Plasma electrolysis (PE) is a combination of electrolysis and plasma discharge. Previous studies indicated that PE usually created porous surface with irregular morphology as a result of the plasma–cathode interaction that was dominated by physical reactions. This paper demonstrated that highly ordered textured silicon surfaces could be created using PE. This abnormal anisotropic etching phenomenon implied that the chemical reactions were decoupled from the physical processes and the physical reactions were suppressed. Raman spectra confirmed that the textured silicon surface created by PE conserved the crystalline structure. Therefore, PE may lead to new process regimes for surface engineering.

The fabrication of bimetallic magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) smaller than the size of single magnetic domain is very challenging because of the agglomeration, non-uniform size, and possible complex chemistry at nanoscale. In this paper, we present an alloyed ferromagnetic 4 ± 1 nm thiolated Au/Co magnetic NPs with decahedral and icosahedral shape. The NPs were characterized by Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and weretheoretically studied by Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations. Comparison of Z-contrast imaging and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy used jointly with STEM simulated images from theoretical models uniquely showed an inhomogeneous alloying with minor segregation. The magnetic measurements obtained from superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer exhibited ferromagnetic behavior. This magnetic nanoalloy in the range of single domain is fully magnetized and carries significance as a promising candidate for magnetic data recording, permanent magnetization, and biomedical applications.

Spider dragline silk is a self-assembling protein that rivals many engineering fibers in strength, extensibility, and toughness, making it a versatile biocompatible material. Here, atomistic-level structures of wildtype MaSp1 protein from the Nephila clavipes spider dragline silk sequences, obtained using an in silico approach based on replica exchange molecular dynamics and explicit water, are subjected to nanomechanical testing and released preceding failure. We approximate the relaxation time from an exponential decay function, and identify permanent changes in secondary structure. Our work provides fundamental insights into the time-dependent properties of silk and possibly other protein materials.