Browse Articles

An article in Science Advances presents a hydrogel that is multi-stimuli responsive and can function autonomously.

In situ self-assembly is advantageous for cancer therapy and imaging because of the efficient deep-tumour targeting, enhanced blood circulation and negligible drug resistance of the resulting nanomedicines. This Review discusses extracellular and intracellular in situ self-assembly based on endogenous and exogenous stimuli for cancer therapy and imaging applications.

Two-dimensional materials can enable a new generation of flexible and printed electronics suitable for light-weight, low-power, sustainable and cost-effective field-effect transistors. This Review surveys solution-processed transistors based on 2D materials, discussing their performance, limitations and future perspectives.

Combining poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) with 3D-printing techniques enables the customization of compliant conductive materials for soft robotics, towards the goal of merging humans and robots. This Review discusses the fundamentals of 3D-printed PEDOT:PSS for soft robotics, from printable ink design and evaluation to printing strategies and promising soft robotic systems.

An article in Nano Letters presents a method to transfer metallic nanopatterns to soft matter such as tissues or single cells.

UV photodetectors based on low-dimensional wide-bandgap semiconductors offer wearable, multidimensional and intelligent functions in the scenarios of imaging, communication, multispectral and/or weak light detection and flexible electronics. This Review focuses on the material design, dimensionality engineering and device engineering of wide-bandgap semiconductors in diversified UV applications.

Sorption working pairs, which can convert low-grade heat into cold energy or seasonally store thermal energy, are potential future carbon-neutral materials for thermal management. This Comment highlights the superiorities of metal–organic framework (MOF)–ammonia working pairs for adaptable thermal management under extreme climates and discusses strategies to design MOFs with high stability and ammonia sorption capacity.

Deaf scientists who use American Sign Language need to be able to communicate specialized concepts with ease. In this Viewpoint, four deaf scientists — a quantum physicist, a marine ecologist, an immunologist and an organic chemist — discuss their experiences in developing scientific lexicons and the resulting shift in their science communication.

Nature provides an endless source of inspiration for advanced materials, fuelled by evolutionary innovations over many millions of years. Capitalizing on this wealth of biological solutions requires an approach to materials innovation that is informed by a holistic understanding of multi-functional biological systems and leverages the defining feature of the natural world — diversity.

Although perovskite solar cells now have competitive efficiencies compared with silicon solar cells, their low stability has hindered their commercial application thus far. This Review summarizes the tremendous improvements made over the past decade and offer a perspective on how to reach >25-year stable perovskite solar cells.

Active learning and automation will not easily liberate humans from laboratory workflows. Before they can really impact materials research, artificial intelligence systems will need to be carefully set up to ensure their robust operation and their ability to deal with both epistemic and stochastic errors. As autonomous experiments become more widely available, it is essential to think about how to embed reproducibility, reconfigurability and interoperability in the design of autonomous labs.

Nanotheranostics — nanoparticle-based systems combining diagnostic and therapeutic functions — hold great promise, but their implementation in the clinic is challenging. This Review discusses the design and clinical development of nanotheranostics and defines the critical steps needed to overcome technical, manufacturing, regulatory and economical challenges for their safe and effective clinical translation.

An article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports a 3D covalent organic framework made from simple 2D building blocks.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), an emerging type of sustainable battery, still need to be recycled for environmental and economic reasons. Strategies to recycle spent SIBs should be made during the initial stages of commercialization to ensure that SIBs are designed for ease of recycling, efficiency and low operation costs. This Perspective article summarizes the material components of SIBs, discusses strategies for their recycling and outlines the associated challenges and future outlook of SIB recycling.

An article in Nature Nanotechnology reports a nanopore-based single-molecule sensing method that allows control over the translocation speed of the measured molecule.

An article in Advanced Materials reports an entropy tuning strategy to design sodium-ion battery electrolytes that adapt to low temperatures, enabling rechargeable batteries that work in the extreme cold.

An article in Nature reports a tough hydrogel obtained through chain entanglements that can mimic stiff tissues such as articular cartilage.

An article in Nature Nanotechnology reports ferroelectric field-effect transistors that are compatible with Si complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor back-end-of-line processes.

An article in Advanced Materials reports molecules designed following the A-D-A′-D-A structure that exhibit efficient emission beyond 1,100 nm.

Integrating single-functional fibre devices into multifunctional systems can enable promising wearable applications. This Perspective article summarizes challenges and strategies for the design, fabrication and assembly of fibre electronic systems, highlighting specifications for real applications.