Cutting-edge research in materials science, and at the interface with physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. Editorially independent. Tweets sent by editors.
Protein crystallization is poorly understood and difficult to program through the primary sequence. Here, a computational approach to designing 3D protein crystals with prespecified lattice architectures is shown.
@UWBiochemistry
@UWproteindesign
@HHMINEWS
Piezoelectrics have longitudinal and transverse piezoelectric coefficients opposite in sign. By tuning interface inversion asymmetry, auxetic systems are shown, with expansion or contraction along all directions under electric field.
@WarwickPhysics
Check out our July issue, it is out! It covers semi-artificial photosynthesis, low-voltage ferroelectric switching, and exciton-polariton physics. A comment on flexible automation is also featured.
The topology of electronic band structures | This Perspective provides a broad introduction to topological materials science, with a particular focus on semimetals.
@hseas
@maxplanckpress
NH3 production via the Haber–Bosch process is carbon-intensive, but electrochemical methods could enable decentralized production using renewable energy. Calcium is now shown to mediate nitrogen reduction for NH3 synthesis.
@jaramillogroup
@DTUtweet
Magneto-gas vesicles, protein nanostructures with enhanced ultrasound signal and sensitivity, enable the non-invasive, long-term and quantitative monitoring of the mechanics of three-dimensional tissues and animals
@yonsei_u
@mikhailshapiro
@IBS_media
Gold nanoclusters show promise as photothermal materials, but are often thermally unstable. Here ligand engineering is used to integrate molecular rotors with gold nanoclusters to dissipate thermal energy and improve photothermal therapy performance.
Our January issue is online. Read about MOF nanolithography, degradation mechanisms for layered cathodes, and ultrafast skyrmion generation. We also feature a Review on halide perovskite LEDs.
Our February issue is online. Read about bioengineering tools to generate organoids, large single crystals MOFs, what happens to spin waves in the ultra-thin limit, and much much more...
Register for the hybrid Nature Conference on Bio-inspired Nanomaterials taking place this November. Speakers include Joanna Aizenberg, Taeghwan Hyeon, Viviana Gradinaru, Nicholas Kotov and more.
@NatureMaterials
@Nature
@NatRevMater
@KoNTRS
@NatureConf
Two-dimensional materials can display chirality that enables asymmetric properties. This Perspective discusses possible ways to create and control structural chirality and the intriguing physics of these systems.
@RiceUniversity
Electrode arrays for neurological diagnosis and treatment carry a risk of nerve injury. Nerve cuffs with tiny voltage-controlled shape-reconfigurable electrode arrays have been reported, allowing active wrapping around delicate nerves.
@GeorgeMalliaras
The rational design and assembly of colloidal quasicrystals is achieved by exploring the hybridization of nanoscale decahedra nanoparticles functionalized with DNA linkers.
@profglotz
@CHADNANO
Article | Protein-based materials for soft robotics that self-heal within a second while maintaining the high strength of the damaged area are reported.
@MPI_IS
@kocuniversity
@PennStateMRI
An implantable tissue adhesive soft actuator adheres to muscle, generating mechanical stimulation, and activates mechanosensing pathways for prevention of atrophy in disuse muscles.
#MooneyLab
@_SungminNam
@wyssinstitute
Our March issue is now available! We feature Perspective on molecular weaving. Works on stretchable ionogels, design criteria metamaterials, and Wigner crystals are also highlighted in this issue. Check it out!
Enter 2D Quantum Materials | The discovery of long-range magnetic order, strong correlations and superconductivity in 2D materials provides new opportunities to study and control these phenomena.
shareable:
A bioprinting approach that utilizes organoid-forming stem cells as a living ink within hydrogels guides tissue-scale self-organization to generate more realistic gastrointestinal and vascular tissue constructs.
shareable:
A dilute water–polymer mixture exhibits a percolation-induced gel–gel phase separation, resulting in a two gel co-continuous substrate, which is used for adipose tissue development.
@UTokyo_News_en
Review | Theodossios Famprikis, M. Saiful Islam, Christian Masquelier et al, are discussing recent progress in understanding inorganic solid electrolytes considering multiscale ion transport, electrochemical and mechanical properties, and processing.
Light-induced artificial goosebumps on liquid crystal elastomer skin are used to precisely manipulate passive microstructures, achieving a localized and controllable system for programmable micromachines.
@metin_sitti
Production of bulk bicontinuous materials is limited by the ability to make uniform microarchitectures. Here elastic microphase separation is used to fabricate tunable bicontinuous materials with homogeneous microstructure.
@SoftLiv_Cornell
Diamond quantum magnetometry is utilized to directly read the vorticity of antiferromagnetic spin textures through coupled multi-polar emergent magnetic charge distributions.
@RadaelliPaolo
@MeteAtature
Direct observation of noble gas structures has been achieved at room temperature using electron microscopy. This was enabled by trapping them between two layers of graphene, where they form two-dimensional clusters.
@univienna
The emergence of quadrupolar excitons in WS2/WSe2/WS2 trilayer heterostructures is reported, where the electron is layer-hybridized in WS2 layers and the hole localizes in WSe2.
@Emory_Physics
@unige_en
Article | Computational analysis and mechanical testing demonstrate that the skeletal system of a marine sponge has, through the course of evolution, achieved a near-optimal resistance to buckling.
@hseas
@wyssinstitute
@kavli_harvard
A light-induced polar electronic state is generated in Cr2O3; the symmetry reduction occurs on an ultrafast timescale, ruling out contributions from the lattice or spins.
@UCLA
May Issue | Read about how nanoparticles enter solid tumours, topological phase transitions, and quantum defects in hexagonal boron nitride. We also feature a Review on charge transport in organic materials
Multi-metal and perovskite oxides are attractive as oxygen evolution electrocatalysts. Active-learning models,structural-characterization and closed-loop experimentation can now identify a perovskite oxide with outstanding performance.
@SeoulNatlUni
The fine electronic structure of the flat band and remote bands of twisted bilayer graphene as the twist angle varies is resolved, with spectral weight transfer between bands observed.
@Tsinghua_Uni
Iontronic pressure sensors suffer from signal drift due to materials creep and ion leakage. Here, a polyelectrolyte-elastomer-based sensor is reported that achieves drift rate two to three orders of magnitude lower than conventional iontronic sensors.
Our February issue is out! We feature a porous intercalation electrode and a Review on cancer organoids, also highlight research on transverse thermoelectrics, alloy screening, and disordered nanowire memristors.
Article | Enhanced spin-charge conversion in graphene is realized by proximity coupling to WS2 and electric-field tunability is demonstrated.
@icn2nano
Sequential drinks of crosslinker and polymer solutions form a tough hydrogel in the stomach, enabling delivery of drugs and biologics in this harsh chemical environment.
@MIT
@harvardmed
On the cover: Excitons between the sheets | Philipp Merkl and colleagues reveal the internal structure and the ultrafast dynamics of interlayer excitons, formed in a stack of two atomically thin sheets of TMDCs.
paper:
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Letter | Machine learning and graph theory are used to mine the literature on zeolite transformations and predict similar zeolite pairs that may easily be transformed into each other.
@mit_dmse
#catalysis
The authors report coexisting ferromagnetism, polar distortion and metallicity in quasi-two-dimensional Ca3Co3O8, providing a platform to exploit magnetoelectric coupling in a metallic system.
@JMRondinelli
@Tsinghua_Uni
On the cover | Elastomer sheets with programmable air channel organization swiftly shape into complex three-dimensional structures upon the application of pressure.
[Letter]
[N&V]
Article| Tumour nanoparticle delivery efficiency can be improved substantially when the dose breaches a specific threshold.
@TheChanLab
@IBBME_UofT
Read-only link
This Review highlights the progress in the fabrication and control of non-layered transition metal carbide/layered transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures and the exotic properties arising from these interfaces.
@penn_state
Rhenium chalcohalide cluster compounds are promising photoluminescent materials. Here the authors report a new material in this family, Rb6Re6S8I8, which shows broad photoluminescence (PL) range, high PL quantum yield and long PL lifetime.
@MercouriK
Precise positioning of designed repeating units in alternating polymer sequences allows Li+ conductivity to be tuned by three orders of magnitude in solid polymer electrolytes.
@MITMechE
@DukeKunshan
Combining resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopy, an elementary excitation in h-BN-based single-photon emitters is shown, giving rise to multiple regular harmonics that can explain their wide frequency range.
@gagross
Our September issue is out! Read about the versatility of DNA in materials design, spin-orbit coupling in silicon, large-scale growth of black phosphorus and polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries.
📣 Nature Materials is hiring. We are seeking candidates with a biomedical engineering background to handle our biomaterials, nanomedicine and cell therapy content. | Deadline: 19th July 2021
Our April issue is available now! We feature Focus on engineered living materials. We also highlight research on photo-enhanced conductivity, smart membranes, glass rheology, and transmons in BN.
Autonomous assembly, reconfiguration and disassembly are observed in living aggregates, but are difficult to replicate synthetically. Here mechanically interlocked ribbons form transient viscoelastic solids for on-demand assembly of materials.
@bmentamu