Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• • TJU operates 11 National Key Laboratories and has secured 28 national science and technology awards and 182 national key R&D projects since 2016, underscoring its research infrastructure and funding competitiveness essential for advancing materials science and engineering. • • Fifteen academic disciplines rank in the top 1% of ESI, with five in the top 0.1% and two—Engineering and Chemistry—in the top 0.01%, indicating world-class research output and citation impact that attracts global partnerships and industrial collaborations. • • The university offers 76 undergraduate programs, 48 first-level master's disciplines, 38 first-level doctoral disciplines, and 37 postdoctoral stations, providing a comprehensive talent pipeline critical for sustaining China's modern industrial system and high-level R&D workforce. • • This special issue features 31 high-quality papers in materials science, reflecting TJU's strategic focus on interdisciplinary frontiers and its role in addressing national strategic needs through cutting-edge research and international cooperation.
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Abstract
Tianjin University (TJU), established in 1895 as Peiyang University under a royal charter from the Guangxu Emperor, is China's first modern university and a flagship institution directly administered by the Ministry of Education. It was among the earliest selected for Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Over its 130-year history, TJU has pioneered Chinese higher education, granting the nation's first modern diploma in 1900 and merging with Hebei Technical College in 1951 to form Tianjin University. The university currently offers 76 undergraduate programs, 48 first-level master's disciplines, 38 first-level doctoral disciplines, and hosts 37 postdoctoral research stations. It operates 11 National Key Laboratories and has secured 28 national science and technology awards and 182 national key R&D projects since 2016. Fifteen academic disciplines rank in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators (ESI), with five in the top 0.1% and two—Engineering and Chemistry—in the top 0.01%. This special issue, featuring 31 high-quality papers in materials science, commemorates TJU's 130th anniversary, highlighting its historical legacy and academic achievements. The preface underscores TJU's commitment to national strategic needs, interdisciplinary integration, and cultivating top-tier innovative talent with global vision.
1. Introduction
Tianjin University (TJU) stands as China's first modern university, founded in 1895 as Peiyang University under a royal charter from the Guangxu Emperor. Its establishment marked a decisive shift toward modernization and the adoption of Western educational models, addressing the urgent need for scientific and technical talent in a period of national transformation. In 1900, TJU granted China's first modern diploma, pioneering the nation's academic degree system. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Peiyang University merged with Hebei Technical College in 1951 and was renamed Tianjin University, continuing its trailblazing role by building China's first aero engine and establishing the nation's first hydraulics laboratory. These historical milestones underscore TJU's enduring commitment to scientific innovation and industrial advancement.
Today, TJU operates 11 National Key Laboratories and has secured 28 national science and technology awards and 182 national key R&D projects since 2016. Fifteen academic disciplines rank in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators (ESI), with five in the top 0.1% and two—Engineering and Chemistry—in the top 0.01%. This special issue, comprising 31 high-quality papers in materials science, celebrates TJU's 130th anniversary by showcasing its historical legacy and academic achievements. The university remains focused on major national strategic needs, promoting interdisciplinary integration and expanding international cooperation to build a world-class university with global impact.
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HU Wenping, HU Wenbin, YANG Quanhong (2025). Preface: Celebrating the 130th Anniversary of Tianjin University. SCIENCE CHINA Materials. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-025-3659-6
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Frequently Asked Questions
What concrete research infrastructure and funding metrics demonstrate TJU's capacity to support advanced materials research?
TJU hosts 11 National Key Laboratories and has secured 28 national science and technology awards and 182 national key R&D projects since 2016. These facilities and grants provide the necessary infrastructure and financial resources for high-impact materials research, enabling projects that require specialized equipment and long-term funding.
How does TJU's disciplinary ranking in ESI translate into industrial or clinical impact?
Fifteen disciplines rank in the top 1% of ESI, with five in the top 0.1% and two—Engineering and Chemistry—in the top 0.01%. This citation impact indicates that TJU's research output is highly influential, often leading to patents, technology transfer, and industrial applications. For example, advances in chemistry and engineering directly inform materials development, catalysis, and energy storage, which are critical for commercial sectors.
What are the scalability bottlenecks for translating TJU's materials research into commercial products?
While TJU's research infrastructure is robust, scaling laboratory discoveries to industrial production faces challenges such as reproducibility, cost parity with legacy technologies, and integration into existing manufacturing lines. The 31 papers in this special issue likely address some of these bottlenecks, but specific data on pilot-scale yields and degradation rates under stress are needed to assess commercial viability.
How does TJU's talent pipeline address the demand for skilled R&D personnel in China's modern industrial system?
TJU offers 76 undergraduate programs, 48 first-level master's disciplines, 38 first-level doctoral disciplines, and hosts 37 postdoctoral research stations. This comprehensive educational framework produces graduates with advanced skills in engineering, chemistry, and materials science, directly supplying the workforce needed for China's industrial upgrading and innovation-driven growth.
What is the expected failure mechanism under stress for materials developed in this special issue, and how does it compare to commercial benchmarks?
The research text does not provide specific failure mechanism data or comparative benchmarks. However, the 31 papers likely include empirical parameters such as degradation rates, operating temperature limits, and mechanical strength values. For industrial adoption, these materials must demonstrate performance parity or superiority against established commercial counterparts under standardized stress conditions, which would require detailed testing beyond the scope of this preface.
Related Chinese Research & Cross-Citations
Ammonium Vanadate Cathodes in Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries: Design Strategies and Research Progress
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer a compelling combination of high safety, environmental compatibility, and abundant zinc resources, positioning them as viable candidates for grid-scale energy storage. Their practical deployment, however, is constrained by cathode materials that suffer from structural degradation, sluggish Zn2+ diffusion, and inadequate electronic conductivity. Ammonium vanadates (AVOs) have emerged as high-performance cathodes owing to their layered or tunneled frameworks, which accommodate reversible Zn2+ (de)intercalation with diffusion coefficients superior to conventional vanadium oxides. This review systematically examines recent advances in AVO cathodes for AZIBs, correlating morphological variations—including nanowires, nanobelts, and microflowers—with electrochemical characteristics. The analysis establishes structure–performance relationships that govern capacity retention, rate capability, and cycling stability. Key optimization strategies are critically assessed: defect engineering to enhance electronic conductivity and active site density, interlayer spacing modulation via pre-intercalated cations or structural water to facilitate Zn2+ transport, and composite construction with conductive carbonaceous or polymeric matrices to mitigate dissolution and improve mechanical integrity. Despite these advances, challenges persist in achieving long-term cycling stability (>10,000 cycles) and high areal mass loading (>10 mg cm-2) required for commercial viability. The review concludes by outlining future research directions, including operando characterization of degradation mechanisms and scalable synthesis routes for AVO cathodes in practical AZIB configurations.
Microenvironment-responsive therapeutic platforms: Innovations for spinal cord injury repair
Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a formidable clinical challenge due to the complex, dynamic lesion microenvironment that impedes axonal regeneration and functional recovery. This highlight examines a microenvironment-responsive therapeutic platform integrating microneedle delivery, ferroptosis modulation, and hydrogen therapy. The platform leverages the pathological hallmarks of SCI—oxidative stress, iron dyshomeostasis, and lipid peroxidation—to achieve spatiotemporally controlled cargo release. By combining microneedle arrays for minimally invasive intraparenchymal administration with hydrogen-releasing biomaterials, the system addresses the dual bottlenecks of poor drug penetration across the blood-spinal cord barrier and insufficient neutralization of reactive oxygen species. Ferroptosis inhibition is achieved through iron chelation and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) stabilization, while hydrogen gas scavenges hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite. This multimodal strategy attenuates secondary injury cascades, reduces glial scar formation, and promotes neural stem cell differentiation. The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82574518) and the Talent Cultivation Project of Paring Academicians with Young Talents in higher education institutions in Zhejiang. The authors declare no conflict of interest. This highlight underscores the translational potential of microenvironment-responsive platforms for SCI repair, emphasizing the need for rigorous preclinical validation and scalable manufacturing.
Dual-Site Adsorption over Phosphorus-Doped Copper Oxide for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction to Ethylene
Electroreduction of CO2 to ethylene offers a promising route for renewable electricity storage, yet achieving high ethylene selectivity at industrial current densities remains challenging due to the large energy barrier for C–C coupling. Here, we report a “MOF-assisted in situ doping” strategy to introduce the oxophilic nonmetal phosphorus (P) into the copper oxide (CuO) lattice, constructing a localized Cu–P dual-site adsorption configuration for the key *OCCHO intermediate. The optimized catalyst delivers an impressive Faradaic efficiency of 64.6% for ethylene with a partial current density of 646 mA cm-2. Comprehensive structural characterizations demonstrate that P mainly occupies Cu sites, generating abundant lattice defects and oxygen vacancies. In situ synchrotron infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that P doping modulates the electronic structure of Cu, optimizes the binding energies of *CO and *CHO, and stabilizes *OCCHO via P–O/Cu–C dual-site adsorption, thereby significantly lowering the asymmetric C-C coupling energy barrier to 0.74 eV. This work highlights a dual-site microenvironment regulation strategy for CO2-to-ethylene electroreduction.
Hydrophilic Single-Atom Interface Unlocks Low-Potential CO Removal on Pt in PEMFCs
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) fed with reformate hydrogen suffer severe anode poisoning by trace CO, necessitating high CO electrooxidation potentials that degrade performance and durability. This work introduces a Pt@CrSA-N-C anode catalyst featuring a hydrophilic Cr single-atom interface that simultaneously weakens CO adsorption on Pt via electronic regulation and promotes water activation, thereby lowering the CO oxidation onset potential to approximately 0.13 V vs. RHE. The onset potential was determined by two independent methods: the first potential at which the background-corrected current exceeds 0 mA cm-2 during CO oxidation reaction tests in a three-electrode system, and the potential at which the forward scan current exceeds the N2 background current in CO-stripping voltammetry. The catalyst achieves a maximum power density under 100 ppm CO that surpasses reported advanced catalysts, as compiled in Table S5. Structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical characterizations collectively establish a coherent rationale for the hydrophilic single-atom interface strategy. This approach addresses the longstanding trade-off between CO tolerance and Pt utilization, offering a viable route for low-potential CO removal in practical PEMFC anodes.
An Ionoelastomer-Based Bioinspired Wearable Electronics with Tele-Perception and Tactile Sensation for Machine Learning-Assisted Rehabilitation Management
Comprehensive assessment of rehabilitation efficiency is essential for designing appropriate training programs for better musculoskeletal functional recovery. Existing contact-receptor-dependent rehabilitation assessment systems mostly focus on assessing the restoration of muscle function by evaluating grip strength or joint flexion angle; however, parameters reflecting neuromuscular synergistic function are always overlooked. Herein, we develop an ionoelastomer-based soft artificial electroreceptor (SAER) that integrates tele-perception and tactile sensation to track the rehabilitation process, collecting signals related to approaching speed and grip strength sequentially. The SAER uses polyurethane ionoelastomer incorporated with quasi-solid conductive salt as the electric field receptor, and is integrated on a rehabilitation-training ball after assembly to establish an untethered detection device; this enables the remote capture of hand approaching parameter within a 9 cm range, followed by the quantification of grip strength when contacting and grasping. Furthermore, a data-driven assessment system is established by integrating machine learning, which accurately classifies rehabilitation efficiency into six levels; it supports for rehabilitation evaluation and training programs adjustment. Overall, the SAER-based rehabilitation management system establishes a paradigm that synergistically evaluating parameters corresponding to neuromuscular functional restoration and holds strong potential for home-based active rehabilitation for minimizing dependence on frequent clinical supervision.
Microwave-Absorbing Materials with Strong Environmental Adaptability for Corrosion Protection, Anti-Icing, and Thermal Management
Microwave-absorbing materials (MAMs) deployed on naval vessels, aerospace vehicles, and critical electronic systems face coupled electromagnetic, marine salt-spray corrosion, and extreme-temperature loads that legacy single-function absorbers cannot withstand. This review consolidates progress on three environmentally adaptive MAM classes: corrosion-protective, anti-icing, and thermal-management absorbers. The electromagnetic loss and impedance-matching fundamentals are first established, then the synergistic mechanisms, design strategies, and characterization protocols for each class are examined against representative material systems and their measured performance. The analysis identifies a shared design logic—multiscale hierarchical architecture, interfacial polarization engineering, and multifunctional phase integration—while distinguishing the divergent protection mechanisms: barrier and passivation effects for corrosion, surface-energy and latent-heat regulation for anti-icing, and phonon–electron transport decoupling for thermal management. Persistent bottlenecks include the trade-off between impedance matching and protective-layer density, the absence of standardized coupled-field test protocols, and the scarcity of long-term salt-spray and thermal-cycling durability data. Future directions are delineated: intelligent self-adaptive absorbers, multiphysics-coupled simulation frameworks, and environmentally benign multifunctional integration. The review provides a theoretical and technical basis for the design, construction, and engineering scale-up of next-generation high-performance absorbers for aerospace, electronic, and marine equipment.