Volume 17 Issue 9, September 2018

The van der Waals material Fe_3–xGeTe₂ is shown to be a strong candidate for a ferromagnetic nodal-line semimetal with a very large anomalous Hall effect.

A two-step deposition method has been developed that enables the conformal coating of textured surfaces with perovskite films. This allows the realization of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with increased short-circuit current density.

An orally administered bifunctional gastrointestinal coating has been developed and shown to limit nutrient absorption through the bowel mucosa ultimately lowering blood glucose and also acting as a platform for delivery of drugs to the gastrointestinal tract.

Magnetization in magnetoresistive memory devices can be controlled at room temperature by spin–orbit torques originating from the surface states of topological insulators.

Line defects in two-dimensional borophene can self-assemble into new crystalline phases, blurring the distinctions between perfect and defective crystal.

A quantitative description of sound wave propagation in suspensions of self-propelled colloidal particles is achieved by combining microfluidics, video microscopy and theory.

Immunotherapies have shown significant promise in cancer treatment. This Review discusses how a range of materials have been employed to enhance the effectiveness of these therapies by mediating their delivery and immunomodulatory activity.

A thorough analysis of the optical and transport properties of several two-dimensional organic conductors and insulators with varying on-site correlation strengths and bandwidths led to a quantitative phase diagram for pristine Mott insulators.

Metallic ferromagnetism is reported in an exfoliated monolayer of the van der Waals material Fe₃GeTe₂.

Borophene grown under suitable conditions can have phase intermixing, with line defects in each phase adopting the unit structure of the other phase. Such 1D defects self-assemble into 2D periodic arrays, constituting new phases of borophene.

Sound wave propagation is used to quantitatively describe the hydrodynamics of an active colloidal medium.

A combined experimental and theoretical approach identifies the van der Waals material Fe₃GeTe₂ as a candidate ferromagnetic nodal line semimetal. These results extend the connections between topology and magnetism.

Sputtered Bi_xSe_(1–x) thin films can generate very large current-induced spin–orbit torque, capable to switch both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetized CoFeB-based structures deposited on top, at room temperature.

A large spin–orbit torque, generated in a conductive topological insulator (TI) Bi_0.9Sb_0.1 is further employed to effectively switch the magnetization of MnGa in a BiSb/MnGa bilayer Hall-bar device at room temperature.

Ferroelectricity can be modified by domain wall strain fields that extend over nanometres. Here, with X-ray microscopy, strain fields over several micrometres are observed in BaTiO₃, suggesting ferroelectricity is globally altered throughout the material.

An optimized two-step deposition process allows the formation of uniform layers of metal halide perovskites on textured silicon layers, enabling tandem silicon/perovskite solar cells with improved optical design and efficiency.

Tuning surface structure is key for electrocatalytic performance and stability of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Surface distortion as a structural descriptor can help to clarify the role of surface defects and to design enhanced nanocatalysts.

The gastrointestinal tract is a therapeutic target for type-2 diabetes. An orally deliverable sucralfate-based material is shown to form a physical coating in the gut, capable of limiting glucose uptake and also administering drugs to the gut lining.