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Janus graphene nanoribbons with localized states on a single zigzag edge are fabricated by introducing a topological defect array of benzene motifs on the opposite zigzag edge, to break the structural symmetry.

One-dimensional molecular arrays on graphene field-effect transistors can be reversibly switched between different periodic charge states by tuning the graphene Fermi level via a back-gate electrode and by manipulating individual molecules, allowing them to function as a nanoscale shift register.

The atomic structure of graphene edges is critical in determining their physical and chemical properties, but they are typically far from ideal. Here, the authors fabricate atomically perfect graphene edges via electron beam mechanical rupture or tearing in high vacuum conditions.

Colour centre emission from hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) holds promise for quantum technologies but activation and tuning are challenging. Here, the authors show twist-angle emission brightness tuning and external voltage brightness modulation at the twisted interface of hBN flakes.

Bottom-up fabrication of GNR heterojunctions exhibiting atomically perfect heterojunction interfaces can be obtained from a single molecular precursor via post-growth modification

The magneto-optical (MO) effects probe the electronic and magnetic properties of a material, particularly useful for 2D magnets. Here, the authors show that the large optical and MO responses in ferromagnetic monolayer CrI₃ arise from strongly bound excitons, extending over several atoms.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy experiments and first-principles many-electron calculations demonstrate the quantum mixing of different exciton states in monolayer MoS₂. This reveals the many-body effects and dynamics of exciton formation in 2D materials.

Decoupling spin-polarized edge states using substitutional N-atom dopants along the edges of a zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) reveals giant spin splitting of a N-dopant edge state, and supports the predicted emergent magnetic order in ZGNRs.

The nature of defects in transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors is still under debate. Here, the authors determine the atomic structure and electronic properties of chalcogen-site point defects common to monolayer MoSe₂ and WS₂, and find that these are substitutional defects, where a chalcogen atom is substituted by an oxygen atom, rather than vacancies.

A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.

Molecular-scale switches will be central components in nanoscale electronic devices. Switching in single-molecule junctions has so far been achieved through changes in the conformation or charge state of the molecule. Now, reversible binary switching has been demonstrated by mechanical control of the metal–molecule contact geometry—a mechanism which could form the basis for a new class of mechanically activated single-molecule switches.

In an application of terahertz phonon engineering, terahertz phonons were generated, detected and manipulated through precise integration of atomically thin layers in van der Waals heterostructures.

Inelastic light scattering spectroscopy is a powerful tool in materials science to probe elementary excitations. In a quantum-mechanical picture, these excitations are generated by the incident photons via intermediate electronic transitions. It is now shown that it is possible to manipulate these intermediate 'quantum pathways' using electrostatically doped graphene. A surprising effect is revealed where blocking one pathway results in an increased intensity, unveiling a mechanism of destructive quantum interference between different Raman pathways. The study refines understanding of Raman scattering in graphene and indicates the possibility of controlling quantum pathways to produce unusual inelastic light scattering phenomena.

By varying the voltage on an isolated gate electrode beneath a graphene sheet, the ionization state of cobalt atoms on its surface can be controlled. This enables the electronic structure of individual ionized atoms, and the resulting cloud of screening electrons that form around them, to be obtained with a scanning tunnelling microscope.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and ab initio simulations reveal buckling reconstruction and in-plane strain redistribution in WSe₂/WS₂ moiré heterostructures.

The presence of excitonic instability and its relationship with a structural transition in Ta₂NiSe₅ has been debated. Chen et al. map out the electronic bands and lattice distortion across the semimetal-to-semiconductor transition with sulfur doping, revealing the crucial role of electron-phonon coupling.

Genome-wide association analyses based on whole-genome sequencing and imputation identify 40 new risk variants for colorectal cancer, including a strongly protective low-frequency variant at CHD1 and loci implicating signaling and immune function in disease etiology.

Transition metal dichalcogenides are attracting widespread attention for their appealing optoelectronic properties. Using a combination of numerical and experimental techniques, the exciton binding energy is now determined for MoSe₂ on graphene.

A new hybrid phonon–exciton excited state in bilayer graphene can be tuned electrically, with possible application to phonon lasers.

Here, the authors quantify the effect of cryo-EM data acquisition with stage-tilt on the global resolution of reconstructions and present a tool for predicting an optimal stage-tilt angle to ameliorate the effects of preferred specimen orientation.

Distinct electronic and optical properties emerge from quantum confinement in low-dimensional materials. Here, combining optical characterization and ab initio calculations, the authors report an unconventional excitonic state and bound phonon sideband in layered silicon diphosphide.

The propagation of charge carriers in graphene under an imposed periodic potential can become strongly anisotropic, suggesting a way of making electronic circuits with appropriately patterned surface electrodes without the need for cutting nanoscale structure into graphene.

Due to the crystal symmetry of single-layer transition metal dichalcogenides and the fact that the conduction and valence band edges are at the zone-edge K points, the 2p exciton states are split. A two-colour pump–probe scheme is used to drive the 1s–2p exciton transition, and then probe the changes in absorption near the spectral position of the 1s line to measure the splitting energy.

Plasmons depend strongly on dimensionality. Here the authors show that plasmons in atomically thin metals are qualitatively different from those in a 2D electron gas or metal slab: they are dispersionless at large wavevectors and, in systems such as monolayer TaS₂, long-lived enough to be observed experimentally as localized plasmon wave packets.

This paper reports first-principles calculations of the role of phonons in La2_−xSr_xCuO4 (LSCO). It is demonstrated that the phonon-induced renormalization of the electron energies and the Fermi velocity is almost one order of magnitude smaller than the effect observed in photoemission experiments. Therefore the present finding rules out electron–phonon interaction in bulk LSCO as the exclusive origin of the measured kink.

By combining large-scale first-principles GW-BSE calculations and micro-reflection spectroscopy, the nature of the exciton resonances in WSe₂/WS₂ moiré superlattices is identified, highlighting non-trivial exciton states and suggesting new ways of tuning many-body physics.

In a topological insulator, the surface-state electron spins are ‘locked’ to their direction of travel. But when an electron is kicked out by a photon through the photoelectric effect, the spin polarization is not necessarily conserved. In fact, the ejected spins can be completely manipulated in three dimensions by the incident photons.

Width-modulated heterostructures are created in graphene nanoribbons using a bottom-up approach, thus achieving molecular-scale bandgap engineering.

The development of single-molecule electronics calls for precise tuning of the electronic properties of individual molecules that go beyond two-terminal control. Here, Wickenburg et al. show gate-tunable switch of charge states of an isolated molecule using a graphene-based field-effect transistor.

Layer-stacking domain walls in van der Waals heterostructures form a broadly tunable Luttinger liquid system, including both isolated and coupled arrays.

Graphene films are usually made from domains with different orientations. How does this affect transport? A theory of charge transmission through graphene grain boundaries now predicts two distinct transport behaviours depending on the grain-boundary structure. The results could provide important information for the design of efficient graphene-based electronic devices.

The authors combine laser excitation and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to visualize the electron and hole distributions in photoexcited moiré excitons in twisted bilayer WS₂. This photocurrent tunnelling microscopy approach enables the study of photoexcited non-equilibrium moiré phenomena at atomic scales.

Unconventional quasiparticles carrying spin but not electric charge emerge in quantum spin liquid phases. The Kondo interaction of these spinon quasiparticles with magnetic impurities may now have been observed.

Investigation of the electronic structure in few-layer phosphorene reveals optical transitions relevant for technologically important electronic and optoelectronic applications.

A series of long-lived excitons in a monolayer of tungsten disulphide are found to have strong binding energy and an energy dependence on orbital momentum that significantly deviates from conventional, three-dimensional, behaviour.

This Perspective provides an overview of the different approaches used to understand the behaviour of materials at different length scales and timescales through computation, and outlines future challenges in the description of complex systems or ultrafast non-equilibrium behaviour.