Inorganic lithium superionic conductors are central to the development of solid-state batteries, but the availability of practical superionic conductors is still limited. This Review highlights structural and chemical strategies to enhance ionic conductivity and maps a strategic approach to discover, design and optimize fast lithium-ion conductors for safe and high-energy-density all-solid-state batteries.

To meet the physical demands of a new environment, organisms evolve morphological and behavioural adaptations that specialize their locomotor performance to that niche. This Perspective discusses how robots can emulate — and perhaps even exceed — biological levels of adaptability through shape-morphing mechanisms and complementary control strategies to achieve compressed, rapid and reversible ‘evolution on demand’.

This Perspective proposes nine performance metrics for the assessment of the functionality of shape-morphing devices across material, device and system levels and introduces a mathematical method for evaluating the surface complexity and standard surfaces for assessing the programmability of shape-morphing devices, offering benchmarks for this growing field.

Non-collinear antiferromagnets with chiral spin textures exhibit unexpected charge and spin transport effects with potential applications in spintronics, from magnetic random access memories to racetrack memories and beyond. This Review discusses non-collinear antiferromagnetic materials, their distinctive properties and potential applications.

An article in Communications Engineering presents a technique for the 3D reconstruction of nanoscale objects that uses atomic force microscopy and a computer vision algorithm.

Large language models are very effective at solving general tasks, but can also be useful in materials design and extracting and using information from the scientific literature and unstructured corpora. In the domain of alloy design and manufacturing, they can expedite the materials design process and enable the inclusion of holistic criteria.

Atmospheric water vapour, an abundant yet underutilized resource, may hold potential as a new water source but is held back by its high enthalpy of condensation. This property also contributes to a negative feedback loop between cooling systems and greenhouse gases, accelerating global warming.

Thin-film solar cells are promising for providing cost-effective and reliable power in space, especially in multi-junction applications. To enhance efficiency, robustness and integration, advancements at the cell level must be combined with improvements in assembly and panel design. Ensuring that solar cells can provide sustained performance is also essential for minimizing space debris.

An article in Nature Communications presents an adaptable and scalable approach to synthesize high-entropy single-atom nanocage catalysts for efficient ammonia electrosynthesis.

An article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports porous photocatalytic nanowires that extract record amounts of uranium from seawater, a step closer to tapping the ocean’s vast uranium reserves for nuclear energy.