Reviews & Analysis

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  • An ultrastrong and superhard conductive carbon composite has been synthesized, which consists of ultrafine nanodiamond homogeneously dispersed in disordered multilayer graphene with incoherent interfaces. The microstructures of the composite suggest that the transition from amorphous carbon to diamond involves the extensive nucleation and diffusion-driven growth of nanodiamond.

    Research Briefing
  • Three-dimensional printing of hydrogels loaded with fungal mycelium can produce living materials with unique adaptive properties in shapes that are relevant for engineering applications. The metabolic activity of the living mycelial network allows the printed structure to grow autonomously and self-regenerate when it is provided with nutrients in water.

    Research Briefing
  • Scandium added to Al–Cu–Mg–Ag alloys leads to an in situ phase transformation of coherent Cu-rich nanoprecipitates at elevated temperature, with Sc atoms diffusing and occupying their interstitial sites. The transformed nanoprecipitates have enhanced thermal stability while maintaining a large volume fraction and these two microstructural features enable high tensile strength of the Al alloy with creep resistance up to 400 °C.

    • Amit Shyam
    • Sumit Bahl
    News & Views
  • Thermal Hall conductivity originating from topological magnons is observed in the Kitaev candidate α-RuCl3 in broad intervals of temperature and in-plane magnetic field, raising questions on the role of the Majorana mode in heat conduction.

    • Hae-Young Kee
    News & Views
  • A combination of tunnelling spectroscopy, magnetotransport, electron diffraction and ab initio calculations have revealed that picometre-scale lattice distortions reverse magnetic anisotropy and enhance magnetic frustration in atomically thin ruthenium trichloride — a key step towards realizing a quantum spin liquid in the two-dimensional limit.

    • Hu Miao
    • Gábor B. Halász
    News & Views
  • Carbonization of crosslinked polyimides with kinked structures leads to carbon molecular sieves with bimodal free volumes, enabling both a high molecular-sieving ability and gas permeability.

    • Leiqing Hu
    • Haiqing Lin
    News & Views
  • Nanomembranes of GaN grown by remote epitaxy form the basis of surface acoustic wave sensors in wireless electronic skins for health monitoring.

    • Jong Uk Kim
    • Seung Gi Seo
    • John A. Rogers
    News & Views
  • An apparent quirk of mathematics draws on a symmetry and resolves the issue of how to determine the equilibrium shape of crystals of two-dimensional materials with asymmetric terminations.

    • Paul Erhart
    • J. Magnus Rahm
    News & Views
  • About 700 scientists from 45 countries gathered in Dresden for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to share their latest findings on metal–organic frameworks and open frameworks compounds.

    • Veronique Van Speybroeck
    • Guillaume Maurin
    Meeting Report
  • This Review discusses recent progress in bioinspired nanocomposite design, emphasizing the role of hierarchical structuring at distinct length scales to create multifunctional, lightweight and robust structural materials for diverse technological applications.

    • Dhriti Nepal
    • Saewon Kang
    • Hendrik Heinz
    Review Article