The nontrivial Berry curvature and chiral anomaly result in plenty of interesting magnetotransport and magneto-thermoelectric transport phenomena in Weyl semimetals, two of which are the planar Hall effect and planar Nernst effect. Based on the semi-classical Boltzmann theory, we theoretically study the in-plane magnetotransport coefficients (including electric conductivity, thermoelectric conductivity and Nernst thermopower) for both type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals using a linearized low-energy Hamiltonian. We find that for tilt-coplanar setup where the electric field (or temperature gradient) is applied along the tilted direction of the Weyl nodes, the planar Hall conductivity (or planar Nernst thermopower) shows a magnetic field linear dependence. And these linear responses do no obey the reported cos θ sin θ dependence on the angle θ between the magnetic and electric field for planar Hall effect. For tilt-perpendicular setup where the applied field (E or ∇ T ) and magnetic field are perpendicular to the tilted direction, the planar Hall conductivity (or planar Nernst thermopower) mainly follows a magnetic field quadratic dependence, and it satisfies the cos θ sin θ characteristic. There are also anomalous Hall effect and anomalous Nernst effect in the plane perpendicular to the tilted direction of the two oppositely tilted Weyl nodes. These findings can be verified experimentally by changing the direction and magnitude of the in-plane magnetic field.

We theoretically study the longitudinal magneto-conductivity of tilted type-I Weyl semimetals with three different types of impurities via a two-node model with opposite chirality and tilt vector. The Landau level solutions suggest that the Fermi velocity of the zeroth Landau level is dressed by the tilt and the angle between the magnetic field and the tilt direction. At low temperature and only considering the zeroth Landau level, we find that the magneto-conductivity σ_zz depends strongly on the tilt-dressed Fermi velocity and thus shows a strong angle dependence. This angle dependence of conductivity will be enhanced by the increase of the degree of tilt. Besides, the conductivity is very sensitive to impurities. σ_zz decreases with increasing impurity density and scattering strength, and it has different magnetic field dependence for different scattering potentials. For short-range delta scattering, it is independent of B. But for long-range random Gaussian potential and screened Coulomb potential, it may show a linear and quasi-quadratic dependence on B, respectively. These findings help us have a better understanding of the magneto-transport properties of the tilted type-I Weyl semimetals.

The lowest energy structure of Li₁₅ cluster is a capped double centred square antiprism sharing a square face. Interestingly, when a lithium atom is substituted by a transition-metal atom TM (TM = Sc, Ti, V, Y, Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta and W), the lowest energy structure is found to be cage-like with a D_6d symmetry, where the outer cage is composed by fourteen lithium atoms with an endohedral transition-metal atom. The unique structures are confirmed by CALYSPO structure prediction method code and density-functional theory calculations. Superatomic properties are confirmed in all the D_6d clusters. Energy calculations predict that they are very stable, and their stability is further enhanced by the large gaps of the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO gaps). Our findings offer potential applications in building blocks for assembling materials with superatoms.

Weyl semimetals (WSMs) display many unusual magnetotransport phenomena. Here, based on the Landau quantization and Boltzmann equation, we theoretically study the longitudinal magnetoconductivity for tilted type-I WSMs from weak to strong magnetic field within a unified framework. It is found that, in semiclassical (weak magnetic field) regime, the conductivity has an angular dependent B -linear term besides the B -quadratic term common to isotropic nodes. In ultra-quantum (strong magnetic field) regime, the magnetoconductivity shows a linear dependence on B , and this dependence is affected by the tilt. In the intermediate regime, magnetoconductivity shows a tilt-modified quantum oscillation behavior due to the oscillation in the density of state. These findings recover the results for isotropic nodes without tilt, and suggest a possible way to identify the tilt axis of tilted WSMs through magnetotransport experiment.

For expanding applications of spongy graphene aerogels (GAs) cost-effectively, we report a marriage of the two-step hydrothermal reduction and atmospheric drying method to fabricate a spongy CNC-graphene aerogel (CNG) with oil/water selectivity and tunable mechanical strength by a low-cost and straightforward approach. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with CNC by the ice-templated method can give rise to forming the hierarchical structure of hybrid GAs within the PUS network. Meanwhile, the fractured structure of PUS with a pre-compressive step arouses more versatility and durability, involving its selective and high-volume absorbability (up to 143%). The enhanced elastic modulus and more significant swelling effect than pure sponge materials give it a high potential for durable wastewater treatment.