Materials science articles within Communications Materials

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Using machine learning to construct interatomic potentials when materials are not in their electronic ground state is challenging. Here, a neural network interatomic potential is constructed for laser-excited silicon, which extends first-principles accuracy to ultra-large length and time scales.

    • Pascal Plettenberg
    • , Bernd Bauerhenne
    •  & Martin E. Garcia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Catch bonds exist in some protein-ligand complexes and are of interest for their increased lifetime under greater mechanical force. Here, a mathematical model for nanoparticles tethered with macromolecules shows catch-bond behavior, which may be useful for designing synthetic materials.

    • Kerim C. Dansuk
    • , Subhadeep Pal
    •  & Sinan Keten

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Antiferromagnetic materials are receiving renewed interest for their potential use in spintronics and information technology. Here, neutron scattering experiments reveal that TbCu2, a collinear antiferromagnet, can host spiral-like magnetic superstructures both in bulk form and small nanoparticle ensembles.

    • Elizabeth M. Jefremovas
    • , María de la Fuente Rodríguez
    •  & Luis Fernández Barquín

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lithiation and de-lithiation of lithium-ion microbatteries pose a challenge for adoption due to their extreme volume change and active lithium loss. Here, the surface morphologies of a monocrystalline vertical silicon nanowire-based lithium microbattery were investigated against performance.

    • Andam Deatama Refino
    • , Egy Adhitama
    •  & Hutomo Suryo Wasisto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is difficult to control nanoparticle dispersion and size in preceramic polymer composites which require additional processing. Here, a pre-ceramic polymer assists in stable nanoparticle formation and serves as a surface graft for controlled dispersion in a one-pot copper sulfide synthesis.

    • Patricia A. Loughney
    • , Kara L. Martin
    •  & Vicky Doan-Nguyen

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    There is great interest in commercializing perovskite solar cells, however, the presence of defects and trap states hinder their performance. Here, recent developments in characterization techniques to investigate defects and ion migration in halide perovskites are reviewed.

    • Saurabh Srivastava
    • , Sudhir Ranjan
    •  & Kanwar S. Nalwa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modifying quantum well states is an effective approach for tuning the density of states at the Fermi level. Here, light is used to control the quantum well potential in Bi2Se3, driving a quantum well singularity below the Fermi level at ultrafast timescales and triggering a Lifshitz transition.

    • Samuel T. Ciocys
    •  & Alessandra Lanzara

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transition metal dichalcogenides are hosts to interesting electronic order states intertwined with non-trivial band topology. Here, systematic photoemission experiments on 1T-VSe2 reveal a Dirac nodal arc emerging from band inversion and supporting spin-momentum locked topological surface states.

    • Turgut Yilmaz
    • , Xuance Jiang
    •  & Elio Vescovo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tuning the band gap of perovskite oxides is key for achieving tailored electronic properties in transistors, LEDs, photovoltaics, and scintillators. Here, by exploring all chemical combinations of 68 elements, machine learning is used to identify and predict stable synthesizable cubic perovskites with desired band gap values.

    • Anjana Talapatra
    • , Blas Pedro Uberuaga
    •  & Ghanshyam Pilania

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Prediction of new high entropy materials presents a significant challenge. Here, the authors combine experimental and computational methods to search for new high entropy oxides in the tetravalent AO2 family and show why (Ti, Zr, Hf, Sn)2 crystallizes in a α-PbO2 structure.

    • Solveig S. Aamlid
    • , Graham H. J. Johnstone
    •  & Alannah M. Hallas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proton conductors are used in diverse applications that require high ionic conductivity at low temperatures and high chemical stability. Here, we report that Ba2LuAlO5 shows high proton conductivities, high diffusivity, and high chemical stability without chemical doping.

    • Riho Morikawa
    • , Taito Murakami
    •  & Masatomo Yashima

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Liquid metal dealloying is performed by immersing soluble and insoluble elements into a liquid metal bath but this prevents precise composition control. Here, the authors control the amount of soluble element remaining in the microstructure by partial dealloying and applied them to high-entropy alloys.

    • Takeshi Wada
    • , Pierre-Antoine Geslin
    •  & Hidemi Kato

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-emitting electrochemical cells are next-generation light-emitting devices but the operation mechanism is still not well understood microscopically. Here, the operation mechanism of light-emitting electrochemical cells is microscopically investigated by operando observation of spin states.

    • Junya Katsumata
    • , Fumiya Osawa
    •  & Kazuhiro Marumoto

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Aqueous batteries are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. In this Review, the challenges and recent strategies for various aqueous battery systems are discussed with key factors needing the most improvement highlighted.

    • Heeju Ahn
    • , Daye Kim
    •  & Kwan Woo Nam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strong spin-orbit coupling in SrIrO3 mixes the orbital character of iridium d-bands, resulting in correlated narrow bands and a metal-insulator transition. Here, the electric field generated by ionic liquid gating is used to manipulate the band structure, triggering a reversible control of the metal-insulator transition.

    • Fernando Gallego
    • , Javier Tornos
    •  & Jacobo Santamaria

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Architected materials are known for high stiffness-to-weight behavior but bending-dominated lattices are of interest for their energy absorption performance. Here, an interwoven lattice with decoupled nodes shows significantly higher compliance at similar volume fractions to traditional lattices

    • Yash Mistry
    • , Oliver Weeger
    •  & Dhruv Bhate

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vanadium dioxide is a strongly correlated material interesting for its ultra-fast resistive switching controlled by an electric-field-driven insulator-metal transition. Here, VO2 stochastic oscillator power sensors for mm-wave to sub-THz radiation are demonstrated, displaying high responsivities, low noise, and a small scalable footprint.

    • Fatemeh Qaderi
    • , Teodor Rosca
    •  & Adrian M. Ionescu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The melt growth of ice - crystallization from supercooled water - has complex anisotropic kinetics, closely related to the rich variety of snowflake crystals. Here, molecular dynamics simulations shed light on its microscopic mechanism, identifying a layer of ultralow density water at the growth interface.

    • Kenji Mochizuki
    • , Ken-ichiro Murata
    •  & Xuan Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kirigami, the art of deploying flat sheets to create three-dimensional structures, relies often on complex folding processes that hinder industrial applications. Here, the authors develop a folding-wall kirigami pattern that deploys easily under tension, demonstrating its strength, stiffness, energy absorption, and interlocking properties.

    • Tom Corrigan
    • , Patrick Fleming
    •  & Delony Langer-Anderson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantized states in strongly correlated oxide nanostructures are crucial for designing quantum devices in future electronics. Here, in situ ARPES measurements in SrTi1–xVxO3 reveal that the electron mean free path is a key parameter for controlling and designing quantized states in these structures.

    • Tatsuhiko Kanda
    • , Daisuke Shiga
    •  & Hiroshi Kumigashira

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The difficulty in obtaining a superconducting gap free of subgap states has hindered progress with hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices in germanium. Here, this challenge is addressed by using a germanosilicide parent superconductor to contact high mobility planar germanium, facilitating scalable quantum information processing.

    • Alberto Tosato
    • , Vukan Levajac
    •  & Giordano Scappucci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Defect engineering and doping of semiconductors by ion irradiation are essential in large-scale integration of electronic devices. Here, intense ion pulses from a laser-accelerator, with flux levels up to 1022 ions cm-2 s-1, are used to induce and optimize silicon color centers and photon emitters in the telecom band.

    • Walid Redjem
    • , Ariel J. Amsellem
    •  & Thomas Schenkel

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Scintillators are materials of great interest for versatile and fast radiation detection systems. This Review discusses recent advances and strategies to improve the light yield, decay time, and coincidence timing resolution of all-inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite scintillators.

    • Arie Wibowo
    • , Md Abdul Kuddus Sheikh
    •  & Muhammad Danang Birowosuto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hexagonal boron nitride is a promising host for single-photon quantum emitters, but irreversible loss of emission by photobleaching hinders its practical use. Here, the mechanistic investigation of hBN emitters reveals two distinct photobleaching lifetimes, suggesting a way to mitigate the shorter, environmentally sensitive, bleaching process.

    • Sylvia Xin Li
    • , Takeo Ichihara
    •  & Michael S. Strano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct imaging and tuning of flat band localization in kagome materials remains a challenge. Here, scanning tunneling microscopy and photoemission spectroscopy are used to study FeSn, revealing real-space localization and magnetic tuning of the flat band state within the Fe3Sn kagome lattice layer.

    • Daniel Multer
    • , Jia-Xin Yin
    •  & M. Zahid Hasan

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    High-entropy materials have been realized in a wide number of alloys and ceramics, usually in bulk form. This Perspective discusses the emerging field of two-dimensional high-entropy materials, focusing on their formation, structure and applications.

    • Srinivasa Kartik Nemani
    • , Mohammad Torkamanzadeh
    •  & Babak Anasori

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Brain-inspired neuromorphic computing is a key technology for processing an ever-growing amount of data. Here, an artificial synapse with dual resistance modulation mechanisms is demonstrated, achieving a dynamic range of 60, an endurance exceeding 1010 cycles, and more than 10 years of retention.

    • Mattia Halter
    • , Laura Bégon-Lours
    •  & Bert Jan Offrein

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    Lead-based relaxor ferroelectrics are known for their large piezoelectric response, but the relation between the response and the nanoscale structure of these materials is still under debate. In this Perspective, the microscopic implications of the polar nature of disordered relaxor ferroelectrics are critically reviewed.

    • Tadej Rojac

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetic refrigeration materials containing rare-earth ions are promising for hydrogen liquefaction and energy storage applications. Here, the role of crystal-field level splitting on magnetic entropy change is systematically investigated, comparing mean-field calculations with neutron scattering experiments in HoB2.

    • Noriki Terada
    • , Hiroaki Mamiya
    •  & Hideaki Kitazawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanocrystalline thin films fabricated by deposition often have high residual stresses, making them susceptible to defects. Here, stress distribution in tungsten-titanium nanocrystalline films are probed by experimental and simulation techniques, revealing the impact of solute concentration on residual stress.

    • Rahulkumar Jagdishbhai Sinojiya
    • , Priya Paulachan
    •  & Roland Brunner

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    High-entropy materials are defined by the configurational entropy of their bulk phase, yet it is interesting to consider whether grain boundaries can also be “high entropy”. This paper discusses a thermodynamic framework for “high-entropy grain boundaries” and relevant concepts and unique thermodynamic properties.

    • Jian Luo
    •  & Naixie Zhou

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