Ethylene diamine–assisted capillary impregnation of NiO@Ti3C2 MXene composites from MAX phase for enhanced supercapacitor applications

One-step synthesized NIR-responsive polydopamine nanoparticles for synergistic nitric oxide chemotherapy and photothermal therapy against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Ternary strategy of 0D/1D/2D composite based on AgNPs/AgNWs/Ti3C2Tx for supercapacitors with high specific capacitance and excellent cyclic stability

Alkali-circulation-mediated valorization of fluorine-rich silica residue and carbide slag: Coproduction of hydrated silica and calcium fluoride.

Infection-adaptive reversible switch to On-demand antimicrobial release for wound healing.

The development of efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts is crucial for the advancement of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a novel core-shell structured high-entropy alloy (HEA) catalyst (FeCoNiCuMn@NC) derived from a multimetal Prussian blue analog (PBA), which integrates FeCoNiCuMn HEA nanoparticles encapsulated within a porous nitrogen-doped carbon network. FeCoNiCuMn@NC exhibits a well-defined interconnected carbon framework with abundant mesopores and a high specific surface area. The multicomponent HEA core induces lattice distortion that modulates the electronic structure of N-doped carbon (NC) shell, optimizing the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Benefiting from the synergistic interplay between the HEA core and the N-doped carbon shell, the catalyst demonstrates outstanding bifunctional ORR/OER activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.842 V for ORR and an overpotential of 400 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for OER. Moreover, the unique core-shell encapsulation structure effectively prevents nanoparticle agglomeration and protects the HEA core from corrosion in alkaline electrolyte, ensuring remarkable durability. As a demonstration of its practical potential, a ZAB incorporating the FeCoNiCuMn@NC air cathode achieves a peak power density of 135.8 mW cm-2 together with excellent rate capability and long-term cycling stability. This work offers a rational design strategy for HEA-based bifunctional electrocatalysts toward advanced energy storage devices.

Efficient assembly of robust and chemically resistant carbon nanofibers (CNFs) into three-dimensional (3D) solids suits the increasing demands for flexible and dynamic adaptive conductive structures for functional fabrics and wearable devices quite well. Here, a general and scalable "inter-fiber isolation" strategy is proposed, which could construct CNFs from natural nanofibrils through subtly exploiting the nanosheet wrapping of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials (i.e., MXene). The nanosheet wrapping efficiently solves the issue that natural nanofibrils tend to weld together into big carbon chunks during carbonization. The nanofibrous features are well preserved, and the obtained CNFs have adjustable diameters from several hundreds of nanometers to as low as ∼15 nm depending on the MXene ratio. Thanks to the shortened diffusion pathway of the nanoscaled fiber diameter and the interconnecting electrical-conducting network, the free-standing macroscopic 3D CNF solids demonstrate a superior electrical conductivity of ∼34.65 S m-1, as well as greatly enhanced rate capability and excellent cycling stability up to 340,000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g-1 as supercapacitor electrodes. The nanosheet wrapping is also extendable to other 2D nanomaterials such as graphene oxide, offering a practical and easy-to-implement strategy of fabricating carbon nanostructures for robust structures and efficient energy storage.

In heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) catalysis, achieving selective H2O2 generation with efficient •OH production remains challenging due to poor oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) selectivity and cycling stability. This study employs an interfacial spin-state engineering strategy to construct CoFe solid solutions/Fe3O4 heterostructures (CoFess/Fe3O4) through controlled Co doping. Co incorporation induces Fe0 lattice expansion, forming CoFess phases that creates oxygen-bridged heterointerfaces with Fe3O4 (CoFess-O-Fe2+), altering the coordination environment and facilitating the Fe2+ spin-state transition from high-spin (t2g4eg2 S = 2) to intermediate-spin (t2g5eg1 S = 1) configuration at the interface. This modulation optimizes electron transfer dynamics, steering ORR toward the 2-electron ORR pathway with H2O2 selectivity of 75.9%. Co0.1Fess/Fe3O4 (with a 0.1 Co/Fe molar ratio) exhibits exceptional tetracycline degradation performance, achieving 95.0% removal within 60 min, outperforming the undoped catalyst. The degradation involves •OH as the dominant reactive species, with •O2- and 1O2 contributing synergistically to drive tetracycline degradation through hydroxylation, demethylation, and ring-opening pathways. The catalyst demonstrates broad-spectrum pollutant removal and excellent cycling stability, with negligible metal ion leaching. Ecotoxicity assessments confirm that degradation intermediates exhibit low toxicity to aquatic organisms, ensuring high environmental safety. This work elucidates heterometallic doping as an effective spin-state engineering strategy through interfacial electronic reconstruction, providing insights for efficient EF catalysts in antibiotic wastewater treatment.

Maintaining indoor relative humidity within a healthy and comfortable range is essential for human health and material preservation. However, it remains challenging under dynamically fluctuating environmental conditions. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit outstanding water sorption properties but are typically obtained as fine powders that suffer from poor processability, particle agglomeration, and limited scalability. Here, we developed a facile MOF-dispersion-based strategy to transform MOF powders into flexible, environmentally friendly humidity-regulating membranes by integrating them with plant-derived cellulose. By preformulating a stable MOF colloidal dispersion prior to composite assembly, particle agglomeration was effectively suppressed, and microstructural uniformity was achieved even at high MOF loadings. The optimized composite membrane exhibits a high specific surface area (747 m2/g), high equilibrium water uptake (0.345 g/g), and rapid, fully reversible sorption kinetics. In a simulated indoor environment, this composite membrane reduced the relative humidity fluctuation amplitude from 25.4% RH to 13.5% RH, while maintaining excellent cycling stability. This work not only demonstrates MOF dispersion processing as a generalizable materials engineering strategy but also provides an effective framework for developing scalable, high-performance, passive humidity-regulation materials suitable for indoor environmental control.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with well-defined crystalline structures provide ideal platforms for elucidating the intrinsic relationship between structure and electrochemical performance in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). However, the limited number of electrochemically active metal sites in MOFs constrains Zn2+ storage capacity and reaction kinetics. In this study, a ligand-competition-induced defect engineering strategy was adopted, where partial substitution of dicarboxylate ligands with monocarboxylate ligands during the synthesis of Br-MIL(V)-47 enables the ordered construction of controllable coordinatively unsaturated V sites. The results indicate that the moderate introduction of unsaturated V sites enhances framework flexibility and spatial buffering, effectively alleviating local structural distortion induced by repeated Zn2+ insertion/extraction and suppressing structural collapse and irreversible phase transitions. In/ex situ spectroscopic analyses further confirm the reversible structural evolution. The optimized 0.4-SSA-TPA cathode demonstrates excellent cycling stability. Experimental and theoretical analyses collectively indicate that the formation of unsaturated V sites induced local electron density redistribution, thereby facilitating reversible redox reactions. This study provides important insights into the precise design of MOF materials toward next-generation energy storage applications.

The shuttling effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and sluggish redox kinetics are the primary obstacles hindering the commercial application of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Most existing studies on two-dimensional-layered material-based sulfur hosts mainly focus on bulk electronic modulation, ignoring the impact of crystal growth geometry on the electrochemical performance. Herein, we designed carbon-cloth-supported, vertically oriented bismuth selenide with preferentially exposed (006) crystal planes (denoted as v-Bi2Se3@CC) as the sulfur host for Li-S batteries. Benefiting from the vertical structure, abundant active sites are exposed and a three-dimensional network is constructed to facilitate efficient mass transport, while the exposed Se active sites on the (006) planes reduce the reaction energy barrier of LiPSs conversion. Consequently, the Li-S batteries assembled with v-Bi2Se3@CC deliver a high specific capacity of 1396 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C, excellent cycling stability with a capacity fading rate of 0.058% per cycle over 500 cycles at 2 C, and a favorable performance even under a high sulfur loading of 11.3 mg cm-2. This work demonstrates that crystal orientation engineering is an effective strategy to optimize sulfur hosts, providing insights for the development of high-performance Li-S batteries.

Extra-heavy oil is an important strategic energy resource, but its ultra-high viscosity severely limits efficient production. Conventional thermal recovery and chemical flooding are often associated with high energy consumption, environmental concerns, and limited reservoir adaptability. In this study, an intelligent responsive magnetic Janus nanocatalyst (IRMJN) was developed and coupled with microwave irradiation to enable low-energy and controllable in situ upgrading and oil mobilization. IRMJN features a spatially separated multifunctional architecture, in which Fe₃O₄ serves as the magnetic core for rapid recovery, MoS₂ nanosheets are selectively anchored on one side as catalytic active sites, and graphene quantum dots enhance microwave absorption to generate a synergistic nanoscale hotspot effect. Long-chain alkyl groups grafted onto the magnetic side further impart interfacial orientation capability. Under optimized conditions, the IRMJN-microwave system reduced the viscosity of extra-heavy oil by more than 95% at a bulk temperature of 100°C, clearly outperforming microwave treatment alone and conventional catalytic systems. Core flooding tests showed an additional oil recovery of more than 18.5% after water flooding. The catalyst also exhibited excellent magnetic recoverability and cycling stability. These results provide a promising strategy for the green and efficient development of extra-heavy oil resources.

Enhanced removal of Pb (II) and sulfate by immobilizing acid-tolerant sulfate-reducing bacteria on magnetic chitosan.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are an emerging class of crystalline porous materials with promise for diverse functional applications. However, most COFs are limited to architectures constructed from a single knot and a single linker, constraining both their structural complexity and functional tunability. Here, we introduce a dual-knot, dual-linkage design strategy for two-dimensional COFs, in which a conventional C3-symmetric knot and a C2 linker are combined with two distinct C3 knots in a 1:1 ratio. This design simultaneously incorporates two robust linkages-imide/imine or imide/β-ketoenamine-within a single framework, leading to the synthesis of two unprecedented materials: imide-imine COF (II-COF) and imide-β-ketoenamine COF (IK-COF). The dual-knot architecture enriches the framework with multiple heteroatom sites, which act as adsorption centers for proton-conducting media such as phosphoric acid (PA). Upon PA loading, both COFs exhibit high anhydrous proton conductivity and excellent cycling stability, arising from the synergistic contributions of pyridinic nitrogens, imine nitrogens, and carbonyl oxygens in the backbone. This work establishes a generalizable strategy for constructing compositionally complex and symmetry-defined COFs, and highlights their potential as robust platforms for proton conduction and beyond.

A novel electrolyte formulation is rationally designed in this work to regulate the cathode electrical double layer (EDL), which enables the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode to realize stable cycling at a high charge cutoff voltage of 4.8 V with superior capacity retention. The core design principle lies in the construction of an inner Helmholtz plane (IHP) that can form an anion-dominated cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) on the NCM811 surface. This work pioneers a new "EDL engineering" strategy, which provides a promising strategy for the development of high-voltage lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with excellent cycling stability.

Ferromagnetic metals are promising candidates for voltage control of magnetism (VCM), owing to their high Curie temperatures and stable magnetic order. The space-charge effect, characterized by electron and ion separate-conducting phases, offers a particularly attractive route to modulate their magnetism via introducing a high density of spin-polarized electrons at ferromagnetic metal surfaces. In this work, Fe/Li3PO4 heterostructures are fabricated by electrochemical reduction of the commercial polyanionic battery material LiFePO4 (LFP) for space-charge-mediated magnetism modulation. Operando magnetometry reveals a remarkable change in magnetization as large as 56.6 emu gFe-1 within a low voltage window of 0.01-1.7 V, accompanied by fast response and excellent cycling stability. The dominance of the space-charge effect in the low voltage region is demonstrated by comprehensive analyses. These results stem from the advantageous properties of Li3PO4, particularly its high lithium-ion conductivity and excellent interfacial stability. Our findings highlight the unique potential of polyanionic materials for electrically tunable magnetism and offer a special avenue for designing cost-effective, high-performance tunable spintronic devices for sensing and actuation.

To overcome the continuous power problem for wearable applications, the self-powered sensors have attracted much attention recently. The traditional piezoelectric and triboelectric sensors can only generate signals under dynamic force. Herein, a zinc-iodine based potentiometric sensor is proposed for simultaneous and dynamic force detection. The proposed sensor is based on a multilayer architecture consisting of a breathable nonwoven fabric acting as the substrate, a Zn-plated laser-induced graphene (LIG) anode, a LIG cathode coated with an iodine-based composite ink, and a polyvinyl alcohol/zinc chloride hydrogel serving as the electrolyte. Such a design increases the open circuit voltage to 1.31V, and provides stable sensing over an extended pressure range from 4 to 256kPa. The fabricated sensor exhibits a rapid response time of 72ms, excellent cycling stability (>98% retention after 5000 cycles), and superior wearing comfort. A gesture-recognition glove integrated with five sensing units was developed and allowed for the correct recognition of gestures and wirelessly controlling a fire detection smart car that is equipped with temperature/gas sensors and camera, enabling real-time remote monitoring in a complex environment. This work provides an innovative strategy for self-powered and highly comfortable interfaces in emergency scenarios.

A novel cyclic Co-added polyoxometalate, Na8Cs18[{Co8(μ6-O)(μ2-OH)(μ3-OH)2(H2O)(BO(OH)2)(B2O3(OH)2)(B-α-SiW9O34)2}{Co6(μ3-OH)3(H2O)6(B-α-SiW9O34)}]2·42H2O (1), has been successfully synthesized via hydrothermal synthesis under the guidance of lacunary directing synthetic strategy. Owing to Co2+ centers, 1 exhibits intense broad absorption in the 800-1700 nm region. Under 1064 nm laser irradiation, 1 shows an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 38.4% and superior cycling stability, with temperature rising from 23.0 to 64.1 °C in 90 s, indicating relatively high photothermal conversion efficiency and excellent cycling stability.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a key environmental trigger for the flare-ups of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), making personalized UV monitoring and early warning an urgent unmet clinical need for SLE management. Conventional UV detectors, however, cannot adapt to the cumulative and delayed characteristics of UV-induced damage in SLE patients or the interindividual differences in UV sensitivity and thus fail to provide personalized protection strategies. To enable precise UV damage assessment and proactive early warning for SLE patients, we developed an organic optoelectronic synaptic device through poly(amic acid) (PAA)/HfO2 heterogeneous interface engineering. Notably, these devices bridge fundamental UV detection with clinical personalization, as their bioinspired integration of "sensing-storage-computation" allows for capturing the complex characteristics of UV damage in SLE. The optimized devices demonstrate outstanding performance, featuring high mobility (27.5 cm2V-1s-1), responsivity (5.9 × 105 AW-1), specific detectivity (4.4 × 1016 Jones), and excellent cycling stability (>5,000 cycles). Functionally, these devices mimic biological sensitization and threshold-triggered responses to reproduce UV damage accumulation, a function unavailable in conventional devices. Dynamic tuning of the optical response threshold through gate voltage further allows customized configuration of early warning levels. Furthermore, the device can generate timely warnings before UV exposure reaches levels linked to SLE flare-ups, thus enabling effective preventive protection. This work offers a new strategy for personalized UV protection in SLE patients and expands the application scope of neuromorphic devices in autoimmune disease management.

Temperature-sensitive gels are attractive in various fields, including smart windows, information encryption, and actuators. Herein, we select ethylene glycol as the solvent and prepare a poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) (PACMO) organogel with UCST phase transition behavior via photopolymerization. This temperature-sensitive organogel, with transition temperatures adjustable between 10 and 62 °C, displays high temperature sensitivity, a narrow transition window, and excellent cycling stability. The incorporation of comonomers, cosolvents, and cross-linkers significantly affects the transition behavior of the organogel through changing the transition temperature or broadening the transition window from 2 to 25 °C. Variable-temperature infrared spectroscopy and theory calculations reveal that the ether bond of PACMO competes with the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of ethylene glycol. As the temperature rises, the intermolecular hydrogen-bond interaction between ethylene glycol molecules weakens, while the hydrogen-bond interaction between the ether bond and ethylene glycol strengthens, leading to changes in transparency of the organogel. The applications of the organogel in the fields of temperature-controlled information displays and smart temperature labels are demonstrated. This design broadens the types of temperature-sensitive gel materials to organogels, opening a pathway toward applications with multifunctional optical requirements.