Chemical physics articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  22 July 2015 | Open Access

  Observation of vibrational overtones by single-molecule resonant photodissociation

  Studying the spectra of molecules typically requires large samples, which can be difficult to achieve for hard-to-generate ions. Here, the authors obtain spectra from single CaH⁺molecules in a three-ion Columbic crystal, observing new molecular transitions.

  • Ncamiso B. Khanyile
  • , Gang Shu
  •  & Kenneth R. Brown

• Article
  17 July 2015 | Open Access

  Long-life Li/polysulphide batteries with high sulphur loading enabled by lightweight three-dimensional nitrogen/sulphur-codoped graphene sponge

  There is intensive research underway into the cathode development of lithium–sulphur batteries. Here, the authors report a lithium–sulphur battery using nitrogen/sulphur codoped graphene structure which displays excellent electrochemical performance with high sulphur loading.

  • Guangmin Zhou
  • , Eunsu Paek
  •  & Arumugam Manthiram

• Article
  16 July 2015 | Open Access

  Uphill diffusion and overshooting in the adsorption of binary mixtures in nanoporous solids

  During the transient adsorption of a binary mixture in a nanoporous host, the concentration of one component may temporarily exceed its equilibrium value, with molecules diffusing in the direction of increasing concentration. Here, the authors use microimaging to examine this process in a real system.

  • Alexander Lauerer
  • , Tomas Binder
  •  & Jörg Kärger

• Article
  10 July 2015 | Open Access

  Dynamic structural evolution of supported palladium–ceria core–shell catalysts revealed by in situ electron microscopy

  There is currently renewed interest in the use of core–shell catalysts for methane combustion. Here, the authors perform anex situ and in situelectron microscopy study to probe the structural evolution of palladium–cerium dioxide catalytic core–shell subunits over a wide temperature range.

  • Shuyi Zhang
  • , Chen Chen
  •  & Xiaoqing Pan

• Article
  16 June 2015 | Open Access

  Dynamics enhanced by HCl doping triggers 60% Pauling entropy release at the ice XII–XIV transition

  The preparation of fully proton-ordered ice phases remains challenging and residual entropy usually remains even at the absolute zero. Here, the authors achieve a transition from disordered ice XII to fully ordered ice XIV triggered by HCl doping, which enhances proton transfer dynamics by five orders of magnitude.

  • K. W. Köster
  • , V. Fuentes-Landete
  •  & R. Böhmer

• Article
  27 April 2015 | Open Access

  Revealing the role of organic cations in hybrid halide perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃

  Hybrid halide perovskite solar cells are studied as easy to fabricate compounds for efficient solar cell devices. Here, the authors use density functional theory calculations to show that the orientation of the organic molecules in these materials is crucial for their electronic and solar conversion properties.

  • Carlo Motta
  • , Fedwa El-Mellouhi
  •  & Stefano Sanvito

• Article | 17 April 2015

  Radially aligned hierarchical columnar structure as a cathode material for high energy density sodium-ion batteries

  There are intensive efforts in developing cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Here, the authors present a spherical particle with a radially aligned hierarchical columnar structure as a cathode material which leads to good performance of capacity, retention, rate capability and thermal stability.

  • Jang-Yeon Hwang
  • , Seung-Min Oh
  •  & Yang-Kook Sun

• Article | 20 January 2015

  Graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide hybrids with extraordinary electrochemical performance for Li-ion batteries

  Vanadium pentoxide is considered a promising lithium battery electrode, but suffers from poor rate capability and cyclability. Here, the authors synthesize graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide and show significant improvement in rate performance and cycle life.

  • Qi Liu
  • , Zhe-Fei Li
  •  & Jian Xie

• Article | 08 January 2015

  Correlating hydrogen oxidation and evolution activity on platinum at different pH with measured hydrogen binding energy

  Hydrogen oxidation and evolution are two of the key reactions in renewable energy conversion and storage devices. Here, the authors report the correlation between reaction rate and measured hydrogen binding energy for polycrystalline platinum in buffer solutions ranging from pH 0 to 13.

  • Wenchao Sheng
  • , Zhongbin Zhuang
  •  & Yushan Yan

• Article | 11 September 2014

  Chemo-mechanics of salt damage in stone

  Growth of salt crystals in pores is one of the most damaging weathering mechanisms for stone in ornamental structures and historical buildings. Here, the authors present a simple yet powerful treatment for predicting when salt damage will occur, quantifying this susceptibility to salt crystallization.

  • Robert J. Flatt
  • , Francesco Caruso
  •  & George W. Scherer

• Article | 18 July 2014

  Tabletop imaging of structural evolutions in chemical reactions demonstrated for the acetylene cation

  Femto-chemistry allows researchers to probe the individual transitions in a molecule during a chemical reaction. Here, the authors show that a relatively simple tabletop experiment is capable of capturing the dynamics of isomerization and fragmentation of the acetylene cation to record a molecular movie.

  • Heide Ibrahim
  • , Benji Wales
  •  & François Légaré

• Article
  19 March 2013 | Open Access

  Quantum coherence controls the charge separation in a prototypical artificial light-harvesting system

  In artificial photosynthetic devices, conversion of light into electricity is thought to involve an incoherent electron transfer process. Rozzi et al.provide evidence for quantum-correlated wavelike motion inducing the ultrafast photoinduced electronic charge transfer in a light-harvesting supramolecular triad.

  • Carlo Andrea Rozzi
  • , Sarah Maria Falke
  •  & Christoph Lienau

• Article
  05 April 2011 | Open Access

  Quantum interference of large organic molecules

  Observing superposition states of mesoscopic quantum systems is an ongoing challenge. Gerlichet al. report quantum interference of large tailor-made organic compounds, demonstrating delocalization and the quantum wave nature of entire molecules composed of up to 430 atoms.

  • Stefan Gerlich
  • , Sandra Eibenberger
  •  & Markus Arndt