SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4479-8
The von Neumann architecture is increasingly constrained by energy consumption and data-transfer efficiency as artificial intelligence and data-intensive applications expand. Neuromorphic computing, inspired by the human brain's information-processing mechanisms, offers an alternative paradigm. Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials are promising candidates due to their intrinsic non-volatility, atomic-scale thickness, ultra-low power consumption, excellent fatigue endurance, and dangling-bond-free surfaces. This review examines recent advances in 2D ferroelectric materials and associated device architectures for neuromorphic applications. It first introduces ferroelectric mechanisms and representative 2D ferroelectrics, then surveys key device architectures including ferroelectric tunnel junctions, diodes, transistors, and photovoltaic devices. Their applications in in-memory computing and in-sensor neuromorphic systems are discussed, with emphasis on artificial neural networks, spiking neural networks, reservoir computing, and neuromorphic perception for efficient information processing and intelligent sensing. The unique properties of 2D ferroelectrics enable integrated sensing, memory, and computing functionalities, demonstrating potential for future neuromorphic and brain-inspired intelligent systems.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4257-y
Hafnia-based ferroelectrics exhibit a distinctive reverse size effect and exceptional scalability, positioning them as critical candidates for CMOS-compatible non-volatile memory and ferroelectric transistors, with substantial promise for advancing hardware acceleration in artificial intelligence and large-data storage technologies. However, their practical deployment is constrained by a longstanding dilemma: the difficulty in simultaneously stabilizing metastable polar phases and ensuring long-term reliability under the high electric fields required for polarization switching. This review reinterprets this challenge through the lens of defect physics and advocates a paradigm shift from stochastic, disorder-mediated defect incorporation toward ordered, multiscale defect engineering. We systematically discuss the collective influence of point defects, line defects, planar defects, and defect-coupled structures on the phase stability, switching kinetics, and failure mechanisms in hafnia-based ferroelectrics. Controlling oxygen-vacancy states, engineering dopants via Fermi-level and chemical pressure, deploying periodic dislocation arrays, designing topological domain walls, functionalizing interfaces, and leveraging flexoelectric strain gradients constitute the core strategic toolkit. Through such ordered defect architectures, scalable performance metrics, including high remanent polarization, low coercive field, fast switching speed, and endurance exceeding 10^12 cycles, become attainable. These approaches establish a set of design principles for next-generation low-power, high-reliability ferroelectric electronics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3623-y
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are an advanced technology for full-color displays, yet the low efficiency of blue OLEDs remains a critical bottleneck. Here, we report a new strategy to design robust Pt(II) emitters with enhanced molecular rigidity and increased locally excited character. The resulting Pt(II) emitter exhibits an extremely narrow emission spectrum peaking at 458.6 nm with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 16.0 nm and a small Huang-Rhys factor of 0.278, together with a high photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 95%. When doped into an OLED, the device emits at 464 nm with high color purity (FWHM = 19 nm) and achieves high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 32.6%, 29.4%, and 26.9% at luminances of 123, 1000, and 5000 cd/m2, respectively. Notably, the device attains a record-high maximum brightness of 84,895 cd/m2 among reported deep-blue OLEDs with Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE) y-coordinate < 0.15. This work demonstrates one of the highest-performing deep-blue OLEDs reported to date, addressing the dual challenges of efficiency and brightness in this spectral region.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3773-7
Kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells suffer from significant open-circuit voltage (VOC) deficits due to severe interfacial and bulk recombination, restricting their power conversion efficiency (PCE) far below the Shockley-Queisser limit. This work proposes a low-temperature annealing strategy during ITO sputtering (SA) to synergistically address these challenges. The temperature applied during ITO sputtering not only improves the crystallinity, carrier concentration, and optical transmittance of the ITO layer but also promotes the diffusion of In from ITO into both CdS and CZTSSe layers. Consequently, lattice matching at the CZTSSe/CdS interface is optimized, enabling epitaxial growth. And a favorable ITO/In:CdS/In&Cd:CZTSSe structure with optimal band alignment is obtained. As a result, a champion device with a PCE of 14.29% was achieved. The SA-treating also enabled the CZTSSe solar cells to achieve the highest VOC reported to date, exceeding 590 mV. This underscores the essential role of SA processing in optimizing interface engineering and suppressing defects, thus promoting the development of low-cost, high-performance kesterite photovoltaics.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5813(26)60646-9
This dataset provides high-precision molecular dynamics trajectories for oxidative pyrolysis of three paraffin models with distinct straight-chain hydrocarbon distributions, simulated over a temperature range of 2100–2500 K. The COMPASS force field was used for initial structure optimization, and the ReaxFF reactive force field for pyrolysis simulation. The database comprises atomic trajectories, species evolution information, and reaction network analysis results for both heating and isothermal cracking processes, totaling approximately 141 GB and including 150,000 atomic configuration frames. Data are stored in a hierarchical directory structure, supporting multi-scale mechanistic studies. The dataset enables quantitative analysis of carbon chain length effects on reaction pathways, high-resolution tracking of free radical evolution, and extraction of kinetic parameters across a wide temperature range. It provides an atomic-scale foundation for understanding paraffin oxidative pyrolysis, with implications for addressing wax deposition in oil and gas extraction, enhancing product selectivity in cracking processes, and advancing clean fuel technologies. The data are publicly available via DOI:10.57760/sciencedb.31639.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3884-1
Sliding ferroelectricity arises from lateral interlayer shifts in stacked two-dimensional van der Waals materials, where relative sliding of one layer over another breaks inversion symmetry and generates switchable polarization. This novel mechanism enables intrinsically nonpolar crystals to exhibit ferroelectric behavior via specific stacking arrangements, expanding the pool of potential ferroelectrics. Distinctive features include ultralow switching barriers, exceptional endurance over millions to trillions of cycles, and ultrafast polarization reversal on sub-nanosecond timescales, surpassing conventional ferroelectrics. This review begins with theoretical models of sliding ferroelectricity, followed by experimental verification and characterization techniques. It then discusses recent advances in polarization-switching kinetics, domain wall dynamics, topological polar structures, multiple polarization states, optical probing, and active modulation strategies. Finally, challenges and future prospects for two-dimensional sliding ferroelectric materials are addressed.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025011302
Heavy metal contamination in soil severely compromises the quality and safety of Alisma orientale medicinal materials, and consumption of contaminated herbal preparations poses health risks. To characterize contamination and risks in Sichuan's genuine producing areas, 159 paired soil and plant samples were collected. Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni were determined via ICP-OES. Soil pollution was assessed using the Single Pollution Index (Pi), Nemerow Comprehensive Index (Pn), and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI). Human health risks from heavy metals in Alisma were evaluated via Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Hazard Index (HI). Mean soil concentrations were Cu 29.57, Zn 61.86, Pb 29.51, Cd 1.77, and Ni 28.08 mg·kg−1. Except for Cd, all elements were below agricultural soil screening values. Pi and Pn confirmed Cd contamination, with Cd posing slight to strong potential ecological risks. Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni showed highly significant positive correlations, indicating common origins. Heavy metal concentrations in Alisma did not exceed pharmacopeial limits. The plant exhibited strong Zn enrichment but weak accumulation of Cu, Cd, and Pb, and negligible Ni enrichment. THQ and HI values indicated no potential health risks under current exposure. Quantitative assessment is critical for soil pollution control, safe cultivation, and medication safety.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4105-8
Chiral europium(III) (Eu(III)) complexes, characterized by their f-f transitions and allowed magnetic dipole transitions, exhibit narrowband emission and superior circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with high luminescence dissymmetry factors (g_lum), making them promising for circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) and 3D displays. Here, we report a pair of R/S-Eu(TTA)3DFPO enantiomers, employing β-diketone 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-(2-thenoyl)acetone (TTA) as the main ligand and point-chiral R/S-tert-butyl(6-(diphenylphosphoryl)dibenzo[b,d]furan-4-yl)(phenyl)phosphine-oxide (R/S-DFPO) as ancillary ligands. In toluene, these enantiomers display characteristic narrowband red emission from the 5D0→7F2 transition of Eu(III), with a maximum emission wavelength of 617 nm, a full width at half maximum of 11 nm, a photoluminescence quantum yield of 43%, and pronounced chiroptical response, evidenced by |g_PL| values of 8.0 × 10^-3 around 590 nm (5D0→7F1 transition). Notably, CP-OLEDs fabricated via vacuum deposition achieve a maximum external quantum efficiency of 4.0% and exhibit obvious circularly polarized electroluminescence with |g_EL| values exceeding 1.0 × 10^-2. These results demonstrate that point-chiral phosphine-oxide ligands provide an effective strategy for achieving coordination-stable chiral Eu(III) complexes for high-performance CP-OLEDs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3787-x
Circumventing the tumor's defensive antioxidant system and achieving precision cancer therapy remain major challenges in high-efficacy tumor treatments. Here, we propose a synergistic strategy integrating non-oxidative physical ablation and oxidative chemical intervention. An acid-responsive self-collapsing nanomineral PCSB is constructed, comprising poly(acrylic acid)-modified calcium sulfite (CaSO3) and a pH-responsive photoacoustic (PA) therapeutic molecule, aza-BDP. In the tumor acidic microenvironment, PCSB decomposes, releasing PA agents and SO2/Ca2+, thereby enabling combined non-oxidative mechanical damage from PA therapy and oxidative chemical damage from SO2 gas and Ca2+ ions. This dual-action approach effectively reduces resistance conferred by tumor antioxidant mechanisms and improves treatment precision. The study presents a synergistic physical-chemical strategy with significant potential for solid tumor elimination.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3783-x
The synergistic strategy combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy has recently demonstrated significant promise in cancer treatment. However, the substantial physicochemical disparities between chemotherapeutic agents and small-molecule immune adjuvants pose considerable challenges for co-delivery strategies. In this study, we designed a reactive oxygen species-responsive paclitaxel prodrug, PTX-PBA, which markedly enhanced drug encapsulation stability and dual-drug loading efficiency by various polymeric delivery systems. The resultant nanosystem (NanoPR) exhibited excellent physicochemical properties and ROS-triggered release profiles, effectively inducing immunogenic cell death in tumor cells while promoting dendritic cell maturation and CD8+ T cells activation. In murine models of 4T1 breast cancer and CT26 colon carcinoma, NanoPR achieved significant tumor growth inhibition and elicited durable immune memory responses. Collectively, this work provides an innovative molecular design strategy for the co-delivery of chemotherapeutics and immunomodulators, offering a robust foundation for the clinical translation of chemo-immunotherapy.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025033102
Olfaction is crucial for fish survival in complex aquatic environments, enabling detection and discrimination of odor signals that regulate foraging, predator avoidance, social interaction, courtship, and migration. The fish olfactory system, directly exposed to water, is highly susceptible to aquatic pollutants such as heavy metals and pesticides. This review summarizes the composition and structure of the fish olfactory system, the process of olfactory response, and current research on olfactory toxicity of major aquatic pollutants. Key findings indicate that pollutants like copper and cadmium disrupt olfactory epithelium integrity, alter olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) populations, and impair odor-driven behaviors. For instance, copper exposure in larval zebrafish causes differential death and regeneration of OSN populations, leading to neurobehavioral deficits. Cadmium exposure in juvenile coho salmon differentially alters odorant-driven behaviors and olfactory receptor expression. The review highlights the need for further research on mechanisms, mixture effects, and development of biomarkers for early warning. Understanding olfactory toxicity is vital for ecological risk assessment and for developing fish-based biosensors for water quality monitoring.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3941-2
The precise and directed assembly of multicomponent aggregates remains a central challenge in materials chemistry, particularly the integration of neutral clusters. This study introduces a 'cation-mediated co-crystallization' strategy to overcome electrostatic assembly barriers between neutral aluminum molecular rings and polyoxometalates (POMs). By controllably functionalizing the rings with cationic moieties, the approach bypasses traditional 'ion-pair' limitations, enabling incorporation of diverse neutral clusters. The strategy exhibits structural extensibility, with cationic sites adjustable on ring exteriors or interiors, and potential extension to various polyanionic systems. The resulting hybrid materials demonstrate outstanding solution processability. When incorporated as dielectric dopants in a polymer matrix, they achieve a synergistic '1+1>2' effect: aluminum rings contribute high capacitance density (~11.19) and low dielectric loss (~0.03), while POMs provide high breakdown strength (~740 MV m−1). This work establishes a paradigm for directed macroscopic functional assembly via molecular-level cluster interaction 'encoding'.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608006
Organic waste is a potential phosphorus reservoir, and understanding the dynamics of available phosphorus (AP) during its resource utilization is critical for efficient phosphorus recovery. Composting, a key route for organic waste valorization, involves complex transformations of phosphorus alongside organic matter degradation and humification. However, the long duration and high cost of composting experiments, coupled with multifactorial influences, hinder efficient elucidation of AP dynamics via conventional methods. This study compiled data from 33 publications, constructing a dataset of 647 samples. Data preprocessing included iterative imputation, one-hot encoding, and standardization. A stacking ensemble learning model was developed to predict AP generation during composting. The optimal ensemble comprised XGBoost and SVR as base learners and ElasticNet as the meta-learner, achieving R² values of 0.954 and 0.928 on training and test sets, respectively, with low overall error. SHAP analysis revealed that key factors influencing AP content, in descending order of importance, were feedstock type, bulking agent type, turning interval, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and C/N ratio. Notably, livestock manure as feedstock and straw-based bulking agents contributed positively to AP predictions. Partial dependence plots indicated that lower pH and C/N ratios generally favored AP accumulation throughout composting. During the initial stage, higher moisture content and lower EC enhanced AP; in the thermophilic phase, higher temperatures corresponded to higher AP; and during cooling and maturation, maintaining moisture below 48% and C/N below 14, while extending composting beyond 43 days, promoted AP accumulation. This study demonstrates accurate AP prediction via stacking ensemble learning and identifies critical factors, offering support for optimizing phosphorus management in composting engineering.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4019-1
Vision is a vital means for humans to perceive the environment, with 80% of information from visual perception. Developing visual systems approaching or surpassing human-level vision plays an indispensable role in advancing autonomous driving, intelligent security, and other fields. Optoelectronic neuromorphic devices, integrating sensing and memory, are promising for emulating human vision. This study constructs a biomimetic visual system based on a 16 × 16 InAlZnO optoelectronic neuromorphic array with oxygen vacancy gradients. Under multi-factor modulation (oxygen vacancy concentration differences, Ag ions, heterojunction interfaces), the device achieves electrical/optical conductance tunability. Integrated with external circuits and a field-programmable gate array, the system successfully emulates human vision capabilities: image memory, denoising, attention mechanism, and motion state perception (direction, speed, color). Image digit recognition based on visual attention reaches 97.15% accuracy, and motion state recognition reaches 100%. This system will promote bionic vision development and application, paving the way for high-performance neuromorphic vision systems surpassing the human eye.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4033-1
Photodetectors are critical components in modern optoelectronic systems, underpinning applications in optical communication, low-altitude economy, environmental monitoring, and national defense. Layered two-dimensional (2D) materials such as MoS2, WS2, black phosphorus (BP), and ReS2 have attracted extensive attention due to their remarkable electronic and optical properties, including facile mechanical exfoliation and tunable characteristics via thickness engineering. The absence of dangling bonds enables the construction of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures free from lattice-matching constraints, promoting efficient charge transport, enhanced light absorption, and suppressed dark current. Among layered materials, semimetals such as graphene, PdTe2, MoTe2, and TaIrTe4 exhibit narrow or zero bandgaps, enabling ultrabroadband spectral responses from ultraviolet (UV) to terahertz (THz). ZrTe3, a layered gapless semimetal, demonstrates pronounced carrier transport features, including robust excitons and ultrafast carrier relaxation times, making it an ideal candidate for photodetection. However, pure ZrTe3-based photodetectors suffer from substantial dark current due to the absence of an energy bandgap, degrading signal-to-noise ratio and specific detectivity (D*). This work reports a high-performance broadband photodetector based on a ZrTe3/CuInP2Se6 heterostructure. By exploiting an asymmetric contact configuration that introduces a Schottky barrier, the device effectively suppresses dark current while enhancing photoresponse. The photodetector exhibits broad spectral sensitivity from UV to near-infrared (355–1177 nm), microsecond-level response speed, and high responsivity and specific detectivity. Beyond conventional photodetection, an optoelectronic information encryption-decryption application is demonstrated, where modulated light and bias voltage serve as dual input channels to encode and decode ASCII signals. This study resolves the challenge of high dark current in semimetal-based photodetectors and introduces a multifunctional platform for secure optoelectronic communication, highlighting the potential of ZrTe3 for next-generation photonic and quantum information technologies.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4146-8
The conventional trial-and-error approach for the research and development (R&D) of high-performance super-hydrophilic coatings presents long-standing challenges, including data scarcity, unclear structure-activity relationships, and lack of design guidelines. In this study, an innovative multi-model framework that synergistically integrates a specialized polymer large language model (PolyLLM) and a polymer machine learning model (PolyML) for intelligent R&D of super-hydrophilic coating systems is designed and demonstrated. During the hydrophilic polymer research phase, the multi-model leverages the domain-specific insights and chemical tool capabilities of the fine-tuned PolyLLM to systematically screen 852 hydrophilic monomers and generate 3880 hypothetical polymer architectures. By utilizing the PolyML, the multi-model enables precise performance predictions and quantitative evaluations of feature importance to facilitate efficient high-throughput screening of optimal structures from the generated polymer database. Experimental validation confirms that the multi-model achieves a mean absolute error (MAE) below 10% across various polymer property prediction tasks compared to experimental data. This approach leads to the rapid discovery of hydrophilic polymers with exceptional anti-swelling and wear-resistance. In developing super-hydrophilic coatings, the multi-model effectively combines PolyLLM's guidance for large-scale synthesis with PolyML's capabilities for precise formulation optimization and curing parameter adjustments. The effectiveness of multi-model is demonstrated by the accelerated development of high-performance anti-fogging coatings for swim goggles and optical films with outstanding water- and wear-resistance that significantly outperform leading commercial products. This multi-model offers a flexible approach for advanced polymer coatings, leading to a seamless connection between laboratory research and industrial development.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3480-1
Electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia (NRA) offers a sustainable route for wastewater denitrification and decentralized ammonia synthesis, but its practical deployment is constrained by sluggish reaction kinetics and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Monometallic Cu electrocatalysts, despite favorable nitrate adsorption and tunable electronic structure, exhibit weak H* adsorption, limiting the hydrogen radical-mediated pathway that suppresses HER at low overpotentials. Here, highly dispersed Cu/WO3 heterojunctions supported on carbon fiber were synthesized via carbothermal shock reduction, which reaches ultra-high temperatures within seconds and prevents active-site accumulation. The optimal Cu/WO3 heterojunction achieves an ammonia yield rate of 158.66 μmol h−1 cm−2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 98.27%. Electron paramagnetic resonance and density functional theory calculations reveal a synergistic mechanism: Cu sites preferentially adsorb NO3−, while adjacent WO3 sites accelerate water dissociation to generate hydrogen radicals (H*), which drive the continuous hydrogenation of nitrate to ammonia. This spatial separation of functions promotes the H*-mediated pathway and suppresses HER. The work establishes a heterojunction design strategy for non-precious-metal NRA electrocatalysts, enabling high-rate, high-selectivity ammonia production under mild conditions.