Focus 03 January 2024

Reproducibility

Reproducibility in the materials sciences is of increasing interest. In this Focus issue we curate a series of pieces on contentious fields, materials syntheses, experimental measurements, and best practices.

Content

Trust but verify

With a continuing increase in scientific studies, there is a growing awareness of the need to reproduce scientific results.

Editorial3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
The characterization of superconductivity under high pressure

M. I. Eremets, V. S. Minkov, A. P. Drozdov and P. P. Kong discuss the substantial progress made in discovering and developing near-room-temperature superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. They focus on achieving reproducibility under the challenging experimental conditions of megabar pressures.
- M. I. Eremets
- V. S. Minkov
- P. P. Kong
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
Controlling supramolecular gels

Kinetic trapping in supramolecular gels leads to varied morphologies and macroscopic properties. Emily R. Draper and Dave J. Adams discuss subtle experimental effects that can lead to reproducibility issues in these systems.
- Emily R. Draper
- Dave J. Adams
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
Lifting the fog in ferroelectric thin-film synthesis

Frustrated by reproducibility in electrical measurements on ferroelectric films, Lane Martin, Jon-Paul Maria and Darrell Schlom discuss tactics to reliably synthesize ‘good’ ferroelectric samples, especially in the search for superior materials and device heterostructures.
- Lane W. Martin
- Jon-Paul Maria
- Darrell G. Schlom
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
2D materials for logic device scaling

Peng Wu, Tianyi Zhang, Jiadi Zhu, Tomás Palacios and Jing Kong discuss the reproducibility issues in the synthesis and device fabrication of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides that need to be addressed to enable the lab-to-fab transition.
- Peng Wu
- Tianyi Zhang
- Jing Kong
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
The organic electrochemical transistor conundrum when reporting a mixed ionic–electronic transport figure of merit

An essential part of developing organic mixed ionic–electronic conducting materials and organic electrochemical transistors is consistent and standardized reporting of the product of charge carrier mobility and volumetric capacitance, the μC* product. This Comment argues that unexpected changes in transistor channel resistance can overestimate this figure of merit, leading to a confusion of comparisons in the literature.
- Maryam Shahi
- Vianna N. Le
- Alexandra F. Paterson
Comment25 Oct 2023 Nature Materials
Thermoelectric measurements

Joseph Heremans and Joshua Martin discuss the reproducibility of thermoelectric measurements and conclude that the uncertainty on the figure of merit zT is of the order of 15–20%.
- Joseph P. Heremans
- Joshua Martin
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
Observing deformation in situ

Marc Legros, Frédéric Mompiou and Daniel Caillard discuss the different aspects that influence the reproducibility and reliability of characterizations performed using in situ mechanical tests in transmission electron microscopes.
- Marc Legros
- Frédéric Mompiou
- Daniel Caillard
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
Better standards are needed for membrane materials

Tae Hoon Lee and Zachary P. Smith argue that some of the most exciting materials that could be used for gas separations are metastable or crystalline, with properties that are altered by sample preparation and testing, but there are no widely accepted standards.
- Tae Hoon Lee
- Zachary P. Smith
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials
Open computational materials science

The materials modelling community is emerging as a champion for reproducible and reusable science. Aron Walsh discusses how FAIR databases, collaborative codes and transparent workflows are advancing this movement.
- Aron Walsh
Feature3 Jan 2024 Nature Materials

Reproducibility

Content

Trust but verify

The characterization of superconductivity under high pressure

Controlling supramolecular gels

Lifting the fog in ferroelectric thin-film synthesis

2D materials for logic device scaling

The organic electrochemical transistor conundrum when reporting a mixed ionic–electronic transport figure of merit

Thermoelectric measurements

Observing deformation in situ

Better standards are needed for membrane materials

Open computational materials science

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