SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4183-3
Excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation poses significant risks to human health, necessitating highly sensitive detection systems. Organic photodetectors (OPDs) offer high sensitivity and tunable spectral response, but their UV performance is constrained by conventional glass/indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates and electrodes, and insufficient photoactive layer responsivity. Here, we report high-performance UV-OPDs achieved through UV-transparent window and active-layer optimization. Replacing glass/ITO with a UV-transparent window comprising a quartz substrate and PH1000 electrode enhances UV transmittance. Integrating the high UV-responsive blend PM6:Y6:PC71BM as the active layer, the optimal ternary UV-OPD exhibits external quantum efficiency (EQE) exceeding 53% across 280–400 nm, with a peak EQE of 78.29% and responsivity of 214.68 mA/W at 340 nm, alongside a rapid response time of 2.6/2.1 μs. This performance represents the best combination of responsivity and response time reported to date in the UV region. We demonstrate the potential of these UV-OPDs for outdoor real-time UV monitoring. This work presents a promising strategy for developing high-performance UV-OPDs through transparent substrate and electrode engineering, and active-layer optimization.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3564-9
Sluggish water dissociation kinetics in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) hamper its practical production. Here, a heterojunction electrocatalyst featuring Ru-Ni(OH)2 interfaces on nickel foam (NF) with self-engineered built-in electric fields (BIEF) was synthesized via a simple in situ galvanic replacement reaction. The hierarchical Ru-Ni(OH)2/NF exhibits a record overpotential of 9.6 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for alkaline HER, surpassing most reported catalysts and commercial Pt/C. It also shows exceptional activity for hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) at 100 mA cm−2 with a remarkably low potential of ca. 0.015 V vs. RHE. The assembled overall hydrazine splitting (OHzS) system integrating HER and HzOR requires a cell voltage of about 0.09 V to reach 50 mA cm−2, which is 1.637 V lower than the corresponding overall water splitting (OWS) device. Systematic analysis and calculation reveal that the BIEF induces redistribution of interfacial electrons for Ru, facilitating H2O dissociation and intermediate conversion, delivering ultra-high electrocatalytic performance. This work provides an avenue for design and preparation of electric field-mediated catalysts towards sustainable energy conversion.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025102501
Non-antibiotic emerging contaminants (ECs) pose a growing threat to aquatic organisms, particularly fish, yet their impact on gut microbiota remains inadequately characterized. This systematic review synthesizes current evidence on the effects and mechanisms of non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), nanomaterials, and microplastics on fish gut microbiota. Exposure to these ECs directly alters microbial composition and diversity, while indirectly disrupting host metabolism and immune function, leading to significant health impairments. Notably, EC exposure induces dysregulation of key factors such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), compromising intestinal barrier integrity. Concurrently, gut microbiota can metabolically transform certain ECs into derivatives, establishing a complex pollutant-microbiota-host interaction network. The gut microbiota mediates EC-induced neurotoxicity, immune dysfunction, and metabolic disorders through signaling pathways such as TLR/NF-κB and metabolic homeostasis regulation. Current research predominantly addresses short-term exposure effects, leaving long-term low-dose impacts and transgenerational mechanisms poorly understood. Future investigations should employ multi-generational exposure and microbiota transplantation to elucidate gut microbiota-mediated toxicity mechanisms under non-antibiotic EC stress. This review underscores the urgent need for comprehensive risk assessment and regulatory frameworks targeting non-antibiotic ECs in aquatic environments.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5813(26)60701-3
Hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) is an effective method for removing nitrogen-containing heteroatom compounds from inferior feedstocks, with the core challenge being the development of catalysts that combine low cost and high performance. In this study, a FeZn-supported catalyst was modified by introducing six different metal promoters (La, Ti, Ce, Mn, Mg, and Cr). It was found that Cr exhibited a pronounced promotional effect on HDN performance. The promoting effect of Cr on the FeZn catalyst's activity originates from its electronic interaction with sulfided Fe species, rather than functioning as an independent active site. Specifically, Cr and Zn species act synergistically as electron donors, transferring electron density to the sulfided Fe species, thereby modulating the electronic structure of Fe to render it in an electron-rich state. This increased electronic density weakens the Fe–S bonds in the active phase, promoting their cleavage and facilitating the formation of hydrogenation active sites known as coordinated unsaturated sulfur vacancies (CUS). After introducing 3% Cr, under conditions of 340–380 °C, 4 MPa pressure, and a high weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 8.7 h−1, the catalyst's HDN conversion rate for the basic nitrogen compound quinoline increased by 14.5%–19.7% compared to the unmodified catalyst, reaching 81.9% at 380 °C. Furthermore, Cr introduction increased the number of medium-strength Lewis acid sites, which work synergistically with the increased CUS sites to enhance overall hydrogenation activity. Cr addition effectively governs the selectivity of the HDN pathway, with the reaction rate constant for the deep hydrogenation pathway over the FeZn3Cr@GA catalyst reaching 3.2 times that of the unmodified FeZn@GA catalyst. In summary, using Fe as the primary active metal component and regulating its electronic structure through promoters represents an effective approach for designing low-cost, high-performance HDN catalysts.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4059-3
Deuterium (D2) is indispensable for isotope tracing, neutron scattering, and fusion reactions, yet its separation from hydrogen (H2) remains challenging due to their nearly identical physicochemical properties. Adsorptive separation exploiting the kinetic quantum sieving (KQS) effect at cryogenic temperatures offers a promising route, but demands precise pore engineering. Here, we report a biomass-derived carbon molecular sieve that permits rapid D2 transport while imposing a significant diffusion barrier for H2, enabling effective separation from D2/H2 mixtures. The molecular sieving micropores are generated by transforming cellulose components into slit-type carbon micropores, with lignin acting as a pore-size modifier. At 77 K, the diffusion rate of D2 is 1.8 times that of H2, leading to a D2 concentration in the recovered gas approximately 10% higher than that achieved with conventional microporous carbons. Aspen adsorption simulations demonstrate that D2 can be enriched to 90.1% from a 1.0% D2/H2 mixture within 12 successive cycles following a two-bed cryogenic pressure swing adsorption process. These findings advance the development of effective adsorbents for kinetic D2/H2 separation, offering a sustainable, low-cost route to deuterium enrichment.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3578-5
MXene-based multilayered composite films are promising for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, yet the trade-off between mechanical robustness, oxidation resistance, and shielding effectiveness remains unresolved. This study fabricates alternating multilayered MXene/carbon nanotube (CNT) films via alternating vacuum-assisted filtration, inspired by millefeuille architecture. The CNT layers serve as mechanical frame and oxidation barrier while synergistically enhancing EMI shielding through an absorption-reflection-reabsorption mechanism. The optimized 36-μm-thick film achieves an EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 81.4 dB across 8.2–26.5 GHz, with tensile strength of 83.4 MPa and toughness of 7.20 MJ/m³. The CNT layers isolate MXene from oxygen, imparting fire/oxidation resistance in complex environments. The film also exhibits Joule heating capability, reaching 237 °C within 10 s at 2.0 V. This alternating multilayered architecture overcomes the performance balance limit, offering a viable route for EMI shielding materials in harsh conditions.