Reviews & Analysis

Classical ionic conduction through an inorganic monolayer nanopore is analogous to the quantum-mechanical phenomenon of electronic Coulomb blockade in quantum dots.

Substrates with curved edges induce the reprogramming of cancer cells into a stem-cell-like phenotype.

A rewritable platform for subwavelength optical components is demonstrated by combining surface phonon–polaritons, sustained in a polar dielectric layer, with the switching functionality provided by a phase-change material.

This review discusses exciton–polaritons in microcavities and their emerging technological applications, with emphasis on the materials challenges for operation at room temperature.

The observations of unusual edge properties in scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and the predicted band structure in photoemission spectra of a monolayer FeSe superconductor reveal its non-trivial topological nature.

An adsorbed polymer directs the photochemical growth of colloidal Au single-crystal nanoprisms following visible metal excitation.

This Review discusses the materials and electronic requirements for flexible sensors and electronic systems to mimic the mechanical and sensing properties of natural skin, with the goal of providing artificial prostheses with sensing capabilities.

Greater rigidity of conjugated polymer backbones increases their light-harvesting ability, making them better performers in solar-cell applications.

Giant Rydberg excitons reveal signatures of quantum chaotic behaviour in the presence of time-reversal symmetry breaking enforced by the background solid-state lattice, and they provide a new mesoscopic platform for fundamental studies of quantum chaos.

A thin, porous polymer membrane fabricated using kinked monomers shows high solvent permeance while selectively blocking larger molecules.

Geometric frustration governs shape selection in fibrous materials.

For 25 years of condensed matter science, physicists have searched for a material that realizes a macroscopic quantum state of matter: the quantum spin liquid. Recent experiments show that a necessary interaction may be found in a family of hexagonal ruthenium-based materials.

New findings suggest that the mechanical stretching of layered crystals can transform them from a polar to a nonpolar state. This could spur the design of multifunctional materials controlled by an electric field.

Biodegradable and perfusable scaffolds enable the fabrication of implantable, millimetre-scale cardiac and hepatic tissue models.

Laser-generated exciton–polariton condensates in transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures may trigger Cooper pairing of electrons and induce high-temperature superconductivity.

A regenerative cardiac patch with integrated freestanding electrodes allows the electrical stimulation and recording of cardiomyocyte growth and activity, with on-demand drug delivery.

Ultrashort pulses of X-rays from a free-electron laser capture the spatiotemporal evolution of spins in the different crystallographic directions of a complex magnetic material.