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ARCHITECTURED MATERIALS

Nanocomposites keep in shape

Nature Reviews Materials volume 6, page 5 (2021)Cite this article

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Changing the chemical composition of microscopic materials, while preserving their 3D shape, is challenging. On geological timescales, this kind of compositional change lies behind the fossilization of materials. In the laboratory, shape-preserved chemical conversion is limited to either biominerals or to individual or assemblies of nanocrystals and typically proceeds by ion exchange or redox reactions. Now, Willem Noorduin and colleagues have shown that the 3D shape of composite materials can be preserved while their composition changes, and reveal how the magnetic, actuating and catalytic properties of selected materials may lead to applications in the future.

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  1. Nature Reviews Materials http://www.nature.com/natrevmats/

    Alison Stoddart

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  1. Alison Stoddart
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Correspondence to Alison Stoddart.

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Stoddart, A. Nanocomposites keep in shape. Nat Rev Mater 6, 5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-00271-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-00271-y

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