Volume 23 Issue 9, September 2024

Atom probe tomography unlocks the potential to precisely analyse the short-range ordering in a CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy.

The realization of twisted ligand-free two-dimensional halide perovskite-based moiré superlattices enables twistronic control of exciton dynamics in these systems and brings stimulating implications towards the development of halide perovskite photonic devices.

Heat facilitates electrical resistance switching in Mott insulators and can synergistically enhance neuromorphic computing.

High-pressure experiments on the aperiodic material TRUMOF-1 reveal that linkage disorder thwarts collapse mechanisms, thus enhancing mechanical stability.

Filamentous viruses are a tunable platform for understanding the propagation of chirality across length scales, starting from the helical organization of major coat proteins on the virion surface to the liquid crystalline cholesteric phases formed in aqueous suspensions.

The question of whether all materials can be put into glass form was raised half a century ago but has remained unanswered. Using picosecond pulsed laser ablation, the vitrification of gold — which has been notoriously difficult — and several other monatomic metals is demonstrated, indicating that vitrification is an intrinsic property of matter.

The instability of n-type organic semiconductors in air is a long-standing challenge in organic electronics. Now, a strategy based on the use of vitamin C is developed to stabilize organic semiconductors. Vitamin C scavenges reactive oxygen species and inhibits their generation, improving the performance and stability of organic semiconductors and their electronic devices.

Platforms that exhibit moiré patterns have the potential to tailor band structures and control electromagnetic and mechanical waves. This Perspective discusses the current state of the art, challenges and outlook within the realm of classical wave physics.

This Review introduces emerging nonlinear electronic, optical and optoelectronic properties of moiré superlattices and discusses opportunities and challenges in this rapidly progressing field, as well as implications for fundamental physics and technological innovations.

It is shown that gold and several similar close-packed face-centred cubic and hexagonal metals can be vitrified, which breaks the limitation of the glass-forming ability of matter.

A method is introduced to quantify short-range order in multicomponent alloys using atom probe tomography, which enables further understanding and materials design related to atomic-scale solute engineering.

The authors report diode-like resistance in a non-magnetic topological insulator in the quantum Hall regime.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy have been used to observe intra-unit-cell nematic order and associated Fermi surface deformation in ScV₆Sn₆.

The emergence of moiré superlattices in twisted two-dimensional halide perovskites has been reported, revealing the emergence of localized bright excitons with enhanced emissions and trapped charge carriers.

Combining resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopy, an elementary excitation in hexagonal-boron-nitride-based single-photon emitters has been demonstrated, giving rise to multiple regular harmonics that can explain the wide frequency range of these emitters.

Heat in electronic devices is normally dissipated via cooling. Here the authors engineer the thermal dynamics of the Mott transition and dynamical thermal interactions with the substrate to enable neuromorphic computing in a NbO_x-based device.

High-pressure experiments performed on aperiodic TRUMOF-1 demonstrate that this material remains crystalline up to pressures of 1.8 GPa, higher than other cubic metal–organic framework, due to the heterogeneous distribution of different shock-absorption mechanisms throughout the material.

Interstitial oxygen conductors have the potential to enable efficient oxygen-ion transport at lower temperatures. An approach combining physically motivated structure and property descriptors, ab initio simulations and experiments is now proposed for the discovery of fast interstitial oxygen conductors.

Although structurally ordered intermetallic nanocrystals are promising electrocatalysts for fuel cells, their high-temperature large-scale preparation has proved challenging. A low-melting-point-metal-induced bond strength weakening strategy to promote alloy catalyst ordering is now proposed.

The development of n-type organic semiconductors (OSCs) has been held back due to stability issues. Here the authors report that vitamin C improves both the performance and stability of n-type OSCs and devices.

The authors investigate the origins of chirality transfer across length scales, quantitatively demonstrating how chirality propagates from the molecular to liquid crystal level in filamentous virus systems.

An approach based on the average trajectory of moving particles allows for the quantification of the mechanics of living systems, namely, the non-equilibrium energy and viscoelastic properties of cells, in a non-invasive manner.

Sequential drinks of crosslinker and polymer solutions form a tough hydrogel in the stomach, enabling delivery of drugs and biologics in this harsh chemical environment.