Materials

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Thousands of nuclear spins are entangled to create a quantum-dot qubit

Artist's image showing blue and red spikes (representing the quasiparticles) emerging from two parallel dark grey honeycomb-patterned surfaces (representing carbon) and pairing up

New class of quasiparticle appears in bilayer graphene

"Fractional excitons" form in 2D carbon structure at high magnetic fields

Two-faced graphene nanoribbons could make the first purely carbon-based ferromagnets

New asymmetric structures have ferromagnetic states on a single zigzag edge

Research headlines

Tissue-like hydrogel semiconductors show promise for next-generation bioelectronics

A new hydrogel material combines the characteristics of biological tissues with the electronic functionalities of semiconductors

Elastic response explains why cordierite has ultra-low thermal expansion

Interplay between lattice vibrations and elasticity explains anisotropic behaviour

The deep-sea glass sponge known as Venus’ flower basket

Filter inspired by deep-sea sponge cleans up oil spills

Bio-inspired vortex-anchored filter captures more than 97% of floating, underwater and emulsified oils, even under strong turbulent flow

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Anomalous Hall crystal is made from twisted graphene

Topological electronic crystal emerges from moiré pattern

Photo of biochar, a black powder, next to a piece of concrete with biochar as a cement filler. The concrete contains black flecks among the aggregate.

Alternative building materials could store massive amounts of carbon dioxide

Materials such as concrete containing carbonate-based aggregates, bio-based plastics and biochar could sequester more than 16 billion tonnes of CO2 a year

Nanocrystals measure tiny forces on tiny length scales

One technique is used to observe worms munching on bacteria

Videos

Eco chic: clothing made from trees, inspired by spiders

Innovation in diamond applications from Element Six

Researchers at the Centre for Print Research

Bristol print innovators make a strong impression

Physics World Careers

The 2024 edition of Physics World Careers is packed full of advice for early-career scientists. Including a range of valuable advice, informative case studies and recruiter profiles, it demonstrates the variety of jobs that use a physics degree.

Explore more in materials science

Why electrochemistry lies at the heart of modern technology

Our podcast guest is Colm O’Dwyer, president of the Electrochemical Society

UK launches first-ever industrial materials strategy

About 52 000 people in the UK are thought to work or contribute to the materials industry

A physicist’s guide to ice cream: the complex science behind one of the world’s most popular desserts

From foaming to phase transitions, Douglas Goff explains the physics behind a perfect scoop

Photo of a chip made of the non-crystalline topological semimetal niobium phosphide, which appears as a light-orange square held in a person's gloved hands

Very thin films of a novel semimetal conduct electricity better than copper

Result in niobium phosphide contradicts typical metal behaviour

Anechoic chamber with acoustic absorbers on the walls

Metamaterials hit the market: how the UK Metamaterials Network is turning research into reality

Claire Dancer and Alastair Hibbins explain the commercial potential of metamaterials

A small vial containing fluorescent yellow supraparticles

New method recycles quantum dots used in microscopic lasers

Expensive and sometimes toxic elements can be reused in new devices

Cross-linked polymer is both stiff and stretchy

Researchers have succeeded in combining two usually incompatible properties for the first time

Photographs and SEM images of cotton fibres (a) (b) before and (c) (d) after dispersion

Supramolecular biomass foam removes microplastics from water

New material can adsorb up to 99.8% of plastic particles

Photo of an experimental aluminium-ion battery sitting on a shelf and attached to electrodes at either end

Conditioning prepares aluminium-ion batteries for real-world use

Pre-cycling smooths out problems with solid-electrolyte interface, helping devices last longer

How the UK Metamaterials Network supports scientific and commercial innovation

Network leads Alastair Hibbins and Claire Dancer are our podcast guests

An optical microscope image of the new transistor, which is made from semiconducting vertical nanowires of gallium antimonide and indium arsenide, and a close-up of the vertical nanowire with scale arrows showing that the wire is only 7 nm in diameter

Vertical-nanowire transistors defeat the Boltzmann tyranny

New gallium antimonide/indium arsenide transistor is more energy-efficient than silicon-based devices

Researcher at Argonne National Laboratory

US ploughs $50m into sodium-ion battery development

Sodium-ion batteries offer a sustainable, low-cost alternative to lithium-ion technology

Physicists close in on fractionally-charged electron mystery in graphene

Topological flat band may account for fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect recently observed in pentalayer moiré graphene

Sound-absorbing mechanism of triboelectric fibrous composite foam

Triboelectric device reduces noise pollution

A fibrous composite foam employs the triboelectric effect and in situ electrical energy dissipation to absorb low-frequency sound waves

Noodles of fun as UK researchers create the world’s thinnest spaghetti

At 372 nanometres, the “nanopasta” is not for consumption

Top tips for physics outreach from a prize winner, making graphene more sustainable

This podcast features an advanced-materials expert and a prizewinning science communicator

Venkat Srinivasan: ‘Batteries are largely bipartisan’

Energy storage expert Venkat Srinivasan discusses the pros and cons of different battery technologies and the motivations people have for adopting them

7-11-2024 Oxford solar cell researchers list

How to boost the sustainability of solar cells

Roadmap authors look to the future of photovoltaic technologies in this podcast

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Materials | Virtual event Comprehensive online XPS/ESCA short course 24—26 March 2025
Materials | Workshop Flat Bands, Strong Correlations, and Heavy Fermions 31 March — 4 April 2025 | Dresden, Germany
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