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Gathering information on the evolution of small cracks in ceramic matrix composites used in hostile environments such as in gas turbines and hypersonic flights has been a challenge. It is now shown that sequences of microcrack damage in ceramic composites under load at temperatures up to 1,750 °C can be fully resolved with the use of in situ synchrotron X-ray computed microtomography.
Photocurrent generation in organic solar cells relies on the dissociation of excitons into free electrons and holes at donor/acceptor heterointerfaces. Femtosecond spectroscopy and non-adiabatic simulations on the phthalocyanine–fullerene model system now reveal the relaxation dynamics of hot charge-transfer excitons in this process.
Solid-state spin qubits offer promise as building blocks for quantum computers. Now, efficient quantum control is demonstrated over hybrid nuclear–electronic qubits in bismuth-doped silicon, as a consequence of the strong hyperfine interactions in this system.
Rechargeable metal–air batteries are considered particularly attractive due to their potential high-energy densities and simplicity of the underlying cell reaction. A room-temperature sodium–oxygen cell with an ether-based electrolyte demonstrates enhanced current densities using pure carbon cathodes without an added catalyst.
The dynamical properties of single-chain magnets are difficult to control experimentally. The demonstration of a scheme for switching individual spins optically now allows for the study and manipulation of dynamical processes in magnetic nanowires with comparative ease.
The appealing electronic properties of the monolayer semiconductor molybdenum disulphide make it a candidate material for electronic devices. The observation of tightly bound trions in this system—which have no analogue in conventional semiconductors—opens up possibilities for controlling these quasiparticles in future optoelectronic applications.
A critical component for chip-scale integrated photonics would be a non-reciprocal optical waveguide allowing light to travel in only one direction while reflecting it in the opposite one. Inspired by concepts of parity-time-symmetric quantum theories, a periodically modulated dielectric waveguide displaying unidirectional reflection is now demonstrated, reflecting light at telecom frequencies in only one direction.
Determining crystal structures from diffraction experiments can be labour intensive and prone to errors. A hybrid approach combining experimental diffraction data, statistical symmetry information and first principles-based algorithmic optimization is now proposed to automatically solve crystal structures.
The exterior surface of cell membranes in eukaryotes is surrounded by glycans. It is now found that the spatial configuration of these polysaccharide molecules controls the phase behaviour of multiphase lipid membranes—either by stabilizing ordered lipid domains or by suppressing macroscopic lipid phase separation—and that this glycan-induced patterning is thermally reversible.
The layered iron pnictide superconductors are known for their unconventional electronic properties and high critical temperatures. Now, SmFeAs(O,F) is shown to undergo a transition from pinned Abrikosov-like to mobile Josephson-like vortices as the system is cooled below its critical temperature.
Twenty five years since the birth of the field of photonic crystals, Eli Yablonovitch talks to Nature Materials about his pioneering contributions to the field and his vision for nanophotonics.
Friction classically decreases with decreasing load. Nanoscale measurements on chemically modified graphite now show an opposite trend related to local deformation, which could serve as a probe for determining the exfoliation energy of layered materials.
A magnetic on/off switch for cell-death signalling in cancer cells is developed using antibodies conjugated to magnetic nanoparticles. The control of cell death in in vivo systems is demonstrated by a tell-tale morphological change within the zebrafish.
The surface properties of topological insulators are protected by time-reversal symmetry. Now, the finding of a topological crystalline insulator with metallic boundary states protected by lattice symmetries promises novel functionality.
