Nature Materials - Current issue : December 2009 - Vol 8 No 12
- An end to spineless scaffolds
- Polymer nanocomposites: Small molecules do the directing
- Nanomagnets: All atoms put in order
- Metamaterials: Sound boosters
Latest content
Current issue
Virtual worlds such as Second Life present an intriguing premise for scientific use. But are the benefits sufficiently clear for widespread uptake?
Current issue
Acoustic hyperlens
Letter by Li et al.Like their optical counterparts, acoustic metamaterials are capable of manipulating sound waves in unusual ways. An acoustic hyperlens is now demonstrated that is capable of magnifying subwavelength acoustic waves, and could therefore find applications in medical imaging or underwater sonar.
Advanced online publication
Superconductors
Letter by Ye et al.Using a liquid gate has allowed electrically induced superconductivity in a solid specimen by means of carrier accumulation on the surface. But this phenomenon was limited to materials that became superconductors at low carrier density. It is now shown that superconductivity can be induced in a much wider range of materials by using an ionic liquid.
Advanced online publication
Shrinking organics
Letter by Das et al.Occasionally, organic crystalline materials contract when heated (negative thermal expansion), and the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are poorly understood. The arrangement of dumbbell-shaped molecules in an organic material is shown to give rise to its negative thermal expansion. The packing and intermolecular interactions facilitate a cooperative mechanical response to temperature causing a decrease in lattice dimensions.
Current issue
Tumour treatment
Article by MacKay et al.When artificial polypeptides are conjugated to a variety of hydrophobic molecules such as chemotherapeutics, the resulting molecules spontaneously self-assemble into nanoparticles. Delivering the chemotherapeutics to a murine cancer model, the nanoparticles have a fourfold higher maximum tolerated dose than the free drug, and induce nearly complete tumour regression after a single dose.
Current issue
Organic cages
Article by Tozawa et al.Porous materials are technologically important for a wide range of applications, such as catalysis and separation. Covalently bonded organic cages can now be assembled into crystalline microporous materials, and their porosity is found to be intrinsic to their molecular cage structure.
Current issue
Intergrowth structures
Article by Karwacki et al.Characterizing the internal architecture of zeolites is crucial for understanding their structure–function relationships, and for acid–based heterogeneous catalysis. Using a unique combination of diffraction and microscopy techniques provides a unified picture of the morphology of intergrowth structures and confirmation of surface barriers for molecular diffusion.
Current issue
Nanomagnets
Article by Alloyeau et al.The structure of magnetic nanoparticles has a strong influence on the properties of these materials that are at present being considered for magnetic-storage applications. It is now shown that the size and shape of magnetic nanoparticles such as CoPt affect the transition from an ordered to a disordered phase, highlighting the need to take morphology into account to understand the structural properties.
