SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4201-0
Open fracture fixation faces dual critical challenges: bacterial infection and impaired bone healing. This study presents a rationally designed biomacromolecular network coating (Ti-GOED) on titanium alloy bone plates to simultaneously address these issues. The coating integrates antimicrobial and osteogenic components, achieving an optimal balance between antibacterial efficacy and biocompatibility. In vitro assays demonstrated that Ti-GOED eliminates over 99% of common pathogenic bacteria by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis, disrupting bacterial cell wall formation, compromising membrane integrity, and leading to intracellular DNA leakage and bacterial death. Concurrently, Ti-GOED enhances the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) via activation of the PI3K-Akt and HIF-1 signaling pathways. In vivo animal experiments confirmed strong antibacterial and osteogenic properties. This work provides a strategy for developing antibacterial coatings on medical devices, with significant potential for preventing and treating infections post-fracture fixation.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202506031
The production of activated carbon from waste biomass such as cyanobacteria from Lake Taihu represents a promising resource utilization route. However, existing studies are mostly confined to laboratory scale, and the gap between laboratory processes and industrial production hinders the evaluation of technical feasibility and economic viability. This study optimized the process for producing cyanobacteria-based columnar activated carbon by co-processing cyanobacteria with garden waste (sawdust), and validated the process on an engineering-scale production line with a daily capacity of 5 t of raw materials. Economic feasibility was also assessed. Results showed that the optimized activated carbon exhibited a particle strength of 91.3% and a specific surface area of 571.44 m2·g−1. The engineering-scale line processed 5 t of raw materials daily, yielding approximately 1.18 t of activated carbon with stable quality: strength of 94.3% and specific surface area of 471.42 m2·g−1, featuring a microporous-dominant structure with coexisting micropores and mesopores. Cost analysis indicated a production cost of 3,595.65 CNY per ton of activated carbon, demonstrating favorable economic benefits. This work provides a basis for larger-scale production and application of cyanobacteria-based activated carbon.
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.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4029-4
Chemical sensing technology is pivotal in modern industry and daily life, with sensor performance critically reliant on nanomaterials. While sensors based on traditional nanomaterials, such as inorganic semiconductors and organic conductive polymers, have achieved commercialization, they face persistent challenges. As an emerging subclass, conductive metal-organic frameworks (c-MOFs) not only inherit the core advantages of traditional MOFs—high specific surface area, porosity, and tunable composition/structure—but also offer adjustable electrical conductivity, rendering them ideal for sensing applications. This review systematically elucidates the construction and properties of c-MOFs across microscopic crystalline and macroscopic micro-nano structural scales. Special emphasis is placed on the structural design and regulation of c-MOFs for analytical sensing, and the intrinsic structure-performance relationship is clarified to achieve higher sensitivity, selectivity, response speed, and long-term stability, as well as other performance metrics. Finally, we comprehensively summarize the typical applications of c-MOFs-based sensors, covering environmental and safety monitoring, photoelectric detection, and health monitoring and diagnosis. At the same time, the key challenges existing in this field, such as the controllable preparation of high-quality single-crystal materials, the theoretical analysis of intrinsic electrically conductive mechanisms, and the balance between macroscopic material stability and the processing performance of devices, were evaluated. The future research directions should focus on developing new ligands and metal combinations to optimize the band structure, deepening the exploration of the mechanisms of emerging physical effects such as piezoelectricity, and promoting the integration and application of materials in practical scenarios such as flexible electronics and wearable devices.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3511-7
The scalable deployment of MXene-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shields is constrained by the low yield of delaminated MXenes and the discarding of MXene sediment (MS) by-products, which constitute 80–90 wt.% of synthesized material. This study repurposes MS, comprising incompletely etched MAX phase and multilayer MXenes, into multifunctional nanocomposite films with cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) via aqueous casting. The 80 wt.% MS/CNF film achieves an X-band EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 52.3 dB at 0.57 mm thickness, with tunable SE exceeding 53.9 dB at 0.50 mm across X-, Ku-, K-, and Ka-bands. The film exhibits a photothermal response reaching 100 °C within 80 s under 100 mW/cm² irradiation, alongside mechanical robustness and electrical conductivity. By valorizing an industrial waste stream, this approach addresses the cost-ineffectiveness and limited utilization efficiency of MXenes, offering a scalable route for wearable electronics, EMI shielding, and thermal therapy. The findings establish a precedent for waste-to-resource engineering in 2D material composites, with direct implications for reducing precursor costs and enabling high-performance, sustainable shielding solutions.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3643-8
Inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) suffer from defect-mediated nonradiative recombination and inefficient charge extraction, particularly at the buried interface and grain boundaries (GBs), which limit power conversion efficiency (PCE) and operational stability. This study introduces a multifunctional phosphonic acid molecule, (2-(3,6-bis(trifluoromethoxy)-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl)phosphonic acid (M28), as an additive in the perovskite precursor solution. M28 spontaneously segregates toward the buried interface and GBs, fulfilling three roles: (1) slowing crystallization to enlarge grains and improve film quality, (2) passivating defects to suppress charge recombination, and (3) inducing p-type doping to create an extra electric field that promotes hole transport. Devices incorporating M28 achieve a champion PCE of 25.96% and retain 80% of initial efficiency after 1500 h of maximum power point tracking. This work demonstrates the efficacy of multifunctional phosphonic acid additives in addressing buried-interface and GB defects, offering a viable route to high-performance, stable inverted PSCs.