Research Highlights in 2022

Organic–inorganic lead halide perovskites are highly promising materials for solar cell devices, but their widespread commercialization is hindered by their poor environmental stability. Now, porous organic cages are shown to stabilize methylammonium lead iodide films under hot and humid conditions.

The role of selenium in proteins and nucleic acids is well-established, but the pathway for incorporating selenium into small molecules remains unknown. Now, using bioinformatics tools, a selenium-incorporating gene cluster is discovered from immense genomic data, leading to the identification of selenoneine from microorganisms and the elucidation of a selenium incorporation pathway.

[n]cycloparaphenylenes feature extensive para-conjugation that leads to useful electronic and optoelectronic properties, but their strained topology prevents their conversion into planar macrocycles. Now, on-surface coupling of cleverly designed precursors affords planar π-extended [12]cycloparaphenylene.

Tooth enamel possesses outstanding viscoelasticity as well as stiffness — a combination of properties often considered a trade-off. Now, a bi-directional freezing method affords a biomimetic composite with mechanical properties superior to those of enamel.

Electrically conductive two-dimensional metal–organic frameworks have emerged as promising materials for electronic and energy storage devices, but their stacked nature offers limited accessibility to the framework pores. Now, pillaring a conductive 2D MOF is shown to enhance gravimetric capacitance by more than double.