Nanoscience and technology articles within Nature Communications

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  • 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

    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

    Quantum Hall phases in two-dimensional systems have chiral edges, along which electrons propagate in one direction without backscattering. Here, the authors use nuclear magnetic resonance to demonstrate how chiral modes establish dynamical nuclear polarization in a quantum Hall ferromagnet.

    • Kaifeng Yang
    • , Katsumi Nagase
    •  & Hongwu Liu

  • 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

    The next level of miniaturization of electronic circuits calls for a connection between current single-molecule and traditional semiconductor processing technologies. Here, the authors show a method to prepare metal/molecule/silicon diodes that present high current rectification ratios exceeding 4,000.

    • Albert C. Aragonès
    • , Nadim Darwish
    •  & Ismael Díez-Pérez

  • 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

    Two-dimensional materials are receiving increasing interest as they could pave the way to a paradigm shift in nano-electronics. Here, the authors demonstrate a 1-bit implementation of a microprocessor consisting of 115 transistors, using atomically thin MoS2.

    • Stefan Wachter
    • , Dmitry K. Polyushkin
    •  & Thomas Mueller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomic force microscopy allows for the imaging of molecules at a nanometre resolution. Here the authors combine AFM with self-assembling DNA origami structures to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms and determine haplotypes.

    • Honglu Zhang
    • , Jie Chao
    •  & Chunhai Fan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides host excitons, bound electron-hole pairs that play a pivotal role in optoelectronic applications relying on strong light-matter interaction. Here, the authors unveil the spectroscopic signature of boson scattering of two-dimensional excitons in monolayer WSe2.

    • M. Manca
    • , M. M. Glazov
    •  & B. Urbaszek

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accurate modelling of memristor dynamics is essential for the development of autonomous learning in artificial neural networks. Through a combined theoretical and experimental study of the polarization switching process in ferroelectric memristors, Boynet al. establish a model that enables learning and retrieving patterns in a neural system.

    • Sören Boyn
    • , Julie Grollier
    •  & Vincent Garcia

  • 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

    Electronic skins and health monitoring devices rely on integrated tactile sensors, which often require tailored degrees of sensitivity in specific pressure ranges. Here, the authors fabricate a versatile matrix array of pressure-sensitive graphene transistors operating in the wide 250 Pa to 3 MPa pressure range.

    • Sung-Ho Shin
    • , Sangyoon Ji
    •  & Jang-Ung Park

  • 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

    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

    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

    Quantum interference in charge transport is attracting interest with applications in nanoelectronics and quantum computing. Here, the authors present a method for quantifying electronic transmission through molecules, and demonstrate constructive quantum interference in a molecule with two identical, parallel coupling paths.

    • Sabine Richert
    • , Jonathan Cremers
    •  & Christiane R. Timmel

  • 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

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although DNA nanopores are widely explored as synthetic membrane proteins, it is still unclear how the anionic DNA assemblies stably reside within the hydrophobic core of a lipid bilayer. Here, the authors use molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the key dynamic interactions and energetics stabilizing the nanopore-membrane interaction.

    • Vishal Maingi
    • , Jonathan R. Burns
    •  & Mark S. P. Sansom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Impedance mismatch between acoustic metamaterials and a surrounding medium hinders efficient applications, especially for zero-index materials. Here, Duboiset al. utilize the Dirac-like dispersion in a double-zero-index material to overcome this problem and to collimate sound.

    • Marc Dubois
    • , Chengzhi Shi
    •  & Xiang Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluid shear stress plays a critical role in receptor-mediated signalling and has been shown to sensitize cancer cells to apoptosis. Here, Mitchellet al. introduce polymer micro- and nanoparticles tethered to tumour cells to amplify fluid shear stress effects, and find that they can enhance immune cytokine-mediated apoptosis of tumour cells in vitro and in vivo.

    • Michael J. Mitchell
    • , Jamie Webster
    •  & Robert Langer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of nanoscale sensors capable of detection of biological parameters is of great interest in diagnosis. Here, the authors use experimental and theoretical methods to develop a nanodiamond sensor with nitrogen vacancy defects for detection of pH and redox in a microfluidic device.

    • Torsten Rendler
    • , Jitka Neburkova
    •  & Jörg Wrachtrup

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Carbon fibres are emerging as a promising material for multifunctional nanotextiles. Here, the authors show that diamond nanothread possesses excellent torsional deformation capability and interfacial load transfer efficiency, ideal for constructing next generation carbon fibres.

    • Haifei Zhan
    • , Gang Zhang
    •  & Yuantong Gu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gold nanostructures have shape-dependent properties, making synthetic control over their morphology critical. Here, the authors use dynamic compression to obtain a variety of gold nanoarchitectures, which are formed at very fast timescales by the controlled coalescence of spherical particle arrays.

    • Binsong Li
    • , Kaifu Bian
    •  & Hongyou Fan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proteins can template the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles, but the formation mechanisms remain vague. Here, the authors directly observe, through a sequence of X-ray crystal structures, the stages of gold sub-nanocluster growth within the confined environment of a ferritin cage.

    • Basudev Maity
    • , Satoshi Abe
    •  & Takafumi Ueno

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-dimensional materials have shown great promise as efficient chemical sensors. Here, the authors present a sensing mechanism to allow the detection of molecules based on dark excitons in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides.

    • Maja Feierabend
    • , Gunnar Berghäuser
    •  & Ermin Malic

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A key step in the on-surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbons is thermal annealing of polymer precursors on a metal substrate. Here, Maet al. decouple the cyclodehydrogenation reaction from the catalytic metal substrate and grow graphene nanoribbons by injecting charges at molecular sites.

    • Chuanxu Ma
    • , Zhongcan Xiao
    •  & An-Ping Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Techniques for structural characterization and quantification of DNA origami are still poorly developed, despite advances in other aspects of DNA nanotechnology. Here, the authors combine barcoding and next generation sequencing to simultaneously image and quantify self-assembled DNA nanostructures.

    • Cameron Myhrvold
    • , Michael Baym
    •  & Peng Yin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The sustained release of drugs within the gastrointestinal tract as well as their detection following administration is a challenge. Here, the authors develop a microcarrier that supported sustained drug release in the gastrointestinal tractin vivoand could be monitored with real-time imaging.

    • Rui Wang
    • , Lei Zhou
    •  & Fan Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-assembling proteins that form capsid-like structures act as molecular containers for diverse cargoes. Here, the authors solve the cryo-EM structures of lumazine synthase shells, and show that supercharged mutants form expanded assemblies, indicating that electrostatics can be exploited to engineer cage architecture.

    • Eita Sasaki
    • , Daniel Böhringer
    •  & Donald Hilvert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Volcano plots for electrocatalytic hydrogen production show the best catalysts as those ensuring the hydrogen binding step is thermodynamically neutral. Here, the authors report fabrication of a highly active thermoneutral electrocatalyst via doping of a single platinum atom into a gold nanocluster.

    • Kyuju Kwak
    • , Woojun Choi
    •  & Dongil Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene nanoribbons are promising candidates for 2D material electrical interconnects; however, the top-down fabrication of nanoribbons has remained a challenge. Here, Chenet al. have used a hexagonal boron nitride template to grow narrow, integrated graphene nanoribbons with small bandgaps.

    • Lingxiu Chen
    • , Li He
    •  & Mianheng Jiang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Double-resonance Raman scattering is a sensitive spectroscopic probe of the interplay between electrons and phonons in a crystal. Here, the authors unveil the signature of double-resonance intervalley scattering by acoustic phonons in two-dimensional MoS2, underpinning the physics of valley depolarization.

    • Bruno R. Carvalho
    • , Yuanxi Wang
    •  & Marcos A. Pimenta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Robust molecular junctions demand highly reproducible switching between two or more well-defined conductance states upon control. Here, Gerhardet al. show the utility of elastic deformation of tripodal spirobifluorene derivatives in the junction of a scanning tunnelling microscope to achieve this goal.

    • Lukas Gerhard
    • , Kevin Edelmann
    •  & Wulf Wulfhekel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Synthetic DNA nanomachines have been designed to perform a variety of tasksin vitro. Here, the authors build a nanomotor system that integrates a DNAzyme and DNA track on a gold nanoparticle, to facilitate cellular uptake, and apply it as a real-time miRNA imaging tool in living cells.

    • Hanyong Peng
    • , Xing-Fang Li
    •  & X. Chris Le

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Losses of bandwidth are inevitable when interfacing between optical and electronic components. Here the authors present a switching device consisting of a two-dimensional disordered array of nanoholes that can potentially transfer information about 40 times faster than conventional switching devices.

    • Wonjun Choi
    • , Yonghyeon Jo
    •  & Wonshik Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single electrons of solid-state defects can be used to detect nearby nuclear spins, but so far only a few at a time have been resolved. Here the authors propose an approach based on delayed entanglement echo that demonstrates improved detection and manipulation capabilities of nuclear spins by an NV centre.

    • Zhen-Yu Wang
    • , Jorge Casanova
    •  & Martin B. Plenio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optomechanical systems could form logic gates, but key requirements are two stable static states and the ability to switch between them. Here, the authors observe radiation-pressure induced buckling transitions in an optomechanical system, and control this transition by varying laser power and detuning.

    • H. Xu
    • , U. Kemiktarak
    •  & J. M. Taylor

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How quantum size effects affect superconductivity has been predicted, but it has never been verified. Here, Vlaicet al. report superconducting parity effect as a function of lead nanocrystal volume, unambiguously validating the Anderson criterion.

    • Sergio Vlaic
    • , Stéphane Pons
    •  & Hervé Aubin

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