- or D-prolinate) shows up to a 1% difference in absorbance when a magnetic field (1 T) is applied parallel or anti-parallel to the incident X-ray beam at room temperature. This represents the largest magnetochiral dichroism ever observed in absolute and relative value.

A membrane based silicon nanocrystal p-i-n diode is presented that enables the photovoltaic characterization of silicon quantum dots produced by high-temperature routes. The membrane p-i-n diode decouples silicon nanocrystal formation from the formation of selective contacts and therefore enables extraction of the full photovoltaic potential. Open-circuit voltages of up to 370 mV are shown, which is encouraging for future tandem solar cells.

The full static picture of Li storage in Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ is derived using the latest spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations. The accommodation of the additional Li⁺ is directly visualized and the distribution of electrons introduced by lithium insertion deduced. Moreover, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ is found to transform into Li₇Ti₅O₁₂ on lithiation by developing a dislocation-free coherent hetero-interface (figure).