Guidance For Design Research Articles

Density Functional Theory Study on Reconstruction and Reversible Transformation Processes of the ZZ57 Edge Structure in Carbon Materials: Effect of Na, K, and Ca.

The edge structures of carbonaceous materials exhibit temperature-dependent behavior on the atomic scale, with variations in the relative ratios of zigzag, reconstructed 5-7 zigzag (ZZ57), and armchair edges observed at different temperatures. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the interconversion of these edge structures and the influence of the surrounding metals remain unclear. This study investigates the reconstruction and reversible transformation processes of ZZ57 edge structures in carbon materials and examines the effects of different metal atoms (Na, K, and Ca) by using density functional theory. The simplified Z57 and A57 models are selected to simulate the microscopic reaction pathways at the isolated system level. Wave function analysis is conducted to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of ZZ57 edge structures and to predict the optimal adsorption positions of the metal atoms. Results indicate that the ZZ57 edge structure reconstruction and reversible transformation are exothermic reactions that proceed favorably in the forward direction. Analysis of the ten-membered ring in the transition state structure shows that the average bond order of the C-C bond is lower than that in the benzene ring system. Thermodynamic analysis shows that Na, K, and Ca atoms reduce the chemical equilibrium constant, thereby hindering the progress of the reactions. These findings not only provide specific theoretical insights into the transformation of the ZZ57 edge structure but also offer guidance for the precise design of carbon edges and the development of practical carbon materials.

Mechanism of stable lithium plating and stripping in a metal-interlayer-inserted anode-less solid-state lithium metal battery

To reliably operate anode-less solid-state Li metal batteries, wherein precipitated Li acts as the anode, stabilizing the interface between the solid electrolyte and electrode is crucial. The interface can be controlled by a metal interlayer on the electrolyte to form a Li alloy buffer that facilitates stable Li plating/stripping, thereby mitigating the loss of physical contact and preventing short circuits. However, the mechanism governing stable Li plating/stripping in the metal interlayer without degrading battery materials remains unclear owing to an incomplete understanding of the dynamic and complex electrochemical reactions in the solid state. Through multiple operando and post-mortem analyses of the Li deposition behavior in the morphology, chemistry and microstructure, a close correlation is found between the Li-metal alloying process with the microstructural evolution and electrochemical performance when Ag, Au, Zn, and Cu interlayers were adopted on the garnet-type solid electrolyte Li6.5La3Zr1.5Ta0.5O12. The Ag interlayer improved the interfacial stability enabled by Ag-dissolved Li, which inhibited dendritic growth, passing through the phase-separated Li-Ag alloy microstructure, while the other metals did not because of the Li plating at the Li-metal alloy/solid electrolyte interface. This work provides fundamental guidance for material selection and interface design, advancing the development of anode-less solid-state batteries.

Monolayer MoS2 with S vacancy defects doped with Group V non-metallic elements (N, P, As): a first-principles study.

This study systematically investigated the effects of single S-atom vacancy defects and composite defects (vacancy combined with doping) on the properties of MoS2 using density functional theory. The results revealed that N-doped S-vacancy MoS2 has the smallest composite defect formation energy, indicating its highest stability. Doping maintained the direct band gap characteristic, with shifts in the valence band top. The Fermi level slightly shifted down in N- and P-doped systems, with N-doped MoS2 showing a larger increase in valence band top energy. Doping also significantly altered the density of states at the Fermi level and weakened the dielectric properties of MoS2. The maximum dielectric peaks of doped systems appeared near 2.7 eV with reduced intensities and red-shifted energies. Optical properties were significantly changed, with decreased reflectance, narrower reflectance spectra, and blue-shifted absorption spectra. These findings suggest that introducing composite defects can effectively reduce the forbidden bandwidth of MoS2, enhancing electrical conductivity. This research provides theoretical guidance for novel material design and offers insights into composite defect behavior in other two-dimensional materials. The Materials-Studio CASTEP module was used to calculate density functional theory (DFT). A plane wave ultrasoft pseudopotential is used to optimize the crystal structure, and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in the form of Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) is used to characterize the exchange correlation energy. After the convergence test, the truncation energy and dot settings were finally selected to be 450 eV and 3 × 3 × 1, respectively, the convergence accuracy was set to 1.0e-5eV/atom, and the convergence criterion for the interatomic interaction force was 0.02 eV/Å. The parameters were all at or better than the accuracy settings. The vacuum layer between the layers wasset to 18 Å to avoid interactions caused by the periodic calculation method.

Critical Filling Height of Embankment over Soft Soil: A Three-Dimensional Upper-Bound Limit Analysis

This paper investigates the critical filling height of embankments over soft soil using three-dimensional (3D) upper-bound limit analysis based on a rotational log-spiral failure mechanism. Soft soils are characterized by low shear strength and high compressibility, making the accurate determination of critical filling height essential for evaluating embankment stability. Unlike conventional two-dimensional (2D) analyses, the proposed 3D method captures the true failure mechanism of embankments, providing more realistic and reliable results. The upper-bound analysis equations are derived using the principle of virtual work and solved efficiently through the genetic algorithm (GA), which avoids the limitations of traditional loop and random searching algorithms. The proposed solution is validated by comparing it with existing studies on slope stability and demonstrates higher accuracy and computational efficiency. Parametric studies are conducted to evaluate the influence of the depth–height ratio (the ratio of soft soil depth to embankment height) on the failure width of the embankment, the critical failure surface, and the critical filling height. Results show that the critical failure surface is tangential to the bottom of the soft soil layer and the critical filling height increases as the depth–height ratio decreases. The findings provide a set of critical filling heights calculated under various soft soil depths, strength parameters, and embankment geometries, offering practical guidance for embankment design.

Effects of Illuminance Level of Light Source on White Appearance of a Tablet Display

The appearance of white significantly impacts display image quality, requiring a neutral white point for optimal performance. This study explores how perceived whiteness changes under ambient illumination levels (150, 300, 600, and 1200 lx) and correlated color temperatures (3500 K and 6500 K). As a result, the adapted white points of light sources with different correlated color temperatures are similar at lower ambient illuminance levels. In comparison, their adaptation trends exhibit significant differences at higher illuminance levels. At 150 lx, adapted white points for 3500 K and 6500 K light sources shift toward higher color temperatures and converge. With increased illumination, the 3500 K white point shifts toward its light source, while the 6500 K white point shifts to a higher correlated color temperature. The neural network-based prediction model developed in this study accurately forecasts perceived whiteness across conditions, offering valuable design guidance for the display and lighting industries.

A Conceptual Framework for a Latest Information-Maintaining Method Using Retrieval-Augmented Generation and a Large Language Model in Smart Manufacturing: Theoretical Approach and Performance Analysis

In the modern manufacturing environment, the ability to collect and refine data in real time to deliver high-quality data is increasingly important in maintaining a competitive advantage and operational efficiency. This paper proposes a conceptual architectural framework for the continuous knowledge updating of Retrieval-Augmented Generation-Large Language Model-based systems in a smart factory environment. The proposed framework provides theoretical models and validation methodologies, laying the groundwork for future practical implementations. Existing Retrieval-Augmented Generation-Large Language Model systems rely on static knowledge bases that are not able to effectively reflect new information in a real-time, changing manufacturing environment. The proposed framework design uses a data stream processing layer, a data integration layer, and a continuous learning layer as core components; in particular, the knowledge integration layer provides a mechanism for the efficient processing of real-time data and continuous learning. This study is significant in that it presents a mathematical model and a systematic verification methodology that can quantitatively predict the performance and scalability of the proposed architecture, thus providing practical design guidance for the implementation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation-Large Language Model systems in smart factory environments. This paper is organized as follows: Materials and Methods provides a detailed description of the architecture and methodology. Theoretical Analysis and Discussion covers the theoretical analysis and discussion, including performance prediction models, validation methodologies, and their practical implications. Finally, Conclusions summarizes the research findings and outlines directions for future work.

Ascertaining the Environmental Advantages of Pavement Designs Incorporating Recycled Content through a Parametric and Probabilistic Approach.

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is a widely used end-of-life (EoL) material in asphalt pavements to increase the material circularity. However, the performance loss due to using RAP in the asphalt binder layer often requires a thicker layer, leading to additional material usage, energy consumption, and transportation effort. In this study, we developed a parametric and probabilistic life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to robustly compare various pavement designs incorporating recycled materials. Our framework is built upon thermodynamic and physical principles to reveal the complex relationship among the parameters. Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) models and Highway Development Management (HDM4) models are integrated into the framework to estimate pavement roughness and vehicle fuel consumption during the use phase. The pedigree approach and Monte Carlo simulation are integrated into the framework to reflect data uncertainty at the parameter level. We applied the framework to evaluate 66 Flemish motorway segments, revealing that using RAP in the binder layer with increased thickness does not necessarily guarantee lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for pavement construction. However, it may lead to lower GHG emissions due to fuel savings when considering the use phase, highlighting the vital role of the use phase in pavement LCA. Our global sensitivity analysis highlights several contributors (out of 87 parameters) to GHG emissions variance depending on the LCA scope: fuel consumption during the use phase, transport distances, mass of fine aggregate, and machine power and machine productivity during pavement construction. Reducing uncertainties in these parameters can decrease the variance by up to 60%, enhancing discernibility by up to 11%. In conclusion, our parametric and probabilistic LCA framework provides a nuanced understanding when comparing various pavement designs incorporating recycled content, enabling robust decision-making through improved data quality.

Effect of Temperature on Condensed State Structure and Conductivity Characteristics of Micron-Level Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Films.

Polymer-based dielectric films are increasingly demanded for devices under high electric fields used in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic grid connections, oil and gas exploration, and aerospace. However, leakage current is one of the significant factors limiting the improvement of the insulation performance. This paper tested the leakage current and condensed state structure characteristics of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films and obtained the nonlinear characteristics of leakage current of BOPP films in the range of 40-440 V/μm and 40-110 °C. The conduction mechanisms of BOPP films are hopping conductivity within 40-120 V/μm and the Poole-Frenkel effect within 120-440 V/μm, and the threshold electric field of the two kinds conduction mechanisms decreases from 120 to 80 V/μm above 70 °C. The in situ FTIR results indicate that the structure of the BOPP films including band structure, amorphous phase, and isotacticity indices changes above 70 °C, corresponding to the threshold electric field of both conductivity mechanisms gradually decreasing from 120 to 80 V/μm at 70 °C. This study can provide guidance for the optimization design to suppress the leakage current of BOPP and improve its insulation performance.

Research progress on thermal comfort evaluation in vehicle cab

In order to improve thermal comfort of vehicle cab, reduce driver fatigue and further improve work efficiency, researches on thermal comfort of vehicle cab are summarized. Research background of thermal comfort for vehicle cab is analyzed. And then related research progress on thermal environment in vehicle cab is studied from aspect of time and space, and thermal environment inside and outside vehicle are compared. Affecting factors of thermal comfort in vehicle cab are discussed in depth, which conclude thermophysical parameters, human physiological factors, clothing thermal resistance and other secondary factors. And thermal comfort evaluation indexes are analyzed in depth. Evaluation methods of thermal comfort in uniform environment are analyzed, related experimental research and theoretical analysis are summarized, and it also points out some problems in thermal comfort of vehicle at this stage, and also gives corresponding solutions. The future trend of thermal comfort of vehicle cab is predicted. Analysis results can provide theoretical guidance for optimization design of air conditioning supply parameters and structural parameters, and has significant meaning of improving thermal comfort of vehicle cab.

Field Monitoring and Analysis of Factors Influencing Existing Tunnels Laterally Adjacent to Foundation Pit Excavations

To investigate the factors influencing existing tunnels adjacent to foundation pit excavations, this paper focuses on a case of excavation of MTR station foundation pits near an existing tunnel. Monitoring data are collected and analyzed, and a two-dimensional numerical model of the pit–tunnel system is established using ABAQUS (2022) software. This study examines the effect of excavation factors on the tunnel, including excavation depth, horizontal spacing between pit and tunnel, support pile wall dimensions, support structure insertion ratio, horizontal support stiffness, and geological conditions. The research results indicate that for tunnels in silty clay formations, the depth of pit excavation should be limited to 20 m. When the horizontal spacing between a foundation pit and tunnel in a silty clay formation is within 1.5 times the depth of excavation, the tunnel is more significantly affected by tunnel excavation works in the adjacent pits. Increasing the horizontal support stiffness has the greatest effect on controlling deformation and stress in the tunnel structure. The degree of influence on deformation and stress in the tunnel due to laterally adjacent excavation of a foundation pit varies with geological conditions. Among them, tunnels in muddy-silty clay and silty soils are the most affected, and it is recommended that reinforcement measures be optimized and monitoring be strengthened. The conclusions of the present study can provide a reference point and guidance for the optimal design of similar pit projects.

Design of Concrete Pavement for the Ohio Turnpike’s Mainline Pavement Replacement: An Innovative Approach

This paper describes the design of a concrete pavement for a section of the Ohio Turnpike’s mainline pavement. This design is a part of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission’s ongoing project to replace its existing two lanes of 241.26 miles long mainline pavement in both directions (east and west). The original pavement was built as concrete pavement which was subsequently overlaid with asphalt. Resource International, Inc. used current methods of pavement design, including Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), to design a concrete pavement and a composite pavement for this project. The concrete pavement for this section of the Turnpike was designed as a wide width (14’) pavement for the outside lane. This made it possible to build an outside shoulder with Recycled Cement Concrete Aggregates from old pavement and still achieve the benefits of a tied shoulder (decreased slab thickness). The construction of this pavement section (as a composite pavement) was completed in 2011 (WB) and 2012 (EB). Performance data has been collected since its construction. This paper describes the design of the pavement and observations of its performance made so far. The details of testing methods used, analysis performed, and the results are also described in the paper.

Developing Robust Rehabilitation Scenario Profiles for Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is an economic procedure often used to compare competing pavement designs. For the LCCA to be meaningful and reliable, the analysis must reflect the most likely activities for each alternative being evaluated. Currently, most state highway agencies (SHA) apply a standard, policy-set, rehabilitation schedule to all pavements based on “historical” performance, which may or may not be representative of the given design. The fact is that there are many different rehabilitation scenarios that could be performed when the pavement requires rehabilitation and which one is selected will impact the results. This paper shows how SHAs can use the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide to determine when rehabilitation activities are required, and Decision Tree Analysis to examine multiple scenarios of which rehabilitation activities are to be done. By using these two processes, it is possible to develop multiple rehabilitation schedules that are specific to a given pavement design, which makes the LCCA more robust and reliable. Finally, a case study is shown to demonstrate the extent to which these processes could affect the outcome of an LCCA.

Considerations to Improve the Aggregate Interlock Model for the Joint Load Transfer in Concrete Pavements

The capability of a joint to transfer load from one side to the other plays a significant role in the performance of a jointed concrete pavement system. Among the available means to providing joint load transfer, the aggregate interlock mechanism is thought to have greater endurance than dowels with respect to load transfer related performance. In the current Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), the concept of joint stiffness was adopted to represent the capability of a joint to transfer load through the dowel and aggregate interlock mechanisms. The use of linear springs to represent the behavior of concrete joint stiffness may be reasonable to investigate the global response of a concrete pavement joint to different levels of load transfer, but there is little guidance available to defining a level of joint stiffness for design analysis purposes in terms of measurable material properties. Therefore, it seems that a more fundamental way of charactering the complicated behaviors of aggregate interlock mechanisms is desirable. A constitutive relationship (i.e. shear stress vs. shear displacement) that considers geometric and micromechanical behavior of a crack interface and associated laboratory testing setups to calibrate the model coefficients may be needed to address such a challenge. This paper elaborates an approach of using the shear stress vs. shear displacement response curve predicted by the application of the well-known twophase model to calculate the shear capacity and load transfer efficiency of a joint. Although the well-known two-phase model provides good accuracy in matching experimental results, limitations still exists. Through extensive literature reviews, this paper also suggests other improvements to the micromechanics-based aggregate interlock model by taking into account the effects of boundary conditions, traffic loading and angularity of aggregate particles.

Lessons Learned from MEPDG Development: A Confession of the JPCP MEPDG Developers

After 15 years from the initiation of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 1-37A project, the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) developed under that study has been adopted by the American Association State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and is in the process of adoption by many transportation agencies in the United States and abroad. Although it may take some time until the MEPDG completely replaces current empirical procedures, it is important to reflect on the lessons learned from the MEPDG development. The MEPDG was never envisioned as the “final answer” for all the pavement design problems, but rather an important milestone in the continuous improvement of the pavement design methodology. The MEPDG was supposed to reflect the state of the practice of the late 1990s. The MEPDG documentation includes volumes of appendixes that provide information for researchers, but some information that is important for future improvements of the MEPDG has never been recorded. This paper describes some of the experiences and lessons learned from the development of the MEPDG. This experience may be useful in the development of future M-E designs for jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP).

How norms-shifting interventions foster community-level social and behavior change: new insights from a synthesis of realist evaluations of community-level interventions.

Social norms, the informal rules that influence behavior, play essential roles in shaping people's behavior. Community-based norms-shifting interventions (NSIs) identify gender and other social norms linked to unhealthy behaviors and implement activities to promote collective change by encouraging communities to reflect on and question these norms. Though NSIs are gaining international traction in social and behavior change programming for health promotion, how change occurs needs to be clearly understood in African and other contexts. To build understanding and guidance for future NSI design, the applied-research Passages Project and collaborating non-governmental organizations in West and Central Africa conducted realist evaluations of four NSIs focused on adolescent/youth sexual and reproductive health, operating in Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Senegal. The evidence base for the realist synthesis came from four quasi-experimental outcome evaluations and 19 rapid implementation studies, which confirmed the four program Theories of Change. The synthesis findings identified eight norms-shifting mechanisms common across NSIs: information provision; dialogical, experiential approaches; role modeling; safe spaces; within-community meetings; planned diffusion; cross-community meetings of change agents; and community-service linkages. NSIs directly, at times indirectly, engaged reference groups that uphold norms, explaining their theoretical roles operationally. These findings led to middle-range theory showing how NSI activities, mechanisms, and reference group engagement should, over time, lead to norms-shifting outcomes. Design implications include developing a fuller understanding of how program components, as norms-change mechanisms, lead to effects; being deliberate about when and how to engage reference groups; and recognizing systems complexity and the subsequent need for NSI implementation elasticity.

Ligand-induced changes in the electrocatalytic activity of atomically precise Au25 nanoclusters.

Atomically precise gold nanoclusters have shown great promise as model electrocatalysts in pivotal electrocatalytic processes such as the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR). Although the influence of ligands on the electronic properties of these nanoclusters is well acknowledged, the ligand effects on their electrocatalytic performances have been rarely explored. Herein, using [Au25(SR)18]- nanoclusters as a prototype model, we demonstrated the importance of ligand hydrophilicity versus hydrophobicity in modulating the interface dynamics and electrocatalytic performance. Our first-principles calculations revealed that Au25 protected by hydrophilic -SCH2COOH ligands exhibits faster kinetics in stripping the thiolate ligand and better HER activity due to enhanced proton transfer facilitated by boosted interface hydrogen bonding. Conversely, Au25 protected by hydrophobic -SCH2CH3 ligands demonstrates enhanced CO2RR performance by minimizing water interference to stabilize the key *COOH intermediate and lower the barrier for CO formation. Experimental validation using synthesized hydrophilic and hydrophobic ligand-protected Au25 nanoclusters (NCs), such as [Au25(MPA)18]- (MPA = mercaptopropionic acid), [Au25(MHA)18]- (MHA = 6-mercaptohexanoic acid), and [Au25(SC6H13)18]-, confirms these findings, where the hydrophilic ligand-protected Au25 NCs exhibit better activity and stability in the HER, while the hydrophobic ligand-protected Au25 NCs achieve higher faradaic efficiency and current density in the CO2RR. The mechanistic insights in this study provide valuable guidance for the rational design of surface microenvironments in efficient nanocatalysts for sustainable energy applications.

High-prediction QSAR Modeling Study Based on the Efficacy of a Novel 6-hydroxybenzothiazole-2-carboxamide Targeted Monoamine Oxidase B in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of disorders characterized by progressive neuronal degeneration and death, of which Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are the most common. These diseases are closely associated with increased expression of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), an important enzyme that regulates neurotransmitter concentration, and its overactivity leads to oxidative stress and neurotoxicity, accelerating the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the development of effective MAO-B inhibitors is important for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This study aims to improve the prediction of the efficacy of novel 6-hydroxybenzothiazole- 2-carboxamide compounds in inhibiting MAO-B by improving the quantitative constitutive effect relationship (QSAR) modeling and to provide a theoretical basis for the discovery of novel neuroprotective drugs. The study first optimized the structures of 36 compounds using the heuristic method (HM) in CODESSA software to construct linear QSAR models. Subsequently, key descriptors were screened by using the gene expression programming (GEP) technique to generate nonlinear QSAR models and validate them. The R², F-value, and R²cv of the linear model were 0.5724, 10.3752, and 0.4557, respectively, whereas the nonlinear model constructed by the GEP algorithm showed higher prediction accuracies by achieving R² values of 0.89 and 0.82, and mean squared errors (MSE) of 0.0799 and 0.1215 for the training and test sets, respectively. In addition, molecular docking experiments confirmed that the novel compound 31 was tightly bound to the MAO-B active site with significant inhibitory activity. In this study, we successfully improved the prediction ability of the efficacy of novel 6-hydroxybenzothiazole-2-carboxamide compounds to inhibit MAO-B by improving the QSAR model. This not only provides new drug candidates for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, but also provides important theoretical guidance for subsequent drug design and development, which can help accelerate the process of new drug discovery and reduce the disease burden of patients.

Modulating room-temperature phosphorescence of D-π-A luminogens via methyl substitution, positional isomerism, and host-guest doping.

Organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) luminogens have showed significant potential in the fields of diagnostics, sensing, and information encryption. However, it is difficult to achieve high RTP yield (ΦP) and long RTP lifetime simultaneously. By methyl substitution, positional isomerism, and host-guest doping, three new D-π-A type luminogens named as TBTDA, 2M-TBTDA, and 3M-TBTDA were designed and synthesized, whose RTP properties were tuned and optimized. In various solvents and glassy THF solution, similar solvatochromism and phosphorescence nature of three luminogens were revealed. In poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrixes, the luminogens showed high-contrast RTP properties. TBTDA emitted invisible afterglow in PMMA films, but with strong RTP and long green afterglow in PVA films. More importantly, 2M-TBTDA showed RTP and afterglow lifetimes of 809.81ms and 8s, as well as ΦP of up to 0.64 in PMMA at 1% doping concentration. Taking advantage of Foerster resonant energy transfer (FRET), reddish-brown or orange afterglow were observed, with emission maxima of 593-617nm, RTP and afterglow lifetimes of 299-566ms and 5-6s, ΦP of 0.34-0.46, as well as FRET efficiency of 70-90%. Finally, dynamic anti-counterfeiting and digital encryption were successfully constructed via different fluorescence, RTP colors, and afterglow lifetimes. This work not only obtained an efficient host-guest doping RTP system, but also can be expected to provide more theoretical guidance and experimental supports for molecular design, dynamic anti-counterfeiting and digital encryption.

A Boosting Strategy of Photovoltaics by Stacking Monolayer InSe and β-Sb into Heterostructure.

Identifying two-dimensional (2D) high-efficiency solar photovoltaic devices remains an urgent challenge in addressing current energy demands. Considering the limits of isolated 2D systems in photovoltaics, one most effective solution is stacking them into van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs). However, the favorable factors for photovoltaics in vdWHs is still uncertain, nor the intrinsic principles is clear. Here, based on monolayer InSe and β-Sb, we propose a boosting strategy on photovoltaics through stacking them into vdWH. After confirming its experimental feasibility, several superior photovoltaic characteristics of such vdWH are verified than its components. Including more moderately indirect-to-direct band gap, higher electron mobilities, the hindrance of carrier recombination due to the staggered type-II band alignment, and the stronger and red-shifted optical harvesting abilities owing to the band redistribution. In addition, superior characteristics in the InSe/Sb vdWH based photovoltaic devices are further confirmed, including the red-shifted photocurrent into the infrared-light range, the superior photoelectric conversion efficiencies in the visible-light-region, and the higher photovoltaic quality factors (Rph ,τeqe et.al.) than each component and many other typical vdWHs. Obviously, the design principles and promotion mechanisms of 2D vdWH on photovoltaics can provide powerful theoretical guidances for next design and applications of 2D high-efficiency solar photovoltaic cells.

Reading an adaptable urban form: Exploring the morphological patterns of the Iranian traditional bazaar

ABSTRACT In order to keep pace with the speed of the new era, modified patterns from the past can help generate faster and more reliable solutions, along with new ideas in the urban design process. Meanwhile, the urban traditional forms serve as a valuable knowledge source, offering guidance for contemporary designers. Iran's traditional bazaars represent urban complexes with a history dating back to the formation of cities. Endowed with both physical and functional flexibility, these bazaars have grown and evolved, enduring long lives to reach the present age. This article delves into the reasons behind the adaptation ability of these historical urban complexes employing the morphological method. The analysis focuses on the bazaars’ structure, anatomy, and diversity. Consequently, the established physical patterns of Iran's traditional bazaars unveil the key to their remarkable resilience against various physical changes over time. The results derived from this research can help better preserve these historical phenomena as they face the threat of isolation every day. Additionally, lessons from these adaptable patterns hold relevance not only for the bazaar's future but also for urban design within the Iranian context and beyond.