SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3669-1
Halide perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have advanced rapidly due to their high photoluminescence quantum yield, tunable bandgap, and color purity. However, conventional perovskites exhibit small exciton binding energies, which weaken radiative recombination and limit external quantum efficiency (EQE). Strong spatial confinement strategies, such as thin films, small grains, or quantum-confined structures, have boosted EQE beyond 20% but introduce Auger recombination and ion migration, causing efficiency roll-off and instability. This commentary highlights a novel approach by Xiao et al. (Nature, 2025) that employs weakly space-confined all-inorganic CsPbBr3 perovskites, synthesized using sacrificial additives hypophosphorous acid (HPA) and ammonium chloride (NH4Cl). This method yields highly oriented monocrystalline domains exceeding hundreds of nanometers with no observable grain boundaries, contrasting with control films (submicrometre grains with abundant boundaries) and strongly confined systems (~20 nm crystallites with organic ligands). The reduced grain boundaries lower defect density and block ion migration, while controlled crystallization suppresses vacancies and lattice distortions, enhancing carrier mobility and raising the ion migration energy barrier. The strategy achieves record-breaking performance and stability, addressing EQE roll-off and operational lifetime limitations. This approach offers a versatile framework for other all-inorganic perovskite systems, advancing PeLEDs toward practical high-brightness displays and lighting.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025110501
Ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exhibit high hydrophilicity, mobility, and root concentration factors, facilitating their transport and accumulation in soil-crop systems and posing phytotoxicity risks. Post-drought rehydration (PDR) is a critical water management strategy to mitigate drought effects in paddy fields. This study investigated the regulation and mechanisms of PDR on ultrashort-chain PFAS transport in paddy soils through sterilized and non-sterilized experiments, employing three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and amplicon sequencing. Results showed that PDR increased the bioavailable fraction of ultrashort-chain PFAS in soil solution while delaying their release into overlying water. Sterilization experiments confirmed that PDR-induced compensatory migration was primarily driven by microbial activity. Geochemical analyses revealed that PDR reduced hydrophilic functional groups (e.g., hydroxyl) on soil particle surfaces and increased cation bridging sites. Microbiological sequencing indicated that PDR activated secondary metabolic pathways, enhancing microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production, which provided binding sites for ultrashort-chain PFAS. Consequently, EPS competed with soil particles for cation bridging, altering PFAS interfacial partitioning and increasing bioavailable and cation-complexed fractions in soil solution, thereby exacerbating rhizosphere exposure risk to rice. This study elucidates the coupled geochemical and microbiological mechanisms governing ultrashort-chain PFAS mobility under PDR, informing risk assessment and management in paddy agroecosystems.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202510039
The shipping industry's carbon emissions have drawn increasing attention. This study quantifies the carbon footprint of ship supply chains across their life cycle to identify key emission stages and reduction potentials, promoting green transformation. Based on life-cycle theory and using process analysis, a carbon footprint assessment model was constructed covering raw material acquisition, construction and assembly, transportation and distribution, and scrapping and recycling. The model was applied to a case ship, followed by multi-scenario and sensitivity analyses. Results show that the transportation and distribution stage is the dominant source of positive emissions, accounting for 88.73% of the total, while the scrapping and recycling stage provides a carbon offset benefit of 6.77%. Among five emission reduction scenarios—low-carbon materials, green energy, green logistics, circular economy, and comprehensive low-carbon—the reduction efficiencies are 2.02%, 0.06%, 18.44%, 0.42%, and 20.95%, respectively, indicating that green logistics is the core pathway for decarbonizing ship supply chains. Under the green logistics scenario, optimizing the LNG carbon emission factor yields more significant reduction effects. This study provides a life-cycle perspective on the carbon footprint structure of ship supply chains, offering theoretical references for identifying key reduction links and optimizing low-carbon technology pathways.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025022102
Organophosphate pesticides (OPs), the most extensively used insecticides globally, are ubiquitous in environmental matrices and agricultural products, leading to widespread human exposure. This systematic review evaluates the impact of OP exposure on pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes, synthesizing evidence from 58 epidemiological studies published between January 2001 and July 2024. Exposure assessment methods, including biomarkers such as urinary dialkyl phosphates, are critically examined. The review finds significant associations between OP exposure and increased risks of spontaneous abortion, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and reduced head circumference. Potential mechanisms include paraoxonase 1 (PON1) genotype polymorphisms affecting detoxification capacity, oxidative stress, inflammation, metabolic disruption, and altered placental gene networks. The review highlights inconsistencies across studies due to variability in exposure assessment, timing, and population susceptibility. Future research should prioritize longitudinal designs, repeated biomarker measurements, and consideration of PON1 genetic variants to clarify causal relationships and susceptible windows. This comprehensive synthesis provides critical insights for regulatory policies and clinical interventions aimed at mitigating maternal and child health risks from OP exposure.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2026011902
The migration of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) at the water–soil interface in paddy fields is a critical determinant of their environmental fate and crop safety. This study investigated the influence of low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) on PFASs mobility under waterlogged conditions. Four LMWOAs—oxalic, citric, lactic, and acetic acids—were individually enriched in paddy soils, and the migration of 15 PFASs was monitored. Acetic acid enrichment most strongly suppressed PFASs release into overlying water. Mechanistic analyses using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix spectroscopy, microbial amplicon sequencing, and metagenomics revealed that acetic acid reshaped the microbial community, enriching sulfate-reducing bacteria and upregulating sulfur reduction genes (SULT1A) and nitrogen transformation genes (nifN, nirI, nthB). This drove sulfate reduction to sulfite and sulfide. ABT modeling identified sulfur metabolism as the dominant factor controlling PFASs immobilization (26.06% contribution). Experiments under varying sulfur redox conditions confirmed that sulfite (SO3^2−) oxidation indirectly altered dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition, weakening PFASs–DOM binding and reducing PFASs in overlying water. These findings demonstrate that LMWOAs accumulation, particularly acetic acid, can effectively impede PFASs migration at the paddy water–soil interface via microbial sulfur cycling and associated DOM structural changes, offering a potential strategy for PFASs remediation in agricultural systems.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2026041402
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants ubiquitously distributed in paddy soils. In paddy management, surface water irrigation introduces quinolone antibiotics (QNs) into the soil, potentially altering PFAS interfacial migration via microbial community shifts. This study investigated the soil-water partitioning of PFAS under irrigation with four QNs (norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, ofloxacin) using UHPLC-MS/MS and soil metagenomics. Results showed that QNs input, especially norfloxacin, significantly promoted the release of short-chain PFAS (e.g., PFBA) from soil to overlying water, while long-chain PFAS remained largely retained in soil. Metagenomic analysis revealed that archaeal and viral communities contributed most to PFAS release. Spearman correlations indicated ammonia-oxidizing archaea (Nitrososphaera) positively correlated with PFBA, whereas Bcep22virus negatively correlated with multiple PFAS. Differential gene expression and co-occurrence networks suggested QNs suppressed key functional genes in archaea and viruses (nitrogen metabolism, secretion systems, outer membrane proteins), reshaping interfacial partitioning and enhancing short-chain PFAS mobility, thereby increasing food security risks.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3917-x
The escalating global challenge of antibiotic contamination demands advanced sensing technologies for environmental monitoring and public health protection. Here, we present a structurally well-defined, intercalation-engineered metal-organic framework (MOF), HSB-W18, which functions as an ultrasensitive and selective fluorescence sensor for fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis unambiguously determined both the framework architecture and the spatial organization of intercalated 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalate molecules at atomic resolution. Through ultrasound-assisted synthesis, highly stable book-shaped microsheets (HSB-W18-MS) were obtained, maintaining exceptional aqueous dispersibility and luminescence intensity for over one month. These microsheets offer distinct advantages for antibiotic detection: specific recognition of diverse fluoroquinolones via unique fluorescence signatures; highly sensitive ratiometric detection of enoxacin (ENX) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.62 nM and rapid response kinetics (<30 s); exceptional selectivity alongside reusability. Systematic mechanistic investigations revealed a synergistic detection process involving multiple photophysical pathways. Furthermore, a smartphone-based portable detection system was successfully implemented, and the practical utility of the sensor was validated by quantifying ENX in complex environmental samples: tap water LOD = 18.32 nM and river water LOD = 29.87 nM. This study contributes to fundamental materials science and environmental monitoring by elucidating discernible structure-property relationships in intercalated MOFs, demonstrating a robust platform for field-deployable antibiotic detection and proposing an innovative design paradigm for environmental optical sensors.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3587-4
Unstable zinc interfaces arising from dendrite growth and parasitic reactions impede the practical deployment of rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries. This study introduces 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as a parts-per-million (ppm) level electrolyte additive to stabilize the Zn anode. Theoretical and experimental analyses reveal that PAN undergoes parallel adsorption on the Zn surface, establishing strong π-π interactions between adjacent molecules that efficiently repel water. The OH, pyridine N, and azo N groups in PAN chelate Zn2+, modulating Zn2+ diffusion and promoting uniform deposition while suppressing dendrite formation. A 10 ppm (0.04 mM) PAN addition extends the lifespan of a symmetrical cell to 1500 h at 2 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2. The Zn||Cu half-cell achieves a Coulombic efficiency of 99.91% over 3500 cycles at 5 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2. Full cells with NH4V4O10 and MnO2 cathodes exhibit enhanced cycling stability. Notably, a Zn||NH4V4O10 pouch cell retains 71.1% capacity after 250 cycles at 0.8 A g−1. This work demonstrates a viable strategy for selecting high-efficiency additives for aqueous metal-based batteries.