Beautiful coda to beautiful work! Our study on nanocrystal superlattices in ACS Nano was featured on one of the covers @pubs.acs.org #MyACSCover

Link to the paper (open access): pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

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Check out this article collection from Journal of Chemical Education, which illustrates how #MOFs have been integrated into classrooms and labs at various educational levels.

Explore now: buff.ly/RMOElHU

Extinction Coefficients of CdSe, CdS, and CdTe Nanoplatelets in Solution: A Practical Tool for Concentration Determination Semiconductor nanoplatelets possess exceptional optical properties that make them promising candidates for next-generation optoelectronic applications. However, unlike quantum dots where absorption spectroscopy alone can determine both size and concentration, nanoplatelets present a significant characterization challenge: the absorption peak position reveals only thickness, providing no information about lateral dimensions or concentration. This limitation forces researchers to rely on time-consuming elemental analysis techniques for complete sample characterization. Here, we present an experimentally verified theoretical framework that predicts the frequency-dependent absorption coefficient of randomly oriented CdSe, CdS, and CdTe nanoplatelets, enabling concentration determination from absorption measurements and lateral size estimates. Our model shows that the integrated absorption coefficient depends universally on nanoplatelet surface area and thickness, yielding a practical tool to extract concentrations without laborious elemental analysis. This approach bridges the characterization gap between quantum dots and nanoplatelets, offering a streamlined method for sample analysis that could accelerate nanoplatelet research and applications.

Paired up with a previous highlight is a fundamental work on the concentration determination of II-VI nanoplatelets. Based on the theoretical framework, a practitioner could obtain concentration from known thickness, lateral dimensions, and absorption spectrum.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Highly Photosensitive Colloidal Quantum Well Based Nanocrystal Skins Assisted by Orientation Control Colloidal quantum wells (CQWs) exhibit superior optical characteristics, including giant oscillator strengths and high absorption cross sections, making them attractive for light-sensing applications....

Interesting light-sensitive nanoskins based on vertically stacked nanoplatelets, the edge-up stacking helps with photoexcited hole transfer to metal contact, underlying the enhanced photosensitivity.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Week 51, ooof its been a while, busy end of the year! Lots of interesting papers came out in Nano Letters in the meantime. Here are a couple of highlights @pubs.acs.org #NanoLettBoardPick

Direct Imaging of Nanoscale Ferroelectric Domains and Polarization Reversal in Ferroelectric Capacitors Ferroelectric thin films present a powerful platform for next-generation computing and memory applications. However, domain morphology and dynamics in buried ferroelectric stacks have remained underex...

Direct Imaging of Nanoscale Ferroelectric Domains and Polarization Reversal in Ferroelectric Capacitors | Nano Letters pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Balancing Molecular Sensitization and Surface Passivation in Lanthanide-Doped Nanoparticle-Based Organic–Inorganic Nanohybrids Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (LnNPs) are promising for advanced photonic applications due to their unique optical properties. However, their practical implementation is hindered by surface quenching and weak absorption. Surface passivation through core–shell architectures is effective in mitigating quenching. However, it creates a fundamental trade-off by impeding molecular sensitization via energy transfer (ET) in the organic–inorganic hybrid systems. Here, we investigate this trade-off by fabricating core–shell LnNPs with precisely controlled shell thicknesses ranging from 0.8 to 3.0 nm. Surface passivation yields enhancements in 290-fold upconversion intensity and 25-fold downshifting intensity. Using 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid, we demonstrate that ET efficiency exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on the shell thickness, with optimal performance achieved at a shell thickness of ∼0.8 nm. Through steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic studies, we elucidate the complex ET dynamics. Our findings reveal the optimal shell thickness and answer whether no shell is the best in this nanohybrid system.

Balancing Molecular Sensitization and Surface Passivation in Lanthanide-Doped Nanoparticle-Based Organic–Inorganic Nanohybrids | Nano Letters pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Week 45, another couple of highlights from Nano Letters: an interesting photophysics study on molecular sensitization of lanthanide-doped (Yb,Er in NaYF4) core-shell nanoparticles and nanoprobe X-ray diffraction of ferroelectric domains in oxide perovskite BiFeO3
@pubs.acs.org
#NanoLettBoardPick

Happy travelers from Lund arrived to Valencia for @nanoge.org MATSUS25 Fall meeting. Amazing weather +26 ☀️ Lots of exciting science ahead!

Nice perspective on the SynLlama paper by @thglab.bsky.social and coworkers recently published in ACS Cent Sci!

The materials we make don’t just go ‘away’ - Nature Reviews Materials Materials researchers are trained to innovate and create. But now that it is clear the world has too much stuff, what is the path forward?

Nice editorial from @natrevmats.nature.com, made me think about the sustainability of research at a single lab level and broader community; looking forward to learn more from the materials circularity series.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dye-sensitized solar cells/perovskites. Sooner or later…

C60 Fullerene as an On-Demand Single Photon Source at Room Temperature Single photon sources are fundamental for applications in quantum computing, secure communication, and sensing, as they enable the generation of individual photons and ensure strict control over photo...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Room-Temperature Circularly Polarized Single Photon Emission from Eu3+/Organic Complexes Coupled to Chiral Plasmonic Nanocavity Room-temperature circularly polarized single-photon sources are crucial for quantum information and photonic technologies. Here we integrated europium (Eu3+)-doped organic complexes with chiral plasmo...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Week 41, a couple of curious single-photon emitter studies appeared in a short timespan. One on circularly polarized single photons from Eu complex conjugated with gold helicoids, and another on good old fullerene as a single photon emitter. Check them out.
@pubs.acs.org
#NanoLettBoardPick

ACS National Nanotechnology Day webinar, Thursday Oct 9 Time for a rare bit of explicit self-promotion on this blog.  This coming Thursday, October 9, as part of the American Chemical Society 's a...

🧪⚛️ Now with blog link goodness: ACS Webinar about plasmonics and "Illuminating the Nano Frontier" this coming Thursday. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/10/acs-...

Fluctuation of Time-Resolved X-ray Diffraction Reveals the Rotational Dynamics of Nanoparticles in Polymer Materials Polymer nanocomposites, consisting of a polymer matrix and nanoparticles, are key materials in modern soft matter science. Because their macroscopic properties are closely linked to nanoscale dynamics...

An original application of X-ray scattering correlations to quantify rotation timescales of ZnO nanocrystals in polymer solutions and hydrogels.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

A creative and fun demonstration of sculpting nanoparticle assemblies with a laser. Cutting them like a piece of pie.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Week 39, the two highlights are the laser sculpting of nanoparticle-DNA assemblies and measuring nanocrystal rotations with correlated X-ray scattering @pubs.acs.org #NanoLettBoardPick

Friends! I’ll edit a special issue spotlighting queer researchers in porphyrin science – broadly defined – to be published in about a year. Queer PIs, students and postdocs and allies are all welcome! I am not free to reveal much more now until I have a rough headcount. Who’s in? Please repost! 🏳️‍🌈

And "especially right now, we're in this catastrophic moment where so many people assume they know things that either they don't know or that aren't even forms of knowledge"

The History of The New Yorker’s Vaunted Fact-Checking Department Reporters engage in charm and betrayal; checkers are in the harm-reduction business.

So relatable. What are "knowing things is hard" and "checking is a practice" if not the beliefs and ideals of scientists, too?

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Self-Assembly Gets Automated in Reverse of ‘Game of Life’ | Quanta Magazine In cellular automata, simple rules create elaborate structures. Now researchers can start with the structures and reverse-engineer the rules.

In cellular automata, simple rules create elaborate structures. Now researchers are working backward — starting with the result to learn the rules behind it. @georgemusser.com, SFI’s 2025 Journalism Fellow, explores how this could reshape computation and self-organization in Quanta:

Thank you!!! 🙏

Welcome to Bluesky, Quinten! @q-akkerman.bsky.social!

Credible is in - Communications Psychology Self-promotional language may attract readers but is discouraged in Communications Psychology. Because style matters in fostering credibility.

Self-promotional language may attract readers but is discouraged in Communications Psychology. Because style matters in fostering credibility.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Welcome, Early Career Board 2025 You have not visited any articles yet, Please visit some articles to see contents here.

Scroll through and see if you spot colleagues and other familiar names. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

The Next 25 Years of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: A Nano Letters Roadmap You have not visited any articles yet, Please visit some articles to see contents here.

A clear-eyed and inspiring read.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Week 35, the two highlights are editorials: the first is the Nano Letters roadmap for the next 25 years of nanotechnology, and the second is an introduction to the Early Career Board, through which I am excited to support this outstanding journal. @pubs.acs.org #NanoLettBoardPick

Confined Acoustic Phonons in CsPbI3 Nanocrystals Explored by Resonant Raman Scattering on Excitons Optical properties of the lead halide perovskite nanocrystals are controlled by confined excitons and a rich spectrum of confined acoustic and optical phonons. We study experimentally and theoreticall...

Smaller box - higher frequency (think of woodwind section in the orchestra), comprehensively shown for acoustic phonons in perovskite QDs in glass. Considerations for shape/structure make it a helpful guide for optimizing electron-phonon coupling.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...