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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single-material monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuits via CMOS compatible low-temperature approaches are crucial to the continued development of post-Moore electronics. Liuet al., report carbon nanotube based electrically driven 3D monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuits.

    • Yang Liu
    • , Sheng Wang
    •  & Lian-Mao Peng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The creation of practical devices based on magnetic skyrmions depends on the development of methods to create and control stable individual skyrmions. Here, the authors present a bilayer device that uses dipolar interactions to stabilize skyrmions that can be manipulated using electric currents.

    • A. Hrabec
    • , J. Sampaio
    •  & S. Rohart

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoacoustic imaging becomes an enabling technology that is designed for clinic diagnosis of disease. Here, Chenet al. report an imaging contrast agent—plasmonic nanoparticles caged in hydrogel subject to reversible volume change depending on temperature, which exhibits tunable photoacoustic signal.

    • Yun-Sheng Chen
    • , Soon Joon Yoon
    •  & Stanislav Emelianov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Exploring the Rashba spin splitting in colloidal materials enables spintronic device with low cost and high flexibility. Here, the authors report Rashba spin splitting in colloidal PbS nanosheets and demonstrate a mechanism for selectively exciting the carriers with different spin states.

    • Mohammad Mehdi Ramin Moayed
    • , Thomas Bielewicz
    •  & Christian Klinke

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Post-translational modifications modulate nanomechanics of proteins. Here the authors use single-molecule force-clamp spectroscopy supported by density functional theory calculations to show how reactive low-weight molecular thiol compounds directly affect mechanical protein folding.

    • Amy E. M. Beedle
    • , Marc Mora
    •  & Sergi Garcia-Manyes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spintronics, graphene, and carbon nanotubes are potential components of next-generation high performance computers. Here, the authors propose and theoretically evaluate a spintronic logic family composed solely of carbon materials with the potential for a 100 × improvement in energy efficiency.

    • Joseph S. Friedman
    • , Anuj Girdhar
    •  & Alan V Sahakian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Memristors are key structural units of complex memory and computing systems, yet most currently available memristors are based on materials that are not compatible with silicon technology. Here, the authors demonstrate a CMOS-compatible, self-rectifying memristor and arrays entirely based on p-Si/SiO2/n-Si.

    • Can Li
    • , Lili Han
    •  & Qiangfei Xia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides can be grown on large scale using chemical vapour deposition which, however, determines presence of grain boundaries. Here, the authors report that third-harmonic generation imaging provides excellent sensitivity and fast speed for grain boundary visualization in MoS2.

    • Lasse Karvonen
    • , Antti Säynätjoki
    •  & Zhipei Sun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Liquid metals are excellent candidate materials for biomedicine, owing to their intriguing optical properties and chemical stability. Here, the authors design multifunctional theranostic liquid metal nanocapsules that, upon irradiation, generate heat and reactive oxygen species and change shape to release drugs.

    • Svetlana A. Chechetka
    • , Yue Yu
    •  & Eijiro Miyako

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By utilizing electron-hole asymmetry in ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transistors, McRaeet al., develop ‘two-in-one’ SWCNT quantum devices that can switch from behaving as quantum-dot transistors for holes to quantum buses for electrons by changing the transistor’s gate voltage

    • A. C. McRae
    • , V. Tayari
    •  & A. R. Champagne

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors introduce the concept of nanocscale lasers based on a tightly confined anapole mode. Using first-principle calculations they show that the superposition of internal modes can generate radiation-less states that are scattering free, potentially overcoming the limitations of conventional nanolasers.

    • Juan S. Totero Gongora
    • , Andrey E. Miroshnichenko
    •  & Andrea Fratalocchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA-templated silver nanoclusters possess desirable optical properties, but their excited state dynamics remain poorly understood. Here the authors show that intracluster relaxations in such clusters are strongly coupled to a vibrational mode, resulting in ultrafast concerted transfer of population and coherence between excited states.

    • Erling Thyrhaug
    • , Sidsel Ammitzbøll Bogh
    •  & Donatas Zigmantas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energy drain on micromechanical resonators is always compensated by energy gain from external sources during operation. Here, Chenet al. show a strategy that can sustain stable oscillations by redistributing mechanical energy between coupled vibrational modes when the external energy supply is off.

    • Changyao Chen
    • , Damián H. Zanette
    •  & Daniel López

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rational design of heterogeneous catalysts requires molecular understanding of catalytic processes. Here, the authors attach PtFe and Pd nanocatalysts to Raman signal-enhancing Au-silica nanoparticles, allowing them to spectroscopically observe the active species and bonds involved in CO oxidation in real time.

    • Hua Zhang
    • , Chen Wang
    •  & Zhong-Qun Tian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The emergence of quantum emitters in 2D materials has led to the quest for methods and designs enabling their controllable spatial positioning. Here, the authors use strain engineering to fabricate a deterministic array of quantum emitters in WSe2with nanometre positioning accuracy.

    • Artur Branny
    • , Santosh Kumar
    •  & Brian D Gerardot

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quasicrystals promise exciting technological advances in optical devices, but their formation mechanism is yet not fully understood. Here, the authors describe a two-dimensional dodecagonal fullerene quasicrystal, forming on a Pt3Ti(111)-surface due to the complex adsorption-energy landscape.

    • M. Paßens
    • , V. Caciuc
    •  & S. Karthäuser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-range magnetic order hardly ever emerges in a two-dimensional system due to the competition of fundamental magnetic interactions. Here, Girovskyet al. directly observe a long-range ferrimagnetic order emerging in a two-dimensional supramolecular Kondo lattice.

    • Jan Girovsky
    • , Jan Nowakowski
    •  & Nirmalya Ballav

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Devices based on antiferromagnetic materials have advantages of robustness to external magnetic fields and the potential for ultrafast operation. Here the authors present a multilevel antiferromagnetic memory cell that can be operated using standard electronic interfaces.

    • K. Olejník
    • , V. Schuler
    •  & T. Jungwirth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A number of nanomaterials for dual diagnostic and therapeutic application have a number of limitations including poor signal-to-noise ratio. Here, the authors developed dual stimuli-responsive and reversibly activatable nanoprobes for tumour targeting and fluorescence-guided photothermal therapy.

    • Xu Zhao
    • , Cheng-Xiong Yang
    •  & Xiu-Ping Yan

  • 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

    Holograms generally need to be as thick as a wavelength of light to introduce the necessary optical phase shifts that create true three-dimensional images. Here, Yueet al. use a high-index topological insulator material to create a resonant optical cavity and thin holograms to the nanometre scale.

    • Zengji Yue
    • , Gaolei Xue
    •  & Min Gu

  • 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

    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

    Foldamers are synthetic oligomers that adopt folded conformations through non-covalent intramolecular interactions. Here, Cariniet al. describe a family of foldamers with a large number of anthracene units that are able to transport charge efficiently at the single-molecule level.

    • Marco Carini
    • , Marta P. Ruiz
    •  & Aurelio Mateo-Alonso

  • 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

    The study of Maxwell's demon provides a link between information thermodynamics and modern electronics. Using integrated nanometer-scale transistors in a single electron box configuration, Chidaet al., demonstrate the extraction of electrical power by Maxwell’s demon.

    • Kensaku Chida
    • , Samarth Desai
    •  & Akira Fujiwara

  • 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

    Shaping and guiding the flow of ballistic electrons is at the core of electron optics; however in graphene this is hindered by chiral tunneling. Here, the authors experimentally demonstrate an electron collimator based on hBN-encapsulated ballistic graphene, capable of emitting narrow electron beams.

    • Arthur W. Barnard
    • , Alex Hughes
    •  & David Goldhaber-Gordon

  • 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

    Drug delivery in brain tumours is still a significant clinical concern. In this study, the authors develop a biomimetic lipoprotein nanoparticle for the efficient delivery of ATF5 siRNA inRas-activated brain cancer cells, where the nanoparticle is internalized by macropinocytosis in a Ras-dependent manner.

    • Jia-Lin Huang
    • , Gan Jiang
    •  & Xiao-Ling Gao

  • 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

    Responsive molecular machines can perform specific tasks triggered by environmental or chemical stimuli. Here, the authors show that antibodies can be used as inputs to modulate the binding of a molecular cargo to a designed DNA-based nanomachine, with potential applications in diagnostics and drug delivery.

    • Simona Ranallo
    • , Carl Prévost-Tremblay
    •  & Francesco Ricci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Efficient on-demand cooling of the functional degrees of freedom in solid-state implementations of quantum information processing devices remains a challenge. Here the authors demonstrate direct cooling of a photonic mode of a superconducting resonator using voltage-controllable electron tunnelling.

    • Kuan Yen Tan
    • , Matti Partanen
    •  & Mikko Möttönen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organic functionalization is key to the development of graphene-based functional composites, yet selective covalent functionalization is hindered by graphene chemical inertness. Here, the authors demonstrate a versatile route to graphene covalent bonding with amino-terminated organic molecules.

    • Rebeca A. Bueno
    • , José I. Martínez
    •  & José A. Martín-Gago

  • 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

    Macroscopic magneto-transport measurements enable investigation of the transport properties of materials in the presence of magnetic fields, yet they do not allow access to atomic scale details. Here, the authors combine scanning tunneling potentiometry with magnetic fields to demonstrate nanoscale magneto-transport.

    • Philip Willke
    • , Thomas Kotzott
    •  & Martin Wenderoth

  • 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

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