Materials
Structural colour
From iridescent butterflies and beetles to fish-scales and petals – can nature show us how to make sustainable pigments and dyes? Angeli Mehta takes a look
Ramrod MOF resembles Alhambra mosaic
Unique framework has perfectly linear bridging chains
Battery-in-screen paves way to ultra-thin smartphones
Multifunctional component made from unique hydrogel electrolyte embedded with water-soluble photoluminescent quantum dots
Reactions and synthesis
Day–night temperature fluctuations power hydrogen evolution
Pyrocatalytic nanoparticles split water and produce hydrogen
All-carbon staircase-like molecule made
Carbon spiral seizes geländer stability crown
'Trojan horse' artificial enzyme smuggles unnatural reactions into cells
New-to-nature chemistry in mammalian cells made possible by metalloenzyme system
Atoms and bonds
Drastically different mechanical properties from the same compound
4-bromophenyl 4-bromobenzoate can be plastic, elastic or brittle
Conjugated polymers sequenced by eye under the microscope
Atomic resolution of molecules – warts and all – can help in the development and design of electronics materials
Delocalisation pins down meaning of bond order
Reliable bond order definition provides new insights into covalency
