Cover Picture: DNA‐Templated Silver Nanorings (Adv. Mater. 23/2005)

The cover shows that toroidal condensates of duplex DNA can be used as templates for facile preparation of monodisperse nanorings of noble metals. In the work by Zinchenko and co‐workers, reported on p. 2820, conformational transition of long DNA chains from elongated coils into compact toroidal condensates changes the manner of reduced silver deposition, from DNA chain metallization with nanoparticles to the formation of silver rings. A one‐pot, three‐step, simple preparation method leads to formation of well‐defined monodisperse silver nanorings (100 nm in diameter) dispersed in water.     

Cover Picture: Preparation of Highly Luminescent Nanocrystals and Their Application to Light‐Emitting Diodes (Adv. Mater. 15/2007)

A detailed synthetic procedure for the preparation of highly luminescent nanocrystals in multigram amounts is described by Eunjoo Jang and co‐workers on p. 1927. In addition, application of the nanocrystals in an UV light‐emitting diode (LED) is reported. Efficiency and spectral measurements reveal that the nanocrystal‐LEDs have excellent performance characteristics. Thus, the scalable one‐pot synthesis enables the production of highly luminescent and photostable quantum dots, which have high potential as light converting materials in LED applications.     

Cover Picture: Nanoscale Deposition of Single‐Molecule Magnets onto SiO2 Patterns (Adv. Mater. 2/2007)

The cover shows a schematic of scanning probe nanolithography based on the spatial confinement of an oxidation reaction within a water meniscus, and its application for fabricating ordered arrays of cationic Mn12 single‐molecule magnets. Romero, Coronado, Garcìa, and co‐workers report on p. 291 that electrostatic interactions between the molecules and trapped charges within the nanodots drive the positioning of the molecules at the nanoscale.     

Cover Picture: Liquid Crystalline Peptide Nanowires (Adv. Mater. 22/2007)

Liquid‐crystalline peptide nanowires consisting of aromatic dipeptides are easily prepared by a sonication in a volatile organic solvent, report Hyotcherl Ihee, Sang Ouk Kim, and co‐workers on p. 3924. The colloidal nematic liquid crystalline phase of the rigid nanowires allows for a macroscopically ordered morphology of the nanowires under an external electric field. The cover image presents a broad field view of nanowires oriented by an electric field between two electrodes.     

Inside Front Cover: Aromatic Carbonyl Derivative Polymers as High‐Performance Li‐Ion Storage Materials (Adv. Mater. 12/2007)

Molecular simulation of a PTCDA sulfide polymer crystal, in which a layered structure can be clearly observed. As reported on p. 1616 by Taolei Sun, Jutang Sun, and co‐workers, this is a new class of promising organic positive‐electrode materials for Li‐ion batteries. The excellent electrochemical performance of these materials, which is comparable or even superior to conventional inorganic materials, as well as their high safety, environmental friendliness, molecular design flexibility and diversity, and low cost, endow them with broad application and market potential.     

Cover Picture: Direct Growth of Flexible Carbon Nanotube Electrodes (Adv. Mater. 3/2008)

Entangled networks of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) integrated into a highly conducting carbon layer can be grown on a range of substrates including glassy carbon and metal foils. On p. 566, Gordon Wallace and co‐workers report the fabrication of a continuous flexible CNT electrode with high surface area and conductivity. The electrode demonstrates a stable battery capacity of 572 mAh g^–1. This discovery provides a direct route for the generation of large‐scale flexible CNT electrode materials.     

Inside Front Cover: Photoinduced Nitrosyl Linkage Isomers Uncover a Variety of Unconventional Photorefractive Media (Adv. Mater. 5/2007)

Photorefraction, i.e., a light‐induced change of the refractive index, is uncovered as general feature of light‐induced linkage isomers in [ML₅NO]^n± compounds, independent of the metals M, the ligands L, or the charge n. Dominik Schaniel and co‐workers report on p. 723 that huge amplitudes of refractive‐index changes, up to 10^–2, give rise to pronounced holographic light scattering, which is visualized by impressively bright cones of scattered light, as shown on the inside cover.     

Cover Picture: Metal–Silica Hybrid Nanostructures for Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (Adv. Mater. 21/2006)

The image shows an ordered array of silver‐tipped silica nanorods, which serve as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Signal intensities from test molecules in regions of aggregated pillars (indicated by the green laser beam) were enhanced by factors of 10 to 20 compared to arrays of separated pillars, as reported by Moskovits and co‐workers on p. 2829. This hybrid structure maximizes SERS signal intensities from analytes while minimizing the quantities needed for detection due to the precise formation of “hot regions” at the intersection of the silver tips.     

Cover Picture: Metallodielectric Two‐Dimensional Photonic Structures Made by Electric‐Field Microstructuring of Nanocomposite Glasses (Adv. Mater. 24/2005)

Nanocomposite glasses containing metallic nanoparticles can be microstructured by electric‐field assisted dissolution of the embedded particles. As reported by Graener and co‐workers on p. 2983, any pattern of the electrode—down to the nanoscale—can be transferred onto the nanocomposite glass, giving 2D metallodielectric microstructures. The cover image shows as the background a regular array of squares with 2 μm periodicity produced using macroporous silicon as an electrode. The insets show the base material, the electrode, a representation of the dissolution process, and an enlarged view of the remaining silver nanoparticles.     

Cover Picture: Conducting and Superhydrophobic Rambutan‐like Hollow Spheres of Polyaniline (Adv. Mater. 16/2007)

Conductive and superhydrophobic rambutan‐like hollow spheres of polyaniline are formed through self‐assembly by using perfluorooctane sulfonic acid as a dopant, soft template, and superhydrophobic agent at the same time, as reported by Meixiang Wan and Lei Jiang on p. 2092. The results show that the approach used is not only simple, but also that the hollow spheres have a large specific area and exhibit physical properties that are required for many applications in nanotechnology.     

Cover Picture: Fast and Reversible Surface Redox Reaction in Nanocrystalline Vanadium Nitride Supercapacitors (Adv. Mater. 9/2006)

The cover shows a high magnification transmission electron microscopy image of VN nanoparticles that exhibit enhanced supercapacitor response. The high capacitance is due to V undergoing a series of highly reversible redox reactions. These involve a transition between II–IV oxidation states via hydroxyl bonding confined to a few atomic layers of vanadium oxides formed on the surface of the underlying nitride, as discussed by Kumta and co‐workers on p. 1178.     

Cover Picture: Nanohybrid Shish‐Kebabs: Periodically Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes (Adv. Mater. 9/2005)

Carbon nanotube (CNT)‐seeded controlled polymer crystallization provides a simple yet effective means to periodically modify CNT surfaces in work reported by Li and co‐workers on p. 1198. The cover shows CNTs periodically decorated with polyethylene single crystals, with a periodicity of ～50–70 nm. Both single‐ and multiwalled CNTs have been successfully decorated with polyethylene and Nylon 6,6, implying that coupling crystalline polymers with functional groups might be a generic method for CNT functionalization in an ordered and controlled manner.     

Cover Picture: Magnetorheological Fluids Based on Ionic Liquids (Adv. Mater. 13/2007)

The use of ionic liquids as carriers of magnetorheological fluids is described by Schubert and co‐workers on p. 1740. Combining the properties of ionic liquids with magnetorheological technology may lead to new, “smart” fluids for application in medical therapies, engineering devices, or multiphase biological and chemical systems. In the presence of a magnetic field the fluids behave as solids owing to a stronger interaction between their suspended magnetic particles. In the absence of the magnetic field, they become liquids again in a fully reversible process.     

Cover Picture: A Micropatterned Hydrogel Platform for Chemical Synthesis and Biological Analysis (Adv. Mater. 5/2006)

A polymer hydrogel platform for peptide arrays compatible with both solid‐phase peptide synthesis conditions and the aqueous environment essential for biological assays is reported on p. 655 by Ulijn and co‐workers. Micropatterning followed by multiple‐step peptide synthesis produces the peptide‐functionalized poly(ethylene glycol)–polyamide “biochips” shown schematically on the cover. On‐chip biological assays involving cells and enzymes provide proof‐of‐concept.     

Cover Picture: Length‐Dependent Uptake of DNA‐Wrapped Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Adv. Mater. 7/2007)

Well‐defined length fractions of DNA‐wrapped single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) of below 200 nm are taken up preferentially by IMR‐90 human lung fibroblasts, while longer DNA wrapped SWNTs are excluded from the cell interior (inset), report Matt Becker and coworkers on p. 939. The cover image construct includes overlaid images of the labeled cell membrane, the nuclei (blue), and the fluorescently labeled DNA wrapped SWNTs (red) that have gained access to the cell interior.