: Materials Articles
News and Views: Dielectric materials: Gels excelPrinting electronic circuits will usher in a new era in electronics. With ion gel dielectrics, unprecedented transistor performance and speeds at low voltage can be demonstrated. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp839-840 |
News and Views: Photovoltaics: Solar cells on curtainsCrystalline silicon solar cell arrays on flexible, transparent substrates may lead to unconventional new applications. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp835-836 |
News and Views: Carbon nanotubes: Doped defects tracked downSingle doped defects in carbon nanotubes locally modify the energies of charge carriers and lattice vibrations. They can now be detected by inelastic light-scattering experiments. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp840-841 |
News and Views: Ionic conductors: Feel the strainThe high temperatures required for oxygen ion conductivity have hampered the development of practical applications of ionic conductors. Now superlattices made of yttria-stabilized zirconia and strontium titanate show promise for room-temperature devices. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp838-839 |
News and Views: Ceramic materials: Levitating liquidsRefractory ceramic liquids studied by containerless levitation and synchrotron X-ray scattering reveal an unusual density-driven liquid–liquid phase transition. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp843-844 |
News and Views: Drug delivery: The heart of the matterA polymeric delivery vehicle, with neutral degradation products, keeps inflammation at bay during sustained drug release following myocardial infarction. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp836-837 |
News and Views: Glasses: When disorder helpsAmorphous solids show intriguing universal behaviour whose origins often remain poorly understood. One of these features, the boson peak, is now shown to be directly linked to transverse vibrations. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp842-843 |
Letter: Electron-trapping polycrystalline materials with negative electron affinityThe trapping of electrons by grain boundaries in semiconducting and insulating materials is important for a wide range of devices such as sensors, and solar and fuel cells. First-principles calculations on MgO, LiF and NaCl reveal a novel type of electron trapping at grain boundaries associated with the negative electron affinity of these materials. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp859-862 |
Letter: Sustained release of a p38 inhibitor from non-inflammatory microspheres inhibits cardiac dysfunctionA new polymer is investigated as a drug-delivery vehicle for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as cardiac dysfunction. The biocompatibility, neutral degradation products and controlled-release properties of the polyketal microparticles indicate the material’s promising future in inflammation inhibition. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp863-868 |
Letter: Electric-field-induced superconductivity in an insulatorIncreasing the carrier density of a material to the limit at which superconductivity can be induced has been a long-standing challenge. This is now realized in an insulator by using an electric-double-layer gate in an organic electrolyte. Nature Materials, vol. 7 #11, pp855-858 |