Search

Breakthroughs in the efficient use of biogas fuel depend on the successful separation of carbon dioxide/methane streams and identification of appropriate separation materials. Here, machine learning models are trained to predict biogas separation properties of metal-organic frameworks.

The outer surfaces of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are known to participate in a range of chemical reactions, but the inner surfaces have so far been thought to be somewhat unreactive. Now, it has been shown that electron-beam irradiation of rhenium–fullerene complexes inside SWNTs can trigger reactions at the inner wall to form protrusions on the nanotube surface.

Although fullerenes have been synthesized from graphite for a long time, the exact mechanism is relatively unknown. Now, in situ microscopy and quantum chemical modelling have directly followed the formation of fullerenes from a single graphitic sheet — graphene.

Supramolecular heterostructures have been formed by the sequential deposition of two molecular layers with different symmetries and lattice constants — one consisting of carboxylic acid, the other of cyanuric acid and melamine — on a hexagonal boron nitride substrate. Characterization by atomic force microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations shows epitaxial arrangements between the layers.

Charge transfer is facilitated in molecular systems through orbital coupling. Here the authors use core-hole-clock spectroscopy to show that electron transfer from an argon atom caged in a fullerene can be up to two orders of magnitude faster than for the isolated atom.

The atomistic behaviour of nanocatalysts still remains largely unknown. Here, the authors reveal and explore reactions of nm-sized clusters of 14 technologically important metals in carbon nano test tubes using time-series imaging by atomically-resolved transmission electron microscopy.

Crystal nucleation processes are difficult to probe experimentally because of the spatial and temporal scales involved. Now, the heterogeneous nucleation of three different metals has been observed by electron microscopy with atomic resolution—using single-walled carbon nanotube as test tubes—and, in each case, shown to adopt a two-step nucleation mechanism involving a metastable amorphous precursor.

Lithium nitride is the only stable binary alkali metal-nitrogen compound and shows promise for energy applications involving the transport of lithium ions. Here, the authors demonstrate that lithium nitride nanostructures can be grown as fibres and sheets despite the absence of a van der Waals gap.

The packing of spheres, disks and other simple shapes into arrays on surfaces is relevant to many problems across the physical sciences. Here the authors study the influence of flexibility and reduced symmetry on the packing of porphyrin nanorings which are deposited from solution onto a graphite surface.

A key strategy for minimizing our reliance on precious metal catalysts is to increase the fraction of surface atoms and improve the metal—support interface. Here, the authors develop a system in which nanoscale morphological changes in the catalyst are monitored and directly linked with the selectivity of the CO₂ electroreduction reaction.