Solid-state chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Renewable hydrogen technologies are promising for alternative energy, but are encumbered by the kinetics of electrochemical reactions in harsh conditions. Here, authors report nitrogen-modified hafnium oxyhydroxide for electrocatalysis of hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions in acidic media.

    • Xiaofang Yang
    • , Fang Zhao
    •  & Bruce E. Koel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While solid oxide electrolysis presents an approach to remove CO2 from high-temperature emission streams, it is challenging to engineer stable yet active interfaces. Here, authors show in situ exsolution of nanoscale metal-metal oxide interfaces that improve cathode activities and durabilities.

    • Wenyuan Wang
    • , Lizhen Gan
    •  & Kui Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While water-splitting electrocatalysts enable energy storage in carbon-neutral fuels, a recent challenge has been the discovery and understanding of catalyst active sites. Here, authors find domain boundaries in MoS2 materials to present high-activity, stable, and scalable sites for H2 evolution.

    • Jianqi Zhu
    • , Zhi-Chang Wang
    •  & Guangyu Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conversion of methane into ethylene is important for chemical feedstocks, but is challenged by catalysts with low selectivity and performance degradation. Here the authors report electrochemical oxidation of methane in a solid oxide electrolyzer, achieving ethylene production with high selectivity and yield.

    • Changli Zhu
    • , Shisheng Hou
    •  & Kui Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bandgap of mixed-halide perovskites can be continuously tuned by changing the halide ratio, but the crystals have poor photo-stability. Here the authors show that photoinduced phase separation is suppressed when perovskite nanocrystals are embedded in a non-perovskite endotaxial matrix.

    • Xi Wang
    • , Yichuan Ling
    •  & Hanwei Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron oxides prevail in the deep Earth, at extreme pressures and temperatures, with different stoichiometries than in ambient conditions. Here, high-pressure synchrotron X-ray spectroscopic measurements reveal the oxidation states of Fe and O in iron superoxide, shedding light on the puzzling chemistry of iron and oxygen in the deep Earth

    • Jin Liu
    • , Qingyang Hu
    •  & Wendy L. Mao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gas-sensing materials are of increasing societal importance, but the ability to differentiate between similarly sized gases remains highly challenging. Here the authors report on a porous ferrimagnet that distinguishes diamagnetic N2 and CO2 gases from paramagnetic O2 gas.

    • Wataru Kosaka
    • , Zhaoyuan Liu
    •  & Hitoshi Miyasaka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal–organic framework glasses have emerged as a new family of melt-quenched glass, but have yet to display the accessible porosity of their crystalline counterparts. Here, Bennett and colleagues report that glasses derived from ZIF-76 parent materials possess 4 – 8 Å pores and exhibit reversible gas adsorption.

    • Chao Zhou
    • , Louis Longley
    •  & Thomas D. Bennett

  • Article
    | Open Access

    As silica melts are believed to be important components of the Earth’s mantle, their structure should determine many of its properties. Here, the authors identify two crystalline modifications of SiO2, whose local structures closely resemble those of known melts, providing a structural model for their atomic ordering at the nanoscale.

    • E. Bykova
    • , M. Bykov
    •  & L. Dubrovinsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multi-scale chemical imaging holds the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the relationships between structure and functionality in complex catalytic materials. Here the authors report the results from the first 5D tomographic diffraction imaging experiment of a complex Ni – Pd/ CeO2 – ZrO2/ Al2O3 catalyst used for methane reforming.

    • A. Vamvakeros
    • , S. D. M. Jacques
    •  & A. M. Beale

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fast oxide ion conductors are the key materials for some technological devices. Here the authors report the creation and stabilization of oxygen vacancies in BiVO4 Scheelite with isolated tetrahedral anion structures for improved ionic conducting performance and understanding of the conduction mechanism.

    • Xiaoyan Yang
    • , Alberto J. Fernández-Carrión
    •  & Xiaojun Kuang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tuning metal-support interaction can strongly influence the performance of a catalyst, and is thus essential for catalyst design. Here, the authors investigate reduction-oxidation-reduction treatments as a method to affect metal-support interactions of cobalt-based catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

    • Carlos Hernández Mejía
    • , Tom W. van Deelen
    •  & Krijn P. de Jong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identifying phosphors with good thermal stability and quantum efficiency is a prerequisite to improve the performance of white LED light sources. Here, a combined machine learning and density functional theory method is introduced to identify next generation inorganic phosphors.

    • Ya Zhuo
    • , Aria Mansouri Tehrani
    •  & Jakoah Brgoch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Zeolitic transition metal oxides provide both porosity and redox activity, thereby further expanding the diversity of porous materials, but their design and development remain rare. Here, the authors report a new class of zeolitic vanadotungstates with tunable frameworks exhibiting a large porosity and redox activity.

    • Zhenxin Zhang
    • , Qianqian Zhu
    •  & Wataru Ueda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Water electrolysis provides a potential means to large-scale renewable fuel generation, although sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics challenges progress. Here, authors report on Ruddlesden–Popper oxides as active oxygen evolution electrocatalysts that provide impetus for overcoming kinetic barriers.

    • Robin P. Forslund
    • , William G. Hardin
    •  & Keith J. Stevenson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While splitting water could provide a renewable way to produce fuel, highly active catalysts are needed to overcome water oxidation’s sluggish kinetics. Here, authors gain atomic-level insight on metal ion synergetic interactions that boost water oxidation performances in co-doped nickel hydroxide.

    • Jian Jiang
    • , Fanfei Sun
    •  & Mei Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Owing to the energetic nature of N–N bonds, poly-nitrogen compounds are considered promising high energy density materials. Here, the authors synthesize three iron–nitrogen compounds at high pressure, including FeN4, which features polymeric nitrogen chains of [N42−]n units.

    • M. Bykov
    • , E. Bykova
    •  & L. Dubrovinsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Splitting water into its component elements, oxygen and hydrogen gas, provides a carbon-neutral fuel source, although the availability of cheap, earth-abundant catalysts is lacking. Here, the authors demonstrate antiperovskite-derived materials as high-performance water oxidation electrocatalysts.

    • Yanping Zhu
    • , Gao Chen
    •  & Zongping Shao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The crystal engineering of metal–organic frameworks has led to the construction of complex structures, but has yet to reach the same level of sophistication as organic synthesis. Here, Zhou and colleagues use retrosynthetic chemistry to design and produce complex multi-component frameworks.

    • Shuai Yuan
    • , Jun-Sheng Qin
    •  & Hong-Cai Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The crystal structure of a solid-solution alloy is generally determined by its elemental composition, limiting synthetic control over the alloy’s properties. Here, the authors are able to selectively control the crystal structure of Au–Ru alloy nanoparticles by rationally tuning the reduction speed of the metal precursors.

    • Quan Zhang
    • , Kohei Kusada
    •  & Hiroshi Kitagawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    White phosphorus and yellow arsenic represent useful elemental sources for synthetic applications, but their poor stabilities make their storage highly challenging. Here, Scheer and colleagues encapsulate P4 and As4 molecules within porous activated carbons and demonstrate their use in subsequent chemical reactions.

    • Andreas E. Seitz
    • , Felix Hippauf
    •  & Manfred Scheer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Porous single crystals are desirable for optoelectronic applications, but their fabrication remains challenging. Here the authors produce centimetre-sized macroporous GaN single crystals with electron mobility comparable to that of bulk crystals via in situ inward epitaxial growth on parent LiGaO2 crystals.

    • Chenlong Chen
    • , Shujing Sun
    •  & Kui Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lithium ion battery electrodes employing anion redox exhibit high energy densities but suffer from poor cyclability. Here the authors reveal that the voltage of anion redox is strongly affected by structural changes that occur during battery cycling, explaining its unique electrochemical properties.

    • William E. Gent
    • , Kipil Lim
    •  & William C. Chueh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Double corundum-related polar magnets are promising for multiferroic and magnetoelectric applications in spintronics, but are limited by the challenging design and synthesis. Here the authors report the synthesis of Mn2MnWO6 as well as its appealing multiferroic and magnetoelectric properties.

    • Man-Rong Li
    • , Emma E. McCabe
    •  & Martha Greenblatt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Space-charges in polycrystalline materials can drive segregation of dopants, however an in-depth understanding of this process is still missing. Here, the authors show that in polycrystalline perovskites the space-charge segregation and interfacial structure are nearly identical irrespective of the interface type.

    • Hye-In Yoon
    • , Dong-Kyu Lee
    •  & Sung-Yoon Chung

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cationic metal-organic frameworks provide promising opportunities to capture anionic pollutants, but stable frameworks with sufficiently large pores are lacking. Here the authors present a thorium-based mesoporous, cationic and hydrolytically-stable MOF that can rapidly trap inorganic and organic anionic pollutants.

    • Yuxiang Li
    • , Zaixing Yang
    •  & Shuao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Incorporating hydride anions into transition metal oxides can dramatically affect their structural and electronic properties. Here the authors reveal a pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition in SrVO2H and show that the compressibility of hydride anions without π-symmetry valence orbitals causes them to act as π-blockers.

    • Takafumi Yamamoto
    • , Dihao Zeng
    •  & Michael A. Hayward

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Experimental studies of frustrated spin systems such as pyrochlore magnetic oxides test our understanding of quantum many-body physics. Here the authors show experimentally that Tb2Hf2O7 may be a model material for investigating how structural disorder can stabilize a quantum spin liquid phase.

    • Romain Sibille
    • , Elsa Lhotel
    •  & Michel Kenzelmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Capturing radioactive organic iodides from nuclear waste is important for safe nuclear energy usage, but remains a significant challenge. Here, Li and co-workers fabricate a stable metal–organic framework functionalized with tertiary amine groups that exhibits high capacities for radioactive organic iodides uptake.

    • Baiyan Li
    • , Xinglong Dong
    •  & Jing Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Zirconium phosphonate based metal-organic frameworks often exhibit superior chemical stabilities, but typically exist as poorly crystalline or amorphous materials. Here the authors exploit an ionothermal method to obtain highly porous and remarkably stable single crystalline zirconium phosphonate frameworks that can efficiently remove uranyl ions from aqueous solutions.

    • Tao Zheng
    • , Zaixing Yang
    •  & Shuao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Expanding pore sizes and volumes in metal-organic frameworks is challenging, but crucial for the encapsulation of larger guest molecules. Here, Zhou and colleagues report a linker labilization strategy to construct MOFs containing hierarchical pore architectures with dimensions ranging from 1.5 to 18 nm.

    • Shuai Yuan
    • , Lanfang Zou
    •  & Hong-Cai Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Carbon dioxide electrolysers are promising for chemical storage of renewable electricity; however, achieving effective adsorption/activation of CO2 is still an issue. Here the authors make a perovskite titanate cathode where non-stoichiometry and chemical doping are used to tune the surface structures, facilitating CO2reduction.

    • Lingting Ye
    • , Minyi Zhang
    •  & Kui Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Trivalent lanthanides possess similar chemical properties, making their separation from one another challenging. Here, Wang and colleagues demonstrate that their subtle chemical differences can be greatly amplified during borate crystallization, leading to a low cost and highly efficient separation strategy.

    • Xuemiao Yin
    • , Yaxing Wang
    •  & Shuao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The widespread emission of sulfur oxide gases from fossil fuel combustion presents major health risks. Here, the authors show that the selective sulfur dioxide capture performance of a metal organic framework is improved by the introduction of missing linker defects and extra-framework barium cations.

    • L. Marleny Rodríguez-Albelo
    • , Elena López-Maya
    •  & Jorge A.R. Navarro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gaining molecular-level insight into host–guest binding interactions is fundamentally important, but experimentally challenging. Here, Schröder and co-workers study CO2–host hydrogen bonding interactions in a pair of isostructural redox-active VIII/VIVMOFs using neutron scattering and diffraction techniques.

    • Zhenzhong Lu
    • , Harry G. W. Godfrey
    •  & Martin Schröder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The positive thermal expansion exhibited by most materials at increased temperatures is a severe issue for many high precision applications. Here, Xing and co-workers show that redox intercalation of Li ions into a ScF3framework offers effective control of the thermal expansion for this simple material.

    • Jun Chen
    • , Qilong Gao
    •  & Xianran Xing

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Simple polyhedra in crystalline compounds are often deformed, so methods for analysing their distortions are useful. Here, the authors demonstrate that analysis of the minimum bounding ellipsoid of a coordination polyhedron provides a general method for studying distortion.

    • James Cumby
    •  & J. Paul Attfield

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