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The stabilization of an unconventional −VII oxidation state of gold is demonstrated in Li₁₀AuF under high pressure. This electride phase features paired interstitial anionic electrons, expanding our understanding of charge distribution.

A van der Waals crystal, niobium oxide dichloride, with vanishing interlayer electronic coupling and considerable monolayer-like excitonic behaviour in the bulk, as well as strong and scalable second-order optical nonlinearity, is discovered, which enables a high-performance quantum light source.

Selective oxidation of biomass-derived precursors has been reported but requires elevated temperatures and pressures of O₂ and strongly alkaline conditions. This study develops an antenna–reactor plasmonic photocatalyst (RuPt on TiN) for the selective conversion of HMF to FDCA using near-infrared irradiation in the absence of base.

Replication-dependent histone mRNA decay involves the RNA helicase UPF1, the histone stem-loop binding protein SLBP and the exoribonuclease 3’hExo. Here, the authors present evidence for assembly of a degradosome-like complex involving the three proteins and delineate the mechanism that drives their concerted action to achieve histone mRNA decay.

One-dimensional boundaries in lateral heterostructures of two-dimensional materials are expected to have interesting properties. Park et al.probe the electronic properties of the graphene/hexagonal-boron-nitride interface, revealing the spatial and energetic distributions of one-dimensional boundary states.

The acetylene hydrogenation activity and stability of a palladium single-atom catalyst are both controlled by the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the oxide support.

Single molecular layers of TiSe₂are promising for advanced electronic applications, and it is therefore important to characterize their phases. Here, the authors use ARPES to detect a charge density wave transition without Fermi surface nesting and that takes place at a temperature higher than in bulk.

Glycine has been identified in several extraterrestrial environments, however, its detection in the interstellar medium remains elusive. Here, the authors investigate a catalytic pathway for glycine formation on silicate grains during relatively warm (> 150 K) stages of star formation using atomistic simulations, proposing a mechanism involving low-energy surface-stabilized intermediates that lead to spontaneous formation of glycine in a single-barrier exoergic process.

Electrochemical reconstruction impacts the surface structure of electrocatalysts and is challenging to control in CO₂ electroreduction. Here, by regulating a carbonate shell around an oxide catalyst, the reconstruction is guided towards an abundant low-coordinated structure, achieving a C₂₊ Faradaic efficiency of 82.8 ± 2.2% at a current density of 2 A cm⁻².

Achieving pressure-induced transformation of light-element molecular compounds into polymeric solids that survive under ambient conditions remains a major challenge. Here, the authors use ab initio calculations to demonstrate that compressing a CO and O₂ mixture-rather than CO₂– significantly lowers the pressure required for polymerization and yields a metastable polymer with potential energetic applications.

This paper reports the intralayer ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric and ferroelectric-toparaelectric phase transitions in layered NbOCl₂ and NbOI₂ under a small pressure, respectively, along with the strong manipulations of nonlinear optics.

In this study, the authors correlate the kinetics of lateral photooxidation in WS₂ and MoS₂ monolayers with their crystallographic defects and environmental parameters, showing a charge transfer mechanism that does not follow the Marcus-Gerischer charge transfer theory.

Perovskite-like antibonding VBM electronic structure is predicted to result in defect-tolerant materials. Here, the authors investigate GeSe with antibonding VBM from Ge 4s-Se 4p coupling, and a certified 5.2% PCE is obtained with high stability due to its strong covalent bonding.

Discovery of 2D materials with useful electronic properties is challenging. Here, the authors use DFT to design a stable semiconducting 2D carbon allotrope for optoelectronic applications that has light charge carriers and unusual secondary bandgap.

Understanding the mechanism of the formation and rupture of conductive filaments in HfO₂-based memristors is essential to solve the problem of scalability of the devices. Here, Zhang et al. visualize this process by tracking atomic-scale evolution of conductive filaments during resistive switching cycles.

Laser-driven shock compression experiments yield the melting curve of the superionic phase of ammonia at conditions relevant to the interiors of Uranus and Neptune.

When monolayers of π-conjugated organic semiconductors interact with metal surfaces, most remain semiconducting. In some cases, however, the metallic character of the substrate is seen to extend onto the molecules. A mechanism for this intriguing phenomenon is now suggested and new strategies for chemical surface engineering are proposed.

Heavy pnictogen-based compounds are promising nontoxic and stable alternatives to lead-halide perovskites, but are limited by carrier localization. Here, by investigating CuSbSe₂, the authors identify how this limitation could be avoided.

Materials exhibiting a Berry curvature (BC) show potential for optoelectronics, but, finite BC dipoles have so far only been shown in small-gap materials. Here in semiconducting tin telluride monolayers a ferroelectrically driven BC dipole is shown to be used to control charge and spin photocurrents.

Hybrid perovskite is a promising class of material for optoelectronic applications due to the slow hot-carrier cooling, yet the process is not well-understood in material with Rashba band splitting. Here, the authors reveal spin-flipping and spin-dependent scattering of hot electrons are responsible for accelerating the cooling at longer delays.

Recent work has demonstrated controlled fabrication of single carbon defect spins in the two-dimensional material WS₂. Here, the authors use ab initio methods to determine the electronic and optical properties of this defect, establishing it as a viable qubit candidate operating close to the telecom band.

Evaporation and crystal growth occur at different rates on different surfaces. Here authors show dissociative evaporation from ZnO (0001) polar surfaces is accelerated by the formation of a Zn-deficient quasi-liquid layer derived from the formation and inward diffusion of Zn vacancies that stabilize the polar surface.

Inorganic perovskite nanocrystals attract lots of research attention but the origin of their photoluminescence remains debatable. Here Zhang et al. show that behavior of both CsPbBr₃ and Cs₄PbBr₆ nanocrystals is like individual molecular fluorophores and independent of the structural dimensionalities.

Oxygen-anion redox in lithium-rich layered oxides can boost the capacity of lithium-ion battery cathodes. Here, the authors investigate the mechanism of surface degradation caused by oxygen oxidation and the kinetics of surface reconstruction.

The study of the electronic, thermal and optical properties of dysprosium-doped cadmium oxide reveals high electron mobility, rendering the material suitable for plasmonic applications in the mid-infrared region.

Certain point defects in crystals can be used as optically addressable quantum bits, much like atoms trapped in vacuum. Ivády et al. show that embedding such artificial atoms in stacking faults can actually improve their optical properties, making them function even more like true atoms.

High-harmonic waves are generated from a MgO crystal under experimental conditions where the simple semi-classical analysis fails. High-harmonic generation spectroscopy directly probes the strong-field attosecond dynamics over multiple bands.

Charge transfer at molecule-metal interfaces affects the overall physical and magnetic properties of organic-based devices, and ultimately their performance. Here, the authors report evidence of a pronounced charge transfer involving nickel tetraphenyl porphyrin molecules adsorbed on copper.

Reversible high-voltage redox is a key component for electrochemical technologies from electrocatalysts to lithium-ion batteries. A point defect explanation for why anion redox occurs with local structural disordering and voltage hysteresis is proposed.

A combination of photoemission and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy measurements provide compelling evidence that single layers of 1T'-WTe₂ are a class of quantum spin Hall insulator.

Solid-state emissions from coal burning remain an environmental concern. Here, the authors have found that TiO2 minerals present in coal are converted into titanium suboxides during burning, and initial biotoxicity screening suggests that further testing is needed to look into human lung consequences.

A conducting metal–organic framework with charge delocalization by reductive potassium insertion is demonstrated. Integration into a field-effect transistor shows similar mobilities to semiconductors, with a mobility estimated to be at least 0.84 cm² V^–1 s^–1.

Whether a molecule or material can exist, and with what structures and energies, is of critical importance. For demanding calculations the efficiency of density functional theory makes it the only practical electronic structure theory available to help answer these questions. Now, an efficient density functional is shown to have unprecedented accuracy for a diverse set of bonded systems.

Ancient DNA reveals how the explosive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists began with a small community north of the Black Sea speaking ancestral Indo-European, and detects genetic links with Anatolian speakers, stemming from a common Indo-Anatolian homeland in the North Caucasus–lower Volga region.

Transparent conductive oxides are wide bandgap conductors that combine weak optical absorption. Here, the authors report a two-dimensional electronic state on the surface of La-BaSnO₃ and study its properties using a combination of electronic structure measurements and DFT calculations.

A method to control the topological properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials on few-femtosecond timescales is proposed. By controlling the sub-cycle structure of non-resonant driving fields, it may be possible to coherently write, manipulate and read selective valley excitation.

Genome-wide data from 400 individuals indicate that the initial spread of the Beaker archaeological complex between Iberia and central Europe was propelled by cultural diffusion, but that its spread into Britain involved a large-scale migration that permanently replaced about ninety per cent of the ancestry in the previously resident population.

A wide range of highly crystalline, two-dimensional layered metal oxides can be formed by controlled oxidation of the metals at the metal–gas interface.

A method to synthesize 2D layers of gallium nitride on SiC is reported. Epitaxial graphene preliminarily grown on SiC allows intercalation of gallium atoms on the SiC substrate and stabilizes the 2D gallium nitride islands formed by ammonolysis.