SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4269-4
Self-assembled molecular interlayers (SAMs) are promising hole-selective contacts for high-efficiency organic solar cells (OSCs) due to their well-defined energy alignment and minimal parasitic absorption. However, their intrinsically limited mechanical robustness often leads to structural degradation and performance loss under mechanical deformation, restricting their application in flexible devices. Here, we report a nanoparticle-reinforced self-assembled composite interface that simultaneously enhances mechanical reliability and optoelectronic performance. Uniformly dispersed SiO2 nanoparticles are introduced as high-modulus reinforcing building blocks without disturbing molecular self-assembly. In contrast to NiOx nanoparticles, which suffer from aggregation and parasitic absorption, SiO2 nanoparticles exhibit excellent dispersion and optical transparency, enabling formation of a structurally compatible hybrid interface. Mechanistic studies reveal that SiO2 nanoparticles redistribute interfacial stress and form dynamic hydrogen-bond networks with phosphonic acid groups of 2PACz, providing efficient energy dissipation during cyclic deformation. Meanwhile, modulation of interfacial polarity extends the crystallization time window of the active layer, resulting in enhanced molecular ordering and improved charge transport. As a result, devices based on the SiO2/2PACz composite interface achieve a power conversion efficiency of 20.14% for rigid devices and 19.30% for flexible devices, placing the flexible devices among the highest-performing flexible OSCs reported to date, while retaining over 90% of their initial efficiency after repeated bending cycles. This work establishes a general strategy for overcoming the trade-off between electronic selectivity and mechanical robustness in ultrathin self-assembled molecular interfaces, providing design insights for high-performance flexible organic optoelectronics.
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.
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/s40843-025-3984-5
Rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) are promising for large-scale energy storage due to high theoretical capacity, inherent safety, and abundant aluminum reserves. However, conventional AlCl3-based ionic liquid electrolytes suffer from high cost, uncontrolled dendrite growth, and severe anode corrosion. Here, a molecular-level ligand engineering strategy is proposed, employing nitrogen-containing cyclic amides with tunable N–H functionalities to modulate the coordination environment of deep eutectic electrolytes (DEEs). Combined experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the α-pyrrolidone-based DEE (PDEE) possesses a wider electrochemical window, higher ionic conductivity, and lower polarization. Precise N–H regulation optimizes cationic ligand and chloroaluminate anion interactions, accelerating ion transport to facilitate uniform Al deposition without dendrites. The amine functionalities enable in situ construction of a uniform inorganic-organic bilayer solid electrolyte interphase, mitigating anode corrosion and enhancing long-term interfacial stability. As a result, Al//Al symmetric batteries with PDEE achieve stable cycling for over 2000 hours, while Al-graphite full batteries demonstrate negligible capacity decay after 6000 cycles. This study establishes that ligand molecular engineering offers an effective strategy for optimizing DEEs, enabling durable and high-performance RABs.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5813(26)60680-9
Low-temperature chemical looping air separation (CLAS) is a promising technology for producing oxygen-enriched gas streams, utilizing the redox properties of solid oxygen carriers to selectively capture and release oxygen from air. Oxygen vacancy formation energy (Eovf) is a key descriptor for evaluating the ease of oxygen release. In this study, the applicable range of Eovf for CLAS oxygen carriers was determined to be <2.3 eV via thermodynamic calculations. A graph neural network (GNN) model, specifically the ALIGNN architecture, was trained to predict Eovf with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.26 eV on the test set. Using this model, a high-throughput screening of 3,649 compositions of SrxA1−xFeyB1−yO3 perovskites was conducted to identify promising CLAS oxygen carriers. The predictions revealed that doping with Ba and Ca at the A-site and Co at the B-site effectively reduces Eovf. The screening criterion of Eovf < 2.3 eV successfully rediscovered several previously reported low-temperature CLAS oxygen carriers, validating the approach. This work demonstrates that GNN-based Eovf prediction can significantly accelerate the discovery of CLAS materials, with broader implications for other chemical looping applications such as full oxidation and syngas production.