Accounts of materials research最新文献

{"title":"Hierarchical Carbon Nanocages: Unlocking New Opportunities to Energy Applications","authors":"Jingyi Tian, Yiqun Chen, Qiang Wu, Zheng Hu","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00280","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00280","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Carbon nanocages(CNCs) are a new type of composite topologicalcarbon materials composed of nanoscale hollow cavities and subnanoscalethrough-channels. “Putative” CNCs were first observeddecades ago as impurities in preparing fullerene/nanotubes by arcdischarge of graphite electrodes. Different from the “star”nanocarbons like 0D fullerene, 1D carbon nanotubes, 2D graphene, andgraphdiyne, CNCs remained overlooked for decades due to a cognitiveblind spot regarding the core structural characteristics. Early researchfocused only on their hollow inner cavities while neglecting theshell-embedded microchannels, leading to misclassification such as“hollow carbon nanospheres” and “hollow carbonshell”. This fundamental oversight, compounded by the challengeof synthesizing pure samples, prevented the discovery of their uniqueproperties. Ten years ago, our group invented the <em>in situ</em> magnesium oxide templating method which enabled the synthesis ofhigh-purity, hierarchical CNCs (hCNCs) with composition easily regulatedby doping. In hCNCs, individual nanocage units arrange into an orderedhierarchical network, interconnecting macropores, mesopores, and micropores.Access to pure hCNC samples and a correct structural understandingrevealed three unique intrinsic properties/functions vital for energyapplications, i.e., the topological confinement effect, efficientmass-charge synergistic transport, and high-efficiency utilizationof active species. These discoveries established CNCs as a distinctand promising branch of carbon nanomaterials.</p><p>In this Account,we summarize the core concept and characteristicsand recent progress in energy-related applications of hCNCs basedon their intrinsic properties. We first trace the historical evolutionfrom impurities of putative CNCs observed 30 years ago to high-performancematerials today, establishing an experimentally validated definitionof CNCs as “composite topological carbon materials composedof nanoscale hollow cavities and sub-nanoscale through-channels”.The recent development of a series of hCNC variants with tunable structuralparameters and dopants has laid a solid material foundation for probingtheir properties and functions. Subsequently, we detail the latestadvances in energy applications enabled by hCNCs’ unique attributes.A key feature is the topological confinement effect exhibited by boththe subnanoscale through-channels (shell-embedded micropores) andthe nanoscale hollow cavities (mesopores), which allows precise regulationof material functions via micro-nano composite engineering. For instance,shallow micropores serve as ideal sites for stabilizing single-/oligo-atommetal catalysts; inner cavities can confine catalytic active speciesto tailor microenvironments for specific reactions or encapsulateelectrode materials to enable “loss-free pulverization”for advanced energy storage. Furthermore, the multilevel porous conductivenetwork of hCNCs facilitates efficient mass-charge synergistic transportan","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 5","pages":"446–460"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146138985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can Machine Learning Enhance Reliable Identification of Reactive Species?","authors":"Rui Li, Ruiping Liu","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00274","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00274","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 5","pages":"422–424"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147630850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Innovative Applications Enabled by the Versatile Structural Color of Cholesteric Liquid Crystals","authors":"Jan P. F. Lagerwall","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00177","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00177","url":null,"abstract":"<p><em>Conspectus.</em> Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs)are famous for their ability to self-assemble into Bragg reflectorsof visible light, yielding intense structural color with a singlecircular polarization, despite flowing like a liquid. This reviewfocuses on a selection of entirely new opportunities to apply CLCsto solve problems with high societal and industrial relevance, asdemonstrated in proof-of-concept experiments with a transition tocommercial application underway, in contexts quite far from the moretraditional applied role of CLCs as thermometers. We now see a renaissanceof applied CLC research resulting in exciting new functional materialstaking advantage of CLC photonics, often displaying unique types ofresponsiveness. This development has been enabled, first, by recentadvances in formulating CLC mixtures with reactive mesogens such thatthey can be processed as a liquid but used as a hard glass or rubberafter polymerization and cross-linking, keeping the photonic performancegenerated by CLC self-assembly intact. Second, the rapid developmentof advanced liquid processing methods like microfluidic productionof multiple emulsions, 3D printing and composite fiber spinning haveallowed the CLCs to be processed into unconventional form factorsprior to cross-linking.</p><p>The review focuses, first, on CLC-templatedhard spheres exhibitingomnidirectional circularly polarized Bragg reflection, so-called CholestericSpherical Reflectors, or CSRs. They can be used to make artificial“fingerprints” for physical objects that act as PhysicalUnclonable Functions, of great interest in secure authentication,or to print QR-codes or similar machine-readable patterns in a waythat they remain invisible to humans while appearing to the intendedmachines with exceptional contrast. Since each CSR is effectivelya pixel of structural color, we can also use them as a versatile solutionfor coloring without absorption or scattering, also enabling nonspectralcolors like shades of gray that are normally not obtainable with structuralcolor. A related application discussed is the camouflage of solarpanels using polymerized CLC films to replace their visually obtrusiveblack appearance with color generated by CLCs, with almost no lossof energy conversion efficiency thanks to its origin in Bragg reflection.</p><p>We then move to soft rubbery CLC elastomer (CLCE) films and fiberswhich change their color in response to strain. We highlight a newapplication opportunity in structural health monitoring, demonstratedby coating CLCE films onto surfaces where we wish to detect crackformation, e.g., in reinforced concrete constructions: the localizedstrain in the CLCE where a crack appears leads to a strong color changethat allows immediate detection of the crack, whereas the crack inthe uncoated surface remains invisible until it has grown to muchgreater width. The colorimetric strain monitoring is also possiblewith CLCE fibers, where the 1D form factor lends itself to applica","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"319–329"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147790453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiscale Engineering and Multiphysics Control of Molecular-Based Crystalline Materials in Electrocatalytic Reactions","authors":"Rui Wang,&nbsp;Ning Li,&nbsp;Jiang Liu,&nbsp;Ya-Qian Lan","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00378","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00378","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Electrocatalytic technologyis the core driving force for the utilizationof renewable energy, which can lead to efficient chemical transformationsunder mild conditions. However, electrocatalytic reactions, includinganodic oxidation reactions (such as oxygen evolution reaction, OER)and cathodic reduction reactions (such as CO₂ reductionreaction, CO₂RR), still face many challenges, such as ahigh catalytic energy barrier, a multistep complex reaction mechanism,and slow kinetics, which make it difficult to rationally design andsynthesize highly selective catalysts. Although traditional nanocatalystsare widely used, the establishment of precise structure–activityrelationships (SARs) and the regulation of product selectivity areseriously restricted due to the unclear active sites. Therefore, itis of great significance to design a catalyst model with accurateatomic structure information. Molecular-based crystalline materials(MCMs), represented by supramolecular assemblies, coordination clusters,metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and covalent organic frameworks(COFs), provide an ideal platform for the establishment of preciseSARs by virtue of their highly ordered crystal structures and designabilityat the molecular level.</p><p>This Account systematically summarizesour recent progress in themultiscale structural regulation strategies and performance explorationof MCMs. We highlight the regulation engineering from the microscopicscale (precise control of metal centers, coordination environments,and organic ligands) to the macroscale (optimizing crystal morphologyand exposing specific crystal facets) and the combination of multiphysicscoupling of external fields, such as light and heat, aiming to enhancethe activity and stability of MCMs in electrocatalytic oxidation/reductionreactions and integrated full reactions. With the help of <em>in situ</em> characterization techniques and theoretical computationalvalidation, we can reveal the intrinsic SARs in the catalytic process.Notably, by precisely controlling the spatial arrangement, distance,and symmetry of active sites, we successfully achieved the directionalevolution of electrocatalytic products from simple C₁ molecules(e.g., CO, CH₄) to high-value C₂ molecules (e.g.,C₂H₄, C₂H₅OH). Additionally,this Account further discusses the simultaneous driving of anode andcathode reactions by a single bifunctional catalyst to maximize energyand resource utilization efficiency. We hope this work can providea solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for the synthesisof high-performance catalysts and the development of an energy-efficienttransformation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"410–421"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148624860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Translating Supramolecular Design Principles to Camptothecin for Precision and Targeted Cancer Therapy","authors":"Fengli Gao,&nbsp;Sravan Baddi,&nbsp;Xiaxin Qiu,&nbsp;Chuanliang Feng","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00301","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00301","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Cancer, responsible for approximately16.8%of global mortality,remains one of the most formidable challenges to public health. Chemotherapyremains a mainstay of cancer treatment, utilizing small-molecule agentsto inhibit tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Camptothecin (CPT)exhibits broad-spectrum antitumor activity; however, its clinicalpotential is severely limited by poor aqueous solubility, low stability,and insufficient tumor selectivity, which collectively restrict itsbioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Conventional formulationssuch as covalent chemical modifications, lipid encapsulations andPEGylated conjugates have been developed to address these issues butoften suffer from short half-lives, low drug-loading capacities (&lt;20%),instability under physiological conditions, and inadequate tumor accumulation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Inspired by natural self-assembly processes exemplified by DNAand collagen, supramolecular chemistry offers a versatile approachto constructing dynamic, programmable architectures through noncovalentinteractions. These systems mimic biological organization and enabletunable functionalities for drug delivery, tissue regeneration, andimmune modulation. Over the past decade, our group has establishedan approach that precisely controls supramolecular self-assembly andchiral nanostructure formation through the elucidation of how specificnoncovalent interactions govern assembly dynamics, thereby transformingsupramolecular chemistry into a programmable platform for diversebiomedical applications such as biocatalysis, regenerative medicine,and cancer therapy. All the results have demonstrated the superiorityof supramolecular chiral nanofiber structures in biofields. Expandingon this groundwork, we have successfully transformed CPT from a conventionalsmall-molecule chemotherapeutic into a supramolecular chiral nanofibers’therapeutic platform. Through a straightforward self-assembly strategydriven by noncovalent interactions, CPT molecules can spontaneouslyself-assemble into controllable helical nanofibers without the needfor additional chemical modification. The obtained dynamic self-assembliesexhibit improved stability, high drug loading, and efficient tumorpenetration by targeting the mitochondria, achieving precise subcellularlocalization and robust induction of immunogenic cell death, thusrepresenting a minimalist yet powerful approach to supramolecularcancer therapy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This Account highlights our group’s recentadvances in chiralsupramolecular materials for cancer therapy, which have pioneereda supramolecular engineering approach for CPT-based treatment. Wefirst discuss the design of responsive nanostructures that exploitphysical stimuli within the tumor microenvironment (TME) for controlleddrug release. Subsequently, we delve into the novel strategy of chirality-driventumor immunotherapy. A specific focus is placed on potent chiral supramolecularassemblies, particularly CPT-based nanofibers, which exemplify thisimmunot","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"368–381"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146089514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designed Synthesis of One-Dimensional van der Waals Heterostructures","authors":"Miaoyu Lu,&nbsp;Yongjia Zheng,&nbsp;Shigeo Maruyama,&nbsp;Rong Xiang","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00309","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00309","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The developmentof two-dimensional(2D) materials and their vander Waals (vdW) heterostructures has substantially advanced researchin low-dimensional physics and stimulated the exploration of relateddevices. Further reducing the dimensionality to the one-dimensional(1D) limit often gives rise to more pronounced confinement effects,thereby creating new opportunities for electronic, optoelectronic,and energy-related applications. In this context, 1D vdW heterostructuresare typically constructed by assembling 2D counterparts into heteronanotubearchitectures with coaxial core-shell geometries, while the concepthas also been extended to nanotubes encapsulating nanochains, nanowires,or nanoribbons. Compared with their 2D counterparts, 1D systems exhibitstrong radial confinement and curvature-induced effects, which togetherendow them with unique optical, electrical, and thermal properties.The 1D geometry enhances the anisotropy of light-matter interactionsand facilitates the efficient axial transport of charge carriers andenergy. Meanwhile, the fully encapsulated core-shell configurationeffectively suppresses environmental perturbations, providing an idealplatform for probing intrinsic material properties and improving devicestability. Accordingly, this Account summarizes recent progress inthe field of 1D vdW heterostructures, highlighting representativecontributions from our group together with those from many researchteams worldwide with the aim of systematically reviewing the currentresearch landscape and outlining future directions. First, the Accountpresents designed synthesis strategies for 1D vdW heterostructuresfrom the perspectives of component regulation, structure modulation,and orientation control, emphasizing that rational construction ofheterostructure composition and architecture can be achieved throughdesigned synthesis. To facilitate a better understanding of the formationprocess, the Account then discusses the growth mechanism of 1D vdWheterostructures, pointing out that the growth of the outer shellsgenerally follows an open-end growth mode, while no pronounced chiralcorrelation was observed between different shells. By coaxially integratingdistinct 1D building blocks, 1D vdW heterostructures preserve theintrinsic properties of individual components, while their optical,electrical, and thermal behaviors are synergistically influenced bycomponent selection, radial confinement, and interfacial interactions.These emergent physical properties, which distinguish 1D vdW heterostructuresfrom single-component systems or 2D heterostructures, have been preliminarilyinvestigated in several model systems and provide an important physicalfoundation for subsequent studies. Based on these property advantages,this Account further discusses the application potential of 1D vdWheterostructures in electronic devices and optoelectronic devicesas well as catalytic and energy-storage systems. Given that only aboutfive years have passed since the breakthrou","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"354–367"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147620297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Graphene Oxide: Designing a Functional Smarter Material for Advanced Biomedicine","authors":"Cécilia Ménard-Moyon,&nbsp;Yuta Nishina,&nbsp;Alberto Bianco","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00362","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00362","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Graphene oxide (GO) has emergedas one of the most extensivelystudied two-dimensional (2D) materials, thanks to its large surfacearea and abundance of functional groups, which enable applicationsacross energy, catalysis, electronics, construction, and mobility.Its exceptional dispersibility in water further expands its use inthe biomedical field. However, researchers have consistently expressedconcerns about the limited control over GO chemical composition andstructural heterogeneity. These factors are often overlooked, stronglyaffecting the reproducibility in both synthesis and applications.Because GO is considered a promising platform for advanced drug delivery,achieving reproducible preparation and precise structural controlis essential to make it a reliable alternative to the many nanomaterialscurrently being explored for nanomedicine.</p><p>Motivated by thesechallenges, we have focused our work on identifyingand controlling the key parameters that govern GO structure and surfacechemistry. Over the past decade, we have developed methods to produceGO with controlled and tunable chemical structures, clarified thereactivity of its major functional groups, and developed robust strategiesfor postfunctionalizing GO with therapeutic agents, targeting ligands,and imaging dyes. In parallel, we have established systematic approachesto evaluate GO biocompatibility and biodegradability, revealing howspecific physicochemical features influence biological responses andclearance pathways.</p><p>Together, these findings provide a unifiedframework linking GOsynthesis, chemical modification, and biological behavior. By integratingchemical control, functional performance, and safety assessment, ourwork outlines a coherent strategy for the rational design of GO-basedbiomedical materials. We believe that this Account offers a solidfoundation for the targeted exploitation of GO in nanomedicine andwill help facilitate its eventual clinical translation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"399–409"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147599588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Buchwald–Hartwig Cross-Coupling for Design of Conjugated Microporous Polymers: Strategies, Challenges, and Applications","authors":"Xinru Hou,&nbsp;Xinzeyu Zhang,&nbsp;Pengfei Yang,&nbsp;Wei Lyu,&nbsp;Nan Meng,&nbsp;Yaozu Liao","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00353","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00353","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Since the first report of conjugated microporouspolymers (CMPs)by Lee and Cooper in 2007, these porous materials have attracted intenseinterest due to their precisely tunable pore structures, rigid skeletons,chemical stability, and electronic properties. Researchers have developedvarious synthetic strategies for CMPs, including Yamamoto, Suzuki,and Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling reactions. However, theseC–C coupling reactions often limit the structural diversityand high performance of CMPs, primarily due to the rigid linear orplanar geometries imposed by the alkyne and aryl building blocks,which restrict the control over porosity and electronic propertiesin the meantime. Although C–C coupling reactions representone of the most common strategies for synthesizing CMPs, their harshreaction requirements also limit the development of CMPs for practicalapplications.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Buchwald–Hartwig (BH) cross-coupling isa powerful strategythat directly addresses shortcomings of traditional coupling reactionsby the formation of C–N instead of C–C bonds. First,the rotatable C–N bond and nonlinear amine monomers allow forthe creation of various three-dimensional (3D) network architectures.The introduction of nitrogen heteroatoms effectively tunes the chargedensity, acts as an electrochemical active center for redox reactions,and allows for facile functionalization. Additionally, the reactionproceeds under mild conditions, which enables easy control over thepolymerization process. Our group has been working on CMP synthesisfor years, particularly by BH cross-coupling. In 2014, our group usedBH cross-coupling to construct polytriphenylamine CMPs in the firstreport of CMP synthesized by BH cross-coupling. Since then, variousCMPs with innovative macroscopic structural designs, including porousmembranes, fibers, and carbons, were synthesized by BH cross-coupling,exhibiting an enhanced performance in adsorption, catalysis, energystorage, and desalination.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Although various reviews have beenreported on the synthesis andapplications of CMPs, a few of them have focused on using BH cross-couplingto synthesize CMPs. Therefore, this review summarizes recent researchprogress on CMP synthesis via BH cross-coupling, with emphasis onmonomer selection, reaction conditions, structural design and applicationsin the energy and environmental fields. More specifically, the reviewbegins by tracing the development of the BH cross-coupling and itsapplication in CMP synthesis. It then summarizes the preparation methodsand applications of macroscopic CMPs, including porous membranes,fibers, and carbons. Finally, the current challenges of this methodare discussed along with proposed future directions. Overall, theBH cross-coupling, with the advantages of mild reaction conditions,high yields, and precise control over structural diversity, providesa new strategy for constructing structurally tunable and high-performanceCMPs. This approach is expected to play a significant role in macrosc","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"382–398"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148650734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mitigating Interfacial Contamination for Scalable Integration of Graphene in Neuroelectronic Devices","authors":"Aina Galceran,&nbsp;Marta Delgà-Fernández,&nbsp;Xavi Illa,&nbsp;Anton Guimerà-Brunet,&nbsp;Jose A. Garrido,&nbsp;Elena del Corro","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00259","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00259","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the past decade, graphene has gained increasingattention asa material for the next generation of neuroelectronic interfaces thanksto its unique combination of properties, including transparency, flexibility,biocompatibility, and electrical performance. When integrated intothin-film technology microfabrication processes, graphene enableshighly conformable and low invasive arrays of solution-gated field-effecttransistors (gSGFETs), which are micrometric transducers that combinehigher spatial density with the capability to record DC-coupled wide-bandwidthneural signals.</p><p>The same atomic scale nature of graphene thatconfers its exceptionalsensitivity to surface charges also renders device performance stronglydependent on interfacial physicochemical phenomena at the substrate–graphene–mediumboundary, which, in turn, are strongly dependent on the quality andpristine condition of the graphene layer. From a materials scienceperspective, maintaining the structural and electronic integrity ofgraphene throughout the entire microfabrication process representsa great challenge. Photolithographic processing often introduces polymericresidues, resulting in adsorbed charges and defect sites that induceresidual doping, degrade mobility, and lead to time-dependent shiftsin the transfer characteristics of gSGFETs. These changes inducedby processing reduce sensor sensitivity and generate device-to-devicevariability, which currently limits reproducible benchmarking andscale-up of the technology.</p><p>In this Account, we highlight theremarkable potential of gSGFETsin neurotechnology and review the implications that the uncontrolledgraphene surface states have on device behavior. We then present processengineering efforts aimed at addressing this issue through graphenecleaning methods. However, these cleaning approaches are necessarilymild to avoid damaging graphene and have not yet demonstrated theability to fully ensure the homogeneity and reproducibility requiredfor reliable technology. Finally, we examine emerging strategies basedon the development of sacrificial protective layers, which act aseffective barriers against process-induced contamination. We proposeCu as a particularly promising candidate given that, as the most commonsubstrate for graphene growth, its etching chemistry has already beenwidely explored. The integration of sacrificial layers in the standardizedmicrofabrication workflows represents a significant opportunity toimprove the graphene-based technology’s reliability, enablingits advancement and translation toward industrial applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"330–340"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146231377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Imaging and Identification of Heterostructures in Electron Beam-Sensitive Materials","authors":"Yu-Hao Deng","doi":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00244","DOIUrl":"10.1021/accountsmr.5c00244","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72040,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of materials research","volume":"7 4","pages":"309–312"},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147506302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}