Value for money - p535

doi:10.1038/nmat2485

2009 is turning out to be an interesting year for research funding in the UK. Everyone wants the best science to be funded, but it's not clear that the proposed policy changes will achieve this.

Full Text - Value for money | PDF (118 KB) - Value for money

Our choice from the recent literature - p536

doi:10.1038/nmat2484

Full Text - Our choice from the recent literature | PDF (167 KB) - Our choice from the recent literature

Metamaterials: Towards invisibility in the visible - pp537 - 538

Ulf Leonhardt

doi:10.1038/nmat2472

Ever since invisibility cloaking has left the realm of fiction and been demonstrated for microwave radiation, cloaking in the visible has been the aim. Having reached the near-infrared, we might be there soon.

Full Text - MetamaterialsTowards invisibility in the visible | PDF (201 KB) - MetamaterialsTowards invisibility in the visible

See also: Letter by Valentine et al.

Organic conductors: Polymers as one-dimensional metals - pp538 - 539

Alessandro Troisi

doi:10.1038/nmat2482

Bulk polycrystalline organic conductors do not behave like two- or three-dimensional materials but as one-dimensional metals.

Full Text - Organic conductorsPolymers as one-dimensional metals | PDF (153 KB) - Organic conductorsPolymers as one-dimensional metals

See also: Letter by Yuen et al.

DNA nanotechnology: Hot and sticky or cold and aloof - pp539 - 540

Vincent M. Rotello

doi:10.1038/nmat2483

DNA provides more than lock-and-key control of assembly. Careful engineering of hairpins and loops provides the means to control the kinetics of particle assembly, allowing structures to be 'glued' together by heating.

Full Text - DNA nanotechnologyHot and sticky or cold and aloof | PDF (165 KB) - DNA nanotechnologyHot and sticky or cold and aloof

See also: Letter by Leunissen et al.

Nanocontacts: The importance of being entangled - pp541 - 542

Gerardo Ortiz

doi:10.1038/nmat2481

A renormalization group study of electric transport in nanocontacts reveals the importance of quantum correlations for achieving a startling ferromagnetic Kondo effect.

Full Text - NanocontactsThe importance of being entangled | PDF (134 KB) - NanocontactsThe importance of being entangled

See also: Letter by Lucignano et al.

Material Witness: Dream on - p542

Philip Ball

doi:10.1038/nmat2480

Full Text - Material WitnessDream on | PDF (106 KB) - Material WitnessDream on

Understanding biophysicochemical interactions at the nano–bio interface - pp543 - 557

Andre E. Nel, Lutz Mädler, Darrell Velegol, Tian Xia, Eric M. V. Hoek, Ponisseril Somasundaran, Fred Klaessig, Vince Castranova & Mike Thompson

doi:10.1038/nmat2442

Abstract - | Full Text - Understanding biophysicochemical interactions at the nano–bio interface | PDF (2,667 KB) - Understanding biophysicochemical interactions at the nano–bio interface

Composite domain walls in a multiferroic perovskite ferrite - pp558 - 562

Yusuke Tokunaga, Nobuo Furukawa, Hideaki Sakai, Yasujiro Taguchi, Taka-hisa Arima & Yoshinori Tokura

doi:10.1038/nmat2469

In multiferroics ferroelectricity and magnetism are coupled, but the coupling is often rather weak. As is now shown for a perovskite oxide, composite domain walls can lead to a strong coupling of electricity and magnetism, highlighting the importance of domain walls for practical applications using multiferroics.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Composite domain walls in a multiferroic perovskite ferrite | PDF (1,468 KB) - Composite domain walls in a multiferroic perovskite ferrite | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Electronic materials | Magnetic materials

Kondo conductance in an atomic nanocontact from first principles - pp563 - 567

Procolo Lucignano, Riccardo Mazzarello, Alexander Smogunov, Michele Fabrizio & Erio Tosatti

doi:10.1038/nmat2476

A route connecting density functional theory and the numerical renormalization group method represents the first approach to studying atomic contacts—including magnetic elements—at an atomic level. When applied to the case of a nickel impurity in a gold nanowire, the strategy provides a clear connection between the geometry and the transport properties.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Kondo conductance in an atomic nanocontact from first principles | PDF (418 KB) - Kondo conductance in an atomic nanocontact from first principles | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Electronic materials | Magnetic materials | Nanoscale materials

See also: News and Views by Ortiz

An optical cloak made of dielectrics - pp568 - 571

Jason Valentine, Jensen Li, Thomas Zentgraf, Guy Bartal & Xiang Zhang

doi:10.1038/nmat2461

Previous demonstrations of cloaking, where objects are rendered invisible at certain frequencies, have been limited to the microwave regime. Moving us a significant step closer to invisibility in a region that can been seen by humans, a cloaking device has now been demonstrated for a broad range of frequencies in the near-infrared.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - An optical cloak made of dielectrics | PDF (682 KB) - An optical cloak made of dielectrics | Supplementary information

Subject Category: Optical, photonic and optoelectronic materials

See also: News and Views by Leonhardt

Nonlinear transport in semiconducting polymers at high carrier densities - pp572 - 575

Jonathan D. Yuen, Reghu Menon, Nelson E. Coates, Ebinazar B. Namdas, Shinuk Cho, Scott T. Hannahs, Daniel Moses & Alan J. Heeger

doi:10.1038/nmat2470

To use conducting and semiconducting polymers for electronic applications, their fundamental properties need to be understood. It is now demonstrated that the transport mechanism of poly(2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) at high carrier densities in field-effect transmitters and electrochemically doped films match those of a one-dimensional metal.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Nonlinear transport in semiconducting polymers at high carrier densities | PDF (460 KB) - Nonlinear transport in semiconducting polymers at high carrier densities | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Polymers | Computation, modelling and theory | Molecular electronics | Liquid crystals | Semiconductors

See also: News and Views by Troisi

Step-by-step rotation of a molecule-gear mounted on an atomic-scale axis - pp576 - 579

C. Manzano, W.-H. Soe, H. S. Wong, F. Ample, A. Gourdon, N. Chandrasekhar & C. Joachim

doi:10.1038/nmat2467

Designing and building molecular machines at the nanometre scale is a conceptual and synthetic challenge. Rotation of a single molecule has been observed but controlling the direction of the rotation has so far proved difficult. The step-by-step rotation of a molecular gear mounted on an atomic-scale axis is now controlled by a scanning tunnelling microscope.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Step-by-step rotation of a molecule-gear mounted on an atomic-scale axis | PDF (672 KB) - Step-by-step rotation of a molecule-gear mounted on an atomic-scale axis | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Surface and thin films | Computation, modelling and theory

Alkali metal crystalline polymer electrolytes - pp580 - 584

Chuhong Zhang, Stephen Gamble, David Ainsworth, Alexandra M. Z. Slawin, Yuri G. Andreev & Peter G. Bruce

doi:10.1038/nmat2474

The transport and mechanical properties of polymer electrolytes make them important materials for all-solid-state electrochemical devices such as batteries or electrochromic displays. Crystalline polymer electrolytes containing alkali metal salts are now found to exhibit ionic conductivity 1.5 orders of magnitude higher than the best conductor reported so far.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Alkali metal crystalline polymer electrolytes | PDF (1,064 KB) - Alkali metal crystalline polymer electrolytes | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Polymers | Materials for energy

Local ordering and electronic signatures of submonolayer water on anatase TiO₂(101) - pp585 - 589

Yunbin He, Antonio Tilocca, Olga Dulub, Annabella Selloni & Ulrike Diebold

doi:10.1038/nmat2466

The interaction of water with metal oxides is important for catalysis and biochemistry. Charge rearrangement at the water–anastase (101) interface affects the adsorption of further water molecules, and results in short-range repulsive interactions and locally ordered water-molecule superstructures.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Local ordering and electronic signatures of submonolayer water on anatase TiO2(101) | PDF (1,788 KB) - Local ordering and electronic signatures of submonolayer water on anatase TiO2(101) | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Surface and thin films | Computation, modelling and theory

Switchable self-protected attractions in DNA-functionalized colloids - pp590 - 595

Mirjam E. Leunissen, Rémi Dreyfus, Fook Chiong Cheong, David G. Grier, Roujie Sha, Nadrian C. Seeman & Paul M. Chaikin

doi:10.1038/nmat2471

Functionalizing colloidal particles with DNA is a powerful tool for guiding their assembly, using the complementary 'sticky ends' of the molecules. However, other attributes of DNA can be used to engineer interactions between particles more subtly. Temperature- or time-controlled formation of loops or hairpins in DNA provides switchable connections for novel materials from particle assemblies.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Switchable self-protected attractions in DNA-functionalized colloids | PDF (2,081 KB) - Switchable self-protected attractions in DNA-functionalized colloids | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Colloids | Biological materials | Nanoscale materials

Rational design and application of responsive -helical peptide hydrogels - pp596 - 600

Eleanor F. Banwell, Edgardo S. Abelardo, Dave J. Adams, Martin A. Birchall, Adam Corrigan, Athene M. Donald, Mark Kirkland, Louise C. Serpell, Michael F. Butler & Derek N. Woolfson

doi:10.1038/nmat2479

Hydrogels are hydrated polymer networks with applications in biotechnology and medicine. When created from alpha-helical peptides with engineered peptide sequences, their formation mechanisms can be controlled, leading to diverse properties. For instance, those with hydrogen-bonded networks melt on heating, but those formed through hydrophobic interactions strengthen when warmed.

First Paragraph - | Full Text - Rational design and application of responsive -helical peptide hydrogels | PDF (732 KB) - Rational design and application of responsive -helical peptide hydrogels | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Polymers | Biomedical materials | Design synthesis and processing

Inhomogeneous flow and fracture of glassy materials - pp601 - 609

Akira Furukawa & Hajime Tanaka

doi:10.1038/nmat2468

The mechanisms underlying the fracture of glasses are poorly understood. It is now shown that intrinsic density fluctuations in glass are enhanced during the deformation process, and may therefore be the origin of fracture in glasses. This understanding may lead to the design of glasses with improved mechanical properties.

Abstract - | Full Text - Inhomogeneous flow and fracture of glassy materials | PDF (1,456 KB) - Inhomogeneous flow and fracture of glassy materials | Supplementary information

Subject Categories: Glasses | Mechanical properties