Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

In this Minireview, we discuss several appealing approaches that have been developed in the last few years for the fabrication of MOF thin films, highlighting their assets and the challenges still faced.

We propose a timeline classifying self-healing polymers in generations based on the healing mechanism, and correlated with historical development.

In this minireview, we discuss the progress of polymersome formulations towards clinical translation and highlight key opportunities and challenges.

The range of possible nanostructures is so large and continuously growing, that collating and unifying the knowledge connected to them, including their biological activity, is a major challenge.

This article focuses on state-of-the-art technologies used in the research on materials, devices and processes to achieve high-performance QD-LEDs.

Automated Glycan Assembly produces well-defined oligosaccharides for detailed structural characterization. These glycans can assemble into supramolecular materials with different morphologies.

For hundreds of years, scientists have magnified images of objects to reveal their detailed composition and structure. Now, scientists are beginning to physically magnify objects themselves.

Comprehension of bone–implant, gingiva–abutment and implant–abutment interfaces is necessary in material development. Mechanical complications of the implant–abutment interface provoke biologic complications of the other two interfaces.

Textile fabric fibers meet functionalized carbon nanostructures and 2D nanomaterials, enabling the fabrication of novel fabrics with advanced qualities against operational limitations and extreme environmental conditions.

This review summarizes eight different strategies to formulate non-flammable liquid electrolytes to improve safety of alkali-metal-ion batteries such as lithium-ion, sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries.

Sulfation of chitosan makes this polymer a closer mimic of heparins and heparan sulfates, giving rise to the so called heparanized chitosan, that exert their biological activities through their capacity to interact with a range of biological targets.

This review revisits the state of the art of research efforts on the design of mechanical materials using machine learning.

Sorption, size-selective & catalytic film or particle-bed filters dramatically enhance gas sensor selectivity. We critically review 300+ articles and tutorially give guidelines for systematic filter design in air quality, health & food applications.

In this review, types and mechanisms of dual emission, as well as recent new insights for the design and applications of efficient novel dual emissive organic materials are presented.

Here, we review the physics and the technology of the recombination junction in perovskite-based tandem solar cells, with a summary of the most successful works.

This review focuses on recent progress in defect-engineered novel functionalities of complex oxide thin films for electronics and energy applications, and current challenges and perspectives.

The electron transport layer plays an essential part for high-performing perovskite solar cells, on which successful extraction of charges from light harvester and the transfer to the electrode are critically dependent.

Lignin-based smart materials are emerging into advanced material applications as stimuli-responsive actuators, sensors, controlled release systems, and more.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, has been widely used as an effective hole transporting material in many different organic semiconductor devices for well over a decade.

Trivalent erbium, Er³⁺, with its 4f¹¹ electronic configuration, was the first lanthanide cation for which linear upconversion could be induced in a molecular complex. The reasons for this success and its perspectives are discussed in this review.

A systematic comparison between electrochemical and organic bioelectronic sensors reveals a unified rational description for a transistor amplified detection.

The present review highlights the combination of graphitic carbon nitride and polymers for materials with outstanding properties.

The recent surge of scientific interest for lead halide perovskite semiconductors and optoelectronic devices has seen a mix of materials science sub-fields converge on the same “magical” crystal structure.

A review on the recent developments in controlling the structural, photophysical and electronic properties of conjugated porous polymer (CPP) photocatalysts is presented.

A comprehensive review on designs and mechanisms of semiconducting metal oxides with various nanostructures for room-temperature gas sensor applications.

This review summarizes the advantages of non-fullerene acceptors and their applications in ternary blend organic solar cells.

An ultrastretchable triboelectric nanogenerator is developed by simultaneous transfer printing. The nanogenerator demonstrates all-in-one, self-powered touch, motion and force sensing that can function as artificial skin for soft robotic components.

Direct ink writing (DIW) of Pickering emulsions offers great potential for constructing on-demand objects.

Conjugated oligomers polymerize in vivo on the root system of intact plants forming an extended network of tissue integrated conductors while the plants continue to grow and develop. The conducting roots are used to store energy in the plant.

The concept of van der Waals solid solutions has been demonstrated to yield photon upconversion (UC) organic crystals with extraordinary performance, opening a domain of versatile dispersion-force-based systems in the quest for superior UC solids.

Modulated self-assembly of Fe-terephthalate metal–organic frameworks allows fine control over phase formation, offers insight into kinetic and thermodynamic landscapes, and the discovery of novel materials in an already well-studied complex system.

By combining a photocurable and a thermogelling hydrogel, it is possible to perform 3D freeform structuring via two-photon-polymerization and to manufacture concatenated parts without additional support structures.

Bilayer spin-crossover nanocomposites show robust and controllable actuation cycles upon an electrical stimulus. The anisotropic shape of the particle and the mechanical coupling with the matrix can intensify the work output of the actuators.

The PDMS@α-Fe₂O₃ NP film and human hair-based high performance TENG harvests mechanical energy while expanding waste hair utilization, initiating a rising approach toward the circular bio economy that will play a key role in avoiding climate crisis.

A light-controlled method for the versatile manipulation of liquid metal droplets is introduced. This approach shows the ability of inducing concurrent motion of multiple liquid metal droplets using infrared light without complex and bulky systems.

The oxygen transmission rate of a PET coated film showed a 37-fold decrease using a dispersion of LDH nanosheets in polyvinyl alcohol that was prior aged for 8 weeks compared to the film coated with the equivalent freshly prepared LDH/PVA dispersion.

Methyl Palmitate Nanoparticles (MPN) boost the tumor accumulation and chemotherapeutic efficacy of nanomedicines by transiently and reversibly inhibiting the phagocytic properties of tissue-resident macrophages.

We reveal spontaneous symmetry breaking in an emerging class of mixed-metal chalcohalides, yielding strong lattice polarisation which could aid electron–hole separation in solar photovoltaics.

A self-supported, binder-free and scalable nanoporous carbon scaffold serves as an excellent host for the efficient and uniform atomic layer deposition of Pt nanoparticles, showing exemplary performance as a cathode catalyst layer in a PEM fuel cell.

A step towards functionally-integrated and autonomous systems, where functions such as sensing and energy storage/harvesting should ideally be carried out by a single material, while retaining its ability to withstand large elastic deformations.

Tilt and shift polymorphism in molecular perovskites is introduced, categorising irreversible perovskite-to-perovskite phase transitions in a concise concept.

Dexter quenching is a likely loss mechanism in hyperfluorescent OLEDS, but changes in delayed emission kinetics in analogous optical experiments come from something else.

Metastable Ta₂N₃ with bixbyite structure is directly deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Concerted experimental and computational efforts reveal the crucial role of oxygen impurity in both the synthesis and in tuning the electronic structure.

Dislocations are mobile at low temperatures in surprisingly many ceramics but sintering minimizes their densities. Enabling local plasticity by engineering a high dislocation density is a way to combat short cracks and toughen ceramics.

The fine equilibrium between photodamage and self-healing determines the defect density in halide perovskites. Here we analyze the chemistry of the processes on the surface and in the bulk of APbBr3 single crystals. (A = MA, FA, Cs).

Metal- and halide-free, solid-state polymeric water vapor sorbents are developed with improved water sorption capacity, reduced corrosivity, and solid state, leading to efficient water-sorption-driven cooling and atmospheric water harvesting.

X-ray radiation induced unit-cell contraction and phase transition selection in the negative thermal expansion material cadmium cyanide.

Molecular blocks (4-MB) were designed to circulate as a single molecule or as a few molecules in blood vessels and self-assemble in response to a tumor specific conditions, as a cancer therapeutic agent.

The newly established polycationitrile chemistry was used as a powerful molecular crosslinking strategy to engineer ultratough and ultrastrong GO/polymer hybrid films.

The vascular bioactivity/safety of nanomaterials is typically evaluated by animal testing, which is of low throughput and does not account for biological differences between animals and humans such as ageing, metabolism and disease profiles.

Plasma thin film deposition assisted with acoustic waves renders a patterned structure due to sheath ions local bombardment effects.

The proposed H₂S gas sensor is a novel heterojunction combination that can readily absorb toxic gases, changing the channel resistance of the device. The OFET device is a highly stable and selective tool that can help in taking preventive measures.

Direct-writing of droplets onto fluid surfaces by inkjet printing to dial-in a required pattern, structure and function into a polymer film.

Core/shell nanohelices with VIS-CD are grown using FIBID, with the Ga⁺ source shaping the metallic core and the gas precursor the dielectric shell

We present an all-graphene based open microfluidic manufacturing technique by manipulating the surface wettability of spin-coated graphene ink films via laser-controlled patterning. The approach is rapid, flexible, and opens diverse applications in fluid transport.

A 3D laser printing technique for realizing unprecedented stereo-chiral-luminescent silver nanostructures was developed to achieve a record-high fluorescent anisotropic factor.

Directional interlayer charge transfer in TMD heterostructure probed by time- and polarization-resolved second-harmonic imaging microscopy.

Bandgap from individual orthorhombic thin CsPbBr₃ nanosheets, measured with electron energy-loss spectroscopy as a function of thickness.

Chirality amplification in mesomorphic gold nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with chiral ligands and liquid crystal (LC) groups in LC matrices is detected. Attaching LC groups to NPs leads to a significant increase of the helical twisting power.

Large amplitude motions in molecular solids are responsible for anomalous electrical characteristics in amphidynamic crystals. Here we explore the implications for charge transfer excitons photophysics.

SiNWs are continuously grown in the gas phase and directly collected as tough, macroscopic sheets that are flexible and free-standing.

Dynamic intermolecular forces through hydrogen bonding between water and polymer chains are shown to enhance thermal transport in soft materials.

A system of amorphous gallium phosphide nanopatches is shown to be a flexible, cheap and efficient platform for ultrafast and nonlinear nanophotonics.

Using linearly birefringent structure and induced transmission, asymmetric transmission with arbitrary polarization pair has been realized through metasurfaces, with impartment of two different phases into transmission and reflection space.

The biomolecule corona spontaneously adsorbed onto lipid-based nanoparticles (NPs), upon incubation with human plasma, contains circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA).

We demonstrate a giant magnetoelectric effect in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Ta ultrathin films on a ferroelectric substrate.

An n-type, accumulation mode, microscale organic electrochemical transistor monitors the activity of a pore-forming protein integrated into a lipid bilayer.

Durable hydrophobic coatings are created by adding amphiphilic Janus particles to binder polymers through the unique self-stratification behaviours, which offer a novel and cost-effective solution to challenges in waterborne emulsion coatings.

Multi-information source Bayesian optimization and how it can be used to capture relevant information from cheap approximations to accelerate research in the materials sciences.

Our work demonstrates the local enhancement of antiferromagnetic phase stability in FeRh films by strain nanopatterning.