Articles in 2016

Highly crystalline 2D superconductors can exhibit very low sheet resistances and unusual physical properties, such as a quantum metallic state, a quantum Griffiths phase and superconductivity robust against in-plane magnetic fields. The origins of these phenomena and the materials in which they are observed are reviewed.

Discoveries of new hydride properties beyond those expected are ushering in a new era in hydride research and development. This Review covers these rapidly evolving advancements; explains their relevance to future energy storage and transmission applications; and proposes future research directions.

Recent works in boiling and condensation have achieved unprecedented performance and revealed new mechanistic insights that will aid in material design. In this Review, we focus on nanoengineered materials, with emphasis on further improving the heat-transfer performance and long-term robustness.

Plasmonic colours can be used to colour large surfaces, can be mass-produced and dynamically reconfigured, and can provide sub-diffraction resolution. In this Review, basic properties of plasmonic colours, different platforms supporting them and recent developments in the field are discussed.

Strain engineering can be used to control the properties of thin-film ferroelectric materials, which are promising for electronic, thermal, photovoltaic and transduction applications. This Review addresses fundamental aspects, novel ways to control materials properties and the development of new ferroelectric-based devices.

Flow-battery technologies open a new age of large-scale electrical energy-storage systems. This Review highlights the latest innovative materials and their technical feasibility for next-generation flow batteries.

2D materials hold promise in applications ranging from electronic devices to catalysis, and from information storage to medicine. But how close are we to commercialized products?

The pores of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) make them attractive materials for gas- and liquid-phase separations. In this Review, the fabrication of MOF-based membranes and analytical techniques used to characterize them are outlined with a focus on the surfaces and interfaces in these composite materials.

The commercialization of graphene-based products is challenging, because many engineering and economical aspects have to be taken into consideration. A stronger collaboration between academia and industry would be beneficial for accelerating the process.

Adoption of graphene and other 2D crystals in biomedicine is challenging — some guidelines to facilitate this process and avoid inflated expectations should be considered.

Bioresponsive materials capable of responding to specific biological cues hold vast promise for developing next-generation precision medications. This Review highlights recent advances in the design of bioresponsive materials and provides insights into design rules as well as future perspectives.

Hydrogels can provide spatial and temporal control over the release of various therapeutic agents and have found clinical use. This Review presents multiscale mechanisms underlying hydrogel delivery systems and quantitative comparison between them, while discussing clinical translation and future opportunities.

New solutions are needed to meet the growing demand for data storage systems with ultra-high capacity, ultra-long lifetime and ultra-low energy consumption. Nanomaterials, including metal nanoparticles, graphene and graphene oxide, semiconductor quantum dots and rare-earth-doped nanocrystals, hold promise for the next generation of optical data storage methods.

Recent advances in the strategic design and optimization of hydrides of light-weight elements and of physisorbents for on-board hydrogen storage, large-scale distribution and on-site hydrogen generation are reviewed.