Volume 9 Issue 5, May 2024

Interdisciplinary strategies bridging oncology, neuroscience, bioelectronics and materials science will facilitate the development of next-generation therapies and devices for cancers of the central nervous system.

An article in Nature describes regular, modular protein building blocks that can be combined — following a standard blueprint — into a variety of architectures.

An article in Nature Communications presents a method for the nanoscale integration of metal atoms with elastomeric chains, leading to stretchable conductors that are environmentally resilient.

An article in Nature Energy reports an epitaxial entropy-assisted oxide coating strategy to suppress the propagation of structural fatigue in ultrahigh-Ni cathodes while maintaining desired ion transport capacity.

An article in Nature Communications describes a straightforward strategy to synthesize chemically recyclable polytrithiocarbonates with diverse structures.

Solid-state lithium metal batteries have the potential to meet energy density and safety requirements that current commercial Li-ion batteries cannot. Given their solid-state components, these batteries are subject to — and strongly affected by — external pressure during their manufacturing and operation. This Review examines the relationship between external pressure and electrochemical behaviour in these batteries.

Nonlinear optical interactions can be substantially enhanced by the wavelength-scale confinement in integrated photonics, providing transformative capabilities for controlling, enhancing and manipulating material nonlinearities in miniaturized platforms. In this Review, we outline the design principles that harness the potential of nonlinear optical materials on integrated platforms and their utility in applications including broadband frequency conversion, frequency-comb generation, quantum light sources and nonlinear optical quantum logic gates.

Cost and performance analysis, if applied properly, can guide the research of new energy storage materials. In three case studies on sodium-ion batteries, this Perspective illustrates how to implement this type of analysis at the battery material discovery phase to identify the most promising active materials and treatments.

Memristive devices are emerging within the semiconductor industry. Solution-processed memristors present alternatives for flexible, transparent and low-cost applications. This Perspective reviews solution-processed memristors focusing on the reliability of their electrical performance, aiming to increase impact and technology readiness.