{"title":"Combining computer vision and atomic force microscopy for 3D reconstruction","authors":"Charlotte Allard","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00733-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00733-7","url":null,"abstract":"An article in Communications Engineering presents a technique for the 3D reconstruction of nanoscale objects that uses atomic force microscopy and a computer vision algorithm.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 10","pages":"673-673"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142276727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diffusion mechanisms of fast lithium-ion conductors","authors":"KyuJung Jun, Yu Chen, Grace Wei, Xiaochen Yang, Gerbrand Ceder","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00715-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00715-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The quest for next-generation energy-storage technologies has pivoted towards all-solid-state batteries, primarily owing to their potential for enhanced safety and energy density. At the centre of this promising technology lie inorganic lithium superionic conductors, which facilitate rapid ion transport comparable to that in their liquid counterparts. Despite their promise, the limited availability of materials that both achieve superionic conductivity and fulfil all practical requirements necessitates the discovery of novel conductors. This Review comprehensively explores the diverse structural and chemical factors that improve ionic conductivity and the atomistic mechanism by which each factor affects it. We emphasize the importance of a dual approach: using structural factors to enable high-conducting prototypes, and chemical factors to further optimize the ionic conductivity. From these insights, we distil over 40 years of conductor development history to the key concepts that paved the way for today’s leading superionic conductors. In detailing the trajectory of ionic conduction advancements, this Review not only charts the progress in the field but also proposes a strategic approach for researchers to efficiently innovate with the ultimate goal of realizing the promise of all-solid-state batteries.</p>","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":83.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142174946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards the holistic design of alloys with large language models","authors":"Zongrui Pei, Junqi Yin, Jörg Neugebauer, Anubhav Jain","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00726-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00726-6","url":null,"abstract":"Large language models are very effective at solving general tasks, but can also be useful in materials design and extracting and using information from the scientific literature and unstructured corpora. In the domain of alloy design and manufacturing, they can expedite the materials design process and enable the inclusion of holistic criteria.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":83.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142174945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robert Baines, Frank Fish, Josh Bongard, Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio
{"title":"Robots that evolve on demand","authors":"Robert Baines, Frank Fish, Josh Bongard, Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00711-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00711-z","url":null,"abstract":"Now more than ever, researchers are rethinking the way robots are designed and controlled — from the algorithms that govern their actions to the very atomic structure of the materials they are made from. In this Perspective, we collect and comment on recent efforts towards multipurpose machines that use shape-morphing materials and components to adapt to changing environments. To frame our discussion, we point out biological adaptation strategies that have been adopted by robots across different sizes and timescales. This contextualization segways into the notion of adaptive morphogenesis, which is formally defined as a design strategy in which adaptive robot morphology and behaviours are realized through unified structural and actuation systems. However, since its introduction, the term has been more colloquially used to describe ‘evolution on demand’. We set out by giving examples of current systems that exhibit adaptive morphogenesis. Then, outlining projected key application areas of adaptive morphogenesis helps to scope the challenges and possibilities on the road to realizing future systems. We conclude by proposing performance metrics for benchmarking this emerging field. With this Perspective, we hope to spur dialogue among materials scientists, roboticists and biologists, and provide an objective lens through which we can analyse progress towards robots with rapidly mutable features that eclipse what is possible in biological processes. To meet the physical demands of a new environment, organisms evolve morphological and behavioural adaptations that specialize their locomotor performance to that niche. This Perspective discusses how robots can emulate — and perhaps even exceed — biological levels of adaptability through shape-morphing mechanisms and complementary control strategies to achieve compressed, rapid and reversible ‘evolution on demand’.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 11","pages":"822-835"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142235104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Atmospheric water vapour as a potential water source and its impact on energy systems","authors":"Fredrik Edström, Per Dahlbäck","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00727-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00727-5","url":null,"abstract":"Atmospheric water vapour, an abundant yet underutilized resource, may hold potential as a new water source but is held back by its high enthalpy of condensation. This property also contributes to a negative feedback loop between cooling systems and greenhouse gases, accelerating global warming.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 10","pages":"671-672"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142171022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anita Wing Yi Ho-Baillie, Stephen Bremner, Ceri Brenner, Iver H. Cairns, Laura Granados-Caro, Gavin Conibeer, Jasmyn Curry, Nicholas Ekins-Daukes, Douglas Griffin, Tik Lun Leung, Md Arafat Mahmud, David McKenzie, Stefania Peracchi, Santosh Shrestha, David Wilt
{"title":"Emerging photovoltaics for onboard space applications","authors":"Anita Wing Yi Ho-Baillie, Stephen Bremner, Ceri Brenner, Iver H. Cairns, Laura Granados-Caro, Gavin Conibeer, Jasmyn Curry, Nicholas Ekins-Daukes, Douglas Griffin, Tik Lun Leung, Md Arafat Mahmud, David McKenzie, Stefania Peracchi, Santosh Shrestha, David Wilt","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00723-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00723-9","url":null,"abstract":"Thin-film solar cells are promising for providing cost-effective and reliable power in space, especially in multi-junction applications. To enhance efficiency, robustness and integration, advancements at the cell level must be combined with improvements in assembly and panel design. Ensuring that solar cells can provide sustained performance is also essential for minimizing space debris.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 11","pages":"759-761"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From nitrate to ammonia using high-entropy single-atom nanocages","authors":"Rita Leones","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00724-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00724-8","url":null,"abstract":"An article in Nature Communications presents an adaptable and scalable approach to synthesize high-entropy single-atom nanocage catalysts for efficient ammonia electrosynthesis.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 10","pages":"676-676"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142138001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fishing for uranium","authors":"Ariane Vartanian","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00722-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00722-w","url":null,"abstract":"An article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports porous photocatalytic nanowires that extract record amounts of uranium from seawater, a step closer to tapping the ocean’s vast uranium reserves for nuclear energy.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 10","pages":"675-675"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142118141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Performance metrics for shape-morphing devices","authors":"Jue Wang, Alex Chortos","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00714-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41578-024-00714-w","url":null,"abstract":"Shape-morphing devices, with their capacity to undergo structural transformations, are on the verge of revolutionizing multiple domains, from human–machine interfaces to biomedical and aerospace applications. This Perspective classifies shape-morphing devices into two categories: pattern-to-pattern shape-morphing devices that deform from a starting shape to a predefined set of one or more deformed shapes, and programmable shape-morphing devices that can morph into different shapes on demand. We highlight the need for standardized assessment approaches to compare the performance of different shape-morphing devices and introduce an array of proposed metrics that are tailored to assess the functionality of these devices at the material, device and system levels. Notably, we propose a mathematical metric to quantify the complexity of a surface and a set of standard surfaces for evaluating programmable shape-morphing devices, providing objective benchmarks for this expanding field. This Perspective proposes nine performance metrics for the assessment of the functionality of shape-morphing devices across material, device and system levels and introduces a mathematical method for evaluating the surface complexity and standard surfaces for assessing the programmability of shape-morphing devices, offering benchmarks for this growing field.","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"9 10","pages":"738-751"},"PeriodicalIF":79.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142118144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Berthold H. Rimmler, Banabir Pal, Stuart S. P. Parkin
{"title":"Non-collinear antiferromagnetic spintronics","authors":"Berthold H. Rimmler, Banabir Pal, Stuart S. P. Parkin","doi":"10.1038/s41578-024-00706-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00706-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Spintronics aims to go beyond the charge-based paradigm of silicon-based microelectronics by utilizing the spin degree of freedom for memory, storage and computing applications. State-of-the-art spintronic devices rely on the manipulation of magnetic textures by spin torques that are generated from electrical currents within ferromagnets (FMs) (spin-transfer torque) or proximal heavy metals (spin-orbit torque). Although these concepts have led to important commercial applications, the use of FMs poses challenges owing to their stray fields, relatively slow dynamics and limited thermal stability. To overcome these challenges, new materials are needed, especially those that display negligible stray fields such as antiferromagnets (AFs). In this regard, synthetic AFs have been vitally important since their use in the very first spintronic field sensors and memories. Collinear AFs have found applications in stabilizing magnetic textures via interfacial exchange bias. Going beyond these classes of AFs, the family of non-collinear AFs (NCAFs) with triangular spin textures has attractive properties, some of them even reminiscent of FMs. These include, for example, large anomalous Hall and Nernst effects, and substantial magneto-optical responses, despite their nearly fully compensated magnetization. Thus, one can anticipate their use in substituting FMs in future spintronic devices. Furthermore, these novel AFs convert electrical currents to spin currents with unique symmetries, which may allow for new ways to manipulate spin textures. Here, we review recent developments in non-collinear antiferromagnetic spintronics. Emphasis is placed on spin current generation, switching of spin textures and applications in magnetic random access memory and racetrack memory, as well as so-far unexplored materials. We show that although key components of spintronic devices based on NCAFs have been demonstrated, a wide range of potential materials remain to be explored and many open questions remain to be answered. Thus, the field of NCAFs is a vibrant and exciting subfield of spintronics with much potential for next-generation memory and computing technologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":19081,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Materials","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":83.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142101303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}