Techniques and instrumentation articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    As electronic devices move towards higher frequencies, new quantum mechanical effects become accessible. Gaury and Waintal simulate ultra-fast voltage pulses in the quantum regime and study their ability to dynamically control the relative phases of the paths in an electronic interferometer.

    • Benoit Gaury
    •  & Xavier Waintal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Refining microstructure is an important goal in many material systems. Here, the authors report an approach for microstructure refinement based on nanoparticle self-assembling on a growing phase, which is shown to be effective for both metallic and organic systems.

    • Lian-Yi Chen
    • , Jia-Quan Xu
    •  & Xiao-Chun Li

  • Article |

    Colloidal quantum dots are promising materials for efficient low-cost solar cells and optoelectronics, but their performance does not improve with increased carrier mobility. Here, the authors show instead that the spacing between recombination centres controls the diffusion length.

    • David Zhitomirsky
    • , Oleksandr Voznyy
    •  & Edward H. Sargent

  • Article |

    Novel materials synthesized under extreme conditions can challenge long-held views of fundamental chemistry. Santoro et al. combine fluid CO2 and solid SiO2to create a new crystalline compound, via experimentation at ultra-high pressures and temperatures, which is stable at ambient conditions.

    • Mario Santoro
    • , Federico A. Gorelli
    •  & Julien Haines

  • Article |

    Magnetic vortices could be utilized in high-frequency applications but greater understanding of the coupling dynamics is required. Here, the authors use in situLorentz microscopy to directly image the dynamics of strongly coupled vortices under resonant excitations.

    • J. F. Pulecio
    • , P. Warnicke
    •  & Y. Zhu

  • Article |

    Ionic liquids are widely used in diverse applications as solvents with high thermal and chemical stability. Gunawan et al.develop a protocol for fabrication of an ionic liquid microdroplet array using a soft lithography technique, and demonstrate its utility as a membrane-free high-performance gas sensor.

    • Christian A. Gunawan
    • , Mengchen Ge
    •  & Chuan Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The synthesis of molecular nanostructures often requires the variation of several parameters, such as stoichiometry, pH, counter-ion etc. Here, the authors report a flow reaction array with algorithmic control which is used as a ‘search engine’ to isolate six nanoscale clusters from a massive parameter space.

    • Hong-Ying Zang
    • , Andreu Ruiz de la Oliva
    •  & Leroy Cronin

  • Article |

    Controlling colloidal assemblies without the need of a template or electrode is still a challenging goal. Here Kim et al.use photo-induced ion flow in an indium tin oxide-coated substrate to control this process, allowing reversible assembly of colloidal crystals in a three-dimensional manner.

    • Youngri Kim
    • , Aayush A. Shah
    •  & Michael J. Solomon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sequence-programmable self-assembly of DNA enables the formation of a variety of complex structures; however, determining the quality of these multi-chain structures is challenging. Here the authors address this problem by using a fluorescent probe to measure the amount of unpaired bases in the DNA assemblies.

    • Klaus F. Wagenbauer
    • , Christian H. Wachauf
    •  & Hendrik Dietz

  • Article |

    Excitons are bound electron-hole pairs that mediate light absorption and emission in organic devices. Here, the authors use spatial, spectral and time-resolved imaging to visualize exciton transport in tetracene crystals and thin films, showing the role of disorder on the diffusion of excitons.

    • Gleb M. Akselrod
    • , Parag B. Deotare
    •  & Vladimir Bulović

  • Article |

    Mechanical cleavage of a single atomic layer from a bulk sample is a simple way to achieve a two-dimensional material. Here, the authors demonstrate an in situstudy in which they can peel off a certain number of atomic layers of molybdenum disulphide, and reveal the layer-dependent mechanics.

    • Dai-Ming Tang
    • , Dmitry G. Kvashnin
    •  & Dmitri Golberg

  • Article |

    Impurities and defects embedded in diamond are a promising platform for spintronics and photonics. Here, Magyar and colleagues incorporate europium defects in diamond, whose optical properties promise their use in quantum information applications.

    • Andrew Magyar
    • , Wenhao Hu
    •  & Igor Aharonovich

  • Article |

    Determining graphene domain size and distribution is important for realizing functional electronic devices. Here, the authors use liquid crystals to study graphene surfaces, via the liquid crystal molecules aligning with the domains, and use nematic to smectic transitions to study defects.

    • Jong-Ho Son
    • , Seung-Jae Baeck
    •  & Jong-Hyun Ahn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling thermal transport is commonly achieved by introducing scattering centres. Here, the authors demonstrate that coherent band structure effects can also be used to control phonon transport, viathe use of periodically nanostructured phononic crystals.

    • Nobuyuki Zen
    • , Tuomas A. Puurtinen
    •  & Ilari J. Maasilta

  • Article |

    Controlling the colour and pattern of emission in nanoscale objects is still a challenging goal. Here the authors report segmented micelles where the emission from each individual section can be precisely controlled, giving nanomaterials capable of producing colours throughout the visible range.

    • Zachary M. Hudson
    • , David J. Lunn
    •  & Ian Manners

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Minimizing vibrational energy loss between mechanical resonators and their supports in nanomechanical systems is highly desirable. Here, the authors use the tip of an atomic force microscope to press down on the clamping region of the resonator, so as to study and control energy loss of different vibrational modes.

    • Johannes Rieger
    • , Andreas Isacsson
    •  & Eva M. Weig

  • Article |

    Three-dimensional superstructures of binary nanoparticles offer a flexible design approach towards materials with designable properties. Here, Li et al.study metal nanoparticle–triblock terpolymer superstructures, where an experimental and theoretical understanding can lead to their application in fields such as catalysis.

    • Zihui Li
    • , Kahyun Hur
    •  & Ulrich Wiesner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemical synthesis of chiral materials with enantioselective properties is an ongoing challenge. Here, the authors fabricate a chirally imprinted mesoporous metal from the electrochemical reduction of platinum salts in the presence of a liquid crystal phase and chiral templating molecules.

    • Chularat Wattanakit
    • , Yémima Bon Saint Côme
    •  & Alexander Kuhn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molecular alignment in liquid crystals is conventionally achieved by surface mediation from the substrate side. Fukuhara et al.develop a method to photocontrol the orientation of liquid crystalline polymer films from the air side, which is guided by a photoresponsive skin layer.

    • Kei Fukuhara
    • , Shusaku Nagano
    •  & Takahiro Seki

  • Article |

    Sparse templates can be used to direct the assembly of block copolymers into patterned structures. Here the authors report a small set of template tiles that can be combined in different arrangements and orientations to form a variety of non-trivial patterns.

    • Jae-Byum Chang
    • , Hong Kyoon Choi
    •  & Karl K. Berggren

  • Article |

    Stretchable electrodes provide the foundation for many applications but optimising the architecture to balance performance and flexibility is challenging. Here, the authors show that fractal designs offer new opportunities to tune the mechanical properties of such structures.

    • Jonathan A. Fan
    • , Woon-Hong Yeo
    •  & John A. Rogers

  • Article |

    The design of dynamic covalent bonds is crucial to self-healing polymer materials, but the reaction normally occurs in the presence of heat or/and catalysts. Ying et al.report a catalyst-free design of dynamic urea bonds that are capable of autonomous repairing at low temperature.

    • Hanze Ying
    • , Yanfeng Zhang
    •  & Jianjun Cheng

  • Article |

    Understanding structural transformations of electrodes during cycling is of significance in batteries. Here Ogata et al. develop an approach for probing (de)lithiation processes in nano-silicon by in situNMR spectroscopy, which reveals structural and kinetic insights into the lithium–silicide phase transformations.

    • K. Ogata
    • , E. Salager
    •  & C.P. Grey

  • Article |

    Graphene transistors are attractive for many applications but making integrated circuits without degrading their characteristics is proving challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate a radio frequency integrated receiver using a graphene-last approach compatible with conventional processing methods.

    • Shu-Jen Han
    • , Alberto Valdes Garcia
    •  & Wilfried Haensch

  • Article |

    The assembly of three-dimensional, complex functional materials at micro- or nanoscales for various applications is challenging. Tasoglu et al. develop a magnetic micro-robot system that is capable of programmable coding of soft and rigid building blocks to build heterogeneous materials.

    • S. Tasoglu
    • , E. Diller
    •  & U. Demirci

  • Article |

    Glass is well known to be a brittle material, with fracture occurring soon after crack nucleation. Here, inspired by natural architectures, the authors report the laser patterning of features within an oxide glass, leading to a two order of magnitude improvement in fracture toughness.

    • M. Mirkhalaf
    • , A. Khayer Dastjerdi
    •  & F. Barthelat

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single-atom dopants embedded in a semiconductor matrix are of potential use for optical, spintronics as well as information storage applications. Here, Kobak et al.realize CdTe and CdSe quantum dots with single cobalt and manganese ions and show how the quantum dot design influences single-spin relaxation time.

    • J. Kobak
    • , T. Smoleński
    •  & W. Pacuski

  • Article |

    Mesocrystals are periodic arrangements of nanoparticles that allow for a tuning of the superstructure properties via its constituents. Here Bian et al. combine the properties of different nanocrystalline materials and fabricate a superstructure of two metal oxides with n- and p-type polarity.

    • Zhenfeng Bian
    • , Takashi Tachikawa
    •  & Tetsuro Majima

  • Article |

    It is desirable to have a microscopy technique that is non-invasive and able to provide high spatial resolution mapping of materials. Here Herruzo et al. develop a multifrequency force microscopy that enables simultaneous nanoscale mapping of mechanical spectra of soft matter surfaces.

    • Elena T. Herruzo
    • , Alma P. Perrino
    •  & Ricardo Garcia

  • Article |

    Single-layered materials such as graphene are well known, but metallic elements tend to favour three-dimensional clusters. Here the authors report the synthesis of rhodium nanosheets—a supported, single-layered metallic material with rare δ-bonding.

    • Haohong Duan
    • , Ning Yan
    •  & Yadong Li

  • Article |

    In situstudies of deformation in metal nanowires have yielded interesting results. Here, the authors perform cyclic loading on gold nanowires and observe twinning and detwinning phenomena, respectively caused by tensile and compressive loading, and elucidate the underpinning mechanism by molecular dynamics simulations.

    • Subin Lee
    • , Jiseong Im
    •  & Sang Ho Oh

  • Article |

    Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool, but suffers from low resolution and the need for complex equipment. Fratila et al. develop a non-resonant planar transceiver microcoil that enables low-volume heteronuclear detection in a broad frequency range with high resolution.

    • Raluca M. Fratila
    • , M. Victoria Gomez
    •  & Aldrik H. Velders

  • Article |

    Realising flexible, lightweight and transparent electronics is a continuous challenge. Here, the authors report a process to create such transistor devices, which can be transferred onto various flexible substrates, and continue to function when wrapped around human hairs.

    • Giovanni A. Salvatore
    • , Niko Münzenrieder
    •  & Gerhard Tröster

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