SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4279-0
Inkjet printing has emerged as a viable additive manufacturing route for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), offering drop-on-demand patterning, high material utilization, and compatibility with large-area flexible substrates. This review critically examines the formulation science, printhead physics, and drying kinetics that govern the quality of inkjet-printed organic layers. We analyze the rheological window required for stable jetting, typically 1–20 mPa·s viscosity and 25–45 mN/m surface tension, and the dimensionless Ohnesorge number (0.1 < Z < 1) that defines satellite-free droplet formation. The coffee-ring effect, driven by capillary flow and solvent evaporation gradients, remains the dominant failure mode for pixel non-uniformity; binary solvent systems and substrate temperature control (40–60 °C) mitigate this. We survey recent progress in printed hole-transport, emissive, and electron-transport layers, with particular attention to cross-linkable hole-transport materials that resist interlayer dissolution. Device performance metrics from printed OLEDs now reach external quantum efficiencies of 15–20% for fluorescent emitters and >25% for phosphorescent systems, with operating lifetimes (T95) exceeding 1,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m². We identify remaining bottlenecks: nozzle clogging from aggregated nanoparticles, film thickness variation across large panels, and the absence of standardized ink formulations. The review concludes with a roadmap for industrial adoption, emphasizing in-line metrology and closed-loop process control as prerequisites for yield parity with vacuum-deposited OLEDs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4468-6
The proliferation of multispectral detection platforms demands materials that simultaneously satisfy electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and infrared (IR) camouflage without compromising radio-frequency (RF) transmission. Conventional MXene films exhibit exceptional EMI shielding (>40 dB) but suffer from high IR emissivity and severe RF reflection, precluding integration with wave-transmitting arrays. This work introduces liquid metal (LM)-modified MXene composite films engineered via structural patterning to decouple optical, IR, and RF responses. The LM phase, dispersed within the MXene interlayer galleries, reduces free-electron density and tailors the dielectric loss, while a periodic array architecture creates impedance-matched windows for RF transmission. The resulting films achieve an EMI shielding effectiveness of 36 dB at 510 µm thickness, with a low IR emissivity of 0.36 and an RF transmittance exceeding 80% in the X-band. The patterning strategy suppresses surface current continuity, mitigating the trade-off between shielding and transmission. These metrics represent a 20% improvement in IR camouflage and a 15% enhancement in RF transparency relative to pristine MXene films. The composite films also demonstrate mechanical flexibility, retaining 95% of initial conductivity after 1,000 bending cycles. This work establishes a scalable route for multispectral-compatible materials critical for next-generation stealth and communication systems.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3595-7
Cu(I) complexes exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) have emerged as promising alternatives to noble-metal-based emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, the development of red-emitting Cu(I) complexes has been hindered by slow radiative decay and fast nonradiative decay. In this study, a linear two-coordinate Cu(I) complex, ICuTMC, was designed and synthesized. By pairing a pyrazine-fused N-heterocyclic carbene and a tetra-methylcarbazolyl ligand, a strong ligand-to-ligand charge transfer excited state is generated. Single-crystal structure authenticates close intramolecular C–H···Cu contacts, providing good steric shielding to the metal center. C–H···π interactions between ligands are also revealed. The complex exhibits highly efficient red TADF with emission maximum at 622 nm, photoluminescence quantum yield of 76%, and short delayed fluorescence lifetime of 0.24 μs. This is enabled by a large oscillator strength from the coplanar donor-Cu-acceptor conformation, a small singlet-triplet energy gap from spatial separation of frontier molecular orbitals, and strong spin-orbit coupling from the metal center. Vacuum-deposited OLEDs based on ICuTMC achieve a peak external quantum efficiency of 25.9% and a significantly small roll-off of 1.9% at 10,000 cd m−2. These performances demonstrate a way to overcome the energy gap law for linear coinage metal complexes toward red OLEDs.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3952-5
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) and metallic glasses (MGs) are promising electrocatalysts but suffer from inherent limitations: HEAs lack corrosion resistance and uniform surfaces due to their crystalline nature, while MGs have limited compositional flexibility, restricting active-site diversity and electronic-structure tuning. High-entropy metallic glasses (HEMGs) integrate the structural disorder of MGs with the multi-principal-element chemistry of HEAs, offering a unique combination of robust corrosion resistance, homogeneous surfaces, and abundant tunable active sites. Using Pd20Pt20Cu20Ni20P20 as a model HEMG, we investigate its electrocatalytic performance for alcohol oxidation and hydrogen evolution. The HEMG exhibits superior activity and stability compared to conventional HEAs and MGs, attributed to its disordered structure and high configurational entropy, which promote optimized adsorption energies and accelerated charge transfer. This work bridges the performance gap between HEAs and MGs, demonstrating HEMGs as multifunctional electrocatalytic materials with potential for industrial applications.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5813(26)60708-6
Mercury emissions from coal combustion are highly toxic, volatile, and bioaccumulative, posing long-term threats to ecosystems and human health. This review systematically examines the current status and control policies of mercury emissions from coal combustion in China, analyzing distribution characteristics and transformation mechanisms during combustion, with emphasis on collaborative removal in pollution control devices after ultra-low emission retrofitting. A progressive strategy of 'synergistic enhancement–deep purification–resource recycling' is proposed, comprising three tiers: optimizing operational parameters of existing control systems to enhance synergistic mercury removal; developing efficient adsorption and catalytic oxidation technologies for industrial application; and advancing integrated mercury removal and recovery technologies, such as magnetosphere-based sorbents and recovery processes, focusing on high-value utilization. The paper also outlines future research directions aligned with international compliance and domestic environmental tax policies, providing theoretical and technical support for China's commitments to near-zero emissions of coal combustion pollutants.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-4222-9
The proliferation of high-frequency communication technologies has escalated electromagnetic (EM) pollution, posing risks to health and device reliability. Conventional microwave absorbers dissipate EM energy as heat, creating thermal management burdens and energy waste. This study introduces Bi2Se3 nanosheets, a topological insulator with surface conductivity and internal insulation, as a dual-functional material capable of both microwave absorption and thermoelectric conversion. Nanosheets with controlled morphology were synthesized via a polyol reduction method, with thickness and lateral size tuned by preparation conditions. The resulting composites exhibited excellent microwave absorption, achieving a broad absorption bandwidth of 2.95 GHz at sub-millimeter thickness. A multilayered structure design enabled full-band absorption from 2 to 18 GHz using a single absorbent. The Seebeck coefficient, derived from temperature differences up to 110 °C, was -152 μV/K, indicating efficient conversion of absorbed EM energy into electrical energy. This work demonstrates the potential of Bi2Se3 nanomaterials for self-powered electromagnetic devices, addressing both EM pollution and energy supply challenges.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3383-4
Solution-processed ultrathin nanocomposite conductors are attractive for wearable strain sensors due to cost-effectiveness and scalability, but achieving high sensitivity at low strains remains challenging because of polymer-induced hysteresis and uncontrolled crack formation. This work reports a robust, uniform, highly conductive silver nanofilm fabricated via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of positively charged polyurethane and uniformly sized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on various substrates, followed by photonic sintering to fuse the AgNPs into a cohesive structure and mitigate heat-induced cracks from elastomeric substrate expansion. The resulting Ag nanofilms achieve a conductivity of 5.1×10^4 S cm^-1 and exhibit substrate-dependent electromechanical properties. On oxygen plasma-treated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the films function as hypersensitive strain sensors with gauge factors exceeding 3000 at strains below 5%, while on (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-modified PDMS or thermoplastic elastomers, they remain stretchable with small resistance variations up to 50% strain. Mechanistic studies reveal that substrate surface chemistry governs crack propagation and interfacial adhesion, dictating sensing performance. The ultrasensitive sensors on PDMS enable detection of sound frequencies, pulses, and small forces, demonstrating potential for personalized health monitoring and human-machine interfaces. This approach offers a scalable route to high-performance, solution-processed strain sensors with tunable sensitivity and stretchability.