Surface patterning articles from across Nature Portfolio

Surface condensation is predetermined and is typically adjusted by chemical or topographical surface modification. Here, the authors report on a strategy to control the surface condensation behavior by adjusting molecular conformations in self-assembled monolayers.

With a helium focused ion beam, an ionic liquid can undergo induced wetting to flow into a desired pattern on a surface in a controllable, rewriteable manner. Combined with electrochemical deposition, patterned solid materials can be produced.

Precise and scalable patterning is essential for the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in solid-state electronics and photonics. Here, the authors report on resistance-free, direct photo- and electron-beam lithography of MOF films using crosslinking chemistry.

Metalenses are lightweight and compact alternative to achromatic lens assemblies, but they usually fulfill the focusing requirements for a single wavelength. The authors design and fabricate a cascade liquid crystal Pancharatnam-Berry lens that enables a seven-wavelength achromatic focusing in a broad range of frequencies.

Metal-organic frameworks are versatile materials but typically suffer from poor electrical conductivity. Here, a patterning technique allows controlled metal-organic framework growth on predefined areas of functionalized carbon nanotube for increased conductivity.

Mask-free multi-photon lithography allows the straightforward fabrication of nanostructures, but high precision and good resolution can be challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a combination of photo-inhibition and chemical quenchers for improved lithography performance.

Two-photon lithography has advantages for precise additive manufacturing at the nanoscale, but its printing speed is currently too slow for large-scale practical applications. A sensitive photoresist based on zirconium oxide hybrid nanoparticles is shown to increase the linear printing speed of two-­photon lithography up to the order of metres per second.

Mechanical force has recently become a new tool for chemists to create colours, trigger reactions, and develop advanced fabrication techniques not possible using other methods. Force-induced multiple colouring has now been developed as a printing technique in soft lithography, enabling the colouring of polymeric materials without inks.

Making useful and interesting alloys depends on the relative concentrations of the elements.

Single crystals and thin films of metal–organic frameworks can now be directly patterned by lithography down to the sub-50-nm scale, enabling straightforward integration in solid-state devices.

The microstate of geometrically frustrated two-dimensional arrays of strongly interacting nanomagnets is controlled by means of topological defect-driven magnetic writing, to the extent that elusive configurations such as the ground state and negative-temperature states are realized.