SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3932-1
Organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have attracted considerable interest due to their unique advantages, such as tunable molecular structures, excellent processability, intrinsic flexibility, and diverse excited-state characteristics. Among these, stimuli-responsive RTP materials, whose luminescence can be modulated by external stimuli (e.g., light, pH, heat, mechanical force or solvent), hold great promise for advanced applications like anti-counterfeiting, information encryption, and sensing. In this review, we systematically summarize recent advances in stimuli-responsive RTP materials, classifying them based on their activation mechanisms. Specifically, we elucidate the fundamental principles governing their stimulus-responsive behaviors and highlight representative examples from various categories. Furthermore, we explore structure-property relationships and design strategies to establish a foundational framework for understanding these materials. This review not only deepens the mechanistic insights into stimuli-responsive RTP systems but also provides strategic guidance for the rational design of next-generation intelligent RTP materials in multidisciplinary fields.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202606003
Membrane separation technology, offering high separation efficiency, low energy consumption, and operational flexibility, is promising for lithium recovery. However, selective lithium extraction from complex matrices such as salt lake brines and battery leachates remains challenging. Traditional membrane development relies on empirical trial-and-error, suffering from low efficiency and the permeability-selectivity trade-off. This review systematically delineates machine learning (ML)-based frameworks for membrane material development, including high-throughput rational screening, inverse design of synthesis protocols, and high-fidelity performance prediction. We elucidate how advanced ML algorithms decipher structure-activity relationships at the molecular level, enabling breakthroughs in performance ceilings and guiding bottom-up fabrication of next-generation membranes. Critical challenges are assessed: scarcity of high-quality standardized datasets, limited model interpretability, and poor generalizability to industrial scales. Future directions emphasize physics-informed hybrid models, open-source global databases, and full-process system optimization to bridge laboratory innovation and industrial deployment.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4037-1
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) poses a therapeutic challenge due to its anatomical complexity and the limitations of conventional treatments in achieving precise targeting and sufficient efficacy. Here, we report a multifunctional platform based on heat-triggered electrospray self-healing porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres encapsulating indocyanine green (ICG), sequentially coated with a tannic acid-Fe3+ (TAF) metal-phenolic network and fibronectin (FN) for targeted photothermal/chemodynamic combination therapy. The resulting functional microspheres (PI-TAF@FN) exhibit an average size of 1.9 μm, excellent colloidal stability, heat-induced self-healing performance, and a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 51.4%. These microspheres specifically target NPC cells via FN-mediated integrin recognition, enabling ICG/TAF-mediated photothermal therapy under 808-nm laser irradiation and TAF-mediated chemodynamic therapy, leading to enhanced cancer cell apoptosis in vitro. In a mouse NPC model, the combined photothermo-chemodynamic therapy achieved effective tumor treatment with minimal systemic toxicity. Furthermore, the dual TAF and ICG components allow multimode FN-targeted T1-weighted magnetic resonance/fluorescence/thermal imaging for precision NPC management. This electrospray self-healing porous microsphere platform offers a unique theranostic strategy that can integrate diverse therapeutic and diagnostic components for precision oncology.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3380-6
The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in strongly correlated transition metal oxide (TMO) systems provides a platform for investigating coupled spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom, and enables spin current-driven magnetization switching. However, enhancing the AHE in such systems remains a critical challenge. This work systematically investigates the electronic transport properties of SrIrO3/NiCo2O4 (SIO/NCO) heterostructures. The AHE of SIO/NCO heterostructures is enhanced by an order of magnitude compared to ferrimagnetic NCO single films. The enhancement becomes more pronounced as the SIO sublayer thickness decreases, which is attributed to large strain exacerbating interfacial charge transfer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals variations in binding energies and concentrations of electronic states, confirming the charge transfer mechanism. The AHE in SIO/NCO heterostructures arises from the synergistic effect of the intrinsic mechanism dominated by Berry curvature and the extrinsic mechanism caused by impurity scattering. These findings advance the reliability of TMO-based spintronic devices.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3525-6
Alloying Pt with non-noble metals optimizes Pt-based electrocatalyst activity, yet random elemental distribution and weak interatomic bonding in disordered alloys limit stability and performance. This study reports a superlattice-ordered Pt2CoNi intermetallic nanocatalyst with abundant surface microstrain for bifunctional hydrogen electrocatalysis. The ordered crystalline structure enforces alternating Pt and Co/Ni atomic arrangements, while multiple Pt2CoNi grains with differing orientations generate microstrain due to intermetallic lattice parameter mismatch. This structure modulates electron distribution, downshifts the d-band center, and accelerates hydrogen adsorption/desorption. The catalyst achieves a hydrogen evolution reaction mass activity of 1.02 A/mg Pt with only 3.7 mV overpotential variation after 10,000 cycles, and a hydrogen oxidation reaction kinetic mass activity of 4.08 A/mg Pt with 97.3% activity retention after 12 h at 0.1 V vs. RHE. These metrics substantially exceed conventional Pt/C benchmarks, addressing the dual challenges of low mass activity and poor durability in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers and fuel cells. The work establishes a rational design route for durable, high-performance intermetallic nanocatalysts via controlled crystal structure engineering.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3490-4
The stringent BT.2020 standard for ultrahigh-definition displays demands green organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with narrowband emission and high external quantum efficiency (EQE), yet conventional multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitters suffer from spectral broadening and aggregation-induced quenching. This work integrates spiro-locking motifs and peripheral substitutions into an MR framework to suppress molecular vibrations and mitigate aggregation. The resulting emitters, LL108 and LL125, exhibit narrow full width at half-maximum (FWHM) below 30 nm in doped films and high horizontal dipole ratios. Conventional doped devices achieve maximum EQEs of 29.5% for LL108 and 24.4% for LL125, with Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.20, 0.71) and (0.18, 0.72), respectively, closely approaching the BT.2020 green standard. Sensitized devices using Ir(ppy)3 as a sensitizer further enhance performance, reaching a maximum EQE of 30.3% and significantly reduced efficiency roll-off, with EQE of 24–25% at 10,000 cd m−2. Although sensitization slightly broadens the emission spectra, higher doping concentrations improve energy transfer and color purity. These results demonstrate that spiro-locking design is a viable strategy for developing efficient, high-color-purity green emitters for next-generation displays.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3518-2
Semitransparent organic photodetectors (ST-OPDs) are constrained by the limited transmittance of conventional electrodes, typically indium tin oxide (ITO) bottom electrodes paired with thin metal top electrodes (e.g., 10 nm Ag), which restrict average visible transmittance (AVT) to below 60%—well short of the ~80% required for electronic displays. This work introduces a cost-effective transfer-printing process for PEDOT:PSS top electrodes, yielding films with >90% transmittance across the ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectrum. The resulting ST-OPDs achieve an AVT of 74.8% and a specific detectivity exceeding 5 × 10^11 Jones. The high transparency enables dual-sided responsiveness, demonstrated by photoplethysmography heart-rate monitoring from both device sides, facilitating integration with readout circuits. The transfer-printing method exhibits broad applicability across various active layers. These findings establish a scalable route to high-performance ST-OPDs for integratable, biocompatible, and invisible optical-sensing applications in transparent electronics.