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Growth of high-quality III–V semiconductors for electronics and optoelectronics usually requires an atomic-lattice matched substrate. Here, the authors use templated liquid-phase crystal growth to create single-crystalline III–V material up to ten micrometres across on an amorphous substrate.

Materials that can alter their structure in response to light have potential as functional materials such as motors and actuators. Here the authors describe a low-cost system capable of rapid, reversible and wavelength-selective responses to light.

Double-walled carbon nanotubes are a convenient system for studying quantum mechanical interactions in distinct but coupled nanostructures. Liu et al.characterize the coupling between radial-breathing mode oscillations of inner and outer walls of many double-walled nanotubes of different diameter and chirality.

Atomically thin monolayers with high photoluminescence quantum yield are promising for optoelectronic and lighting applications. Here, the authors fabricate a transient-mode electroluminescent device to bypass the requirement of ohmic contacts for electrons and holes, and observe millimetre-scale light emission from a transparent 2D display.

Copper-based catalysts, especially the so-called oxide-derived copper, are capable of producing multicarbon species from electrochemical CO₂ reduction. However, little is known about their active sites despite intensive research efforts. Now, Lum and Ager show that oxide-derived copper catalysts have three distinct product-specific sites for the formation of C₂₊ chemicals, unlike polycrystalline copper or (111)- and (100)-oriented copper films which show no evidence of product specific sites.

For first-order phase transitions, the second derivatives of Gibbs free energy diverge at the transition point, causing super-elasticity or super-thermicity. Here authors report a chemical analogy of these effects by atomic doping, where the second derivative of Gibbs free energy diverges at the transition point, leading to an anomalously high energy barrier for dopant diffusion in coexisting phases.

The transfer of information between processing entities and memory is crucial for quantum computation; it is challenging because the process must remain coherent at all times to preserve the quantum nature of the information. This paper demonstrates coherent storage and readout of information between electron-spin processing elements and memory elements based on a nuclear spin.

Solar power is an important part of the strategy towards using more renewable energy. The development of low-cost photovoltaic nanopillar structures fabricated on thin aluminium substrates will contribute to this effort, as it promises new applications for flexible, mass-produced solar cells.

With impressive electronic transport properties, wide bandgap perovskite oxides are promising transparent conductors. Prakashet al. report n-type BaSnO₃ films with room temperature conductivity exceeding 10⁴ S cm⁻¹and investigate factors limiting carrier mobility.

Perovskite-based photovoltaics have already reached high efficiency levels but their stability under operating conditions remains a challenge. Here, Li et al. use defective TiO₂with reduced photocatalytic efficiency to increase the stability of high efficiency solar cells under illumination

Operando investigation of the CO₂ reduction mechanism at gas diffusion electrodes is a challenging task. Here proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry has been deployed to analyse the intermediates and products at copper electrodes in real time.

Water oxidation to triplet oxygen requires a spin polarization process for faster kinetics. Here, the authors show an interface spin pinning effect between ferromagnetic oxides and reconstructed oxyhydroxide surface layer, where the spin ordering in paramagnetic oxyhydroxide catalyst layer can be tuned to improve the intrinsic activity.

Photoelectrodes for light-driven CO₂ reduction to fuels and chemicals often suffer drastic decreases in performance due to changes in the material under illumination. Here the authors investigate the degradation pathways that occur in Cu₂O photocathodes for ethylene synthesis and put forward strategies to mitigate them.

While water splitting could provide a green means to store energy, there are few materials that can sustain high water oxidation half-reaction rates in acidic electrolytes. Here, authors design a perovskite oxide that generates high performance under-coordinated iridium sites during electrocatalysis.

A better understanding of the mechanism of electrochemical CO₂ reduction should enable development of electrocatalysts that are more active and selective. Now, through an isotopic labelling strategy, it has been discovered that there are at least two types of active sites on Cu electrocatalysts, one responsible for converting CO₂ to CO and another for further converting CO to useful C₂₊ products.

Electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction in acid with a nano-structured tandem catalyst achieves high single-pass conversion efficiency and selectivity to useful C–C coupled products, bringing the process closer to commercial viability.

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ involves electron/proton transfers, with hydrogenation of intermediates occurring via surface-bound hydrogen or hydrogen originating from water. Now, isotope-labelling studies have elucidated the relative contributions of both pathways on copper electrocatalysts, offering new perspectives on achieving selectivity control.

Strain engineering is an essential tool for modifying local electronic properties in silicon-based electronics. Here, Ahn et al. demonstrate control of biaxial strain in two-dimensional materials based on the growth substrate, enabling more complex low-dimensional electronics.

A kinetically controlled solution-phase synthesis produces nanoparticles of defined shape and multimetallic surface composition for catalytic applications.