Techniques and instrumentation articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biosensing tools to detect multiple analytes in a high-throughput manner are still hindered by many limitations. Here, the authors present a label-free optofluidic platform integrating digital holography and microfluidics for analyte detection, allowing for the fingerprinting of heterogenous biological samples.

    • Alexia Stollmann
    • , Jose Garcia-Guirado
    •  & Romain Quidant

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Authors predict polar Bloch points with negative capacitance in tensile-strained ultrathin ferroelectric PbTiO3 film by phase-field simulations, observing their polarization structures by scanning transmission electron microscopic imaging.

    • Yu-Jia Wang
    • , Yan-Peng Feng
    •  & Xiu-Liang Ma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Physicochemical heterogeneity poses a significant constraint in photocatalyst advancement. Here the authors introduce a multimodal optical microscopy platform to assess activity and defects concurrently in photoelectrocatalysts, revealing that disorder can unexpectedly enhance local photoelectrocatalytic performance in certain instances.

    • Camilo A. Mesa
    • , Michael Sachs
    •  & Raj Pandya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this work, authors propose a flash Joule heating-based process for meat preservation, enabled by the formation of a thin, microbe-inactivated, and dehydrated layer on the surface. The method is energetically efficient and shown to significantly extend the food shelf life while maintaining food freshness.

    • Yimin Mao
    • , Peihua Ma
    •  & Liangbing Hu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solving ill-posed inverse problems require regularisation based on prior knowledge, which is formulated mathematically or learned from data. Here, the authors demonstrated the concept of semantic regularisation based on large language model to circumvent the current limitation.

    • Hongrui Zhang
    • , Yanjin Chen
    •  & Lianlin Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Low-dimensional ferroelectric systems are predicted to have topologically nontrivial polar structures, such as vortices or skyrmions. Here authors present atomic-scale 3D topological polar structures in BaTiO3 nanoparticles using atomic electron tomography and revealed their size-dependent transitions.

    • Chaehwa Jeong
    • , Juhyeok Lee
    •  & Yongsoo Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Previous measurements of FeSe0.45Te0.55 found one-dimensional (1D) defects that were interpretated as domain walls hosting propagating Majorana topological modes. Here, the authors reveal that these 1D defects correspond to sub-surface debris and show that the filling of the superconducting gap on these defects is topologically trivial.

    • A. Mesaros
    • , G. D. Gu
    •  & F. Massee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulse tube refrigerators are a critical enabling technology for many disciplines that require low temperatures, including quantum computing. Here, the authors show that dynamically optimizing the acoustic parameters of the refrigerator can improve conventional cooldown speeds up to 3.5 times.

    • Ryan Snodgrass
    • , Vincent Kotsubo
    •  & Joel Ullom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors characterize the phonon modes at the FeSe/SrTiO3 interface with atomically resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy and correlate them with accurate atomic structure in an electron microscope. They find several phonon modes highly localized at the interface, one of which engages in strong interactions with the electrons in FeSe.

    • Ruochen Shi
    • , Qize Li
    •  & Peng Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ideal metal selection and atomic-level arrangement for catalysts in CO2 hydrogenation are still uncertain. Here, copper is identified as the most effective promoter for enhancing ZnZrOx catalysts when precisely structured into CuZn ensembles, offering new insights for designing superior catalysts for CO2-based methanol synthesis.

    • Thaylan Pinheiro Araújo
    • , Georgios Giannakakis
    •  & Javier Pérez-Ramírez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The extrusion-based three-dimensional printing of polymers, metals, and composites requires elevated temperatures and may lead to diverse undesirable defects on printed parts. Here, the authors develop a vapor-induced phase separation printing technique to construct polymeric, metallic, and composite parts by using a polymer as a binder.

    • Marc Sole-Gras
    • , Bing Ren
    •  & Yong Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving a wide angular response in single layer acoustic metalenses is challenging. By leveraging perfect acoustic symmetry conversion, the authors realize an aberration free metalens with a wide field-of-hearing, up to 140 degrees.

    • Dongwoo Lee
    • , Beomseok Oh
    •  & Junsuk Rho

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kekulé vortices in hexagonal lattices can host fractionalized charges at zero magnetic field, but have remained out of experimental reach. Here, the authors report a Kekulé vortex in the local density states of graphene around a chemisorbed hydrogen adatom.

    • Yifei Guan
    • , Clement Dutreix
    •  & Vincent T. Renard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solar-driven artificial food synthesis from CO2 provides an approach to overcome the limitations of natural photosynthesis, but it is very challenging. Here, the authors report a hybrid electrocatalytic-biocatalytic flow system, coupling photovoltaics-powered electrocatalysis (CO2 to formate) with a five enzyme cascade platform (formate to sugar), which achieves conversion of CO2 to C6 sugar (L-sorbose) with a solar-to-food energy conversion efficiency of 3.5%.

    • Guangyu Liu
    • , Yuan Zhong
    •  & Yujie Xiong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Li et al. report large circular dichroism in 2D chiral perovskite single crystals, arises from the inorganic sublattice, instead of chiral ligands, driven by electron-hole exchange interactions. This is evidenced by both reflective circular dichroism spectroscopy and ab initio theory.

    • Shunran Li
    • , Xian Xu
    •  & Peijun Guo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    2D materials are being investigated for several applications in micro- and nanoelectronics, but their weak adhesion represents a critical challenge for device integration. Here, the authors propose a button shear testing method to evaluate the adhesion forces of various large-area 2D films on SiO2 and Si3N4 substrates.

    • Josef Schätz
    • , Navin Nayi
    •  & Max C. Lemme

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mask-free multi-photon lithography allows the straightforward fabrication of nanostructures, but high precision and good resolution can be challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a combination of photo-inhibition and chemical quenchers for improved lithography performance.

    • Lingling Guan
    • , Chun Cao
    •  & Xu Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving uniform spin excitation, crucial for MRI, is challenging in the electrically large human body at UHF. Here, authors introduce an innovative dielectric waveguide specifically designed for traveling-wave MRI, which enhances homogeneity and efficiency through effective wave manipulation.

    • Yang Gao
    • , Tong Liu
    •  & Xiaotong Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polaritons, light-matter hybridized quasiparticles, are the fundamental excitation of strong coupling systems and are widely applicable in information technologies. Here the authors applied the concept of time-of-flight measurement in terahertz induced second harmonic generation experiments in various systems to comprehensively study the dispersion relation of phonon-polaritons and reveal potential spin-lattice couplings.

    • Tianchuang Luo
    • , Batyr Ilyas
    •  & Nuh Gedik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Common stereolithography-based 3D printing relies on photopolymerization using photoinitiators. Here, the authors replace the conventional photoinitiators with low-cost, widely used thermal initiators to achieve 3D-printed objects.

    • Doron Kam
    • , Omri Rulf
    •  & Shlomo Magdassi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The translation of perovskite solar cells to large-area devices fabricated by industry-relevant manufacturing methods remains a critical challenge. Here, authors report solar modules with serially-interconnected cells produced entirely by industrial roll-to-roll printing under ambient conditions.

    • Hasitha C. Weerasinghe
    • , Nasiruddin Macadam
    •  & Doojin Vak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Area selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) has been recently proposed as a controlled growth method, but the patterning resolution and selectivity require improvements. Here, the authors report a superlattice-based AS-ALD method to deposit various materials onto 2D MoS2-MoSe2 lateral superlattices, with a minimum half-pitch size of ~ 10 nm.

    • Jeongwon Park
    • , Seung Jae Kwak
    •  & Kibum Kang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quickly acquiring topographical information from a sample remains a challenge in optics. Here, the authors introduce encoded search focal scan, a technique for sub-micrometric imaging of tens of topographies per second based on collecting a reduced set of images.

    • Narcís Vilar
    • , Roger Artigas
    •  & Guillem Carles

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current approaches for volumetric super-resolution microscopy can yield large and complex PSF spatial footprints. Here, the authors show a super-resolution microscopy approach using a hexagonal microlens array, which offers speed improvements in volumetric imaging compared to other single-molecule methods.

    • Sam Daly
    • , João Ferreira Fernandes
    •  & Steven F. Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structurally coloured composite films are flexible optical materials with potential in a range of applications, but their production is impacted by long time-frames and limited materials. Here, the authors report a method for the production of large scale films by shearing supramolecular composites.

    • Miaomiao Li
    • , Bolun Peng
    •  & Jintao Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct growth of piezoelectric oxides on glass is difficult due to high processing temperatures. Here, the authors demonstrate a flash lamp process for the growth of films on various glasses in a few seconds only. The films have piezoelectric e33,f of −5 C m−2 and can be used in haptic devices.

    • Longfei Song
    • , Juliette Cardoletti
    •  & Sebastjan Glinšek

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solidification cracking during fusion welding of high-strength aluminum alloys has been a long-standing issue. Here, the authors achieve reliable and crack-free welding of 2024 aluminum alloy using a Zr-core-Al-shell wire and the oscillating laser-arc hybrid welding technique.

    • Jun Jin
    • , Shaoning Geng
    •  & Xiangqi Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Porosity is a key issue in additive manufacturing (AM). Here, the authors reveal the bubble evolution mechanisms including formation, coalescence, pushing, growth, entrainment, escape, and entrapment during directed energy deposition AM using in situ X-ray imaging and multiphysics modelling.

    • Kai Zhang
    • , Yunhui Chen
    •  & Peter D. Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction plays an important role in new energy technologies such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Here the authors present a cobalt catalyst with a symmetry-broken Cl−Co−N4 moiety capable of dynamically modulating electron occupancy at active sites during practical reaction conditions to optimize oxygen reduction performance.

    • Meihuan Liu
    • , Jing Zhang
    •  & Qinghua Liu

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