Themed collection Materials Horizons 2022 Most Popular Articles

The criteria for evaluating lithium–air batteries in laboratory-based experiments are proposed for accurately predicting the performance of practical cells in industry.

Inorganic–organic interfaces: a tutorial on using organic functional groups to enhance the performances and/or enable new functionality of inorganic nanomaterials.

We summarise chemical approaches to modify the properties of conjugated polymers by post-polymerisation functionalisation directly on the backbone.

We review recent advances in 4D printing of LCEs, with emphasis on synthesis and processing methods that enable microscopic changes in the molecular orientation and hence macroscopic changes in the properties of printed objects.

This review summarizes the achievements in the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to C1 and C2 fuels over various nanostructured photocatalysts.

One material, multiple functions. Thermal and UV-adaptive self-healable polyurethanes as flexible substrates for patternable printed electronic circuits were synthesized, using dihydroxybenzophenone as the key monomer.

A bio-inspired, ultra-tough, high-sensitivity, and anti-swelling conductive hydrogel strain sensor for motion detection and information transmission.

A salt-triggered transparency-switchable polyampholyte hydrogel is engineered as a multifunctional smart window featuring active and facile light modulation ability, on-demand information-provision management capacity, and self-healing capacity.

A magnetoelectric biorobot enables precise cell transportation and delivery to multiple target areas via magnetically assisted stamping and allows for wireless magnetoelectric electrostimulation and differentiation of cells after their deployment.

The coordination between the metal–organic frameworks and the polymer segments endowed the ionogels with sufficient energy dissipation, excellent mechanical properties, and recyclability for applications in flexible electronic devices.

Here we introduce for the first time a synthesis method of a core–shell photoanode composed of nanostructured self-standing titania nanotubes filled with Au nanowires. Photoanode shows high photon to current efficiency of 35% and incredible stability.

Controlling crystal growth and reducing the number of grain boundaries are crucial to maximize the charge carrier transport in organic–inorganic perovskite field-effect transistors (FETs).

Leveraging complex coacervation of a polycation and a bivalent anion with aggregation-induced emission characteristics, we accomplish eight basic logic operations, producing Boolean-like ‘outputs’ with contrast higher than one order of magnitude.

Enforcing balanced electron–hole injection into the emitter layer of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes through a double-type-I heterostructure using polymer semiconductors maximizes the quantum efficiency over a wide current density range.

An ultrastretchable hydrogel fiber-based proximity/pressure bimodal sensor with high sensitivity, resilience and low detection limit, and capability for real-time monitoring of physiological signals and human-machine interfaces is fabricated.

Covalent organic framework-on-MXene heterostructure was fabricated to overcome the poor capacitive deionization performance of conventional materials in natural (oxygenated) saline water.

Utilizing an MgO insulation interlayer reduces electrical conduction and enhances the electric breakdown strength of PEI dielectric films, this facile but effective method significantly improves the high temperature capacitive performance.

We introduce a new structural model for polymer materials: the semi-paracrystallinity. The assessment of structural order in semi-paracrystalline materials requires to consider the quality of ordering of the paracrystalline lattice and the degree of paracrystallinity.

We present a new multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitter paradigm, demonstrating that the structure need not require the presence of acceptor atoms.

A triboelectric nanogenerator based on bismuth tungstate (Bi₂WO₆):polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) is fabricated. It delivers an output voltage (open circuit) of 205 V and current density (short circuit) of 11.91 mA m⁻² at ∼0.15 kgf without any electric poling.

Single-crystals of a series of Bz-based NFAs derivatized via regiospecific N-alkyl engineering have been systematically studied. The J-aggregate-like packing in EHN6SEH-4F facilitates formation of ordered 3D channels for efficient charge transport.

By tuning donor strength, we produce an organic electro-optic chromophore with high hyperpolarizability, low absorption, and excellent electro-optic activity, which is demonstrated in a plasmonic–organic hybrid modulator with near record low V_πL.