Chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    The development of materials for the effective removal of oils and solvents from water is of global importance. Here, the authors show that porous, hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets are capable of absorbing many times their own weight in oil while repelling water, and may be cleaned for reuse by heating or burning in air.

    • Weiwei Lei
    • , David Portehault
    •  & Ying Chen

  • Article |

    Classical theory predicts that glass dynamics exhibit a singularity at some finite temperature. Zhao et al. test this theory in fossil amber by determining upper bounds of the equilibrium relaxation times, and find no such behaviour even far below the glass transition challenging conventional assumptions.

    • Jing Zhao
    • , Sindee L. Simon
    •  & Gregory B. McKenna

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Only two types of neutral homo-calix compounds, including analogues, have been reported. Chun et al. now describe a new class of positively charged calix[n]imidazolium, which is synthesized in one pot and is able to recognize anions and fullerenes in aqueous media.

    • Young Chun
    • , N Jiten Singh
    •  & Kwang S Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The original definition of a memristor envisions a two-terminal memory device with a pinched, zero-crossing hysteresis loop. As the authors show here, an electromotive force leads to non-zero-crossing characteristics in nanoionic-type memristors, implying that the memristor definition must be amended.

    • I. Valov
    • , E. Linn
    •  & R. Waser

  • Article |

    Quantum dots with a fine size dispersion offer attractive levels of functional control and manipulation. In this study, Yang et al. report an environmentally friendly top–down synthesis technique, based on laser irradiation of a polydisperse of lead sulphide nanocrystals.

    • Jing Yang
    • , Tao Ling
    •  & Xi-Wen Du

  • Article |

    Methane is an important greenhouse gas but its capture presents a challenge due to its weak interactions with most materials. Here the authors perform a systematic screening of liquid solvents and nanoporous zeolites, and identify zeolite structures with good potential for methane uptake and separation.

    • Jihan Kim
    • , Amitesh Maiti
    •  & Roger D. Aines

  • Article |

    Intercalation materials are of interest for batteries because of their capability of accommodating ions in their layered structures. Mashtalir et al. develop a new battery electrode material using two-dimensional intercalated carbides, which exhibit high lithium-ion conductivity and capacity.

    • Olha Mashtalir
    • , Michael Naguib
    •  & Yury Gogotsi

  • Article |

    The specific capacity of an important commercial cathode material, lithium iron phosphate, is much lower than its theoretical value. Hu et al. report that incorporation of electrochemically exfoliated graphene layers in a carbon coating improves capacity beyond that predicted by theory.

    • By Lung-Hao Hu
    • , Feng-Yu Wu
    •  & Lain-Jong Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polymers are good potential processable materials for electronic components; however, their charge mobilities are quite low. Here, the authors show that wrapping polymers with macrocycles and localization of π-orbitals realizes an ideal orbital alignment for charge hopping with subsequently increased mobility.

    • Jun Terao
    • , Akihisa Wadahama
    •  & Yasushi Tsuji

  • Article |

    A promising route towards molecular devices is the self-assembly of atoms or molecules on a surface. Here, Gruznev et al. show that the synthesis of unique geometries of C60molecules on gold–indium-covered crystalline silicon is governed by moiré interference.

    • D.V. Gruznev
    • , A.V. Matetskiy
    •  & Y.L. Wang

  • Article |

    The atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, consists of orange-yellow haze, but its formation and dynamics are not well understood. Here laboratory studies show that Titan’s lower atmosphere is photochemically active and the formation of complex prebiotic precursor molecules occurs at lower altitudes.

    • Murthy S. Gudipati
    • , Ronen Jacovi
    •  & Mark Allen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cells are known to swell and shrink in certain solutions, however no inorganic equivalent has been observed to date. Here, the authors demonstrate 100-fold reversible swelling of crystalline lamellar materials, which may be attributed to the long-range directional structuring of intercalated water molecules.

    • Fengxia Geng
    • , Renzhi Ma
    •  & Takayoshi Sasaki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Effective collection of molecules on a small sensing area is not possible based on diffusion alone and the employment of a directed force is required. The authors report a localized electrodynamic precipitation concept to collect, spot and detect airborne species in an active-matrix array-like fashion.

    • En-Chiang Lin
    • , Jun Fang
    •  & Heiko O. Jacobs

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In artificial photosynthetic devices, conversion of light into electricity is thought to involve an incoherent electron transfer process. Rozzi et al.provide evidence for quantum-correlated wavelike motion inducing the ultrafast photoinduced electronic charge transfer in a light-harvesting supramolecular triad.

    • Carlo Andrea Rozzi
    • , Sarah Maria Falke
    •  & Christoph Lienau

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transistors that operate by the passage of electrons through a single-dopant atom achieve the ultimate limit for the miniaturization of electronic devices, but only when multiple transistors are intimately connected can they become useful. Roche et al. demonstrate the equivalent of just this, connecting two such transistors to build a two-atom electron pump.

    • B. Roche
    • , R.-P. Riwar
    •  & X. Jehl

  • Article |

    Colloids consist of small particles distributed in another medium such as liquids or gases. Here, the demonstration that forces arising from the critical Casimir effect can control the interaction between particles offers new possibilities for the formation of colloidal nanostructures.

    • Van Duc Nguyen
    • , Suzanne Faber
    •  & Peter Schall

  • Article |

    The main constraint on the large-scale use of platinum catalyst in energy-conversion devices is its cost. Hou et al.propose a screening strategy to search for non-platinum-based alternatives, which suggests that inexpensive and abundant ferric oxides exhibit comparable electrocatalytic activity to platinum.

    • Yu Hou
    • , Dong Wang
    •  & Hua Gui Yang

  • Article |

    Helium has not, to date, been observed crystallographically. Here, the authors report the first crystallographic observation of a helium atom, encapsulated in a fullerene, and show that it exerts a small but detectable influence on the electronic structure of a coencapsulated nitrogen atom.

    • Yuta Morinaka
    • , Satoru Sato
    •  & Yasujiro Murata

  • Article |

    The hardness and incompressibility of diamond makes it an ideal material for high-pressure anvil cells. Here, a method for generating static pressure is described in which graphene-coated diamond is heated, forming graphene nanobubbles that trap water at pressures sufficient to etch the surface of diamond.

    • Candy Haley Yi Xuan Lim
    • , Anastassia Sorkin
    •  & Kian Ping Loh

  • Article |

    Charge carrier mobility in molecular condensate is usually limited to small values by disorder and small intermolecular coupling. This work shows band dispersion of molecular states when hybridized with a metal substrate, resulting in enhanced carrier mobility.

    • M. Wießner
    • , J. Ziroff
    •  & F. Reinert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organic fluorescent nanoparticles have potential biomaterials applications due to their low-toxicity and ‘green’ synthesis. Here, a series of self-assembled nanoparticles and polymers are synthesized with intense visible fluorescence stemming from chromophores of hydrogen-bonded monoacylglycerol clusters.

    • Kwang-Ming Lee
    • , Wan-Yin Cheng
    •  & Bi-Yun Lin

  • Article |

    Materials with magnetic dipoles commonly form the building blocks of complex structures at many different length scales. Yan et al. show that by using cylindrical magnetic Janus colloids, greater control over the shape of the hierarchical structures formed by self-assembly can be achieved.

    • Jing Yan
    • , Kundan Chaudhary
    •  & Steve Granick

  • Article |

    The synthesis of porous materials designed with specific applications in mind is fundamentally challenging. Here, the authors fabricate single-molecule trap cavities designed for complimentary interactions with CO2 and show that these traps can be assembled into materials with high CO2selectivity.

    • Jian-Rong Li
    • , Jiamei Yu
    •  & Hong-Cai Zhou

  • Article |

    The fabrication self-sorting supramolecular gels, containing co-existing homomolecular assemblies with similar physical and chemical properties, is challenging. Here pH-controlled self-sorting gelators are reported, where the order of assembly of each component is predetermined by gelator pKa.

    • Kyle L. Morris
    • , Lin Chen
    •  & Dave J. Adams

  • Article |

    Topological insulators are bulk insulators with conductive boundary states, and until now have been based only on inorganic materials. Wang et al.use first-principles calculations to predict a class of organic topological insulators based on organometallic lattices exhibiting robust topological edge states.

    • Z.F Wang
    • , Zheng Liu
    •  & Feng Liu

  • Article |

    Electricity can be generated by moving wires in magnetic fields, but this is not the only method. Moon et al. develop an electrochemical device that produces an AC current in a controlled manner by mechanically modulating water bridges sandwiched between two conducting plates.

    • Jong Kyun Moon
    • , Jaeki Jeong
    •  & Hyuk Kyu Pak

  • Article |

    The ‘on’ and ‘off’ states of the photoswitchable protein Dronpa have been characterized, but the interconversion process remains poorly understood. Here the authors perform time-resolved ultrafast infrared measurements to follow both the structural changes and proton transfer events that occur during conversion.

    • Mark M. Warren
    • , Marius Kaucikas
    •  & Jasper J. van Thor

  • Article |

    Engineering heterogeneous metallic nanocrystals could produce diverse materials with tunable properties. Here the authors develop a strategy for the rational and independent programming of each architecture-determining element, such as the shape, size and spatial relationship of the component nanocrystals.

    • Yue Yu
    • , Qingbo Zhang
    •  & Jim Yang Lee

  • Article |

    Aromaticity predicts the existence of the benzene tetra-anion, although it has not been unambiguously observed. Here, the authors have synthesized a tetra-anionic substituted benzene as a ligand and characterize the six-carbon, 10 π-electron system by structural, spectroscopic and theoretical techniques.

    • Wenliang Huang
    • , Florian Dulong
    •  & Paula L. Diaconescu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Janus materials have distinct chemical functionalities on opposite faces. Zhang et al.report that a two-step covalent functionalisation and poly(methyl methacrylate)-mediated transfer process facilitates the synthesis of nonsymmetrically modified single-layer graphene.

    • Liming Zhang
    • , Jingwen Yu
    •  & Zhongfan Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The construction of homochiral surfaces may play a significant role in applications including heterogeneous catalysis and bio-sensors. Here, globally homochiral two-dimensional assemblies of achiral molecules are formed via co-assembly with chiral co-adsorbers, demonstrating a ‘majority rules’ effect.

    • Ting Chen
    • , Wen-Hong Yang
    •  & Li-Jun Wan

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