SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3725-1
Conductive hydrogel-based stretchable electronics have been extensively investigated, with strain sensors being the most prominently studied. While mechanical properties significantly affect device performance, the systematic correlation between specific mechanical parameters and sensing performance remains rarely explored. This work compares the influences of Young’s modulus and mechanical hysteresis on sensing performance between highly entangled PAM-Li and double-network PAM-Li-Agar-3 strain sensors. Owing to the brittle agar network, which imparts a higher Young’s modulus and pronounced mechanical hysteresis to the double-network PAM-Li-Agar-3 hydrogel, the corresponding sensor requires a greater driving force for deformation and yields signals with poor reproducibility. In contrast, the PAM-Li hydrogel, characterized by highly entangled polymer chains, exhibits a lower Young’s modulus and negligible mechanical hysteresis. Consequently, signals from the PAM-Li strain sensor demonstrate enhanced sensitivity and stability. Therefore, this work demonstrates that a low Young’s modulus and minimal mechanical hysteresis are critical factors for achieving superior sensing performance in strain sensors, as systematically validated through comparative analyses across diverse application scenarios.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3711-8
Mechanoluminescent (ML) materials that emit light under mechanical stress are attracting growing attention for their potential in next-generation sensing, display, and energy-harvesting technologies. Among these, Mn/Cu-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) has emerged as a leading candidate due to its bright emission, low activation threshold, and remarkable self-recovery over thousands of cycles. Despite these advantages, the fundamental mechanisms governing ML remain unresolved, with ongoing debate between two primary models: the piezoelectric effect and the triboelectric effect. The piezoelectric effect is generally associated with scenarios where ML materials emit light directly under external pressure and exhibit self-recoverable performance, whereas the triboelectric effect dominates when emission occurs at the interface of layered materials. Previous research on ZnS-based ML systems has focused on phase transitions from the sphalerite phase to the wurtzite phase, as the latter is widely recognized as critical for ML activity. A recent study published in Advanced Materials introduces a transformative approach that not only enhances ML performance but also provides new insights into its underlying mechanism. The authors demonstrate that controllable phase transitions can be used to tune and optimize ML properties in ZnS. For the first time, they report a gradual and reversible transition between hexagonal wurtzite (wt-ZnS) and cubic sphalerite (sp-ZnS) phases at room temperature using low uniaxial pressure in the range of 0–30 MPa, a striking departure from the extreme conditions traditionally required for such transformations. Applying modest pressure with a standard tableting machine converts wt-ZnS into sp-ZnS without the need for high-temperature or high-pressure environments, while subsequent thermal annealing reverses the process, enabling reversible structural cycling. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that this phase transition is mediated by dislocations: a 1/3⟨1120⟩ screw dislocation decomposes into two 30° Shockley partial dislocations, 1/3⟨1010⟩ and 1/3⟨0110⟩, whose glide converts portions of the wt-ZnS lattice into the sp-ZnS structure. These dislocation-driven rearrangements introduce stacking faults and localized lattice distortions that exert a profound influence on luminescence behavior. Under dynamic loading, charged dislocations facilitate carrier transport toward Mn2+ luminescent centers by altering the energy transfer pathways. Regions undergoing phase transition exhibit stronger mechanoluminescence due to an enhanced local piezoelectric field compared to areas without phase transition. The study further uncovers strikingly different responses for Mn and Cu dopants under pressure. For Mn-doped ZnS, ML intensity increases by up to 2.7 times at moderate pressures around 10 MPa, an enhancement attributed to stronger local piezoelectric fields and more efficient carrier transport. In contrast, Cu-doped ZnS exhibits pronounced ML quenching under similar conditions, underscoring the fundamentally different energy transfer pathways associated with these dopants. Pressure-thermal cycling enables tunable ML and photoluminescence (PL) properties, opening new opportunities for adaptive optical devices. The manuscript also reports on the ML behavior of Mn, Cu co-doped ZnS, which exhibits similar pressure-responsive characteristics to Cu-doped ZnS, but with the emission predominantly originating from Mn2+ centers. The authors propose a dislocation-mediated ML mechanism in which charged dislocations generate local electric fields that alter carrier migration and complexation. Under dynamic loading, the piezoelectric field in ZnS separates carriers, which become trapped at defect levels and subsequently recombine at luminescent centers, leading to light emission.
Journal of Environmental Engineering Technology•2026•DOI: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028
Ship loading operations emit multi-component volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with complex composition, including methanol, dichloromethane, trichloroethylene, p-xylene, acrylonitrile, benzene, and acetonitrile. Under high-humidity marine conditions, treatment is challenging. This study systematically screened three molecular sieves with distinct pore sizes—ZSM-5, β-type, and HY—for selective adsorption of these seven VOCs at moisture contents of 0%, 2.5%, and 5%. Competitive adsorption in acrylonitrile/p-xylene mixtures was examined on ZSM-5-all-silica and HY-100. Results showed: (1) saturated adsorption capacity decreased with increasing moisture content, confirming water-VOC competition; higher Si/Al ratios enhanced hydrophobicity, with all-silica ZSM-5 exhibiting superior water resistance. (2) Selective adsorption followed pore size matching: ZSM-5 (0.54–0.56 nm) suited C1–C3 small molecules (10–50 mg/g); β-type (1.1–1.2 nm) showed best universality for C3–C6; HY (2.16–2.76 nm) favored C8 molecules like p-xylene (100–120 mg/g). (3) Optimizing molecular sieve proportion and layered arrangement balanced adsorption capacities across components, significantly prolonging breakthrough time. The optimal configuration placed ZSM-5 in the upper layer and HY in the lower layer. Molecular sieves also exhibited good thermal stability and regenerability. This study provides technical support for efficient treatment of multi-component VOCs from ship loading operations.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4196-x
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising for safe, low-cost energy storage, but accurate cathode characterization is essential for understanding their electrochemical behavior. This study identifies a critical artifact: routine air-drying of deeply discharged cathodes triggers spontaneous aerial oxidation, which distorts post-mortem analysis. Using NH4V4O10 (NVO) as a model cathode, we show that ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of discharged electrodes reveals only V4+/V5+ signals, with no detectable V3+, implying a theoretical capacity of only 245.5 mAh g−1, yet experimentally measured capacity reaches ~334.5 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. This discrepancy arises because air exposure during sample preparation oxidizes the reduced vanadium states, leading to a self-charging effect that recovers ~83% of capacity. Electrochemical re-oxidation (EO-NVO) is superior to aerial oxidation (AO-NVO), producing a stable, long-range ordered bulk structure with efficient Zn2+ transport channels, whereas aerial oxidation induces only superficial changes and structural disorder. These findings resolve a key analytical inconsistency and reveal a novel capacity-contribution pathway, with direct implications for accurate material assessment and advanced battery design.