Physical sciences articles within Nature Materials

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  • Article |

    Synthetic solid-state nanopores are of interest at present for their use as single-molecule sensors for characterization and detection of biomolecules. By using self-assembly evaporation and atomic-layer deposition, kinked silica nanopores are shown to exhibit reduction in DNA-translocation velocity and selectivity.

    • Zhu Chen
    • , Yingbing Jiang
    •  & C. Jeffrey Brinker

  • Article |

    The detailed mechanism of the pH-dependent quenching of semiconductor quantum-dot/dopamine conjugates, confirming quinone as the electron acceptor in the process, is now reported. This electrochemical knowledge of the bioconjugate system is used for the in vitro detection of drug-induced intracellular pH changes.

    • Igor L. Medintz
    • , Michael H. Stewart
    •  & Hedi Mattoussi

  • Letter |

    The amorphous nature of metallic glasses makes them interesting for structural applications. However, the interplay between the nature of atomic structures and mechanical properties remains poorly understood. Dynamic micropillar tests now show the important contribution of the inelastic deformation of atomistic free-volume zones to the deformation behaviour of metallic glasses.

    • J. C. Ye
    • , J. Lu
    •  & Y. Yang

  • Article |

    Nanoscale porous materials show unique properties that can be important for catalytic, separation and gas-storage applications. A strategy to yield crystalline porous compounds decorated with reactive nitrenes that can chemically trap and convert guest molecules by light stimulation is now reported.

    • Hiroshi Sato
    • , Ryotaro Matsuda
    •  & Susumu Kitagawa

  • Article |

    The conversion of solar energy into electricity usually occurs either electrically or through thermal conversion. A new mechanism, photon-enhanced thermionic emission, which combines electric as well as thermal conversion mechanisms, is now shown to lead to enhanced conversion efficiencies that potentially could even exceed the theoretical limits of conventional photovoltaic cells.

    • Jared W. Schwede
    • , Igor Bargatin
    •  & Nicholas A. Melosh

  • Letter |

    In magnetoelectric compounds, magnetism and ferroelectricity are coupled. The observation of light-induced size changes in the room-temperature magnetoelectric BiFeO3 now adds optical functionality to magnetoelectric devices that may lead to new applications arising from the coupling of light, electric and magnetic fields.

    • B. Kundys
    • , M. Viret
    •  & D. O. Kundys

  • Article |

    The control of magnetization by electric fields is important for applications in data storage and sensing. An efficient control of exchange bias by electric fields has now been achieved in thin-film devices in which a ferroelectric antiferromagnet is coupled to a ferromagnet.

    • S. M. Wu
    • , Shane A. Cybart
    •  & R. C. Dynes

  • Letter |

    Although density functional theory is widely used in surface science, it has a tendency to predict surfaces to be more stable than they actually are experimentally. Using a many-electron approach such as the random-phase approximation enables accurate surface and adsorption energies for carbon monoxide and benzene on metal surfaces to be determined.

    • L. Schimka
    • , J. Harl
    •  & G. Kresse

  • Letter |

    Friction between two surfaces is usually studied at low relative sliding speeds. A molecular dynamics study now explores friction at high speeds, showing the emergence of a ballistic friction regime, qualitatively different from standard drift friction. The findings might have important implications for applications in nanoelectromechanical systems.

    • Roberto Guerra
    • , Ugo Tartaglino
    •  & Erio Tosatti

  • Letter |

    An important component of spintronics devices is the magnetic electrode, which is usually made from an inorganic alloy. However, an organic-based spin polarizer is now demonstrated, opening new possibilities for developing organic/inorganic hybrid spintronics devices.

    • Jung-Woo Yoo
    • , Chia-Yi Chen
    •  & A. J. Epstein

  • Letter |

    Regardless of what the origin of superconductivity is in the recently discovered iron-based superconductor, it would be useful to know how good these materials are for applications. Sophisticated experiments now show that SmFeAs0.75F0.25 exhibits a high and nearly isotropic critical current, a potentially important result for their use in applications.

    • Philip J. W. Moll
    • , Roman Puzniak
    •  & Bertram Batlogg

  • Article |

    In the standard model of particle physics the permanent electric dipole moment of particles is zero, although competing theories suggest it must exist to explain the asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the Universe. The design and synthesis of a new multiferroic material may now enable us to search for the electric dipole moment of electrons with unprecedented precision.

    • K. Z. Rushchanskii
    • , S. Kamba
    •  & N. A. Spaldin

  • Letter |

    The simplest iron-based superconductor is the chalcogenide Fe1+yTe1−xSex. Previous work suggested a different magnetic origin of superconductivity owing to differences in its electronic states of this material and the iron pnictides, or at least in their parent compounds —the undoped and non-superconducting versions. The differences are now reconciled by showing a modification of the Fe1+yTe1−xSex states when the Se content is increased.

    • T. J. Liu
    • , J. Hu
    •  & C. Broholm

  • Letter |

    Materials with perpendicular anisotropy receive considerable attention owing to their potential in being employed in efficient memory devices. It is now shown that a type of magnetic tunnel junction widely studied for in-plane magnetic anisotropy has all the properties necessary to realize stable and efficient devices based on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

    • S. Ikeda
    • , K. Miura
    •  & H. Ohno

  • Letter |

    Fibres are typically used as passive devices, whether in fibre-optical cables used in telecommunciations or as yarns for clothing. The demonstration of polymer-based piezoelectric fibres that can be drawn to tens of metres in length, and whose acoustic response can be actively controlled, suggests possible applications in, for example, medical imaging or acoustic sensing.

    • S. Egusa
    • , Z. Wang
    •  & Y. Fink

  • Letter |

    What happens to a crystal placed under a huge pressure? In the case of aluminium, it is now shown that the standard, low-pressure close-packed structure transforms into an open one, with incommensurate host–guest arrangement. The findings could have important implications for a wider range of elements.

    • Chris J. Pickard
    •  & R. J. Needs

  • Article |

    The manipulation of spin states is a key requirement in spintronics. In semiconductor microcavities, a multistate switching of the spin state of polaritons, which form as a result of the coupling of photons and excitons in the microcavity, may lead to new spintronics devices.

    • T. K. Paraïso
    • , M. Wouters
    •  & B. Deveaud-Plédran

  • News & Views |

    A new route to layer-by-layer assembly of metal–organic framework thin films affords highly ordered and controllable surfaces with potential in chemical sensing and catalyst applications.

    • Mark A. Green

  • News & Views |

    Heating and cooling of peptide amphiphile suspensions converts disorganized nanofibres into liquid-crystalline nanofibre bundles that gel on addition of salts. The noodle-shaped strings of gel can entrap and align cells.

    • Timothy J. Deming

  • News & Views |

    A cationic nanosized hydrogel (nanogel) shows controlled antigen delivery in vivo following intranasal administration and hence holds promise for a clinically effective adjuvant-free and needle-free vaccine system.

    • Herman F. Staats
    •  & Kam W. Leong

  • Editorial |

    The large investments in research and education made in recent years have provided Brazilian scientists with the conditions to achieve scientific excellence.

  • Interview |

    Sergio Machado Rezende has served for 5 years as the Minister for Science and Technology of Brazil. Nature Materials has asked him about the past and future of science in his country.

    • Fabio Pulizzi

  • Commentary |

    The historical trajectory of materials science in Brazil shows the fast establishment of a high-quality, sizeable and productive scientific community. It is now time for a change in attitude towards real innovation and excellence.

    • Ado Jorio
    • , Francisco César de Sá Barreto
    •  & Hélio Chacham

  • Article |

    The control of magnetic properties by electric fields is key to realizing spintronics devices. The surface of the antiferromagnetic magnetoelectric Cr2O3 is now shown to exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism, whose direction can be switched by an electric field. This magnetization switches the exchange-bias field with magnetic multilayers grown on Cr2O3, promising a new route towards room-temperature spintronics devices.

    • Xi He
    • , Yi Wang
    •  & Christian Binek

  • Letter |

    Mucosal diseases are becoming more prevalent and needle-free vaccines could be instrumental in combating this. A nanometre-sized hydrogel consisting of a cationic type of cholesteryl group bearing pullulan has now been used as an intranasal vaccine-delivery system.

    • Tomonori Nochi
    • , Yoshikazu Yuki
    •  & Hiroshi Kiyono

  • Article |

    Peptide-based molecules that self-assemble into lamellar plaques with fibrous texture on heating, subsequently break on cooling to form long-range aligned bundles of nanofibres. This thermal route to monodomain gels is compatible for living cells and allows the formation of noodle-like viscoelastic strings of any length.

    • Shuming Zhang
    • , Megan A. Greenfield
    •  & Samuel I. Stupp

  • Letter |

    The search for active semiconductor photocatalysts that split water directly under visible-light irradiation remains challenging for solar applications. An orthophosphate semiconductor, Ag3PO4, which is capable of harnessing visible light to oxidize water as well as decompose organic contaminants in aqueous solution is now reported.

    • Zhiguo Yi
    • , Jinhua Ye
    •  & Ray L. Withers

  • News & Views |

    Organic light-emitting field-effect transistors surpass the external quantum efficiency of analogous organic light-emitting diodes.

    • Christian Melzer
    •  & Heinz von Seggern

  • News & Views |

    Nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond are very promising candidates for quantum information processing in the solid state. However, a search to find defects with even more potential has now been launched.

    • David DiVincenzo

  • News & Views |

    Radionuclides encapsulated within carbohydrate-functionalized carbon nanotubes set new records for in vivo radiodosage, while demonstrating zero leakage of isotopes to high-affinity organs, such as the thyroid.

    • Michael S. Strano

  • Editorial |

    If Europe wants to be at the forefront of scientific research it is essential for governments to find the means to improve collaboration and the distribution of innovation across Europe.

  • Interview |

    Alain Fuchs is the director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris and in January was appointed the new president of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS. Nature Materials asked him about his research and his new role.

    • Hilary Crichton

  • Letter |

    Topological insulators have been predicted and recently demonstrated experimentally in a series of binary alloys. It is now show theoretically that ternary half-Heusler alloys have electronic properties similar to those of the experimentally verified topological insulators, and represent a platform for observing quantum topological phenomena.

    • Hsin Lin
    • , L. Andrew Wray
    •  & M. Zahid Hasan

  • News & Views |

    Ternary intermetallic Heusler compounds, originally discovered by a German mining engineer and chemist in 1903, may show exotic topological insulator behaviour unknown to science just five years ago.

    • Marcel Franz

  • Letter |

    For metal–organic frameworks to be used for applications such as gas storage it is necessary to direct their assembly. Here, thin crystalline films of metal–organic frameworks are fabricated on a solid surface with structural growth control over both in-plane and out-of-plane orientations relative to the substrate.

    • Rie Makiura
    • , Soichiro Motoyama
    •  & Hiroshi Kitagawa

  • Letter |

    Topological insulators have been predicted and recently demonstrated experimentally in a series of binary alloys. It is now show theoretically that about 50 Heusler compounds show features similar to those of the confirmed topological insulator HgTe, which considerably expands the possibility of realizing quantum topological phenomena.

    • Stanislav Chadov
    • , Xiaoliang Qi
    •  & Shou Cheng Zhang

  • Letter |

    When a superconductor is shrunk to the nanoscale, quantum size effects are predicted to strongly influence superconductivity. This is now demonstrated in Sn nanoparticles in which a reduction in size leads to a substantial enhancement of the superconducting gap.

    • Sangita Bose
    • , Antonio M. García-García
    •  & Klaus Kern

  • Letter |

    Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) show good compressive mechanical properties that make them attractive for applications. However, BMGs tend to fail under tensile strain. Through secondary phases these problems can be remedied to some degree. A mechanism is now demonstrated where BMGs show enhanced tensile ductility though the deformation-induced precipitation of nanocrystals.

    • S. Pauly
    • , S. Gorantla
    •  & J. Eckert

  • Letter |

    A biomedical application of a nanoconjugate is now shown in vivo. Sealed carbon nanotubes filled with a radionuclide are functionalized with carbohydrate molecules without prompting cargo release. The stability and biocompatibility of the capsule together with the radioactive payload enables in vivo imaging of the system and delivery of a high-density radiodose.

    • Sung You Hong
    • , Gerard Tobias
    •  & Benjamin G. Davis

  • Article |

    The formation of lithium dendrites on the metal electrode surface of lithium batteries can lead to short circuits, making them potentially unsafe and unusable. The use of in situ NMR spectroscopy provides time-resolved and quantitative information about the nature of metallic lithium deposited on lithium-metal electrodes.

    • Rangeet Bhattacharyya
    • , Baris Key
    •  & Clare P. Grey

  • Letter |

    The ability to propagate heat in a film should improve with increasing thickness. However, graphene has a higher thermal conductivity than graphite, despite having a smaller thickness. The crossover from two-dimensional to bulk graphite is now studied experimentally and explained theoretically. The results may pave the way to thermal management applications in nanoelectronics.

    • Suchismita Ghosh
    • , Wenzhong Bao
    •  & Alexander A. Balandin

  • Article |

    Tailoring the thermal conductivity of nanostructured materials is a fundamental challenge for nano- and microelectronics heat management. It is now demonstrated how to modify the thermal conductivity of SiGe by engineering nanodot inclusions in regions as short as 15 nm. A similar approach could used on other materials, extending the range of thermal conductivities available.

    • G. Pernot
    • , M. Stoffel
    •  & N. Mingo

  • Article |

    An organic light-emitting transistor has now been fabricated with a trilayer heterostructure. This architecture is shown to prevent both photon loss at the electrodes and exciton-charge quenching, thereby dramatically improving device efficiency and establishing these types of transistor as a promising alternative to organic light-emitting diodes.

    • Raffaella Capelli
    • , Stefano Toffanin
    •  & Michele Muccini

  • News & Views |

    The use of a ferroelectric tunnel junction to control the spin polarization of adjacent magnetic electrodes promises a new approach to the use of interface effects for low-power-consumption spintronic devices.

    • R. Ramesh

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