MARRE D.

In this work, the Layer-by-Layer assembly of multilayered coatings comprising graphite oxide (GO) in combination with either chitosan or branched polyethylenimine was employed to modify the surface functional properties of polylactic acid (PLA) films. The aim is to extend the applicability of this biopolymer, which is of great industrial...

Actuation at micro- and nanoscale often requires large displacements and applied forces. The high work energy density that lies inside many phase transitions is an appealing feature for developing new actuating schemes, especially if the transition is reversible and scalable into small actuating domains. Here, we show the fabrication of a...

The development of simple, scalable, and cost-effective methods to prepare Van der Waals materials for thermoelectric applications is a timely research field, whose potential and possibilities are still largely unexplored. In this work, we present a systematic study of ink-jet printing and drop-casting deposition of 2H phase SnSe2 and WSe2...

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are considered an advantageous alternative to their celebrated two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals akin compound, graphene, for a number of applications, especially those requiring a gapped and possibly tunable band structure. Thermoelectricity is one of the application fields where TMDs could indeed...

The release process for the fabrication of freestanding oxide microstructures relies on appropriate, controllable, and repeatable wet etching procedures. SrTiO3 (STO) is among the most employed substrates for oxide thin films growth and can be decomposed in HF:water solution. Such a process is strongly anisotropic and is affected by local...

We report a systematic study of the fabrication and chemical and structural characterization of epitaxial Cr films and Pt/Cr bilayers on MgO substrates. Cr films of different thicknesses were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 373 K and then post-annealed at different temperatures. These films are chemically stable, present a well-ordered...

VO2 is a particularly appealing material for the development of solid-state micro- and nanoactuators due to its phase transition characterized by a large lattice change associated with a high energy density. Its martensitic transformation is strongly anisotropic: upon heating the c axis contracts by almost 1%, while the a and b axes expand by...

The origin of (ferro)magnetic ordering in transition metal doped ZnO is a still open question. For applications it is fundamental to establish if it arises from magnetically ordered impurity clusters embedded into the semiconducting matrix or if it originates from ordering of magnetic ions dilute into the host lattice. In this latter case, a...

In this work, the irreversible effects of an applied electric field on the magnetotransport properties of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 conducting interfaces are investigated, with focus on their multiband character. Samples of different types, namely with either crystalline or amorphous LaAlO3 overlayer, are studied. The two-band analysis highlights the...

Macroscopic current-voltage measurements and nanoscopic ballistic electron emission spectroscopy (BEES) have been used to probe the Schottky barrier height (SBH) at metal/Ge(100) junctions for two metal electrodes (Au and Pt) and different metallization methods, specifically, thermal-vapor and laser-vapor deposition. Analysis of macroscopic...