Volume 19 Issue 12, December 2020

A dose threshold of one trillion nanoparticles in mice has been discovered and is shown to be crucial for overwhelming the nanoparticle uptake kinetics of liver Kupffer cells and for ensuring efficient nanoparticle delivery into solid tumours upon intravenous administration.

Controlling nuclear spins coupled to an electron spin in silicon carbide has enabled development of a ‘quantum register’ interfaced with telecom photons, leading to the possibility of distant transport of quantum information.

Surface ledges of β-Ga₂O₃ (100) substrates guide the unidirectional nucleation and growth of transition metal dichalcogenides, achieving centimetre-long, single-crystalline and densely aligned nanoribbons in wafer scale.

Colloidal structures and lattices made of patchy particles with chemically distinct lobes are formed by exploring site-specific depletion forces. This approach introduces a simple route to assemble colloidal superlattices.

Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene plays host to many interesting phenomena, including superconductivity. This Review highlights key research results in the field, points toward important open questions, and comments on the place of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene in the strongly correlated quantum matter world.

This Review summarizes recent progress in exploring the intrinsic magnetism of atomically thin van der Waals materials, manipulation of their magnetism by tuning the interlayer coupling, and device structures for spin- and valleytronic applications.

The development of a magneto-optical imaging technique enables the real-time imaging and control of critical magnetic fluctuations in the single-layer ferromagnetic insulator CrBr₃.

A coupling of mechanical vibrations and magnetism and strain-tuning of the exchange interactions, is demonstrated for few-layer CrI₃.

Aligned arrays of single-crystalline monolayer TMD nanoribbons with high aspect ratios, as well as their lateral heterostructures, are realized, with the growth directed by the ledges on the β-Ga₂O₃ substrate. This approach provides an epitaxy platform for advanced electronics applications of TMD nanoribbons.

Infrared nanoimaging of phonon polaritons in twisted α-phase molybdenum trioxide bilayers reveals tunable wavefront geometries and topological transitions over a broad range of twist angles, offering a configurable platform for nanophotonic applications.

Photo-excited gold nanoparticles are shown to provide ultrafast and efficient hot-hole injection to the valence band of p-type GaN, substantially altering hot-electron dynamics in the nanoparticles and forming a basis to design hot-hole-based optoelectronics.

Isotope engineering of silicon carbide leads to control of nuclear spins associated with single divacancy centres and extended electron spin coherence.

Voltage matching and rational design of redox couples enable high solar-to-output electricity efficiency and extended operational lifetime in a redox flow battery integrated with a perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell.

The use of rigid linkers to control the relative position and interaction of donor and acceptor units in exciplex emitters leads to the realization of organic light-emitting devices with enhanced external quantum efficiency.

Lithium metal is considered an ideal anode for high-energy rechargeable lithium batteries, but understanding its nucleation and growth at the nanoscale remains challenging. Using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and simulations, a structural and morphological evolution scenario for Li deposits is proposed.

Solution processability is required for many industrial processes, but metal–organic frameworks are in general not dispersible, hindering their application. Here, a surface modification is reported that allows porous liquid formation and so synthesis of highly loaded and mechanically robust mixed matrix membranes.

Hybrid colloidal suprastructures and superlattices are assembled by exploring depletion forces to selectively control the interactions between colloidal particles.

Efficient nanoparticle delivery into tumours has been a challenge in the field. It is now shown that the efficiency can be improved substantially when the dose breaches a specific threshold.