Spectrophotometry articles from across Nature Portfolio

A unique soluble β-carotene-binding protein pigment extracted from yellow locust cuticle is biochemically and spectroscopically equivalent to the protein reconstituted in carotenoid-producing E. coli cells and capable of binding to chitin in vitro.

The miniaturization of spectrometers to a submillimeter-scale footprint opens opportunities for applications in hyperspectral imaging and lab-on-a-chip systems. Here, the authors report a high-performance single-pixel photodetector spectrometer based on the III-V semiconductor p-graded-n junction, featuring a voltage-tunable optical response.

The authors propose and demonstrate a novel integrated spectrometer that measures any arbitrary spectrum with two-dimensional Fourier transform, breaking the scalability limit in chip-scale spectrometry.

Open-shell organic molecules with properties that can be modulated by external stimuli are of interest for spintronics applications. Now, an overcrowded alkene with open-shell tetraradical character has been synthesized in which the interaction between the π-conjugated subunits depends on the charge and spin state.

Artist’s impression (not to scale) showing a fanciful concept of how a glass microsphere produces a photonic nanojet that significantly improves resolution when examining microchip wafers with a microscope.

Transition metals are increasingly recognized as key drivers in the formation and aging of light-absorbing organic aerosols, known as brown carbon, which impact the energy flux in the atmosphere. Here the authors discuss somewhat overlooked condensed phase chemical processes and identify research needs to improve our fundamental understanding of atmospheric aerosols and ultimately reduce modelling uncertainties of the direct and indirect effects of aerosol particles on the climate.

The process of electronic energy transfer between molecules has long fascinated chemists. Femtosecond spectroscopy measurements of a series of molecular dimers now reveal signals that arise from non-Born–Oppenheimer coupling, suggesting a new mechanism to enhance energy transfer.