The honeycomb lattice is one of the simplest lattice structures. Electrons and spins on this simple lattice, however, often form exotic phases with non-trivial excitations. Massless Dirac fermions can emerge out of itinerant electrons, as demonstrated experimentally in graphene, and a topological quantum spin liquid with exotic quasiparticles can be realized in spin-1/2 magnets, as proposed theoretically in the Kitaev model. The quantum spin liquid is a long-sought exotic state of matter, in which interacting spins remain quantum-disordered without spontaneous symmetry breaking. The Kitaev model describes one example of a quantum spin liquid, and can be solved exactly by introducing two types of Majorana fermion. Realizing a Kitaev model in the laboratory, however, remains a challenge in materials science. Mott insulators with a honeycomb lattice of spin-orbital-entangled pseudospin-1/2 moments have been proposed, including the 5d-electron systems α-NaIrO (ref. 5) and α-LiIrO (ref. 6) and the 4d-electron system α-RuCl (ref. 7). However, these candidates were found to magnetically order rather than form a liquid at sufficiently low temperatures, owing to non-Kitaev interactions. Here we report a quantum-liquid state of pseudospin-1/2 moments in the 5d-electron honeycomb compound HLiIrO. This iridate does not display magnetic ordering down to 0.05 kelvin, despite an interaction energy of about 100 kelvin. We observe signatures of low-energy fermionic excitations that originate from a small number of spin defects in the nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation and the specific heat. We therefore conclude that HLiIrO is a quantum spin liquid. This result opens the door to finding exotic quasiparticles in a strongly spin-orbit-coupled 5d-electron transition-metal oxide.

The realization of Kitaev spin liquid, where spins on a honeycomb lattice are coupled ferromagnetically by bond-dependent anisotropic interactions, has been a sought-after dream. 5d iridium oxides α-Li 2 IrO 3 and α-Na 2 IrO 3 with a honeycomb lattice of J eff = 1/2 moments recently emerged as a possible materialization. Strong signature of Kitaev physics, however, was not captured. Here we report the discovery of a complex iridium oxide β-Li 2 IrO 3 with J eff = 1/2 moments on "hyper-honeycomb" lattice, a three-dimensional analogue of honeycomb lattice. A positive Curie-Weiss temperature θ CW ~ 40 K indicated dominant ferromagnetic interactions among J eff = 1/2 moments in β-Li 2 IrO 3 . A magnetic ordering with a small entropy change was observed at T c = 38 K, which, with the application of magnetic field of only 3 T, changed to a fully polarized state of J eff = 1/2 moments. Those results imply that hyper-honeycomb β-Li 2 IrO 3 is located in the vicinity to a Kitaev spin liquid.

Solving the structure of carbon nitrides has been a long-standing challenge due to the low crystallinity and complex structures observed within this class of earth-abundant photocatalysts. Herein, we report on two-dimensional layered potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K-PHI) and its proton-exchanged counterpart (H-PHI), obtained by ionothermal synthesis using a molecular precursor route. We present a comprehensive analysis of the in-plane and three-dimensional structure of PHI. Transmission electron microscopy and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, supported by quantum-chemical calculations, suggest a planar, imide-bridged heptazine backbone with trigonal symmetry in both K-PHI and H-PHI, whereas pair distribution function analyses and X-ray powder diffraction using recursive-like simulations of planar defects point to a structure-directing function of the pore content. While the out-of-plane structure of K-PHI exhibits a unidirectional layer offset, mediated by hydrated potassium ions, H-PHI is characterized by a high degree of stacking faults due to the weaker structure directing influence of pore water. Structure–property relationships in PHI reveal that a loss of in-plane coherence, materializing in smaller lateral platelet dimensions and increased terminal cyanamide groups, correlates with improved photocatalytic performance. Size-optimized H-PHI is highly active toward photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, with a rate of 3363 μmol/gh H2 placing it on par with the most active carbon nitrides. K- and H-PHI adopt a uniquely long-lived photoreduced polaronic state in which light-induced electrons are stored for more than 6 h in the dark and released upon addition of a Pt cocatalyst. This work highlights the importance of structure–property relationships in carbon nitrides for the rational design of highly active hydrogen evolution photocatalysts.

Chemical and physical transformations by milling are attracting enormous interest for their ability to access new materials and clean reactivity, and are central to a number of core industries, from mineral processing to pharmaceutical manufacturing. While continuous mechanical stress during milling is thought to create an environment supporting nonconventional reactivity and exotic intermediates, such speculations have remained without proof. Here we use in situ, real-time powder X-ray diffraction monitoring to discover and capture a metastable, novel-topology intermediate of a mechanochemical transformation. Monitoring the mechanochemical synthesis of an archetypal metal-organic framework ZIF-8 by in situ powder X-ray diffraction reveals unexpected amorphization, and on further milling recrystallization into a non-porous material via a metastable intermediate based on a previously unreported topology, herein named katsenite (kat). The discovery of this phase and topology provides direct evidence that milling transformations can involve short-lived, structurally unusual phases not yet accessed by conventional chemistry.

Chemical and structural transformations have long been carried out by milling. Such mechanochemical steps are now ubiquitous in a number of industries (such as the pharmaceutical, chemical and metallurgical industries), and are emerging as excellent environmentally friendly alternatives to solution-based syntheses. However, mechanochemical transformations are typically difficult to monitor in real time, which leaves a large gap in the mechanistic understanding required for their development. We now report the real-time study of mechanochemical transformations in a ball mill by means of in situ diffraction of high-energy synchrotron X-rays. Focusing on the mechanosynthesis of metal-organic frameworks, we have directly monitored reaction profiles, the formation of intermediates, and interconversions of framework topologies. Our results reveal that mechanochemistry is highly dynamic, with reaction rates comparable to or greater than those in solution. The technique also enabled us to probe directly how catalytic additives recently introduced in the mechanosynthesis of metal-organic frameworks, such as organic liquids or ionic species, change the reactivity pathways and kinetics.