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A densely fluorinated nanospace demonstrates the integration of adsorption and dissolution, so-called “adsorptive-dissolution”, which enables selective adsorption of O₂ over Ar.

Organizing photochromic molecules into 3D networks is a key strategy to access photoresponsive materials, but framework rigidity typically limits conversion efficiency. Here, the authors exploit a flexible metal-organic framework to achieve quantitative and reversible photoisomerization in a porous crystalline solid.

Methodologies capable of directly visualizing and detecting gases are important for a wide variety of applications that involve instantaneous decision-making in complex environments and locations. A strategy for the capture and detection of gases by co-operative structural transformations of a flexible porous coordination polymer and fluorescent reporter molecules is now reported.

Nanoscale porous materials show unique properties that can be important for catalytic, separation and gas-storage applications. A strategy to yield crystalline porous compounds decorated with reactive nitrenes that can chemically trap and convert guest molecules by light stimulation is now reported.

Porous coordination polymers can form materials that are both crystalline and flexible, creating regular yet dynamic channels that are promising for guest sorption. Guest selectivity is difficult to achieve, however, and typically relies on size- or shape-recognition. A framework has now been assembled that combines charge-transfer interactions and structural flexibility to only accommodate O₂ and NO.

Soft porous crystals combine high crystallinity with structural transformability, potentially enabling applications. Here, an atropisomeric covalent organic framework is reported, which demonstrates different structural transformations upon exposure to different gases.

Porous materials called metal–organic frameworks hold promise for many applications, including molecular separations. One such material has been discovered that shape-shifts to amplify its selectivity for a target molecule.

Uranium ruthenium silicide exhibits a discontinuity in its specific heat at 17.5 K. The underlying cause of this anomaly is hotly debated. A first-principles study of high-order correlations in its electronic structure suggests this behaviour is the result of the emergence of rank-5 nematic order.

Inexpensive porous materials synthesized from Group II metals may be useful for industrial applications. Here, the authors demonstrate that neutral bridging ligands can be used for the synthesis of magnesium(II) and calcium(II) porous coordination polymers.

Diabetes is known to increase the risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, the authors show in a mice model that insulin action in the gut may play a protective role in the development of NASH and HCC in diabetes.

Some porous coordination polymers (PCPs) are known to be flexible and guest-responsive. Now, the guest-induced sharp, reversible structural transformation of the surface of a single-crystalline PCP has been visualized by in situ liquid-phase atomic force microscopy. This local response occurred at a guest concentration that was too low to trigger changes to the bulk crystal.

Gas-sensing materials are of increasing societal importance, but the ability to differentiate between similarly sized gases remains highly challenging. Here the authors report on a porous ferrimagnet that distinguishes diamagnetic N₂ and CO₂ gases from paramagnetic O₂ gas.

Myotube formation by fusion of myoblasts is essential for skeletal muscle formation, but which molecules regulate this process remains elusive. Here authors identify the mechanosensitive PIEZO1 channel as a key element, whose activity is regulated by phosphatidylserine during myotube formation.