News & Comment

The shift from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources requires the development of efficient systems for long-term energy storage and global distribution. Iron powder is a highly promising zero-carbon energy carrier that can store large amounts of energy and can be transported efficiently over long distances.

Organic solar batteries integrate light harvesting and energy storage in a single device and, particularly when based on porous organic materials, enable efficient solar-to-electrochemical energy storage. However, despite promising advances in materials and device engineering, challenges in charge dynamics and scalability remain, requiring further research and optimization to realize their full potential.

Organic thermoelectric materials are transitioning from laboratory prototypes towards practical devices and could potentially surpass the performance of their inorganic counterparts near room temperature. Research priorities include probing the thermoelectric conversion limit of soft materials, designing organic thermoelectrics for precise temperature control and exploring applications beyond conventional power generation.

The emergence of super wood, transparent wood, mouldable wood and wood–geopolymer hybrids is redefining the structural and functional performance of bioinspired engineered wood products. Meanwhile, the advance of these materials towards industrial deployment faces challenges relating to regulation and environmental impacts, as well as opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

The project Hiveopolis reimagines beehives as biohybrid superorganisms by introducing living fungal materials and digital technologies into one living architecture — a buzzing honeybee colony. It pioneers a transdisciplinary approach to multispecies resilience and sustainable co-habitation by adapting shape and function, utilizing bio-inspired algorithms to negotiate material costs, time, energy and structural performance.

mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles have gained recognition as a promising therapeutic platform against a wide range of diseases. However, a key component of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles, the polyethylene glycol-conjugated lipid, presents inherent barriers to their therapeutic success. Emerging strategies are now offering potential ways to overcome these limitations.

The development of safer, cheaper and more durable all-solid-state batteries demands a fundamental rethinking of composite cathode design. All-in-one cathode materials that integrate ionic conductivity, electronic conductivity and redox activity within a single phase redefine battery architecture by unifying electrochemical roles in one material.

Horizon scanning is a strategic tool used by regulatory bodies to identify emerging technologies and guide decision-making. In its latest report on nanomedicines, the European Union Innovation Network presents key recommendations that illustrate the current dynamics between researchers and regulators and how strengthening this relationship could accelerate the translation of nanotechnology-based medicines into patient benefit.

Despite transformative advances in materials discovery, real-world performance still hinges on an often-overlooked variable: processing. To bridge the gap between discovery and deployment, processing must be elevated from an afterthought to a central pillar in design frameworks, data generation and machine learning.

The inability to observe the rapid, initial transformations that dictate nanomaterial fate constitutes a fundamental scientific gap, forcing risk assessments to rely on retrospective, incomplete data. A paradigm shift to real-time, operando characterization is vital to build the predictive understanding required for the development of safe and sustainable nanomaterials and applications.

Zeolites are widely used in catalysis and separation, yet their crystallization process remains poorly understood. Emerging tools have the potential to enable a multiscale understanding of how crystallization influences the structural features of zeolite materials, unlocking their precise control.

The construction industry consumes more than 40% of Earth’s raw material resources. It is time to rethink not just what we build, but how we value what is already built. Digital materials passports can help us to reuse and repurpose materials in the built environment, driving a shift towards a circular construction industry.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing scientists face invisible barriers throughout their scientific journeys, often shaped by pervasive attitudinal bias questioning their competence. Fostering mutual understanding and implementing actionable strategies help to dismantle unjust judgements based on physiological differences and create more inclusive scientific workplaces globally.

The transformation of municipal sludge into high-entropy single-atom catalysts offers not just a new materials synthesis route, but a new framework for how we conceive of waste, resource recovery and circularity.

Current lithium-ion battery recycling extracts valuable metals while discarding much of the battery’s leftover value. An emerging strategy called direct battery regeneration upends this model, restoring the battery’s performance without taking it apart — presenting a more efficient, sustainable option for end-of-life batteries.

Built on the versatile chemistry of organic semiconductors, organic photodetectors offer efficient thin-film light absorption, mechanical flexibility, spectral tunability and biocompatibility. They are unlocking applications where conformability, seamless integration, human-centric integration and large-area processing are critical.

Waste management has transformed over the past half a century, from key dumping and landfilling laws in the 1970s to today’s complex policies targeting plastic waste reduction and recycling. Still, global disparities are glaring, and stronger policies, infrastructure and technology are necessary to achieve a truly circular plastics economy.

Fabricating high-performance perovskite solar cells under ambient conditions — without strict humidity or atmospheric controls — paves the way for scalable, low-cost photovoltaics. However, achieving such fabrication requires deeper materials insights into how moisture and oxygen influence precursor solution chemistry and guide perovskite film crystallization.

With the shift towards renewable energy, demand for lithium is surging — underscoring the need for more efficient and sustainable ways to harvest it. Inorganic solid-state electrolytes, most known for their role in all-solid-state batteries, offer largely untapped potential as ion separation membrane materials for direct lithium extraction.

Ongoing plastics losses to marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems continue to exacerbate the global environmental crisis. Variations in data, methods and assumptions across studies have led to inconsistent estimates of plastics losses and their ecological impacts. These estimates must now be improved to develop and deliver effective interventions.