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Upon decreasing the electron density in a two-dimensional electronic system to a critical value, a transition should occur from a quantum to a classical regime. An oxide now shows electrical properties marking such a transition.
Imaging the magnetic structure in non-centrosymmetric nanoparticles reveals the emergence of a new spin texture, the skyrmionic vortex, stabilized through a chiral geometric frustration.
Revealing the molecular orientations of anisotropic materials is desired in materials science and soft-matter physics. Now, an optical diffraction tomographic approach enables the direct reconstruction of dielectric tensors of anisotropic structures in three dimensions.
From the realization of their true nature one hundred years ago to the latest approaches for structuring materials using molecular weaving, high-molecular-weight polymers still have much to offer society.
Measuring three-dimensional dielectric tensors is desired for applications in material and soft matter physics. Here, the authors use a tomographic approach and inversely solve the vectorial wave equation to directly reconstruct dielectric tensors of anisotropic structures.
High-pressure synthesis is used to stabilize superconducting (Ba,K)SbO3, whose properties provide a fresh perspective on the origin of superconductivity in these types of materials.
The oxygen evolution reaction is central to making chemicals and energy carriers using electrons. Metal hydroxide–organic frameworks are shown to act as a tunable catalytic platform for oxygen evolution, with π–π interactions dictating stability and transition metals modulating activity.
By exploring ultrafast magnetization in several compounds with similar crystal structures but different 4f magnetic elements, the authors show that the Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida interaction controls the spin dynamics.
A simple one-step method that enables the random copolymerization of two monomers with different solubility in ionic liquids creates phase-separated elastic and stiff domains that result in ultra-tough and stretchable ionogels.
Mobile excitons in metals have been elusive, as screening usually suppresses their formation. Here, the authors demonstrate such mobile bound states in quasi-one-dimensional metallic TaSe3, taking advantage of its low dimensionality and carrier density.
Two monomers with distinct solubility of their corresponding polymers in an ionic liquid enable tuning of the microstructure of the copolymers during their polymerization. Thus, energy dissipative and elastic molecular domains are created, resulting in highly tough and stretchable ionogels.
Constitutive laws underlie most physical processes, but understanding chemo-mechanical expansion in heterogeneous solids is challenging. A physically constrained image-learning approach is now proposed to obtain fundamental insight into dislocations inside battery electrodes.
Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide is used as a conducting salt for rechargeable lithium metal batteries because of its stability, but corrosion with aluminium current collectors is an issue. A non-corrosive sulfonimide salt is shown to suppress anodic dissolution of an Al current collector at high potentials while improving cycling.
A multipole polaron, composed of a mobile electron dressed with a cloud of the quadrupole crystal-electric-field polarization, is identified in a rare-earth intermetallic.
Integer topological defects promote cellular self-organization, leading to the formation of complex cellular assemblies that trigger cell differentiation and the formation of swirling cellular pillars once differentiation is inhibited. These findings suggest that integer topological defects are important modulators of cellular differentiation and tissue morphogenesis.
A generalized strategy to characterize the failure of truss-based microlattices is established, creating a framework for designing tough, damage-tolerant architected materials.
Microscale architecting enables metamaterials to achieve mechanical properties not accessible to bulk materials. Here the authors show that established design protocols for the fracture of materials need to be revised to predict the failure of these materials.
Molecular weaving is the entanglement of one-dimensional flexible molecules into higher-dimensional networks. This Perspective provides an overview of the progress so far, and discusses the future challenges and potentials of this field.
