Stereogenic-at-P(V) skeletons exist ubiquitously in drugs, agrochemicals, organocatalysts, ligands and materials. Conventional synthetic methods mainly rely on chromatographic resolution, chiral auxiliary induction and optically active substrate control. Catalytic asymmetric transformation as an economic pathway has received much progress via racemic substrate resolution and desymmetrization of prochiral precursors. Among them, catalytic desymmetric substitution strategy has recently emerged as a new and powerful route to construct P(V) stereocenter, particularly witnessed a series of achievements in preparing seldom studied fully heteroatom-substituted P(V) scaffolds in the past one year. This minireview aims to provide a timely summary and highlight on this rapidly developing field, including reaction design, synthesis, mechanism and applications, and also perspective on the potential limitations and future trend.

Proton-irradiation-driven microstructural tuning provides a powerful route to control phase stability and electrochemical reversibility in layered oxide battery materials.

The accelerating freshwater crisis is driving an urgent search for sustainable and scalable water-harvesting solutions, particularly for regions where conventional water resources are rapidly diminishing. Here, we report a bioinspired atmospheric water-harvesting platform that couples 3D-printed microarchitectures with precision-engineered surface chemistry to overcome long-standing limitations in fog collection. We fabricated cylindrical micropillar arrays featuring staircase-like hierarchical textures using high-resolution additive manufacturing to enhance nucleation and condensation. Despite the enlarged surface area, the microtextured features exhibited pronounced droplet pinning, severely restricting droplet transport and reducing harvesting efficiency. To mitigate these constraints, we implemented a two-step modification strategy: hydrophobic functionalization via chemical vapor deposition, followed by infusion of nonadecane to create a stable, lubricant-infused slippery interface. The resulting nonadecane-infused micropillar architecture (NMP3) enabled rapid droplet shedding and directional transport, achieving a fog-harvesting rate of ∼3.6 mL h-1 under controlled conditions, significantly outperforming unmodified structures. Force-resolved analysis revealed that this enhancement arises from a finely tuned balance between surface-energy-driven mobility and the strong suppression of resistive pinning forces. Our findings demonstrate that the convergence of additive manufacturing and lubricant-infused surface design provides a powerful route to bioinspired, high-performance fog-harvesting systems. This integrated strategy offers a scalable pathway toward next-generation atmospheric water technologies capable of addressing emerging global water challenges.

ABSTRACT The strategic generation of α‐fluoro radicals underpins powerful routes to fluorine‐rich architectures of high value in molecular design. Here, we disclose an operationally simple, catalyst‐free method for the photochemical activation of α‐halo fluorinated precursors using visible light and two inexpensive additives, sodium iodide and 2,6‐lutidine. This mild protocol enables in‐situ halide exchange and subsequent homolytic C–I bond scission to generate α‐fluoro radicals under ambient conditions. The generality of the platform is demonstrated across esters, sulphones, and nitriles, facilitating intermolecular coupling with alkenes, heteroarenes, and propellanes to access diverse fluorinated scaffolds. Mechanistic studies support the formation of a weak electron donor–acceptor complex that mediates bond activation, while the benign conditions permit merger with energy transfer catalysis for stereodivergent product formation.

Stabilizing crystal structure is a powerful route to unlock new functionalities in perovskite oxides. BaCoO3 (BCO) derivatives are a versatile platform for designing mixed ionic-electronic conductors for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes, yet their stable hexagonal structure limits performance unless transformed into the cubic perovskite phase. Here, seven compositions are systematically investigated -undoped BCO and Sc-, Y-, Zr-, Hf-, Nb-, and Ta-doped variants-and show that the hexagonal-to-cubic transition is the decisive factor governing oxygen reduction kinetics. Among the dopants, Ta proves most effective, achieving a polarization resistance as low as ≈0.004 Ω cm2 at 650°C, by promoting cubic symmetry, which balances oxygen ion transport, oxygen vacancy formation, and surface oxygen adsorption. These findings highlight chemical doping as an effective means to stabilize cubic BCO and offer general design principles for tailoring crystal symmetry and functionality in perovskite oxides for electrochemical energy conversion.

Reversible polymorphic transformations provide a powerful route to tune the functionality in semiconductors. We demonstrate a cyclable phase transformation between the rocksalt cubic and layered orthorhombic structures in epitaxial PbSnSe thin films on GaAs(001). This thermally driven transformation occurs between -60 and 150 °C, with the transformation temperature depending on alloy composition. Subtle atomic displacements between polymorphs allow the transformation while retaining epitaxial registry for both states, while the dramatic change in symmetry drives a transition from an optically isotropic to birefringent state, with an index change exceeding Δn = 1. Microstructural analysis reveals a transformation involving low-energy interfaces that coherently accommodates a 3% out-of-plane lattice mismatch. Thermal cycling shows limited endurance at present, tentatively attributed to defect accumulation at phase boundaries, but annealing at increased temperatures indicates that the transformation remains fundamentally reversible. These findings position PbSnSe among a small set of ultratunable semiconductors compatible with epitaxial integration for optoelectronic applications.

Dearomatization offers a powerful route towards three-dimensional spirocyclic architectures, which are pivotal in bioactive molecules and pharmaceuticals, particularly for enantioselective construction of congested quaternary spirocenters. However, biocatalytic dearomatization towards these attractive spirocyclic frameworks under mild and green conditions remain underexplored. Here, we report a photoenzymatic platform synergizing visible-light activation with engineered nicotinamide-dependent ketoreductase (KRED) catalysis to achieve highly enantioselective dearomative spirocyclization of N-hydroxyphthalimide esters. Semi-rational engineering of KRED P2-D12 enables the synthesis of diverse chiral spirocyclohexadienones, also including the challenging ortho-cyclohexadienones, with exceptional functional group tolerance and stereocontrol (up to >99% ee). The utility of this methodology is underscored significantly by the enantioselective total synthesis of the cytotoxic natural product (+)-denobilone A (93% ee). Overall, this work establishes a chemobiocatalytic platform for the synthesis of complex and chiral spiroarchitectures with high enantioselectivity, expanding the biocatalytic toolbox in sustainable synthetic chemistry.

ABSTRACT Antisite defect engineering has emerged as a powerful route for modulating the local electronic structure of semiconductors, offering promising opportunities to enhance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. Despite this potential, the practical application of antisite defects remains constrained by their configurational instability and interference of phase transitions, leaving their influence on EMW response poorly understood. To address these challenges, a synergistic approach that couples ultrasonic modulation with precise control over chemical stoichiometry to regulate the concentration of antisite defects in CuInS 2 is introduced. Our findings reveal that ultrasonication promotes the formation of Cu In antisite defects. These defects locally disrupt lattice symmetry and, together with the ultrasonic‐induced displacement of S atoms, enable the generation of adjacent S vacancies. The resulting Cu In antisite‐S vacancy defect pairs induce pronounced polarization phenomena and enhance charge carrier transport, thereby improving conduction loss. Notably, the CuInS 2 ‐based composite prepared at a Cu/In molar ratio of 0.5 exhibits a record EMW absorption performance among CuInS 2 ‐based systems, delivering an effective absorption bandwidth of 8.24 GHz at a thickness of 2.3 mm. This study provides insights into the underlying role of antisite defects in modulating dielectric loss and suggests a promising strategy for designing high‐performance sulfide‐based EMW absorbers.

Optical encryption using nanostructured materials provides a powerful route for secure data encoding. In this work, an electrically reconfigurable colloidal photonic platform based on covalent organic framework (COF) particles is described, enabling dynamic and bistable data encryption. Spatially controlled electrophoretic assembly of monodisperse COF particles within patterned cells produces Bragg reflections that are visible only under bright-field (BF) microscopy as strong broadband scattering from nanoscale particle surface roughness conceals the encoded states from the naked eye. By tuning the synthesis time, the particle surface roughness and, thus, the degree of concealment can be precisely controlled. Unlike conventional optical systems, where scattering degrades visibility, we report it as an intrinsic security feature, transforming a loss mechanism into a tool for optical masking. The demonstrated platform combines electrical addressability, conditional optical visibility, and algorithmic decoding to deliver a compact, multifactor encryption system. These results demonstrate colloidal COF dispersions as a versatile class of photonic materials for secure displays, anticounterfeiting, and adaptive optical communication technologies.

In this study, we employed cantilever torque magnetometry to probe the magnetic anisotropy of a single crystal of U(DOTA)(H2O) (DOTA = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid), representing, to the best of our knowledge, the first application of this technique to an actinide-based molecular system. Combining cantilever torque magnetometry data with ab initio calculations allowed us to determine the magnetic anisotropy tensor of the uranium center. The resulting parameters enabled direct comparison with the isoelectronic lanthanide complex previously reported in the literature as well as with ab initio predictions for the theoretical Es4+ isostructural analogue. We find that the magnetic anisotropy axes of U(DOTA)(H2O) (5f2) closely align with those of the Pr3+ (4f2) and Dy3+ (4f9) analogues and with those predicted for Es(DOTA)(H2O) (5f9). The combination of CTM and electronic structure calculations was essential to describe the weakly paramagnetic, EPR-silent, non-Kramers ground state of U(DOTA)(H2O), despite the added complexity of four noncollinear molecules in the unit cell. Overall, these results demonstrate that cantilever torque magnetometry provides a powerful route to characterize the magnetic anisotropy of actinide complexes and offers a valuable experimental benchmark for validating computational approaches to 5f-element magnetism.

Evaporative self-assembly (ESA) is a simple yet highly powerful route to organize colloidal nanoparticles into ordered structures with tailored morphologies and functionalities. Through the careful control of evaporation dynamics, substrate properties, and particle interactions, a rich variety of nanostructured materials can be fabricated for applications spanning device fabrication, sensing, and photonics. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress in ESA, examining how evaporation geometries, droplet-scale physics, and nanoscale forces influence the resulting deposited patterns. We highlight the fundamentals of solvent-based evaporation techniques and provide an overview of how variations in evaporative flux, three-phase contact line (TPCL) dynamics, and hydrodynamic forces, driven by changes in droplet geometry, substrate properties, and environmental conditions influence the resulting macroscopic patterns. Particular attention is given to the role of nanoscale interactions in dictating particle ordering. A detailed discussion is devoted to the self-assembly behaviour of both isotropic and anisotropic colloidal particles, highlighting recent progress and mechanisms driving directional organization. Finally, we discuss the emerging applications of these assemblies in sensing and development of photonic materials, and outline potential future directions in this evolving field.

Efficient, low-power, and highly integrated optoelectronic devices remain a critical yet challenging goal. Here, we introduce a multipoint Kerker effect membrane metasurface that merges Kerker’s condition with quasi-bound states in the continuum (q-BICs). By engineering dual-mode dispersion, we achieve a high-efficiency beam deflector, simultaneously realizing robust parameter tolerance and narrow-linewidth resonances—two typically conflicting properties. Our experiment demonstrates an absolute beam deflection efficiency exceeding 92%, with exceptional spectral and spatial selectivity, including a 4-gigahertz linewidth, a 2.8° divergence angle, and a quality factor of 114. Moreover, it enables 94% transmission intensity modulation under an ultralow continuous wave pump intensity of 0.5 W/cm2. These results establish the Kerker effect framework as a scalable and energy-efficient photonic platform, offering a powerful route toward integrable optoelectronic systems for next-generation wireless communication and LiDAR.

Transition metal (i.e., Mn, Fe, Cr) and chalcogen (Se) substituents are introduced into single-crystalline NiPS3, and the evolution of the two emergent quasi-particle excitations characteristic to the XXZ correlated antiferromagnetism of NiPS3 (i.e., spin orbit entangled exciton (SOX) and two-magnon scattering (2M)) are investigated as functions of substituent concentration through comprehensive room- and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy studies. Thesefindings are further correlated with the magnetic properties of the same set of compounds reported in prior studies. The work revealed that the SOX emission intensities and linewidths are mainly controlled by the magnetic anisotropy and spin orientations, and are strongly suppressed by the introduction of substituents. The suppression depends on the type of substituent, with Fe affecting the SOX emission more than Mn and Cr. The 2m scattering is linked to short-range correlations and exhibits greater resiliency against metal atom substitution. While the 2M peak at low temperature gets suppressed and red-shifted in frequency with increasing concentrations of all the substituents, Fe induces the weakest suppression compared to all other substituents. Altogether, these findings revealed the introduction of substituents as a powerful route to control the emergent collective excitations in NiPS3 and mixed-MPX3 materials.

Self-assembly of nanoscale building blocks with programmable geometries and interactions offers a powerful route to engineer materials that mimic the complexity of biological structures. DNA origami provides an exceptional platform for this purpose, enabling precise control over subunit shape, binding angles, and interaction specificity. Here we present a modular DNA origami design approach to address the challenges of assembling geometrically complex nanoscale structures, including those with nonuniform curvatures. This approach features a core structure that completely conserves the scaffold routing across different designs and preserves more than 70% of the DNA staples between designs, dramatically reducing both cost and effort, while enabling precise and independent programming of subunit interactions and binding angles through adjustable overhang lengths and sequences. Using cryogenic electron microscopy, gel electrophoresis, and coarse-grained simulations, we validate a set of robust design rules and demonstrate the assembly of diverse self-limiting structures, including anisotropic shells, a T=13 icosahedral shell, and a toroid with globally varying curvature. This modular strategy provides an efficient and cost-effective framework for the synthetic fabrication of complex nanostructures.

Nanoscale potential wells provide a powerful route to engineer energy landscapes in low-dimensional materials, enabling deterministic control over quantum states, carrier dynamics, and optoelectronic responses. Such confinement governs phenomena including charge localization, transport anisotropy, band structure modulation, and light-matter interaction strength. Achieving such precision, however, has been hindered by conventional lithography, which introduces disorder, contamination, or substrate damage. Here, we demonstrate a laser nanomanufacturing approach to fabricate clean, resist-free, and etchant-free dielectric nanochannels in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), featuring sub-10 nm widths and atomically smooth boundaries with subnanometer roughness. These nanochannels serve as dielectric templates that define programmable energy landscapes for monolayer molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2), forming excitonic energy funnels that suppress scattering and dramatically extend exciton transport lengths. Exciton transport is transformed from isotropic submicron diffusion into directional superdiffusion with quasi-ballistic propagation exceeding 5 μm at room temperature. The smooth dielectric boundaries further enable precise control over exciton trajectories, allowing for programmable transport pathways. This dry, scalable, and substrate-compatible approach establishes a versatile platform for deterministic exciton engineering and for advancing integrated photonic and optoelectronic devices.

Formaldehyde is both a pervasive air pollutant and a critical breath biomarker for tumor-related diseases, yet its reliable detection remains difficult due to ultralow concentrations and interference from ubiquitous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here, an H⁺-exchange strategy is reported that markedly enhances the sensing performance of sodium titanate (Na2Ti3O7, NTO) by introducing abundant surface hydroxyl groups and tuning conduction pathways. In H⁺-exchanged NTO (H-NTO), hydroxyl groups act as selective adsorption sites for formaldehyde, while formaldehyde adsorption simultaneously suppresses surface-proton and internal-electron conduction by increasing the activation energy for proton hopping and generating electron-trapping states. This dual modulation effectively eliminates cross-sensitivity to other VOCs (e.g., methanol), enabling H-NTO to achieve an ultralow detection limit of 2 ppb, a wide dynamic range up to 100ppm, and stable operation over two months-contrasting with the negligible response of pristine NTO. To demonstrate practical utility, we developed a handheld H-NTO prototype for wireless indoor air-quality monitoring and non-invasive breath-based breast cancer screening. Coupled with machine learning, the system achieved high diagnostic accuracy, establishing H⁺-exchange as a powerful route toward next-generation intelligent formaldehyde sensors.

Enhancing interfacial stability and charge transfer in protonic ceramic cells (PCCs) remains a critical challenge, as structural degradation and interfacial resistance often compromise durability and efficiency. Here, we report a nanoengineered dual-layer oxygen electrode architecture designed to address these limitations by introducing a fine-grained nanoparticle interfacial contact layer beneath a porous catalytic backbone. The nanoscale powders, through enhanced sintering activity, densify into a robust interfacial layer that promotes strong chemical bonding, uniform adhesion, and continuous ionic/electronic pathways with the BCZYYb electrolyte. This hierarchical architecture mitigates delamination, redistributes mechanical stress, and establishes efficient charge and mass transport channels without relying on corrosive surface treatments. Electrochemical evaluation demonstrates that the dual-layer design markedly reduces interfacial polarization resistance and accelerates electrode kinetics. Compared to the single-layer counterpart, the architecture achieves a peel strength of 44.53 N/cm2, a 40% improvement in peak power density (0.96 W cm-2 at 600 °C), and a 130% enhancement in electrolysis current density (4.78 A cm-2 at 1.57 V). Faradaic efficiency remains as high as 88% under high steam concentrations, underscoring minimal charge loss during practical operation. Notably, the electrode retains stability across 450-600 °C and under transient voltage cycling, with impedance spectra confirming suppressed interfacial resistance growth over prolonged use. These results highlight nanoscale interface engineering as a powerful route to enhance both mechanical robustness and electrochemical kinetics in PCCs. The demonstrated scalability and durability of this architecture provide a versatile platform for advancing solid-state electrochemical systems, including reversible fuel cells and high-efficiency hydrogen production technologies.

Incorporating micelles into polymeric hydrogels offers a powerful route to combine the tuneable mechanical and structural properties of hydrogels with the precise drug-loading and release capabilities of nanocarriers. However, the method of micelle incorporation and its influence on hydrogel performance have yet to be studied in detail. Here, we present a modular strategy to tailor gelatin-norbornene hydrogels by integrating Pluronic® F127 micelles either physically or via covalent incorporation using norbornene-functionalised Pluronic (Pl_Nb). Pl_Nb was synthesised via Steglich esterification with >95% terminal functionalisation, forming stable, thermo-responsive micelles (2.5-15% w/v) with doxorubicin encapsulation efficiency of ∼80%, comparable to unmodified Pluronic. Micelles were either physically entrapped or chemically integrated into gelatin-norbornene networks via bioorthogonal thiol-ene crosslinking. The incorporation route dictated network mechanics and dynamics: chemical crosslinking conferred temperature-dependent behaviour and enhanced stress relaxation compared to physical crosslinking, whereas both incorporation routes reduced stiffness relative to neat hydrogels and slowed drug release compared to direct loading. All hydrogels were cytocompatible, and the released doxorubicin retained its bioactivity, reducing cancer cell viability. These findings establish micelle-hydrogel coupling as a versatile design approach for engineering biomaterials with potential in controlled therapeutic delivery and regenerative medicine.

As sustainability becomes a requirement in network operations, accurately quantifying the carbon footprint of Internet traffic is essential. While energy-aware networking has seen significant attention, the ability to trace carbon emissions at the flow level remains an open challenge due to the complexity of shared infrastructure and lack of related telemetry. In this paper, we present a methodology to obtain fine-grained per-flow carbon emissions from traffic statistics. To this end, we collect power measurements from three switches under varying traffic conditions, including synthetic and real-world traces. From these measurements, we derive a regression model that accurately estimates instantaneous router power consumption using only throughput and packet rate counters--achieving >96% accuracy across all switch types and traces. We then extend this model to compute per-flow carbon emissions, distinguishing between consequential and attributional perspectives, and validate the results using traces from CAIDA and Google services. Our findings uncover actionable insights into how flow and network characteristics such as packet size, packet rate, and network utilization influence carbon cost. Finally, we propose feasible deployment strategies for flow-level carbon estimation frameworks. This work provides a foundational step towards enabling carbon-aware flow-level decision-making for users, applications, and network operators.

Design of an intelligent AI-based multi-layer optimization framework for grid-tied solar PV-fuel cell hybrid energy systems.