Materials science articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Balancing the carrier selectivity and extraction by the selective contacts is of vital importance to the performance of the nanowire solar cells. Here Oener et al. employ a permanent local gate to overcome this tradeoff and substantially increase the open-circuit voltage by 335 mV.

    • Sebastian Z. Oener
    • , Alessandro Cavalli
    •  & Erik C. Garnett

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many predicted topological quasi-particles still await experimental discovery. Here, Horio et al. reveal the existence of two-dimensional type-II Dirac fermions in the high-temperature superconductor La1.77Sr0.23CuO4, promoting layered oxides as promising topological materials.

    • M. Horio
    • , C. E. Matt
    •  & J. Chang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energy conversion of light into mechanical work is of fundamental interest for a wide range of applications, but the development of efficient light responsive polymers is challenging. Here the authors demonstrate photoswitchable  glass transition temperatures contribute to the photomechanical bending in a crosslinked azobenzene polymer.

    • Youfeng Yue
    • , Yasuo Norikane
    •  & Emiko Koyama

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanowire networks with memristive properties are promising for neuromorphic applications. Here, the authors observe the formation of a preferred conduction pathway which uses the lowest possible energy to get through the network and could be exploited for the design of optimal brain-inspired devices.

    • Hugh G. Manning
    • , Fabio Niosi
    •  & John J. Boland

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria communicate and organize via quorum sensing which is determined by biochemical processes. Here the authors aim to reproduce this behaviour in a system of synthetic active particles whose motion is induced by an external beam which is in turn controlled by a feedback-loop which mimics quorum sensing.

    • Tobias Bäuerle
    • , Andreas Fischer
    •  & Clemens Bechinger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solvents play important roles in chemical transformations, but isolating products from solvents is cumbersome and energy-consuming. Here, the authors develop promising alternatives by anchoring the solvent moieties onto porous materials for creating solvation environments in heterogeneous catalysts for efficient biomass conversion.

    • Qi Sun
    • , Sai Wang
    •  & Feng-Shou Xiao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Functionalisation of conjugated polymers is essential for performance in many applications, yet there are limited approaches to achieve this. Here the authors developed a method for the direct postpolymerisation modification of the aromatic backbone of conjugated polymers and used them to create multifunctional semiconducting nanoparticles.

    • Adam Creamer
    • , Christopher S. Wood
    •  & Martin Heeney

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The sensing capability of nanometric transducers designed for label-free single molecule detection has been limited by the small number of recognition elements. Here, the authors demonstrate a millimetre-sized field effect transistor capable of selective single-molecule Immunoglobulin-G detection.

    • Eleonora Macchia
    • , Kyriaki Manoli
    •  & Luisa Torsi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polynuclear metal-organic coordination complexes are often inaccessible by traditional synthetic chemistry methods. Here, the authors use on-surface supramolecular chemistry to form a planar trinuclear Fe complex, in which an accumulation of electrons around the positive mixed-valence polynuclear centre suggests a catalytically active core.

    • Cornelius Krull
    • , Marina Castelli
    •  & Agustin Schiffrin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Though memristors can potentially emulate neuron and synapse functionality, useful signal energy is lost to Joule heating. Here, the authors demonstrate neuro-transistors with a pseudo-memcapacitive gate that actively process signals via energy-efficient capacitively-coupled neural networks.

    • Zhongrui Wang
    • , Mingyi Rao
    •  & J. Joshua Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds are used for quantum sensing but NV centers are not sensitive to parameters such as temperature, pressure and biomolecules. Here the authors propose a scheme based on a magnetic nanoparticle docked responsive hydrogel which acts as a transducer between the particles and the diamond.

    • Ting Zhang
    • , Gang-Qin Liu
    •  & Quan Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The nature and stability of carbon dioxide under extreme conditions relevant to the Earth’s mantle is still under debate, in view of its possible role within the deep carbon cycle. Here, the authors perform high-pressure experiments providing evidence that polymeric crystalline CO2 is stable under megabaric conditions.

    • Kamil F. Dziubek
    • , Martin Ende
    •  & Ronald Miletich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Water electrolysis provides a potential means to large-scale renewable fuel generation, although sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics challenges progress. Here, authors report on Ruddlesden–Popper oxides as active oxygen evolution electrocatalysts that provide impetus for overcoming kinetic barriers.

    • Robin P. Forslund
    • , William G. Hardin
    •  & Keith J. Stevenson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Complex assembly pathways often involve transient, partly-formed intermediates that are challenging to characterize. Here, the authors present a simple and rapid spectroscopic thermal hysteresis method for mapping the energy landscapes of supramolecular assembly.

    • Robert W. Harkness V
    • , Nicole Avakyan
    •  & Anthony K. Mittermaier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bringing together p- and n-type monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides results in the formation of atomically thin pn junctions. Here, the authors laterally manipulate carrier density to create a WSe2 pn homojunction on a supporting ferroelectric BiFeO3 substrate.

    • Jhih-Wei Chen
    • , Shun-Tsung Lo
    •  & Chung-Lin Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mackinawite is commonly assumed to be the first solid phase in the iron sulfide system. Here, the authors report the existence of a highly reactive nanocrystalline solid phase that is a necessary precursor to the formation of mackinawite.

    • Adriana Matamoros-Veloza
    • , Oscar Cespedes
    •  & Liane G. Benning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The interplay between nematic, antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity in the iron pnictide superconductors remains obscured. Here, Wang et al. demonstrate well-separated nematic and Neel transition temperatures near optimal superconductivity in NaFe1−xNixAs and uncover local distortions which could account for rotational symmetry breaking common in iron pnictides.

    • Weiyi Wang
    • , Yu Song
    •  & Pengcheng Dai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stimuli-responsive porous materials are attractive for a range of applications, but each material typically exhibits only one type of transformation. Here, the authors report on a metal–organic material that exhibits six distinct phases as a result of four types of structural transformation in response to different stimuli.

    • Mohana Shivanna
    • , Qing-Yuan Yang
    •  & Michael J. Zaworotko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The performance of wide-bandgap perovskite photovoltaics is limited by the undesired phase transition and high density of deep level traps. Here, Tan et al. incorporate dipolar methylammonium cation to make the material defect-tolerant and achieve a high power conversion efficiency of 20.7%.

    • Hairen Tan
    • , Fanglin Che
    •  & Edward H. Sargent

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While the degradation of materials during usage is crucial in understanding their performance, it is challenging to understand the corrosion processes. Here, authors find copper nanoparticles to undergo an unusual potential-driven nanoclustering degradation pathway during carbon dioxide reduction.

    • Jianfeng Huang
    • , Nicolas Hörmann
    •  & Raffaella Buonsanti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By using a near-IR optical excitation, upconverting nanoparticles may enable high-resolution imaging deep in tissue. Here, Tian et al. introduce alloyed upconverting nanoparticles with improved brightness due to newly described energy transfer pathways.

    • Bining Tian
    • , Angel Fernandez-Bravo
    •  & Bruce E. Cohen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nonlinear optical crystals suitable for the UV spectral region could simplify short-wavelength generation and make it more efficient. Here, the authors design and demonstrate that one of two asymmetric borate polymorphs exhibits promising optical and mechanical properties for generating UV light.

    • Miriding Mutailipu
    • , Min Zhang
    •  & Shilie Pan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the physics of fault lubrication during earthquake propagation can help assess seismic hazard. In this study, by replicating earthquakes in the laboratory at upper-crustal conditions, the authors show that fluid thermodynamics control fault lubrication, specifically at man-made earthquake depths.

    • M. Acosta
    • , F. X. Passelègue
    •  & M. Violay

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The development of intelligent materials, in particular those showing the highly sensitive mechanoresponsive luminescence (MRL), remains challenging. Here the authors report a strategy for constructing high performance On-Off MRL materials by introducing nitrophenyl groups to molecules with aggregation-induced emission characteristic.

    • Weijun Zhao
    • , Zikai He
    •  & Ben Zhong Tang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Utilizing mixed-cation-halide can improve stability of the formamidinium perovskite films and devices but sacrifices the photocurrent due to an increase in bandgap. Here Lee et al. introduced small amounts of 2D perovskite to obtain high efficiency and stability based on phase-pure formamidinium based perovskite.

    • Jin-Wook Lee
    • , Zhenghong Dai
    •  & Yang Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The description of van der Waals interactions should often account for coupling with pervasive electric fields, but this effect has been omitted in atomistic simulations. Here, the authors develop a model to study the effects of external charge on long-range van der Waals interactions.

    • Andrii Kleshchonok
    •  & Alexandre Tkatchenko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The existence of multiple topological phases in a single material, although theoretically possible, has not been verified. Here, the authors observe weak topological insulator surface states and a one-dimensional Dirac-node crossing surface state in a single metallic material Hf2Te2P.

    • M. Mofazzel Hosen
    • , Klauss Dimitri
    •  & Madhab Neupane

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In block copolymer vesicles, crystallization often leads to defects and renders the structures leaky that undermines their potential biomedical application. Here the authors use an emulsion solution method to control the crystallization of an amphiphilic block copolymer at the curved liquid/liquid interface to improve the blood circulation time.

    • Hao Qi
    • , Hao Zhou
    •  & Christopher Y. Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite recent success in developing new covalent organic frameworks (COFs) materials, synthesis of chemically stable COFs still remains challenging. Here the authors demonstrate a facile strategy that transforms imine-linked COFs into robust porous aromatic frameworks by kinetically fixing the reversible imine linkage via an aza-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction.

    • Xinle Li
    • , Changlin Zhang
    •  & Yi Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multiferroic binary oxides with the perovskite structure have been very rare. Here, Cong et al. report magnetically-driven ferroelectricity and a large magnetoelectric effect in a binary perovskite compound Mn2O3 at low temperatures.

    • Junzhuang Cong
    • , Kun Zhai
    •  & Young Sun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Further mechanistic insight of intramolecular singlet fission (iSF) in conjugated polymers can enable novel material design for solar cells. Here, the authors use transient spectroscopy to show iSF in an isoindigo-based conjugated polymer and propose a design rule based on morphology-dependent iSF.

    • Jiahua Hu
    • , Ke Xu
    •  & Matthew Y. Sfeir

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electronic phase separation is an important feature of many correlated perovskite compounds but hasn’t been seen in other complex oxides with similar physical behaviour such as magnetite. Hong et al. find phase separation between a magnetite-like charge ordered phase and a charge averaged phase in CaFe3O5.

    • Ka. H. Hong
    • , Angel M. Arevalo-Lopez
    •  & J. Paul Attfield

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biomimetic assembly of nanosheets into nacre-like structures and films is of interest for a range of applications; the abundance of mica makes it a good candidate. Here, the authors report on the large-scale exfoliation of ground mica into nanosheets and the assembly into polymeric mica films.

    • Xiao-Feng Pan
    • , Huai-Ling Gao
    •  & Shu-Hong Yu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designer organelles with new biochemical functionalities are of great interest in synthetic biology and cellular engineering. Here the authors present a single-protein-based platform for generating synthetic membraneless compartments that is capable of enzymatically-triggered alterations to phase behavior and of recruiting and concentrating cargo proteins.

    • Benjamin S. Schuster
    • , Ellen H. Reed
    •  & Daniel A. Hammer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spin-crossover molecules offer a potential route towards molecular spintronics, but retaining the bistability of the spin state upon surface deposition is challenging. Here, the authors study the spin-crossover behaviours of an Fe(II) complex deposited on graphite, determining the scale limit at which cooperative spin switching becomes effective.

    • Lalminthang Kipgen
    • , Matthias Bernien
    •  & Wolfgang Kuch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Translating high-resolution imaging methods to the curved organic surface of a nanoparticle has been challenging. Here, the authors are able to spatially resolve the sub-molecular surface details of a silver nanocluster by comparing scanning tunneling microscopy images and simulated topography data through a pattern recognition algorithm.

    • Qin Zhou
    • , Sami Kaappa
    •  & Lansun Zheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-contact atomic force microscope (AFM) dissipation contains rich information on the electron, phonon and spin states, but has been poorly understood. Here the authors demonstrated that tip-induced charge and spin state transitions in oxygen vacancies at SrTiO3 surface are revealed by AFM dissipation measurements.

    • Marcin Kisiel
    • , Oleg O. Brovko
    •  & Ernst Meyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Continued device miniaturization and feasibility of integrating two-dimensional materials into circuits have enabled flexible and transparent optoelectronic memories. Here, the authors show a WSe2–hBN-based heterostructure memory with switching ratio of ~1.1 × 106, ensuring over 128 distinct storage states and retention time of ~4.5 × 104 s.

    • Du Xiang
    • , Tao Liu
    •  & Wei Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Paraquat is a widely used herbicide that is highly toxic to humans upon acute ingestion or chronic exposure. Here, the authors generate a photosensitive formulation that releases paraquat upon exposure to UV light or sunlight, which shows an improved safety profile in zebrafish and mouse models, while maintaining substantial herbicidal activity.

    • Cheng Gao
    • , Qiaoxian Huang
    •  & Ruibing Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The critical behavior of a continuous phase transition is determined by both symmetry and dimensionality. Wang et al. present evidence that the cubic all-in-all-out spin order in Cd2Os2O7 leads to a realization of a non-mean-field strongly-coupled quantum phase transition in three dimensions.

    • Yishu Wang
    • , T. F. Rosenbaum
    •  & Yejun Feng

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