Reviews & Analysis

Choosing a porous solid for catalysis usually involves a trade-off between reactivity and mass-transport properties. Polycrystalline zeolite aggregates with adjustable mesoscopic pores make both available in one material.

The giant response of thermoelectric voltage to magnetic field in experiments on a model granular magnetic system is attributed to asymmetric spin-flip processes.

Artificial materials composed of either structured or random subunits far below the wavelength of light can be designed to display fascinating physical properties. Recent advances in fabrication technology have established the great potential of such metamaterials for applications.

We have begun to understand the physical determinants of cell rheology and their relevance to biological functions. Experiments performed on freshly excised cells offer a new perspective in which soft-glass rheology and prestress seem to play central roles.

A combination of computer simulation and experimental work has shown that the growth of dendritic structures during solidification is more complex than previously thought.

A novel X-ray diffraction technique opens the way to investigate deformation-induced dislocation microstructures with submicrometre resolution.

The sugar trehalose helps microorganisms to withstand drought conditions, but the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. An investigation of the holes in the different structural forms of the sugar could provide clues as to how this bioprotection is possible.

A detailed image of a complex fuel-cell anode structure, obtained through ion-beam milling, SEM imaging and advanced digital reconstruction, yields an accurate description of the three-dimensional structure, and enables correct prediction of the electrode's properties.

The interaction between electron and nuclear spins is the ultimate limit to using quantum dots as fundamental units for quantum information. Novel results show the way to control this interaction, opening interesting perspectives for quantum computation with solid-state matter.

Silver fluoride materials have structures that are similar to those found in high-temperature cuprate superconductors, but the two systems have quite different magnetic properties.

Multiple twin defects, analogous to those in bulk crystals, have been revealed in crystalline semiconductor nanowires by microscopic studies. An unexpected connection is now made between these subtle imperfections and the shape of the wires.

Annealing out dislocations in deformed metals usually leads to reduced strength and increased ductility. Exactly the opposite has been observed in bulk nanostructured aluminium.

The discovery that electrons in Tl₂Ru₂O₇ lose their three-dimensional nature at low temperatures and arrange in chains, opens up a new direction in research into transition metal oxides.

All we expect when a drop lands on a surface is to see it either spread if the surface is wettable, or sit undeformed if the surface is non-wettable. However, if the surface is hot and is textured with a sawtooth profile, we will gape at a drop springing in self-propelled motion.