This Collection invites contributions that explore how artificial intelligence accelerates materials science—from atomic-level design to device integration—through data-driven approaches, predictive modeling, autonomous experimentation, and enhanced characterization techniques. Emphasis is placed on broadly applicable workflows, rigorous validation, benchmarking, and the release of reusable datasets, protocols, or software.

This Collection features invited reviews on advanced materials that are essential to the advancement of next‑generation 3D integrated electronics.

Sun Yat-sen University, located in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province of China, is a comprehensive research-oriented national key university with a long history and an outstanding reputation. It was founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1924 and has passed down its academic spirit for a hundred years. Currently, it stands as a university directly administered by the Ministry of Education and is recognized as a pivotal institution in the national initiatives of "Double First-Class," "Project 985," and "Project 211." The university has five campuses in Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Shenzhen, with 70 faculties and departments, and 10 directly affiliated hospitals. With a complete range of academic disciplines, it focuses on comprehensive development of liberal arts, sciences, medicine, engineering, agriculture and arts. The university boasts numerous national-level scientific research platforms and research institutions, which have formed an innovation system to support its long-term development. Its world-class faculty and advanced research facilities contribute to significant scientific breakthroughs and academic achievements. Emphasizing innovation and international collaboration, Sun Yat-sen University aims to cultivate global leaders and make substantial contributions to global knowledge. Looking ahead, it aspires to be a leading international university, promoting interdisciplinary studies and cultural exchanges, and continuing to produce high-quality research that addresses global challenges and enriches human civilization. Materials science is an indispensable part of the research activities of Sun Yat-sen University, and this collection launches with two excellent contributions in the fields of superconductivity and optoelectronics, with more papers to follow in the future.

This collection contains invited reviews on quantum materials critical to quantum information applications. Such materials include superconductors, semiconductors, topological materials, magnetic materials, and noble-element solids. Each article focuses on at least one class of materials and covers topics ranging from quantum material growth to quantum bit performance. The complete collection provides a comprehensive picture of state-of-the-art quantum materials for quantum information applications.

This Collection is aimed at providing recent advances on several carbon neutral-related topics, such as the production and storage of hydrogen fuel, materials for sustainable batteries, and battery material recycling and reuse. The Collection welcomes original research and review articles.

Along with the accelerating industrial development, excess carbon emissions have greatly impacted the human society. Countries around the world have been immersed in this problem, and in response to the call for carbon neutral society, scientists have devoted their efforts to developing new materials and systems for carbon cycling and reduction. This special issue of NPG Asia Materials on ‘Materials for carbon neutral energy cycle and carbon negative society’ is aimed at providing recent advances on several carbon neural-related topics, such as the production and storage of hydrogen fuel, materials for sustainable batteries and battery material recycle and reuse, etc., and presents state-of-the-art original articles as well as comprehensive reviews in this fast-growing field.

This Collection is calling for submissions on synthesis of biopolyesters, medical polymers, artificial proteins and biodegradable polymers. Related topics of biomaterials, drug delivery systems and stimuli responsive materials are also welcome.

Over the past decades, nanotechnology and synthetic chemistry succeeded in on-demand design of nanoscale building blocks such as functional molecules or colloidal nanostructures. Inspired by nature, such building blocks can be used for precise assembly of hierarchical mesostructured materials with novel advanced functionality. Possible applications of this technology cover a broad range of fields, from energy conversion and storage, catalysis, smart surfaces and membranes, to drug delivery systems, supramolecules, etc. The concept of nanoarchitectonics has been put forward to cover the developments in this extensive research field. Nanoarchitectonics is supposed to constrict functional materials from nanounits including atoms and molecules. Considering that all materials are in principle composed of atoms and molecules, it is a universal concept used for all materials. In analogy to the Theory of Everything in physics, it can be called the Method for Everything in material science. Possible targets are not limited to real materials. Nanospaces surrounded nanostructured materials can be created through nanoarchitectonics strategy. For example, the subject of pore-engineered nanoarchitectonics has been also investigated. According to these backgrounds, the special issue of NPG Asia Materials on ‘Higher-order Functional Mesostructures’ focuses on the most recent innovations in hierarchical mesostructured materials based on nanotechnology and nanoarchitectonics. Guest Editor: Katsuhiko Ariga, University of Tokyo, Japan Submission guideline: https://www.nature.com/documents/am-gta.pdf

Hydrogels are of great interests from the viewpoints of their diverse applications such as disposal water adsorbent, tissue engineering, drug delivery, etc. New synthetic techniques as well as analytical methods have opened new gates to intelligent and advanced hydrogel-related materials. In combination with the broad term “healing”, the hydrogel-related materials have also been experiencing remarkable innovations. Some of the healing materials are designed for their own repair, others to assist the healing of the damaged bio-organisms. This special issue of NPG Asia Materials is focusing on the recent innovations related to hydrogels and hydrogel-related healing material, and presents state-of-the-art original articles as well as comprehensive reviews in this fast-growing field. Guest editor: Liping Wen, Chinese Academy of Science, China Submission Guideline: https://www.nature.com/documents/am-gta.pdf

The demand for biomaterials and health-care related materials in various medical applications has been increasing significantly across the globe over the last decade, and has been even more acute these days. This special issue of NPG Asia Materials, “Biomaterials and health-care related materials” is aimed at providing the recent advances in fundamental research on biomaterials, biointeractions, health-care and wearable health-monitoring materials, as well as the forefront of their medical applications. The issue covers original research and comprehensive review articles on topics ranging from biochemistry, biomaterials and biointerfaces to functional bio-devices for advanced research and healthcare systems. Guest editor: Liping Wen, Chinese Academy of Science, China Submission Guideline: https://www.nature.com/documents/am-gta.pdf

Worldwide demand for energy has put increasing focus on the discovery and realization of new materials for energy conversion. This “Energy-related Materials” Special Issue in NPG Asia Materials features a selection of articles that report on photothermal catalysis, electrocatalysis and contains reviews on recent advances in rechargeable Zn batteries as well as organic photovoltaics. The special issue also highlights materials development, which focus on the rational design and fabrication of nanostructured materials targeted towards high performance, energy-related applications.

NPG Asia Materials is proud to present a collection of articles on innovative nanomaterials for advanced therapy of cancer. The collection features a selection of recent articles that report multimodal nanoplatforms for photothermal therapy, 2D nanomaterials and their composites, cell-membrane nanoparticle camouflaging, surface-engineered nanobubbles, or 3D printed scaffolds, as well as a fundamentally novel approach of cell rupturing.