SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4491-3
Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with multiferroic tunneling barriers offer a pathway to fully electrically controlled multi-state memory, addressing the high energy costs and scalability limits of magnetically controlled counterparts. In this work, we propose a theoretical design achieving four or ten distinct resistance states via electrical control, with a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 1.1×10^4% (11000%). This value surpasses all previously reported MTJs, including experimental systems such as CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB (TMR 65%, 4 states) and theoretical systems like Ga2O3/MgO/Ga2O3 (TMR 1120%, 2 states). The multiferroic barrier enables simultaneous control of ferroelectric and magnetic order parameters, allowing reversible switching between multiple resistance levels without external magnetic fields. Our first-principles calculations reveal that the high TMR arises from spin-dependent tunneling through the barrier, modulated by the ferroelectric polarization direction and magnetization configuration. The device operates with low write energy and exhibits non-volatile retention, making it suitable for high-density storage and in-memory computing. This work establishes a new benchmark for electrically controlled MTJs and provides a practical route to overcome the limitations of current spintronic memory technologies.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4290-9
Thermoelectric materials enable direct and reversible conversion between heat and electricity, offering unique advantages for waste heat recovery, solid-state refrigeration, and deep-space power systems. The performance is evaluated by the dimensionless figure of merit, zT = S²σT/κ, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, T is the absolute temperature, and κ is the total thermal conductivity. Achieving high zT requires simultaneous realization of a large power factor (S²σ) and low thermal conductivity. However, these parameters are intrinsically coupled, posing a fundamental challenge. PbTe is a representative thermoelectric material operating in the intermediate temperature range, with outstanding performance originating from its unique electronic band structure featuring multiple nearly degenerate valence band maxima near the L points. Band convergence via alloying with mono-tellurides such as MgTe, MnTe, CdTe, YbTe, SrTe, and EuTe effectively modifies the valence band structure, increasing band degeneracy and density-of-states effective mass, thereby enhancing electrical conductivity without decreasing the Seebeck coefficient. However, increasing the content of these mono-tellurides limits acceptor dopability, making conventional dopants like Na difficult to incorporate. This study demonstrates that co-doping strategies can preserve dopability while achieving band convergence and dislocation engineering, leading to significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity and extraordinary peak zT values. The decoupling of electronic and thermal transport through this approach offers a promising route for high-performance thermoelectrics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3696-3
The development of substitutable meniscus implants that can effectively protect articular cartilage remains a great challenge. Herein, a polyurethane with chemical crosslinking and sulfobetaine extenders containing hydrophobic chains (PU-CL-hSB) is developed, which could improve comprehensive properties and long-term stability simultaneously. By regulating the mole ratio of functional groups, PU-CL-hSB with appropriate mechanical properties, excellent tribological properties, and good fatigue resistance is used to prepare substitutable meniscus implant by hot-pressing. Due to the synergistic effect of functional groups, PU-CL-hSB meniscus implant presents comparable or even superior properties to native meniscus. It withstands a maximum force of 26.08 N versus 25.14 N for native meniscus, an energy dissipation from 45.93 to 39.17 N mm compared to 28.83 to 19.11 N mm for native meniscus over 300 cycles, and a friction coefficient from 0.08 to 0.19 compared to 0.11 to 0.26 for native meniscus. This PU-CL-hSB meniscus implant is further implanted into live rabbit knee joints for 8 and 25 weeks by a new approach, and in vivo data indicate that PU-CL-hSB meniscus implant not only protects articular cartilage from severe damage without eliciting inflammatory responses, but also can maintain normal physiological activities in the native state. Our findings present a substitutable meniscus implant that could be applied in vivo and propose evaluation methodologies for meniscus implants.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3556-6
Photon avalanche (PA) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon characterized by steep upconversion emission growth with excitation power. Since the first demonstration of PA on nanoscale and at room temperature in 2021, PA luminescence of lanthanides has attracted considerable attention in nano- and bio-photonics. However, PA nanoparticles (NPs) remain restricted to a limited range of material systems and lanthanide ions, facing challenges including inadequate nonlinearity (N), high excitation threshold (P_th), and deficient chromaticity. In a recent publication in Nature Photonics, Dong and co-workers reported a new class of PA nanosystem based on Ho3+-doped fluoride NPs, which afforded tunable PA chromaticity for multicolor sub-diffraction imaging. Unlike conventional PA systems reliant on a single reservoir level, this study introduced a novel 'parallel PA' (PPA) mechanism leveraging the dual long-lived intermediate reservoir levels (5I7 and 5I6) of Ho3+, facilitating simultaneous operation of two PA loops to generate multicolor emissions. Under 965 nm continuous-wave excitation, the PPA of Ho3+ produced simultaneous red-green-blue emissions with large N (>20). Differential rate equation modelling identified all PA signatures, including clear P_th, S-shaped curves, extremely high sigma_ESA/sigma_GSA ratio of ~75000, and volcano-shaped rise time. The engineered NaGdF4:10%Ho@NaYF4 core/shell PA NPs (~19.6 nm) exhibited remarkably high N of 17–22 with mild P_th of ~22 kW cm−2 and fast response time of 343–371 ms. By screening host lattices and introducing co-dopants, PA chromaticity was precisely tailored, demonstrating unparalleled emission tunability for multicolor super-resolution imaging.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3790-5
Near-infrared (NIR) phosphors with high quantum efficiency (QE) and thermal robustness are critical for phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pc-LEDs). Here, a Cr3+-activated Lu2BaAl4SiO12 (LBASO) garnet phosphor is engineered via chemical unit cosubstitution of [Ba2+-Si4+] for [Lu3+-Al3+] in Lu3Al5O12 (LuAG), inducing a strong crystal field that yields NIR emission at 705 nm. The optimized LBASO:0.07Cr3+ exhibits an internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 84.82% and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 46.02%. Notably, it demonstrates anti-thermal quenching (ATQ) with 126.03% of its initial intensity at 498 K under 442 nm excitation, attributed to a wide band gap, weak electron-phonon coupling, defect trap energy levels, high structural rigidity, and optimized electron population distribution. A NIR pc-LED fabricated with this phosphor achieves an output power of 134.99 mW and photoelectric conversion efficiency of 11.4% at 100 mA drive current. These results underscore the potential of LBASO:Cr3+ for applications in plant lighting, night vision, and nondestructive analysis.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4010-4
Liver fibrosis, a critical pathological consequence of chronic liver injury, remains a therapeutic challenge due to its complex mechanisms and limited effectiveness of conventional treatments. Recent advancements in two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, such as graphene derivatives, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs), MXenes, and layered double hydroxides (LDHs), have created novel opportunities for antifibrotic therapy. These materials exhibit exceptional physicochemical properties, including ultrahigh surface area, tunable surface chemistry, biocompatibility, and photothermal/electrochemical functionalities, enabling multifaceted interventions in fibrosis progression. The core therapeutic strategies mainly involve modulating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation, inhibiting excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and alleviating oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. However, 2D nanomaterials still face great challenges, such as long-term biosafety, precise functionalization for tissue-specific targeting, and scalable synthetic methods. This review systematically summarizes the recent breakthroughs in anti-fibrosis strategies based on 2D nanomaterials, elucidates their potential mechanisms of action, and explores the prospects for clinical translation of these nanoplatforms. Serving as a nexus between materials science and hepatology, 2D nanomaterials offer revolutionary prospects for precision medicine applications in hepatic fibrosis management.