Articles

Polarization rotation is key for modern optics but achieving it at mid-infrared frequencies is challenging and requires very thick phase retarders. Here, α-MoO₃ flakes provide mid-infrared phase retardation and 90 degrees polarization rotation within one micrometer of material, a thickness ten times thinner than the operational wavelength.

Materials language and processing with large language models provide an automated approach for text classification. Here, a generative pretrained transformer (GPT) approach is reported to provide a simple architecture for text classification, including identifying incorrectly annotated data and for manual labelling.

Overcoming the strength-toughness trade-off is a key goal of alloy engineering. Here, a two-phase eutectic high entropy alloy is reported that harnesses microstructural and chemical heterogeneity to achieve high toughness and ductility.

4D printing techniques enable the realization of smart materials whose shape or properties can change with time. Here, utilizing the anisotropic deformation of a combination of polymers and the distribution of microdefects formed during the 3D printing process, the authors realize a variety of shape-changing curved structures that can be used in drug delivery systems.

Fenton-like catalysts are used for degrading refractory organic pollutants but the synthesis of dual active sites is difficult to control. Here, carbon-assisted flash Joule heating synthesis results in a structure with single atoms and high-index facets for antibiotic and medical micropollutant removal from water.

The segregation of elements in superalloys is known to influence their mechanical properties. Here, atomic-scale imaging and theoretical calculations reveal a mechanism by which segregation causes a yield strength anomaly, strengthening the superalloy.

Pinning sites are extremely detrimental to the frequency tunability of nano-rectifiers based on magnetic tunnel junctions. Here, the effect of pinning defects in vortex-based magnetic tunnel junctions is thoroughly explored, revealing that an amorphous magnetic material utilized as free layer can significantly reduce the impact of pinning.

Extracellular matrix stiffness induces differential tension within integrinbased adhesions but it is not known if this is solely from myosin activity. Here, it is shown that 3T3 fibroblasts still transmit stiffness-dependent traction even with the absence of myosin contractility.

Suspended carbon nanotubes are ideal for hosting long-lived quantum states but mechanically integrating nanotubes into circuits is challenging. Here, by engineering a transparent metal-nanotube interface, the authors can reach the open quantum dot regime and integrate the nanotube within the circuit with a 200 nm precision.

A complex relationship exists between microstructure development and stress field during tribological loading of a metal. Here, twinning in a high-entropy alloy is used as a model system to understand stress fields during tribological experiments, supported by molecular dynamics simulations.

Space-coiling acoustic metamaterials, where sound travels through labyrinthine geometries, are interesting for their high energy transmission and broad modulation characteristics. Here, the authors demonstrate an active approach to acoustic metamaterial reconfiguration based on dynamic space-coiling unit cells and soft robotic-inspired actuators.

Ordinary Portland cement is a commonly used construction material but contributes to high carbon emissions. Here, a hydration control additive can modify the kinetics of ordinary Portland cement to increase its strength, potentially reducing the amount of cement needed.

When electronic band structures undergo a topological phase transition, a non-trivial Berry curvature emerges, but its experimental detection is challenging. Here, scaling relations in the nonlinear magneto-electric transport are used to reveal a topological phase transition in ZrTe₅ under magnetic fields.

Cavity polariton condensates are promising for room temperature quantum technologies, but realizing polaritonic qubit states remains challenging. Here, polarization superposition of polariton states and laser-induced polarization switching are observed in a perovskite microcavity at room temperature, suggesting a coupling between orthogonally polarized states that could enable polaritonic qubits.

Materials with a chiral crystal structure are of great interest due to potentially non-trivial structure-property relations. Here, electron microscopy and crystallographic analysis, supported by quantum chemical calculations, shed light on the conversion of the crystal structure of CoSi accompanying a change in handedness.

The epitaxial growth of large-scale single-crystalline 2D materials requires precise control over crystallographic orientation and morphology during the initial stages of nucleation. Here, noncontact atomic force microscopy and density functional theory provide atomic-scale mechanistic insights into the nucleation of hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111).

Representing crystal structures is crucial for enabling the inverse design of materials with desired properties via machine learning. Here, the authors propose a versatile crystal structure representation based on continuous fields rather than grid-based discretization, overcoming the tradeoff between spatial resolution and computational complexity.

Machine learning models can predict the formation energy of compounds with high accuracy and efficiency. Here, the authors develop a deep convolutional network for high-throughput materials screening based on visual image representations of crystals instead of conventional graph structures, providing an alternative state-of-the-art approach that benefits from the most recent advances in image recognition architectures.

Tuning the effective g-factor of semiconductors by a perpendicular electric field is essential for designing controllable spin-based devices such as qubits and spin field-effect transistors. Here, a wide-range g-factor tunability by external electric field is demonstrated in a high-mobility 2D hole heterostructure.

Kagome metals are remarkably interesting due to the strong interplay of topology, magnetism, van-Hove singularities, correlated flat bands, and structural degrees of freedom. Here, the driving mechanism and dynamics of the charge density wave phase in ScV6Sn6 are investigated by experimental and theoretical techniques, revealing a predominant role of phonons in its stabilization.