SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4315-2
High-temperature X-ray imaging demands scintillators with high crystallinity, efficient scintillation, and robust thermal stability, yet suitable materials remain scarce. Here, we report an ultra-high-crystallinity transparent glass-ceramic (GC) scintillator strategically designed via controllable heat-treatment-induced crystallization. A sequential precipitation method is employed, where cubic CaF2 nanocrystals initially form, subsequently promoting heterogeneous nucleation and growth of hexagonal BaAl2Si2O8. Intrinsic nanoscale phase separation into F-rich and O-rich domains significantly reduces atomic diffusion distances, yielding an unprecedented crystallinity of up to 97.6%. Notably, defect traps (oxygen vacancy defects, likely located within the lattice or at crystalline/amorphous interfaces) enable efficient carrier capture and thermally stimulated release, contributing to remarkable resistance to thermal quenching. Consequently, the GC scintillator maintains 90.6% of its integrated X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) intensity at 300 °C, with the integrated XEL intensity reaching 94.2% of commercial Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) at room temperature. This enables stable high-temperature X-ray imaging with a spatial resolution of ~10.4 lp mm−1 up to 225 °C. This work provides a versatile pathway for developing high-sensitivity scintillators for extreme-environment X-ray imaging.
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/s40843-025-3807-8
Electrocatalytic co-reduction of CO2 and nitrate offers a sustainable route for urea synthesis, valorizing nitrogenous waste and CO2. However, achieving high-performance urea electrosynthesis under ambient conditions remains challenging due to the need for simultaneous activation of CO2 and efficient H2O dissociation to supply active *H for *NOx hydrogenation, ultimately forming key C- and N-containing intermediates for C–N coupling. Here, we report a bifunctional Pd-single-atom-modified Cu (Pd1Cu) nanorod catalyst that synergistically promotes adsorption and stepwise activation of CO2 and H2O, steering the reaction pathway toward selective urea synthesis. Integrating experimental evidence, in situ spectroscopy, and computational analyses, we disclose that atomically dispersed Pd sites kinetically favor co-generation of *CO and *NH2 via H2O dissociation-driven proton transfer, forming an optimal intermediate balance. The dual metal active sites enhance C–N coupling via combined electronic and geometric effects, substantially lowering the reaction energy barrier and improving selectivity. This work provides a rational design strategy for advanced multifunctional catalysts for urea electrosynthesis, contributing to carbon neutrality and waste nitrogen valorization.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3734-7
Asymmetric catalysis, which directs a reaction preferentially toward one enantiomer over its non-superimposable mirror image, is crucial for synthesizing chiral molecules with defined stereochemistry. Such selectivity is indispensable in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced materials, where opposite enantiomers often display markedly different properties and functions. Conventional asymmetric catalysis primarily relies on molecular catalysts, yet these often suffer from stability, recovery, and reaction scope, while chiral inorganic catalysts have recently gained attention as robust alternatives capable of tolerating demanding conditions and offer new routes to stereocontrol. In this review, we propose a mechanism-based classification of chiral inorganic catalysts into six categories: chiral ligand-induced catalysis, spin-polarized catalysis through the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, photoinduced asymmetric catalysis, chiral confinement-driven catalysis, nanozyme-like catalysis, and chiral lattice-induced catalysis. This review shifts the focus from material type to mechanistic origin, enabling a clearer connection between chirality and catalytic function. We suggest that mechanistic understanding will support the rational design of efficient, selective, and long-lasting chiral inorganic catalysts, and open new directions in asymmetric catalysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3822-y
Precise control over supramolecular chirality and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is achieved through fluorene-content engineering of alkylated fluorene-quinoxaline copolymers. By systematically varying the fluorene ratio, three polymers (F8QX, F8QX-II, F8QX-III) are synthesized and co-assembled with a chiral inducer (R/S-5011). Thermal annealing induces highly ordered, crosslinked superstructures with strong chiroptical activity, where the dissymmetry factor (g_lum) decreases with increasing fluorene content. The optimal system, (F8QX)0.7-(R/S-5011)0.3, achieves a high |g_lum| of 0.52. Structural analyses and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that lower fluorene ratios facilitate tighter π–π stacking and more efficient chirality amplification. This system further serves as an excellent host for a narrowband multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter (DBN-ICZ) via Förster resonance energy transfer, yielding ternary co-assemblies with narrowband green emission (FWHM = 25 nm) and strong CPL with g_lum of 0.43. Circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) based on (F8QX)0.7-(R/S-5011)0.3-(DBN-ICZ)0.005 exhibit yellow circularly polarized electroluminescence with |g_EL| value of 0.12. This work provides a comprehensive strategy integrating molecular design, hierarchical assembly, and energy transfer toward high-performance chiral optoelectronic materials.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202606013
The A2/O-MBR process, owing to its superior effluent quality and smaller footprint, is increasingly adopted in newly built and upgraded wastewater treatment plants. However, systematic studies on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain scarce, and direct comparisons with the conventional A2/O process are lacking. In this study, two full-scale wastewater treatment plants employing the A2/O and A2/O-MBR processes under identical influent conditions, climate, and discharge standards were investigated. A high-frequency monitoring system covering the entire treatment train was established, and combined with measurements of dissolved CH4 and N2O, water quality parameters, and operational parameters, to elucidate the differences in GHG emission characteristics. Results showed that the daily average CH4 emission intensities were not significantly different between the two plants [(0.67 ± 0.22) and (0.65 ± 0.18) g/m3, respectively]. CH4 emissions mainly originated from sewer-derived anaerobic production and subsequent release in the pretreatment units (accounting for over 70% of the total emissions), with partial in-plant oxidation by methanotrophs. Temperature and aeration-induced stripping were identified as key driving factors, as CH4 emissions were positively correlated with ambient temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO). In contrast, more than 90% of N2O emissions occurred in the biological treatment units. The A2/O-MBR plant exhibited significantly higher daily N2O emission intensity [(0.132 ± 0.055) g/m3] than the A2/O plant [(0.060 ± 0.046) g/m3], largely due to intensive aeration and oxygen-enriched internal/external recirculation in the membrane tank, which enhanced N2O production and stripping. Correlation analysis further revealed that N2O emissions in the A2/O plant were positively related to influent COD and BOD5, indicating dominance of heterotrophic denitrification, whereas in the A2/O-MBR process they were mainly driven by NH3-N loading and DO, reflecting a nitrification-based pathway. Importantly, both processes exhibited CH4 and N2O emission factors that were significantly lower than the reference values recommended by the IPCC and industry guidelines, underscoring the necessity of localizing emission factors for accurate carbon accounting.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3851-3
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) face critical challenges from zinc anode instability, including corrosion, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), parasitic byproduct formation, and uncontrolled dendrite growth. To address these issues, we developed a multifunctional cerium-based metal-organic framework (Ce-MOF) coating for zinc anodes. The coating features an ordered porous structure and inherent properties that mitigate HER, suppress side reactions, and inhibit dendrite formation. Symmetric cells using Ce-MOF/Zn demonstrated exceptional cycling stability for over 2060 h at 0.5 mA cm−2 with a low hysteresis polarization of 26 mV. In full cells with an I2@AC cathode, the Ce-MOF/Zn||I2@AC achieved outstanding cycling stability of 28,550 cycles at 5 A g−1, with 91% capacity retention (109.6 mAh g−1). Through integrated characterization employing in-situ optical microscopy, ex-situ XRD, SEM, and DFT calculations, we elucidated the multifunctional mechanism: the Ce-MOF coating facilitates preferential (002)-oriented Zn deposition to suppress dendrites, reduces Zn2+ desolvation energy to enhance deposition kinetics, and modulates interfacial chemistry to mitigate HER and corrosion. This work establishes Ce-MOF coatings as a simple yet powerful strategy for developing high-performance zinc anodes, providing critical insights for advancing practical AZIB technologies.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202511047
Ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines are critical infrastructure for China's energy strategy. Compared with conventional voltage lines, UHV lines exhibit nonlinear growth in resource and capital consumption, complex supply chains, and strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity in carbon emission factors, resulting in substantial and uncertain construction-phase emissions. Accurate accounting is essential for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals in the power sector. To address issues of ambiguous system boundaries, weak characterization of input parameter uncertainty, and poor cross-year applicability of input-output carbon intensities, this study defines the accounting boundary using budget quotas and develops a hybrid life cycle assessment (HLCA) model. For easily traceable emission sources, process-based LCA (PLCA) is applied, with uncertainty analysis via distribution fitting and Monte Carlo simulation. For difficult-to-trace sources, input-output LCA (IO-LCA) is used with carbon intensity correction. A case study of a ±800 kV transmission line yields a construction-phase carbon emission intensity of 1,858.91 t·km⁻¹ (CO₂ equivalent), with a 95% confidence interval of [1,379.73, 2,486.45] t·km⁻¹. Sobol global sensitivity analysis identifies key emission reduction pathways. The method's validity is confirmed by comparison with existing studies, providing quantitative support for low-carbon design, construction optimization, and carbon auditing of UHV projects.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3957-y
Developing circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) that simultaneously achieve a high electroluminescence dissymmetry factor (g_EL) and a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) remains a central challenge in polarized optoelectronics. Here, we report a general composite strategy for constructing full-color CP-OLEDs by integrating a 5CB-based chiral nematic liquid crystal (N*-LC) layer with OLEDs based on achiral emitters. The resulting CP-OLEDs exhibit both high polarization purity and high electroluminescence efficiency, with |g_EL| values of up to 1.9, EQEs reaching 26.9%, and Q-factors as high as 0.48. Notably, contrary to the conventional assumption that N*-LC integration causes severe optical losses (>50%) due to Bragg reflection, the EQE of the devices is preserved mainly in this composite architecture. This behavior is attributed to an internal photon-recycling process enabled by the reflection of light within the device structure. To the best of our knowledge, these CP-OLEDs represent the highest comprehensive performance reported to date. Furthermore, the practical utility of these high-performance devices is demonstrated through the encryption and decryption of information based on circularly polarized electroluminescence.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202511021
Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) can immobilize cadmium (Cd) by dissolving insoluble phosphates and inducing the precipitation of stable Cd-phosphate minerals. However, the low bioavailability of soil phosphorus and the relatively low Cd2+ concentrations often limit the efficiency of microbial-induced phosphate precipitation (MIPP). This study proposed a combined strategy using the phosphate-solubilizing bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes Wn (Wn) and hydroxyapatite (HAP) to enhance Cd immobilization in paddy soil. Pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects on soil Cd availability and rice grain Cd accumulation, and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Results showed that the combined treatment stabilized soil pH between 5.8 and 6.7 and electrical conductivity between 66 and 290 μS·cm−1, while increasing available phosphorus by 4%–67%. The optimal treatment (T4: 8 g·kg−1 HAP + 3.75×10^9 cfu·kg−1 Wn) reduced soil available Cd by 40.2% and decreased rice grain Cd to 0.0699 mg·kg−1, which is 65% below the national food safety limit. Microbial community analysis confirmed successful colonization of Wn. Pure culture experiments demonstrated that Wn induced phosphate precipitation, forming a more stable cadmium hydroxyapatite mineral [Ca3.9(Ca4.7Cd0.7)(PO4)6(OH)1.8]. The combined Wn-HAP treatment is an efficient strategy for remediating Cd-contaminated farmland, with significant potential for ensuring agricultural product safety and promoting soil remediation.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025042802
Activated carbon, characterized by its extensive pore structure, high specific surface area, and superior adsorption capacity, is widely employed in advanced water treatment. However, upon reaching adsorption saturation, its efficacy diminishes, necessitating replacement or regeneration. Thermal regeneration stands out due to its high desorption efficiency, simple equipment requirements, and low energy consumption, making it the predominant industrial method. Despite its prevalence, systematic investigations into the underlying reaction mechanisms and the influence of operational parameters remain insufficient. This review comprehensively examines common thermal regeneration technologies for saturated activated carbon, including multi-hearth furnaces, rotary kilns, superheated steam, microwave, and solar regeneration. It delineates the fundamental principles, process flows, advantages, disadvantages, and current research status of each method. The desorption and reaction mechanisms of pollutants within activated carbon pores during thermal regeneration are discussed in detail, along with the effects of critical conditions such as temperature, atmosphere, and purge gas flow rate on pollutant removal efficiency. Furthermore, the relationship between activated carbon performance parameters and regeneration efficiency is analyzed, and innovations based on conventional thermal regeneration, as well as integration with emerging technologies, are explored. Finally, the challenges facing thermal regeneration are summarized, and future research priorities are proposed, focusing on the treatment of waste gas and liquid byproducts, technology integration, and enhancement of overall regeneration performance. This review aims to provide a scientific foundation for the sustainable recycling of activated carbon in industrial applications.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608001
The discharging wastewater from spent lithium-ion batteries is characterized by complex composition, high salinity, and substantial organic load, making its efficient treatment and resource recovery a critical challenge in the lithium battery recycling chain. This study investigated the feasibility of applying anaerobic chain elongation technology for resource recovery from such wastewater. The results showed that the reactor could tolerate up to 40% discharge wastewater in the feed, with caproate production reaching 6.38 g/L. However, when the wastewater proportion increased to 60%, system performance declined sharply, and the synthesis of butyrate and caproate ceased. Batch screening experiments ruled out the influence of high salinity (TDS ≈ 12 g/L) and metal ions such as Li+, Ni2+, Co2+, and Mn2+, identifying fluoride (F-) as the dominant inhibitory factor leading to functional failure. Concentration gradient experiments further quantified the inhibitory effect of F-. At concentrations below 600 mg/L, butyrate production remained largely unaffected; at 900 mg/L, substrate metabolism was severely inhibited, with only slight recovery observed at the final stage; and at 1200 mg/L, chain elongation metabolism was completely blocked. Microbial community analysis revealed that the chain elongation function was undertaken by different taxonomic groups at different stages. Initially, Clostridium kluyveri dominated, followed by a shift to Caproicibacterium and Thermocaproicibacter during the mid-phase. In the recovery phase, a synergistic consortium of Oscillibacter valericigenes and Caproicibacterium sp. emerged. Furthermore, after introducing actual discharging wastewater, microbial groups such as Brevundimonas diminuta and Clostridium ljungdahlii, which are likely involved in degrading complex organics, gradually became enriched, providing the substrate foundation for chain elongation. This study offers a feasible strategy and mechanistic insights for the high-value bioconversion of wastewater from lithium battery recycling.