In order to recognize some of the outstanding work published in the journal, as well as the authors behind those articles, we annually award a Materials Horizons Outstanding Paper Award. The prizes recognise the contributions of all authors and celebrate these exceptional publications.
Each year, we look back at the exceptionally high quality and innovative materials science published during the previous calendar year and put together a shortlist of articles based on a variety of metrics including article downloads, Altmetric score, and citations. The shortlist is reviewed by the journal's Editorial and Advisory Board members based on the science presented and its potential future impact.
Our 2021 winners
Outstanding Article winner
Biohybrid plants with electronic roots via in-vivo polymerization of conjugated oligomers
Daniela Parker, Yohann Daguerre, Gwennaël Dufil, Daniele Mantione, Eduardo Solano, Eric Cloutet, Georges Hadziioannou, Torgny Näsholm, Magnus Berggren, Eleni Pavlopoulou and Eleni Stavrinidou
In this outstanding article, the authors developed biohybrid plants with an electronic root system, paving the way for autonomous systems with potential applications in energy, sensing, and robotics.
Outstanding Article runner-up
Van der Waals solid solution crystals for highly efficient in-air photon upconversion under subsolar irradiance
Riku Enomoto, Megumi Hoshi, Hironaga Oyama, Hideki Agata, Shinichi Kurokawa, Hitoshi Kuma, Hidehiro Uekusa and Yoichi Murakami
In this outstanding article, the authors created the first thermodynamically-stable photon upconverting solids with long triplet-exciton diffusion length and unprecedentedly low excitation threshold, opening a new materials realm that significantly widens the possibility of future photon-related technologies.
Oustanding Review winner
Catalytic Methods for Chemical Recycling or Upcycling of Commercial Polymers
Sophia C. Kosloski-Oh, Zachary A. Wood, Yvonne Manjarrez, Juan Pablo de los Rios and Megan E. Fieser
In this outstanding review, the authors describe the various catalytic methods studied to either reprocess common commercial polymers into their original monomers (recycling) or into value-added small molecules and fuels (upcycling).
Read the full collection of Horizons Outstanding Papers
See all our previous winners
Guidelines for nominators and candidates
Find out who is eligible for this award, about the assessment process and selection panel.
To be eligible to receive a Materials Horizons Outstanding Paper Award you must have published an article in the journal in the previous calendar year. All submissions will be subject to initial assessment and peer review as appropriate according to the journal’s guidelines.
The editorial team draw up a shortlist of papers based on a variety of metrics including article downloads, Altmetric score, and citations.
Winner(s) are selected by the Materials Horizons Editorial and Advisory Boards.
Selection panel
Previous winners
Materials Horizons Outstanding Articles
2020 winner: An ambient-stable and stretchable ionic skin with multimodal sensation
2020 runner-up: Stretchable, self-healing and tissue-adhesive zwitterionic hydrogels as strain sensors for wireless monitoring of organ motions
2019 winner: 4D printing reconfigurable, deployable and mechanically tunable metamaterials
2018 winner: Bioinspired hierarchical composite design using machine learning: simulation, additive manufacturing, and experiment
2018 runner-up: Unidirectional water delivery on a superhydrophilic surface with two-dimensional asymmetrical wettability barriers
Materials Horizons Outstanding Reviews
2020 winner: Evolution of self-healing elastomers, from extrinsic to combined intrinsic mechanisms: a review
2019 winner: Stimuli-responsive polymers for sensing and actuation
2018 winner: Photocatalytic fixation of nitrogen to ammonia: state-of-the-art advancement and future prospects