A perspective on field-effect in energy and environmental catalysis.

The development of catalytic technologies for sustainable energy conversion is a critical step toward addressing fossil fuel depletion and associated environmental challenges. High-efficiency catalysts are fundamental to advancing these technologies. Recently, field-effect facilitated catalytic processes have emerged as a promising approach in energy and environmental applications, including water splitting, CO reduction, nitrogen reduction, organic electrosynthesis, and biomass recycling.

Pt/IrO enables selective electrochemical C-H chlorination at high current.

Employing electrochemistry for the selective functionalization of liquid alkanes allows for sustainable and efficient production of high-value chemicals. However, the large potentials required for C(sp)-H bond functionalization and low water solubility of such alkanes make it challenging. Here we discover that a Pt/IrO electrocatalyst with optimized Cl binding energy enables selective generation of Cl free radicals for C-H chlorination of alkanes.

Nanocurvature-induced field effects enable control over the activity of single-atom electrocatalysts.

Tuning interfacial electric fields provides a powerful means to control electrocatalyst activity. Importantly, electric fields can modify adsorbate binding energies based on their polarizability and dipole moment, and hence operate independently of scaling relations that fundamentally limit performance. However, implementation of such a strategy remains challenging because typical methods modify the electric field non-uniformly and affects only a minority of active sites.

Acidic Media Impedes Tandem Catalysis Reaction Pathways in Electrochemical CO Reduction.

Electrochemical CO reduction (CO R) in acidic media with Cu-based catalysts tends to suffer from lowered selectivity towards multicarbon products. This could in principle be mitigated using tandem catalysis, whereby the *CO coverage on Cu is increased by introducing a CO generating catalyst (e.g.

Mechanically Durable Memristor Arrays Based on a Discrete Structure Design.

Memristors constitute a promising functional component for information storage and in-memory computing in flexible and stretchable electronics including wearable devices, prosthetics, and soft robotics. Despite tremendous efforts made to adapt conventional rigid memristors to flexible and stretchable scenarios, stretchable and mechanical-damage-endurable memristors, which are critical for maintaining reliable functions under unexpected mechanical attack, have never been achieved. Here, the development of stretchable memristors with mechanical damage endurance based on a discrete structure design is reported.

Ternary Alloys Enable Efficient Production of Methoxylated Chemicals via Selective Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Lignin Monomers.

We explore the selective electrocatalytic hydrogenation of lignin monomers to methoxylated chemicals, of particular interest, when powered by renewable electricity. Prior studies, while advancing the field rapidly, have so far lacked the needed selectivity: when hydrogenating lignin-derived methoxylated monomers to methoxylated cyclohexanes, the desired methoxy group (-OCH) has also been reduced. The ternary PtRhAu electrocatalysts developed herein selectively hydrogenate lignin monomers to methoxylated cyclohexanes-molecules with uses in pharmaceutics.

Chloride-mediated selective electrosynthesis of ethylene and propylene oxides at high current density.

Chemicals manufacturing consumes large amounts of energy and is responsible for a substantial portion of global carbon emissions. Electrochemical systems that produce the desired compounds by using renewable electricity offer a route to lower carbon emissions in the chemicals sector. Ethylene oxide is among the world's most abundantly produced commodity chemicals because of its importance in the plastics industry, notably for manufacturing polyesters and polyethylene terephthalates.

A supertough electro-tendon based on spider silk composites.

Compared to transmission systems based on shafts and gears, tendon-driven systems offer a simpler and more dexterous way to transmit actuation force in robotic hands. However, current tendon fibers have low toughness and suffer from large friction, limiting the further development of tendon-driven robotic hands. Here, we report a super tough electro-tendon based on spider silk which has a toughness of 420 MJ/m and conductivity of 1,077 S/cm.

Thermal-Disrupting Interface Mitigates Intercellular Cohesion Loss for Accurate Topical Antibacterial Therapy.

Bacterial infections remain a leading threat to global health because of the misuse of antibiotics and the rise in drug-resistant pathogens. Although several strategies such as photothermal therapy and magneto-thermal therapy can suppress bacterial infections, excessive heat often damages host cells and lengthens the healing time. Here, a localized thermal managing strategy, thermal-disrupting interface induced mitigation (TRIM), is reported, to minimize intercellular cohesion loss for accurate antibacterial therapy.

An Artificial Somatic Reflex Arc.

The emulation of human sensation, perception, and action processes has become a major challenge for bioinspired intelligent robotics, interactive human-machine interfacing, and advanced prosthetics. Reflex actions, enabled through reflex arcs, are important for human and higher animals to respond to stimuli from environment without the brain processing and survive the risks of nature. An artificial reflex arc system that emulates the functions of the reflex arc simplifies the complex circuit design needed for "central-control-only" processes and becomes a basic electronic component in an intelligent soft robotics system.

Dopant-tuned stabilization of intermediates promotes electrosynthesis of valuable C3 products.

The upgrading of CO/CO feedstocks to higher-value chemicals via energy-efficient electrochemical processes enables carbon utilization and renewable energy storage. Substantial progress has been made to improve performance at the cathodic side; whereas less progress has been made on improving anodic electro-oxidation reactions to generate value. Here we report the efficient electroproduction of value-added multi-carbon dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO and methanol via oxidative carbonylation.

Approaching the Lithiation Limit of MoS While Maintaining Its Layered Crystalline Structure to Improve Lithium Storage.

MoS holds great promise as high-rate electrode for lithium-ion batteries since its large interlayer can allow fast lithium diffusion in 3.0-1.0 V.

Broadband Extrinsic Self-Trapped Exciton Emission in Sn-Doped 2D Lead-Halide Perovskites.

As emerging efficient emitters, metal-halide perovskites offer the intriguing potential to the low-cost light emitting devices. However, semiconductors generally suffer from severe luminescence quenching due to insufficient confinement of excitons (bound electron-hole pairs). Here, Sn-triggered extrinsic self-trapping of excitons in bulk 2D perovskite crystal, PEA PbI (PEA = phenylethylammonium), is reported, where exciton self-trapping never occurs in its pure state.

Tactile Chemomechanical Transduction Based on an Elastic Microstructured Array to Enhance the Sensitivity of Portable Biosensors.

Tactile sensors capable of perceiving biophysical signals such as force, pressure, or strain have attracted extensive interest for versatile applications in electronic skin, noninvasive healthcare, and biomimetic prostheses. Despite these great achievements, they are still incapable of detecting bio/chemical signals that provide even more meaningful and precise health information due to the lack of efficient transduction principles. Herein, a tactile chemomechanical transduction strategy that enables the tactile sensor to perceive bio/chemical signals is proposed.

Mechano-regulated metal-organic framework nanofilm for ultrasensitive and anti-jamming strain sensing.

The development of ultrasensitive, anti-jamming, and durable sensors that can precisely distinguish different human body motions are of great importance for smart health monitoring and diagnosis. Physical implementation of such flexible sensors is still a challenge at the moment. Combining the designs of advanced material showing excellent electrochemical properties with the facilitative structure engineering, high-performance flexible sensors that satisfy both signal detecting and recognition requirements may be made possible.

Enhancing the Matrix Addressing of Flexible Sensory Arrays by a Highly Nonlinear Threshold Switch.

The increasing need for smart systems in healthcare, wearable, and soft robotics is creating demand for low-power sensory circuits that can detect pressure, temperature, strain, and other local variables. Among the most critical requirements, the matrix circuitry to address the individual sensor device must be sensitive, immune to disturbances, and flexible within a high-density sensory array. Here, a strategy is reported to enhance the matrix addressing of a fully integrated flexible sensory array with an improvement of 10 fold in the maximum readout value of impedance by a bidirectional threshold switch.

Biomechano-Interactive Materials and Interfaces.

The reciprocal mechanical interaction of engineered materials with biointerfaces have long been observed and exploited in biomedical applications. It contributes to the rise of biomechano-responsive materials and biomechano-stimulatory materials, constituting the biomechano-interactive interfaces. Here, endogenous and exogenous biomechanical stimuli available for mechanoresponsive interfaces are briefed and their mechanistic responses, including deformation and volume change, mechanomanipulation of physical and chemical bonds, dissociation of assemblies, and coupling with thermoresponsiveness are summarized.

Correlating the Surface Basicity of Metal Oxides with Photocatalytic Hydroxylation of Boronic Acids to Alcohols.

Photoredox catalysis provides opportunities in harnessing clean and green resources such as sunlight and O , while the acid and base surface sites of metal oxides are critical for industrial catalysis such as oil cracking. The contribution of metal oxide surfaces towards photocatalytic aerobic reactions was elucidated, as demonstrated through the hydroxylation of boronic acids to alcohols. The strength and proximity of the surface base sites appeared to be two key factors in driving the reaction; basic and amphoteric oxides such as MgO, TiO , ZnO, and Al O enabled high alcohol yields, while acidic oxides such as SiO and B O gave only low yields.

3D-Structured Stretchable Strain Sensors for Out-of-Plane Force Detection.

Stretchable strain sensors, as the soft mechanical interface, provide the key mechanical information of the systems for healthcare monitoring, rehabilitation assistance, soft exoskeletal devices, and soft robotics. Stretchable strain sensors based on 2D flat film have been widely developed to monitor the in-plane force applied within the plane where the sensor is placed. However, to comprehensively obtain the mechanical feedback, the capability to detect the out-of-plane force, caused by the interaction outside of the plane where the senor is located, is needed.

Plasticizing Silk Protein for On-Skin Stretchable Electrodes.

Soft and stretchable electronic devices are important in wearable and implantable applications because of the high skin conformability. Due to the natural biocompatibility and biodegradability, silk protein is one of the ideal platforms for wearable electronic devices. However, the realization of skin-conformable electronic devices based on silk has been limited by the mechanical mismatch with skin, and the difficulty in integrating stretchable electronics.

Auxetic Mechanical Metamaterials to Enhance Sensitivity of Stretchable Strain Sensors.

Stretchable strain sensors play a pivotal role in wearable devices, soft robotics, and Internet-of-Things, yet these viable applications, which require subtle strain detection under various strain, are often limited by low sensitivity. This inadequate sensitivity stems from the Poisson effect in conventional strain sensors, where stretched elastomer substrates expand in the longitudinal direction but compress transversely. In stretchable strain sensors, expansion separates the active materials and contributes to the sensitivity, while Poisson compression squeezes active materials together, and thus intrinsically limits the sensitivity.