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/s40843-026-4360-7
Polarization-sensitive photodetection is critical for advanced optical communication and imaging systems, yet conventional photodetectors suffer from low on-off ratios and limited polarization discrimination. Here, we report gate-tunable PdSe2/WSe2 van der Waals heterostructures that achieve ultrahigh light on-off ratio and polarization-sensitive photodetection. The heterostructure forms a type-II band alignment, enabling efficient charge separation and self-powered operation. By applying a gate voltage, the photoresponse can be modulated, achieving an on-off ratio exceeding 10^6 under illumination. The device exhibits a high responsivity of 1.2 A/W and a specific detectivity of 10^12 Jones at room temperature. Polarization-sensitive measurements reveal a linear dichroism ratio of 2.1 at 532 nm, attributed to the anisotropic crystal structure of PdSe2. The photodetector operates over a broad spectral range from visible to near-infrared (400-1000 nm) with fast response times (rise/fall < 100 μs). The gate-tunable capability allows dynamic control of the photocurrent, enabling adaptive sensing applications. These results demonstrate that PdSe2/WSe2 heterostructures are promising candidates for high-performance, polarization-sensitive photodetectors, offering a pathway for next-generation optoelectronic devices.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4176-y
Three-photon microscopy (3PM) in the near-infrared-III (NIR-III) window (1600–1840 nm) enables high-resolution visualization of cerebral vasculature in vivo, but its imaging depth and quality are limited by the performance of fluorescent probes. Here, we report a probe optimization strategy transitioning from mirror symmetry to centrosymmetry, yielding a highly symmetric aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecule, T4PQ. The centrosymmetric structure aligns donor-acceptor units, promoting uniform electron cloud delocalization and directional charge transfer, which enhances exciton formation and suppresses non-radiative decay, thereby increasing fluorescence quantum yield. This symmetry also boosts the three-photon absorption cross-section by enhancing electron delocalization and transition dipole moment, enabling stronger nonlinear optical responses under long-wavelength excitation. T4PQ nanoparticles (T4PQ NPs) exhibit an enhanced three-photon absorption cross-section, high fluorescence quantum yield, and excellent photostability. In murine models, T4PQ NPs achieved three-dimensional cerebrovascular imaging at a depth of 1785 μm and real-time hemodynamic observation in microvessels at 1006 μm depth, with good biocompatibility. These results validate the advantage of centrosymmetric molecular design for deep-brain imaging probes, offering a high-performance tool for neurovascular research.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202604022
The resource utilization of food waste contributes to reducing environmental pollution, driving nutrient cycling and biomass energy development, and promoting the resource recycling industry, achieving a win-win outcome for environment and economy. This study evaluated the resource recovery performance and environmental impacts of producing carbon sources for wastewater treatment through hydrolysis and acidification of food waste, comparing with two conventional alternatives: anaerobic fermentation and incineration. Results showed that among the three technologies, hydrolysis for carbon source production ranked middle in resource recycling efficiency, but its environmental benefits were superior to incineration and anaerobic fermentation. The hydrolysis process did not produce additional wastewater requiring treatment, and its greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste generation intensity were relatively low, at -40.7 kg CO2-eq/t and 9.3%, respectively. Carbon sources derived from food waste can replace commercial alternatives, reducing wastewater treatment costs and promoting synergies between pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. Sensitivity analysis revealed that water content in food waste significantly influences solid impurity generation and energy recovery efficiency of hydrolysis technology. In regions with high food waste generation and carbon source demand, hydrolysis technology is recommended to facilitate large-scale synergistic treatment of wastewater and food waste.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605021
The digestate from anaerobic digestion of food waste is separated into solid residue and liquid filtrate. The filtrate retains high nutrient and carbon content, making it a viable resource for recovery. This study prepared biochar from food waste digestate residue and employed it as an electrode active material in a flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) system, with activated carbon as a control, to assess nitrogen and phosphorus removal from kitchen waste biogas slurry. ZnCl₂ modification significantly enhanced the biochar's specific surface area, adsorption capacity, capacitance, and conductivity. The optimal mass fraction of modified biochar in the electrode liquid was 7.5%. In simulated digestate, the FCDI system achieved removal efficiencies of 47.7% for NH₄⁺-N and 55.2% for reactive phosphorus (RP) over 12 hours. Performance ranking of electrode materials was activated carbon > ZnCl₂-modified biochar > unmodified biochar. In continuous operation with actual anaerobic digestion filtrate, maximum removal efficiencies were 32.2% for NH₄⁺-N and 26.2% for RP. The reduced performance in real digestate is attributed to organic foulants such as peptides and amino acids, which block ion-exchange membrane channels, increase membrane resistance, and impede ion transfer and charge transport, thereby diminishing deionization efficiency.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.3724/2097-213X.2025.JFCT.0031
The high-temperature behavior of biomass ash critically influences gasifier operational efficiency. This study investigates the differential high-temperature behaviors of corn straw ash (CSA) and wheat straw ash (WSA) using an intelligent ash fusion analyzer, high-temperature rotating viscometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM-EDS, and FactSage thermodynamic simulations. Both ashes contain high K2O (>30%) and exhibit flow temperatures below 1300 °C. Despite higher K2O and lower SiO2, CSA exhibits a higher flow temperature (1241 °C) than WSA, attributed to elevated CaO (10.39%) and MgO (7.33%) that promote formation of high-melting silicates (K2MgSiO4, K2Ca2Si2O7, CaSiO3). In contrast, WSA with lower CaO (4.92%) and MgO (2.82%) tends to form low-melting potassium silicates. At high temperatures, both slags are typical crystalline slags, with viscosity rising sharply below a critical temperature. For CSA, rapid nucleation and coarsening of silicate crystals (e.g., KAlSiO4 grain size increases from 20.5 nm at 1350 °C to 192.9 nm at 1050 °C) cause abrupt viscosity increase. For WSA, a high P2O5 content (10.05%) induces a 'chemical dilution effect', leading to persistent KAlSiO4 during cooling and elevated viscosity, especially at the final cooling stage. This study elucidates how ash chemical composition governs high-temperature phase equilibrium and non-equilibrium kinetics, thereby macroscopically affecting ash fusion and rheological behavior, providing a theoretical basis for deeper understanding of biomass ash high-temperature characteristics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3863-x
Lead-free double perovskites are promising for optoelectronic applications due to their tunable optical properties, stability, and non-toxicity. However, achieving efficient ultrabroadband near-infrared (NIR) emission and X-ray radioluminescence (RL) simultaneously remains challenging. Here, we report a Mo4+-doped Cs2(Na0.4Ag0.6)InCl6 double perovskite that exhibits efficient blue-light-excitable NIR emission with a near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield. The emitter demonstrates robust thermal stability, retaining 84% of its initial emission intensity at 420 K relative to 300 K. Under X-ray irradiation, the material shows bright NIR RL with a high light yield of 39,400 ± 1100 photons/MeV. A flexible film of Mo4+-doped Cs2(Na0.4Ag0.6)InCl6/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was fabricated and applied as an NIR light source and X-ray scintillator. A dual-functional platform for cooperative NIR and X-ray imaging was established using a bullfrog palm as the target, achieving pixel-level fusion of NIR and X-ray images without spatial mismatch or complex image processing. The fused image simultaneously visualizes blood vessels and skeleton textures under the skin tissue. This work provides a viable strategy for lead-free double perovskites in advanced optoelectronic devices, particularly for multispectral imaging.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4196-x
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising for safe, low-cost energy storage, but accurate cathode characterization is essential for understanding their electrochemical behavior. This study identifies a critical artifact: routine air-drying of deeply discharged cathodes triggers spontaneous aerial oxidation, which distorts post-mortem analysis. Using NH4V4O10 (NVO) as a model cathode, we show that ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of discharged electrodes reveals only V4+/V5+ signals, with no detectable V3+, implying a theoretical capacity of only 245.5 mAh g−1, yet experimentally measured capacity reaches ~334.5 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. This discrepancy arises because air exposure during sample preparation oxidizes the reduced vanadium states, leading to a self-charging effect that recovers ~83% of capacity. Electrochemical re-oxidation (EO-NVO) is superior to aerial oxidation (AO-NVO), producing a stable, long-range ordered bulk structure with efficient Zn2+ transport channels, whereas aerial oxidation induces only superficial changes and structural disorder. These findings resolve a key analytical inconsistency and reveal a novel capacity-contribution pathway, with direct implications for accurate material assessment and advanced battery design.