Physical sciences articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetic resonance imaging is a promising non-invasive approach to visualize paramagnetic materials in devices, but the short lifetime of signals currently limits its use. Here, the authors develop an approach which overcomes this hurdle to spectroscopically image lithiation fronts during battery operation.

    • Mingxue Tang
    • , Vincent Sarou-Kanian
    •  & Elodie Salager

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Due to its high diffusivity, hydrogen is considered a weak inhibitor or even a promoter of dislocation movements in metals and alloys. Here the authors quantitatively demonstrate that after exposing aluminium to hydrogen, mobile dislocations can lose mobility, due to segregation of hydrogenated vacancies to dislocations.

    • Degang Xie
    • , Suzhi Li
    •  & Zhiwei Shan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Probing the evolution of mixed-phase states in materials offers unique insights into the microscopic mechanism of phase transitions. Here, Mattoni et al. report imaging of nanoscale formation and growth of insulating domains across the metal-insulator transition in NdNiO3thin films, uncovering a rich interplay between structural and electronic degrees of freedom.

    • G. Mattoni
    • , P. Zubko
    •  & A. D. Caviglia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nematic liquid crystals have potential as sensors for various molecules. Here, the authors present a computational chemistry model for describing the detection of a warfare agent by liquid crystals, opening the door for the atomic-scale design of sensitive and selective chemoresponsive systems.

    • Luke T. Roling
    • , Jessica Scaranto
    •  & Manos Mavrikakis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thanks to their strong light-matter interaction, atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides are ideal active materials for cavity quantum electrodynamics. Here, the authors embed a WSe2monolayer within a Tamm-plasmon-polariton cavity, and observe exciton-polariton formation at room temperature.

    • Nils Lundt
    • , Sebastian Klembt
    •  & Christian Schneider

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Surface currents in topological insulators can be controlled by light, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, Braun et al. report an ultrafast shift photocurrent at the surface of Ca-doped Bi2Se3, whereas injection currents are much smaller than expected from asymmetric depopulation of the Dirac cone.

    • Lukas Braun
    • , Gregor Mussler
    •  & Tobias Kampfrath

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The inherent instabilities of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the presence of water or organic compounds have limited their real-world applicability. Here, Ma and co-workers present a coating strategy to fabricate MOFs with amphiphobic surfaces, simultaneously protecting them from moisture and organic vapours.

    • Qi Sun
    • , Hongming He
    •  & Shengqian Ma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In order to be practical for large-scale deployment, the cost of solar hydrogen generation must be significantly reduced. Here, the authors employ a triple-junction solar cell with two series connected polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysers to achieve solar to hydrogen efficiency of 30%.

    • Jieyang Jia
    • , Linsey C. Seitz
    •  & Thomas F. Jaramillo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Analysis of the mechanical properties of two-dimensional materials is important for device development. Here, the authors report a microscopic method for measuring the adhesion of graphene on top of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, which exploits atomic-scale blisters formed upon neon atom intercalation.

    • Jun Wang
    • , Dan C. Sorescu
    •  & Petro Maksymovych

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It would be desirable to have a reliable and scalable method to manipulate neutral-atoms for the creation of controllable quantum systems. Here the authors demonstrate real-time transport of single rubidium atoms in holographic microtraps controlled by liquid-crystal spatial light modulators.

    • Hyosub Kim
    • , Woojun Lee
    •  & Jaewook Ahn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The wettability properties of graphene hold promise for the realisation of flow control devices. Here, the authors demonstrate that the degree of water penetration through a nickel mesh coated with graphene can be controlled electrically, enabling dynamic locomotion of water droplets.

    • Rassoul Tabassian
    • , Jung-Hwan Oh
    •  & Il-Kwon Oh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sensitive and label-free imaging methods to visualize nerve degeneration are currently lacking. Here authors show that stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy can be used to monitor peripheral nerve degeneration in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and in postmortem tissue from ALS patients.

    • Feng Tian
    • , Wenlong Yang
    •  & Kevin Eggan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Large methane hydrates reserves are found in mud volcanoes, but climate change may lead to methane release. Here, the authors show that methane adsorption creates overpressures leading to rapid recirculation of seawater, thus reducing the melting timescales of methane hydrates from millennia to decades.

    • Silvana S. S. Cardoso
    •  & Julyan H. E. Cartwright

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding stimuli responsiveness on a molecular level can help with the rational design of nanomaterials with sharp responses. Here, Gao and co-workers have shown the molecular pathway of the supramolecular self-assembly of a series of ultra-pH sensitive block copolymers.

    • Yang Li
    • , Tian Zhao
    •  & Jinming Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite their exotic properties active metamaterials, where active materials are introduced to advance tunability, switchability and nonlinearity, are seldom reported. Here, Liu et al. demonstrate a vanadium dioxide integrated photonic metamaterial as a transformative platform for multifunctional control.

    • Liu Liu
    • , Lei Kang
    •  & Douglas H. Werner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stem cell therapy of myocardial infarction is hampered by poor survival of injected cells. Here the authors develop injectable aggregates of stem cells differentiated to an early cardiac stage and encapsulated in a biodegradable micromatrix, and show their enhanced therapeutic efficacy in a heart infarction mouse model.

    • Shuting Zhao
    • , Zhaobin Xu
    •  & Xiaoming He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ferroelectric reliability must be solved prior to practical non-volatile electronic devices based on magnetoelectric multiferroics. Here, Hsiehet al. report a long lasting ferroelectric retention in the heteroepitaxially constrained multiferroic mesocrystal.

    • Ying-Hui Hsieh
    • , Fei Xue
    •  & Ying-Hao Chu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Probing individual impurities will become increasingly important as devices shrink towards the nanoscale. Here Rashidi et al., introduce a method based on time-resolved scanning tunnelling spectroscopy of surface dangling bonds to investigate the dynamics of individual dopants in silicon.

    • Mohammad Rashidi
    • , Jacob A. J. Burgess
    •  & Robert A. Wolkow

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The wurtzite crystal structure of nitride semiconductors results in strong piezoelectricity. Here, the authors also achieve electric-field control of the magnetization of gallium manganese nitride, thus showing that piezoelectric and magnetoelectric effects can be combined in the same material.

    • D. Sztenkiel
    • , M. Foltyn
    •  & T. Dietl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In organic photovoltaics, electron acceptors are developed to replace fullerenes, and new donors need to be designed to match these acceptors. Here, the authors show that a polymer with strong temperature dependent aggregation and intentionally reduced crystallinity matches non-fullerene acceptors.

    • Zhengke Li
    • , Kui Jiang
    •  & He Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current cysteine bioconjugation strategies for protein-drug conjugates synthesis often yield heterogeneous and poorly stable products. Here, the authors use carbonylacrylic derivatives to selectively modify cysteine residues and synthesize biologically functional antibody conjugates highly stable in plasma.

    • Barbara Bernardim
    • , Pedro M.S.D. Cal
    •  & Gonçalo J. L. Bernardes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biological applications of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging are currently limited to mapping naturally occurring elements in tissues. Here, the authors encapsulate toxic elements in functionalized single walled nanotubes, and use them as non-toxic XRF contrast agents for imaging specific cellular organelles.

    • Christopher J. Serpell
    • , Reida N. Rutte
    •  & Benjamin G. Davis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The organization of supramolecular peptide polymers determines their properties; however, controlling their dimensions still remains a problem. Here, Gazitet al. show the spontaneous elongation and shortening of these polymers at an individual nano-assembly level by using a microfluidic platform.

    • Zohar A. Arnon
    • , Andreas Vitalis
    •  & Ehud Gazit

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The suppression of crystallization due to the appearance of structures with fivefold symmetry is widely adopted, but its kinetic and thermodynamic origin remains elusive. Taffs et al.show that fivefold symmetry substantially slows down the nucleation rate but not the crystal growth rate as expected.

    • Jade Taffs
    •  & C. Patrick Royall

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Majorana zero modes are a potential resource for quantum information processing as they offer immunity to noise, but they are difficult to create and control experimentally. Here, the authors use a photonic quantum simulator to mimic the exchange of Majorana zero modes in a spin-half chain.

    • Jin-Shi Xu
    • , Kai Sun
    •  & Guang-Can Guo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High performance CdTe thin film solar cells typically require a chloride activation treatment. Here, Majoret al. show that the main effect of the most effective chloride-based treatments is chloride accumulation at grain boundaries and that it results in improved open circuit voltages.

    • J. D. Major
    • , M. Al Turkestani
    •  & K. Durose

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Using SiGe in the core of optical fibres extends the wavelength range and potential optical functionality, but fabrication challenges exist. Here, Coucheronet al. report the fabrication and tailoring of SiGe-core optical fibres using CO2laser irradiation to heat the glass cladding and recrystallize the core.

    • David A. Coucheron
    • , Michael Fokine
    •  & Ursula J. Gibson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diversity-oriented synthesis is useful for generating complex molecular structures occupying diverse molecular space. Here the authors report a strategy to access libraries of privileged heterocyclic structures, and furthermore identify an inhibitor of LRS–RagD protein–protein interaction.

    • Jonghoon Kim
    • , Jinjoo Jung
    •  & Seung Bum Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Given the scarcity and cost of platinum, it is important to develop sustainable processes for its recycling. Here, the authors report the dissolution of metallic platinum using reductive and oxidative gases to repetitively change its surface oxidation state, in the absence of an external electric current.

    • Nejc Hodnik
    • , Claudio Baldizzone
    •  & Karl J. J. Mayrhofer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanomedicine efficacy in a clinical setting depends on the pharmacological properties of the therapeutic nanoparticles. Here, the authors exemplify an accelerated translational strategy from small-scale screening to clinical scale-up for an orally-dosed aqueous paediatric HIV nanomedicine.

    • Marco Giardiello
    • , Neill J. Liptrott
    •  & Andrew Owen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forming self-assembled soft materials with unconventional properties can be useful in many different applications. Here, Sciortino and co-workers have designed and experimentally realized a one-pot DNA hydrogel that melts both on heating and on cooling.

    • Francesca Bomboi
    • , Flavio Romano
    •  & Francesco Sciortino

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photothermal therapy can induce an anti-tumour immune response by producing tumour-associated antigens. Here, the authors design a nanoparticle that simultaneously acts as a photothermal agent and an immune-adjuvant and demonstrate the anti-tumour efficacy in combination with anti-CTLA4 therapy in preclinical murine cancer models.

    • Qian Chen
    • , Ligeng Xu
    •  & Zhuang Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Redox flow batteries using organic active materials are highly sought after because of their potential to satisfy low cost and sustainability requirements. Here, the authors report a biomimetic flow battery based on flavin mononucleotide and a hydrotrope with promising performance characteristics.

    • Akihiro Orita
    • , Michael G. Verde
    •  & Ying Shirley Meng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molybdenum disulfide shows potential for use in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Here, the authors use electrochemical intercalation to tune its structural and compositional features, and show that the thermal conductivity can be effectively modified over a considerable range.

    • Gaohua Zhu
    • , Jun Liu
    •  & David G. Cahill

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energy storage and biomass utilization are two major challenges for sustainability. Here the authors use a major lignin hydrogenolysis product for the synthesis of an N-heterocycle and develop a bimetallic catalyst for repeated hydrogenation/dehydrogenation of this and other molecules for hydrogen storage.

    • Daniel Forberg
    • , Tobias Schwob
    •  & Rhett Kempe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The strongly-correlated electron system URu2Si2 possesses a hidden-order phase whose order parameter remains unidentified. Here, the authors demonstrate the development of spin-density-wave phases in URu2Si2under high magnetic fields, providing a potential in-road to understanding this system.

    • W. Knafo
    • , F. Duc
    •  & L.-P. Regnault

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cavity optomechanics enables measurement of torque at levels unattainable by previous techniques, but the main obstacle to improved sensitivity is thermal noise. Here the authors present cryogenic measurement of a cavity-optomechanical torsional resonator with unprecedented torque sensitivity of 2.9 yNm/√Hz.

    • P. H. Kim
    • , B. D. Hauer
    •  & J. P. Davis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Voltage control of magnetism in ferromagnetic semiconductor is appealing for spintronic applications, which is yet hindered by compound formation and low Curie temperature. Here, Nie et al. report electric-field control of ferromagnetism in MnxGe1−xnanomeshes with a Curie temperature above 400 K and controllable giant magnetoresistance.

    • Tianxiao Nie
    • , Jianshi Tang
    •  & Kang L. Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Van der Waals heterostructures enable fabrication of materials with engineered functionalities. Here, the authors demonstrate precise control over the interaction between layers by application of pressure with a scanning tunnelling microscopy tip.

    • Matthew Yankowitz
    • , K. Watanabe
    •  & Brian J. LeRoy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In photovoltaics, sub-band gap energy photons can be harvested using up-conversion strategies. Here, the authors show that the thermally enhanced up-converted photoluminescence results in enhanced energy conversion, for an accessible temperature range and with a broad range of incident photon energy.

    • Assaf Manor
    • , Nimrod Kruger
    •  & Carmel Rotschild

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The promise of lithium-sulfur batteries with higher energy densities than lithium-ion is hindered by the insulating nature of sulfur and dissolution of polysulfides. Here the authors design titanium monoxide/carbon hollow nanospheres that overcome both obstacles, enabling improved electrochemical properties.

    • Zhen Li
    • , Jintao Zhang
    •  & Xiong Wen (David) Lou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vapour-deposited glasses show high stability compared to that of aged glasses, but a structural understanding remains elusive. Here, Reid et al. find that vapour deposited and liquid-cooled glasses show identical structures, suggesting these two classes of films lie on the same path to equilibrium.

    • Daniel R. Reid
    • , Ivan Lyubimov
    •  & Juan J. de Pablo

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