Reviews & Analysis

Low-energy electron microscopy reveals how growth of multiple ordered heteromolecular phases can be steered by utilizing intermolecular repulsion.

A new report demonstrates an innovative approach to aligning crystallites of metal–organic frameworks such that thin films are created with oriented channels — potentially overcoming one of the major barriers to application of these highly topical materials.

Spectral hole burning is now demonstrated with phonons in amorphous systems, leading to highly reduced phonon dissipation and, therefore, long phonon lifetimes.

Self-assembled transition metal–organic chalcogenide nanowires pave the way to a new family of electron conducting materials with tunable properties.

Exploiting the spin Hall effect acting on magnetic oxides outlines an unprecedented path towards low-power, non-volatile spintronics devices.

The use of a spectroscopy technique called pump–push–probe electro-absorption provides insight into the energetic landscape of nanostructured donor–acceptor interfaces in bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells.

Borrowing the operating principles of a battery, a three-terminal organic switch has been developed on a flexible plastic substrate. The device consumes very little power and can be used as an artificial synapse for brain-inspired computing.

X-ray imaging in three dimensions is now possible from a set of 2D coherent Bragg diffraction patterns. This approach overcomes the necessity of having to rotate the sample for a 3D reconstruction.

Manipulation of the magnetic state in spin valve structures by superconductivity has now been achieved, opening a new route for the development of ultra-fast cryogenic memories.

By making use of a semiconducting metal–organic graphene analogue, researchers propose a new generation of supercapacitors with potential as tunable molecular materials for energy.

Liquid and gas purification using membrane materials permits a wide range of critical industrial processes, and here it is discussed how they might achieve molecular selectivity.

The current state-of-the-art and possible future developments on two-dimensional silicene, germanene, and stanene sheets (called 2D-Xenes), and their ligand-functionalized derivatives (Xanes), are discussed.

Hydrogen generation from water and sunlight offers a promising way to produce carbon-free energy. Recent progress in predicting properties of heterogeneous interfaces for solar water splitting using first-principles approaches is now reviewed.