Materials chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proton transfer across graphene is associated with large computed energy barriers and is thought to be generally unfavourable. Here, the authors observe aqueous proton transfer through graphene subjected to pH cycling, suggesting that it is due to transfer through rare, naturally occurring atomic defects.

    • Jennifer L. Achtyl
    • , Raymond R. Unocic
    •  & Franz M. Geiger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers are of interest in many applications, but their structure–property relations are not well understood. Here, the authors perform a multiple-length-scale deformation analysis on a thermoplastic polyurethane and shed light on morphological changes during the deformation.

    • Tan Sui
    • , Nikolaos Baimpas
    •  & Alexander M. Korsunsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Water-soluble supramolecular polymers assemble from individual building blocks, but there is a lack of understanding as to how the properties depend on the components. Here the authors show how the introduction of chiral groups can affect the structural features and dynamic behaviour of the polymer.

    • Matthew B. Baker
    • , Lorenzo Albertazzi
    •  & E.W. Meijer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is a trade-off between increasing thickness of active layers in organic photovoltaic cells to be compatible with modern printing techniques and decreasing it to improve the device performance. Sun et al.report a nematic liquid crystalline molecular electron donor material used in thick layers.

    • Kuan Sun
    • , Zeyun Xiao
    •  & David J. Jones

  • Article |

    The regulated passage of ions through a porous membrane is a process applicable to various research disciplines. Here, the authors present a method for the control of porous membrane ion transport, using a deposited layer of ligand-functionalized nanoparticles.

    • Edward Barry
    • , Sean P. McBride
    •  & Xiao-Min Lin

  • Article |

    So-called two-dimensional superconductivity has been reported in several material systems but just how thin a system can be and maintain a superconducting state has been difficult to determine. Da Jiang and colleagues demonstrate that Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+xcontinues to be superconducting even when it is just half a unit cell thick.

    • Da Jiang
    • , Tao Hu
    •  & Mianheng Jiang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Superconductivity in the iron pnictides is believed to be related to quantum critical fluctuations. Putzke et al. observe unexpected anomalies in the critical fields of BaFe2(As1−xPx)2that emerge close to its magnetic critical point, which they argue is a generic feature of quantum critical superconductivity.

    • C. Putzke
    • , P. Walmsley
    •  & A. Carrington

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Smart polymers exhibit a swelling–collapse–swelling transition in mixed (co)solvents and the underlined mechanism remains a matter of debate. Mukherji et al. explain this transition using a generic model based purely on a thermodynamic treatment of preferential polymer–cosolvent interaction.

    • Debashish Mukherji
    • , Carlos M. Marques
    •  & Kurt Kremer

  • Article |

    Scalable routes towards porous graphene are useful for developing materials for mass transfer applications. Here, the authors report the fabrication of porous graphene with controllable pore size and nitrogen content via the carbothermal reaction of graphene and (poly)oxometallates.

    • Ding Zhou
    • , Yi Cui
    •  & Bao-Hang Han

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chiral determination of vapours is possible in biological systems as an important part of the olfactory system. Here, the authors describe a system that is capable of visually detecting and distinguishing the chirality of vapour-phase molecules by structural changes in a liquid crystal confined in open microchannels.

    • Takuya Ohzono
    • , Takahiro Yamamoto
    •  & Jun-ichi Fukuda

  • Article |

    Understanding spin dynamics in the cuprates is vital to understanding the origin high-temperature superconductivity. X-ray and neutron spectra obtained by Ishii et al.suggest that the spins in electron-doped cuprates are itinerant, in contrast to recent evidence that in hole-doped cuprates they are localized.

    • K. Ishii
    • , M. Fujita
    •  & J. Mizuki

  • Article |

    Controlling colloidal assemblies without the need of a template or electrode is still a challenging goal. Here Kim et al.use photo-induced ion flow in an indium tin oxide-coated substrate to control this process, allowing reversible assembly of colloidal crystals in a three-dimensional manner.

    • Youngri Kim
    • , Aayush A. Shah
    •  & Michael J. Solomon

  • Article |

    The ability to easily modulate a material’s photoluminescent properties in response to stimuli is difficult to achieve in liquid crystals. Here the authors report ionic liquid crystals exhibiting high fluorescent quantum yields with redox-dependent photoluminescence.

    • Amerigo Beneduci
    • , Sante Cospito
    •  & Giuseppe Chidichimo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although many metal–organic frameworks are luminescent, few are capable of white-light emission. Here, the authors incorporate a yellow-emitting guest molecule into the cavities of a blue-emitting metal–organic framework, and tune the composition to emit white light with relatively high quantum yield.

    • Chun-Yi Sun
    • , Xin-Long Wang
    •  & Jing Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-photon-pumped dye lasers are useful for applications such as biological imaging; however, loss processes reduce their efficiency. Here, metal-organic frameworks, into which the laser dye is incorporated, demonstrate enhanced laser operation because losses such as dye aggregation-caused quenching are reduced.

    • Jiancan Yu
    • , Yuanjing Cui
    •  & Guodong Qian

  • Article |

    Photoreduction is a promising method for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide, but the dynamics of the process are unclear. Here, the authors explore the process via a pump–probe technique, revealing its ultrafast nature and the involvement of solvated electrons produced by irradiation of the solvent.

    • Régis Y. N. Gengler
    • , Daniel S. Badali
    •  & R. J. Dwayne Miller

  • Article |

    Crystalline porous materials are commonly based around negatively charged frameworks, so ion-exchange is limited to cations. Here, the authors report a series of positive metal-organic frameworks, capable of ion exchange of large organic anions, with potential in separation and purification applications.

    • Xiang Zhao
    • , Xianhui Bu
    •  & Pingyun Feng

  • Article |

    Techniques for shape-controlling of hydrogels, that is, crosslinked networks of polymers, could make possible various biomimetic applications. Palleau et al.propose a strategy to pattern three-dimensional hydrogels using electric potential, which allows directed bending and fast controllable actuation.

    • Etienne Palleau
    • , Daniel Morales
    •  & Orlin D. Velev

  • Article |

    Small interfering RNA is degraded by plasma and can’t cross the cell membrane due to its negative charge. Here, the authors present an influenza inspired polymer carrier, capable of local RNA delivery, which degrades to a non-toxic by-product, and is thus suitable for multiple doses.

    • Nghia P Truong
    • , Wenyi Gu
    •  & Michael J Monteiro

  • Article |

    Methane is an important greenhouse gas but its capture presents a challenge due to its weak interactions with most materials. Here the authors perform a systematic screening of liquid solvents and nanoporous zeolites, and identify zeolite structures with good potential for methane uptake and separation.

    • Jihan Kim
    • , Amitesh Maiti
    •  & Roger D. Aines

  • Article |

    Graphene oxide has been proposed as an alternative to precious metals for the catalysis of aerobic oxidative reactions; however, high catalyst loadings are needed. Here a simple base and acid treatment is shown to enhance its catalytic activity for the oxidative coupling of amines under ambient conditions.

    • Chenliang Su
    • , Muge Acik
    •  & Kian Ping Loh

  • Article |

    The exploitation of the properties of graphene, such as mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, in deformable macroscopic materials is desirable. Here, a combination of graphene chemistry and ice physics is used to fabricate biomimetic, ultralight and superelastic graphene cellular monoliths.

    • Ling Qiu
    • , Jeffery Z. Liu
    •  & Dan Li

  • Article |

    Chirality can be induced both by physical forces and by chemical induction processes. Here, a self-assembled system is reported in which chiral selection is controlled by the combined action of a chiral dopant and vortical stirring, which can act either constructively or destructively.

    • Núria Petit-Garrido
    • , Josep Claret
    •  & Francesc Sagués

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crystallization of noble metal atoms usually leads to the thermodynamically stable face-centred cubic phase. Sunet al. show that internal strain in silver nanoparticles leads to lattice distortion and a stable body-centred tetragonal phase.

    • Yugang Sun
    • , Yang Ren
    •  & Dean J. Miller

  • Article |

    Tuning the properties of responsive materials by applying an external stimulus could lead to their application as chemical switches or molecular sensors. Coronadoet al. develop a non-porous one-dimensional coordination polymer, the magnetic properties of which undergo drastic changes on chemisorption of gaseous HCl.

    • Eugenio Coronado
    • , Mónica Giménez-Marqués
    •  & Lee Brammer

  • Article |

    Studying the structures of dense colloidal systems of anisotropic Brownian particles provides insight into fundamental processes like protein crystallization. Zhaoet al. study the phases of two-dimensional triatic liquid crystals and find that one of them exhibits local chiral-symmetry breaking.

    • Kun Zhao
    • , Robijn Bruinsma
    •  & Thomas G. Mason

  • Article |

    Electrochromic materials reversibly change their colour upon application of an electric field. Seidelet al. measure the optical properties of doped bismuth ferrite and report the largest electrochromic response for an inorganic material, which they attribute to the melting of oxygen-vacancy ordering.

    • J. Seidel
    • , W. Luo
    •  & R. Ramesh

  • Article |

    Unlike the other iron-based superconductors, the parent compounds of the alkaline iron selenide superconductors are insulators. Dai and colleagues examine the spin-wave excitations in these materials and uncover evidence for a common magnetic origin for all iron-based superconductors.

    • Miaoyin Wang
    • , Chen Fang
    •  & Pengcheng Dai

  • Article |

    Intercalating alkali metals into picene—a hydrocarbon with five linearly fused benzene rings—results in superconducting materials. Now, alkali-metal-doped phenanthrene, which consists of three fused benzene rings, is also found to be superconducting, opening up a broader class of organic superconductors.

    • X.F. Wang
    • , R.H. Liu
    •  & X.H. Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spin ices are magnetic materials in which excitations equivalent to monopoles can occur. Using high-pressure techniques, Zhouet al. synthesize a new member of the spin ice family, Dy2Ge2O7, in which monopoles exist at higher densities, and can stabilize as dimers.

    • H.D. Zhou
    • , S.T. Bramwell
    •  & J.S. Gardner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High critical temperature superconductors could be used to produce ideal electric power lines, but the misalignment of crystalline grain boundaries reduces current density. Here, pnictide superconductors are found to be more tolerant to misaligned grain boundaries than cuprates.

    • Takayoshi Katase
    • , Yoshihiro Ishimaru
    •  & Hideo Hosono

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In some iron-based materials, unconventional superconductivity can emerge near a quantum phase transition where long-range magnetic order vanishes. Giovannettiet al.show that the magnetic quantum phase transition in an iron pnictide superconductor is very close to the quantum tricritical point.

    • Gianluca Giovannetti
    • , Carmine Ortix
    •  & José Lorenzana

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have potential catalysis, filtration and sensing applications, but device fabrication will require controlled MOF growth. Here, α-hopeite microparticles are used to achieve spatial control of MOF nucleation, and accelerate MOF growth.

    • Paolo Falcaro
    • , Anita J. Hill
    •  & Dario Buso

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