SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4405-9
Conventional metal-halide X-ray scintillators, including Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO), Cs(Na)I:Tl, and Lu1.8Y0.2SiO5:Ce (LYSO), suffer from hygroscopic decomposition, high-temperature fabrication, and mechanical rigidity, which restrict their deployment in harsh-environment radiography. This study reports a nontoxic zero-dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid copper(I) halide, Cu2I2(C26H36NP)2 (Compound G), synthesized via a room-temperature solution route. The bulky phosphine ligands confer exceptional superhydrophobicity, with the material retaining 91.95% of its initial luminescence after 30 days of water immersion. A flexible scintillator screen fabricated from styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene (SEBS) exhibits a light yield of ~32,500 photons MeV-1, a spatial resolution of 19.14 lp mm-1, and a detection limit of 0.8 μGyair s-1. The screen enables stable X-ray imaging under flexible, high-temperature, and underwater conditions, eliminating vignetting and distortion in nonplanar objects. These metrics demonstrate that the superhydrophobic copper(I) halide scintillator addresses the water-stability bottleneck of commercial scintillators while delivering competitive light output and resolution, offering a viable pathway for medical diagnosis, nondestructive inspection, security checking, and space exploration.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4473-9
Selective ion separation is critical for resource recovery, water treatment, lithium extraction from salt lakes, and nuclear waste management, yet the differences in size, solvation structure, and coordination behavior among ions are often minimal, and separation is further complicated by valence, interfacial charge, and competing ions. Nanoporous materials with tunable sub-nanometer channels and chemically active interfaces can regulate ion entry, solvation reorganization, interfacial partitioning, intrapore migration, and release. This review examines three mechanistic categories—size and solvation sieving, chemical recognition, and dynamic gating—from the perspective of confined transport and ion–pore interactions, and compares their roles and coupling in systems of monovalent–monovalent, divalent–divalent, heterovalent, and chemically similar multivalent ions. We further distinguish selective adsorption, membrane enrichment, and transmembrane transport, and discuss how selectivity definitions, ion flux, feed composition, driving force, and operating time affect performance evaluation. Current research faces three major challenges: lack of comparability of performance data across different test conditions, insufficient direct evidence of ion solvation, site occupancy, and migration under operating conditions, and the complexity of feed streams. By adopting a sequential ion transport process as a unified conceptual framework, this review systematically compares separation mechanisms across diverse nanoporous materials, including MOFs, COFs, zeolites, 2D materials, microporous polymer membranes, ion-exchange membranes, biomimetic nanochannels, organic–inorganic composites, functionalized porous carbons, and biochars. This transport-process-oriented framework provides a general and mechanistic perspective for understanding and comparing selective ion separation across diverse nanoporous platforms.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4113-3
Constructing abundant grain boundary defects is a promising strategy for developing high-efficiency catalysts. However, achieving dense grain boundary defects in CuO and Cu at the nanoscale remains challenging. Inspired by Turing patterns in nature, a Turing-type CuO catalyst (TGB-CuO) with abundant grain boundaries at ~10 nm nanoscale was prepared by annealing a dodecyl sulfate-intercalated basic copper carbonate. The balanced diffusion-reaction dynamics during pyrolysis drove the spontaneous formation of Turing-type grain boundary architectures in TGB-CuO. The resulting TGB-CuO electrode exhibited outstanding performance in electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECO2RR), delivering a Faradaic efficiency of 80.15% toward multi-carbon (C2+) products and maintaining over 50% ethylene selectivity at 300 mA cm−2 for 30 h of continuous operation. Activity investigations indicated that the metallic Cu retaining Turing-type grain boundary features (TGB-Cu) formed during electroreduction was responsible for the enhanced ECO2RR performance. The Cu(100)/(100), Cu(100)/(111), and Cu(111)/(111) grain boundaries promoted CO2 activation and *CO adsorption, while lowering the free energy barriers for the rate-determining *CO2− → *COOH step and C–C coupling step. This bioinspired reaction-diffusion strategy offers a new paradigm for creating high-density grain boundary defects, offering a general route toward efficient catalyst design.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4166-5
Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) represents a significant kinetic bottleneck in sustainable energy conversion due to its complex multi-step electron transfer process. Spin manipulation has recently emerged as a promising strategy to overcome traditional catalytic scaling relationships. However, the commonly used ferromagnetic materials or external magnetic fields suffer from practical limitations including material constraints and high energy consumption. The chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect in chiral inorganic nanomaterials with high stability, conductivity, and exceptional chiroptical properties offers a groundbreaking alternative by enabling spin polarization without the need for external magnetic fields. This review systematically examines the application of chiral inorganic nanomaterials for improving OER efficiency via the CISS effect. The fundamental principles of CISS and its influence on OER kinetics are discussed. Recent experimental advances highlighting the enhanced catalytic performance are analyzed. Future research directions and challenges in leveraging chirality and spin as key design principles for next-generation OER electrocatalysts are highlighted.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3547-7
Inorganic perovskite solar cells (IPSCs) have attracted significant attention due to their excellent light and thermal stability and potential in tandem applications. However, their efficiency and stability are often limited by residual lattice stress and defects at interfaces and within the bulk, causing severe nonradiative recombination. Here, we introduce a zero-dimensional supramolecular complex, (ETP)2SbCl5, as a dual-interface and bulk modifier to regulate CsPbI3 film growth. The modifier exhibits spatial segregation: ETP+ cations anchor at the buried interface, passivating defects on TiO2 and perovskite surfaces; Sb3+ and Cl− ions diffuse into the bulk during annealing, relieving residual stress; and Cl− accumulates on the top surface, passivating cation defects. Consequently, the modified CsPbI3 solar cell achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.71% and an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.27 V, retaining 97.4% of initial efficiency after 500 h of maximum power point (MPP) tracking. This work demonstrates a synergistic strategy to simultaneously address interfacial and bulk defects, advancing high-performance and stable inorganic photovoltaics.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3407-0
Grain boundary (GB) engineering has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance the near-room-temperature performance of Mg3(Sb,Bi)2-based thermoelectric materials, yet effective control of Mg distribution at GBs remains a significant challenge. Here, we report a novel approach to achieve targeted Mg segregation at GBs through strategic Ag incorporation in Mg3.3Sb0.5Bi1.497Te0.003. Through comprehensive microstructural characterization and first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that Ag preferentially segregates at GBs, forming Mg-rich MgAg alloy phases while maintaining limited solid solubility within the matrix. This unique GB architecture simultaneously optimizes multiple thermoelectric parameters: the Mg-rich GB regions significantly provide efficient carrier transport channels and enhance carrier mobility, while the MgAg phases and lattice disorders effectively scatter phonons without disrupting electron transport. Consequently, the optimized composition (x = 0.01) exhibits a remarkable enhancement in power factor at 300 K and maintains an average ZT of ~1.0 across 300–400 K. The material also demonstrates excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability, making it particularly suitable for near-room-temperature applications. Our findings not only establish an effective strategy for GB engineering in Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 systems but also provide valuable insights into the rational design of high-performance thermoelectric materials through interface modification.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202605012
The extraction process of large-scale infiltration galleries significantly alters surface water-groundwater exchange dynamics. Existing models often simplify the gallery as a boundary condition or adopt loosely coupled schemes, constrained by iterative exchange algorithms, failing to capture dynamic water flux interactions and transient responses. This study focuses on the large riverbed infiltration and purification water supply project in Shijiazhuang, China, establishing an integrated three-domain fully coupled numerical model—encompassing surface water, groundwater, and the infiltration gallery—using the dual-node coupling approach in HydroGeoSphere. The model sets two upstream inflow scenarios (wet and dry seasons) and simulates groundwater level evolution and water exchange processes under two operational modes: single-pump extraction at 1000 m³/h and no pumping. Results show that groundwater levels decline markedly under pumping, with the most pronounced response in the dry season, where maximum drawdown reaches approximately 1.24 m. Monitoring wells near the gallery show an earlier hydraulic response to pumping, reaching peak drawdown rates about 2–3 days sooner than wells farther away. At steady-state balance, surface water contributes more recharge to groundwater during the wet season than in the dry season, and water exchange between the gallery and aquifer is substantially enhanced under pumping. Spatially, water exchange concentrates primarily around transverse and longitudinal gallery sections, consistent with localized permeability enhancement from the perforated structure. These findings reveal groundwater dynamics and multi-domain interaction mechanisms under operational conditions, providing a theoretical basis for planning, design, and management of similar riverbed infiltration projects.
Environmental Chemistry•2026•DOI: 10.7524/j.issn.0254-6108.2025042802
Activated carbon, characterized by its extensive pore structure, high specific surface area, and superior adsorption capacity, is widely employed in advanced water treatment. However, upon reaching adsorption saturation, its efficacy diminishes, necessitating replacement or regeneration. Thermal regeneration stands out due to its high desorption efficiency, simple equipment requirements, and low energy consumption, making it the predominant industrial method. Despite its prevalence, systematic investigations into the underlying reaction mechanisms and the influence of operational parameters remain insufficient. This review comprehensively examines common thermal regeneration technologies for saturated activated carbon, including multi-hearth furnaces, rotary kilns, superheated steam, microwave, and solar regeneration. It delineates the fundamental principles, process flows, advantages, disadvantages, and current research status of each method. The desorption and reaction mechanisms of pollutants within activated carbon pores during thermal regeneration are discussed in detail, along with the effects of critical conditions such as temperature, atmosphere, and purge gas flow rate on pollutant removal efficiency. Furthermore, the relationship between activated carbon performance parameters and regeneration efficiency is analyzed, and innovations based on conventional thermal regeneration, as well as integration with emerging technologies, are explored. Finally, the challenges facing thermal regeneration are summarized, and future research priorities are proposed, focusing on the treatment of waste gas and liquid byproducts, technology integration, and enhancement of overall regeneration performance. This review aims to provide a scientific foundation for the sustainable recycling of activated carbon in industrial applications.