Preferred crystallographic orientation of cellulose in plant primary cell walls.

Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on earth, is a versatile, energy rich material found in the cell walls of plants, bacteria, algae, and tunicates. It is well established that cellulose is crystalline, although the orientational order of cellulose crystallites normal to the plane of the cell wall has not been characterized. A preferred orientational alignment of cellulose crystals could be an important determinant of the mechanical properties of the cell wall and of cellulose-cellulose and cellulose-matrix interactions.

Molecular engineering of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites quantum wells.

Semiconductor quantum-well structures and superlattices are key building blocks in modern optoelectronics, but it is difficult to simultaneously realize defect-free epitaxial growth while fine tuning the chemical composition, layer thickness and band structure of each layer to achieve the desired performance. Here we demonstrate the modulation of the electronic structure-and consequently the optical properties-of organic semiconducting building blocks that are incorporated between the layers of perovskites through a facile solution processing step. Self-aggregation of the conjugated organic molecules is suppressed by functionalization with sterically demanding groups and single crystalline organic-perovskite hybrid quantum wells (down to one-unit-cell thick) are obtained.

Double helical structure of the twist-bend nematic phase investigated by resonant X-ray scattering at the carbon and sulfur K-edges.

The mesogenic dimer displaying nematic and NTB phases was investigated by resonant X-ray scattering at both C and S absorption K-edges and supported by single X-ray crystallography. In the crystal resonant studies revealed the forbidden reflection in non-resonant diffraction similar to that found in the NTB phase. The lack of a second harmonic in both C and S resonant X-ray scattering supports the double helical structure of the twist-bend nematic phase.

Fluids by design using chaotic surface waves to create a metafluid that is Newtonian, thermal, and entirely tunable.

In conventional fluids, viscosity depends on temperature according to a strict relationship. To change this relationship, one must change the molecular nature of the fluid. Here, we create a metafluid whose properties are derived not from the properties of molecules but rather from chaotic waves excited on the surface of vertically agitated water.