SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3695-8
Sulfur-based lithium-ion batteries, particularly those employing sulfurized poly(acrylonitrile) (SPAN) cathodes and graphite (Gr) anodes, offer high theoretical capacity and low cost but suffer from temperature-dependent capacity decay. This study systematically investigates the electrochemical dynamics and capacity decay mechanism of SPAN||Gr pouch cells cycled at 25–55 °C. Multiscale analyses reveal that capacity fade arises from active lithium loss and increased resistance, both accelerated by higher temperatures. Active lithium loss is primarily attributed to dead lithium formation and thickening of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI), while resistance increase is predominantly due to SEI/CEI thickening. As temperature rises, active lithium loss becomes the dominant decay factor. Leveraging the consistent decay mechanism across temperatures, an accelerated aging model based on the Arrhenius equation is developed: y = 0.9x + a. This model accurately predicts cycling parameters at specific temperatures and reduces testing time by 50% when extrapolating from 55 °C to 25 °C. These insights provide critical guidance for developing long-life sulfur-based batteries for practical energy storage applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3707-8
Wound infection is a major cause of death during the wound healing process. Improperly dressed wounds can lead to secondary injury, prolonging healing time and increasing infection risk. Here, we propose an antibacterial slippery dressing through molecular engineering of copper ions. The oil layer forms a barrier to reduce clot adhesion to the wound site and prevent environmental contamination. Single-cell level detection indicates that secreted copper ions induce bacterial death not only by disrupting membrane integrity but also by relying on the production of reactive oxygen species. Further membrane depolarization and adenosine triphosphate production blockage result in the aggregation of important proteins in various biological processes, such as metabolic homeostasis, ultimately leading to bacterial death. The animal model confirms that our dressing accelerates wound healing by promoting the growth of granulation tissue and collagen deposition. Our dressing demonstrates significant clinical implications for the design of next-generation therapeutic applications.
Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering•2026•DOI: 10.12030/j.cjee.202509035
Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is an economical and efficient technology, yet its application has been largely confined to sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). This study introduces a novel continuous-flow self-circulating upflow granular sludge bed (Zier) process with separate aeration for treating real domestic wastewater. By regulating operational parameters, the nitrogen removal performance and granular sludge stability were investigated. Under hydraulic retention time of 10 h, self-circulation times of 29–58, and upflow velocity of 11–18 m·h−1, effluent NH4+-N and TN averaged (5±3.4) mg·L−1 and (10±2.8) mg·L−1, respectively, with COD at (30±6.2) mg·L−1. The process maintained sludge stability: mixed liquor suspended solids increased from 5,080 to 6,650 mg·L−1, mean particle size was 209.6 μm, and sludge volume index (SVI) remained at 50–60 mL·g−1. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) increased from 26.05 to 68.27 mg·g−1, with proteins (PN) rising from 21.26 to 59.44 mg·g−1 and polysaccharides (PS) from 4.79 to 8.82 mg·g−1, elevating the PN/PS ratio from 4.4 to 6.7. These results confirm that the Zier process preserves granular structure and function in continuous flow. The process demonstrates robust nitrogen removal and offers a novel approach for continuous-flow AGS applications in real wastewater treatment.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4181-6
Green hydrogen production via electrocatalytic water splitting is pivotal for sustainable energy, yet the high cost and scarcity of platinum (Pt) catalysts impede large-scale adoption. Ruthenium (Ru)-based materials emerge as promising alternatives, but their performance requires enhancement. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), particularly ReS2, offer intrinsic 1T' phase with good conductivity and stability, yet suffer from inert surfaces limiting water adsorption. Here, we report a heterostructure comprising Ru nanoclusters anchored on ReS2 nanosheets (Ru/ReS2) to modulate electronic structure via d-p coupling. This design enhances water dissociation kinetics and optimizes hydrogen adsorption free energy (ΔG_H*). The Ru/ReS2 catalyst exhibits superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity in acidic media, achieving an overpotential of 47 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 38 mV dec−1, outperforming commercial Pt/C (overpotential 54 mV, Tafel slope 45 mV dec−1). Notably, it demonstrates exceptional stability, with negligible degradation after 10,000 cyclic voltammetry cycles, contrasting with Pt/C's 54 mV overpotential increase. Density functional theory calculations reveal that d-p coupling between Ru and ReS2 optimizes the electronic structure, facilitating water adsorption and dissociation. This work provides a rational strategy for designing efficient, durable, and cost-effective HER electrocatalysts for green hydrogen production.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4050-2
Fiber electronics have evolved from passive conduits to active devices with sensing, powering, and display functions, yet their computational capabilities remain constrained by reliance on external rigid chips. This highlight reviews a recent breakthrough by Wang et al. that integrates high-density integrated circuits directly into elastic polymer fibers, achieving a multilayered spiral architecture with an unprecedented integration density of 100,000 transistors per centimeter. The fabrication process employs a highly flat polymer substrate with parylene encapsulation, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) interlayer with modulus-gradient heterostructure, and adhesive interlayers with thickened edges to ensure mechanical robustness and uniformity. The resulting fiber-integrated circuits (FICs) demonstrate versatile computing functions, including digital logic gates (NOR, NAND, XOR, RS latches) and analog circuits (amplifiers, waveform generators). By incorporating organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), the FICs achieve neural-style computing with 99.8% accuracy on the Olivetti Research Laboratory database. Notably, the FICs withstand 100,000 cycles of abrasion and 1-mm bending, indicating exceptional mechanical durability. This work addresses the critical bottleneck of integrating dense microdevice arrays into soft, cylindrical fibers, paving the way for truly intelligent and interactive fiber systems suitable for wearable and biomedical applications.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4332-3
This correction addresses an error in the affiliations of the authors of the article 'Intrinsic pseudocapacitive Na0.44MnO2 prepared by novel ion-exchange method for high rate and robust sodium-ion batteries' originally published in Science China Materials, volume 66, issue 10, 2023, pages 3810–3816. In the original publication, one affiliation of the first author (Yuge Cao) was missing, and the affiliations of the authors were incorrectly labeled. The corrected affiliations are as follows: Yuge Cao is affiliated with the State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China; the Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; and the Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. The other authors' affiliations are also corrected accordingly. The corresponding authors are Hui Bi ([email protected]) and Fuqiang Huang ([email protected]). This correction does not affect the scientific content of the original article.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3472-2
Reducing zinc oxide (ZnO) consumption in rubber vulcanization is imperative due to cost and environmental toxicity, yet lowering ZnO inevitably compromises crosslinking density and mechanical properties. This study introduces Zn single-atoms anchored on graphene oxide (Zn SAs@GO) as controlled-release catalysts for efficient natural rubber (NR) vulcanization. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveals a Zn–O bond length of 2.03 Å with moderate binding energy, enabling controlled release of Zn2+ ions that participate in vulcanization with enhanced activity. The homogeneous dispersion of Zn atoms ensures near-complete utilization, resulting in a 6.6% increase in crosslinking density compared to commercial ZnO while reducing Zn dosage by 82.5%. The Zn SAs@GO/NR composites exhibit faster vulcanization rates and superior mechanical and physical properties relative to ZnO nanoparticles and crystalline ZnO controls. This work demonstrates a scalable preparation of single-atom catalysts and provides a viable pathway for industrial rubber manufacturing with significantly reduced zinc content.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3631-1
Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) offers cost and dynamic-response advantages over proton exchange membrane systems, yet commercial deployment is constrained by the alkaline stability of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and the sluggish kinetics of non-precious metal catalysts. This work reports a series of poly(terphenyl-diphenylmethane piperidinium) (QPDPMTP) membranes synthesized with varied diphenylmethane (DPM) content. The alkyl chain of DPM induces pronounced microphase separation and elevates free volume fraction, yielding an OH− conductivity of 152 mS cm−1 at 80 °C for QPDPMTP-10. After 1032 h immersion in 6 M NaOH at 80 °C, the membrane retains 90.7% of its initial conductivity. An AEMWE cell integrating QPDPMTP-10 with a non-precious NiFeCo LDH/NiS/NF anode achieves 3.11 A cm−2 at 2 V in 1 M KOH at 80 °C and sustains 1 A cm−2 for 1800 h under gradient KOH concentration. These results establish a viable pathway for durable, low-cost AEMWE systems.