@article{22734,
  abstract     = {Silver selenide (Ag2Se) is a promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric material, but its narrow stoichiometric window and β–α phase transition complicate reproducible microstructure control. Here, we present a mismatch-assisted microstructure engineering strategy in which Ag2Se particles are treated with polyanionic ZnSe complexes and consolidated through the β–α transition to introduce ZnSe nanoprecipitates, Ag2Se/ZnSe interfaces, and local strain fields. The crystallographic mismatch between ZnSe and Ag2Se, together with the Zn2+/Ag+ size difference, amplifies phase-transition-induced deformation and promotes high-density dislocations with periodic strain modulations. This defect architecture suppresses grain coarsening, removes excess Ag, limits Ag-interstitial formation, and reduces lattice thermal conductivity through lattice softening and multiscale phonon scattering. Ag2Se–4%ZnSe nanocomposites achieve a peak zTmax of 1.13 at 369 K and a zTavg of 1.08 from 300 to 380 K, demonstrating mismatch-driven defect engineering through the β–α phase transition as a route for optimizing Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics.},
  author       = {Liu, Yu and Kleinhanns, Tobias and Spadaro, Maria Chiara and Genç, Aziz and Horta, Sharona and Navita, Navita and Costanzo, Tommaso and Dutkiewicz, Ewelina and Arbiol, Jordi and Hong, Min and Ibáñez, Maria},
  issn         = {2380-8195},
  journal      = {ACS Energy Letters},
  number       = {8},
  pages        = {5752--5762},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Exploiting mismatch strain and the β–α phase transition for microstructural engineering in thermoelectric Ag2Se}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acsenergylett.6c01499},
  volume       = {11},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{22733,
  abstract     = {Sleep need is associated with both circuit dynamics and widespread synaptic plasticity, yet the specific synaptic changes underlying sleep homeostasis remain incompletely understood. In Drosophila, sleep loss has been shown to trigger plasticity of the presynaptic active zone, marked by increasing levels of the ELKS-family scaffold protein Bruchpilot (BRP). By titrating brp gene copy number, we previously established a presynapse-specific, dosage-dependent paradigm that modulates sleep pressure. Here, to elucidate the molecular landscape of this plasticity, we performed synapse-enriched integrated-omics. Proteomic and bioinformatic analyses revealed changes in immune and stress response pathways and local translation control. Strikingly, phospho-proteomic analysis uncovered a global shift toward hypophosphorylation, particularly in presynaptic proteins, indicating a reprogramming of the phosphorylation–dephosphorylation balance. This presynaptic hypophosphorylation is likely contributed by reduced activity of Protein Kinase A (PKA) and enhanced substrate affinity of Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1) mediated by its regulatory subunit Spinophilin (Spn). Manipulating either PKA or PP1 activity was sufficient to suppress BRP-modulated sleep phenotypes. We propose that presynaptic hypophosphorylation constitutes a molecular signature of local synaptic remodeling that adaptively tunes sleep need via reversible posttranslational modification, a mechanism likely conserved across species.},
  author       = {Piao, Chengji and Dutkiewicz, Ewelina and Kollipara, Laxmikanth and Sickmann, Albert and Huang, Sheng and Sigrist, Stephan J.},
  issn         = {0027-8424},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
  number       = {24},
  publisher    = {National Academy of Sciences},
  title        = {{Active zone plasticity couples sleep need to presynaptic hypophosphorylation}},
  doi          = {10.1073/pnas.2524065123},
  volume       = {123},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{20326,
  abstract     = {Ag2Se is a promising n-type thermoelectric material, but its performance is limited by excessive carrier concentration, compositional inhomogeneity, and phase instability, challenges rooted in a narrow homogeneity range and uncontrolled Ag+ diffusion in the superionic phase. Here, we address these issues by exploiting liquid–solid interface reactions using CdSe complexes that remove surface excess Ag to yield stoichiometric Ag2Se and generate CdSe nanodomains that inhibit Ag+ diffusion and constrain grain growth. The resulting Ag2Se-CdSe nanocomposites exhibit a reproducible, stable figure of merit (zT) of 1.04 between 300 and 390 K. Beyond demonstrating high performance, we elucidate the interfacial chemical reactions that give rise to the observed microstructure and transport properties, providing a foundation for rationally engineering interfacial chemistry to tailor transport properties across diverse thermoelectric material systems.},
  author       = {Liu, Yu and Kleinhanns, Tobias and Horta, Sharona and Dutkiewicz, Ewelina and Lu, Shaoqing and Spadaro, Maria Chiara and Genç, Aziz and Chen, Lei and Lim, Khak Ho and Hong, Min and Arbiol, Jordi and Ibáñez, Maria},
  issn         = {1520-5126},
  journal      = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  number       = {35},
  pages        = {32199--32208},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Liquid-solid interface reactions drive enhanced thermoelectric performance in Ag2Se}},
  doi          = {10.1021/jacs.5c11435},
  volume       = {147},
  year         = {2025},
}