SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4262-7
The escalating demands of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural computing necessitate multifunctional optoelectronic devices capable of integrating sensing, memory, and processing. Two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) offer unique advantages, yet their practical deployment is hindered by complex architectures and inefficient mode-switching. Here, we demonstrate a MoTe2/SnS2 anti-ambipolar heterojunction device enabling single-gate reconfiguration among frequency doubling, broadband photodetection, and neuromorphic computing. The device exhibits a peak-to-valley ratio (PVR) of 465, ensuring efficient frequency doubling. As a photodetector, it operates across an exceptionally broad spectral range of 520–2200 nm, with outstanding responsivity and detectivity. Furthermore, the device emulates complete synaptic behaviors, including short-term plasticity (STP), long-term plasticity (LTP), and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). Integrated into a reservoir computing (RC) system trained on a vehicle motion dataset, it achieves a directional recognition accuracy of 98.7%. This work establishes a paradigm for multifunctional integration and low-power neuromorphic computing, advancing next-generation intelligent optoelectronic systems.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4287-1
Atomic-level manufacturing is a frontier technology enabling materials to achieve ultimate performance. This study explores the potential applications and critical scientific issues of metal atomic clusters, which are predominantly used in catalysis but suffer from intrinsic instability, leading to low yield, inconsistent size and structure, and susceptibility to agglomeration, oxidation, and sintering. We propose a novel concept: employing oxidized metal atomic clusters as dopants in oxygen-bearing materials, such as oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys, oxide-based cermets, and toughening ceramics. Using ODS alloy as a proof-of-concept, Ni-NiO coupled cluster-strengthened metallic Ni exhibits finer grains, a larger proportion of low-angle grain boundaries, higher geometrically necessary dislocation density, and achieves a 38% enhancement in Vickers hardness. To advance this concept, four critical scientific issues require resolution: oxidation control, disaggregation and dispersion, effectiveness comparison, and physicochemical behaviors and mechanisms. This work bridges the gap between atomic-level manufacturing and structural materials, offering a pathway to overcome the instability of metal clusters by leveraging their oxidation characteristics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3752-0
Counterfeit products have become widespread, necessitating advanced anti-counterfeiting solutions. Inspired by random wrinkles on peanut surfaces, we propose a biologically physical unclonable function (PUF) label with all-optical anti-counterfeiting. Using spatially selective plasma etching, a single-material random wrinkling strategy overcomes limitations of traditional double-layer wrinkling, such as low entropy and complex processes, enabling selective wrinkling in fixed areas. Innovative introduction of dual-modal luminescent micron defects in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films enables orthogonal control and coordination of the frequency domain of unpredictable wrinkles at the mesoscopic scale, promoting transition from long-range anisotropy to short-range isotropy. Verification requires only simple optical equipment, providing cost-effectiveness and ease of detection. This anti-counterfeiting system incorporates three collaborative security mechanisms: (i) high-entropy PUF encoded wrinkle fingerprints, (ii) angle-sensitive Bragg-like structural colors, and (iii) spatially segmented dual-mode fluorescence. The label exhibits near-ideal cryptographic properties: uniformity close to 0.5, Shannon entropy close to 1, Hamming distance approximately 0.5, and robust environmental stability (similarity >84% after storage at 2°C and 50°C for 48 h). Plasma parameter modulation enables continuous tuning of wrinkle wavelength from 6.1 to 25.0 μm. The system's straightforward preparation, portable verification, and anti-spoofing capabilities position it for real-world applications in secure packaging, high-value product labels, and smart encryption, with potential extension to flexible electronics and wearable security systems.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3948-7
High-performance thermoelectric materials are typically narrow-band gap semiconductors. Here, by decoupling charge and heat transport in BaZrS3 with a band gap of about 1.9 eV, we made the emerging chalcogenide perovskite a high-performance thermoelectric material with only earth-abundant elements. Our first-principles calculations indicate that the high ionicity of BaZrS3 renders the electrons to propagate mainly through the Zr-4d orbitals, so that isovalent alloying Se on S sites minimally affects its charge transport while effectively suppressing lattice thermal conductivity. Using a flux-assisted solid-state method, we synthesized single-phase BaZrS3(1−x)Se3x samples with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25. As an indicator of decoupled charge and heat transport, the electron mobility is found barely degraded with increasing Se content, while the thermal conductivity is significantly reduced from 2.07 to 0.99 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature. This results in a record-high ZT of 0.81 at 750 K, a value never achieved for materials with band gaps greater than 1.5 eV, and the highest among all perovskite materials. Our work not only underscores the potential of wide band gap semiconductors as high-performance thermoelectric materials, but also demonstrates the strategy of decoupling the charge and heat transport for enhancing their thermoelectric performance.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3960-0
Dry electrode processing offers a solvent-free and scalable pathway toward high-energy lithium metal batteries (LMBs), yet its practical implementation is constrained by tortuous ion/electron transport and weak mechanical cohesion in ultra-thick electrodes. Here, we construct a carbon-coated NASICON-type Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 nanofiber network (LATP@C) that serves as an integrated ionic-electronic scaffold within dry-processed Ni-rich cathodes. The one-dimensional LATP@C fibers form a continuous 3D percolation architecture that couples fast Li+ conduction from the NASICON core with efficient electron transport through the conformal carbon shell. Their rough, oxygen-functionalized surfaces further enhance electrolyte affinity, while the mechanically robust fibrous network bridges NCM811 secondary particles, suppressing crack initiation and preserving structural integrity during cycling. Benefiting from these collective effects, the LATP@C cathode with 100 mg cm−2 loading delivers 203 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and maintains 96.7% capacity over 35 cycles at 0.2 C. Pouch cells incorporating 60 mg cm−2 LATP@C cathodes retain 80.5% capacity after 50 cycles, highlighting the practical viability of this design.