ABSTRACT This investigation focuses on the development of dual‐layer coating of AlN and TiAlN by Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to improve surface protection for advanced engineering applications. The Aluminium nitride (AlN) interlayer was first deposited on p ‐type c‐Si (100) substrates over a temperature range of 200°C to 800°C, followed by the TiAlN top layer. The effect of deposition temperature on the structural, morphological, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of the coatings was systematically investigated. Surface morphology and microstructure were examined using Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), while phase composition was studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Atomic force microscope (AFM) provided insights into nanoscale surface roughness, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the vibrational modes of the coating phases. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the formation of strong Titanium‐Nitride (Ti─N), Aluminium nitride (Al─N), and Aluminium Titanium nitride (Al─Ti─N) bonds, indicating successful synthesis of a chemically stable dual‐layer structure. Nanoindentation revealed that the dual‐layer coating deposited at 700°C exhibited superior hardness and Young's modulus values of 29.64 and 209.69 GPa, respectively, indicating improved mechanical integrity. Electrochemical corrosion testing demonstrated excellent corrosion resistance, with the lowest corrosion current density observed for the coating formed at 700°C. Collectively, the results confirm that CVD‐deposited AlN/TiAlN dual‐layer coating offer a promising route for surface engineering applications that requires high hardness, better tribological property, and corrosion resistance in aggressive environments.

ABSTRACT Boron nitride (BN) is considered for several applications in microelectronics, such as thermal management, optoelectronics, or as memristors. BN can be deposited with different deposition methods, but any integration in the back‐end‐of‐the‐line limits the deposition temperature to approximately 400°C. Further requirements include high crystal quality, sufficient film stability, and a high deposition rate to limit process costs. In particular, investigations into thin film stability and high deposition rates have rarely been conducted. Here, we propose reactive pulsed direct current sputtering at 250°C from a pure boron target and demonstrate the deposition process for stable nanocrystalline turbostratic BN. A substrate bias voltage between the plasma and sample reduces excess boron in the film and enhances its crystallinity. The process effectively prevents the formation of boric acid and ammonium borate hydrate. The stable BN films have a crystallite size of approximately 5 nm and an out‐of‐plane texture. Leakage current investigations demonstrate the insulating properties of the films. A high deposition rate of 81.6 nm min – 1 and the use of state‐of‐the‐art sputter hardware allow the immediate integration of sputtered BN into semiconductor device process lines.

ABSTRACT Three‐dimensional printed (3DP) triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a versatile approach for complex and customizable microstructures tailored for efficient energy harvesting and sensing. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of flexible microstructured TENGs produced via stereolithography 3D printing and subsequently coated with a conducting polymer, PEDOT:PSS (P:P). Three geometries are investigated: pillars, pyramids, and arches, with the arch configuration emerging as a new design combining enhanced mechanical adaptability and improved triboelectric performance. The arch‐shaped TENGs exhibit superior flexibility, structural stability, and a high active surface area, which collectively facilitate efficient energy conversion under repetitive deformation. Furthermore, the incorporation of P:P coating substantially enhances performance, resulting in a more than twentyfold increase in voltage output compared to uncoated counterparts. Among the 3DP structures, the arch geometry consistently delivers better performance, confirming the geometry‐driven performance of 3DP‐TENGs. The optimized arch configuration is found to yield a peak voltage output of ∼101 V, corresponding to a maximum power output of ∼193.6 mW/m 2 . By exploiting the spring‐like behavior of the arch‐shaped tribolayer, a “zero‐gap” TENG architecture is presented, offering a compact and adaptable energy‐harvesting platform as well as pressure‐sensing capabilities. Finally, a wireless pressure‐sensing platform configured as a vehicle parking counter is demonstrated, showcasing the potential of this development for integration into smart infrastructure and environmental monitoring systems.

ABSTRACT This study investigates wetting behavior, condensation dynamics, and humid‐air condensation heat transfer on stainless steel (SS), an untreated thermally conductive graphite composite (GC), and a hierarchically structured, superhydrophobic graphite composite (SHGC) under varying relative humidity (RH). Static and dynamic contact angle measurements confirm distinct wetting regimes, with SS being hydrophilic (), GC hydrophobic (), and SHGC superhydrophobic (). Condensation experiments reveal that performance is not governed by wettability alone but by a trade‐off between dropwise renewal, droplet pinning, and additional interfacial thermal resistances introduced by hierarchical textures and low‐surface‐energy functionalization. Under saturated conditions (100% RH), GC achieves the highest vapor‐side heat transfer coefficient of , followed by SHGC with , while SS reaches . The lower performance of SHGC compared to GC is consistent with Wenzel‐type pinning and an increased effective thermal resistance during operation. Computational fluid dynamics simulations confirm laminar internal flow in the cooling‐water channel and provide an independent cross‐check of the water‐side heat transfer coefficient used in the resistance‐based evaluation of vapor‐side HTCs. Overall, the results establish graphite composites as promising condenser substrates and highlight that maximizing apparent superhydrophobicity alone does not necessarily maximize condensation heat transfer under humid‐air conditions.

Micropatterning via Drop-Wise Condensation The temporally arrested breath figure technique provides systematic control over the templating droplets. Through external temperature control and quasi-instantaneous photocuring handles, the pattern features can be successfully modulated to create varied patterns in a scalable and low-cost manner. More details can be found in the Research Article by Francis J. Dent, Sepideh Khodaparast, and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/admi.202500811).

ABSTRACT Wafer‐scale integration of 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials has become essential for advancing next‐generation electronic, photonic and quantum technologies. Although substantial advances have been achieved in epitaxial alignment, large‐area synthesis and deterministic transfer, a unified framework that clarifies how interfaces govern each stage of growth, release and stacking remains underdeveloped. In this review, we synthesize how interfacial atomic arrangement and symmetry dictate single‐crystal nucleation, lateral propagation and coalescence; how interfacial energetics control detachment pathways, transfer fidelity and stacking reproducibility; and how interfacial charge redistribution, roughness and twist uniformity influence carrier transport, interlayer coupling and optical responses. We highlight that interfaces form the central thread connecting wafer‐scale crystal synthesis with high‐fidelity transfer, reproducible heterostructure assembly, and device performance and uniformity. Finally, we argue that establishing wafer‐level quantitative metrics of interfacial adhesion energy, together with dynamic control of interlayer coupling, will transform interface engineering from an empirical art into a predictive, manufacturing‐ready design principle for reliable, large‐area 2D material integration.

ABSTRACT Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has emerged as a promising non‐noble metal catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its intrinsic electrocatalytic activity. However, its practical application is hindered by the inert basal plane, low electrical conductivity, and insufficient active sites. Transition metal doping provides an effective strategy for modulating material properties, offering a viable route to enhance electrocatalytic performance. In this work, controllable doping of vanadium (V) into monolayer MoS 2 was realized through chemical vapor deposition. By tuning the mass ratio of precursors, V‐doped MoS 2 (Mo 1‐x V x S 2 ) monolayers with controlled doping concentration were successfully synthesized, and the films exhibit high crystallinity and uniformity. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the Mo 1‐x V x S 2 film with 33.3% doping concentration exhibits a Tafel slope of 116.65 mV/dec in H 2 SO 4 , significantly outperforming pristine MoS 2 (164.08 mV/dec). Moreover, the catalyst retained over 90% of its activity after 9000 s of continuous electrolysis, highlighting its excellent stability. Density functional theory calculations revealed that vanadium doping reduces the hydrogen adsorption free energy at basal sulfur sites and enhances charge carrier mobility. This work demonstrates the effective modulation of the electronic structure and catalytic activity of MoS 2 via vanadium doping, offering a potential approach for the design of efficient and cost‐effective HER catalysts.

ABSTRACT Type II porous ionic liquids could be prepared at room temperature by dissolving up to 5 wt.% of anti ‐cryptophane‐A derivatives functionalized with alkyl or fluorinated alkyl chains in phosphonium‐ and pyrrolidinium‐based ionic liquids. In this study, we provide the first direct experimental evidence that these molecular cages retain their internal free volume when dissolved in ionic liquids. At 303 K and 1 bar, the porous ionic liquids prepared as solutions of anti ‐cryptophane‐A grafted with a ten‐carbon alkyl chain in the ionic liquids [] (1:36), [ (1:52) and [] (1:50) absorb 3.0, 3.5 and 11 times more methane than the pure ionic liquid, respectively. The solution of anti ‐cryptophane‐A grafted with a fluorinated alkyl chain in [] (1:73) absorbs in turn 1.8 times more methane than the pure ionic liquid. We show that 97(2)% of the cryptophane dissolved in [] can encapsulate one molecule of methane, whereas only 60(1)% of the cavities in solid cryptophane are available for gas encapsulation. The presence of permanent porosity in the liquid solution is further supported by controlled atmosphere NMR spectroscopy that allows to distinguish between free and caged methane, thus providing molecular‐level evidence that the gas is encapsulated in the free cryptophane cavities.

ABSTRACT Laser ablation is a widely used technique for the fabrication of periodic structures on solids to manipulate their surface properties. A fundamental challenge in the formation of laser‐induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) is ascertaining the correlation between laser parameters and LIPSS characteristics. This study focuses on the characterization of LIPSS in terms of the period of low spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL) and their homogeneity as a function of single pulse fluence and effective fluence dose in the range from 0.067 to 1.070 J cm −2 and from 50 to 1280 J cm −2 , respectively. Here, a 1064 nm laser with a pulse duration of 13 ps was utilized to create LIPSS on Ti6Al4V alloy. The morphology of the formed structures was analyzed using the two‐dimensional fast Fourier transform method applied to scanning electron microscopy images. Homogeneous LSFL with spatial periods are obtained for effective fluence doses of 50 and 160 J cm −2 . However, an increase in the effective fluence dose up to 640 J cm −2 led to the formation of so‐called large LIPSS and the disappearance of homogeneous LSFL. The evolution of LIPSS that has been observed is attributed to changes in the ratio and absolute values of the ablative and heating components of the laser pulse energy at different single and effective fluence doses. Our study contributes to the development of tailored surfaces with periodic structures on Ti alloys.

ABSTRACT Lipid rafts cluster at the immunological synapse during activation and serve as signaling hubs in T cells. While cholesterol plays a crucial role in lipid raft formation, the impact of their spatial configuration remains less understood. Here, we introduce programmable DNA origami nanostructures, cholesterol nano‐patch (CNP), for nanoscale spatial control of cholesterols on live T cell membranes, enabling us to elucidate their roles in lipid raft formation, receptor activation, and intracellular signaling. We demonstrate that CNPs with high‐density cholesterol arrangements efficiently bind to the T cell plasma membrane and form a large and polarized coalescence, leading to the stabilization of ordered lipid membrane domains by increasing the local concentration of cholesterols. These synthetic lipid rafts colocalize with flotillin‐1, a raft‐associated protein, and promote the membrane reorganization and physical segregation of key signaling molecules, such as T cell receptors, Lck, LAT, and CD45. Consequently, this leads to early T cell activation in the absence of antigenic stimulation. Our DNA origami approach demonstrates the nanoscale arrangement of cholesterol plays significant roles in lipid raft formation, membrane phase separation, and protein reorganization, which are sufficient to induce early T cell activation.