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The melting of transition metals on compression is a challenging topic. Computer simulations suggest that hot-compressed tantalum becomes a one-dimensional, liquid-like glass, with important implications for understanding planetary interiors.
Biological membranes form an extremely complex and dynamic network in cells, guided by specialized protein machinery. A new algorithm analyses membrane shape to extract forces applied by proteins controlling the membranes.
Large and homogeneous layers of graphene are obtained by annealing silicon carbide in a dense noble gas atmosphere that controls the way in which silicon sublimates. Epitaxial graphene thus gets back on track towards future electronic applications.
The discovery that domain walls in insulating thin films of the multiferroic compound BiFeO3 are electrically conducting opens the door for a number of possible applications.
In non-conventional superconductors, the competition of magnetic order and superconductivity seems to be a key element for the origin of superconductivity. Investigation of the newly discovered iron-pnictides superconductors challenges this picture, showing a coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism.
Nanomaterials that can circulate in the body hold great potential to diagnose and treat disease, but suffer from problems such as toxicity. Porous silicon nanoparticles have now been engineered to concomitantly image tumours or organs within the body, deliver therapeutics and resorb in vivo into benign components that clear renally.
What drives a phase transition in the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2 is one of the major unsolved problems in condensed-matter physics. Numerical calculations now demonstrate how antiferromagnetic ordering leads to a symmetry breaking that alters the material’s band structure and therefore its electronic properties.
In non-conventional superconductors, it is usually found that superconductivity emerges in the vicinity of a critical point where antiferromagnetic order gradually disappears—corresponding to a second-order transition. Investigation of the newly discovered iron pnictide superconductors challenges this picture, showing an abrupt, first-order transition.
Graphene nanostructures—like nanoribbons or quantum dots—hold great potential for applications. An extensive STM study elucidates how the details of the nanostructure edges heavily influence the electronic properties, which can vary between metallic and semiconducting according to the predominancy of zigzag or armchair edges.
Mesoporous materials with tunable, non-oxidic frameworks possess structural characteristics that make them attractive for catalytic and optoelectronic applications. Porous materials based on germanium-rich chalcogenide networks and polarizable surfaces exhibit selectivity for separating hydrogen from methane and carbon dioxide.
Oxide heterostructures offer new functionality based on the interaction of order parameters across the heterostructure interfaces. In particular, it is now demonstrated that superconducting layers can induce giant modulations of magnetization in adjacent ferromagnetic layers.
The possibility of polarizing conducting charges in a material by blocking those with a specific spin direction could lead to efficient spintronic devices. It is now shown that spin polarized-defects in a non-magnetic semiconductor can deplete electrons with opposite spins and turn the semiconductor into an efficient spin filter operating at room temperature.
Thermal annealing of SiC produces graphene layers on an insulating substrate, but the material is highly inhomogeneous. It is now shown that an argon atmosphere during annealing improves uniformity of the graphene layers dramatically and yields better transport characteristics. This is a very important result for the development of graphene-based electronic devices.