Abstract.We propose a hybrid spin-filter device based on a silicene nanoribbon. A ferroelectric polymer grown on top of the nanoribbon splits spin-up and spin-down electron bands and gives rise to a spin polarisation of the conductance. In particular, we study the effects of a random distribution of vacancies on the performance of this spin-filter device. Disorder induces Anderson localisation of electrons and we find that the localisation length strongly depends on the electron spin. By adjusting the Fermi level of the source contact, only electrons with one spin orientation can reach the drain contact because their localisation length is larger than the length of the device. Electrons with opposite spin are largely back-reflected. Electric conductance then becomes spin polarised and the device behaves as a quasi-half-metal. We conclude that a moderate concentration of vacancies has little impact on the spin-filter capabilities of the device, opening the possibility to using it as a tuneable source of polarised electrons.

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Recent reports predict interesting changes of the electronic and thermoelectric properties of graphenebased systems, as a function of its dimensionality. The possibility of modulating and enhancing their physical responses as a function of gate potentials, disorder, defects, and other types of electronic confinement makes these systems good candidates for new technological applications [1].

The typical experiment to measure the oxygen content in the atmosphere uses the rusting of steel wool inside a closed volume of air. Two key aspects of this experiment that make possible a successful measurement of the content of oxygen in the air are the use of a closed atmosphere and the use of a chemical reaction that involves the oxidation of a solid element into a solid oxide. The oxygen for the chemical reaction is provided by the closed volume of air, whose volume changes are easy to measure. In previous versions of the steel wool experiment, several days were needed to complete it; however, the experiment can be completed in about 30 min by cleaning the steel wool using acetone and then washing it in acetic acid or vinegar. A new simple closed-volume experiment to measure the oxygen content in the air is described that can be completed in a few minutes. In this experiment, steel wool is placed inside a glass tube that is connected with two normal glass syringes. The tube is then heated by a flame and the air in the syringes is forced, by moving the syringes plungers, to pass through the heated steel wool. This experiment is an excellent classroom illustration of the 21% of O2 in the atmosphere, and it can be used as a complement to the steel wool–acetic acid experiment.