Nanoscale materials articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    There have been numerous attempts to develop nanomaterials to reach cells of the central nervous system for drug delivery. Here, the authors investigate the cellular fate of polymer-based nanoparticles with varying surface chemistries after administration directly into the brain.

    • Eric Song
    • , Alice Gaudin
    •  & W. Mark Saltzman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heat conduction at the nanoscale is unlike macroscopic diffusion and phonons can travel in straight lines without dissipation. Here Anufrievet al. show that heat conduction can be spatially directed in nanostructured silicon and exploit this effect to concentrate heat into a focal point.

    • Roman Anufriev
    • , Aymeric Ramiere
    •  & Masahiro Nomura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Origami is widely practiced in the design of foldable structures for smart applications and usually consists of stiff sheets that only deform along prescribed creases. Pinsonet al. take a statistical physics approach to design and characterize arbitrary patterns as a function of folding energy.

    • Matthew B. Pinson
    • , Menachem Stern
    •  & Arvind Murugan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA hybridization of two single-strands to form a double-stranded helix is widely used for genomic identification applications. Here, Vernicket al. record duplex formation of 20-mer oligonucleotide using a single-molecule field-effect transistor, where DNA kinetics is affected by electrostatic bias.

    • Sefi Vernick
    • , Scott M. Trocchia
    •  & Kenneth L. Shepard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The signal detected in magnetic resonance imaging comes from the relaxation of proton nuclear magnetization. Here, Zhouet al. introduce magnetic field inhomogeneity as a parameter to design iron oxide nanoparticle clusters to enhance the relaxation rate of nearby protons, thereby increasing image contrast.

    • Zijian Zhou
    • , Rui Tian
    •  & Xiaoyuan Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identifying crystallographic phases in solution is not possible with standard diffraction methods. Here, Limet al. demonstrate the in situidentification of cubic and hexagonal phases of cadmium selenide nanocrystals using optical methods based on first-principles electronic theory.

    • Sung Jun Lim
    • , André Schleife
    •  & Andrew M. Smith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conducting ferroelectric domain walls constitute a new class of functional material, but to achieve site-specific injection and annihilation of such walls is challenging. Here, McQuaidet al. report site-specific injection of such walls in Cu3B7O13Cl created by local point-stress and controlled by electric field.

    • Raymond G.P. McQuaid
    • , Michael P. Campbell
    •  & J. Marty Gregg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthesis of small conjugated polymer nanoparticles (Pdots) with bright and stable fluorescence is an active challenge. Here, the authors introduce a strategy to fabricate ultrasmall Pdots with high fluorescence intensity by using twisted, rather than planar, conjugated polymers, lending new insight into the molecular design of Pdots.

    • Hubert Piwoński
    • , Tsuyoshi Michinobu
    •  & Satoshi Habuchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Water can function as a sustainable reactor for the synthesis of size-controlled, functional nanoparticles. Here, the authors introduce an underwater Leidenfrost synthesis that reproduces the dynamic chemistry of the deep ocean, in which anticancer therapeutic ZnO2nanoclusters form in an overheated zone and migrate to colder water to continue growth.

    • Mady Elbahri
    • , Ramzy Abdelaziz
    •  & Moheb Abdelaziz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The high-temperature tetragonal phase of HfO2 is technologically useful but difficult to stabilize at room temperature. Here, the authors observe in real-time the transformation of a HfO2nanorod from its room temperature to tetragonal phase, at 1000° less than its bulk temperature, suggesting that size confinement may kinetically trap this phase.

    • Bethany M. Hudak
    • , Sean W. Depner
    •  & Beth S. Guiton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ability to electrically control magnetism could enable a new generation of low-power electronic devices. Here the authors show that charging and discharging of supercapacitors are powerful tools to achieve reversible above-room-temperature magnetoelectric effects.

    • Alan Molinari
    • , Philipp M. Leufke
    •  & Horst Hahn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant elements have emerged as promising candidates to replace noble metal materials. Here, the authors develop porous hybrid nanostructures combining amorphous Ni-Co complexes with 1T phase MoS2for enhanced electrocatalytic activity for overall water splitting.

    • Haoyi Li
    • , Shuangming Chen
    •  & Xun Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Raman spectroscopy is a versatile tool to gain insight into the functionalization of graphene-based materials, yet unequivocal assignment of the vibrational modes associated with covalent binding has so far remained elusive. Here, the authors succeed in an experimental and theoretical identification of this molecular fingerprint.

    • Philipp Vecera
    • , Julio C. Chacón-Torres
    •  & Andreas Hirsch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The unique electronic properties of two-dimensional materials are determined not only by their shape, but also the precise atomic arrangement of atoms along edges. Here, Chenet al. have developed a bottom-up epitaxial growth of MoSe2nanoribbons that controls both geometry and edge states.

    • Yuxuan Chen
    • , Ping Cui
    •  & Chih-Kang Shih

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ion transport in solid-state materials is a fundamental process for many modern technologies. Utilizing electrostatic force microscopy, Yanget al. directly visualize ion motion and verify the oxygen ion dynamics within HfO2—a common metal-oxide based memristive material.

    • Yuchao Yang
    • , Xiaoxian Zhang
    •  & Ru Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electronic bandgap tuning in semiconductors enables key functionalities in solid-state devices. Here, the authors present a strategy to control the bandgap of atomically thin WS2 and WSe2semiconductors via manipulation of the surrounding dielectric environment rather than by modifications of the materials themselves.

    • Archana Raja
    • , Andrey Chaves
    •  & Alexey Chernikov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energetic liquids often suffer from low energy density. Here, the authors create a highly energetic liquid by stabilizing aluminium nanoparticles in ferritin liquid protein, and use this ink to print energetic 3D structures.

    • Joseph M. Slocik
    • , Ruel McKenzie
    •  & Rajesh R. Naik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silver compounds have long been known to possess exceptional solid-state conductivity. Here the authors present silvercloso-boranes in which facile Ag+migration occurs, leading to exceptionally high ion conductivities and potential utility in silver nanowire production and photocatalysis due to their semiconductivity.

    • Mark Paskevicius
    • , Bjarne R. S. Hansen
    •  & Torben R. Jensen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    As alkali-ion battery anodes, metal oxide nanomaterials suffer from severe structural degradation after charging/discharging cycling. Here the authors develop two-dimensional holey nanosheet anodes which display minimal structural changes during electrochemical operation.

    • Lele Peng
    • , Pan Xiong
    •  & Guihua Yu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ruthenium is the cheapest platinum-group metal, yet active hydrogen evolution catalysts with low amounts of ruthenium have yet to be designed. Here, the authors report the preparation of a ruthenium–cobalt nanoalloy and demonstrate its potential as an effective hydrogen evolution catalyst in basic media.

    • Jianwei Su
    • , Yang Yang
    •  & Qianwang Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vacancies in 2D materials can influence their properties, however controlling their formation remains a challenge. Here the authors show that selective etching of a 3D laminate with in-plane chemical ordering results in formation of MXenes with ordered divacancies, as well as elevated conductance and supercapacitance.

    • Quanzheng Tao
    • , Martin Dahlqvist
    •  & Johanna Rosen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Semiconducting materials are potential SERS substrates as alternatives to noble metals, but often suffer from poor stabilities and sensitivities. Here, the authors use molybdenum dioxide as a SERS material, showing high enhancement factors and stability to oxidation even at high temperatures.

    • Qiqi Zhang
    • , Xinshi Li
    •  & Guangcheng Xi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While crystal phase modification may endow materials with altered functionality, the fabrication of allomorphic noble metal nanomaterials is challenging. Here, the authors synthesize an unusual hexagonal close-packed platinum-nickel alloy and demonstrate its enhanced hydrogen evolution catalytic activity.

    • Zhenming Cao
    • , Qiaoli Chen
    •  & Lansun Zheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors show that Ohmic losses are reduced in certain layered metals, such as the transition metal dichalcogenide, due to a small density of states for scattering in the near-IR originating from the electronic band structure, thus leading to improved performance for low-loss plasmonic applications.

    • Morten N. Gjerding
    • , Mohnish Pandey
    •  & Kristian S. Thygesen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Topological defects play important roles in determining material properties, whilst their core regions remain unexplored due to strongly distorted structures. Zhouet al. take advantage of extended core regions in a chromonic liquid crystal and show both a radial and azimuthal dependent director and scalar order parameter.

    • Shuang Zhou
    • , Sergij V. Shiyanovskii
    •  & Oleg D. Lavrentovich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Layered black phosphorous has gained significant attention in the 2D materials community, and dynamical control of its bandgap is key to enable novel applications. Here, the authors demonstrate continuous electrical bandgap tuning using moderate displacement fields.

    • Bingchen Deng
    • , Vy Tran
    •  & Fengnian Xia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cation exchange, traditionally driven by ion solvation or thermal activation, is a robust approach for preparing heterogeneous nanostructures but lacks selectivity for preparation of individual nanocrystals. Here, the authors report an electrically driven cation exchange reaction that enables them to fabricate individual nanocrystals with high selectivity.

    • Qiubo Zhang
    • , Kuibo Yin
    •  & Litao Sun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Aerographite is a highly porous and lightweight carbon material obtained from hollow tubular tetrapod building units. Here, the authors present a comprehensive investigation of tetrapod deformation mechanisms which are at the core of aerographite nanomechanical properties.

    • Raimonds Meija
    • , Stefano Signetti
    •  & Nicola M. Pugno

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polar metals such as GeTe could store information using electric domains but the high conductivity screens electric fields, preventing the use of usual domain control techniques. Here, the authors demonstrate that polar domains in GeTe can be manipulated using electrically generated heat shocks.

    • Pavan Nukala
    • , Mingliang Ren
    •  & Ritesh Agarwal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    No superconductivity could so far be achieved in black phosphorus in its normal orthorhombic form. Here, the authors demonstrate that intercalation with alkali metals makes black phosphorus superconducting with intercalant-independent transition temperature and near-identical superconducting characteristics.

    • R. Zhang
    • , J. Waters
    •  & I. V. Grigorieva

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MoS2 is a promising two-dimensional candidate for opto-electronic and spintronic applications. Here, the authors report electrical spin injection and detection in a few-layered MoS2 channel, demonstrating that the spin diffusion length is at least 235 nm in MoS2conduction band.

    • Shiheng Liang
    • , Huaiwen Yang
    •  & Yuan Lu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plant and animal tissues have evolved to contain hierarchical networks of pores that maximize mass transfer and exchange. Here the authors fabricate bio-inspired materials with multi-scale macro–meso–micropores and show their enhanced performances as photocatalysts, gas sensors and Li-ion battery electrodes.

    • Xianfeng Zheng
    • , Guofang Shen
    •  & Bao-Lian Su

  • Article
    | Open Access

    On-surface synthesis, in which molecular units assemble and couple on a defined surface, can access rare reaction pathways and products. Here, the authors synthesize functionalized organic nanoribbons on the Ag(110) surface, and monitor the evolution of the covalent reactions by an unorthodox vibrational spectroscopy approach.

    • Nataliya Kalashnyk
    • , Kawtar Mouhat
    •  & Sylvain Clair

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photon twins are important for interdisciplinary research fields using non-classical light, such as quantum biology. Here, Heindelet al. demonstrate that a single semiconductor quantum dot integrated into a microlens operates as an efficient photon-pair source.

    • T. Heindel
    • , A. Thoma
    •  & S. Reitzenstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Incorporating oxophilic metals into noble metal catalysts can improve electrocatalytic performance; however, the influence of the distance between noble metal and oxophilic metal active site is not well understood. Here the authors make Pd–Ni–P nanocatalysts for ethanol oxidation, with improved performance achieved by shortening the Pd–Ni distance.

    • Lin Chen
    • , Lilin Lu
    •  & Leyu Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene nanoribbons consist of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Despite non-hexagonal rings generally being more unstable, the authors demonstrate the successful synthesis of graphene-like nanoribbons with periodically embedded four- and eight-membered carbon rings, with tailored electronic properties.

    • Meizhuang Liu
    • , Mengxi Liu
    •  & Dingyong Zhong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CuTe nanocrystals may be used as an alternative to noble metals for plasmonics but requires understanding of the atomic structure and the influence of defects. Here Willhammaret al. use electron tomography to reveal the distribution of vacancies in the nanocrystals and their effect on the optical properties.

    • Tom Willhammar
    • , Kadir Sentosun
    •  & Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantitative understanding of the spatial localization of hot carriers has been elusive. Here Corteset al. spatially map hot-electron-driven reduction chemistry with 15 nm resolution as a function of time and electromagnetic field polarization for different plasmonic nanostructures.

    • Emiliano Cortés
    • , Wei Xie
    •  & Stefan A. Maier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal nanoclusters are explored for their precise structures and compelling properties. Here, the authors synthesize a gold cluster with unique structural features, including giant staple motifs, tetrahedral-coordinateμ4-S atoms, and a helical closest-packed crystallographic pattern that influences the cluster’s photoluminescence.

    • Zibao Gan
    • , Jishi Chen
    •  & Zhikun Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Efficient implementation of quantum dot and well architectures are restricted to costly vacuum-epitaxially-grown semiconductors. The authors use quantum dots in perovskite to build field-emission photodiodes that are sensitive across the visible and into the short-wavelength infrared.

    • F. Pelayo García de Arquer
    • , Xiwen Gong
    •  & Edward Sargent

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thermoelectric modules can generate electricity directly from heat and have applications to waste heat-energy conversion. Here Zhouet al. have fabricated a thermoelectric module based on an air-stable n-type single-walled carbon nanotube sheet which can reach a high power factor of 1500 μWm−1K−2.

    • Wenbin Zhou
    • , Qingxia Fan
    •  & Sishen Xie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    On-surface synthesis is an excellent tool for the controlled synthesis of tailored nanomaterials. Here, the authors hierarchically synthesize covalent structures on Au(111) through Ullmann-type coupling of triphenylamines, forming macrocycles, 1D chains, and 2D networks, allowing them to study the effect of dimensionality on electronic band gap.

    • Christian Steiner
    • , Julian Gebhardt
    •  & Sabine Maier

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