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Low-cost Cu catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can transform industrial water electrolysis, but pure Cu typically exhibits a negligible HER. Here, combining pulsed laser ablation and subsequent electroreduction, Cu nanotwins form that enable the HER at an overpotential of 301 mV, with 125 h of stable operation at a current density of 500 mA cm−2.
Current wearable and implantable biosensors still face challenges to improve sensitivity, stability and scalability. Here the authors report inkjet-printable, mass-producible core–shell nanoparticle-based biosensors to monitor a broad range of biomarkers.
NMR spectroscopy and imaging show that dendrites in a solid-state Li battery are formed from Li plating on the electrode and Li+ reduction at solid electrolyte grain boundaries, with an interlapped stalled growth period.
Design strategies for non-fullerene acceptors are important for achieving high-efficiency organic solar cells. Here the authors design asymmetrically branched alkyl chains on the thiophene unit of the L8-BO acceptor to achieve high crystallinity and photoluminescence quantum yield, yielding over 20% efficiency in single-junction organic solar cells.
A laser-free ultrafast Lorentz electron microscope has been developed, integrating a microwave-based electron pulser to achieve high spatiotemporal imaging of spin-wave dynamics in a topologically textured thin-film permalloy.
Material implementation of machine learning algorithms for advanced computing at cryogenic temperature remains rare. Here, the authors report a cryogenic in-memory computing platform using chiral edge states of magnetic topological insulators.
Studies based on correlated operando characterization techniques reveal the coexistence of copper metal, oxide and hydroxide phases during the electrochemical reduction of nitrates to ammonia, providing insights into electrocatalyst evolution during reaction and related catalytic performance.
Current-driven dynamic atomic rearrangements in layered In2Se3 are visualized. The authors identify an intralayer ‘unzipping’ and interlayer ‘zipping’ phase-transition pathway in which bond formation across the van der Waals gaps drives bond cleavage within covalent layers.
Double-sided epitaxy of van der Waals materials through atomic membranes is demonstrated, enabling electrons to resonantly tunnel between aligned topological insulator surfaces with the conservation of energy, momentum and spin helicity.
Cathodic corrosion of platinum is investigated using operando high-resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy matched with density functional calculations. Platinum hydrides are found to be reaction intermediates in conditions at which these species are expected to be unstable.
Solid-state electrolyte reduction and Li dendrite growth limit the stability of all-solid-state Li metal batteries. Here the authors show that reductive electrophiles gain electrons and metal cations from metal–nucleophile materials on contact, allowing the electrochemical formation of a dense, electron-blocking film that improves the stability of both the anode and high-voltage cathode.
The authors report Bose–Einstein condensation of a two-magnon bound state in Na2BaNi(PO4)2. This should stimulate further work on these types of geometrically frustrated materials.
An organic regulator that can tune the crystallization sequence of active layer components has been described, achieving a certified efficiency of over 20% in single-junction organic solar cells, demonstrating remarkable tolerance for active layer thickness of 100–400 nm.
Zinc gluconate in oral supplements associates with plasma proteins to form renal-tumour-accumulating ZnO nanoparticles, which have antitumoural immune activity and can also be used for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents.
The shape of biological matter is central to their function and interaction with other cellular components. A combination of DNA origami nanorafts with biogenic pores reversibly controls the shape and permeability of lipid vesicles at the microscale.
Substantial open-circuit voltage loss and inherent non-radiative recombination hinder efficiency improvements in wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. Here the authors augment two-dimensional perovskite phases on the surface to promote (100) facet growth on three-dimensional perovskite facets, improving the open-circuit voltage and efficiency of the resulting wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells.
