Materials science articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is substantial research into minimizing platinum use in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers. Here, the authors report that the hydrogen evolution activity of platinum(111) electrodes can be significantly enhanced by monolayer amounts of copper, which weaken the binding of hydrogen intermediates.

    • Jakub Tymoczko
    • , Federico Calle-Vallejo
    •  & Aliaksandr S. Bandarenka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Precise control of the relative orientation of two two-dimensional layers enables reproducible fabrication of heterostructure devices. Here, the authors show that graphene rotates towards the crystallographic direction of a boron-nitride substrate due to the interplay between van der Waals and elastic energies.

    • C. R. Woods
    • , F. Withers
    •  & K. S. Novoselov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Defects in solids may introduce additional charges that influence the overall charge transport behaviour. Here, Zhao et al. use swift electron beams to compensate charge defects, which effectively tune Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 from p-type to n-type while preserving their topological properties.

    • Lukas Zhao
    • , Marcin Konczykowski
    •  & Lia Krusin-Elbaum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is generally believed that rapid dissipation means that spatially precise heating is not feasible via thermoplasmonic means. Here, the authors induce highly localized heating around plasmonic nanostructures by pulsed laser irradiation, which effects chemical modification of surface bound molecules.

    • Calum Jack
    • , Affar S. Karimullah
    •  & Malcolm Kadodwala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In correlated materials, new phases emerge when the balance between many-body interactions is perturbed. Here, Ma et al. induce a mosaic charge-density-wave phase out of Mott insulating state in layered 1T-TaS2by voltage pulses, which reveals a dominating role of interlayer stacking order.

    • Liguo Ma
    • , Cun Ye
    •  & Yuanbo Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Charge mobility, extracted from current–voltage curves, is an important parameter for evaluating the performance of organic field-effect transistors. Bittle et al. show that charge mobility can be overestimated by one order of magnitude due to the gate bias dependence of the charge injection process.

    • Emily G. Bittle
    • , James I. Basham
    •  & David J. Gundlach

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many living systems, such as bacterial colonies, exhibit collective and dynamic behaviours that are sensitive to the change in environmental conditions. Here, the authors show that a colloidal active matter system switches between gathering and dispersal of individuals in response to a disordered potential.

    • Erçağ Pinçe
    • , Sabareesh K. P. Velu
    •  & Giorgio Volpe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spin-orbit effects in non-magnetic semiconductors allow for the manipulation of electronic spins in the absence of an applied magnetic field. Here, the authors exploit a persistent spin helix state in single quantum wells to enhance the coherence length of electronic drift transport.

    • Y. Kunihashi
    • , H. Sanada
    •  & T. Sogawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomically dispersed metal catalysts display high atom efficiency for electrocatalytic processes. Here, the authors report that sulfur-doped zeolite-templated carbon stabilizes highly dispersed platinum species, predominantly as single-atom centres, and probe its oxygen reduction selectivity.

    • Chang Hyuck Choi
    • , Minho Kim
    •  & Minkee Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are numerous heterogeneous oxygen reduction reaction catalysts, although synthetic tunability is rare among these materials. Here, the authors report that a conductive metal-organic framework functions as a well-defined, tunable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution.

    • Elise M. Miner
    • , Tomohiro Fukushima
    •  & Mircea Dincă

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron doping is a powerful way to induce quantum phase transitions in materials and explore exotic states of matter. Here, Wen et al. present carefully-controlled potassium dosing in FeSe films and FeSe0.93S0.07bulk, which enhances superconductivity and induces other anomalous phases, revealing a complex phase diagram.

    • C. H. P. Wen
    • , H. C. Xu
    •  & D. L. Feng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene has the high carrier mobility and short photoresponse time required for efficient photodetection, but broad and weak optical absorption are severe drawbacks. Here, the authors show that twisted bilayer graphene with van Hove singularities exhibits a strong light-matter interaction and selectively enhanced photocurrent generation.

    • Jianbo Yin
    • , Huan Wang
    •  & Zhongfan Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Membranes made from graphene have ultra-fast water transport and precise molecular sieving properties. Here, the authors show how large-area membranes can be manufactured by a rapid and scalable process based on shear alignment of graphene-oxide liquid crystals for unlocking industrial applications.

    • Abozar Akbari
    • , Phillip Sheath
    •  & Mainak Majumder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thermoelectric materials with enhanced performances need to be identified. Here, the authors use the crystal field splitting energy of orbitals as a descriptor to design thermoelectric materials by solid solution maps and strain engineering in layered CaAl2Si2-type Zintl compounds.

    • Jiawei Zhang
    • , Lirong Song
    •  & Bo B. Iversen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    On-chip light sources for silicon photonic circuits remain a challenge since the indirect bandgap of silicon prevents efficient light emission. The authors demonstrate that lasing can be achieved by combining standard silicon-on-insulator waveguides with dye-doped organic cladding materials to provide optical gain.

    • Dietmar Korn
    • , Matthias Lauermann
    •  & Christian Koos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanomaterials provide a route to efficient solid-state conversion between thermal and electrical energy. Here, the authors demonstrate that a combination of metal and semiconductor colloidal nanocrystals can produce thermoelectric nanocomposites with high performance.

    • Maria Ibáñez
    • , Zhishan Luo
    •  & Andreu Cabot

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Future information storage technology may exploit electrical currents to write the states of ferromagnetic nanoelements via spin torque effects. Here, the authors demonstrate such behaviour promoted by exchange bias from an interfaced antiferromagnet, which may help overcome practical device limitations.

    • A. van den Brink
    • , G. Vermijs
    •  & B. Koopmans

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Doping of low-dimensional graphitic materials with heteroatoms can enhance their catalytic, electrochemical and magnetic properties. Here, the authors report a tunable method to ‘superdope’ these materials with high levels of nitrogen, sulfur, or boron, via a simple fluorination and annealing procedure.

    • Yuan Liu
    • , Yuting Shen
    •  & Youwei Du

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Future spintronic devices may be based on the transport of electronic spin without an associated charge current in thin film materials. Here, the authors demonstrate the interconversion of spin current at the interface between a normal metal and magnetic insulator via magnon-mediated current drag.

    • Junxue Li
    • , Yadong Xu
    •  & Jing Shi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Future spintronic devices may exploit topological insulators, bulk-insulating materials possessing conductive surface states with orthogonally-locked electronic spin and momentum. Here, the authors propose a mechanism by which bulk spin currents drive surface spin accumulation in such a material.

    • Xingyue Peng
    • , Yiming Yang
    •  & Dong Yu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the nature of competing phases is a key to understanding the superconducting mechanism of unconventional superconductors. Here, the authors demonstrate a three-dimensional charge ordering state which competes with superconductivity in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films grown on La0.7Ca0.3MnO3substrates.

    • Junfeng He
    • , Padraic Shafer
    •  & Rui-Hua He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The optical trapping of ultracold atoms allows for the simulation and controlled exploration of phenomena normally found in condensed matter systems. Here, the authors demonstrate spin–orbit coupling between lattice band pseudospins in a Bose-Einstein condensate of ultracold atoms.

    • M. A. Khamehchi
    • , Chunlei Qu
    •  & P. Engels

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Scanning transmission electron microscopy is a powerful material probe, but constrained to large atomic number samples due to the issues of beam damage and weak scattering. Here, Ophus et al.propose a method that produces linear phase contrast in a focused electron beam to image dose-sensitive objects.

    • Colin Ophus
    • , Jim Ciston
    •  & Peter Ercius

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modern technology such as electronics and photovoltaics requires careful control of optical responses of electronic properties. Here, Sando et al. demonstrate a large variation of optical index and light absorption in multiferroic material BiFeO3thin films, tunable by in-film strain or electric field.

    • D. Sando
    • , Yurong Yang
    •  & M. Bibes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tungsten ditelluride is a semi-metallic two-dimensional material that has exhibited large magnetoresistance. Here, the authors use angle- and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the band structure of this transition metal dichalcogenide and identify layer-dependent electronic behaviour.

    • Pranab Kumar Das
    • , D. Di Sante
    •  & R. J. Cava

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene grain boundaries and charge inhomogeneities limit its electronic properties. Here the authors combine scanning near-field optical microscopy with electrical read-out to image these defects at the nanoscale under an encapsulation layer, and show that charges build up along the edges of the flake.

    • Achim Woessner
    • , Pablo Alonso-González
    •  & Frank H. L. Koppens

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Carcinogenic compounds present difficulties in synthesis not just during reaction but perhaps especially during purification. Here, the authors report a microfluidic device for the use of carcinogenic chloromethyl methyl ether that includes a silicon nanowire separator allowing isolated, automated purification.

    • Ajay K. Singh
    • , Dong-Hyeon Ko
    •  & Dong-Pyo Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    When interfaced with a current-carrying heavy metal, spin orbit effects can generate a torque on the magnetization of a ferromagnet, understood as a bulk effect. Here, the authors show evidence of an interfacial contribution to such spin orbit torque in O-doped W/CoFeB thin film systems.

    • Kai-Uwe Demasius
    • , Timothy Phung
    •  & Stuart S. P. Parkin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photo-induced charge separation in organic semiconductors usually occurs at interfaces between electron donors and acceptors. Here, the authors show using photoluminescence measurements that charge separation is intrinsic and directional in organic crystalline nanowires made of stacked monomers.

    • J. A. Labastide
    • , H. B. Thompson
    •  & M. D. Barnes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cu2OSeO3 possesses a helical spin structure which supports a rich phase diagram of magnetic states, including a lattice of particle-like skyrmions. Here, the authors use inelastic neutron scattering to elucidate the three-dimensional magnon spectrum and underlying spin Hamiltonian of Cu2OSeO3.

    • P. Y. Portnichenko
    • , J. Romhányi
    •  & D. S. Inosov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Excitons—bound electron-hole pairs—in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides can exhibit a rich spectrum of excited states. Here, the authors use ultrafast mid-infrared spectroscopy to explore the dynamics of these so-called 1s-intraexcitonic transitions in monolayer molybdenum disulphide.

    • Soonyoung Cha
    • , Ji Ho Sung
    •  & Hyunyong Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-dimensional, self-assembled heteromolecular networks often lack functionality. Here the authors study the photoresponse of self-assembled heteromolecular networks, while controlling their positions and interfaces at an atomic level, suggesting bottom-up assembly of optoelectronics devices.

    • Sarah Wieghold
    • , Juan Li
    •  & Carlos-Andres Palma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anomalous conducting behavior of solids may reflect the presence of novel quantum states. Here, Zhang et al. report an increased conductivity in TaAs with a magnetic field applied along the direction of the current, which reveals an inherent property of the Weyl Fermion.

    • Cheng-Long Zhang
    • , Su-Yang Xu
    •  & Shuang Jia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The control of magnetic domains in antiferromagnets is limited by the lack of a net magnetic moment which may be manipulated by external stimuli. Here, the authors present an optical method for switching such domain states in MnF2based on azimuth-dependent absorption of linearly polarized light.

    • Takuya Higuchi
    •  & Makoto Kuwata-Gonokami

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crystalline materials are formed by the periodic order of atomic unit cells. Here, Pierangeli et al. report the formation of a ferrelectric super-crystal with micrometric unit cell from modulated nanoscale disorder in potassium-lithium-tantalate-niobate, which is potentially useful for engineering ordered states out of disorder.

    • D. Pierangeli
    • , M. Ferraro
    •  & E. DelRe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In metals, electronic scattering from defects by the two-channel Kondo effect is expected to cause deviation from standard low temperature behaviour, however this effect has not been unambiguously shown. Here, the authors present evidence consistent with all transport signatures of the effect in ferromagnetic L10-MnAl films.

    • L. J. Zhu
    • , S. H. Nie
    •  & J. H. Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ruggedized stretchable electronic devices motivate the development of globally stretchable yet locally stiff materials. Here, Ware et al. programme the self-organization of liquid crystal elastomers to yield stretchable materials of homogenous composition but with spatial variation in mechanical properties.

    • Taylor H. Ware
    • , John S. Biggins
    •  & Timothy J. White

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are poised to transform the automotive industry, but the lack of safe, high density solid state hydrogen storage solutions is stifling progress. Here, the authors develop a graphene oxide/magnesium nanocomposite which appears to overcome many of the existing challenges.

    • Eun Seon Cho
    • , Anne M. Ruminski
    •  & Jeffrey J. Urban

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dirac semimetals are a three-dimensional analogue of graphene that can support massless Dirac fermions in their bulk and Fermi-arc surface states. Here, the authors observe Aharonov–Bohm oscillations in transport measurements on Cd3As2nanowires, revealing these exotic surface states.

    • Li-Xian Wang
    • , Cai-Zhen Li
    •  & Zhi-Min Liao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene can exhibit pronounced frictional anisotropy, which was thought to arise because of nanoscale ripples. Here, the authors provide evidence that this effect could instead be a result of adsorbates that self-assemble into a highly regular superlattice of stripes with a period of four to six nanometres.

    • Patrick Gallagher
    • , Menyoung Lee
    •  & David Goldhaber-Gordon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction arises in magnetic systems with broken inversion symmetry and promotes chiral magnetic order which may be exploited in spintronic devices. Here, the authors demonstrate how such an interaction between magnetic atoms on a metallic surface may be tuned by their separation.

    • A. A. Khajetoorians
    • , M. Steinbrecher
    •  & R. Wiesendanger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The heavy fermion compound URu2Si2displays a hidden order phase and superconductivity at low temperatures. Here, the authors perform substitution studies—partially replacing silicon with phosphorus—and study the effects on hidden order and superconductivity.

    • A. Gallagher
    • , K.-W. Chen
    •  & R. E. Baumbach

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Materials science across other nature.com journals