Iodine Boosted Fluoro-Organic Borate Electrolytes Enabling Fluent Ion-Conductive Solid Electrolyte Interphase for High-Performance Magnesium Metal Batteries.

Rechargeable magnesium batteries are regarded as a promising multi-valent battery system for low-cost and sustainable energy storage applications. Boron-based organic magnesium salts with terminal substituent fluorinated anions (Mg[B(OR)], R=fluorinated alkyl) have exhibited impressive electrochemical stability and oxidative stability. Nevertheless, their deployment is hindered by the complicated synthesis routes and the surface passivation of Mg metal anode.

A Versatile Method for Preparation of BrCOFs Aerogels and Efficient Functionalization via Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) aerogels solve the restrictions on processability and application caused by the insolubility and non-fusibility of powders while avoiding the inaccessibility of pore structures by dense stacking. At the current start-up stage where COFs aerogels are scarce and difficult to synthesize, design of generalized synthetic methods play an indispensable role in guiding and developing COFs aerogels. Moreover, evolving the functionality of COF aerogels is equal vital, which achieves higher performance and broader practical applications.

Visualizing the topological pentagon states of a giant C metamaterial.

Systems with broken continuous symmetry in ideal lattices cannot be rectified through rearrangement or deformation. Topological metamaterials featuring nontrivial, artificially induced phase transitions have emerged as pivotal constituents for engineering these topological defects, which, until now, have mostly been experimentally realized in linear or planar configurations. Buckminster Fuller lent his name to the C ball-shaped carbon allotrope, which is not only the roundest molecule in existence but also embodies 3D topological defects.

Engineering Higher-Order Topological Confinement via Acoustic Non-Hermitian Textures.

Higher-order topological insulators are a newly unveiled category of topological materials, distinguished by their exceptional characteristics absent in conventional topological insulators, e.g., 1D hinge states, or zero-dimensional corner states, for instance.

Electronic and magnetic excitations in LaNiO.

High-temperature superconductivity was discovered in the pressurized nickelate LaNiO which has a unique bilayer structure and mixed valence state of nickel. The properties at ambient pressure contain crucial information of the fundamental interactions and bosons mediating superconducting pairing. Here, using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, we identified that Ni 3 , Ni 3 , and ligand oxygen 2p orbitals dominate the low-energy physics with a small charge-transfer energy.

Nonlinear acoustic modulation utilizing designed acoustic bubble array.

Acoustic modulation has attracted significant investigative interest for their outstanding promising application scenes. Furthermore, acoustic bubble array has shown anticipated foreground in signal processing and acoustic manipulation. Here, we demonstrate a nonlinear acoustic modulation method via designed acoustic bubble array.

Evolution of Heterogeneous Tunnel Structures in Cryptomelane-Type Manganese Oxides and Their Geoinspired Implications.

Cryptomelane-type manganese oxides, α-MnO (KMnO), play key roles in various fields such as geochemical processes, catalytic reactions, energy storage, and environmental sciences. The function of cryptomelane-type oxides can be affected by cation substitutions and the changes in tunnel structures. Research on natural cryptomelane minerals could provide geoinspiration for the design of new nanomaterials with cation substitutions, as well as a key to understanding the evolution of tunnel structures.

Two-Dimensional van der Waals Superconductor Heterostructures: Josephson Junctions and Beyond.

The past few years have witnessed prominent progress in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructures. Vertically assembled in an artificial manner, these atomically thin layers possess distinctive electronic, magnetic, and other properties, which have provided a versatile platform for both fundamental exploration and practical applications in condensed matter physics and materials science. Within various potential combinations, a particular set of van der Waals superconductor (SC) heterostructures, which is realized by stacking fabrication based on two-dimensional SCs, is currently attracting intense attention.

A nonvolatile magnon field effect transistor at room temperature.

Information industry is one of the major drivers of the world economy. Its rapid growth, however, leads to severe heat problem which strongly hinders further development. This calls for a non-charge-based technology.

Ultralow-pressure-driven polarization switching in ferroelectric membranes.

Van der Waals integration of freestanding perovskite-oxide membranes with two-dimensional semiconductors has emerged as a promising strategy for developing high-performance electronics, such as field-effect transistors. In these innovative field-effect transistors, the oxide membranes have primarily functioned as dielectric layers, yet their great potential for structural tunability remains largely untapped. Free of epitaxial constraints by the substrate, these freestanding membranes exhibit remarkable structural tunability, providing a unique material system to achieve huge strain gradients and pronounced flexoelectric effects.

Membrane Fusion Mediated by Cationic Helical Peptide L-MMBen through Phosphatidylglycerol Recruitment.

Membrane fusion is the basis for many biological processes, which holds promise in biomedical applications including the creation of engineered hybrid cells and cell membrane functionalization. Extensive research efforts, including investigations into DNA zippers and carbon nanotubes, have been dedicated to the development of membrane fusion strategies inspired by natural SNARE proteins; nevertheless, achieving a delicate balance between membrane selectivity and high fusion efficiency through precise molecular engineering remains unclear. In our recent study, we successfully designed L-MMBen, a cationic helical antimicrobial peptide that exhibits remarkable antimicrobial efficacy while demonstrating moderate cytotoxicity.

Nickel-Doped Facet-Selective Copper Nanowires for Activating CO-to-Ethanol Electrosynthesis.

Ethanol isa promising energy vector for closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle through reversible electrochemical redox. Currently, ethanol electrosynthesissuffers from low product selectivity due to the competitive advantage of ethylene in CO/CO electroreduction. Here, a facet-selective metal-doping strategy is reported, tuning the reaction kinetics of CO reduction paths and thus enhancing the ethanol selectivity.

E-Skin and Its Advanced Applications in Ubiquitous Health Monitoring.

E-skin is a bionic device with flexible and intelligent sensing ability that can mimic the touch, temperature, pressure, and other sensing functions of human skin. Because of its flexibility, breathability, biocompatibility, and other characteristics, it is widely used in health management, personalized medicine, disease prevention, and other pan-health fields. With the proposal of new sensing principles, the development of advanced functional materials, the development of microfabrication technology, and the integration of artificial intelligence and algorithms, e-skin has developed rapidly.

New insights into the prediction for the potential of soil organic carbon accumulation: From the perspective of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.

The accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) is significant for soil health and ecosystem services. Numerous studies have assessed the dynamic changes of SOC by considering the microbial system as an equilibrium system. However, they failed to reveal the complexity of the SOC accumulation/loss process, as the microbial system is a non-equilibrium system affected by stochastic fluctuations from the external environment.

Tailoring the Electronic Structure and Properties of Graphdiyne by Cyano Groups.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as 2D carbon-based systems, have been recently the subject of intense studies, thanks to their optoelectronic properties and promising electronic performances. 2D carbon-based materials such as graphdiyne (GDY) represent an optimal platform for tuning the optoelectronic properties via precise chemical functionalization. Here, we report a synthetic strategy to precisely introduce cyano groups into the 2D GDY backbone in order to tune the electronic properties of GDY.

Achilles tendinopathy treatment via circadian rhythm regulation.

Introduction: Achilles tendinopathy (AT) is a prevalent musculoskeletal disorder closely linked to oxidative stress. Existing evidence suggests a potential link between circadian clock rhythms and oxidative stress. However, the precise role of the circadian clock in the progression and treatment of AT remains unclear.

Epitaxial Orientation-Controlled High Crystallinity and Ferroelectric Properties in HfZrO Films.

Hafnium-based binary oxides are essential for fabricating nanoscale high-density ferroelectric memory devices. However, effective strategies to control and improve their thin-film single crystallinity and metastable ferroelectricity remain elusive, hindering potential applications. Here, using NdGaO (NGO) substrates with four crystalline orientations, we report a systematic study of the structural characterizations and ferroelectric properties of epitaxial HfZrO (HZO) films, demonstrating orientation-controlled high crystallinity and enhanced ferroelectric properties.

Manipulative Single Electric Dipole with Spontaneous Translational Symmetry Breaking in a Two-Dimensional Crystal.

It is widely acknowledged that quantum entities with minimal mass cannot undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking due to strong quantum fluctuations. Here, we report the discovery of a positionally settled single electric dipole that can be manipulated and electrically polarized in a monolayer CoCl-graphite heterostructure, which demonstrates an unprecedented example of spontaneous lattice-translational-symmetry breaking. Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy show that the solitons are intrinsic paraelectric dipoles driven by synchronous charge-lattice distortion around individual CoCl octahedrons.

Fast selective edge-enhanced imaging with topological chiral lamellar superstructures.

Edge detection is a fundamental operation for feature extraction in image processing. The all-optical method has aroused growing interest owing to its ultra-fast speed, low energy consumption and parallel computation. However, current optical edge detection methods are generally limited to static devices and fixed functionality.

One-Dimensional Implantable Sensors for Accurately Monitoring Physiological and Biochemical Signals.

In recent years, one-dimensional (1D) implantable sensors have received considerable attention and rapid development in the biomedical field due to their unique structural characteristics and high integration capability. These sensors can be implanted into the human body with minimal invasiveness, facilitating real-time and accurate monitoring of various physiological and pathological parameters. This review examines the latest advancements in 1D implantable sensors, focusing on the material design of sensors, device integration, implantation methods, and the construction of the stable sensor-tissue interface.

Proposal for a New Method for Evaluating Polymer-Modified Bitumen Fatigue and Self-Restoration Performances Considering the Whole Damage Characteristic Curve.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps in knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to accommodate these two bitumen phenomena fully.