News & Comment

An article in Nature Physics reports how combining distinct transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers enables the formation of an emergent exciton crystal — the bosonic analogue of the fermionic Wigner crystal.

A paper in Nature Communications reports a one-step molecular assembly strategy that forms a robust superhydrophobic shell directly on individual fibres, yielding fabrics that maintain water repellency even after extensive mechanical and environmental stress.

Artificial intelligence is transforming materials research, yet its potential for sustainability remains underexploited. Artificial intelligence can enable circular materials systems by integrating materials performance, life-cycle assessment and sustainability metrics across design, use and recycling, accelerating the transition from linear innovation to closed-loop materials economies.

An article in Advanced Materials describes a modular and scalable approach to the design of versatile and multifunctional polylysine-based nanoparticles for use in personalized cancer therapy.

Covalent organic frameworks promise breakthroughs in water treatment, separations and photocatalysis. Yet their real-world performance is governed by sequence-dependent transformations — hydrolysis, photo-oxidation and defect-driven fragmentation — that can silently reshape pore chemistry and release mobile products. Transformation atlases built from laboratory and synchrotron and/or neutron characterization can now predict these trajectories and enable safer, more durable design.

Lignin forms the polyphenolic network in wood that enables trees to stand upright, transport water and ions, and resist microbial attack. Although its structural complexity is often seen as a limitation, its inherent multifunctionality offers opportunities. By strategically harnessing these features, new directions for advanced lignin-based materials can emerge.

Conventional electronics are heavily dependent on fossil-based plastics, rare metals, ceramics and semiconductors, the production of which is too energy-intensive and polluting to be sustainable. Wood is a renewable natural resource with unique features that could help to meet the increasing need for environmentally friendly bio-based electronics.

Carbon dioxide mineralization transforms carbon dioxide into stable solids, offering a route to durable carbon storage. Scaling this technology will require clarifying the mechanisms behind key reaction bottlenecks and translating those insights into cost-effective materials design and robust process engineering.

Transparent wood has potential not only as a sustainable substitute for glass, but also as a multifunctional energy material whose value lies in the integration of diffuse light management, thermal insulation, mechanical load bearing and sustainability. Its widespread adoption will require application-driven design, realistic durability assessments and alignment with standards.

An article in Advanced Materials reports a fabrication strategy that yields poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels with a record high isotropic toughness of 424 MJ m⁻³ alongside exceptional strength and extensibility.

An article in Nature Chemical Engineering describes an acid-cleavable crosslinking strategy that stabilizes lipid nanoparticles while supporting efficient mRNA delivery.

An article in Nature Materials introduces a polymerization strategy that transforms a single monomer, tetramethylene urethane, into a family of polyurethanes with diverse properties, all of which can be chemically recycled back to the same monomer.

An article in Nature Communications presents a scalable one-step process that turns compositionally mixed automotive aluminium scrap into high-strength, high-ductility sheet.

The transition to a circular economy has entrenched a dangerous orthodoxy: the belief that disposal is a systemic failure. However, genuine sustainability requires functioning sinks. By recognizing disposal as a strategic necessity, we can build a materials economy grounded in physical reality rather than ideological purity.

Widespread ecosystem degradation demands scalable strategies for plant establishment — the process of successful seed dispersal and burial that enables a seed to germinate, survive its vulnerable early stages and emerge as a resilient seedling. However, harsh environmental conditions often make conventional seeding efforts costly and ineffective. Inspired by natural seeding mechanisms that exploit environmental cues, emerging biodegradable, stimulus-driven morphing matter-enabled machines can support plant establishment across its critical phases, offering a pathway to low-impact ecological restoration.

An article in Nature Communications reports high-performance intrinsically stretchable n-type transistors based on MoS₂ flakes, achieving mobilities up to 12.5 cm² V^–1 s^–1 and on/off ratios above 10⁷ under 20% strain.

Two-dimensional materials were once celebrated mainly for spectacular single-device demonstrations, but advances over the past decade have revealed that geometry, manufacturability and surface chemistry are equally decisive. Recognizing how structure, synthesis and interfaces work together is now reshaping two-dimensional materials engineering and opening new routes to scalable, reliable and application-ready systems.

An article in Nature Electronics describes a method for wrapping electronics smoothly onto complex 3D surfaces.

Recycling rarely fails for simple reasons. New York City’s system is a case study in the dynamics and compromises that shape urban recycling, and why cities cannot optimize everything at once.

High-entropy alloys were once thought to owe their exceptional properties to complete chemical disorder, but advances over the past decade revealed that subtle forms of atomic order are widespread and often essential. Recognizing how order and disorder work together is now reshaping alloy design and opening new routes to stronger, tougher and more reliable materials.