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A predictive descriptor to guide spinel catalyst design for Li–S batteries is still lacking. Here, authors use a series of metal chromites to investigate the effect of t2 orbital occupancy on the polysulfide conversion activity of spinel oxides, and reveal a volcano-shaped relationship between them.

Ultra-fast dynamic acoustic holography that can be reconfigured is realised using partitioned transducer and programmable phase hologram. These attributes allow creating acoustic movies and dynamic ultrasound stimulus, with implications for future possibilities in broad acoustics, such as sonodynamic therapy and neuromodulation.

The conventional focus on pore size distribution overlooks the role of surface charge homogeneity in ion separation by polymeric membranes. This study proposes a surface charge engineering strategy for fabricating highly ion-selective membranes.

Transition metal dichalcogenide nanotubes possess symmetry-breaking properties promising for fundamental physics research. Here, the authors report a direct synthesis of crystalline MoS₂ nanotubes exhibiting strong polarization and bulk photovoltaic effects.

Seawater lithium extraction represents an innovative transformative solution that could alleviate future lithium supply concerns. In response, we propose an Albizia julibrissin-inspired adsorption-responsive photothermal ion pump for enhanced and reversible Li+ extraction from seawater.

Recently, the quantum anomalous Hall effect has been successfully achieved in the intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi₂Te₄, but zero-field quantization has proved difficult to achieve due to poor sample quality. Here, the authors report zero-field quantization and chiral edge states in five-septuple-layer MnBi₂Te₄.

A fibre-structured bandage converts the temperature gradient between the wound and dressing into an electric stimulus to generate an electric field that accelerates wound healing.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Moiré materials, where two van der Waals layers are stacked together with a small twist angle has proven to be a rich playground for exotic phases, with some materials, such as twisted MoTe2 being found to host quantum anomalous and fractional hall states among others. Here, An, Pan, Qiu and coauthors add to this, observing ferromagnetism in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2.

The polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory (PESPT), also known as Wade-Mingos’ rules, defines a relationship between skeletal bonding electron pairs and structure of clusters. Here the authors report the synthesis, structure and computational studies of planar C₂B₄R₄ carboranes that do not adhere to PESPT.

The management of ulcerative colitis (UC) remains challenging due to the complexity of its etiology. Here, the authors establish that argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) and its metabolite arginine are pivotal inducers of UC, through the triggering of mTOR and iNOS activation, and the induction of gut microbiota dysbiosis by metabolomics and proteomics. Inhibition of ASS1 by C-01 provides a viable strategy for the treatment of UC.

Two dimensional materials are promising for electronic applications, which await the exploration of cooperative phenomena. Here, Liu et al. report switchable ferroelectric polarization in thin CuInP₂S₆film at room temperature, demonstrating good memory behaviour with on/off ratio of ∼100 based on two-dimensional ferroelectricity.

Optoretinography-based detection of phototransduction and cell deformations in the retina has been mostly centered on photoreceptors. Here, the authors use prolonged and multilayered optoretinography to study light-evoked deformations in rod photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and subretinal space.

Geochemical data and geodynamic modelling suggest that the rapid increase of convergence rate between India and Eurasia about 65 million years ago can be explained by changes in sediment subduction.

Dielectric elastomer actuators using ionogel electrodes are promising candidates for soft robotics, although their mechanical properties can limit actuation strain and self-healing capabilities. Here the authors report a poly(ionic liquid) electrode designed to improve mechanical properties and self-healing, thereby enabling higher actuation strains and recoverability.

An on-chip tunable laser operates by harnessing nanomechanical resonances at the radio frequency, achieving ultralow tuning power consumption.

Bioplastics are desirable materials for the replacement of petrochemical-derived plastics, but achieving the desired properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report a bioplastic formed from a combination of polysaccharide sources and DNA from living organism waste, with biodegradability and recyclability.

Surfactant-capped nanoparticles of various sizes, shapes and compositions have been completely enshrouded within a metal–organic framework in a controlled, well-dispersed manner. The resulting hybrid materials exhibit active properties — catalytic, magnetic and optical — arising from the nanoparticles as well as sieving and orientation effects originating from the porous framework.

Real-space nanoimaging and theoretical analyses show the emergence of hyperbolic phonon polaritons on the surface of a non-hyperbolic material and that the polariton dispersions can be manipulated by varying the temperature.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for cellular cholesterol distribution remain unclear. Here, the authors identify a key role of lipid transfer proteins ORP9, OSBP, and GRAMD1s in maintaining cholesterol levels in the Golgi and plasma membrane.

The scale-up of the coupling of water electroreduction (HER) with organic electrooxidation remains challenging. Here the authors address this challenge by coupling HER with electrooxidation of raw biomass chitin, cogenerating acetate and green hydrogen safely at high current density.

Phthalidyl esters, commonly used prodrug moieties, are mostly prepared as a racemate. Here, the authors report an N-heterocylcic carbene-catalysed enantioselective acetalization of carboxylic acids and dialdehydes to give phthalidyl esters in high yields with good enantioselectivity.

Macrolactones exhibit distinct conformational and configurational properties and are widely found in natural products but catalysts to govern both macrolactone formation and stereochemical control remain largely unexplored. Here, the authors disclose an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of chiral macrolactones varying in ring size from sixteen to twenty members that feature distinct configurationally stable planar stereogenicity.

The integrated process of mechanochemical fractionation-assisted and solar-driven electrochemical reforming, followed by biological funnelling, enables the efficient upcycling of sewage sludge. This process not only co-produces valuable single-cell protein and green hydrogen but also effectively removes heavy metal contaminants.

Heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer high atom utilization and well-defined active sites but face challenges in multi-stage cross-couplings due to limited coordination and reactivity. Here, the authors introduce SACs on reducible carriers, enabling adaptive coordination to bypass oxidative addition in cross-couplings.

Although polymers have been studied for well over a century, there are few examples of covalently linked polymer crystals synthesized directly from solution. Here, the authors demonstrate a strategy to synthesize single crystalline 1D metallo-covalent organic frameworks by combining dynamic covalent chemistry and metal-ligand coordination.

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites have shown great potential for use in optoelectronic applications. Here, the authors create solution-processed lead iodide perovskite light-emitting field-effect transistors and demonstrate both ambipolar behaviour and gate-assisted electroluminescence.

2D Ta-based transition metal dichalcogenides have been predicted to host highly confined plasmons, but their observation has been lacking. Here, the authors report momentum-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements of 2H-TaS₂ monolayers and bilayers, showing plasmon resonances with lateral confinement up to 300 and group velocity down to ~10⁻⁴c at large wave vectors.

Transition metal oxides can have exotic electronic phases because of the interplay of charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom. Here, the authors investigate thin films of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃and show a new phase with transport anisotropy under large tensile strain.

A universal interface connects soft, rigid and encapsulation modules together to form robust, stretchable devices in a plug-and-play manner by pressing without using pastes, which will simplify and accelerate development of on-skin and implantable devices.

Optimizing the synthesis for efficient luminescent materials requires consideration of a large number of parameters. Here, the authors realize high quantum yield full-color carbon quantum dot using an iterative machine-learning experimental strategy.

Non-thermal plasma enables direct methane conversion to valuable C₂ hydrocarbons, but selectivity is hindered by C₂H₆ formation and over-dehydrogenation. Here, the authors present a shielded bifunctional nanoreactor with a hollow, mesoporous design that curbs CH₄ overactivation and enhances selective C₂H₂ and C₂H₄ production under plasma activation.

The adaptation to atomically thin 2D semiconductors and van der Waals layered ferroelectrics can enable negative capacitance transistors with superior performance and bendability. Here, the authors report flexible negative capacitance transistors based on MoS2 and a ferroelectric dielectric CIPS with a minimum sub-threshold slope of 28 mV/dec and high gain logic invertors.

Twinning is a powerful approach to engineering the physicochemical properties of metallic nanomaterials. Here, the authors discover unusual non-close-packed twinning planes in 4H-phase gold nanokites and show that they can be used as templates to grow 4H-phase twinned nanostructures of other noble metals.

Heterometallic nanomaterials in unusual crystal phases that are impossible to form in the bulk state can show interesting physical and chemical properties. Here, crystal-phase heterostructured 4H/fcc Au nanowires are used as seeds to epitaxially grow a variety of binary and ternary hybrid noble metal nanostructures on the phase boundary.

Regulated cholesterol transport is essential for the maintenance of cellular cholesterol distribution and homeostasis, but tools to monitor this process are limited. Here, the authors develop a genetically encoded cholesterol biosensor and demonstrate its use for visualising cellular cholesterol distribution in various live cells in real time.

The authors reveal hyperbolic-to-hyperbolic transitions where two nearby Reststrahlen bands just touch each other. Such phenomena are prevalent in isostructural rare-earth oxyorthosilicates and unfolds vast opportunities for broadband on-chip light control.

Magnetic interactions in solids are usually short-range or else they involve itinerant electrons. Here, the authors evidence a long-range magnetic coupling mediated by orbital moments in a polar spacer layer of nonmagnetic insulating oxide, with a sign which oscillates with spacer thickness.

Raman cooling and heating of a longitudinal optical phonon with a 6.23-THz frequency are observed in ZnTe nanobelts. The direction of the energy flow is changed by detuning the frequency of the pump laser.

Maintaining electrode performance under high power is a major challenge for batteries. Here, authors develop a porous organic framework electrode that intermittently applies low currents to release trapped ions, enabling a repeatable capacity-refreshing strategy and over 60,000 cycles at 20 C-rate.

Twisted bilayers of 2D semiconductors are being intensively investigated due to their emergent physical properties, but their controlled bottom-up synthesis remains challenging. Here, the authors report a confined-space chemical vapour deposition strategy to synthesize MoS₂ bilayers with twist angles ranging from 0° to 120°.

Multi-parameter metrology requires collective measurements on more than one copy of the same quantum state. Now, an optimal scheme for the estimation of qubit rotations has been demonstrated on superconducting and trapped-ion platforms.

The scarcity and high price of noble metal catalysts pose critical challenges for the chemical industry, and finding strategies that ensure complete atom efficiency has become a pivotal endeavour. This work introduces the fabrication of amorphous single-layer PtSe_x catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction with high atom-utilization efficiency.

The alloying of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride results in tunable electronic properties that can be used for solid state devices. Lu et al. identify atomic-scale mechanisms of alloying boron–carbon–nitrogen on ruthenium as a model system, which allow for potentially greater control of properties.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

A general versatile approach combining wet-chemistry impregnation and two-step annealing is devised for the scalable synthesis of a library of ultra-high-density single-atom catalysts with drastically enhanced reactivity.

Subarctic Pacific Ocean sediments and modeling results provide new evidence for precession driving meridional shifts in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and modulating the efficiency of heat and water vapor transfer to the Arctic regions.