surface-science

Nature Communications, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73606-y It is useful to be able to determine the changes a material has undergone, but this is challenging in synthetic systems. Here, the authors report the development of a hydrogel materials conditioned by swelling, allowing determination of exposure to heat and salt by nucleation changes.

Scientific Data, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41597-026-07467-x High-fidelity super-resolution microscopy datasets spanning multispectral to hyperspectral domains via diffractive optics

Nature Communications, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73457-7 Using in situ Bragg coherent X-ay imaging and TEM analyses, the authors show Ru-doped perovskite exsolution occurs selectively at mixed dislocations that propagate from particle interiors as mobile vehicles, dynamically transporting Ru to surfaces.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73177-y Elucidating the structural evolution of photoinduced molecular aggregation in solution remains challenging. Zhu et al. employ persulfurated arenes as a model system to characterize this process, introducing an electrical approach for probing photoresponsive aggregation at the single-molecule level.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73199-6 Phase-change materials cannot be easily integrated into electrically driven metasurfaces. Here, the authors develop a monolithically integrated Sb2Se3 phase-change metasurface composed of a 6 × 6 pixel array, enabling high-speed and broadband control over the phase and amplitude of light.

Abstract Industrial oily wastewater discharges and marine oil spills pose a serious threat to ecosystems. A new strategy for efficient and controllable oil–water separation is provided by smart-responsive wettability materials, owing to their ability to dynamically switch surface wettability in response to external stimuli. Under this premise, we reviewed the research progress and applications of…

Nature Communications, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73052-w Scatterometry techniques at extreme ultraviolet wavelength are a promising way to achieve spatially resolved material characterisation. Here, the authors present a scatterometry method based on high-harmonic-generation together with model based reconstruction providing nanometer-level accuracy.

The specific surface area (SSA) of snow is a critical structural quantity that controls snow properties and constantly evolves over time. An accurate understanding and modeling of the dynamical evolution of the SSA is thus of primary importance for snowpack models. For this, we simulate the evolution of randomly generated bi-continuous microstructures that resemble real snow microstructures and i…

Nature Communications, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73117-w Research on dualities is commonly restricted to one-to-one mappings. Here, by incorporating artificial gauge fields, the authors demonstrate 2D and 3D acoustic metamaterials enabling ℤ2 × ℤ2 and (ℤ2)6 duality groups, respectively, where distinct structures share identical band structures, and self-duality gives r…

Surface reconstructions complicate the separation of structural effects from intrinsic electronic physics in CeB6. The post CeB₆ surface reconstructions force a rethink of bulk electronic behavior appeared first on Advanced Science News .

Nature Communications, Published online: 16 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73187-w Here, the authors show that the interplay of oxygen vacancies and erbium emitters in bismuth oxyhalides enables reversible, high-contrast switching of upconversion emission, offering a new strategy for high-level anticounterfeiting.

The post Researchers “reprogram” materials by quickly rearranging their atoms appeared first on MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering .

A new scientific study suggests that the Great Pyramid of Giza could interact with resonant radio waves and focus certain electromagnetic waves under specific conditions. Researchers used theoretical physics models to examine how the pyramid’s shape and limestone structure respond to wavelengths between 200 and 600 meters. The study found that electromagnetic energy may concentrate inside the pyr…

Until now, it has been technically nearly impossible to rotate highly sensitive samples in all directions under a microscope without making contact.

A team of researchers from the Universities of Tübingen, Bayreuth, and Kassel, and the Polish Academy of Sciences has developed a method for precisely controlling the movement of magnetic microparticles based on their size. These suspended particles, known as colloidal particles, range in size from ...