Pub Date : 2026-03-11DOI: 10.1038/s41563-026-02491-z
Nathan D Rosenmann,Lauren M Irie,Joanna Korpanty,Eric W Roth,Reiner Bleher,Nehal Nupnar,Kathleen Wood,Yu Chen,Brent S Sumerlin,Steven J Weigand,Michael J A Hore,Jitendra P Mata,Nathan C Gianneschi
Hydrogels are prevalent materials with applications ranging from drug delivery systems, contact lenses and tissue engineering scaffolds. However, they require considerable perturbation to observe their nanoscale, solution-phase structures necessary for predicting bulk properties. Although studies suggest that methylcellulose, a quintessential hydrogel material, can be described by a semiflexible biopolymer network model, there remain demonstrable inconsistencies in the predicted concentration dependence of rheological properties and in the observation of higher-order features. Here we image solvated hydrogels with high spatiotemporal resolution via liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy to avoid desolvation and shear artefacts. Corroborated by scattering and scanning electron microscopy, we observe that methylcellulose hydrogels form a network with high persistence length and micrometre-scale fibril bundles arranged in hierarchical assemblies, providing a more accurate prediction of bulk rheology. In addition, network structures are observed for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose. These observations across multiple-length scales lead to a clearer understanding of how nanoscale structure impacts microscale structure and macroscopic behaviour, aiding the development of more accurate structure-property relationships for hydrogel materials.
{"title":"Prediction of rheological properties via structure elucidation of solvated hydrogels.","authors":"Nathan D Rosenmann,Lauren M Irie,Joanna Korpanty,Eric W Roth,Reiner Bleher,Nehal Nupnar,Kathleen Wood,Yu Chen,Brent S Sumerlin,Steven J Weigand,Michael J A Hore,Jitendra P Mata,Nathan C Gianneschi","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02491-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02491-z","url":null,"abstract":"Hydrogels are prevalent materials with applications ranging from drug delivery systems, contact lenses and tissue engineering scaffolds. However, they require considerable perturbation to observe their nanoscale, solution-phase structures necessary for predicting bulk properties. Although studies suggest that methylcellulose, a quintessential hydrogel material, can be described by a semiflexible biopolymer network model, there remain demonstrable inconsistencies in the predicted concentration dependence of rheological properties and in the observation of higher-order features. Here we image solvated hydrogels with high spatiotemporal resolution via liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy to avoid desolvation and shear artefacts. Corroborated by scattering and scanning electron microscopy, we observe that methylcellulose hydrogels form a network with high persistence length and micrometre-scale fibril bundles arranged in hierarchical assemblies, providing a more accurate prediction of bulk rheology. In addition, network structures are observed for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose. These observations across multiple-length scales lead to a clearer understanding of how nanoscale structure impacts microscale structure and macroscopic behaviour, aiding the development of more accurate structure-property relationships for hydrogel materials.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147393779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-10DOI: 10.1038/s41563-026-02519-4
Austin J. Graham, Michelle W. L. Khoo, Vasudha Srivastava, Sara Viragova, Honesty Kim, Kavita Parekh, Kelsey M. Hennick, Malia Bird, Nadine Goldhammer, Jie Zeng Yu, Grace Hu, Natasha T. Brinkley, Lucas Pardo, Jasmine S. Amaya, Cameron D. Morley, Nishant Chadha, Paul Lebel, Sanjay Kumar, Jennifer M. Rosenbluth, Tomasz J. Nowakowski, Ovijit Chaudhuri, Ophir Klein, Rafael Gómez-Sjöberg, Zev J. Gartner
Complex and robust tissue self-organization requires defined initial conditions and dynamic boundaries—neighbouring tissues and extracellular matrix that actively evolve to guide morphogenesis. A major challenge in tissue engineering is identifying material properties that are compatible with controlling initial culture conditions while mimicking dynamic tissue boundaries. Here we describe a highly tunable granular biomaterial, MAGIC matrix, that supports both long-term bioprinting and gold-standard tissue self-organization. We identify that significant stress relaxation at the long timescales and large deformation magnitudes relevant to self-organization is required for optimal morphogenesis. We apply optimized MAGIC matrices toward precise extrusion bioprinting of saturated cell suspensions directly into three-dimensional culture. Carefully controlling initial conditions for tissue growth yields dramatic increases in organoid reproducibility and complexity across multiple tissue types, enabling high-throughput generation of organoid arrays and perfusable three-dimensional microphysiological systems. Our results identify key biomaterial parameters for optimal organoid morphogenesis and lay the foundation for fabricating more complex and reproducible self-organized tissues.
{"title":"Stress-relaxing granular bioprinting materials enable complex and uniform organoid self-organization","authors":"Austin J. Graham, Michelle W. L. Khoo, Vasudha Srivastava, Sara Viragova, Honesty Kim, Kavita Parekh, Kelsey M. Hennick, Malia Bird, Nadine Goldhammer, Jie Zeng Yu, Grace Hu, Natasha T. Brinkley, Lucas Pardo, Jasmine S. Amaya, Cameron D. Morley, Nishant Chadha, Paul Lebel, Sanjay Kumar, Jennifer M. Rosenbluth, Tomasz J. Nowakowski, Ovijit Chaudhuri, Ophir Klein, Rafael Gómez-Sjöberg, Zev J. Gartner","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02519-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02519-4","url":null,"abstract":"Complex and robust tissue self-organization requires defined initial conditions and dynamic boundaries—neighbouring tissues and extracellular matrix that actively evolve to guide morphogenesis. A major challenge in tissue engineering is identifying material properties that are compatible with controlling initial culture conditions while mimicking dynamic tissue boundaries. Here we describe a highly tunable granular biomaterial, MAGIC matrix, that supports both long-term bioprinting and gold-standard tissue self-organization. We identify that significant stress relaxation at the long timescales and large deformation magnitudes relevant to self-organization is required for optimal morphogenesis. We apply optimized MAGIC matrices toward precise extrusion bioprinting of saturated cell suspensions directly into three-dimensional culture. Carefully controlling initial conditions for tissue growth yields dramatic increases in organoid reproducibility and complexity across multiple tissue types, enabling high-throughput generation of organoid arrays and perfusable three-dimensional microphysiological systems. Our results identify key biomaterial parameters for optimal organoid morphogenesis and lay the foundation for fabricating more complex and reproducible self-organized tissues.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-10DOI: 10.1038/s41563-026-02524-7
Pranavram Venkatram, Ziheng Chen, Krishnendu Mukhopadhyay, Bob Hengstebeck, Lei Ding, Vlastimil Mazanek, Yang Yang, Zdenek Sofer, Saptarshi Das
Hard masks with high etch selectivity are essential for fabricating high-aspect-ratio nanostructures via deep and anisotropic plasma etching. While most two-dimensional materials are susceptible to plasma damage, we report that van der Waals metal oxyhalides, specifically CrOCl and FeOCl, exhibit extraordinary resistance to aggressive SF6/O2 plasma, far surpassing conventional hard mask materials. CrOCl achieves etch rates as low as ~2.4 nm min−1 and an etch selectivity >200:1 relative to silicon, representing improvements of ~30× over Si3N4, ~2.3× over Al2O3 and ~20× over TiN under identical conditions. CrOCl maintains subnanometre surface roughness after etching, even exhibiting plasma-induced surface smoothening. Beyond its inherent etch resistance, CrOCl can be chemically patterned using Cl2 plasma and mechanically transferred onto a broad range of substrates, including perovskite oxides, polymers, glasses and monolayer two-dimensional semiconductors, enabling patterning on materials that are typically incompatible with conventional hard masks. Using CrOCl masks, we demonstrate deep silicon etching with aspect ratios exceeding 39:1 and minimal feature distortion. These findings establish van der Waals metal oxyhalides as a versatile and scalable platform for next-generation nanofabrication, combining extreme plasma robustness, high-resolution patternability and broad substrate compatibility in one material system.
具有高蚀刻选择性的硬掩模是通过深度和各向异性等离子体蚀刻制备高纵横比纳米结构所必需的。虽然大多数二维材料容易受到等离子体损伤，但我们报告说，范德华金属氧卤化物，特别是CrOCl和FeOCl，对侵蚀性SF6/O2等离子体表现出非凡的抗性，远远超过传统的硬掩模材料。CrOCl的蚀刻速率低至~2.4 nm min - 1，相对于硅的蚀刻选择性为>200:1，在相同条件下，比Si3N4提高了~30倍，比Al2O3提高了~2.3倍，比TiN提高了~20倍。CrOCl在蚀刻后保持亚纳米级的表面粗糙度，甚至表现出等离子体诱导的表面平滑。除了其固有的耐蚀刻性外，CrOCl还可以使用Cl2等离子体进行化学图图化，并机械转移到广泛的衬底上，包括钙钛矿氧化物、聚合物、玻璃和单层二维半导体，从而可以在通常与传统硬掩模不兼容的材料上进行图图化。使用CrOCl掩模，我们展示了宽高比超过39:1和最小特征失真的深硅蚀刻。这些发现确立了范德华金属氧化卤化物作为下一代纳米制造的通用和可扩展平台，在一种材料系统中结合了极端的等离子体鲁棒性，高分辨率图案性和广泛的衬底兼容性。
{"title":"Two-dimensional crystalline hard masks for high-aspect-ratio nanofabrication","authors":"Pranavram Venkatram, Ziheng Chen, Krishnendu Mukhopadhyay, Bob Hengstebeck, Lei Ding, Vlastimil Mazanek, Yang Yang, Zdenek Sofer, Saptarshi Das","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02524-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02524-7","url":null,"abstract":"Hard masks with high etch selectivity are essential for fabricating high-aspect-ratio nanostructures via deep and anisotropic plasma etching. While most two-dimensional materials are susceptible to plasma damage, we report that van der Waals metal oxyhalides, specifically CrOCl and FeOCl, exhibit extraordinary resistance to aggressive SF6/O2 plasma, far surpassing conventional hard mask materials. CrOCl achieves etch rates as low as ~2.4 nm min−1 and an etch selectivity >200:1 relative to silicon, representing improvements of ~30× over Si3N4, ~2.3× over Al2O3 and ~20× over TiN under identical conditions. CrOCl maintains subnanometre surface roughness after etching, even exhibiting plasma-induced surface smoothening. Beyond its inherent etch resistance, CrOCl can be chemically patterned using Cl2 plasma and mechanically transferred onto a broad range of substrates, including perovskite oxides, polymers, glasses and monolayer two-dimensional semiconductors, enabling patterning on materials that are typically incompatible with conventional hard masks. Using CrOCl masks, we demonstrate deep silicon etching with aspect ratios exceeding 39:1 and minimal feature distortion. These findings establish van der Waals metal oxyhalides as a versatile and scalable platform for next-generation nanofabrication, combining extreme plasma robustness, high-resolution patternability and broad substrate compatibility in one material system.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Realizing two-dimensional multiferroics with robust magnetoelectric coupling for electric-field-controlled magnetism at room temperature poses substantial challenges, as ferroelectricity and magnetism inherently conflict. Here we report air-stable bilayer CrTe2 that exhibits intrinsic room-temperature multiferroicity. Structural and magnetic characterization reveals an alternating ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bilayer architecture, driven by interlayer charge transfer that spontaneously breaks inversion symmetry and generates a switchable out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization. Scanning probe microscopy confirms the non-volatile control of magnetization states with an electric field, enabling electrical writing and magnetic reading functionalities. This mechanism, rooted in interlayer charge transfer, rather than conventional spin-orbit coupling, provides a foundation for engineering multiferroics with layered systems. The demonstration of a two-dimensional multiferroic material with magnetoelectric coupling under ambient conditions provides opportunities for energy-efficient memory devices and quantum sensing technologies.
{"title":"Room-temperature two-dimensional multiferroic metal with voltage-controllable magnetic order.","authors":"Dacheng Tian,Shulin Zhong,Jianyu Dong,Song Zhou,Zhiwen Liu,Kai Chen,Wenhua Zhang,Liang Cao,Xiaoyue He,Xiu Li,Tengyu Guo,Kunrong Du,Haifeng Feng,Yu Wang,Peng Cheng,Yiqi Zhang,Baojie Feng,Kehui Wu,Suhuai Wei,Yi Du,Yunhao Lu,Lan Chen","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02537-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02537-2","url":null,"abstract":"Realizing two-dimensional multiferroics with robust magnetoelectric coupling for electric-field-controlled magnetism at room temperature poses substantial challenges, as ferroelectricity and magnetism inherently conflict. Here we report air-stable bilayer CrTe2 that exhibits intrinsic room-temperature multiferroicity. Structural and magnetic characterization reveals an alternating ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bilayer architecture, driven by interlayer charge transfer that spontaneously breaks inversion symmetry and generates a switchable out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization. Scanning probe microscopy confirms the non-volatile control of magnetization states with an electric field, enabling electrical writing and magnetic reading functionalities. This mechanism, rooted in interlayer charge transfer, rather than conventional spin-orbit coupling, provides a foundation for engineering multiferroics with layered systems. The demonstration of a two-dimensional multiferroic material with magnetoelectric coupling under ambient conditions provides opportunities for energy-efficient memory devices and quantum sensing technologies.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-09DOI: 10.1038/s41563-026-02517-6
Denitsa R. Baykusheva, Deven Carmichael, Clara S. Weber, I-Te Lu, Filippo Glerean, Tepie Meng, Pedro B. M. De Oliveira, Christopher C. Homes, Igor A. Zaliznyak, G. D. Gu, Mark P. M. Dean, Angel Rubio, Dante M. Kennes, Martin Claassen, Matteo Mitrano
Quantum control of the many-body wavefunction is a central challenge in quantum materials research, as it could yield a precise control knob to manipulate emergent phenomena. Floquet engineering, the coherent dressing of quantum states with periodic non-resonant optical fields, has become an important strategy for quantum control. Most applications to solid-state systems have targeted weakly interacting or single-ion states, leaving the manipulation of many-body wavefunctions largely unexplored. Here we use Floquet engineering to achieve quantum control of a strongly correlated Hubbard exciton in the one-dimensional Mott insulator Sr2CuO3. A non-resonant mid-infrared optical field coherently dresses the exciton wavefunction, driving its rotation between bright and dark states. We use resonant third-harmonic generation to quantify ultrafast π/2 rotations on the Bloch sphere spanned by these exciton states. Our work advances the quest towards programmable control of correlated states and exciton-based quantum sensing.
{"title":"Quantum control of Hubbard excitons","authors":"Denitsa R. Baykusheva, Deven Carmichael, Clara S. Weber, I-Te Lu, Filippo Glerean, Tepie Meng, Pedro B. M. De Oliveira, Christopher C. Homes, Igor A. Zaliznyak, G. D. Gu, Mark P. M. Dean, Angel Rubio, Dante M. Kennes, Martin Claassen, Matteo Mitrano","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02517-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02517-6","url":null,"abstract":"Quantum control of the many-body wavefunction is a central challenge in quantum materials research, as it could yield a precise control knob to manipulate emergent phenomena. Floquet engineering, the coherent dressing of quantum states with periodic non-resonant optical fields, has become an important strategy for quantum control. Most applications to solid-state systems have targeted weakly interacting or single-ion states, leaving the manipulation of many-body wavefunctions largely unexplored. Here we use Floquet engineering to achieve quantum control of a strongly correlated Hubbard exciton in the one-dimensional Mott insulator Sr2CuO3. A non-resonant mid-infrared optical field coherently dresses the exciton wavefunction, driving its rotation between bright and dark states. We use resonant third-harmonic generation to quantify ultrafast π/2 rotations on the Bloch sphere spanned by these exciton states. Our work advances the quest towards programmable control of correlated states and exciton-based quantum sensing.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Neuromorphic prosthesis demands not only the assembly of neural architectures and functions but also robustness against unpredictable failures in dynamic physiological environments. While self-healing electronics have been demonstrated to restore synapse-like functions, their application to higher-order cognitive functions remains limited. Here we present a hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir that demonstrates exceptional physical and functional robustness for neuromorphic prosthesis. The nonlinear dynamics of the hydrogel-electrode interface can serve as a physical reservoir to preprocess time series, with minimized susceptibility to physical damage. Our system based on the hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir achieves 95% accuracy in speech recognition and can restore such capability within 0.02 s after reattaching the fractured points, outperforming biological systems in the neurorehabilitation process. Moreover, its pH-sensitive dynamics enable adaptive closed-loop neural stimulation control in a rat model, validating its potential for neural rehabilitation and sensorimotor function restoration. We expect such a hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir to improve both processing efficiency and robustness for next-generation neuroprosthetics and human-machine interfaces.
{"title":"An iontronic reservoir for highly robust neuromorphic prosthesis.","authors":"Mengjiao Pei,Tian Gao,Li Liu,Wenlong Li,Haotian Long,Yifei Luo,Zhaogang Teng,Hangyuan Cui,Xiang Li,Qinyong Dai,Kailu Shi,Lesheng Qiao,Baocheng Peng,Qianye Xing,Manhua Wen,Mengtao Han,Zhenhua Wan,Yun Li,Bin Xue,Yi Cao,Yi Shi,Qing Wan,Xiaodong Chen,Changjin Wan","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02532-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02532-7","url":null,"abstract":"Neuromorphic prosthesis demands not only the assembly of neural architectures and functions but also robustness against unpredictable failures in dynamic physiological environments. While self-healing electronics have been demonstrated to restore synapse-like functions, their application to higher-order cognitive functions remains limited. Here we present a hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir that demonstrates exceptional physical and functional robustness for neuromorphic prosthesis. The nonlinear dynamics of the hydrogel-electrode interface can serve as a physical reservoir to preprocess time series, with minimized susceptibility to physical damage. Our system based on the hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir achieves 95% accuracy in speech recognition and can restore such capability within 0.02 s after reattaching the fractured points, outperforming biological systems in the neurorehabilitation process. Moreover, its pH-sensitive dynamics enable adaptive closed-loop neural stimulation control in a rat model, validating its potential for neural rehabilitation and sensorimotor function restoration. We expect such a hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir to improve both processing efficiency and robustness for next-generation neuroprosthetics and human-machine interfaces.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-09DOI: 10.1038/s41563-026-02535-4
Zhaolong Wang, Jingyi Zhu, Kaifeng Wu
Electronic transition/motion coupled with proton transfer has a key role in natural and artificial energy conversion and storage materials. Previous examples include proton-coupled electron transfer and singlet energy transfer, but not triplet energy transfer. Here we report a mechanism termed proton shuttle-assisted triplet energy transfer. The system comprises ZnSe-based quantum dots surface anchored with phenol–pyridine dyadic acceptors. Ultrafast measurements and kinetic isotope effects establish that the photoexcitation of ZnSe leads to hole transfer from ZnSe to phenol, which is coupled with proton transfer from phenol to pyridine. A subsequent step of electron transfer from ZnSe to phenoxyl radical, coupled with back proton transfer from pyridinium, accomplishes a net process of spin-triplet migration from ZnSe to phenol–pyridine. Adding a strongly electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl substituent on pyridine can switch the sequence of proton-coupled electron and hole transfer steps. Compared with a methylated analogue acceptor lacking the shuttle, the assistance of proton shuttle substantially increases the energy transfer rate and efficiency.
{"title":"Proton shuttle-assisted triplet energy transfer","authors":"Zhaolong Wang, Jingyi Zhu, Kaifeng Wu","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02535-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02535-4","url":null,"abstract":"Electronic transition/motion coupled with proton transfer has a key role in natural and artificial energy conversion and storage materials. Previous examples include proton-coupled electron transfer and singlet energy transfer, but not triplet energy transfer. Here we report a mechanism termed proton shuttle-assisted triplet energy transfer. The system comprises ZnSe-based quantum dots surface anchored with phenol–pyridine dyadic acceptors. Ultrafast measurements and kinetic isotope effects establish that the photoexcitation of ZnSe leads to hole transfer from ZnSe to phenol, which is coupled with proton transfer from phenol to pyridine. A subsequent step of electron transfer from ZnSe to phenoxyl radical, coupled with back proton transfer from pyridinium, accomplishes a net process of spin-triplet migration from ZnSe to phenol–pyridine. Adding a strongly electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl substituent on pyridine can switch the sequence of proton-coupled electron and hole transfer steps. Compared with a methylated analogue acceptor lacking the shuttle, the assistance of proton shuttle substantially increases the energy transfer rate and efficiency.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"954 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147381759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Magnons, the quanta of spin waves, have been extensively studied in a range of materials for spintronics, particularly for non-volatile logic-in-memory devices. Controlling magnons in conventional antiferromagnets and harnessing them in practical applications, however, remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate highly efficient magnon transport in a LaFeO3/BiFeO3/LaFeO3 all-antiferromagnetic system, which can be controlled electrically, making it highly desirable for energy-efficient computation. Leveraging spin-orbit-driven spin-charge transduction, we demonstrate that this material architecture permits magnon confinement in ultrathin antiferromagnets, enhancing the output voltage generated by magnon transport by several orders of magnitude, which provides a pathway to enable magnetoelectric memory and logic functionalities. Additionally, the non-volatility of the output voltage enables ultralow-power logic-in-memory processing, where magnonic devices can be efficiently reconfigured via electrically controlled magnon spin currents within magnetoelectric channels.
{"title":"Magnon confinement in epitaxial antiferromagnetic oxide heterostructures.","authors":"Sajid Husain,Maya Ramesh,Xinyan Li,Sergei Prokhorenko,Shashank Kumar Ojha,Aiden Ross,Koushik Das,Boyang Zhao,Hyeon Woo Park,Peter Meisenheimer,Yousra Nahas,Lucas Caretta,Lane W Martin,Se Kwon Kim,Zhi Yao,Haidan Wen,Sayeef Salahuddin,Long-Qing Chen,Yimo Han,Rogério de Sousa,Laurent Bellaiche,Manuel Bibes,Darrell G Schlom,Ramamoorthy Ramesh","doi":"10.1038/s41563-026-02531-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02531-8","url":null,"abstract":"Magnons, the quanta of spin waves, have been extensively studied in a range of materials for spintronics, particularly for non-volatile logic-in-memory devices. Controlling magnons in conventional antiferromagnets and harnessing them in practical applications, however, remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate highly efficient magnon transport in a LaFeO3/BiFeO3/LaFeO3 all-antiferromagnetic system, which can be controlled electrically, making it highly desirable for energy-efficient computation. Leveraging spin-orbit-driven spin-charge transduction, we demonstrate that this material architecture permits magnon confinement in ultrathin antiferromagnets, enhancing the output voltage generated by magnon transport by several orders of magnitude, which provides a pathway to enable magnetoelectric memory and logic functionalities. Additionally, the non-volatility of the output voltage enables ultralow-power logic-in-memory processing, where magnonic devices can be efficiently reconfigured via electrically controlled magnon spin currents within magnetoelectric channels.","PeriodicalId":19058,"journal":{"name":"Nature Materials","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":41.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147368471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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