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Cation binding is shown to trigger mesoscale domain formation within assembled mixtures of neutral and anionic polymer amphiphiles. The spotted and striped particles could be used for drug delivery or biomedical sensing.
Secondary electron imaging in electron microscopy can achieve resolutions that compete with transmission electron microscopy, and allows imaging of both surface and bulk atoms simultaneously.
Electron relaxation time in semiconductor quantum dots, for terahertz transition energies, can be slowed down to the nanosecond range — a very encouraging result for the development of quantum-dot-based quantum cascade lasers.
For more than 50 years, the International Conference on Magnetism series has been inspiring researchers in the field. At the latest meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, the control exerted by nanostructured devices over magnetic properties was the centre of attention.
The mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of glassy metals are attractive for biodegradable implants. Magnesium-based glasses are particularly promising but they suffer from hydrogen evolution during corrosion. A distinct reduction in hydrogen evolution is now observed in zinc-rich magnesium glasses showing good tissue compatibility.
Characterizing the internal architecture of zeolites is crucial for understanding their structure–function relationships, and for acid–base 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.
A new type of scanning electron microscope with aberration correction allows a resolution of 0.1 nm. The instrument also allows for simultaneous imaging of atoms on the surface and in the bulk of a sample, which represents a real breakthrough in the field.
Although much effort has been directed towards the separation of single-walled carbon nanotube mixtures, chiral-selective growth is required for scalable production and applications. The chiral distribution of carbon nanotubes can now be altered by varying the composition of nickel–iron nanocatalysts.
The interfacial energy between a macroscopic surface consisting of different materials and a liquid is independent of the surface structure. It is now shown that because of the way in which a multicomponent nanoscale surface affects the solvent–molecule arrangement, it is both the surface structure and composition that dictate the interfacial energy.
The magnetic-field-induced strain in magnetic shape-memory alloys can be used in several types of application. However, the strain is high (10%) only in single-crystalline specimens, which are difficult and expensive to obtain. Polycrystalline samples with comparable strain have now been fabricated by introducing pores of similar size to the grains.
When a tip slides on a carbon nanotube, the friction along the transverse direction is much larger than in the parallel direction. It is shown that this behaviour is due to hindered rolling of the tube, and a frictional dissipation that is negligible for a tip sliding along the axis.
The performance of hybrid solar cells depends critically on the morphology of both the polymeric and the inorganic components. Electron tomography is used to resolve the morphology in three dimensions; coupling this information with three-dimensional exciton-diffusion studies enables the differentiation of charge generation and transport as performance-limiting factors.
Anhydrous proton-conducting materials capable of operating at high temperature are required for fuel-cell applications. Encapsulation of a proton-carrier imidazole molecule in aluminium porous coordination polymers in anhydrous conditions results in high proton conductivity above 100 ∘C.
High pressures have been very useful in stabilizing materials that cannot form at low pressure. However, often high-pressure phases are not stable when recovered in ambient conditions. Bombardment with high-energy heavy ions is now shown to stabilize a high-pressure phase of Gd2Zr2O7 in ambient conditions.
Controlled domain formation in block copolymer mixtures or lipid bilayers could lead to more highly ordered assemblies and delivery of drugs. It is now shown that mesoscale domain formation within assembled mixtures of neutral and anionic polymer amphiphiles can be induced by the divalent cations calcium and copper.
Control of the formation of nanostructures during their synthesis can be achieved using either equilibrium conditions, such as in nanostructure templating, or non-equilibrium conditions, such as in reaction–diffusion systems. This review analyses the different method types with the aim of producing guidelines for the rational design of hybrid organic–inorganic nanostructures.
