Materials chemistry articles within Nature Materials

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Suppressed Dexter transfer is needed to achieve efficient and stable hyperfluorescence, but complex matrices must be involved. A molecular design strategy has been proposed where Dexter transfer can be substantially reduced by an encapsulated terminal emitter, leading to ‘matrix-free’ hyperfluorescence.

    • Hwan-Hee Cho
    • , Daniel G. Congrave
    •  & Hugo Bronstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oxygen redox cathodes deliver higher energy densities than those based on transition metal redox but commonly exhibit voltage fade on extended cycling. The loss of O-redox capacity and voltage fade is shown to arise from a reduction in O2−/O2 redox process reversibility and O2 loss.

    • John-Joseph Marie
    • , Robert A. House
    •  & Peter G. Bruce

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Active and stable catalysts to accelerate the transition from fossil fuel to renewable feedstocks, reduce energy consumption and minimize environmental footprints are needed. Electrocatalysts based on copper nanocrystals encapsulated in hybrid alumina shells stable against structural reconstruction during CO2 electroreduction are reported.

    • Petru P. Albertini
    • , Mark A. Newton
    •  & Raffaella Buonsanti

  • News & Views |

    Considering responsive materials as transient collective assemblies rather than individual shape-changing objects allows for emergent functionalities that cannot be derived from the properties of single objects but are driven by interactions between them.

    • Arri Priimagi

  • News & Views |

    An important but difficult separation, the removal of carbon monoxide from humid gas mixtures comprising oxygen, nitrogen and hydrocarbons, is addressed by exploiting Cu(I) coordination chemistry and framework flexibility.

    • Michael J. Zaworotko

  • News & Views |

    Processible centimetre-scale porous glasses using zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) materials are developed, while fine-tuning of the processing conditions allows control of pore size and molecular sieving properties.

    • Georgia R. F. Orton
    •  & Neil R. Champness

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Porosity of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks can be preserved beyond glass transition and melt processing. Here centimetre-scale porous glasses are demonstrated, whereas liquid processing enables fine-tuning of the size of the gas-transporting channels for molecular sieving.

    • Oksana Smirnova
    • , Seungtaik Hwang
    •  & Alexander Knebel

  • Article |

    Chemical adsorption of CO on open metal sites enables separation from other gases but leads to selectivity and stability issues. Quasi-open metal sites in metal–organic frameworks are proposed here, which are accessible only by CO-induced structural transformation, enabling CO separation to 9N purity.

    • Xue-Wen Zhang
    • , Chao Wang
    •  & Jie-Peng Zhang

  • Article |

    The rational design and assembly of colloidal quasicrystals is achieved by exploring the hybridization of nanoscale decahedra nanoparticles functionalized with DNA linkers.

    • Wenjie Zhou
    • , Yein Lim
    •  & Chad A. Mirkin

  • Editorial |

    Integrated design assisted by materials and technology innovations can help a transition from traditional to sustainable electronics.

  • Article |

    Solid polymer electrolytes are crucial for the development of lithium batteries, but their lower ionic conductivity compared with liquid/ceramics at room temperature limits their practical use. Precise positioning of designed repeating units in alternating polymer sequences now allows the Li+ conductivity to be tuned by up to three orders of magnitude.

    • Shantao Han
    • , Peng Wen
    •  & Mao Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Unit-cell-thick films of metal–organic frameworks with ordered porosity would be attractive for membrane applications as these thin systems combine large molecular flux with high selectivity. Here crystalline ZIF films are grown on a crystalline substrate with high H2/N2 gas separation performance.

    • Qi Liu
    • , Yurun Miao
    •  & Kumar Varoon Agrawal

  • News & Views |

    Photochromic molecular crystal arrays aligned in the micropores of a polymer membrane show high-performance actuation when stimulated by light. These soft composites might find applications in soft robotic devices.

    • Albert P. H. J. Schenning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The two-dimensional layered crystal structure of niobium oxide polymorph T-Nb2O5 exhibits fast Li-ion diffusion that is promising for energy storage applications. Epitaxial growth of single-crystalline T-Nb2O5 thin films with ionic transport channels oriented perpendicular to the surface are now demonstrated.

    • Hyeon Han
    • , Quentin Jacquet
    •  & Stuart S. P. Parkin

  • News & Views |

    A two-dimensional conjugated polymer is synthesized that demonstrates low electron effective masses and high mobility. These properties show that this material could act as a viable alternative to silicon-based semiconductors.

    • Shu Seki
    •  & Zhuowei Li

  • News & Views |

    An ultra-microporous metal–organic framework glass foam shows outstanding gas sieving properties for challenging gas mixtures.

    • Chinmoy Das
    •  & Sebastian Henke

  • Article |

    Understanding charge-compensating interactions and ionic dynamics in organic mixed conductors can be challenging. Operando NMR spectroscopy is now used to quantify cation and water movement during doping/dedoping in mixed conductor films.

    • Dongxun Lyu
    • , Yanting Jin
    •  & Clare P. Grey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silicon-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductors or negative differential resistance device circuits can emulate neural features, yet are complicated to fabricate and not biocompatible. Here, the authors report an ion-modulated antiambipolarity in mixed ion–electron conducting polymers demonstrating capability of sensing, spiking, emulating the most critical biological neural features, and stimulating biological nerves in vivo.

    • Padinhare Cholakkal Harikesh
    • , Chi-Yuan Yang
    •  & Simone Fabiano

  • News & Views |

    Nanomembranes of GaN grown by remote epitaxy form the basis of surface acoustic wave sensors in wireless electronic skins for health monitoring.

    • Jong Uk Kim
    • , Seung Gi Seo
    •  & John A. Rogers

  • Meeting Report |

    About 700 scientists from 45 countries gathered in Dresden for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to share their latest findings on metal–organic frameworks and open frameworks compounds.

    • Veronique Van Speybroeck
    •  & Guillaume Maurin

  • News & Views |

    As metal–organic frameworks move towards practical application, data for an expanded range of physical properties are needed. Molecular-level modelling and data science can play an important role.

    • Randall Q. Snurr

  • Article |

    Heat capacity of nanoporous materials is important for processes such as carbon capture, as this can affect process design energy requirements. Here, a machine learning approach for heat capacity prediction, trained on density functional theory simulations, is presented and experimentally verified.

    • Seyed Mohamad Moosavi
    • , Balázs Álmos Novotny
    •  & Berend Smit

  • News & Views |

    The direct manipulation of a new kind of ferroelectric state, arising from the sliding of van der Waals layers in a coordination polymer, is demonstrated.

    • Mark S. Senn
    •  & Andrew L. Goodwin

  • Article |

    Two-dimensional materials can present ferroelectricity by layer sliding, but electrical confirmation is lacking due to narrow bandgaps. Here, a single-crystal coordination polymer with large bandgap enabling direct electrical measurement of P–E hysteresis is shown to present sliding ferroelectricity.

    • Le-Ping Miao
    • , Ning Ding
    •  & Yi Zhang

  • Comment |

    Synthetic stimuli-responsive systems have become increasingly sophisticated and elegant at the nanoscale. This Comment discusses how rationally designed molecular systems capable of dynamic motions can be deployed in macroscopically porous metal–organic frameworks and respond to various stimuli.

    • Jinqiao Dong
    • , Vanessa Wee
    •  & Dan Zhao

  • Article |

    The partial oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH is challenging to perform in artificial systems due to ready over-oxidation to CO and CO2. Here by confining mono-iron hydroxyl sites in a metal–organic framework, photo-oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH is achieved with high selectivity and time yield.

    • Bing An
    • , Zhe Li
    •  & Martin Schröder

  • News & Views |

    Bioelectronics demand stretchable devices with steady performance under deformation. By combining an amphiphilic organic semiconducting polymer with tailored film processing, highly stretchable organic electrochemical transistors are demonstrated.

    • Fabio Cicoira

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Volatile organic compounds such as benzene are toxic pollutants that cause health issues even at trace concentrations. Here, a double-walled metal–organic framework is presented that demonstrates high uptake at very low pressures (<10 Pa), allowing the removal of benzene to below acceptable indoor limits.

    • Tao He
    • , Xiang-Jing Kong
    •  & Jian-Rong Li

  • Article |

    Wiring photosynthetic biomachineries to electrodes is promising for sustainable bio-electricity and fuel generation, but designing such interfaces is challenging. Aerosol jet printing is now used to generate hierarchical pillar array electrodes using indium tin oxide nanoparticles for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis.

    • Xiaolong Chen
    • , Joshua M. Lawrence
    •  & Jenny Z. Zhang

  • Article |

    The oxygen evolution reaction is central to making chemicals and energy carriers using electrons. Metal hydroxide–organic frameworks are shown to act as a tunable catalytic platform for oxygen evolution, with π–π interactions dictating stability and transition metals modulating activity.

    • Shuai Yuan
    • , Jiayu Peng
    •  & Yang Shao-Horn

  • Review Article |

    Thermoelectric materials can generate energy from a heat differential. This Review provides an overview of mid- to high-temperature thermoelectrics, their application in modules, and the issues that need to be addressed to enable commercial implementation of state-of-the-art materials.

    • Qingyu Yan
    •  & Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

  • News & Views |

    Through meticulous care for detail, researchers have now shattered the ceiling on thermoelectric performance, achieving a figure of merit above 3 for bulk SnSe polycrystalline powder.

    • Bo Brummerstedt Iversen

  • Review Article |

    Porous materials can selectively and reversibly adsorb large quantities of gas. This Review highlights progress made in using this class of materials for CO2 capture processes and discusses key gaps that the materials community can address to accelerate greater adoption of adsorptive carbon capture technologies.

    • Rebecca L. Siegelman
    • , Eugene J. Kim
    •  & Jeffrey R. Long

  • Article |

    Membrane distillation can use low-grade heat for salt water desalination, but the materials used can often suffer from limited permeance. Here, a strategy is proposed to construct a pore surface and size functionality gradient in a covalent organic framework, enabling a flux of 600 l m–2 h–1 with NaCl rejection of 99.99%.

    • Shuang Zhao
    • , Chenghao Jiang
    •  & Bo Wang

  • Review Article |

    Metal-halide and oxide perovskites are a rich playground for fundamental studies and applications. This Review focuses on the opportunities opened by reducing the dimensionality of these materials to two-dimensional monolayers.

    • Antonio Gaetano Ricciardulli
    • , Sheng Yang
    •  & Michael Saliba

  • Article |

    Metal oxides or carbonaceous supported atomic metal sites coordinated by oxygen or heteroatoms exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activity. Stabilization of single-atom catalysts on tungsten carbides without heteroatom coordination for efficient oxygen evolution reaction is demonstrated.

    • Shuang Li
    • , Bingbing Chen
    •  & Arne Thomas

  • News & Views |

    Conjugated sulfonamides have been demonstrated as cathodes with high redox potentials and exceptional atmospheric stability, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional inorganic materials used in commercial lithium-ion batteries.

    • Jing Xie
    •  & Yi-Chun Lu

  • Perspective |

    Highly ordered crystalline porous solids are useful for many applications. This Perspective explores the evolution of these systems from the ordered state to the glassy and liquid states, discusses the different types of porous liquid and considers possible applications of these disordered systems.

    • Thomas D. Bennett
    • , François-Xavier Coudert
    •  & Andrew I. Cooper

  • Article |

    Pseudocapacitors exhibit charge-storage mechanisms leading to high-capacity and rapidly cycling devices. An organic system designed via molecular contortion is now shown to exhibit unprecedented electrochemical performance and stability.

    • Jake C. Russell
    • , Victoria A. Posey
    •  & Samuel R. Peurifoy

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