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Open Access
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News & Views |
Iron extracted from hazardous waste of aluminium production
Millions of tonnes of ‘red mud’, a hazardous waste of aluminium production, are generated annually. A potentially sustainable process for treating this mud shows that it could become a source of iron for making steel.
- Chenna Rao Borra
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Nature Podcast |
Toxic red mud could be turned into ‘green’ steel
Researchers extract useful metal from industrial waste, and how analysis of blood proteins could help unravel the mystery of long COVID.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Article
| Open AccessGreen steel from red mud through climate-neutral hydrogen plasma reduction
Red mud is shown to yield green steel through fossil-free hydrogen-plasma-based reduction, a simple and fast method involving rapid liquid-state reduction, chemical partitioning, and density-driven and viscosity-driven separation.
- Matic Jovičević-Klug
- , Isnaldi R. Souza Filho
- & Dierk Raabe
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Article
| Open AccessThe persistence of memory in ionic conduction probed by nonlinear optics
Single-cycle terahertz pumps are used to impulsively trigger ionic hopping in battery solid electrolytes, probing ion transport at its fastest limit and demonstrating the connection between activated transport and the thermodynamics of information.
- Andrey D. Poletayev
- , Matthias C. Hoffmann
- & Aaron M. Lindenberg
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Research Highlight |
Origami fabric robot slithers like a snake
The folded robot can squeeze through tight spaces with linear motion.
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News |
This robot grows like a vine — and could help navigate disaster zones
Plant-inspired machines could one day prove useful in search-and-rescue scenarios.
- Davide Castelvecchi
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Research Briefing |
A layered metal confines heavy electrons to two dimensions
In heavy-fermion compounds, hybridization between mobile charge carriers and localized magnetic moments gives rise to exotic quantum phenomena. The discovery of heavy fermions in a van der Waals metal that can be peeled apart to a layer a few atoms thick allows these phenomena to be studied and manipulated in two dimensions.
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Article |
Multifunctional ytterbium oxide buffer for perovskite solar cells
Ytterbium oxide buffer layer for use in perovskite solar cells yields a certified power conversion efficiency of more than 25%, which enhances stability across a wide variety of perovskite compositions.
- Peng Chen
- , Yun Xiao
- & Rui Zhu
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Article |
Tuning commensurability in twisted van der Waals bilayers
Using valley-resolved scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, twisted WSe2 bilayers are studied, including incommensurate dodecagon quasicrystals at 30° and commensurate moiré crystals at 21.8° and 38.2°.
- Yanxing Li
- , Fan Zhang
- & Chih-Kang Shih
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Article |
Two-dimensional heavy fermions in the van der Waals metal CeSiI
We present comprehensive thermodynamic and spectroscopic evidence for an antiferromagnetically ordered heavy-fermion ground state in the van der Waals metal CeSiI.
- Victoria A. Posey
- , Simon Turkel
- & Xavier Roy
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Nature Podcast |
This AI just figured out geometry — is this a step towards artificial reasoning?
How ‘AlphaGeometry’ solves Mathematical Olympiad-level problems, and what happens to an ecosystem after a mass predator die-off.
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News & Views |
Sticky gels designed for tissue-healing therapies and diagnostics
Materials that adhere tightly to human tissues can promote healing and boost the sensitivity of biomedical diagnostic devices. An ‘evolving’ gel has been made that synergizes two strategies for forming interfaces with tissue.
- Sophia J. Bailey
- & Eric A. Appel
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News & Views |
A 2D route to 3D computer chips
Ultrathin materials have long been touted as a solution to the problems faced by the ever-growing semiconductor industry. Evidence that 3D chips can be built from 2D semiconductors suggests that the hype was justified.
- Tania Roy
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Research Briefing |
Spin supersolid with giant magnetocaloric effect promises a new route to extreme cooling
Supersolids are long-sought-after quantum materials with two seemingly contradictory features: a rigid solid structure and superfluidity. A triangular-lattice cobaltate material provides evidence for a quantum spin analogue of supersolidity, with an additional giant magnetocaloric effect — discoveries that pave the way for helium-free cooling to temperatures below 1 kelvin with frustrated quantum magnets.
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Article |
Three-dimensional integration of two-dimensional field-effect transistors
Monolithic three-dimensional integration of two-dimensional field-effect transistors enables improved integration density and multifunctionality to realize ‘More Moore’ and ‘More than Moore’ technologies.
- Darsith Jayachandran
- , Rahul Pendurthi
- & Saptarshi Das
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Article |
Giant magnetocaloric effect in spin supersolid candidate Na2BaCo(PO4)2
Evidence for a quantum magnetic analogue of a supersolid appears in a recently synthesized antiferromagnet showing a strong magnetocaloric effect of the spin supersolid phase with potential for applications in sub-kelvin refrigeration.
- Junsen Xiang
- , Chuandi Zhang
- & Gang Su
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Nature Podcast |
The science stories you missed over the holiday period
We highlight some of the Nature Briefing’s stories from the end of 2023, including a polar bear fur-inspired sweater, efforts to open OSIRIS-REx’s sample canister, and a dinosaur’s last dinner.
- Benjamin Thompson
- , Noah Baker
- & Flora Graham
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Research Highlight |
Stiff gel as squishable as a sponge takes its cue from cartilage
Polymers similar to those used in bulletproof vests are a key component of the water-rich ‘hydrospongel’.
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News & Views |
Tailoring graphene for electronics beyond silicon
The integration of non-silicon semiconductors into systems on chips is needed for advanced power and sensing technologies. A semiconducting graphene ‘buffer’ layer grown on silicon carbide is a step on this path.
- Francesca Iacopi
- & Andrea C. Ferrari
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Research Briefing |
A formula to predict the synthesizability of high-entropy materials
High-entropy ceramics can be transformative for several applications, but the development of this class of materials is limited by costly and time-consuming experimental processes. The disordered enthalpy–entropy descriptor is a mathematical formula that accelerates the computational discovery of synthesizable high-entropy ceramics, and has already guided the synthesis of nine new high-entropy carbonitrides and borides.
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Article |
Negative mixing enthalpy solid solutions deliver high strength and ductility
A HfNbTiVAl10 alloy shows tensile ductility and ultrahigh yield strength from the addition of aluminium to a HfNbTiV alloy, resulting in a negative mixing enthalpy solid solution, which promotes strength and favours formation of hierarchical chemical fluctuations.
- Zibing An
- , Ang Li
- & Xiaodong Han
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Article
| Open AccessDisordered enthalpy–entropy descriptor for high-entropy ceramics discovery
DEED captures the balance between entropy gains and costs, allowing the correct classification of functional synthesizability of multicomponent ceramics, regardless of chemistry and structure, and provides an array of potential new candidates, ripe for experimental discoveries.
- Simon Divilov
- , Hagen Eckert
- & Stefano Curtarolo
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Article |
Structural transition and migration of incoherent twin boundary in diamond
We report atomic observations of six incoherent twin boundary configurations and structural transitions in diamond at room temperature, showing a dislocation-mediated mechanism different from metallic systems and shedding new light on grain boundary behaviour.
- Ke Tong
- , Xiang Zhang
- & Yongjun Tian
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: A new kind of solar cell is coming — is it the future of green energy?
Perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaic panels could lead to cheaper electricity production.
- Mark Peplow
- & Benjamin Thompson
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Nature Podcast |
What were some of the biggest stories of 2023? Join us for the Nature Podcast quiz!
In a game of twenty questions our contestants stretch their memories to remember some of the science stories that made headlines this year.
- Shamini Bundell
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News |
Polar bear fur-inspired sweater is thinner than a down jacket — and just as warm
The synthetic fibre is an aerogel coated with polyurethane and is flexible, washable and wearable.
- Gemma Conroy
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Article |
Three-dimensional atomic structure and local chemical order of medium- and high-entropy nanoalloys
Atomic electron tomography is used to determine the 3D atomic positions and chemical species of medium- and high-entropy alloy nanoparticles and quantitatively characterize the local lattice distortion, strain tensor, twin boundaries, dislocation cores and chemical short-range order.
- Saman Moniri
- , Yao Yang
- & Jianwei Miao
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News & Views Forum |
2D materials ratchet up biorealism in computing
A transistor made from atomically thin materials mimics the way in which connections between neurons are strengthened by activity. Two perspectives reveal why physicists and neuroscientists share equal enthusiasm for this feat of engineering.
- Frank H. L. Koppens
- , James B. Aimone
- & Frances S. Chance
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Research Briefing |
Atomic electron tomography reveals chemical order in medium- and high-entropy alloys
Medium- and high-entropy alloys are hugely promising materials in metallurgy and catalysis, but their atomic-scale structure — and how that relates to their properties — is not well understood. A powerful method is beginning to reveal their secrets, with hopes for engineering better materials in the future.
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Article |
Moiré synaptic transistor with room-temperature neuromorphic functionality
We report the experimental realization and room-temperature operation of a low-power (20 pW) moiré synaptic transistor based on an asymmetric bilayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride moiré heterostructure.
- Xiaodong Yan
- , Zhiren Zheng
- & Mark C. Hersam
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Nature Video |
The rubber that stops cracks in their tracks
Highly entangled polymers allow it to resist cracks from cyclical stress 10 times better than before.
- Dan Fox
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Article |
Multiscale stress deconcentration amplifies fatigue resistance of rubber
A rubber in which highly entangled long polymers strongly adhere with rigid particles deconcentrates stress across multiple scales, amplifying the fatigue threshold.
- Jason Steck
- , Junsoo Kim
- & Zhigang Suo
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Research Briefing |
Polymer films inspired by spider silk connect biological tissues and electronic devices
Linking biological tissues with electronic devices is challenging owing to the softness of tissues and their arbitrary shapes and sizes. An innovative water-responsive, supercontractile polymer film, inspired by spider silk, allows the construction of soft, stretchable and shape-adaptive tissue–electronic interfaces.
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News Feature |
Superconductivity debunker: this physicist exposed flaws in a blockbuster claim
James Hamlin found problems with the work of controversial physicist Ranga Dias.
- Dan Garisto
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Article |
Quantum spin nematic phase in a square-lattice iridate
We establish a spin nematic phase in the square-lattice iridate Sr2IrO4 and find a complete breakdown of coherent magnon excitations at short-wavelength scales, suggesting a many-body quantum entanglement in the antiferromagnetic state.
- Hoon Kim
- , Jin-Kwang Kim
- & B. J. Kim
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Article |
Water-responsive supercontractile polymer films for bioelectronic interfaces
Water-responsive supercontractile polymer films composed of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene glycol)-α-cyclodextrin inclusion complex contract by more than 50% of their original length within seconds after wetting and become soft and stretchable hydrogel thin films that can be used in bioelectronic interfaces.
- Junqi Yi
- , Guijin Zou
- & Xiaodong Chen
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News |
Robot chemist sparks row with claim it created new materials
Researchers question whether an AI-controlled lab assistant actually made any novel substances.
- Mark Peplow
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Nature Video |
Super hot plasma made easy with stabilising fibres
Carbon fibre blocks could make it easier to create uniform high temperature plasma for manufacturing and research.
- Shamini Bundell
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Article |
A stable atmospheric-pressure plasma for extreme-temperature synthesis
A plasma set-up consisting of a pair of carbon-fibre-tip-enhanced electrodes enables the generation of a uniform, ultra-high temperature and stable plasma (up to 8,000 K) at atmospheric pressure using a combination of vertically oriented long and short carbon fibres.
- Hua Xie
- , Ning Liu
- & Liangbing Hu
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Article
| Open AccessAn autonomous laboratory for the accelerated synthesis of novel materials
An autonomous laboratory, the A-Lab, is presented that combines computations, literature data, machine learning and active learning, which discovered and synthesized 41 novel compounds from a set of 58 targets after 17 days of operation.
- Nathan J. Szymanski
- , Bernardus Rendy
- & Gerbrand Ceder
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News Feature |
A new kind of solar cell is coming: is it the future of green energy?
Firms commercializing perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaics say that the panels will be more efficient and could lead to cheaper electricity.
- Mark Peplow
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News |
Google AI and robots join forces to build new materials
Tool from Google DeepMind predicts nearly 400,000 stable substances, and an autonomous system learns to make them in the lab.
- Mark Peplow
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Article
| Open AccessScaling deep learning for materials discovery
A protocol using large-scale training of graph networks enables high-throughput discovery of novel stable structures and led to the identification of 2.2 million crystal structures, of which 381,000 are newly discovered stable materials.
- Amil Merchant
- , Simon Batzner
- & Ekin Dogus Cubuk
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Article |
Evidence for chiral supercurrent in quantum Hall Josephson junctions
Ultra-narrow quantum Hall Josephson junctions defined in encapsulated graphene nanoribbons exhibit a chiral supercurrent, visible up to 8 T.
- Hadrien Vignaud
- , David Perconte
- & Benjamin Sacépé
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Article |
Cascaded compression of size distribution of nanopores in monolayer graphene
Cascaded compression, in which nanopores are compressed by cycles of shrinkage and expansion, is described, leading tohigh-density nanopores in monolayer graphene with a narrow pore-size distribution, left skewness and ultrasmall tail deviation.
- Jiangtao Wang
- , Chi Cheng
- & Jing Kong
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News & Views |
Magnetic hopfion rings in new era for topology
A curious topological structure known as a hopfion ring has been induced in a magnetic material. The first of its kind in 3D, the ring is a tantalizing prospect for several branches of computing development.
- Hanu Arava
- & Charudatta M. Phatak
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Article
| Open AccessImaging quantum oscillations and millitesla pseudomagnetic fields in graphene
Imaging of quantum oscillations in Bernal-stacked trilayer graphene with dual gates enables high-precision reconstruction of the highly tunable bands and reveals naturally occurring pseudomagnetic fields as low as 1 mT corresponding to graphene twisting by 1 millidegree.
- Haibiao Zhou
- , Nadav Auerbach
- & Eli Zeldov
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News |
‘Electrocaloric’ heat pump could transform air conditioning
Heat pumps are ubiquitous in the form of air conditioners. Scientists just invented one that avoids harmful refrigerant gases.
- Davide Castelvecchi