Achieving technologically relevant performance and stability for optoelectronics, energy conversion, photonics, spintronics and quantum devices requires creating atomically precise materials with tailored homo- and hetero-interfaces, which can form functional hierarchical assemblies. Nature employs tunable sequence chemistry to create complex architectures, which efficiently transform matter and energy

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00829-5.

Charge carriers in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as WSe2, have their spin and valley-pseudospin locked into an optically addressable index that is proposed as a basis for future information processing1,2. The manipulation of this spin–valley index, which carries a magnetic moment3, requires tuning its energy. This is typically achieved through an external magnetic field

Ruddlesden–Popper lead halide perovskites have emerged as a new class of two-dimensional semiconductors with tunable optoelectronic properties, potentially offering unlimited heterostructure configurations for exploration. However, the practical realization of such heterostructures is challenging because of the difficulty in achieving controllable direct synthesis or van der Waals integration of halide

Novel versatile nanomaterials may facilitate strategies for simultaneous soil remediation and agricultural production, but a thorough and mechanistic assessment of efficacy and safety is needed. We have established a new soil remediation strategy using nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) coupled with safe rice production in paddy soil contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP). In comparison with rice

Two nanoparticle-based vaccines close to obtaining approval by the US Food and Drug Administration could represent a giant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are ubiquitous proteins that are disordered entirely or partly and play important roles in diverse biological phenomena. Their structure dynamically samples a multitude of conformational states, thus rendering their structural analysis very difficult. Here we explore the potential of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) for characterizing the structure

Nanostructured materials of diverse architecture are ubiquitous in industrial catalysis. They offer exciting prospects to tackle various sustainability challenges faced by society. Since the introduction of the concept a century ago, researchers aspire to control the chemical identity, local environment and electronic properties of active sites on catalytic surfaces to optimize their reactivity in

Lithium–sulfur batteries are attractive alternatives to lithium-ion batteries because of their high theoretical specific energy and natural abundance of sulfur. However, the practical specific energy and cycle life of Li–S pouch cells are significantly limited by the use of thin sulfur electrodes, flooded electrolytes and Li metal degradation. Here we propose a cathode design concept to achieve good

Ultrafast spectroscopy measurements present a new direct non-equilibrium energy transfer mechanism across a metal–semiconductor interface, without charge transfer, opening up a new avenue for plasmonic energy conversion.

Traditional cooling systems consume tremendous amounts of energy and thus aggravate the greenhouse effect1,2. Passive radiative cooling, dissipating an object’s heat through an atmospheric transparency window (8–13 μm) to outer space without any energy consumption, has attracted much attention3,4,5,6,7,8,9. The unique feature of radiative cooling lies in the high emissivity in the atmospheric transparency

Infectious diseases, including the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has brought the world to a standstill, are emerging at an unprecedented rate with a substantial impact on public health and global economies. For many life-threatening global infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, malaria and influenza, effective vaccinations are still lacking. There

Conical intersections (CoIns) of multidimensional potential energy surfaces are ubiquitous in nature and control pathways and yields of many photo-initiated intramolecular processes. Such topologies can be potentially involved in the energy transport in aggregated molecules or polymers but are yet to be uncovered. Here, using ultrafast two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES), we reveal the existence

Non-volatile resistive switching, also known as memristor1 effect, where an electric field switches the resistance states of a two-terminal device, has emerged as an important concept in the development of high-density information storage, computing and reconfigurable systems2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. The past decade has witnessed substantial advances in non-volatile resistive switching materials such as metal

Inspired by biological proteins, artificial water channels (AWCs) can be used to overcome the performances of traditional desalination membranes. Their rational incorporation in composite polyamide provides an example of biomimetic membranes applied under representative reverse osmosis desalination conditions with an intrinsically high water-to-salt permeability ratio. The hybrid polyamide presents

Light–matter interactions that induce charge and energy transfer across interfaces form the foundation for photocatalysis1,2, energy harvesting3 and photodetection4, among other technologies. One of the most common mechanisms associated with these processes relies on carrier injection. However, the exact role of the energy transport associated with this hot-electron injection remains unclear. Plasmon-assisted

Membranes are ubiquitous in nature with primary functions that include adaptive filtering and selective transport of chemical/molecular species. Being critical to cellular functions, they are also fundamental in many areas of science and technology. Of particular importance are the adaptive and programmable membranes that can change their permeability or selectivity depending on the environment. Here

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The intercalation of an antennae array with a geometric Pancharatnam–Berry phase into a defective two-dimensional photonic crystal slab enables a spin-dependent splitting of directional emission in momentum space, that is, a Rashba effect for photons.

Moiré superlattices offer an unprecedented opportunity for tailoring interactions between quantum particles1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and their coupling to electromagnetic fields12,13,14,15,16,17,18. Strong superlattice potentials generate moiré minibands of excitons16,17,18—bound pairs of electrons and holes that reside either in a single layer (intralayer excitons) or in two separate layers (interlayer

Rechargeable organic batteries show great potential as a low-cost, sustainable and mass-producible alternatives to current transition-metal-based cells; however, serious electrode dissolution issues and solubilization of organic redox intermediates (shuttle effect) have plagued the capacity retention and cyclability of these cells. Here we report on the use of a metal–organic framework (MOF) gel membrane

Cancer metastases and recurrence after surgical resection remain an important cause of treatment failure. Here we demonstrate a general strategy to fabricate personalized nanovaccines based on a cationic fluoropolymer for post-surgical cancer immunotherapy. Nanoparticles formed by mixing the fluoropolymer with a model antigen ovalbumin, induce dendritic cell maturation via the Toll-like receptor 4

The role of membrane potential in most intracellular organelles remains unexplored because of the lack of suitable tools. Here, we describe Voltair, a fluorescent DNA nanodevice that reports the absolute membrane potential and can be targeted to organelles in live cells. Voltair consists of a voltage-sensitive fluorophore and a reference fluorophore for ratiometry, and acts as an endocytic tracer.

Most proteins at the plasma membrane are not uniformly distributed but localize to dynamic domains of nanoscale dimensions. To investigate their functional relevance, there is a need for methods that enable comprehensive analysis of the compositions and spatial organizations of membrane protein nanodomains in cell populations. Here we describe the development of a non-microscopy-based method for ensemble

Surface heating membrane distillation overcomes several limitations inherent in conventional membrane distillation technology. Here we report a successful effort to grow in situ a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanocoating on a stainless-steel wire cloth (hBN-SSWC), and its application as a scalable electrothermal heating material in surface heating membrane distillation. The novel hBN-SSWC provides

Cancer vaccines hold great promise for improved cancer treatment. However, endosomal trapping and low immunogenicity of tumour antigens usually limit the efficiency of vaccination strategies. Here, we present a proton-driven nanotransformer-based vaccine, comprising a polymer–peptide conjugate-based nanotransformer and loaded antigenic peptide. The nanotransformer-based vaccine induces a strong immune

Spatial light modulators are essential optical elements in applications that require the ability to regulate the amplitude, phase and polarization of light, such as digital holography, optical communications and biomedical imaging. With the push towards miniaturization of optical components, static metasurfaces are used as competent alternatives. These evolved to active metasurfaces in which light-wavefront

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Many nanoscale devices require precise optimization to function. Tuning them to the desired operation regime becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming when the number of terminals and couplings grows. Imperfections and device-to-device variations hinder optimization that uses physics-based models. Deep neural networks (DNNs) can model various complex physical phenomena but, so far, are mainly

Customized Cu3(PO4)2 and CuO nanosheets and commercial CuO nanoparticles were investigated for micronutrient delivery and suppression of soybean sudden death syndrome. An ab initio thermodynamics approach modelled how material morphology and matrix effects control the nutrient release. Infection reduced the biomass and photosynthesis by 70.3 and 60%, respectively; the foliar application of nanoscale

Cavity design is crucial for single-mode semiconductor lasers such as the ubiquitous distributed feedback and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. By recognizing that both of these optical resonators feature a single mid-gap mode localized at a topological defect in the one-dimensional lattice, we upgrade this topological cavity design concept into two dimensions using a honeycomb photonic crystal

A new memory device in which the electric dipole, rather than the magnetic dipole, stores information at the single-molecule level is demonstrated.

Electrets are dielectric materials that have a quasi-permanent dipole polarization. A single-molecule electret is a long-sought-after nanoscale component because it can lead to miniaturized non-volatile memory storage devices. The signature of a single-molecule electret is the switching between two electric dipole states by an external electric field. The existence of these electrets has remained controversial

In situ NMR and magnetic resonance imaging unravel new chemistries for the formation and growth of metal microstructures, with consequences on the solid–electrolyte interphase stability.

After fourteen years of writing for Nature Nanotechnology, Chris Toumey reflects on the role of experts in Science and Technology Studies in his last contribution to the journal.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Epitaxial quantum dots (QDs) have long been identified as promising charge spin qubits offering an efficient interface to quantum light and advanced semiconductor nanofabrication technologies. However, charge spin coherence is limited by interaction with the nanoscale ensemble of atomic nuclear spins, which is particularly problematic in strained self-assembled dots. Here, we use strain-free GaAs/AlGaAs

Nanometric probes based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are promising candidates for all-optical environmental, biological and technological sensing applications with intrinsic quantitative molecular specificity. However, the effectiveness of SERS probes depends on a delicate trade-off between particle size, stability and brightness that has so far hindered their wide application in SERS

The driving force in materials to spontaneously form states with magnetic or electric order is of fundamental importance for basic research and device technology. The macroscopic properties and functionalities of these ferroics depend on the size, distribution and morphology of domains; that is, of regions across which such uniform order is maintained1. Typically, extrinsic factors such as strain profiles

Nonlinear optical fibres have been employed for a vast number of applications, including optical frequency conversion, ultrafast laser and optical communication1,2,3,4. In current manufacturing technologies, nonlinearity is realized by the injection of nonlinear materials into fibres5,6,7 or the fabrication of microstructured fibres8,9,10. Both strategies, however, suffer from either low optical nonlinearity

Despite the notable progress in perovskite solar cells, maintaining long-term operational stability and minimizing potentially leaked lead (Pb2+) ions are two challenges that are yet to be resolved. Here we address these issues using a thiol-functionalized 2D conjugated metal–organic framework as an electron-extraction layer at the perovskite/cathode interface. The resultant devices exhibit high power

Digital optical holograms can achieve nanometre-scale resolution as a result of recent advances in metasurface technologies. This has raised hopes for applications in data encryption, data storage, information processing and displays. However, the hologram bandwidth has remained too low for any practical use. To overcome this limitation, information can be stored in the orbital angular momentum of

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Although the idea of using nanomaterials for agriculture is promising, we must consider in detail how nanotechnology can provide advantages over standard tools.

Two studies on sub-micrometre plastic particles provide evidence of plastic accumulation in terrestrial plants.

Overcoming the challenges of plastic detection in plants has made it possible to transfer many of the lessons learned from plant–metal nanoparticle interactions to plastic nanoparticles.

The delivery of medical agents to a specific diseased tissue or cell is critical for diagnosing and treating patients. Nanomaterials are promising vehicles to transport agents that include drugs, contrast agents, immunotherapies and gene editors. They can be engineered to have different physical and chemical properties that influence their interactions with their biological environments and delivery

For life to emerge, the confinement of catalytic reactions within protocellular environments has been proposed to be a decisive aspect to regulate chemical activity in space1. Today, cells and organisms adapt to signals2,3,4,5,6 by processing them through reaction networks that ultimately provide downstream functional responses and structural morphogenesis7,8. Re-enacting such signal processing in

Optical tweezers have emerged as a powerful tool for the non-invasive trapping and manipulation of colloidal particles and biological cells1,2. However, the diffraction limit precludes the low-power trapping of nanometre-scale objects. Substantially increasing the laser power can provide enough trapping potential depth to trap nanoscale objects. Unfortunately, the substantial optical intensity required

Heterostructures combining a thin layer of quantum emitters and planar nanostructures enable custom-tailored photoluminescence in an integrated fashion. Here, we demonstrate a photonic Rashba effect from valley excitons in a WSe2 monolayer, which is incorporated into a photonic crystal slab with geometric phase defects, that is, into a Berry-phase defective photonic crystal. This phenomenon of spin-split

Understanding charge transport in DNA molecules is a long-standing problem of fundamental importance across disciplines1,2. It is also of great technological interest due to DNA’s ability to form versatile and complex programmable structures. Charge transport in DNA-based junctions has been reported using a wide variety of set-ups2,3,4, but experiments so far have yielded seemingly contradictory results

Nanotechnology is identified as a key enabling technology due to its potential to contribute to economic growth and societal well-being across industrial sectors. Sustainable nanotechnology requires a scientifically based and proportionate risk governance structure to support innovation, including a robust framework for environmental risk assessment (ERA) that ideally builds on methods established

Dielectric microcavities with quality factors (Q-factors) in the thousands to billions markedly enhance light–matter interactions, with applications spanning high-efficiency on-chip lasing, frequency comb generation and modulation and sensitive molecular detection. However, as the dimensions of dielectric cavities are reduced to subwavelength scales, their resonant modes begin to scatter light into

Despite the overwhelming success of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases, there remain numerous globally devastating diseases without fully protective vaccines, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria and tuberculosis. Nanotechnology approaches are being developed both to design new vaccines against these diseases as well as to facilitate their global implementation. The reasons

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) constitute a versatile platform for atomically thin optoelectronics devices and spin–valley memory applications. In monolayer TMDs the optical absorption is strong, but the transition energy cannot be tuned as the neutral exciton has essentially no out-of-plane static electric dipole1,2. In contrast, interlayer exciton transitions in heterobilayers are widely

The progress of plasmon-based technologies relies on an understanding of the properties of the enhanced electromagnetic fields generated by the coupling nanostrucutres1,2,3,4,5,6. Plasmon-enhanced applications include advanced spectroscopies7,8,9,10, optomechanics11, optomagnetics12 and biosensing13,14,15,16,17. However, precise determination of plasmon field intensity distribution within a nanogap

Nanoscale lithography and information storage in biocompatible materials offer possibilities for applications such as bioelectronics and degradable electronics for which traditional semiconductor fabrication techniques cannot be used. Silk fibroin, a natural protein renowned for its strength and biocompatibility, has been widely studied in this context. Here, we present the use of silk film as a biofunctional

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it is time for the nanotechnology community to shine and build on its experience with nanoscale materials and drug delivery to provide knowledge and tools for COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics development.

A combination of two different types of sites shows high catalytic performance for selective hydrogenation due to hydrogen spillover.

Hydrogen spillover is a well-known phenomenon in heterogeneous catalysis; it involves H2 cleavage on an active metal followed by the migration of dissociated H species over an ‘inert’ support1,2,3,4,5. Although catalytic hydrogenation using the spilled H species, namely, spillover hydrogenation, has long been proposed, very limited knowledge has been obtained about what kind of support structure is