{"title":"Materials-driven strategies in bacterial engineering","authors":"Giuseppe Maria Paternò","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00623-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00623-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This perspective article focuses on the innovative field of materials-based bacterial engineering, highlighting interdisciplinary research that employs material science to study, augment, and exploit the attributes of living bacteria. By utilizing exogenous abiotic material interfaces, researchers can engineer bacteria to perform new functions, such as enhanced bioelectric capabilities and improved photosynthetic efficiency. Additionally, materials can modulate bacterial communities and transform bacteria into biohybrid microrobots, offering promising solutions for sustainable energy production, environmental remediation, and medical applications. Finally, the perspective discusses a general paradigm for engineering bacteria through the materials-driven modulation of their transmembrane potential. This parameter regulates their ion channel activity and ultimately their bioenergetics, suggesting that controlling it could allow scientists to hack the bioelectric language bacteria use for communication, task execution, and environmental response.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141868289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paul Smith, Ethan Bounds, Kaleb Jones, Anthony Griffin, Zoe Gunter, Zhe Qiang
{"title":"Enabling 3D printing of carbons by polyethylene precursors","authors":"Paul Smith, Ethan Bounds, Kaleb Jones, Anthony Griffin, Zoe Gunter, Zhe Qiang","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00619-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00619-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Development of low-cost and accessible techniques for creating intricate carbon structures is an important research area for advancing various applications. In this work, fused filament fabrication (FFF) of polyethylene (PE) is used to generate 3D-printed structures which are converted to carbon through sulfonation-induced crosslinking and subsequent pyrolysis. Carbons from PE precursors display more continuous morphologies than their polypropylene (PP) counterparts while achieving enhanced reaction kinetics at lower temperatures. This phenomenon enables robust mechanical properties under optimal carbonization conditions. This work provides an essential expansion of precursor selection and understanding of carbonization effects for 3D-printed carbon materials.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141868167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas G. Ciardi, Arafath Nihar, Rounak Chawla, Olatunde Akanbi, Pawan K. Tripathi, Yinghui Wu, Vipin Chaudhary, Roger H. French
{"title":"Materials data science using CRADLE: A distributed, data-centric approach","authors":"Thomas G. Ciardi, Arafath Nihar, Rounak Chawla, Olatunde Akanbi, Pawan K. Tripathi, Yinghui Wu, Vipin Chaudhary, Roger H. French","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00616-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00616-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is a paradigm shift towards data-centric AI, where model efficacy relies on quality, unified data. The common research analytics and data lifecycle environment (CRADLE™) is an infrastructure and framework that supports a data-centric paradigm and materials data science at scale through heterogeneous data management, elastic scaling, and accessible interfaces. We demonstrate CRADLE’s capabilities through five materials science studies: phase identification in X-ray diffraction, defect segmentation in X-ray computed tomography, polymer crystallization analysis in atomic force microscopy, feature extraction from additive manufacturing, and geospatial data fusion. CRADLE catalyzes scalable, reproducible insights to transform how data is captured, stored, and analyzed.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"150 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141868165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Palacios Saura, Joachim Breternitz, Armin Hoell, Susan Schorr
{"title":"The big bang of halide perovskites: The starting point of crystallization","authors":"Ana Palacios Saura, Joachim Breternitz, Armin Hoell, Susan Schorr","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00611-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00611-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Hybrid halide perovskites (HHPs) are very promising absorber materials for solar cells due to their high power conversion efficiency and the low-cost solution-based processing methods. We applied small angle X-ray scattering to MAPbI<sub>3</sub>, FAPbI<sub>3</sub> and MAPbBr<sub>3</sub> precursor solutions in different solvents (GBL, DMF, and mixtures) to gain a deeper understanding of the building blocks during the early stage of HHP formation. We present a core–shell model where the core is formed by [PbX<sub>6</sub>] octahedra surrounded by a shell of solvent molecules, which explains the arrangement of the precursors in solution and how the solvent and the halide influence such arrangement.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical Abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141783232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Urice Tohgha, Kyle Carothers, Douglas M. Krein, Michael C. Brennan, Gelu Costin, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, Tod A. Grusenmeyer, Michael E. McConney, Peter R. Stevenson
{"title":"Liquid monomer phase exfoliation of non-van der Waals hematite and processing of poly(methyl methacrylate) hematene composite substrates","authors":"Urice Tohgha, Kyle Carothers, Douglas M. Krein, Michael C. Brennan, Gelu Costin, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, Tod A. Grusenmeyer, Michael E. McConney, Peter R. Stevenson","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00613-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00613-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Liquid phase exfoliation of non-van der Waals materials has generated renewed interest in fundamental optical and electronic materials discovery and processing. However, such approaches can limit access to novel two-dimensional materials due to the chemistry of exfoliation and processing conditions employed (e.g., processing temperature, mechanical energy input, volatile organic compounds, and sensitive redox chemistries). Here, we demonstrate the exfoliation of bulk hematite (α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) powder using a mild bath sonication methodology in liquid monomer media to form stable colloidal dispersions with quasi-two-dimensional hematene nanoflakes. These colloidal dispersions were further processed to form hematene poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix composite substrates.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"355 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141783233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manuel Antonio Ramos Murillo, José Manuel Domínguez Esquivel, Diego Daniel González Araiza, Francisco Robles-Hernández
{"title":"Advanced catalytic materials: Nano and bulk","authors":"Manuel Antonio Ramos Murillo, José Manuel Domínguez Esquivel, Diego Daniel González Araiza, Francisco Robles-Hernández","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00615-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00615-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141783235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ghada Ali, Sara A. M. El-Sayed, Ola M. El-Borady, Hatem S. A. Elgohary, Maram E. Khallaf, Maged El-Kemary
{"title":"Nanoclay and nano-hydroxyapatite chitosan-based scaffold for bone regeneration: Morphological, spectral, structural, thermal, in vitro, and in vivo studies","authors":"Ghada Ali, Sara A. M. El-Sayed, Ola M. El-Borady, Hatem S. A. Elgohary, Maram E. Khallaf, Maged El-Kemary","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00607-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00607-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The present work evaluates chitosan/sodium alginate blended with two nanomaterials of hydroxyapatite (HA) and commercial nanoclay-Cloisite20A for improving bone regeneration. The free nano-HA, nanoclay, and their scaffolds were characterized via TEM, SEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, and TGA analyses. <i>In vitro</i> bioactivity, degradation, swelling, and cytotoxicity were investigated. For the <i>in vivo</i> studies, two groups of rats were used (<i>n</i> = five) in the study period (37 days). The scaffolds were implanted in the rat’s back. TEM analysis showed the nanorods of HA have a particle length of around 107 nm and a width around 17 nm, which is crystalline in nature, as XRD demonstrated. However, the SEM images showed the formation of honeycomb-like scaffolds. The <i>in vitro</i> bioactivity results through the changes of PBS ions and SEM/EDX analysis after immersion in PBS detected the formation of a calcium phosphate layer which is important for bone regeneration. The cell viability results proved IC50 > 670 µg/mL and IC50: 116 µg/mL for HA and nanoclay, respectively<i>.</i> Furthermore, the histological analysis revealed the highest calcification after 1 month for the nano-HA-containing scaffold supporting them as promising substitute biomaterials for treating bone loss.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141745173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vivek Kakani, Ross Haroldson, Aaron Parra, Erling Beck, Anvar Zakhidov, Xiaoyan Shi
{"title":"Growth and characterization of lightweight NbTi superconducting nanowires","authors":"Vivek Kakani, Ross Haroldson, Aaron Parra, Erling Beck, Anvar Zakhidov, Xiaoyan Shi","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00609-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00609-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>NbTi alloy features a moderate transition temperature and a relatively high upper critical field, but NbTi superconducting wires face inherent challenges in weight-sensitive applications. Here, we present the growth and characterizations of lightweight NbTi nanowires made by co-sputtering Nb and Ti onto poly(vinyl alcohol) as the supporting material and the nanowire template. Scanning electron microscopy and transport studies reveal that the nanowires exhibit similar superconducting properties to the bulk, simultaneously reducing the NbTi nanowire weight. This nanowire design results in a lighter structure that requires fewer materials, offering a promising solution for diverse applications.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141613723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lukman Abubakar, Sameer Jain, Ian Ahlen, Arjak Bhattacharjee
{"title":"Turmeric-coated sustainable concrete with antibacterial properties","authors":"Lukman Abubakar, Sameer Jain, Ian Ahlen, Arjak Bhattacharjee","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00588-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00588-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Concrete is the second most widely consumed material across the globe after water and it is the most utilized building material. However, microbial contamination and corresponding degradation in concrete structures reduce its life span. This also imposes a financial burden as well as a threat to public health. The major scientific question posed in this research is, “Can we utilize turmeric as an alternate coating to introduce antibacterial properties in concrete structures?”. Our obtained results show that turmeric coating in concrete results in up to ~ 68% antibacterial efficacy against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>) without compromising the mechanical properties.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141570137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Rangel-Rivera, B. Bachiller-Baeza, A. Quiroga-Almaguer, I. Galindo-Esquivel, G. Rangel-Porras
{"title":"Surface and physicochemical characteristics of KSF-clay in a liquid esterification process: The boundaries between heterogeneous catalyst and precatalysts support","authors":"P. Rangel-Rivera, B. Bachiller-Baeza, A. Quiroga-Almaguer, I. Galindo-Esquivel, G. Rangel-Porras","doi":"10.1557/s43579-024-00606-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-024-00606-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The KSF-clay is a material that presents a high density of acidic active sites, ideal for being a heterogeneous acid catalyst with outstanding activity. For this study, KSF-clay was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia. Additionally, studies of the adsorption of ethanol, propan-2-ol, and acetic acid molecules over KSF-clay surface to establish their thermal stability species were studied by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The relationship between the properties of KSF-clay and the adsorption-interaction process with organic molecules is related to its performance as an acid catalyst.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000","PeriodicalId":19016,"journal":{"name":"MRS Communications","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141570139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}