SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4419-1
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) fed with reformate hydrogen suffer severe anode poisoning by trace CO, necessitating high CO electrooxidation potentials that degrade performance and durability. This work introduces a Pt@CrSA-N-C anode catalyst featuring a hydrophilic Cr single-atom interface that simultaneously weakens CO adsorption on Pt via electronic regulation and promotes water activation, thereby lowering the CO oxidation onset potential to approximately 0.13 V vs. RHE. The onset potential was determined by two independent methods: the first potential at which the background-corrected current exceeds 0 mA cm-2 during CO oxidation reaction tests in a three-electrode system, and the potential at which the forward scan current exceeds the N2 background current in CO-stripping voltammetry. The catalyst achieves a maximum power density under 100 ppm CO that surpasses reported advanced catalysts, as compiled in Table S5. Structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical characterizations collectively establish a coherent rationale for the hydrophilic single-atom interface strategy. This approach addresses the longstanding trade-off between CO tolerance and Pt utilization, offering a viable route for low-potential CO removal in practical PEMFC anodes.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4279-0
Inkjet printing has emerged as a viable additive manufacturing route for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), offering drop-on-demand patterning, high material utilization, and compatibility with large-area flexible substrates. This review critically examines the formulation science, printhead physics, and drying kinetics that govern the quality of inkjet-printed organic layers. We analyze the rheological window required for stable jetting, typically 1–20 mPa·s viscosity and 25–45 mN/m surface tension, and the dimensionless Ohnesorge number (0.1 < Z < 1) that defines satellite-free droplet formation. The coffee-ring effect, driven by capillary flow and solvent evaporation gradients, remains the dominant failure mode for pixel non-uniformity; binary solvent systems and substrate temperature control (40–60 °C) mitigate this. We survey recent progress in printed hole-transport, emissive, and electron-transport layers, with particular attention to cross-linkable hole-transport materials that resist interlayer dissolution. Device performance metrics from printed OLEDs now reach external quantum efficiencies of 15–20% for fluorescent emitters and >25% for phosphorescent systems, with operating lifetimes (T95) exceeding 1,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m². We identify remaining bottlenecks: nozzle clogging from aggregated nanoparticles, film thickness variation across large panels, and the absence of standardized ink formulations. The review concludes with a roadmap for industrial adoption, emphasizing in-line metrology and closed-loop process control as prerequisites for yield parity with vacuum-deposited OLEDs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4439-4
Silk fibroin (SF) hydrogels are promising for neural regeneration but suffer from progressive stiffening due to excessive β-sheet assembly, limiting their use in traumatic brain injury (TBI) repair. This study introduces a dopamine (DA)-mediated synergistic topological entanglement strategy to construct an SF-DA/gelatin-DA composite hydrogel (SG). The system integrates covalent cross-linking, net cationic electrostatic repulsion, hydrogen bonding, and π-π stacking to regulate SF assembly dynamics at the molecular level. The resulting SG hydrogel maintains stable mechanical softness over extended periods, with a storage modulus of approximately 1.2 kPa after 28 days, compared to a 5-fold increase in pure SF hydrogels. The sustained softness promotes neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation, with a 2.5-fold increase in βIII-tubulin expression and a 1.8-fold increase in GFAP expression after 14 days. In a rat TBI model, SG hydrogel implantation reduced glial scar formation by 40% and improved neurological function scores by 30% at 8 weeks. The hydrogel degrades at a rate of 12% per week, matching tissue regeneration. This multi-crosslinking approach offers a clinically translatable strategy for neural tissue engineering, addressing the critical bottleneck of mechanical instability in SF-based biomaterials.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4452-8
Europium(III) complexes offer intrinsically narrow red emission (full-width at half-maximum < 5 nm) that is highly desirable for ultrahigh-definition displays, yet their electroluminescence performance is severely limited by unbalanced charge transport and inefficient energy transfer. This work reports a molecular design strategy that modulates both energy transfer and charge transport in Eu³⁺ OLEDs. The synthesized complex, Cz-Eu, incorporates a carbazole-functionalized ancillary ligand to facilitate host–guest energy transfer and hole transport. The single-crystal structure was deposited (CIF: Cz-Eu-cif.cif) and subjected to PLATON validation, which flagged 3 type-1 alerts (CIF construction/syntax errors), 8 type-2 alerts (possible structural model deficiencies), 12 type-3 alerts (low structure quality), and 4 type-4 alerts (improvement suggestions), with no duplication detected. These crystallographic alerts indicate that the reported structure requires further refinement before it can be considered reliable. Nevertheless, the device metrics demonstrate a promising route: the optimized OLED achieves efficient ultranarrow-band red emission, with the potential for high color purity and reduced power consumption. The findings underscore the critical role of ligand engineering in balancing charge fluxes and fostering efficient energy transfer, providing a viable pathway for next-generation red emitters. However, the structural ambiguities highlighted by the PLATON analysis warrant cautious interpretation of the structure–property relationships and suggest that additional crystallographic and device stability studies are necessary to substantiate the claimed performance.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4245-4
The discrimination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at trace concentrations remains a critical challenge for environmental monitoring, industrial process control, and non-invasive disease diagnostics. Conventional electronic noses rely on sensor arrays comprising multiple chemically distinct receptors, which introduces fabrication complexity, calibration drift, and cross-sensitivity. Here, we demonstrate that a single-component Ti3C2Tx MXene (TM) sensor array, engineered through controlled surface chemistry and device architecture, generates independent and high-dimensional characteristics (IHC) sufficient for precise VOC pattern recognition. By exploiting the intrinsic heterogeneity of TM basal planes and edge sites, we achieve differential interaction motifs without expanding elemental composition. The array discriminates VOCs including acetone, ethanol, toluene, and hexane at concentrations down to 100 ppb with classification accuracy exceeding 95%. Principal component analysis reveals distinct clustering with cumulative variance of 92.3% captured by the first three principal components. The sensor exhibits a limit of detection of 50 ppb for acetone and response/recovery times of 12 s and 18 s, respectively. Long-term stability tests over 30 days show less than 5% signal degradation. This single-component strategy simplifies fabrication, reduces calibration overhead, and offers a scalable pathway for miniaturized, low-power VOC sensing platforms compatible with Internet of Things (IoT) deployment.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4441-7
Early detection of kidney injury remains difficult because routine clinical indicators often lag behind tissue damage. Here we report uNP-CH1055, an ultrasmall renal-clearable NIR-II fluorescent nanoprobe for non-invasive imaging of kidney injury in vivo. uNP-CH1055 formed stable nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic diameter of 3.3 nm, showed good photostability, enabled low-background imaging under a 1200 nm long-pass filter, and underwent rapid renal clearance after intravenous administration. It also exhibited favorable biocompatibility in both cellular and animal studies. In three mechanistically distinct models of renal injury, cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury, ischemia–reperfusion injury and unilateral ureteral obstruction, renal fluorescence increased with injury severity and closely paralleled biochemical and histological indicators, including blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, KIM-1 and TUNEL-based readouts. These results identify uNP-CH1055 as a renal-clearable NIR-II probe for early and quantitative assessment of kidney injury across different pathological settings.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4347-9
Overcoming the intrinsic loading ceiling of oxide-supported single-atom catalysts remains a long-standing challenge, because oxide frameworks generally provide limited capacity for accommodating high densities of isolated metal species. Here, we report a hollow TiO2 nanoreactor that effectively addresses the long-standing loading limitation of oxide-supported catalysts by coupling high-capacity ion exchange with structural confinement. The multiscale framework is derived from a sodium titanate hollow flower-sphere assembled from ultrathin nanosheets. It enables broad accessibility of exchange sites and facilitates high Cu uptake prior to oxide formation. Subsequently, during Ar-assisted transformation into oxygen-vacancy-rich TiO2, the incorporated Cu species remain highly dispersed within the framework, while vacancy-mediated metal–support interactions further enhance their stability. As a result, controllable Cu speciation is achieved at ultrahigh loadings of 7.4 wt% as spatially isolated single atoms and 12.4 wt% as single-atom/subnanometer-cluster hybrids. The optimized hybrid catalyst delivers a hydrogen evolution rate of 28.8 mmol g−1 h−1 under simulated sunlight, surpassing conventional low-loading Cu/TiO2 systems under comparable conditions. This strategy is readily extendable to other transition metals (Fe, Co, and Ni), establishing a structural design principle for constructing high-density and speciation-controlled metal sites on oxide supports.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4473-9
Selective ion separation is critical for resource recovery, water treatment, lithium extraction from salt lakes, and nuclear waste management, yet the differences in size, solvation structure, and coordination behavior among ions are often minimal, and separation is further complicated by valence, interfacial charge, and competing ions. Nanoporous materials with tunable sub-nanometer channels and chemically active interfaces can regulate ion entry, solvation reorganization, interfacial partitioning, intrapore migration, and release. This review examines three mechanistic categories—size and solvation sieving, chemical recognition, and dynamic gating—from the perspective of confined transport and ion–pore interactions, and compares their roles and coupling in systems of monovalent–monovalent, divalent–divalent, heterovalent, and chemically similar multivalent ions. We further distinguish selective adsorption, membrane enrichment, and transmembrane transport, and discuss how selectivity definitions, ion flux, feed composition, driving force, and operating time affect performance evaluation. Current research faces three major challenges: lack of comparability of performance data across different test conditions, insufficient direct evidence of ion solvation, site occupancy, and migration under operating conditions, and the complexity of feed streams. By adopting a sequential ion transport process as a unified conceptual framework, this review systematically compares separation mechanisms across diverse nanoporous materials, including MOFs, COFs, zeolites, 2D materials, microporous polymer membranes, ion-exchange membranes, biomimetic nanochannels, organic–inorganic composites, functionalized porous carbons, and biochars. This transport-process-oriented framework provides a general and mechanistic perspective for understanding and comparing selective ion separation across diverse nanoporous platforms.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4425-4
Flexible and weavable alternating-current electroluminescent (ACEL) fiber devices are pivotal for wearable displays and human-computer interfaces, yet their intrinsic lack of color tunability restricts high-density information interaction. This study presents a dynamically color-tunable electroluminescent fiber device with a coaxial winding structure that integrates multiple fiber electrodes emitting the three primary colors. Through simple voltage driving, the device achieves a color gamut covering 131.07% of the sRGB standard, enabling arbitrary full-color tunability, including standard white light with CIE coordinates of (0.31, 0.33). The emission peak is continuously tunable over a 161.7 nm range, a 4-fold enhancement compared to previously reported ACEL fibers. The coaxial winding architecture is compatible with large-scale fabrication, yielding hundred-meter-scale fiber devices with a luminance variation of only 2.76%. The electroluminescent performance remains stable under stringent industrial standards: 10,000 friction cycles, 20 accelerated washing cycles, and 10-day storage at 105 °C and −20 °C. Integration into a smart textile watchband demonstrates real-time heart rate visualization via progress color changes and gesture-controlled color switching, validating its potential as an effective human-computer interface.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4490-y
The development of efficient enzyme mimics for CO2 hydration remains a critical challenge for industrial carbon capture. This study reports a bioinspired three-dimensional Zn-coordinated organic framework (Zn-SOF) synthesized via solvothermal assembly of a salen-based ligand with zinc ions. The resulting material exhibits a carbonic anhydrase-like active site with a Zn-N2O2 coordination environment, as confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The Zn-SOF demonstrates a CO2 hydration rate of 3.2 × 10^-3 s^-1 per active site, representing a 12-fold enhancement over the homogeneous Zn-salen complex and approaching 8% of native carbonic anhydrase II activity. The catalyst maintains structural integrity over 10 consecutive cycles with <5% activity loss and operates optimally at 25–40 °C and pH 7.4–9.0. Kinetic analysis reveals a Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) of 28 mM for CO2 and a turnover number (kcat) of 4.1 s^-1, outperforming benchmark Zn-based mimics. The framework's hierarchical porosity (BET surface area: 620 m2 g^-1) facilitates substrate diffusion, while the hydrophobic pore environment enhances CO2 affinity. This work establishes a design paradigm for robust, recyclable enzyme mimics that bridge the gap between homogeneous catalysts and natural enzymes, offering a scalable route for post-combustion CO2 capture.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4447-3
Chargeable photoconductivity, a non-volatile photoresponse phenomenon, was investigated in multiferroic heterostructures comprising Bi0.85La0.15FeO3 (BLFO) and a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (Q2DEG). Two device architectures, LSMO/BLFO/Q2DEG and Pt/BLFO/Q2DEG, were fabricated and characterized under varying electrical connection conditions between the top electrode and the Q2DEG during illumination and dark waiting stages. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements reveal that the heterostructures exhibit persistent photoconductivity after illumination, with the magnitude and retention dependent on the circuit configuration. Under open/open conditions, the photocurrent increases with illumination duration, and subsequent dark waiting leads to a gradual decay, indicating charge storage and release mechanisms. The LSMO/BLFO/Q2DEG heterostructure demonstrates superior chargeable photoconductivity compared to the Pt counterpart, attributed to the oxygen vacancy migration and interfacial polarization effects. These findings establish a foundation for oxide-based photoelectric memory devices with potential for low-power, non-volatile optoelectronic applications. The results provide critical insights into the interplay between ferroelectric polarization, oxygen vacancy dynamics, and charge trapping at the BLFO/Q2DEG interface, offering a pathway for designing advanced multiferroic optoelectronic devices.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4288-1
The high-temperature oxidation resistance of Cr2AlC MAX phase ceramics is severely compromised by rapid Al depletion and the formation of a brittle sub-surface Cr7C3 layer. This study elucidates how trace Y2O3 doping (0.25 and 0.5 wt.%) modulates the oxidation behavior of Cr2AlC at 1100 °C. The incorporation of 0.5 wt.% Y2O3 significantly suppresses the parabolic rate constant compared to undoped counterparts. This kinetic suppression is attributed to the Reactive Element Effect (REE), where Y3+ segregation at α-Al2O3 grain boundaries inhibits outward Al3+ diffusion, shifting the scale growth mechanism to inward oxygen diffusion control. Consequently, this retarded Al consumption prevents the decomposition of the Cr2AlC substrate into Cr7C3. While undoped specimens fail due to volume contraction and Kirkendall voiding associated with the Cr7C3 interlayer, specimens with the most effective doping content within the investigated range maintain a stable, atomically sharp α-Al2O3/Cr2AlC interface devoid of voids and decomposition products. The superior adhesion of this interface is attributed to three synergistic factors: the elimination of volumetric mismatch induced by phase transformation, the mechanical interlocking provided by Y-rich oxide pegs, and the intrinsically higher interfacial bonding strength of the α-Al2O3/Cr2AlC system as confirmed by DFT calculations. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for designing oxidation-resistant MAX phase ceramics via reactive element doping.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4309-8
Iridium-doped cobalt oxide nanosheets derived from a ZIF template were evaluated as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). Residual carbon was removed via a post-synthetic treatment to isolate intrinsic catalytic behavior. The Ir0.23Co0.77Ox catalyst exhibited enhanced activity and durability relative to commercial IrO2 in a practical PEMWE device. Potential-dependent, stage-resolved characterization combined with theoretical calculations probed catalyst stability under different operating voltages, revealing degradation mechanisms tied to applied potential. Contact angle measurements showed that the Ir0.23Co0.77Ox membrane electrode assembly (MEA) had water and air contact angles of 126° and 143°, respectively, compared to 126° and 143° for an IrO2 MEA at identical Ir loading, indicating improved wettability and gas release behavior. The work provides a framework for understanding potential-dependent stability in acidic OER catalysts and demonstrates a viable route to reduce Ir loading while maintaining PEMWE performance.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4313-7
Liquid-to-vapor mass transfer is central to energy and environmental processes. Conventional distillation relies on vapor-liquid equilibrium and device-level optimization, with materials playing passive structural roles. Non-boiling processes such as membrane distillation and interfacial solar evaporation localize phase change at confined interfaces, making mass transfer a materials-mediated transport phenomenon where interfacial structure and chemistry dictate evaporation kinetics, vapor escape, and solute rejection. Janus interface materials, featuring spatially separated hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains, introduce architectural asymmetry to regulate liquid-to-vapor mass transfer. This review summarizes recent advances, highlighting mechanisms including the cooperative pump-valve effect, nanoconfinement-enhanced transport, and mitigation of fouling and scaling. Representative applications in membrane distillation, solar-driven evaporation, and personal thermal-moisture management are systematically discussed. Key challenges and future opportunities are outlined, particularly in advancing fundamental understanding, scalable fabrication, and practical implementation.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4244-0
Near-infrared perovskite light-emitting diodes (NIR-PeLEDs) suffer from poor operational stability, largely due to interfacial reactions at the electron-transport layer (ETL)/perovskite interface. Here, we introduce a zinc ion (Zn2+)-chelated hybrid ETL derived from a Zn2+-chelated polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) complex, which partially retains the surface properties of ZnO but exhibits significantly reduced oxygen defects and surface-adsorbed hydroxyl groups. This well-modulated surface promotes perovskite crystallization and mitigates interface-induced deprotonation of organic cations during device operation. Consequently, NIR-PeLEDs employing this hybrid ETL achieve a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 20.1%, a high radiance of 652 W sr-1 m-2, and an exceptional T50 lifetime of 270.7 hours at a high current density of 100 mA cm-2, which is over five times that of devices based on conventional ZnO nanocrystal (NC) ETLs. Our results present an effective ETL strategy for operationally stable NIR-PeLEDs and thoroughly reveal the critical role of regulating interfacial reactions in stabilizing buried interfacial contacts. These findings provide valuable insights for advancing perovskite optoelectronic devices that suffer from interface-induced performance degradation.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4281-7
Multispectral camouflage materials must simultaneously address visible and infrared (IR) detection while maintaining environmental stability and mechanical flexibility for deployment in harsh conditions. This work presents a multilayer composite integrating a colorful, IR-transparent visible reflection (VR) layer, a low-emissivity graphene (LEG) layer, and an aramid nanofiber (ANF) aerogel layer. The VR layer provides tunable visible colors without compromising the low-emissivity property of the LEG layer, which achieves IR emissivity between 0.30 and 0.43. The ANF aerogel, reinforced with a grid structure, reduces thermal conduction, lowering IR radiation intensity by 40% at an 80 °C heat source. The composite exhibits effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and maintains multifunctional stability in strong acid, strong alkali, saline, and organic media. This design offers a novel strategy for environmentally robust multispectral camouflage materials suitable for extreme operational environments.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4239-2
The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a bottleneck for efficient water splitting. NiFe-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are promising OER catalysts, but their performance is often limited by the high-spin state of Fe3+ and poor structural stability. Here, we report a series of amino acid-intercalated iron-rich NiFe-LDHs (AA-NiFe-LDHs) synthesized via a facile one-step coprecipitation method. Intercalation of glycine, alanine, and valine into the interlayer galleries expands the interlayer spacing and induces a partial transition of Fe3+ from high-spin to low-spin state, as confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The low-spin Fe3+ enhances the intrinsic catalytic activity by optimizing the adsorption energy of oxygen intermediates. Among the series, the glycine-intercalated sample (Gly-NiFe-LDH) exhibits the best OER performance in 1.0 M KOH, with an overpotential of 240 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 38 mV dec−1, significantly outperforming the pristine NiFe-LDH (280 mV, 52 mV dec−1). Moreover, Gly-NiFe-LDH shows excellent long-term stability, retaining 95% of its initial activity after 24 h of chronopotentiometry at 10 mA cm−2. The intercalation also increases the electrochemically active surface area by 2.3-fold and reduces the charge transfer resistance from 12.5 Ω to 4.8 Ω. This work demonstrates that amino acid intercalation is an effective strategy to modulate the spin state of Fe3+ and enhance the OER performance of NiFe-LDHs, providing a new avenue for designing high-efficiency, low-cost electrocatalysts.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4250-0
Shape memory polymer (SMP)-based transfer printing offers a promising route for heterogeneous integration of flexible electronics, yet non-contact release reliability remains a critical bottleneck. This study systematically investigates the influence of pickup heating modes—localized versus global—on the release yield and energy-delivery mechanisms through combined experiments and finite element simulations. The localized heating mode concentrates strain energy at the interface, enabling controlled chip ejection with high yield, whereas global heating dissipates energy, leading to release failure. Quantitative analysis reveals that localized heating achieves a release yield of 100% under optimized conditions, compared to near-zero for global heating. The ejection velocity under localized heating is higher, which may induce chip bouncing on the receiver substrate, affecting transfer accuracy; however, this can be mitigated by adjusting release gap and laser parameters. The findings establish a theoretical framework for energy pathway design, providing guidelines for achieving high-yield, accurate non-contact release in laser-induced transfer printing. This work advances the practical application of SMP-based transfer printing for micro-LED displays and flexible electronics, addressing a key manufacturing bottleneck.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4350-4
Flexible wearable sensors have transformed motion tracking, soft robotics, and human-machine interfaces by enabling precise movement detection and adaptability to curved surfaces. However, conventional composite sensors often face challenges such as limited sensitivity, detection range, linearity, and durability. In this study, we propose a stretchable auxetic sensing textile with a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) structure, incorporating reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) by micro-crack engineering to enhance its mechanical durability and sensing performance. Integrating macro-scale NPR with micro-scale wrinkles, this innovative design achieves a high sensitivity of 11.2 within a wide detection range (0-100%), a more linear sensing range with an R2 value of 0.998, an ultra-low detection limit of 0.5%, and exceptional durability, outperforming conventional wearable sensors. Additionally, the textile sensor boasts excellent moisture permeability (32.7 g m⁻² h⁻¹) and a remarkable NPR value of -0.25, ensuring comfort and adaptability for various wearable applications. Integrated with deep learning algorithms, the auxetic sensing textile demonstrates 98% accuracy in recognizing soft robotic movements at various bending angles. It is capable of capturing both small-scale physiological signals, such as electrocardiograms, and large-scale movements, offering significant freedom of movement and adaptability to complex surfaces.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4201-0
Open fracture fixation faces dual critical challenges: bacterial infection and impaired bone healing. This study presents a rationally designed biomacromolecular network coating (Ti-GOED) on titanium alloy bone plates to simultaneously address these issues. The coating integrates antimicrobial and osteogenic components, achieving an optimal balance between antibacterial efficacy and biocompatibility. In vitro assays demonstrated that Ti-GOED eliminates over 99% of common pathogenic bacteria by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis, disrupting bacterial cell wall formation, compromising membrane integrity, and leading to intracellular DNA leakage and bacterial death. Concurrently, Ti-GOED enhances the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) via activation of the PI3K-Akt and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In vivo animal experiments confirmed strong antibacterial and osteogenic properties. This work provides a strategy for developing antibacterial coatings on medical devices, with significant potential for preventing and treating infections post-fracture fixation.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4292-4
The vast compositional space of high-entropy materials presents a fundamental challenge for catalyst discovery. Considering 21 candidate elements at a 1% atomic resolution, this combinatorial explosion exceeds 10 billion (>10^10) possibilities, rendering direct experimental exploration impractical. Furthermore, purely data-driven approaches often struggle to comprehend the intrinsic chemical roles of discrete elemental identities, yet they excel at mapping continuous concentration gradients. Recognizing this distinction, we transform this combinatorial explosion into a targeted optimization problem by decoupling elemental selection from compositional ratio refinement. Ultrafast carbon thermal shock (CTS) is first employed to screen viable elemental combinations and establish an optimal quinary framework. Machine learning (ML) is subsequently applied to optimize compositional ratios within this reduced space, where statistical modeling efficiently navigates the remaining high-dimensional landscape. Targeting the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as a proof-of-concept, our hybrid framework pruned the search space from over 10^10 possible compositions down into 13 systems, ultimately identifying high-entropy oxide (HEO)-Fe17.57Co28.45Ni31.27Mo10.57Zr12.14 as the optimal catalyst. The optimized high-entropy oxide exhibits an overpotential of 240 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and sustains stable operation at 1 A cm−2 for over 600 h in 1 M KOH. Mechanistic analysis reveals that Mo electronically tunes oxygen-intermediate adsorption, while Zr enhances structural robustness, collectively enabling high activity and durability. This work demonstrates that bridging discrete physical screening with continuous data-driven optimization provides an efficient and generalizable pathway for navigating high-dimensional material frontiers.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4385-1
Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are effective hole-selective contacts for inverted perovskite solar cells, but scalable deposition on rough substrates is hindered by molecular aggregation, disordered packing, and incomplete adsorption. We propose a hybrid strategy incorporating 4-(Piperidin-4-yl)butanoic acid hydrochloride (PBACl) into the 4PABCz solution during dip-coating. PBACl suppresses aggregation via hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions, yielding homogeneous coverage and improved wettability. The piperidine and carboxyl groups passivate buried interfacial defects through hydrogen bonding and coordination with perovskites. Small-area cells achieve a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.09%, while a 5 cm × 5 cm mini-module (aperture area 14.4 cm²) delivers 23.29% PCE. Encapsulated devices retain 80% of initial PCE after 1350 h maximum power point tracking under continuous illumination. This ion modulation strategy bridges molecular-level interface control with scalable processing, offering a pathway to industrially relevant perovskite photovoltaics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4206-6
Precise patterning of highly ordered organic semiconductor (OSC) thin-film arrays is critical for next-generation electronics. We report a ladder-like polysilsesquioxane (LPSQ) strategy to synthesize two functional analogs with tunable surface energies and robust dielectric properties. These LPSQ dielectrics, functionalized with alkyl or fluoroalkyl side chains, serve dual roles as gate insulators and patterning layers to guide blade-coating of 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C8-BTBT). This approach yields highly aligned arrays suitable for three-dimensional integration in flexible electronics. Synergistic combination of dense LPSQ dielectric packing and aligned semiconductor domains leads to excellent organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) performance, achieving approximately four-fold improvement in field-effect mobility compared to conventional silicon oxide dielectrics. Patterned LPSQ dielectrics enable high-resolution C8-BTBT patterning on plastic substrates, supporting 4-inch-scale 3D integration of flexible logic circuits, including inverters (voltage gain >100), NOR gates, and NAND gates. This work provides a scalable route to high-performance, large-area flexible organic circuits.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4337-2
Silica aerogels are recognized as leading super-insulating materials due to their ultralow thermal conductivity, yet their intrinsic brittleness and poor processability restrict practical deployment in complex industrial and extreme environments. This study introduces a macro-scale 'stiff–soft' synergistic strategy, combining a macroscopically processable, soft-and-tough framework as the load-bearing component with hard-and-brittle polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) aerogels as the insulating component. A pressure-driven assembly process enables viscosity-tunable PMSQ gel inks to be controllably infused into various hollow frameworks, including honeycomb panels, wheat straws, and hollow fibers. Guided by a modified Hagen–Poiseuille model, ink viscosity is precisely matched to the geometric parameters of the hollow structures. The resulting composites achieve compressive strength of 2.5 MPa, flexural strength of 6.25 MPa, and tensile strength of 40 MPa, while maintaining excellent thermal insulation. This versatile and scalable approach offers a new design paradigm for mechanically adaptive silica aerogel composites in thermal management applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4197-4
Deep-blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) remain the most challenging primary-color emitters due to stringent exciton energy requirements. We strategically designed two innovative deep-blue emitters, SCZ-4AnCN and STPA-4AnCN, via systematic functionalization of an anthracene core with arylamino-decorated spirofluorene donors and cyano-substituted phenyl acceptors. Comprehensive theoretical and experimental analyses demonstrate that these spirofluorene-anthracene hybrids adopt precisely engineered distorted configurations, effectively suppressing detrimental intermolecular π–π stacking in condensed phases. The sp3-hybridized bridgehead carbons in spirofluorene units play a pivotal role by simultaneously restricting π-conjugation extension and fine-tuning donor–acceptor interactions, thereby stabilizing the lowest excited singlet (S1) state with dominant local excitation (LE) character. This molecular engineering yields exceptional deep-blue emission with remarkable efficiency. Notably, the materials exhibit unique high-lying reverse intersystem crossing (hRISC) behavior, enabling efficient triplet harvesting. Optimized doped devices incorporating SCZ-4AnCN achieve outstanding performance, including a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max) exceeding 10% and CIE coordinates (0.154, 0.052) approaching the BT.2020 blue standard. Nondoped devices maintain impressive performance with an EQE_max of 7.51% and superior operational stability, demonstrating less than 10% efficiency roll-off at 1000 cd m−2. This work validates anthracene-based molecular architectures for deep-blue electroluminescence and establishes a transformative design paradigm for next-generation OLED emitters.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4443-5
The accelerating pace of urbanization and rising global temperatures have transformed reliable cooling from a luxury into a fundamental necessity for human health and economic activity. With urban populations projected to reach 66% of the global total by 2050, the energy demand for air conditioning is expected to increase by 750%. Conventional vapor-compression cooling is highly energy-intensive, accounting for approximately 17% of global electricity consumption while contributing to carbon emissions, refrigerant-related environmental concerns, and urban heat accumulation. Passive radiative cooling has emerged as a promising alternative because it dissipates heat to outer space through the atmospheric window (8–13 μm) without electricity or moving parts, offering an energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable cooling strategy. Despite its promise, effective daytime radiative cooling requires maximizing solar reflectance to minimize heat gain from solar absorption. Consequently, most radiative cooling materials appear white or silver. In recent years, researchers have proposed several strategies to overcome this aesthetic limitation. The most straightforward approach is to incorporate dyes or fluorescent pigments. Both mechanisms inevitably rely on optical absorption, resulting in parasitic heat generation that compromises cooling performance. In contrast, structural colors arise from wavelength-selective light interference or scattering by micro- or nanostructures with feature sizes comparable to the wavelength of visible light, enabling vivid coloration with minimal intrinsic absorption. Representative mechanisms include thin-film interference, diffraction gratings, and photonic crystals. Nevertheless, existing structurally colored radiative cooling materials usually require multi-step fabrication processes and specialized instruments, making large-scale production costly and time-consuming. Recently, Liu et al. reported a bilayer, colored ethyl cellulose (BCEC) coating produced in a single casting step, which significantly simplifies the fabrication process and presents a viable strategy for the practical deployment of this technology. The fabrication of BCEC involves the drying of an ethyl cellulose (EC)/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution in a water vapor environment. This induces non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS), driven by interactions between solute and solvent molecules. The bilayer structure forms spontaneously in a single step during the drying process: a relatively dense top surface is generated first as the DMF evaporates, after which water vapor diffuses slowly across this skin layer, initiating the NIPS process and producing the porous bottom layer. The dense top layer has a thickness of several hundred nanometers—an ideal scale for generating colors through thin-film interference. More importantly, this thickness can be conveniently and precisely tuned by adjusting the concentration of the precursor solution, making it possible to create various structural colors, including blue, yellow, red, pink, and green. In addition to thickness-dependent color tuning, the BCEC coating also exhibits angle-dependent coloration (iridescence), an intrinsic characteristic of thin-film interference, whereby the reflected peak wavelength shifts with the viewing or illumination angle. The highly porous bottom layer is responsible for the high solar reflectance, resulting from the strong scattering of light by the abundant micro- and nano-pores. The solar reflectance varies slightly with the thickness of the BCEC film; the thickest film (BCEC-5, green film) exhibits the highest solar reflectance of 0.97. Simultaneously, the intrinsic absorption derived from molecular bond vibrations, especially the C–O bond, contributes to the high the
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4213-x
Lipid peroxyl radicals (ROO·) are terminal propagating species in lipid peroxidation, driving oxidative damage in neurological disorders. Their prolonged lifetime and rapid diffusion within lipid membranes render them difficult to neutralize. Here, we report a bioelectric-responsive TEMPO-doped polydopamine (PDA@TEMPO) nanozyme that sustains catalytic interception of ROO· radicals under persistent oxidative stress. By coupling a PDA redox reservoir with TEMPO catalytic centers, the nanozyme establishes a self-regenerating radical-neutralization cycle via proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). The π-conjugated framework facilitates charge migration and enables an electric-field-enhanced antioxidant response. In a seizure model, the nanozyme dynamically responds to bioelectric fluctuations, accelerating radical interception and alleviating oxidative stress in neural microenvironments. These findings establish bioelectric-coupled nanozymes as a general strategy for catalytic and sustained regulation of oxidative stress in neural microenvironments, providing a potential therapeutic approach for neurological disorders.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3865-1
Seawater electrolysis (SWE) is a reusable and convenient avenue for producing hydrogen, offering a promising solution to the energy crisis and global warming. However, poor electrolytic efficiency and irreversible corrosion caused by high concentrations of chlorine severely hinder the commercialization of SWE. To address these challenges, numerous strategies have been proposed in recent years, involving theoretical innovations, directional catalyst design, and electrolyser modification. This review provides a systematic summary of the chlorine-related challenges and solutions encountered in SWE. The chlorine-related theoretical knowledge and challenges in SWE systems are first emphasized. Subsequently, multiple anodic chloride suppression strategies are introduced from three aspects: directional regulation of oxygen evolution catalysts, optimization of electrolyte compositions, and ingenious upgrades of electrolytic cells. Finally, future challenges and development directions for large-scale application of SWE technology are explored. This review offers an in-depth analysis of the chlorine-related challenges encountered in the industrialization of SWE, aiming to accelerate the advancement of this technology toward practical applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3831-0
Ammonia decomposition is a key process for generating COx-free hydrogen, yet conventional cobalt catalysts require high temperatures (>550 °C) to overcome the strong Co–N binding that limits N2 desorption. Here we report a novel Co catalyst supported on a Ce and N co-modified perovskite (Co@La_xCe_{1-x}AlO_{3-y}N_z) that achieves 92.6% ammonia conversion with a hydrogen production rate of 9.7 mmol g−1 min−1 at 425 °C and GHSV = 9000 mL h−1 g_cat−1, representing a 125 °C reduction in operating temperature relative to conventional Co-based catalysts. Mechanistic studies using isotopic labeling and in-situ DRIFTS reveal that synergistic Ce and N modification creates a unique LA-L(A+B)-LB active site configuration, which lowers the Schottky barrier at the metal-support interface and promotes facile hydrogen spillover. The reaction proceeds via an interfacial Mars-van Krevelen mechanism, contrasting with the traditional Langmuir-Hinshelwood pathway on conventional Co catalysts. This work provides new insights for designing low-temperature Co-based ammonia decomposition catalysts.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3596-2
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have shown great promise in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) due to their tunable composition and unique physical and chemical properties. However, the role of HEAs in CO2RR and the underlying reaction mechanism remain underexplored, particularly through in situ techniques. In this work, we investigate the mechanism of CO2 reduction on AuAgCuPdPt HEAs using in situ Raman spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to reveal key intermediates and reaction pathways. Our results demonstrate that within the potential window of −0.2 to −0.7 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), the AuAgCuPdPt HEAs efficiently reduce CO2 to CO, achieving a Faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO greater than 90%, with a peak FE of 96.5% at −0.3 V vs. RHE. The CO2− intermediate was observed at low potentials, revealing the reaction pathway in the CO2 reduction process. Additionally, in situ ATR-FTIR results suggest that the introduction of an appropriate amount of Pt metal not only promotes water dissociation to generate protonic hydrogen, but also facilitates the desorption of *CO intermediates. The kinetic isotope effect of hydrogen-deuterium (H-D) confirms that water dissociation acts as a key proton donor in CO2RR. Furthermore, the catalyst of AuAgCuPdPt HEAs was applied as cathodes in a Zn-CO2 battery, achieving 90.23% FE for CO and a power density of 3.474 mW cm−2. This study provides new insights into the mechanistic understanding of CO2 reduction and underscores the importance of in situ spectroscopic techniques for advancing the design of efficient electrocatalysts for CO2 conversion.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3558-4
The development of advanced titanium alloys capable of operating above 600 °C remains a critical challenge for aerospace propulsion systems, where conventional Ti alloys suffer from insufficient high-temperature strength and microstructural instability. Here, we propose a computationally driven design strategy for titanium-based medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) that integrates thermodynamic phase prediction with mechanistically informed strength modeling, enabling systematic exploration of the Ti-Nb-Al-Cr quaternary system. The optimized Ti70Nb10Al15Cr5 MEA exhibits exceptional performance metrics: 18% room-temperature ductility (as-cast), a yield strength of 520.7 MPa at 650 °C (post-aging), and an ultralow density of 4.76 g/cm3 (45% lighter than Inconel 718). Microstructural characterization reveals a metastable single-phase BCC structure in the as-cast state, which transforms into a BCC/Ti3Al dual-phase system upon aging, with temperature-dependent precipitate morphology and phase stability. The alloy demonstrates superior high-temperature strength retention up to 900 °C (>80 MPa yield strength), outperforming commercial titanium alloys (e.g., Ti-1100, TG6) and bridging the performance gap between conventional Ti alloys and nickel-based superalloys. This work establishes a multi-criteria design paradigm for entropy-engineered alloys, offering a viable pathway to lightweight, high-temperature structural materials for next-generation aerospace applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3660-5
High-sensitivity piezoelectric ceramics with high piezoelectric constants (d33) are crucial for miniaturized, low-power, and high-efficiency transducers. However, conventional performance enhancement relies on intrinsic parameter modulation, which is limited and blind. This study introduces a performance-driven metamaterials creation model to develop structure-function-integrated piezoelectric materials. We systematically investigated the effects of metastructure design on d33 across two-dimensional straight rod (SR) structures, three-dimensional dot-matrix (Octa) structures, complex triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures, and hybrid Octa&SR structures. The results demonstrate that metastructures combining high polarization charge conversion efficiency with low compression modulus (stiffness) effectively enhance d33. The SR structure exhibited optimal polarization charge conversion, the Fks-Shellular (FksS) structure within TPMS showed low stiffness, and the Octa&SR structure combined both properties. Notably, all three structures displayed exceptional piezoelectric performance. Specifically, the FksS structure achieved a substantial d33 of 194 pC/N, a 24% enhancement over conventional solid BaTiO3, while maintaining isotropic and stress-insensitive properties. This work elucidates the mechanism for designing piezoelectric metastructures, offering a novel pathway for developing high-performance, high-failure-strength piezoelectric materials.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3539-5
MXene-based layered films are promising for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, yet achieving highly ordered structures in scalable production remains challenging. Here, we report a facile centrifugal casting method for fabricating MXene/polyvinyl alcohol (MXene/PVA) films with highly oriented and compact layered structures. During centrifugal casting, the viscous fluid experiences strong shear and centrifugal forces along tangential and normal directions, respectively, inducing compact and oriented arrangement of MXene nanosheets. Consequently, the Herman's orientation factor increases from 0.681 to 0.794 as rotation rate rises from 0 to 4000 r/min. Accordingly, tensile strength and toughness improve from 55.2 to 191.1 MPa and from ~0.8 to 2.5 MJ/m³, respectively. The highly oriented and compact layered structure with ultrathin thickness (~8 μm) enables a high absolute electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SSE/t) of 21029 dB cm²/g. Moreover, increased orientation reduces infrared emissivity to 0.248, endowing the film with excellent thermal camouflage capability. This work presents an effective strategy for constructing high-performance MXene-based layered films.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3605-0
Nickel oxide (NiOx) is widely used as a hole transport material in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, its practical application is limited by low intrinsic conductivity and insufficient hole extraction ability, leading to significant interfacial defects that reduce device efficiency and stability. To overcome these issues, two isomeric small organic molecules, 2,6-NOT and 1,5-NOT, were developed and introduced to modify NiOx. These isomers share the same structure but differ in the substitution positions of functional groups, resulting in distinct molecular planarity. Experimental results demonstrate that 1,5-NOT, featuring extended conjugation and enhanced planarity, more effectively enhances the hole extraction/transport capabilities and conductivity of NiOx compared to 2,6-NOT. The NiOx/1,5-NOT-based device achieves a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.20%, along with excellent long-term stability, surpassing the NiOx control device (18.12%) and the 2,6-NOT-based device (21.87%). These findings indicate that modifying NiOx with small organic molecules significantly improves charge transport performance, and increasing molecular planarity is particularly beneficial for enhancing hole transport and reducing defect density, thereby increasing both efficiency and stability. This work provides a new strategy for NiOx modification via small organic molecules, offering a promising route to high-performance inverted PSCs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3793-9
Organic solar cells (OSCs) require both a high donor/acceptor (D/A) interfacial area for efficient exciton dissociation and a vertically phase-separated morphology for efficient charge transport. Traditional bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) provide large interfacial areas but lack vertical phase separation, while quasi-planar heterojunctions (QPHJs) achieve vertical separation at the cost of reduced interfacial contact. Here, we introduce an in situ pore-forming strategy for polymer thin films. By incorporating an excess of additives as pore-forming agents into the donor layer, a nanoporous film with a fibrous nano-network is generated. Subsequent deposition of acceptor molecules fills these nanopores, creating a hybrid planar/bulk heterojunction (HP/BHJ) that synergizes the strengths of both architectures. This design enhances performance by: (1) increasing the D/A interfacial area via nanopores, forming a three-dimensional network that accelerates exciton dissociation; (2) promoting close molecular packing that minimizes carrier recombination and establishes low-defect charge transport channels; and (3) fostering vertical phase separation through layer-by-layer deposition. Binary OSCs fabricated with this strategy achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.0%, surpassing conventional BHJ and QPHJ devices by a significant margin. The approach demonstrates general applicability, with analogous improvements observed in D18/BTP-eC9-4F and PM6/L8-BO systems, underscoring its potential for advancing OSC performance.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3559-5
Polyamide (PA) membranes are promising for lithium extraction from spent lithium-ion battery (LIB) leachate but face a trade-off between selectivity and permeability. Here, we demonstrate that nascent PA membranes post-grafted with triaminoguanidinium (TAG) monomers (PA-TAG membranes) gain expanded ion passage channels (0.8–7.1 Å) and enhanced positive charge, achieving high-performance lithium separation. The PA-TAG membrane exhibits a pure water permeance (PWP) of 15.5 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, superior divalent ion rejection (~98%), and an excellent separation factor (~30), significantly outperforming pristine PA membranes. In a simulated acidic battery leachate, the PA-TAG membrane achieved a relative volumetric lithium recovery rate of 48.2% after a two-stage nanofiltration process, with the Li+/M2+ mass ratio of the second permeate reaching 53.35, 445 times that of the feed (0.12). The membrane maintained stable performance over 45 hours of nanofiltration and resisted acidic conditions (pH=2) for at least 20 days. These results highlight the potential of PA-TAG membranes for efficient lithium extraction from acidic battery leachate, addressing the critical need for sustainable recycling of spent LIBs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3698-5
The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a critical bottleneck in next-generation sustainable energy systems due to its sluggish kinetics. Developing cost-effective, high-efficiency electrocatalysts requires understanding the dynamic structural evolution at electrode-electrolyte interfaces under operating conditions. In situ techniques are invaluable for identifying active centers and monitoring key intermediates. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in cutting-edge in situ methods for characterizing OER electrocatalyst structure evolution. It provides a brief overview of active motifs and robust structures using multiple in situ correlative techniques, establishing essential structure-performance relationships and updating mechanistic understanding at atomic scale under realistic conditions. Key challenges and perspectives are highlighted to promote rational design of promising electrocatalysts for efficient oxygen-associated electrocatalysis and electrosynthesis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3627-x
Polar exploration demands robotic systems capable of operating at extreme low temperatures, yet existing electronic skins (e-skins) fail due to polymer brittleness and impaired self-healing. Here, we report a supramolecular elastomer strategy that enables highly stretchable, self-healing, and sensitive e-skins functional at −78 °C. The elastomers are based on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) backbone (Tg = −127 °C, Tb = −150 °C) functionalized with kinetically reversible quadruple hydrogen-bonding motifs (2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidone, UPy) in side chains (S-UD) or main chains (M-UD). At −78 °C, S-UD elastomers exhibit superior stretchability, with optimized S-U1.2D0.8 achieving elongation at break of ~3257%, 3.4 times that of PDMS controls and exceeding M-U1.2D0.8 (~2474%). Self-healing efficiency after 24 h at −78 °C reaches ~75.9% for S-UD versus ~34.3% for M-UD, with visual scratch disappearance only in S-UD. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis reveals that S-UD possesses more thermodynamically favorable chain convergence, enhancing cryogenic self-healing. The optimized S-UD elastomer serves as an excellent substrate for constructing ultralow-temperature-tolerant e-skins, addressing a critical bottleneck in polar robotics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3694-3
Lithium metal anodes (LMAs) are among the most promising candidates for next-generation batteries with high energy density. However, their practical application is hindered by persistent challenges such as dendritic lithium growth, unstable solid electrolyte interphases (SEI), and poor Coulombic efficiency. Surface coating has emerged as a viable solution to address these limitations. In particular, atomic and molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) techniques offer unparalleled control over the fabrication of ultrathin, conformal coatings, making them especially suitable for stabilizing LMA interfaces. This review comprehensively summarizes recent progress in applying ALD and MLD methodologies to construct durable artificial interphases on LMAs. We discuss the underlying mechanisms through which these coatings inhibit dendrite formation, improve interfacial integrity, and facilitate uniform lithium-ion transport. The roles of inorganic ALD coatings, organic MLD coatings, and their organic–inorganic hybrids are systematically examined, with a focus on their chemical composition, deposition behavior, and electrochemical characteristics. Moreover, we highlight the enhanced performance achieved through the integration of ALD/MLD-engineered interfaces in full-cell systems. The review concludes with a discussion of current challenges and potential research avenues aimed at advancing the rational development of effective LMA protection strategies. Overall, this work offers valuable insights into the role of interfacial engineering via ALD and MLD in enabling the practical deployment of lithium metal batteries.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3628-3
The solution aggregation structures of conjugated polymers are pivotal in determining their film morphology and optoelectronic properties, yet the relationship between solution aggregation and device performance remains elusive in organic photodiode (OPD) systems. Herein, we introduce the first examination of solution aggregation structures of all-polymer OPD blends, with a focus on how molecular entanglement modulates aggregation behavior and subsequent photodiode performance of low-cost poly(3-pentylthiophene). Using small-angle neutron scattering and freeze-dried imaging, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the solution-state aggregation behavior of poly(3-pentylthiophene) and its evolution in the blend, revealing profound impacts on film morphology and device performance. With finely optimized aggregation, the resulting all-polymer OPD achieves a record-high specific detectivity of ~4×10^13 Jones at zero bias, outperforming all bulk heterojunction (BHJ)-type self-powered OPDs reported to date. This device also demonstrates remarkable thermal stability, with negligible performance degradation after over 800 h of thermal annealing at 85 °C. Furthermore, the self-powered OPD exhibits excellent performance across a broad spectral range, enabling its application in both water quality monitoring and biosensing. This work offers new insights into the solution aggregation behavior of conjugated polymers in OPDs and highlights the importance of resolving solution aggregation in optimizing device function.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3662-4
Luminescent thermometry has become a research hotspot due to its high spatial resolution, fast response, and non-invasive nature. However, achieving high-performance temperature imaging requires both luminescent materials with high temperature sensitivity and efficient imaging methods, which remains a significant challenge. In this study, a series of pure-phase rubidium germanate phosphors doped with manganese were synthesized and encapsulated into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films to improve chemical stability. The dramatic temperature-dependent luminescence behavior of Mn4+ in the Rb2Ge4O9 matrix provides reliable and efficient methods for temperature sensing. The high-sensitivity temperature sensing capability of the Rb2Ge4O9:0.002 Mn4+ fluorescent film has been confirmed, leveraging temperature-dependent emission intensity, luminescence decay lifetime, and time-resolved intensity ratio techniques. Notably, Rb2Ge4O9:Mn4+ fluorescent film exhibits a strikingly high relative sensitivity of 17.03% K−1 at 330 K in the time-resolved thermometry scheme, which is the highest relative temperature sensitivity within the physiological temperature range known to us. High-performance temperature imaging of the fluorescent film is achieved through the time-resolved intensity ratio strategy with a best practical temperature resolution of 0.08 K at 325 K. Furthermore, the temperature images of an operating nickel circuit with a line width of 20 μm under different working currents were recorded, showing a clear circuit microstructure and temperature gradient. These findings pave a novel path for realizing high-performance temperature imaging.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3623-y
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are an advanced technology for full-color displays, yet the low efficiency of blue OLEDs remains a critical bottleneck. Here, we report a new strategy to design robust Pt(II) emitters with enhanced molecular rigidity and increased locally excited character. The resulting Pt(II) emitter exhibits an extremely narrow emission spectrum peaking at 458.6 nm with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 16.0 nm and a small Huang-Rhys factor of 0.278, together with a high photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 95%. When doped into an OLED, the device emits at 464 nm with high color purity (FWHM = 19 nm) and achieves high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 32.6%, 29.4%, and 26.9% at luminances of 123, 1000, and 5000 cd/m2, respectively. Notably, the device attains a record-high maximum brightness of 84,895 cd/m2 among reported deep-blue OLEDs with Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE) y-coordinate < 0.15. This work demonstrates one of the highest-performing deep-blue OLEDs reported to date, addressing the dual challenges of efficiency and brightness in this spectral region.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3677-9
The demand for high-performance scintillators in high-temperature applications, such as industrial flaw detection and oil exploration, necessitates materials with both high efficiency and thermal robustness. This work reports Tb3+-doped oxyfluoride glass scintillators exhibiting anti-thermal-quenching radioluminescence (RL). Three synergistic strategies were employed: (i) an oxyfluoride glass host providing a low-phonon-energy environment, (ii) increased structural densification of the glass network, and (iii) thermally enhanced energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+. The resulting scintillators achieve an optical transmittance exceeding 88% at 542 nm, a record RL intensity of 350% relative to a standard Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal, and an imaging resolution of 24 lp mm−1. Notably, the RL intensity at 633 K reaches 143% of its room-temperature (303 K) value, demonstrating significant anti-thermal-quenching behavior. In contrast, commercial BGO and CsI:Tl scintillators exhibit RL intensities dropping to approximately 1% under identical conditions. These results establish the potential of Tb3+-doped glass scintillators for high-temperature X-ray imaging and provide a strategic framework for developing thermally robust scintillating materials.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3642-4
High-density glass scintillators are promising alternatives to crystals for next-generation radiation detection due to their low cost, excellent physical and chemical stability, and processability. In this study, a series of Ce3+-activated gadolinium gallium borosilicate (GGBS x) glasses were synthesized via vacuum melt-quenching. With increasing Gd2O3 content, glass density increased from 5.86 to 6.05 g/cm3, and molar volume from 36.43 to 39.79 cm3/mol. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis revealed that in GGBS 1 glass, Ce3+ exclusively adopts a hexahedral [CeO6] configuration, while Gd3+ exhibits both hexahedral and octahedral coordination with a bond length of 2.35±0.1 Å and Debye-Waller factor σ2 of 0.0122±0.0015 Å2. As Gd2O3 content increased, shallow trap depth rose from 0.804 to 0.858 eV, while deep trap depth first increased from 0.948 to 1.434 eV then decreased to 1.010 eV. GGBS 1 glass exhibited high transmittance (~80%) in the visible range and a photoluminescence quantum yield of 78.4%. Under X-ray irradiation, its X-ray excited luminescence intensity reached 128.5% of that of Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal, with a spatial resolution of 29.1 lp/mm, approaching the highest reported for glass scintillators. Under γ-ray excitation, it achieved a light yield of 1058 photons/MeV and an energy resolution of 23.7% at 662 keV. These results indicate that GGBS 1 glass scintillator warrants further development for applications in X-ray imaging and γ-ray spectroscopy.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3610-7
Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) offers an attractive route to produce value-added multicarbon (C2+) products, yet suffers from competing hydrogen evolution and monocarbon production. Here, we propose a dual-confinement effect on CO2 reactant and *CO intermediate, induced by tuning the pore configuration of reconstructed covalent organic frameworks (RC-COFs). The highly crystalline microporous RC-COF-1, when coated on a Cu electrode, enhances local CO2 concentration and restricts CO diffusion, thereby promoting C-C coupling. In acidic electrolyte, the RC-COF-1@Cu electrode achieves a maximum C2+ Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 67.0% at 500 mA cm−2, while maintaining a total carbon product FE above 90% across a broad current density range (100–500 mA cm−2). Experimental and theoretical analyses confirm that the ordered micropores of RC-COF-1 modulate reactant adsorption and intermediate diffusion, leading to improved C2+ selectivity. This work underscores the critical role of COF pore architecture in microenvironment engineering for heterogeneous catalysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3682-6
Metal single-atoms with optimized coordination structure on highly accessible substrate can maximize the metal utilization efficiency along with enhancing catalytic activities. Herein, axial nitrogen-coordinated Fe-N5 sites on N-doped carbon (denoted as FeN5@N-C) hollow microplates are fabricated via a unique Fe3+-chelated polydopamine assisted hollowing strategy using ZIF-L microplates as multifunctional templates. Due to the powerful chelating and adhesive ability of polydopamine, this hollow-carbon strategy can be extended to fabricate single-atom Fe-N-C hollow structures with different shapes and encapsulate other transition-metal single atoms (Ni, Co, Mn, and Cu) into the N-doped carbon hollow microplates. The FeN5@N-C hollow microplates exhibit outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) capability with an impressive half-wave potential of 0.93 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode and high stability, which can serve as air-cathode catalysts for high-performance Zn-air batteries with high peak power density of 225.3 mW cm−2 and stable cyclability of up to 400 h. Comprehensive analysis and theoretical calculations elucidate that axial nitrogen coordination in Fe-N5 catalytic sites, unlike the planar Fe-N4 configuration, can compete well with the bonding of OH* through additional 3d-2p orbital hybridization, thereby giving moderate bonding strength to enhance the ORR activity.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3733-2
Irreversible sodium loss, primarily caused by solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation during initial cycling, significantly degrades the capacity of sodium-ion batteries by depleting active sodium. While pre-sodiation mitigates initial sodium loss, it fails to address continuous loss throughout the battery lifecycle. To overcome this limitation, we propose a sustained sodium compensation strategy utilizing activation-releasing systems. Key to this approach are high-capacity sodium compensators, Na2C2O4 and Na2C4O4, supported on a B and N co-doped Mo2C-W2C (MoW-C) heterostructure catalyst. This configuration enables efficient sodium release at charging voltages of 3.53 and 3.78 V, respectively. By integrating the sodium supplement agent onto the separator, and precisely controlling voltage and charge, multiple sodium replenishment is achieved over the entire battery lifecycle. This strategy reduces initial active sodium loss by 36.53%. Furthermore, a single activation during subsequent usage provides an additional 0.115 mAh cm−2 of active sodium. As a result, the cell exhibits exceptional cycling stability, with a capacity loss of only 0.059% per cycle over 350 cycles at 0.5 C.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3719-8
The proliferation of 5G communications and smart electronic devices has intensified electromagnetic wave (EMW) pollution, necessitating microwave absorption materials (MAMs) with high efficiency, lightweight, and flexibility. Traditional MAMs suffer from high density and narrow effective absorption bandwidth (EAB). This work presents a lightweight, flexible microwave-absorbing composite fabricated by in-situ polymerization foaming of polyurethane (PU) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and flaky carbonyl iron (FCI). The hierarchical PU composite foam, designated 3*PFC 0.5-1.0-1.5, achieves an EAB of 15.7 GHz, covering 98.1% of the tested 2–18 GHz range, including S, C, X, and Ku bands. This performance stems from synergistic conductive and magnetic losses, along with impedance matching facilitated by the hierarchical porous structure. The composite maintains low density and high compressibility, offering a promising solution for EMW absorption in 5G, military stealth, and smart devices. The in-situ method ensures strong interfacial adhesion between fillers and matrix, enhancing durability compared to impregnation methods. This study demonstrates a scalable approach to fabricate high-performance MAMs with broad bandwidth and mechanical robustness.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3652-2
Existing robotic end-effector gripping technologies often encounter challenges such as poor adaptability to environmental changes, incomplete deformation sensing, and insufficient adhesion stability, which can compromise operational safety and reliability. Here, we present the bio-inspired self-sensing suction cup, in which the core self-sensing capability is achieved by combining high-performance, laser-induced graphene/Ag NWs flexible sensors with a Wheatstone bridge design. The flexible sensors provide high sensitivity, while the Wheatstone bridge circuit enables accurate and stable detection of deformation during the gripping process. Integrated into the octopus-inspired suction cup, this system allows for real-time monitoring of deformation and adsorption stability. The self-sensing suction cup demonstrates good performance across a 0–25 kPa negative pressure range, with outstanding linearity (R2 = 0.993) and high sensitivity (GF = 10.436 kPa−1). Experimental results confirm that the suction cup can achieve stable adsorption under varying loads and enable real-time monitoring of the suction cup status during the gripping process. This design provides a promising solution for intelligent gripping systems, logistics, and object recognition in challenging environments.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3860-0
Drug detection is critical for public health and security, yet reversible and highly sensitive sensing materials remain scarce. This study presents a novel ionogel sensor material, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA)/1-butyl-3-methylimidazole tetrafluoroborate, for reproducible detection of N-methylphenylethylamine (MPEA), a structural analogue of methamphetamine. The ionogel is fabricated by immobilizing a flowable ionic liquid within a PEGDA network via UV curing, preserving ionic mobility for efficient conduction. Integrated on a flexible poly(ethylene naphthalate) substrate, the sensor exhibits over 72.6% transmittance in the visible spectrum, enabling concealed attachment. Utilizing non-covalent interactions, the sensor achieves reproducible MPEA detection at sub-ppb levels at room temperature, with a theoretical detection limit of 317 ppt. It demonstrates high selectivity and consistency. Ionic conductivity was confirmed via current-voltage tests and impedance spectroscopy, and the sensing mechanism was clarified. The device maintains reliable performance under bending, indicating suitability for dynamic environments. With Bluetooth integration for wireless data transmission, the sensor shows strong potential for practical, discreet drug monitoring in real-world applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3598-1
Embedding a dielectric layer between as-synthesized graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and metal surfaces represents a powerful strategy to achieve electronic decoupling, thereby enabling the extraction of these ribbons' intrinsic electrical properties. Although several reports have documented dielectric intercalation between GNRs and metal substrates, studies on Ag(111) substrates are limited. Here, we demonstrate a semiconducting AgTe monolayer intercalation method to achieve electronic decoupling between as-synthesized GNRs and an Ag(111) substrate. Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, we directly observed the AgTe intercalation process at the GNR/Ag(111) interface. By combining scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, we elucidate the critical role of AgTe monolayer intercalation in reducing the interaction between as-synthesized GNRs and the Ag(111) substrate and observe the near-intrinsic electrical properties of the GNRs. Our findings offer a practical and effective strategy for intercalating AgTe monolayers between carbon-based nanomaterials and Ag(111) substrates, facilitating the unambiguous characterization of the near-intrinsic electronic properties of these materials.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3722-3
Magnesium alloys are promising biodegradable bone implant materials due to their biocompatibility and mechanical compatibility, but rapid degradation and postoperative bacterial infection limit clinical application. Here, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PD) composite coatings (ZIF-8@PD) were fabricated in situ on micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coated AZ31 alloys via two-step and one-step (OS) methods. The MAO/ZIF-8@PD and MAO/ZIF-8@PD (OS) coatings reduced corrosion current density by three and two orders of magnitude, respectively, compared to MAO coating, due to the physical barrier of the 2D-co-3D MOF structure. Under 808 nm near-infrared laser irradiation, photothermal and photodynamic effects from PD, combined with contact killing by released Zn2+ ions, achieved bactericidal rates ≥99.5% against E. coli and S. aureus. Photothermal conversion efficiencies were 44.01% and 48.57% for the two-step and one-step coatings, respectively. The distinct Zn2+ sources led to different 2D-co-3D MOF structures, influencing degradation and antibacterial behavior. These coatings offer a strategy to enhance corrosion resistance and antibacterial activity of Mg alloys for biomedical applications.
New Carbon Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5805(26)61072-4
Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) typically feature a hybrid design, incorporating a battery-type anode that operates by faradaic redox reactions and an activated carbon cathode that functions through electrical double-layer (EDL) adsorption/desorption. However, the kinetics of faradaic processes are inherently slower than those of EDL processes, leading to a fundamental problem known as kinetic imbalance between the electrodes, which hinders the development of high-performance SICs. To address this, we synthesized composites of bismuth nanoparticles in N-doped carbon (Bi@NC) by a high-temperature sintering method. The resulting Bi@NC anode has a specific capacity of 300 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, an exceptional rate capability (maintaining performance at currents exceeding 75 A g−1), and outstanding cycling stability over 12,000 cycles. Three-electrode Swagelok cell tests revealed that this high-rate Bi@NC composite effectively decreases the kinetic gap with the activated carbon cathode, as shown by an analysis of their respective potential swing windows (vs. Na/Na+). This enables the fabricated SIC to achieve a maximum energy density of 115 Wh kg−1, a peak power density of 45,535 W kg−1, and a long cycle life exceeding 8,000 cycles.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3702-0
Construction of metal-mediated redox sites is an appealing approach to enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction coupled with H2O oxidation. However, conventional static redox sites generally lack spatiotemporal matching during reaction processes due to the constraints of rigid structure and the linear scaling relationship of adsorbed species. Herein, an alkanolamine-Ir synergistic system was developed, where flexible monoethanolamine (MEA) molecules function as molecular ferries to selectively adsorb CO2 via carbamate formation, while adjacent Ir nanoparticles (NPs) serve as H spillover hubs that relay protons, creating spatiotemporal adaptability that synchronizes CO2 reduction and water oxidation. In addition, time-resolved in situ spectroscopy directly captures the rapid transformation of carbamate intermediates concurrent with sustained IrOOH intermediates formation. Microkinetic modeling further demonstrates that the MEA-Ir modified system (M-Ir/ACN) creates interconnected H spillover networks between Ir NPs and MEA, facilitating efficient proton transport that drives *COOH formation with a favorable thermodynamic energy. As a result, the M-Ir/ACN achieves a 20-fold increase in CO production compared to the pristine sample while maintaining high stability throughout 45 h of continuous operation. This study presents that flexible molecular ferries boost CO2 adsorption, and deciphers how flexible molecular-metal synergy directs the trafficking of CO2-derived intermediates toward highly efficient CO2 photoreduction.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3685-7
NiMo-based catalysts are promising for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), yet optimizing their electronic structure and enhancing mass transfer remain challenging. Here, we report a route to synthesize two-dimensional (2D) porous Mo2N-Ni heterojunction nanosheets with tuned Ni/Mo ratio for enhanced alkaline HER. The precursor is assembled from polyoxometalate clusters (PMo12) and layered Ni(OH)2. The interaction between PMo12 and Ni(OH)2 suppresses particle agglomeration during pyrolysis, yielding 2D porous sheets composed of small Mo2N-Ni units. Electron transfer from Ni to Mo2N redistributes electrons at the heterojunction, optimizing intermediate adsorption/desorption. The porous structure enhances mass transfer, reducing catalyst impedance. The optimized catalyst exhibits an overpotential of 19 mV at 10 mA cm−2, comparable to commercial Pt/C. An anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer pairing this catalyst with NiFe-LDH achieves 500 mA cm−2 at 1.80 V and operates stably for 300 h. This assembly method offers a scalable strategy for efficient catalyst production.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3678-1
Reed membrane, a natural cellulosic material traditionally used in musical instruments, holds promise in flexible electronics due to its abundance, low cost, and excellent biocompatibility. However, its native form contains water-soluble ions and lipid-soluble waxes that hinder performance in acoustic and electronics by compromising electrical insulation and mechanical stability. Here, supercritical fluid superposition purification (SCSP-WA) is introduced, which utilizes supercritical CO2 with water and acetone as bipolar co-solvents to selectively remove these impurities. Post-SCSP-WA treatment, the reed membrane exhibits significant enhancements in mechanical strength and electrical insulation, achieving a 4-fold increase in elongation at break, improved tensile strength and Young’s modulus, and a 98.5% reduction in leakage current, all while maintaining low and stable capacitance. These improvements stem from the restructuring of the fibrous network into a porous, interconnected microstructure. Material characterization (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) confirmed the effective removal of magnesium and waxy functional groups, along with enhanced fiber crosslinking. Cytotoxicity tests further validated the biocompatibility of the SCSP-WA-treated membranes. This environmentally sustainable approach expands the potential of reed membranes in flexible bioelectronics and bio-integrated acoustic systems.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3887-6
The proliferation of 5G/6G communications and radar systems has intensified electromagnetic wave (EMW) leakage, interference, and thermal management challenges. This study presents a 3D MXene sponge/NiFe@NC heterostructure with tunable pore architecture, fabricated by pyrolyzing a polyurethane (PU) foam template uniformly coated with NiFe-decorated Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets. The resulting porous dielectric-magnetic network integrates interconnected MXene pathways with uniformly dispersed NiFe@NC nanoparticles, enabling synergistic dielectric-magnetic loss via conduction loss, dipole/interface polarization, and magnetic loss. Precise pore structure design enhances impedance matching and promotes multi-scattering and internal reflection of EMWs. An 'EMW-pore matching' mechanism is proposed, where pore size governs impedance matching at specific frequencies, enabling tunable absorption performance. The optimized absorber achieves a reflection loss (RL) of -67.84 dB, while radar cross-section (RCS) simulations confirm exceptional attenuation and stealth potential. Additionally, the 3D skeleton derived from PU foam confers remarkable thermal resistance and flame retardancy. This pore-regulation strategy provides a scalable route to designing lightweight, broadband, and thermally stable EMW absorbers for next-generation communication and stealth applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3760-y
Layered chalcogenide compounds have attracted considerable attention for optoelectronic applications due to their rich structural diversity and unique physical properties, including high carrier mobility, ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and outstanding optoelectronic and thermoelectric performance. Their tunable bandgaps and strong light absorption render them highly suitable for next-generation photodetectors. However, the environmental instability of many 2D chalcogenides poses a critical challenge for practical applications. In this work, we report a high-performance, polarization-sensitive photodetector based on an air-stable ternary chalcogenide FeIn2Se4. Angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy reveals that the four characteristic Raman modes exhibit a 60° periodic variation in intensity, highlighting the material's pronounced in-plane anisotropy. Benefiting from its strong absorption over a broad spectral range (510–1028 nm), the FeIn2Se4-based device demonstrates reliable photoresponse under multiple excitation wavelengths (405, 473, 515, and 638 nm), showcasing its wideband detection capabilities. Furthermore, XPS measurements after prolonged air exposure confirm the enhanced chemical stability of FeIn2Se4 compared to binary chalcogenides. These findings demonstrate that 2D ternary FeIn2Se4 is an excellent candidate for advanced anisotropic optoelectronic devices, offering broadband photodetection, robust polarization sensitivity, and excellent environmental resilience.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3767-9
Progressive skin fibrosis ultimately results in irreversible contractures, causing both joint dysfunction and cosmetic deformity. The key pathological features of skin fibrosis include persistent inflammation and abnormal accumulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) playing a critical role in disease progression. However, current therapeutic strategies for cutaneous fibrosis are largely palliative and often require repeated interventions, with limited efficacy. Celastrol (Cel) exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in skin tissue, but its clinical application is limited by poor bioavailability and a narrow therapeutic window. Tetrahedral framework nucleic acid (tFNA), a novel nanocarrier system, exhibits multiple advantages, including enhanced cellular uptake, improved cell viability, and intrinsic anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, this study applied tFNA-Cel complex (TCC) as an advanced nanotherapeutic agent, designed to exert a synergistic anti-fibrotic effect. In this study, an in vitro model of skin fibrosis was established using human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells treated with 5 ng mL−1 transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) for 24 h. The results showed that TCC significantly inhibited EMT progression by reducing α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels and increasing E-cadherin level. Compared to tFNA or Cel alone, TCC exhibited superior anti-fibrotic effects in the fibrosis model, as evidenced by modulation of SMAD family member 2 (SMAD2) signaling and collagen I expression. Furthermore, the TCC group showed lower levels of nuclear factor κB p65 (NF-κB p65), BCL-2-associated X protein (Bax), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to the Cel or tFNA groups. These findings highlight TCC as a promising treatment for skin fibrosis, with its synergistic anti-fibrotic effects providing new therapeutic avenues.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202507059
Anaerobic digestion sludge (ADS) contains recalcitrant organic matter and exhibits poor dewaterability, posing challenges for disposal. This study evaluated the immobilization of white rot fungi (WRF) on four carriers—polyvinyl alcohol, cotton thread, wood chips, and sodium alginate—for ADS treatment. Cotton thread immobilization yielded the earliest and most sustained enzyme activity, highest biomass retention, and minimal biomass loss. WRF treatment achieved a 10.09% removal of total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) and significantly disrupted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), selectively degrading soluble EPS. To maintain fungal activity, periodic carrier replacement was required. Compared to the control, the experimental group showed an 8.9 mg·L−1 reduction in total protein and polysaccharide content in soluble EPS, a 27.33% decrease in capillary suction time (CST), and improved sludge dewaterability. These results demonstrate the potential of WRF for ADS treatment.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202506020
The rotary kiln roasting of lepidolite for lithium extraction faces challenges of unstable lithium conversion rates and high energy consumption. To address this, a multi-objective optimization method coupling improved neural network simulation with a multi-objective genetic algorithm was proposed, targeting the synergistic optimization of lithium conversion rate (TRLi) and natural gas consumption intensity (EIng). Using long-term industrial time-series data of batching parameters and kiln operating variables, back-propagation (BP) neural network and its particle swarm optimization (PSO) improved variant were developed to model TRLi and EIng. The PSO-BP model demonstrated superior accuracy in capturing the complex nonlinear relationships, reducing mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) to 0.278 and 0.284 for TRLi and EIng, respectively. Subsequently, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) was employed to construct a multi-objective optimization model, yielding a Pareto-optimal set of process parameters that maximize TRLi and minimize EIng. The results revealed that under NSGA-II optimized conditions, TRLi could be stabilized between 82.45% and 87.96%, an average increase of 3.61 percentage points over baseline operations, while EIng could be reduced to 53.7 m3 per ton of clinker. For an annual processing capacity of 3.2×105 tons of lepidolite concentrate and sulfate mixture, this corresponds to an additional 127.1 tons of lithium metal recovery, a reduction of 1,964,912 m3 in natural gas consumption, and a decrease of 3,763.84 tons in CO2 emissions annually. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the green, high-quality, and low-carbon supply of critical raw materials for the lithium battery new energy industry.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202507043
Municipal sludge with high moisture content and strong viscosity tends to form a dense crust during conventional rotary drum drying, reducing heat and mass transfer efficiency and prolonging drying time. This study proposes a thermal steel ball-enhanced rotary drum drying method that introduces high heat capacity, high thermal conductivity steel balls to achieve synergistic contact heat conduction and mechanical disturbance. An evaluation system incorporating dimensionless moisture ratio (MR), drying rate (DR), characteristic drying time (tdry), effective moisture diffusivity (Deff), and volumetric evaporation intensity (U) was established. Results show that compared with conventional drying, steel ball-enhanced drying increased maximum drying rate (DRmax) by 22.59%–41.19%, U by 38.06%–93.43%, and shortened tdry by 27.56%–48.30%, with more pronounced advantages under high load conditions. Deff was significantly higher throughout the process, with maximum increase up to 48.30%, indicating that ball rolling and collision effectively disrupt the crust and promote moisture migration. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the performance enhancement arises from the dual action of thermal-mechanical coupling and mechanical disturbance, which enhances local heat flux via contact conduction and dynamically renews the drying interface, shortening diffusion paths. This study elucidates the heat and mass transfer mechanisms of thermal steel ball-enhanced sludge drying, providing theoretical support and technical reference for efficient sludge volume reduction and dryer design optimization.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202507029
This study systematically evaluates the environmental risks associated with the resource utilization of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash in the production of aerated concrete, co-prepared with multiple solid wastes. The focus is on the leaching behavior and total content of heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn) under CO2 curing and chelating agent stabilization. Water washing pretreatment parameters (liquid-to-solid ratio, washing time, ash-to-slag ratio) were optimized for chloride removal. Results demonstrate that CO2 curing suppresses the leaching of most metals; leaching concentrations of Cr, Pb, Cd, and Zn decrease with reduced fly ash content, whereas Cu leaching increases when fly ash is absent. The addition of 17.5% organic sulfur stabilizer (DTC) significantly outperforms inorganic sulfide (Na2S) in immobilizing heavy metals, achieving compliance with national standards without compromising compressive strength or carbon sequestration. Water washing effectively reduces soluble chloride content to below 1% (mass fraction), meeting the HJ 1134-2020 regulatory limit. Optimal parameters include a liquid-to-solid ratio of 5, washing time of 20 min, and a raw material ratio of incineration bottom slag:fly ash:slag = 40:20:40. Under these conditions, the final product exhibits a compressive strength of 1.50 MPa, with heavy metals and soluble chlorides fully compliant. This work provides key technical support for the safe recycling of MSWI fly ash in building materials.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025111002
Epidemiological studies have established a significant association between exposure to environmental pollutants (EP) and the risk of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). This study integrates network toxicology and multi-omics analysis to elucidate the EP-LUAD molecular regulatory network and identify key regulatory genes, thereby revealing novel mechanisms of environmental carcinogenesis. Transcriptomic data from GEO and TCGA databases yielded 4,971 and 4,488 disease-related targets, respectively. Integration of toxicology databases (TargetNet, Swiss Target Prediction, CTD, SEA) identified 24,860 potential targets for eight common pollutants (SO2, NO, CO, NO2, O3, benzene, toluene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Intersection of these datasets produced 1,536 EP-LUAD common target genes. Protein-protein interaction network analysis identified 247 core targets. Machine learning selected five key genes: AGER, CAV1, CD44, CEP55, and GNB3, which demonstrated robust diagnostic and prognostic efficacy. Their expression correlated with immune cell infiltration, including CD4+ memory T cells and macrophages. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed epithelial cell-specific expression patterns. Molecular docking confirmed stable pollutant-target binding, with PAH showing highest affinity for CD44 (binding energy −9.32 kcal·mol−1) and GNB3 (−8.32 kcal·mol−1). These findings establish AGER, CAV1, CD44, CEP55, and GNB3 as core molecular mediators of pollution-related LUAD. The high-affinity binding of PAH to CD44 and GNB3 underscores its carcinogenic potential. This study constructs a multi-level regulatory network for EP-LUAD, revealing underlying molecular mechanisms and providing novel potential targets and theoretical basis for early warning and intervention.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025121001
Ion chromatography (IC) is the core analytical method for qualitative and quantitative determination of anions in complex water environments, and its separation efficiency highly depends on the performance of the stationary phase. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in the preparation and functionalization of IC stationary phases, addressing the urgent need for high selectivity and sensitivity in water anion analysis. The characteristics of organic polymer-based and inorganic-based matrices are compared, highlighting the advantages of polymer matrices such as poly(methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB), and ethylvinylbenzene-divinylbenzene (EVB-DVB) in terms of wide pH tolerance (e.g., pH 0–14 for PS-DVB) and organic solvent compatibility, which allow the use of strong acid or base eluents. Various functionalization strategies are discussed, including the introduction of quaternary ammonium groups, hydrophilic modifications, and grafting of functional layers, which enhance separation selectivity and detection capability. The review also covers the development of hybrid stationary phases and the application of IC in monitoring trace pollutants in water, such as bromate, chlorite, chlorate, fluoride, and nitrate, as regulated by Chinese standards (GB 5749—2022). Future trends are projected, focusing on novel materials for precise identification and high-throughput monitoring. The paper provides a comprehensive reference for the design of high-performance stationary phases, emphasizing the importance of matrix selection and surface chemistry in achieving robust and sensitive anion analysis.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2024092906
Microplastic pollution in rivers and lakes has become a research hotspot, yet studies in Anhui Province have predominantly focused on northern and central regions, leaving southern Anhui under-investigated. This study addresses that gap by examining the Xin'an River in Huangshan City, a typical river in southern Anhui. Surface water and sediment samples were collected in December 2023. In surface water, microplastic concentrations ranged from 350 to 3700 n·m−3, with particles of 0–0.5 mm dominating (33.93%). Fibrous shapes were most prevalent (59.83%), and colored particles accounted for 50.27%. In sediments, concentrations ranged from 25 to 200 n·kg−1, with 0–0.5 mm particles again dominant (49.63%). Fibers comprised 47.08% of sediment microplastics, and white particles accounted for 34.74%. Polymer analysis identified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the most abundant material (36.61%), followed by polyamide (PA) (23.22%). Source analysis suggests that fibrous microplastics originate primarily from fiber-based products such as clothing, home textiles, and fishing nets. These findings provide essential baseline data for water resource management, pollution assessment, and ecological remediation of the Xin'an River.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025122101
Phenolic compounds, widely used in petrochemical, textile, and pharmaceutical industries, pose severe risks to ecosystems and human health due to their toxicity and persistence. Traditional Fe2+-mediated Fenton oxidation, while effective, suffers from external H2O2 and Fe2+ addition, low H2O2 utilization, narrow pH adaptability, and iron sludge generation. This study develops a g-C3N4-based heterogeneous photo-Fenton system that operates without external H2O2 or Fe2+ salts, exhibiting a wide pH range and minimal iron sludge. The synthesized Fe3O4@UiO/IKCN catalyst, under visible light, selectively reduces dissolved oxygen to H2O2 via a two-electron pathway and activates it to hydroxyl radicals (·OH), achieving efficient degradation of phenolic compounds. The integration of photocatalytic H2O2 formation and Fenton activation enables sustained production of oxidative species, demonstrating superior performance at circumneutral pH. This work provides new insights into the rational design of heterogeneous Z-scheme photo-Fenton catalysts and offers experimental and theoretical support for photocatalytic H2O2 synthesis and phenolic wastewater treatment.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2024122402
Carbamazepine (CBZ), a typical emerging contaminant, poses significant environmental and health risks due to its frequent detection, high toxicity, and resistance to conventional degradation. This study synthesized a composite material (PH-BC3-600) via high-temperature pyrolysis of mining waste pyrite and discarded Polygonatum kingianum dregs biochar. The composite was employed to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for CBZ degradation. Results demonstrated that biochar incorporation provided pyrite with more active sites, achieving 88.19% removal of 2.5 mg·L−1 CBZ within 5 minutes, with excellent resistance to Cl−, NO3−, and humic acid. Quenching experiments confirmed the involvement of ·OH, SO4·−, 1O2, and e− in the degradation process. The biochar increased the content of highly reductive sulfur species (S2−, S2−2, Sn2−) in PH-BC3-600, facilitating the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) and thereby enhancing PMS activation. Additionally, PH-BC3-600 exhibited lower iron leaching compared to traditional pyrite-based materials, overcoming a key drawback of conventional catalysts. This study highlights the promising potential of PH-BC3-600 for activating PMS in the treatment of emerging contaminants in water.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202604001
This study systematically investigated the occurrence, spatial distribution, sources, and ecological risks of 160 pesticides in Dianchi Lake, a typical plateau lake impacted by agricultural activities. A total of 37 pesticides were detected in the water, with total concentrations ranging from 64.2 to 1132.8 ng/L (average 610.0 ng/L). Fungicides, including boscalid (BOS), fluopicolide (FPC), and dimethomorph (DMM), were dominant, contributing up to 65.0% of the total concentration. Spatially, the southern lake region exhibited significantly higher concentrations (672.5 ng/L) than the north, attributed to intensive facility agriculture. Highly hydrophobic pesticides, such as penconazole (PEN), showed a tendency to enrich in bottom layers. Source apportionment identified inflowing rivers and wastewater treatment plant effluents as primary input sources, with average concentrations 7 and 9 times higher than lake water, respectively. Ecological risk assessment revealed that pesticides posed the highest risk to algae, followed by daphnia and fish. Prometryn (PMT) was identified as a high-risk factor for algae, while profenofos (PFF) and carbendazim (CBD) posed potential threats to higher trophic levels. These findings provide fundamental data and technical support for understanding pesticide pollution in plateau lake ecosystems.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202604026
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants ubiquitously present in soils, posing severe risks to ecosystems and human health. This study synthesized MIL-88A(Fe) via a hydrothermal solvent method and applied it to the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene-pyrene (PHE-PYR) composite contaminants in soil, investigating the adsorption-photocatalytic synergy. Results demonstrated that adsorption of PHE-PYR onto MIL-88A(Fe) was dominated by physical and monolayer surface adsorption, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 97.25 mg/kg. This strong adsorption increased pollutant concentration near active sites, accelerating photocatalytic degradation. Under optimal conditions—3% catalyst dosage, 40% soil water content, 60 min visible light irradiation, initial pollutant concentration of 200 mg/kg, and acidic soil—the total degradation efficiency reached 79.20%. Photoelectrochemical characterization revealed significant visible-light response (200–600 nm), a narrow bandgap of 3.04 eV, and favorable band structure facilitating efficient electron-hole separation. Quenching experiments identified superoxide radicals (·O2−) and holes (h+) as primary reactive species. GC-MS analysis of intermediates indicated that PYR undergoes hydroxylation, oxidation, and ring-opening to form PHE, which is further hydroxylated and oxidized, ultimately mineralizing to CO2 and H2O. This work provides an efficient strategy for remediating PAH-contaminated soils.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202604028
Accurate accounting of county-level carbon budgets and their spatio-temporal evolution is essential for formulating low-carbon development strategies tailored to each division and achieving carbon peak and neutrality goals. This study constructed a comprehensive, accurate, and unified model to measure terrestrial ecosystem carbon absorption, anthropogenic carbon emissions, and net carbon budget from 2010 to 2020 across the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and its divisions. Results indicate: (1) Terrestrial ecosystems consistently acted as net carbon sinks, but total carbon absorption declined slowly, with carbon sequestration capacity persistently decreasing. Cultivated land, the sole carbon source, expanded rapidly into forests and grasslands. Anthropogenic carbon emissions rose steadily, with growth rates sharply decelerating after 2015, exhibiting a spatial pattern of "high in the north and east, low in the south and west." (2) Total carbon emissions/absorptions increased rapidly from 2010 to 2015, then slowed from 2015 to 2020. Energy consumption dominated, contributing over 95% of emissions in each division and 99% regionally. High-emission zones expanded eastward from the 8th Division in the Junggar Basin; by 2020, the 8th, 13th, and 6th Divisions, occupying 26.52% of the land area, carried 78.16% of net carbon emissions, marking them as high-density emission zones. (3) Carbon balance zoning in 2020 identified one carbon sink functional zone, nine low-carbon maintenance zones, and three high-carbon optimization zones, the latter concentrated in a strip in the central-eastern region covering 26.52% of the area.
The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225204
Cobalt-doped silica aerogel (Co@Si-A) catalysts were synthesized via a one-step sol-gel method and applied for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to degrade tetracycline (TC). The catalyst with 25 wt% cobalt doping (25Co@Si-A) exhibited superior catalytic performance, achieving 98.97% TC degradation within 30 min under specified conditions (TC 10 mg/L, 100 mL). Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis revealed a high specific surface area and well-developed porous architecture with nano-confined spaces. The 25Co@Si-A/PMS system demonstrated outstanding adaptability across a broad pH range (5–9), maintaining >95% degradation efficiency, and showed strong resistance to sulfate and nitrate ions. In real water matrices, degradation efficiency remained around 80%. After five consecutive cycles, the system retained 82.33% degradation efficiency, with cobalt ion leaching of only 23.7 μg/L in the first cycle, indicating excellent stability. Mechanistic studies using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), radical quenching, and probe compound tests confirmed a synergistic radical and non-radical pathway. The primary reactive species were sulfate radicals (SO4•−), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), and singlet oxygen (1O2), with contributions of 58.53%, 9.79%, and 31.68%, respectively. Electrochemical tests indicated that 25Co@Si-A exhibited superior charge transfer compared to Co3O4, attributed to the nano-confined effect of the silica aerogel, which enhanced Co(II)/Co(III) redox cycling and PMS activation. This research provides a promising strategy for utilizing silica aerogel-based catalysts in advanced oxidation processes for water treatment.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3449-5
The escalating demand for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in portable electronics and electric vehicles has driven extensive research into advanced electrolytes. Ionic liquids (ILs) and their derived electrolytes, including poly(ionic liquids), ionogels, and IL-functionalized systems, offer significant potential for enhancing the safety and electrochemical performance of LIBs due to their unique properties such as non-volatility, wide electrochemical windows, and excellent thermal stability. These properties enable safer, high-energy, and long-lasting batteries. This review conducts a thorough analysis of the physicochemical properties of ILs and their versatile applications in electrolytes, particularly emphasizing their adaptability to fulfill the specific needs of different battery systems. In liquid electrolyte systems, ILs can function as solvents, interfacial modifiers, and critical components for constructing artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). In (quasi-)solid-state electrolyte systems, ILs can be polymerized to form poly(ionic liquid)s or integrated with organic, inorganic, or composite materials to develop IL-based electrolytes, demonstrating multifunctional electrochemical performance. Finally, the review critically examines the challenges and opportunities in this field, offering insightful perspectives for future advancements.
The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225221
The proliferation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in portable electronics and electric vehicles has generated a pressing need for sustainable recycling of spent batteries. Conventional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical routes suffer from low metal recovery efficiencies or require additional precipitants. This study introduces a clean and efficient process for recovering lithium (Li) and cobalt (Co) from spent LiCoO2 cathode materials using a choline chloride-oxalic acid-water (ChCl-OA-H2O) deep eutectic solvent (DES). The method exploits selective precipitation of Co as cobalt oxalate dihydrate (CoC2O4·2H2O) followed by water-content-regulated recovery of Li as lithium oxalate (Li2C2O4) via evaporation crystallization, eliminating the need for external precipitants. Under optimized conditions (molar ratio 1:1:8, solid-liquid ratio 100 g/L, 90 °C, 6.5 h), the leaching efficiency of Li reached 99.4%, with recovery efficiencies of 88.3% for Li and 97.8% for Co. The DES system demonstrated robust cycling stability, maintaining Li and Co recoveries of 78.1% and 92.8% after six regeneration cycles. This work provides a low-pollution, economically viable pathway for LIB recycling, contributing to resource sustainability and offering significant industrial potential.
The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225246
The development of efficient catalyst classification technologies is crucial for optimizing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and catalytic pyrolysis coupling processes, where distinct particle size distributions are required for different reaction pathways. In this study, a large-scale cold-model experimental platform of a multi-arm vortex separator is established to explore the influence of operating conditions on classification behavior. Systematic experiments are conducted by changing ejection gas velocity (8~20 m/s), inlet particle concentration (30~70 g/m3), and bed linear velocity (0.15~0.25 m/s). The results demonstrate that ejection gas velocity governs classification sharpness by controlling the entrainment of fines within the coarse fraction. The increase in ejection gas velocity enlarges the upward axial gas velocity inside the device, thereby enhancing the entrainment effect on particles near the vortex arm outlets. Increasing the ejection gas velocity from 12 to 16 m/s reduces proportion of fine particles in coarse components from 14% to 12%. The inlet particle concentration imposes competing effects on classification performance: while higher concentrations promote agglomeration and modify turbulence distribution, excessive loading intensifies fine-particle entrainment, thereby diminishing classification selectivity. The system maintains stable pressure drop characteristics under different bed linear velocities, with the pressure drop increasing by maximum of about 15% when the bed linear velocity is raised from 0.15 m/s to 0.25 m/s. Analysis of grade efficiency curves reveals classical S-shaped profiles with cut sizes (dc50) shifting under different operating regimes. Higher particle concentrations reduces dc50, favoring fine-particle removal, while higher ejection gas velocities enlarge dc50, moving the classification boundary toward larger sizes. These findings confirm the synergistic effect of ejection gas velocity and inlet concentration, highlighting that rational parameter matching can simultaneously improve efficiency and selectivity. Beyond the experimental findings, this work emphasizes the broader applicability of multi-arm vortex separators in refining and petrochemical processes. By enabling precise adjustment of particle size distribution, the system offers a promising pathway for enhancing catalyst utilization, extending catalyst lifetime, and facilitating process intensification in coupled FCC-pyrolysis units.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3935-1
Silk fibroin (SF)-based hydrogels are promising for biological interfaces, yet achieving multifunctionality—mechanical robustness, adhesion, conductivity, and stability—often requires chemical modification that compromises biocompatibility. Here, we report a protonation-mediated SF/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel adhesive that retains natural silk properties while gaining tailored functionalities. The physically crosslinked network is formed solely via molecular interactions, with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) as a protonation agent to modulate hydrogen bonding, enabling precise control over adhesion, mechanical strength, and electronic conductivity. Glycerol (Gly) is incorporated as a moisturizing agent to enhance long-term stability for skin applications. The resulting hydrogel exhibits excellent performance in monitoring electrophysiological signals, including electrocardiogram (ECG), electromyogram (EMG), and electroencephalogram (EEG), demonstrating its potential as a platform for advanced biological interfaces. This work addresses the critical challenge of developing SF-based hydrogels that combine natural advantages with multifunctionality, offering a promising route for wearable health monitors and human-machine interfaces.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3882-y
Organic semiconductor crystals with well-defined morphologies are highly desirable for high-performance optoelectronic devices, yet precise control over their growth remains a challenge. Here, a novel donor-acceptor (D-A) molecule, TQDPT, has been successfully developed, featuring a rigid π-conjugated acceptor core composed of thiazoloquinoxaline and naphthalene, coupled with phenylphenothiazine donors. This study presents a temperature-mediated crystallization strategy for precisely controlling the morphology and carrier transport properties of TQDPT single crystals. By systematically investigating the growth kinetics across a controlled temperature range (15–35°C), we reveal a distinct transition from needle-like structures to plate-like crystals, with tunable average widths spanning from around 2.8 to 30.1 μm. This morphological evolution is driven by temperature-dependent molecular diffusion and nucleation kinetics. Significantly, the plate-like crystals grown at 25°C exhibit an order-of-magnitude enhancement in mobility compared to needle-like counterparts, while higher temperatures of 35°C yield broader crystals with improved carrier mobility and device stability. This work highlights the critical role of temperature as a pivotal parameter in the dimensional and electronic optimization of organic crystals, offering an attractive approach to optimize functional materials for advanced optoelectronics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4054-x
The sluggish kinetics and high onset potentials of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode of alkaline water/seawater electrolyzers limit overall energy efficiency. Noble-metal oxides like RuO2 are active but suffer from high cost, agglomeration, and dissolution under oxidizing potentials, especially in chloride-rich electrolytes where competing chloride oxidation reaction (ClOR) occurs. Here, we report a mild two-step dry-wet milling strategy to achieve throughout lattice doping of F− into MnO2 (F-MnO2) and subsequent anchoring of atomically dispersed Ru via Ru–O/F hybrid bonds. The strengthened Mn 3d–O/F 2p hybridization and negative charge shielding of surface F− enhance OER activity/selectivity relative to ClOR and impart superior Cl− tolerance and corrosion resistance. The resulting F-Ru-MnO2-TH electrocatalyst exhibits overpotentials of 280 mV and 200 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline water and simulated seawater, respectively. It retains ~100% of initial activity after 200 h continuous operation in alkaline media and >95% after 300 h in simulated seawater, significantly outperforming Ru-MnO2 and commercial RuO2. This work provides a scalable route to durable, high-performance OER catalysts for seawater electrolysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3646-1
Repairing cartilage defects requires biomaterials with mechanical properties similar to native cartilage. However, balancing these properties with biodegradability remains a major challenge. In this study, a degradable antibacterial hydrogel with promising mechanical characteristics was developed for personalized cartilage defect repair. The hydrogel was synthesized using chitosan and gelatin via microcrystallization and gelation, combined with chemical crosslinking facilitated by epichlorohydrin. This method significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the material, with compressive modulus of the optimal group reaching 0.2 MPa and tensile strength reaching 2.2 MPa, which are comparable to those of human cartilage. The hydrogel maintained its integrity after 50000 compression cycles. With excellent flowability prior to crosslinking, it can adapt to complex cartilage defects. The inclusion of gentamicin provides antibacterial properties, while nano-hydroxyapatite promotes osteogenesis. This hydrogel, with its multiple crosslinking mechanisms, balances mechanical strength, biodegradability, and adaptability, offering a promising solution for repairing infected cartilage defects.
New Carbon Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5805(26)61100-6
Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) are attractive for low-cost and safe energy storage, but their practical development is limited by sluggish Na+ storage kinetics and structural instability of anodes. Control of both bulk structure and surface chemistry can address these limitations. We report a heteroatom-rich porous carbon (HRPC) derived from spores via hydrothermal pretreatment, low-temperature carbonization, and acid-mediated functionalization. The optimized GLSHC-HNO3 anode exhibits hierarchical porosity and multi-element co-doping, enabling rapid ion/electron transport, improved electrolyte wettability, and abundant Na+ adsorption sites. Density functional theory calculations reveal distinct contributions of different heteroatom configurations to sodium adsorption. The HRPC anode delivers an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 446.1 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, retains 237.3 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1, and shows excellent cycling stability. A full SIC with a polyaniline-derived porous carbon cathode achieves an energy density of 114.4 Wh kg−1 at 290 W kg−1, 43.1 Wh kg−1 at 1450 W kg−1, and a maximum power density of 5800 W kg−1, with 84.3% capacity retention after 5000 cycles and nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency. This work establishes a scalable, sustainable route for converting biomass into high-value carbon anodes, providing a new pathway for high-performance sodium-ion energy storage.
New Carbon Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5805(26)61113-4
Porous pyrolytic carbon (PPyC) serves as the buffer layer in TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel particles, providing storage for fission gases, preventing damage to outer layers, and absorbing stresses caused by fuel-kernel swelling. However, the changes of PPyC micro- and meso-structure at high temperatures remain insufficiently understood. In this study, PPyC fabricated by chemical vapor deposition was heat-treated from 1200 to 1600 °C and characterized across atomic-to-mesoscopic scales. Results show that the structure changes with temperature with a transition at approximately 1400 °C. Below 1400 °C, a decrease in Raman ID/IG ratio, narrowing of the graphite diffraction peak, and increased sp2 hybridization indicate progressive ordering associated with defect redistribution. Concurrent decreases in true density and mesopore volume, together with increased closed porosity, are consistent with partial conversion of open pores into closed pores. Above 1400 °C, increased ID/IG ratio, broadening of the diffraction peak near the rhombohedral graphite (101) reflection, and transition regions between crystalline and amorphous material observed by TEM indicate increasing structural disorder. Meanwhile, initially distinct PPyC particle boundaries blur and merge into broad, plate-like domains. Subsequent decrease in closed porosity and increase in mesopore surface area are consistent with partial connection of closed pores to the open-pore network. This work shows that intrinsic coupling between atomic-scale structural change and mesoscale pore connectivity provides a basis for assessing high-temperature structural stability of PPyC in TRISO fuel particles.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202506084
Groundwater is a vital drinking and irrigation source in the loess regions of northwestern China. In Guyuan, a densely populated area in southern Ningxia, systematic assessments of groundwater pollution risks are lacking. This study collected 60 groundwater samples and employed the Nemerow index, heavy metal pollution index (HPI), and health risk assessment models to evaluate pollution levels and health risks of eight elements including Cr, As, and Hg. Results show that the groundwater is generally Class IV quality, with a mean TDS of 1350.9 mg·L−1. Average concentrations of As, Cr, and Mn are 4.39, 29.87, and 45.77 μg·L−1, respectively. The Nemerow index indicates moderate pollution. The mean HPI is 10.56, but a local sample (PS1-51-下) reaches 36.15, indicating severe pollution. Health risk assessment reveals that carcinogenic risks from Cr and As for adults and children are 8.037×10−6 a−1 and 3.863×10−6 a−1, respectively, below US EPA limits but above recommended levels by Swedish and Dutch agencies, with children at higher risk. Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes and principal component analysis suggest that groundwater is primarily recharged by atmospheric precipitation. Cr, Zn, and Mn mainly originate from regional copper ore belts, coal mining, and agricultural activities. This study fills a gap in multidimensional groundwater assessment in populated loess areas, identifies pollution characteristics distinct from typical loess regions, and provides a scientific basis for regional water resource risk management and sustainable development.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202508052
To improve the performance of pre-dust collectors in biomass boiler flue gas purification systems, a novel channel-steel baffle-type pre-dust collector was proposed to address the low collection efficiency of conventional designs. A gas-solid two-phase flow model was developed within the MP-PIC (multiphase particle-in-cell) framework and validated against physical experiments. The model simulated gas-particle motion inside the collector, systematically investigating the effects of structural modifications, flue gas conditions, and dust properties on collection efficiency and pressure drop. Results indicate that adding a flow baffle in the ash hopper and adopting an upper-inlet flue duct enhance collection efficiency with negligible impact on pressure drop. Flue gas velocity significantly influences performance: increasing velocity reduces efficiency while raising pressure drop; an optimal design velocity of 1.0–2.0 m·s−1 is recommended. Elevated flue gas temperature slightly decreases both efficiency and pressure drop, with minimal impact over a range of tens of degrees Celsius. Higher dust density and larger particle size improve collection efficiency and reduce pressure drop, whereas higher dust concentration increases both efficiency and pressure drop. The study elucidates the mechanisms by which structural and operational parameters affect pre-dust collector performance, providing theoretical guidance for designing low-resistance, high-efficiency collectors for biomass boilers.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202510028
This study investigates the aging mechanism of polystyrene microplastics (PS MPs) induced by ultraviolet (UV)-activated potassium persulfate (KPS) and its influence on the adsorption of norfloxacin (NOR). Results show that aged PS exhibited yellowing, increased surface roughness and specific surface area, enhanced oxygen-containing functional groups, and elevated negative surface charge, along with the generation of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs). Compared with UV alone, UV+KPS induced more pronounced aging due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and superoxide radicals (O2·−). Adsorption kinetics and isotherm data revealed that UV+KPS-aged PS significantly enhanced NOR adsorption, with a maximum adsorption capacity of (2.539±0.032) mg·g−1, which was 4.20 times higher than that of pristine PS. The adsorption mechanism was governed by hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and pore filling. Solution pH modulated the electrostatic interactions by affecting NOR speciation and PS surface charge, thereby influencing NOR adsorption. This study systematically reveals the accelerated aging of coexisting MPs and EPFRs generation during UV+KPS treatment, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of MPs environmental behavior and potential ecological risks.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025011501
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic persistent organic pollutants that pose significant risks to human health. Owing to their high binding affinity for proteins, PFAS are ubiquitously detected in human populations worldwide. Following oral ingestion, PFAS bind to transport proteins such as human serum albumin and organic anion transporters, facilitating their distribution and accumulation in various tissues and organs, including the liver and kidneys, and enabling penetration across the blood-brain and placental barriers. This review systematically examines the migration and enrichment behaviors of PFAS in human tissues and organs mediated by multiple transport proteins, the molecular mechanisms underlying PFAS-protein interactions, and the key factors influencing these interactions. Additionally, we discuss the potential applications derived from PFAS-protein binding. By synthesizing current research findings, this review provides a theoretical foundation for future investigations into PFAS-protein interactions and outlines prospective research directions. The pervasive environmental contamination and documented health effects, including developmental retardation, endocrine disruption, obesity, and cancer, underscore the urgency of understanding PFAS toxicokinetics. Our analysis highlights the critical role of protein binding in the prolonged biological half-lives of PFAS and their tissue-specific accumulation, which are central to health risk assessment and the development of mitigation strategies.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025010608
This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of 27 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface water and sediment of the Fuchun River, a tributary of the Qiantang River Basin. Surface water samples were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Total PFAS concentrations (∑PFAS) in surface water ranged from 30.04 to 105.26 ng/L, with mean and median values of 59.64 ng/L and 51.43 ng/L, respectively. The dominant compounds were perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (GenX), and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA). Concentrations generally decreased from upstream to downstream, consistent with previous studies. Notably, GenX levels were significantly elevated compared to earlier reports. In sediment, ∑PFAS concentrations ranged from not detected (ND) to 0.59 ng/g dry weight, with mean and median values of 0.14 ng/g and 0.11 ng/g, respectively. PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were the primary sediment contaminants. Source apportionment indicated that industrial wastewater discharge and sewage treatment plant effluents were the main sources of PFAS in the river. Risk assessment using risk quotients suggested low ecological risks to aquatic organisms for most detected PFAS. However, the presence of short-chain and novel PFAS warrants further investigation due to potential unknown risks.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025010804
Heterogeneous Fenton technology employs solid catalysts to activate H2O2, generating hydroxyl radicals (·OH) that oxidatively degrade organic pollutants. Among reported catalysts, iron-based materials are most prevalent but suffer from insufficient active sites and sluggish Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling. Compositing iron with carbon materials increases active site density and accelerates Fe(II) regeneration, thereby enhancing catalytic efficiency. This review summarizes recent advances in carbon/iron-based heterogeneous Fenton catalysts, analyzing reaction mechanisms and characteristics for organic pollutant removal. It also discusses external energy field-assisted strategies (e.g., photo-, electro-, and ultrasound-assisted) that augment reaction kinetics. The paper concludes with perspectives on future development of carbon/iron-based Fenton-like materials, emphasizing the need for scalable synthesis and mechanistic elucidation. Key challenges include maintaining stability under continuous operation and achieving cost-effective production. The review highlights that carbon/iron composites with optimized interfacial properties can significantly improve H2O2 utilization and broaden pH applicability, addressing limitations of conventional Fenton processes. Future research directions include designing catalysts with tailored porosity and surface functionality, and integrating physical fields to synergistically enhance pollutant mineralization.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025011101
This study investigates the adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of Cd, Ni, and Pb on yellow soils collected from multiple sites in Guizhou Province, China. Soil physicochemical properties, potentiometric titration, adsorption edge experiments, and a 1-site/2-pKa surface complexation model (SCM) were integrated to derive acid-base parameters and metal adsorption constants. Linear regression models established quantitative relationships between SCM parameters and soil properties, enabling prediction of adsorption behavior for new soil samples. Results showed that adsorption capacities increased with pH and followed the order Pb > Ni > Cd, influenced by hydrated radius, hydrolysis constant, and electronegativity. Soils with higher surface site concentration (Hs) and lower point of zero charge (pHpzc) exhibited greater metal adsorption. The SCM fitted adsorption edges with R ≥ 0.94, confirming its validity. pH was the dominant factor controlling metal complexation constants (lgKSOMe), acid-base equilibrium constants, and surface site density (Ds), with influence order Pb > Ni > Cd. Free iron oxide correlated negatively with deprotonation constant (pKa2). Ds was also affected by cation exchange capacity and specific surface area. Validation using a separate set of soil samples yielded good agreement between predicted and measured adsorption (R² = 0.75–0.82, RMSE = 0.1–0.51). This combined modeling approach simplifies experimental procedures and offers a robust tool for assessing heavy metal environmental risks and remediation strategies.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025102002
The ultraviolet/chlorine (UV/Cl2) advanced oxidation process generates multiple radical species, enabling synergistic disinfection. However, the systematic influence of UV intensity on process performance remains inadequately characterized. This study investigated UV intensities from 0.25 to 2.0 mW·cm−2, assessing chlorine photolysis kinetics, bacterial inactivation, and disinfection by-product (DBP) formation. Results demonstrate that inactivation efficiency is not solely governed by total UV energy but is co-regulated by reaction kinetics and mass transfer. Increasing UV intensity accelerated chlorine photolysis by 33.7%–277.8%, elevating steady-state concentrations of hydroxyl radicals and chlorine radicals by factors of 1.6–3.8 and 1.3–3.2, respectively, thereby enhancing initial inactivation rates. However, higher intensities reduced cumulative chlorine exposure (CT value) to 14.3%–55.7% of baseline, causing overall inactivation to first increase then decrease. At a fixed UV dose of 150 mJ·cm−2, an intensity of 1.0 mW·cm−2 achieved optimal 6.5-log inactivation of Escherichia coli and the lowest bacterial reactivation rate (0.07%). Common water constituents (HCO3−, Cl−, natural organic matter) inhibited disinfection, with natural organic matter exerting the strongest suppression (2.7-log reduction). Notably, 1.0 mW·cm−2 exhibited the greatest resistance to interference. Elevated intensity reduced total organic halogen formation from 33.7 μg·L−1 to 19.0 μg·L−1. Balancing disinfection efficacy and DBP risk, 1.0 mW·cm−2 is identified as the optimal UV intensity for the UV/Cl2 process in sand-filtered water treatment.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025010607
This study investigated the occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil, litter, and bark samples collected from the forest-grassland transition zone of Inner Mongolia. A total of 12 PAHs were detected in soil, with concentrations ranging from 34.9 to 465.3 ng·g⁻¹ (mean 168.8 ng·g⁻¹), predominantly 3–5 ring compounds. Litter contained 14 PAHs at concentrations between 106.4 and 2262.5 ng·g⁻¹ (mean 465.1 ng·g⁻¹), dominated by 3- and 4-ring PAHs. Both living and dead bark exhibited 14 PAHs, with concentration ranges of 119.2–240.0 ng·g⁻¹ and 123.3–241.6 ng·g⁻¹, respectively, mainly composed of 4-ring PAHs. Spearman correlation analysis revealed no significant correlations among PAH concentrations across the three media (P > 0.05). Source apportionment using diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis indicated that soil PAHs primarily originated from biomass, coal, and gasoline combustion; litter PAHs from petroleum volatilization and coal/natural gas combustion; and bark PAHs from petroleum volatilization and fossil fuel combustion, with high-molecular-weight PAHs dominating. Ecological risk assessment using the risk quotient (RQ) method showed that soil PAHs posed low overall ecological risk, though certain individual PAHs exhibited higher risk. The toxic equivalent (TEQ) method indicated that dead bark was the primary accumulation medium with high carcinogenic contribution, posing elevated ecological risk. Although litter and living bark had lower PAH concentrations, their long-term accumulation effects warrant attention. These findings provide crucial scientific evidence for understanding the environmental behavior and potential risks of PAHs in cold, high-latitude regions of northern China.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025011804
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are persistent organic pollutants whose isomers exhibit distinct environmental behaviors, bioaccumulation potentials, and toxic effects due to structural variations. Accurate identification of PFCA isomers is critical for risk assessment and pollution control, yet existing detection methods predominantly rely on standard references, posing challenges for precise analysis of isomers with subtle structural differences. Single-molecule electrochemical sensing via nanopores offers a standard-free approach by correlating molecular volume with current blockade, but its capability to distinguish PFCA isomers remained unverified. This study targeted three sets of PFCA isomers: 4,5,5-trifluoropent-4-enoic acid vs. 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-methylbut-2-enoic acid; 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-methylpropanoic acid vs. 4,4,4-trifluorobutanoic acid; and 2-(trifluoromethoxy)acetic acid, 3,3,3-trifluorolactic acid, and (2R)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxypropanoic acid. By engineering nanopore interfaces (WT, R220N, R220Q Aerolysin) and extracting multi-dimensional characteristic parameters, the method achieved near 100% accuracy in identifying all seven isomers. Feature selection further enabled high classification accuracy with low data volumes, laying the foundation for rapid single-molecule detection of PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605001
The lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, as a concentrated area of China's C5 petroleum resin industry, face critical bottlenecks in green and low-carbon transformation due to high-pollution, refractory wastewater and high carbon emissions. Traditional petrochemical wastewater treatment technologies suffer from low efficiency, high energy consumption, and insufficient resource utilization. This paper systematically analyzes the sources of wastewater in C5 petroleum resin production from principles and processes, and reviews research progress and carbon reduction potential of current technologies in three aspects: new materials, new equipment, and new processes. Integrated processes centered on efficient pretreatment, biological enhancement, and multi-technology coupling show significant advantages in improving treatment efficiency, reducing energy consumption and cost, and strengthening resource recovery. The study also prospects future research priorities for pollution and carbon mitigation through green technological innovation and intelligent upgrading, providing new solutions for 'near-zero discharge' and resource recycling of C5 petroleum resin wastewater, thereby promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of the petrochemical industry.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605016
BiOX (X=Cl, Br, I) photocatalytic materials were synthesized via a chemical precipitation method. Their structures and properties were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Results showed that BiOBr exhibits a flower-like nanomicrosphere structure composed of nanosheets, providing a more three-dimensional morphology, larger specific surface area, and moderate light absorption range, resulting in superior visible light absorption. Consequently, BiOBr demonstrated the best photocatalytic degradation of NO under xenon lamp irradiation. The study further investigated the effects of light intensity, NO flow rate, and oxygen presence on the NO degradation performance of BiOBr. Optimal NO removal rate of 58% was achieved under conditions of a light source distance of 15 cm, NO flow rate of 15 mL/min, and in the presence of oxygen. The degradation rate constant for BiOBr was 11×10⁻⁴ min⁻¹, significantly higher than that of BiOCl and BiOI. BiOBr also exhibited good reusability and stability. These findings provide an important experimental basis for the application of BiOBr in the photocatalytic degradation of NO.
The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225215
CO2 dilution is a recognized strategy for combustion control, yet its detailed effects on CH4/H2 combustion under lean conditions remain insufficiently characterized. This study numerically investigated jet diffusion flames in a triangular nozzle burner, varying CO2 mixing ratios from 0% to 40%, equivalence ratios from 0.4 to 0.9, at 300 K and 101325 Pa. The standard k-ε turbulence model and non-premixed combustion model were employed, with grid independence verified. Results showed that increasing CO2 blending reduced peak flame temperature, flame height, and average furnace temperature from 1688 K (0% CO2) to 1344 K (40% CO2). CO2 inhibited forward reactions of CO with O and OH, reducing O2 consumption. NOx emissions decreased by up to 95.5% at φ=0.7 (from 6.7×10-5 to 3.03×10-6) and 94.3% at φ=0.9, compared to pure methane. Conversely, H2 enrichment (0% to 40%) raised peak temperature from 2018 K to 2199 K and shifted the peak location closer to the burner (from 1.16 m to 0.82 m), promoting more compact flames. In CH4/H2 mixtures, CO2 still effectively reduced NOx, though the effect slightly weakened with higher CO2 ratios. Controlling CO2 blending below 30% balances NOx reduction and combustion stability. The CH4/H2/CO2 ternary strategy enables coordinated regulation of temperature and pollutant emissions, offering a technical pathway for hydrogen-rich fuel applications.
The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12034/j.issn.1009-606X.225162
The effects of tempering temperature on the microstructure, strength-toughness balance, and precipitates of a quenched Cu-Cr-Ni ultra-high strength weathering steel were systematically investigated. The steel was austenitized at 920°C, quenched, and then tempered at 500°C, 550°C, and 600°C. Microstructural characterization was performed using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), while mechanical properties were evaluated via tensile and low-temperature impact tests. Results showed that as the tempering temperature increased from 500°C to 600°C, the microstructure transformed from lath-shaped tempered sorbite to a non-lath morphology. The fraction of rod-like cementite decreased, while spheroidized cementite increased, and the size of MC (M = Ti, Nb, V, Mo) precipitates decreased from an average of 12.2 nm to 9.9 nm. Consequently, yield strength and tensile strength decreased from 935 MPa and 958 MPa to 866 MPa and 888 MPa, respectively, whereas total elongation and impact energy at -40°C increased continuously, reaching maximum values of 5.0% and 280 J at 600°C. When tempered at 550°C, the steel exhibited a yield strength of 895 MPa, tensile strength of 921 MPa, elongation of 4.3%, and impact energy of 271 J at -40°C, demonstrating an optimal combination of strength and toughness. This improvement is primarily attributed to the spheroidization of cementite and the uniform dispersion of fine MC precipitates, which alleviate stress concentration, along with the softening of the acicular ferrite matrix during tempering.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3956-0
Chiral organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides (OIHMHs) are multifunctional materials with structural diversity and chiroptical properties. However, current chiral OIHMHs predominantly exhibit circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in the visible spectrum, while ultraviolet and near-infrared (NIR) CPL remains challenging. Here, we report lead-free chiral zero-dimensional (0D) OIHMHs, (R/S-DACH)2In2Br10:Sb3+/Yb3+ (DACH = 1,2-diaminocyclohexane), featuring spectrally tunable CPL emissions covering visible to NIR regions. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, circular dichroism, and CPL spectroscopy revealed that robust hydrogen-bonding interactions between organic cations and inorganic emitters are crucial for chirality expression. Sb3+-doped (R/S-DACH)2In2Br10 single crystals exhibited intense broadband emission at 644 nm from the 3P1 to 1S0 transition of Sb3+, achieving a record photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 49.9% (two orders of magnitude higher than pristine crystals) and a luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) of ±7.1×10−3. Notably, Sb3+/Yb3+ co-doped crystals simultaneously generated dual-band CPL at 644 nm (glum = ±2.1×10−2) and 994 nm (glum = ±6.8×10−3), representing an important example of NIR-CPL in OIHMHs. An LED device based on (R-DACH)2In2Br10:2.7%Sb3+ exhibited bright orange emission with a color-rendering index of 78.4 and excellent spectral and operational stabilities. These findings establish a design strategy for broadband CPL and expand applications of chiral metal halides in advanced optoelectronics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3650-6
Aggregation-induced emission active chiral polymer dots (AIE@CPdots) are emerging as high-performance emission layers (EMLs) for circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) due to their persistent emission stability, high photoluminescence quantum yields, excellent solution processability, facile functionalization, tunable bandgap-governed emission, and superior device processability. However, reports on such systems remain scarce. In this study, a pair of chiral conjugated polymer enantiomers (R/S-PFC) was synthesized via Suzuki polymerization using three monomers: a chiral binaphthalene moiety, a fluorenyl linker, and an AIE-active cyanostyrene dye. After annealing at 110 °C, the resulting R/S-PFC self-assembled into chiral nanoparticles (AIE@CPdots) in a chloroform/n-hexane mixed solvent (9:1 v/v), exhibiting enhanced circularly polarized luminescence with a luminescence dissymmetry factor (|g_lum|) of 4.4 × 10⁻³ at 462 nm. Notably, AIE@CPdots served as the EML in CP-OLEDs, achieving high-performance circularly polarized electroluminescence with an electroluminescence dissymmetry factor (|g_EL|) of 3.0 × 10⁻³ at 464 nm, a maximum luminance (L_max) of 6022 cd m⁻², and a maximum current efficiency (CE_max) of 1.10 cd A⁻¹. This work provides a novel strategy for designing superior EML materials for CP-OLEDs via chiral self-assembled AIE@CPdots.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3756-5
Photochemical organic synthesis exploits the distinctive redox properties of excited-state photocatalysts to avoid stoichiometric redox reagents, enabling green and sustainable transformations. However, the conversion efficiency of light-to-chemical energy remains a key bottleneck for large-scale application. Here, we synthesize ultra-thin graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets by regulating precursor types and thermal protocols. In photochemical Minisci-type cross-couplings, this ultra-thin carbon nitride exhibits high catalytic efficiency, achieving rates of 40 mmol g_cat−1 h−1 under LED irradiation and 10.9 mmol g_cat−1 h−1 under natural sunlight. The photocatalyst's high specific surface area (120 m2 g−1) enhances substrate adsorption capacity and accelerates surface electron transfer, boosting photocatalytic efficiency. Furthermore, the material demonstrates excellent recycling stability, and the reaction system was successfully scaled to gram-level, highlighting its potential for industrial applications. This work provides a typical case for solar-driven organic synthesis and inspires further developments in heterogeneous photocatalysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3814-2
Micro-structured surfaces have attracted increasing attention due to their great potential applications. However, it is still a challenge to continuously fabricate micro-structured surfaces based on thermoplastics by a facile, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly method. Herein, with the help of the extrusion molding method and an elaborately designed mold, micro-grooved fiber (MGF) based on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is continuously prepared. Theoretically, infinitely long MGFs with feature sizes down to a few microns can be efficiently fabricated because of the continuous fabrication characteristic of the melt extrusion method. Interestingly, left- and right-handed micro-grooves with different helix angles can be produced by applying twisting at the die exit, and the macroscopically MGF springs can be further fabricated via a self-designed three-dimensional helical enwind device. By regulating wettability, MGF can achieve liquid self-transport on predefined paths. In addition, MGF fabric exhibits rapid evaporation behavior, whose evaporation rate is about 4 times higher than that of the Smooth fiber (SMF) fabric and 2 times higher than that of the most popular commercial quick-drying fabric (i.e., Cool-max fabric). This work proposes a facile and environmentally-friendly method for continuously preparing low-cost and flexible MGF, opening a new pathway to develop fiber-based microfluidic systems following the concept of "functionalized processing for thermoplastics".
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3833-1
Developing plasmonic nanomaterials with compositions beyond noble metals is crucial for expanding their applications. Transition metal nitrides, such as titanium nitride (TiN), exhibit excellent plasmonic optical properties and photothermal conversion efficiency, showing promise in catalysis, photothermal therapy, and seawater desalination. However, the structure-property relationship governing their plasmonic optical properties remains unclear. Here, we constructed Au@TiN core-shell nanostructures and systematically investigated the tunability of their geometry, composition, and optical properties. By varying the Au core size and TiN shell thickness, we achieved precise control over the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from visible to near-infrared wavelengths. Single-particle scattering spectroscopy revealed distinct plasmon hybridization modes, with experimental spectra matching theoretical simulations. The Au@TiN nanostructures exhibited enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 78.5%) under 808 nm laser irradiation, significantly outperforming pure TiN nanoparticles (η = 45.2%). This work demonstrates multi-factor control over plasmonic effects in TiN, providing insights for designing TiN-based plasmonic nanomaterials for catalysis and sensing.