Review Articles

The non-equilibrium processing conditions inherent to additive manufacturing produce metals with unique microstructures and mechanical properties that are often unattainable through conventional routes. This Review provides an overview of distinctive mechanical behaviours and deformation mechanisms that arise from these characteristic microstructures, and discusses critical needs and emerging opportunities for alloy design and processing control to achieve exceptional mechanical properties in additively manufactured metals.

Computational approaches to materials design promise to accelerate the discovery of materials with superior functionalities. This Review presents key computational advances in materials design over the past few decades, highlighting the paradigm shift from conventional screening approaches to inverse generation driven by deep generative models. Current challenges and future perspectives of materials inverse design are also discussed.

This Review discusses recent advances in afterglow materials for biomedical applications, the distinct imaging modalities that these agents enable and strategies to optimize their properties for improved disease diagnosis and therapies.

Photonic platforms are a prominent host on which practical quantum information technology applications can be leveraged and scaled. The authors discuss the state-of-the-art capabilities and give an outlook on optical technologies towards the realization of quantum computation, communications and metrology.

There has been substantial progress in observing and understanding nonlinear transport properties of non-centrosymmetric materials in recent years. This Review surveys the interplay between symmetry and nonlinear phenomena, and how nonlinear transport probes quantum properties of solids. The authors also highlight the potential applications of these nonlinear transport effects in fields such as spintronics, orbitronics and energy harvesting.

Diamond-based materials present diverse microstructures that can be tailored to tune their properties. This Review examines the latest developments in diamond and its derivative materials, focusing on microstructural design strategies, phase transition mechanisms, property enhancements and emergent phenomena.

The uptake of water by polar solids can modify electrical and mass transport properties. This Review discusses hydration mechanisms and surveys case studies of the effects water uptake has on transport properties in different materials.

The authors review the mechanisms of resistive switching in monolayer and bulk forms of two-dimensional layered materials, providing insights into atomic motions and electronic transport across interfaces.

Lignin is an abundant source of renewable aromatic carbon and is of interest as a feedstock for sustainable fuels. This Review provides an overview of production technologies, jet fuel requirements, effects of lignin chemistry, depolymerization techniques, upgrading of bio-oils and challenges for catalysis using real biomass feedstocks.

The practical application of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) requires robust and scalable synthesis of these atomically thin materials and their heterostructures. This Review discusses the key challenges, current progress and opportunities in the controllable synthesis of TMD-based heterostructures, superlattices and moiré superlattices.

This Review introduces emerging nonlinear electronic, optical and optoelectronic properties of moiré superlattices and discusses opportunities and challenges in this rapidly progressing field, as well as implications for fundamental physics and technological innovations.

The authors discuss the physics underlying the enhancement of energy transfer and energy transport in molecular systems and identify key questions and theoretical challenges for future research.

This Review introduces coherent light–matter interactions in solution-processed lead halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals, discussing opportunities and challenges in the context of quantum information technologies.

Non-layered transition metal carbides (TMCs) and layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) can form various heterostructure configurations through chemical conversion. This Review highlights the progress in the fabrication and control of TMC/TMD heterostructures and the exotic properties arising from these interfaces.

RNA-based therapeutics hold promise for the treatment of several diseases. This Review provides an overview of hydrogels for RNA delivery, discussing how the chemical nature and physical properties of hydrogels can be explored for tailored RNA loading and release, and highlighting the use of these materials in biomedical applications.

This Review discusses the field of antiferromagnetic spintronics with a focus on coherent effects.

Persistent luminescent phosphors are promising for applications from bioimaging to multilevel encryption. Here, the authors review the design and preparation of persistent luminescence nanomaterials, developments in biological applications and outstanding challenges.

This Review discusses recent progress in bioinspired nanocomposite design, emphasizing the role of hierarchical structuring at distinct length scales to create multifunctional, lightweight and robust structural materials for diverse technological applications.

This Review discusses the progress in and potential pathways for incorporating two-dimensional materials into silicon platforms, from integrated devices to monolithic circuits.

This Review discusses the development of electronanotribology, its intersection with room-temperature ionic liquids and how such collaboration can be used to electrically control friction at the nanoscale.