Physical sciences articles within Nature Materials

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  • Letter |

    Ratchet systems can extract work from non-equilibrium processes. Yet present electronic ratchets only operate at cryogenic temperatures and generate low currents, which are clear limitations for their practical use. Now, organic electronic ratchets providing enough power to drive simple logic circuits at room temperature have been realized.

    • Erik M. Roeling
    • , Wijnand Chr. Germs
    •  & Martijn Kemerink

  • Article |

    A polymeric hydrogel coating shows impressive antimicrobial activity against both bacteria and fungi. The biocompatible and reusable coating, formed of a polycationic nanoporous hydrogel, is thought to act by drawing anionic sections of phospholipids on bacterial cell membranes into its pores, causing membrane disruption and cell death.

    • Peng Li
    • , Yin Fun Poon
    •  & Mary B. Chan-Park

  • Article |

    Sodium layered oxides are low-dimensional and strongly correlated systems that have been extensively studied because of their intriguing structural and physical properties. Electrochemical sodium intercalation is now used to investigate their different phase domains and thermal stability.

    • R. Berthelot
    • , D. Carlier
    •  & C. Delmas

  • Letter |

    The chemical versatility of organic semiconductors promises to be of great use to electronics and spintronics. As an example, it is now demonstrated that the spin polarization of extracted carriers from an organic semiconductor device can be controlled by the insertion of a thin layer of polar material. This approach opens up ideas for future spintronic device concepts.

    • L. Schulz
    • , L. Nuccio
    •  & A. J. Drew

  • Letter |

    Blood platelets aggregate to form clots that prevent haemorrhage. Knowledge of single-platelet mechanics is scarce, however. Atomic force microscopy experiments now show that platelets contract rapidly on contact with fibrinogen, and adhere strongly to multiple fibrin polymers, enhancing the elasticity of clots. These findings are relevant to disorders of platelet function, such as thrombosis.

    • Wilbur A. Lam
    • , Ovijit Chaudhuri
    •  & Daniel A. Fletcher

  • Letter |

    The only way diamond can be polished is by pressing it against small diamond crystals, but this works well only for certain crystallographic orientations. The details of this wear mechanism have now been uncovered in simulations that suggest wear occurs via a thin amorphous layer on the diamond surface.

    • Lars Pastewka
    • , Stefan Moser
    •  & Michael Moseler

  • Editorial |

    Diluted magnetic semiconductors and oxides are interesting for fundamental science and applications even without room-temperature ferromagnetism.

  • Interview |

    Nitin Samarth has extensive experience in studying the properties of (Ga,Mn)As. He told Nature Materials about the role that this compound has had in exploring the magnetic properties of semiconductors and, more generally, of spin-related phenomena.

    • Fabio Pulizzi

  • News & Views |

    The latest advances in our understanding of correlated electron systems have implications that range from fundamental physics such as string theory to novel applications including the manipulation and retrieval of electron spin.

    • Leon Balents
    •  & Zhi-Xun Shen

  • News & Views |

    The mechanisms of biomineralization remain hotly debated. Now high-resolution microscopy yields unsurpassed insight into mechanisms relevant both to the biomineralization of bone and teeth and to pathological mineralization.

    • Helmut Cölfen

  • News & Views |

    Comb-shaped nanostrips pave the way for a fourfold velocity increase in the propagation of magnetic domain walls.

    • Geoffrey Beach

  • Commentary |

    Despite low transition temperatures, ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors has been essential in exploring new ideas and concepts in spintronics, some of which have been successfully transferred to metallic ferromagnets.

    • Hideo Ohno

  • Interview |

    Scott Chambers has worked on epitaxial oxide films for the past eighteen years. Nature Materials asked him about his view on high-temperature ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic oxides.

    • Fabio Pulizzi

  • News & Views |

    The first realization of an acoustic diode that passes sound in one direction but not the other signals a new approach to acoustic devices with complex functionality.

    • Baowen Li

  • Review Article |

    In 2000, a seminal study predicted ferromagnetism above room temperature in diluted magnetic semiconductors and oxides, fuelling tremendous research activity that has lasted for a decade. Tomasz Dietl reviews the progress in understanding these materials over the past ten years, with a view to the future of semiconductor spintronics.

    • Tomasz Dietl

  • Letter |

    The atomic configuration of metallic glasses is a long-standing issue important to the understanding of their properties. Nanobeam electron diffraction experiments now enable a direct determination of the local atomic order in a metallic glass.

    • Akihiko Hirata
    • , Pengfei Guan
    •  & Mingwei Chen

  • Letter |

    The surface-directed mineralization of calcium phosphate from simulated body fluid is studied by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Prenucleation clusters aggregate close to the surface, then amorphous calcium phosphate forms in this region, leading to the nucleation of oriented apatite crystals at the surface.

    • Archan Dey
    • , Paul H. H. Bomans
    •  & Nico A. J. M. Sommerdijk

  • Letter |

    Magnons are collective excitations of spins in a material, and just like individual electron spins, they could form the basis for novel computing concepts. Now, determination of the almost loss-less electrical switching of magnons at room temperature takes us a step closer to such ‘magnonic’ devices.

    • P. Rovillain
    • , R. de Sousa
    •  & M. Cazayous

  • Letter |

    Although crumpled sheets have large resistance to compression, little is known about the dynamical evolution of their three-dimensional spatial configurations. The formation of a network of ridges and vertices into which the energy is localized is now observed during dynamic crumpling under isotropic confinement.

    • Hillel Aharoni
    •  & Eran Sharon

  • Article |

    Strain-induced damage typically limits the bending radius of electronic circuits to a few millimetres. The development of very thin organic transistors and electronic circuit designs that show a bending radius down to 100 μm will enable novel applications with unconventional form factors.

    • Tsuyoshi Sekitani
    • , Ute Zschieschang
    •  & Takao Someya

  • Letter |

    Cathode degradation and methods for improving the selectivity of anode catalysts remain crucial challenges for the design of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. A chemically modified Pt electrode with a self-assembled monolayer of calix[4]arene molecules is now shown to selectively block the undesired oxygen reduction reaction.

    • Bostjan Genorio
    • , Dusan Strmcnik
    •  & Nenad M. Marković

  • Letter |

    The detection of acoustic signals is of relevance for a range of practical applications, for example in medical diagnostics. However, in contrast to the rectification of electric current in diodes, acoustic rectification has not yet been achieved. The first experimental demonstration of an acoustic rectifier therefore promises significant impact for practical applications.

    • B. Liang
    • , X. S. Guo
    •  & J. C. Cheng

  • Letter |

    The role of collagen in bone apatite mineralization has so far remained unclear. Now, on combining cryogenic electron microscopy and in vitro systems, it is shown that collagen works alongside inhibitors of hydroxyapatite nucleation to control infiltration of amorphous calcium phosphate into collagen fibrils and convert the amorphous phase into apatite crystals.

    • Fabio Nudelman
    • , Koen Pieterse
    •  & Nico A. J. M. Sommerdijk

  • Letter |

    A spin-polarized current induces a spin torque on the magnetization of a ferromagnetic film, which according to theory leads to spin-wave emissions. These spin waves have now been observed with a mapping technique that shows a highly directional emission. The results are of key importance to understanding the physics of spin waves and their possible use in spintronic devices.

    • Vladislav E. Demidov
    • , Sergei Urazhdin
    •  & Sergej O. Demokritov

  • News & Views |

    Biocompatible light-emitting structures based on high-performance inorganic compound semiconductors on flexible substrates open the path to futuristic therapeutic devices, instrumented surgical gloves and many other applications.

    • Takao Someya

  • News & Views |

    Excitons in a highly ordered organic semiconductor are found to diffuse over distances of a few micrometres. This may pave the way towards designing efficient excitonic solar cells.

    • Carlos Silva

  • Editorial |

    The discovery of C60 — a molecular allotrope of carbon — marked a pivotal moment in the field of nanotechnology. Twenty-five years on, carbon remains the element of choice for simple but functional materials.

  • News & Views |

    Propelled by the recent renaissance of oxides, a material has emerged with sufficient purity and perfection to join those select materials that show the fractional quantum Hall effect: ZnO.

    • Darrell G. Schlom
    •  & Loren N. Pfeiffer

  • News & Views |

    The DNA-mediated assembly of anisotropic gold nanoparticles shows the importance of particle shape in the controlled formation of DNA–nanoparticle superlattices.

    • Sharon C. Glotzer
    •  & Joshua A. Anderson

  • Interview |

    Jim Heath tells Nature Materials about the discovery of C60 and how the findings catalysed our way of thinking about size and shape on the nanoscale.

    • Alison Stoddart

  • Commentary |

    Twenty-five years on from the discovery of C60, the outstanding properties and potential applications of the synthetic carbon allotropes — fullerenes, nanotubes and graphene — overwhelmingly illustrate their unique scientific and technological importance.

    • Andreas Hirsch

  • Commentary |

    A green use of carbon-based resources that minimizes the environmental impact of carbon fuels could allow a smooth transition from fossil fuels to a sustainable energy economy.

    • James M. Tour
    • , Carter Kittrell
    •  & Vicki L. Colvin

  • Letter |

    The formation of a NaTl lattice structure by DNA-mediated assembly of gold nanoparticles and virus-like protein nanoparticles is reported. The inorganic and organic components each form diamond-like frameworks that interpenetrate to give the NaTl lattice. These diamond-like structures are of interest for potential applications as photonic materials.

    • Petr Cigler
    • , Abigail K. R. Lytton-Jean
    •  & Sung Yong Park

  • Letter |

    The fabrication of oxide thin-film heterostructures has improved considerably over the past few years. The first demonstration of the fractional quantum Hall effect in an oxide now attests to the potential of these compounds to rival conventional semiconductors.

    • A. Tsukazaki
    • , S. Akasaka
    •  & M. Kawasaki

  • Letter |

    The improvement of catalysts for the oxygen-reduction reaction is an important challenge for fuel cells and other electrochemical-energy technologies. A composite nanoporous Ni–Pt alloy with a tailored geometric architecture is now shown to exhibit high mass activity for oxygen reduction.

    • J. Snyder
    • , T. Fujita
    •  & J. Erlebacher

  • Article |

    Flexible electronic devices that can be stretched without losing performance have seen increasing functionality. In particular, the demonstration of light-emitting diodes and photodetectors on flexible electronic substrates now opens the door to applications of flexible optoelectronic sheets in biomedicine and robotics.

    • Rak-Hwan Kim
    • , Dae-Hyeong Kim
    •  & John A. Rogers

  • Article |

    Hydrophobic surfaces composed of an asymmetric array of polymer nanorods show unidirectional wetting behaviour relative to the orientation of the tilted nanorods. The surfaces, which are smooth on the microscale, can transport water droplets of microlitre capacity by a ratcheting mechanism resulting from the pillared substrate.

    • Niranjan A. Malvadkar
    • , Matthew J. Hancock
    •  & Melik C. Demirel

  • Letter |

    Bilayer membranes encase several biological entities, for example cells and organelles. Their rupture under mechanical stress usually occurs by a pore-formation mechanism. Now, lipid-bilayer membranes spreading on a solid surface are shown to rupture in a series of rapid avalanches causing fractal membrane fragmentation.

    • Irep Gözen
    • , Paul Dommersnes
    •  & Owe Orwar

  • Article |

    Excitons in polycrystalline films of organic semiconductors typically migrate distances of the order of tens of nanometres. Photoconductivity measurements in highly ordered rubrene now show that exciton diffusion can reach the micrometre range, opening a route to designing excitonic circuitry for applications in photocatalysis, photochemical sensing or photovoltaic energy conversion.

    • H. Najafov
    • , B. Lee
    •  & V. Podzorov

  • Letter |

    The oral delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to diseased intestinal tissue is challenging because of the harsh environment created by gastrointestinal fluids and mucosa. Now, such delivery of siRNA to sites of intestinal inflammation is achieved using polythioketal nanoparticles and gene expression is successfully inhibited in the inflamed tissue.

    • D. Scott Wilson
    • , Guillaume Dalmasso
    •  & Niren Murthy

  • Letter |

    DNA-functionalized, anisotropic nanostructures, such as triangular nanoprisms and nanorods, are shown to assemble by means of DNA hybridization into colloidal crystal structures. The crystallization parameters of these nanostructures, and hence the dimensionality and symmetry of the resultant superlattice, are strongly influenced by particle shape.

    • Matthew R. Jones
    • , Robert J. Macfarlane
    •  & Chad A. Mirkin

  • Letter |

    Domain walls in magnetic nanostructures could be used in information storage devices. The speed at which these domain walls can move when a magnetic field is applied has always been found to have a maximum. It is now shown that this can be increased by proper design of the magnetic structures, opening the way to faster and more reliable devices.

    • E. R. Lewis
    • , D. Petit
    •  & R. P. Cowburn

  • News & Views |

    Experiments on magnetic insulators and semiconductors imply that the spin Seebeck effect is conceptually different from the standard thermoelectric effect, launching new challenges for both theorists and experimentalists in spintronics.

    • Jairo Sinova

  • Letter |

    By using the spin Seebeck effect, the generation of an electric voltage from a heat gradient is demonstrated for the first time in an insulator. This finding extends the range of potential materials for thermoelectric applications, and provides a crucial piece of information for understanding the physics of the spin Seebeck effect.

    • K. Uchida
    • , J. Xiao
    •  & E. Saitoh

  • Letter |

    The generation of an electric voltage from a heat gradient is demonstrated for the first time in the ferromagnetic semiconductor GaMnAs. This allows flexible design of the magnetization directions, a large spin polarization, and measurements across the magnetic phase transition. The effect is observed even in the absence of longitudinal charge transport.

    • C. M. Jaworski
    • , J. Yang
    •  & R. C. Myers

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