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Weak interlayer van der Waals (vdW) bonding has significant impact on the structure and properties of vdW layered materials. Here authors use in-situ aberration-corrected ADF-STEM for an atomistic insight into the cation diffusion in the vdW gaps and the etching of vdW surfaces at high temperatures.

Although the search for new zeolites has traditionally been based on trial-and-error approaches, more rational methods are now available. Using the principle of inverse sigma transformation, the reactivity of framework germanium atoms in strong mineral acid has now been exploited to selectively remove germanium from a germanosilicate zeolite.

This study demonstrates how it is possible to extract full three-dimensional structural information at atomic resolution using a combination of electron tomography and electron microscopy, coupled with separately available knowledge of the crystallographic structure adopted by the target nanoparticle. Such information should ultimately lead to a better understanding of the desirable properties of these systems.

The atomic structure of nanoparticles considerably influences their properties. A new methodology that is now able to measure the full three-dimensional atomic structure of free-standing nanoparticles will therefore provide a much better connection between their structure and properties.

Magnetic monopoles continue to be elusive. However, an experiment now shows that the interaction of an electron beam with the tip of a nanoscopically thin magnetic needle—a close approximation to a magnetic monopole field—generates an electron vortex state, as expected for a true magnetic monopole field.

Researchers demonstrate a scheme that combines the high spatial resolution of full-field transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) with high-spectral-resolution near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). The idea could lead to a wide range of new material studies that combine high-resolution spectroscopic techniques with nanoscale tomographic imaging.

In this work, electron diffraction is used to measure the disorder parameter, Debye-Waller factors, and deformation electron density of FePd alloys. Chemical disorder raises atomic displacements but minimally alters deformation electron density.

By an alteration of dipoles and a phase transition, the authors find a giant electromechanical strain triggered by the electric current in thin antipolar Ag2Se semiconductor. The strain has inherent flexibility and conductivity.

For high-capacity electrodes with anionic redox, the importance of structural dimensionality has not been elucidated. The possibility of triggering anionic redox activity in a tridimensional-ordered Li-rich positive electrode is now demonstrated.

Shape-memory materials hold great potential for actuators and aims to improve them focus on increasing the maximum strain that they exhibit in response to a stimulus. Here the authors demonstrate a large shape-memory effect in bismuth ferrite, observing a maximum strain of up to 14%.

The pairing symmetry of the wavefunction in high-T_ciron-based superconductors remains not completely understood. To shed light on this problem, here the authors investigate the local destruction of superconductivity by introducing Zn impurities in the BKZn iron arsenide compound.

CuTe nanocrystals may be used as an alternative to noble metals for plasmonics but requires understanding of the atomic structure and the influence of defects. Here Willhammaret al. use electron tomography to reveal the distribution of vacancies in the nanocrystals and their effect on the optical properties.

Ferroelastic switching in thin films is typically restricted by constraints from the substrate or occurs around twin-like domains. Here, the authors show reversible and non-volatile ferroelastic switching avoiding substrate constraints in layered-perovskite Bi_2WO_6 epitaxial films.

Direct observation of the dynamic evolution of polar domain structures at atomic level remains challenging. Here, the authors report the observation of real-time topological transformations of polar structures in PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ multilayers.

Nematic electronic order is rare and its onset often indicates a phase transition. Here, Li et al. report a nematic superconducting state in Ba_0.5K_0.5Fe₂As₂ by measuring the angular dependence of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetoresistivity.

Supramolecular polymeric materials constitute a unique class of materials held together by non-covalent interactions. Here we report a novel type of supramolecular rubber based on mixing of low molar mass, oligomeric, ABA-triblock copolyacrylates with oppositely charged outer blocks revealing unique mechanical properties. A broad set of materials is reported with systematic variations in triblock copolymer structures revealing insights in the mechanical properties and self-healing ability in correlation with the nanomorphology of the materials.