The latest research from Nature Materials August 2020

[Nature Materials]( [] Advertisement [Give your paper to us and we'll give back to science]( Applied Physics Reviews (APR) has an Impact Factor of 17.054 and publishes original research and reviews. As a society publisher, we support the scientific and educational programs of the American Institute of Physics. Invest in the future of physical science research with APR. [Read the latest original research articles]( [API]( TABLE OF CONTENTS --------------------------------------------------------------- August 2020 Volume 19, Issue 8 [Current issue]( [Editorial](#_19_8-1) [Comment](#_19_8-2) [Q&A](#_19_8-3) [News & Views](#_19_8-4) [Perspectives](#_19_8-5) [Letters](#_19_8-6) [Articles](#_19_8-7) Advertisement [null]( Communications Chemistry: Open for Submissions Communications Chemistry is an open access journal that publishes high-quality primary research articles, reviews and commentary representing significant advances and new insights to the field of chemistry. 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[Find out more >>]( [] Editorial [ ] [COVID-19 therapies and vaccine landscape p809]( doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0758-9 [] Comment [ ] [Next-generation vaccine platforms for COVID-19 pp810 - 812]( Debby van Riel & Emmie de Wit doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0746-0 [ ] [Materials science approaches in the development of broad-spectrum antiviral therapies pp813 - 816]( Nam Joon Cho & Jeffrey S. Glenn doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0698-4 [ ] [Post-fire restoration of historic buildings and implications for Notre-Dame de Paris pp817 - 820]( Ylenia Praticò, John Ochsendorf, Stefan Holzer & Robert J. Flatt doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0748-y Advertisement Nanoscale characterization of two-dimensional materials with atomic force microscopy Dr. Ted Limpoco of Oxford Instruments Asylum Research Inc., and Dr. Zhihai Cheng of Renmin University of China, will describe how atomic force microscopy (AFM) is advancing the study of graphene and other two-dimensional materials with examples from recent research. [Register for this webcast FREE today]( Sponsored by: [Oxford Instruments Asylum Research]( [] Q&A [ ] [Diagnosing Notre-Dame after fire pp821 - 822]( Xin Li doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0749-x [] News & Views [ ] [Making 2D topological polymers a reality pp823 - 824]( Yu Jing & Thomas Heine doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0690-z [ ] [Two monolayers is greater than a bilayer pp824 - 826]( Junwei Liu doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0733-5 [ ] [Long-acting antiretroviral therapy pp826 - 827]( Vicente Soriano, Pablo Barreiro & Carmen de Mendoza doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0731-7 [ ] [A 3D map of atoms in 2D materials pp827 - 828]( Angus I. Kirkland doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0646-3 [ ] [Classic fail p829]( Philip Ball doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0752-2 [] Perspectives [ ] [Semimetals for high-performance photodetection pp830 - 837]( Jing Liu, Fengnian Xia, Di Xiao, F. Javier García de Abajo & Dong Sun doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0715-7 Semimetal photodetectors provide high-speed and broadband operation but suffer from serious drawbacks such as high dark currents. This Perspective discusses the opportunities offered by topological effects to overcome these issues and improve their performance. [] Letters [ ] [Gate-tunable spin waves in antiferromagnetic atomic bilayers pp838 - 842]( Xiao-Xiao Zhang, Lizhong Li, Daniel Weber, Joshua Goldberger, Kin Fai Mak et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0713-9 Gating dependent laser induced spin dynamics in an antiferromagnetic bilayer are observed and explained, with implications for future spintronic applications. [ ] [Electric-field-driven dual-functional molecular switches in tunnel junctions pp843 - 848]( Yingmei Han, Cameron Nickle, Ziyu Zhang, Hippolyte P. A. G. Astier, Thorin J. Duffin et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0697-5 A multifunctional molecule acting both as diode and variable resistor is used to fabricate compact molecular switches with a thickness of 2 nm, good current rectification and resistive on/off ratio, and requiring a drive voltage as low as 0.89 V. [] Articles [ ] [Mechanism of collective interstitial ordering in Fe–C alloys pp849 - 854]( Xie Zhang, Hongcai Wang, Tilmann Hickel, Jutta Rogal, Yujiao Li et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0677-9 The interstitial ordering in Fe–C alloys is shown to be stabilized by local anharmonicity in strain fields, which substantially reduces the critical C concentration for ordering. C segregation into extended defects predominates over ordering at low C concentrations but sharply decreases at high concentrations. [ ] [Fermionic time-reversal symmetry in a photonic topological insulator pp855 - 860]( Lukas J. Maczewsky, Bastian Höckendorf, Mark Kremer, Tobias Biesenthal, Matthias Heinrich et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0641-8 Counter-propagating chiral edge states are demonstrated in a photonic structure able to effectively incorporate fermionic time-reversal symmetry, thus providing the photonic implementation of an electronic topological insulator. [ ] [Correlated electronic phases in twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides pp861 - 866]( Lei Wang, En-Min Shih, Augusto Ghiotto, Lede Xian, Daniel A. Rhodes et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0708-6 Tunable correlated states are observed in twist bilayer WSe2 over a range of twist angles, with signatures of superconductivity for a twist of 5.1°. [ ] [Correlating the three-dimensional atomic defects and electronic properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides pp867 - 873]( Xuezeng Tian, Dennis S. Kim, Shize Yang, Christopher J. Ciccarino, Yongji Gong et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0636-5 Scanning atomic electron tomography is demonstrated to determine the 3D atomic positions and defects of Re-doped MoS2 monolayers and other 2D materials, providing picometre precision atomic coordinates that can be used as direct input to DFT to reveal more accurate electronic band structures of these systems. [ ] [Synthesis of mesoscale ordered two-dimensional π-conjugated polymers with semiconducting properties pp874 - 880]( G. Galeotti, F. De Marchi, E. Hamzehpoor, O. MacLean, M. Rajeswara Rao et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0682-z Optimized Ullmann coupling reaction of heterotriangulene precursors allows the synthesis of two-dimensional π-conjugated polymers with ordered domains larger than 100 × 100 nm2 showing both Dirac cones and flat bands in their electronic structure. [ ] [Polar meron lattice in strained oxide ferroelectrics pp881 - 886]( Y. J. Wang, Y. P. Feng, Y. L. Zhu, Y. L. Tang, L. X. Yang et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0694-8 Merons are topological structures, but these have yet to be directly observed in ferroelectrics. Here, by epitaxially straining PbTiO3 on a SmScO3 substrate, electron microscopy and phase-field modelling allow the morphology and distribution of merons to be observed. [ ] [Variability and origins of grain boundary electric potential detected by electron holography and atom-probe tomography pp887 - 893]( Xin Xu, Yuzi Liu, Jie Wang, Dieter Isheim, Vinayak P. Dravid et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0656-1 A number of grain boundary phenomena in ionic materials, such as anomalous charge transport, have been attributed to space charge effects. Space charge potential at grain boundaries in lightly doped, high-purity ceria is now shown to vary by almost an order of magnitude. [ ] [A general Lewis acidic etching route for preparing MXenes with enhanced electrochemical performance in non-aqueous electrolyte pp894 - 899]( Youbing Li, Hui Shao, Zifeng Lin, Jun Lu, Liyuan Liu et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0657-0 Two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, known as MXenes, are currently considered as energy storage materials. A generic Lewis acidic etching route for preparing high-rate negative-electrode MXenes with enhanced electrochemical performance in non-aqueous electrolyte is now proposed. [ ] [Supramolecular–covalent hybrid polymers for light-activated mechanical actuation pp900 - 909]( Chuang Li, Aysenur Iscen, Hiroaki Sai, Kohei Sato, Nicholas A. Sather et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0707-7 Peptide amphiphile supramolecular polymers with a crosslinked spiropyran network respond to light by expelling water, enabling the fabrication of soft actuators or light-driven crawlers. [ ] [A year-long extended release nanoformulated cabotegravir prodrug pp910 - 920]( Tanmay A. Kulkarni, Aditya N. Bade, Brady Sillman, Bhagya Laxmi Dyavar Shetty, Melinda S. Wojtkiewicz et al. doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0674-z Nanoformulated long-acting cabotegravir prodrugs are shown to be capable of extending the native drug’s antiretroviral activity, biodistribution and pharmacokinetics for up to 12 months in mice and rhesus macaques. [nature events]( Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available [here](. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on [natureevents.com](. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com [More Nature Events]( This email has been sent to {EMAIL}. 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