BIOLOGICAL, BIOMEDICAL, BIOMATERIALS | NANOSCIENCE & NANOMATERIALS 

Self-assembled porphyrin and macrocycle derivatives: From synthesis to function
Guest editors Ying-Bing Jiang and Zaicheng Sun present articles covering the synthesis and formation mechanisms of porphyrin nanostructures by self-assembly methods and their applications in solar-energy harvesting, water splitting, environmental pollutant reduction, and nanomedicine for tumor therapy.  
MRS Bulletin

OPTOELECTRONICS & PHOTONICS 

2D hexagonal-BN serves as a high-transmittance alignment layer in liquid crystal cells
An alignment layer made of the two-dimensional material h-BN outperforms the polyimide layer typically used in commercial liquid crystal cells.

MATERIALS SCIENCE 

Acoustic tweezers independently manipulate multiple particles in three dimensions
This device could be useful for positioning particles and assembling structures inside a range of materials—gases, liquids, plastics, or metals.

MRS NEWS 

Understanding Water-Oxide Interfaces to Harness New Processes and Technologies 
FREE ACCESS until April 26 | Journal of Materials Research (JMR) Focus Issue

ENGINEERING 

New devices morph and transform—like Iron Man's suit
This new class of origami-inspired mechanisms, called “developable mechanisms,” gets its name from developable surfaces, or materials that can take on three-dimensional shapes from flat conformations without tearing or stretching, like a sheet of paper or metal.

METALS & ALLOYS | NANOSCIENCE & NANOMATERIALS

A review on cyclic deformation damage and fatigue fracture behavior of metallic nanolayered composites
The fatigue properties of some typical metallic nanolayered composites are presented and compared with that of bulk materials and metal thin films in this review by Guang-Ping Zhang, Fei Liang, Xue-Mei Luo, and Xiao-Fei Zhu. 
Journal of Materials Research

ENERGY

Artificial intelligence is aiding the search for energy materials
The combination of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) is being called the “fourth industrial revolution,” and its applications in materials science have soared in the past decade. The AI subfield of machine learning is already aiding the discovery of new materials.

MATERIALS CHEMISTRY | ELECTRONICS 

The role of uncertainty quantification and propagation in accelerating the discovery of electrochemical functional materials
Gregory Houchins, Dilip Krishnamurthy, and Venkatasubramanian Viswanathan demonstrate the approach and its utility through two case studies: (1) electrocatalyst materials for their activity and selectivity for the oxygen reduction reaction, and (2) cathode materials for Li-ion batteries based on Ni-Mn-Co oxides. 
MRS Bulletin

OPTOELECTRONICS & PHOTONICS    

Color drops
Under the right conditions, ordinary clear water droplets on a transparent surface can produce brilliant colors, without the addition of inks or dyes.

ELECTRONICS | QUANTUM MATERIALS

Dirac material heterostructures lead to next-generation spintronics
An enhanced spin-orbit coupling strength emerges from a hybridization of graphene and topological insulator electronic bands.

ELECTRONICS | QUANTUM MATERIALS

Researchers magnetize single copper atoms
A modified scanning tunneling microscope emits electrons with a specific magnetic alignment.

ENERGY   

Residential solar panels deliver record-breaking efficiency
These systems, which have now been standardized for mass production, contain lenses that focus sunlight on tiny high-yield photovoltaic cells, employing what is a pioneering approach for the solar-power industry.

POLYMERS & SOFT MATERIALS | NANOSCIENCE & NANOMATERIALS

Magneto-mechanical actuators with reversible stretching and torsional actuation capabilities
M. Yasar Razzaq, M. Behl, and A. Lendlein report on magneto-mechanical actuators which are based on a single crystalline domain of oligo(ω-pentadecalactone) along with covalently integrated iron(III) oxide nanoparticles. 
MRS Advances

MRS NEWS 

FREE WEBINAR—Self-Assembled Porphyrin and Macrocycle Derivatives
Sponsored by American Elements and presented by MRS Bulletin, this March 20 webinar focuses on recent developments in porphyrin nanomaterials and their applications in both energy harvest and biomedicine.

Register Today! Attendance for this MRS OnDemand webinar is FREE, but advance registration is required.  

OPTOELECTRONICS & PHOTONICS   

Richard H. Friend on perovskite light-emitting diodes
Richard H. Friend of the University of Cambridge talks about recent developments and future prospects of perovskite LED research and development. 

EDUCATION, POLICY, SOCIETY 

Science advocacy drives passage of US National Quantum Initiative Act
Signed into law last December, the legislation was promoted and informed by a range of scientists and scientific societies.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Researchers decode math-y secrets of knitting to make bespoke materials
Different stitch types determine stretchiness, shape of final knitted product.

POLYMERS & SOFT MATERIALS  

Insight into the dielectric breakdown of elastomers
Microscopic processes taking place during dielectric breakdowns are captured using a high-speed camera to verify if the time-scale and behavior of the electrical breakdown can elucidate the underlying behavior.
Produced by Justina Vaicekauskaite, Piotr Mazurek, Liyun Yu, Anne Ladegaard Skov, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
A finalist in the 2018 MRS Science in Video competition, sponsored by the Materials Research Society Foundation, Goodfellow Corporation, and A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute.

SCIENCE AS ART 

Morphology of Winter
Uyanga Tsedev, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Nickel nanofoams were synthesized using an M13 bacteriophage template. Foams produced with varying phage sizes (ranging from 50 nm to 1300 nm) revealed distinct morphological traits. In this rendering, the phage network is re-imagined as a dense winter forest landscape, and in place of ion transport, traveling through are vibrant cardinal birds. The original image was acquired via scanning electron microscopy of a nickelized nanofoam material formed with phage of 320 nm length.

A Finalist from the Science as Art competition at the 2018 MRS Fall Meeting.

Copyright for all Science as Art images belongs to the Materials Research Society. To request permission to re-use the images, please contact Anita Miller.