Electron-phonon coupling and thermal transport properties of GaN/AlGaN heterojunction under strain regulation.

In the study of GaN/AlGaN heterostructure thermal transport, the interference of strain on carriers cannot be ignored. Although existing research has mainly focused on the intrinsic electronic and phonon behavior of the materials, there is a lack of studies on the transport characteristics of the electron-phonon coupling in heterostructures under strain control. This research comprehensively applies first-principles calculations and the Boltzmann transport equation simulation method to deeply analyze the thermal transport mechanism of the GaN/AlGaN heterojunction considering in-plane strain, with particular attention to the regulatory role of electron-phonon coupling on thermal transport.

Highly Reversible Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by Porous Organic Cages with Subnano Lithiophilic Triangular Windows.

The widespread application of anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs) is hindered by the severe dendrite growth and side reactions due to the poor reversibility of Li plating/stripping. Herein, our study introduces an ultrathin interphase layer of covalent cage 3 (CC3) for highly reversible AFLMBs. The subnano triangular windows in CC3 serve as a Li sieve to accelerate Li desolvation and transport kinetics, inhibit electrolyte decomposition, and form LiF- and LiN-rich solid-electrolyte interphases.

One-Dimensional Excitonic Insulator of MTe (M = Mo, W) Atomic Wires.

Coulomb attraction with weak screening can trigger spontaneous exciton formation and condensation, resulting in a strongly correlated many-body ground state, namely, the excitonic insulator. One-dimensional (1D) materials natively have ineffective dielectric screening. For the first time, we demonstrate the excitonic instability of single atomic wires of transition metal telluride MTe (M = Mo, W), a family of 1D van der Waals (vdW) materials accessible in the laboratory.

Electrostatic MEMS Two-Dimensional Scanning Micromirrors Integrated with Piezoresistive Sensors.

The MEMS scanning micromirror requires angle sensors to provide real-time angle feedback during operation, ensuring a stable and accurate deflection of the micromirror. This paper proposes a method for integrating piezoresistive sensors on the torsion axis of electrostatic MEMS micromirrors to detect the deflection angle. The design uses a multi-layer bonding process to realize a vertical comb-driven structure.

Termination-acidity tailoring of molybdenum carbides for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction.

Transition-metal carbides have been advocated as the promising alternatives to noble-metal platinum-based catalysts in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction over half a century. However, the effectiveness of transition-metal carbides catalyzing hydrogen evolution in high-pH electrolyte is severely compromised due to the lowered proton activity and intractable alkaline-leaching issue of transition-metal centers. Herein, on the basis of validation of molybdenum-carbide model-catalyst system by taking advantage of surface science techniques, MoC micro-size spheres terminated by Al doped MoO layer exhibit a notable performance of alkaline hydrogen evolution with a near-zero onset-potential, a low overpotential (40 mV) at a typical current density of 10 mA/cm, and a small Tafel slope (45 mV/dec), as well as a long-term stability for continuous hydrogen production over 200 h.

Peptide-based CAR-NK cells: A novel strategy for the treatment of solid tumors.

CAR-T cell therapy has been proven to be effective on hematological tumors, although graft-versus-host disease and cytokine release syndrome(CRS) limit its application to a certain extent. However, CAR-T therapy for solid tumors met challenges, among which the lack of tumor-specific antigens (TSA) and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) are the most important factors. CAR-NK could be a good alternative to CAR-T in some ways since they can induce mild CRS and are independent of HLA-matching, but the efficacy of CAR-NKs remains limited in solid tumors.

Synthesis of 2,7-Dihydrooxepine-spirodithiophene Derivatives via an Intramolecular Ring Closure Reaction.

Spiro architectures with π-conjugation have improved thermal stability and stronger photosensitivity, making them potentially useful for organic optoelectronic devices. Our recent work has demonstrated the synthetic chemistry of a novel thiophene oligomer combining 2,7-dihydrooxepine and dispiro structure and derived it into A-D-A-type compounds. The optical spectroscopy and electrochemical characteristics were investigated.

Selective Recycling of Mixed Polyesters via Heterogeneous Photothermal Catalysis.

The selective recycling of mixed plastic wastes with similar structural units is challenging. While heterogeneous catalysis shows potential for selective recycling, challenges such as complex mass transfer at multiphase interfaces and unclear catalytic mechanisms have slowed progress. In this study, a breakthrough in recycling mixed polyester wastes is introduced using heterogeneous photothermal catalysis.

Innovative Heating for the Nano Age: Exploring the Potentials of Carbothermal Shock.

Heating techniques have underpinned the progress of the material and manufacturing industries. However, the explosive development of nanomaterials and micro/nanodevices has raised more requirements for the heating technique, including but not limited to high efficiency, low cost, high controllability, good usability, scalability, universality, and eco-friendliness. Carbothermal shock (CTS), a heating technique derived from traditional electrical heating, meets these requirements and is advancing at a high rate.

Highly Efficient Photocatalytic HO Production under Ambient Conditions via Defective InS Nanosheets.

Oxygen and water generating hydrogen peroxide (HO) by optical drive is an extremely promising pathway, and the large amount of oxygen in air and natural sunlight illumination are excellent catalytic conditions. However, the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs greatly limits the photocatalytic efficiency, especially in the absence of sacrificial agents. Here, we report an InS nanosheet with an S vacancy (S-InS).

Chirality-Free Full Decoupling of Jones Matrix Phase-Channels with a Planar Minimalist Metasurface.

The complete manipulation of Jones matrix phase-channels using metasurfaces brings forth unparalleled possibilities across diverse wavefront modulation applications. Traditionally, achieving independent control over all four phase-channels usually involves the introduction of chirality with multilayer or three-dimensional metasurfaces. Here, we present a general chirality-free method that relies on polarization base transformation with a planar minimalist metasurface, effectively decoupling the four Jones matrix phase-channels, thereby unleashing the fundamental boundaries imposed by conventional linear or circular polarization bases.

A general strategy to achieve see-through devices through the micro-structuring of colored functional materials.

Irrespective of the specific see-through device, obtaining optimal transparency remains the primary goal. In this work, we introduce a general strategy to enhance the transparency of various see-through devices. We achieve this by structuring the colored functional materials into imperceptible three-dimensional mesh lines, addressing a common challenge in multi-layer structures where each layer causes a reduction in transparency due to their color or opacity.

Stacking Engineering toward Giant Second Harmonic Generation in Twisted Graphene Superstructures.

The nonlinear optical response in graphene is finding increasing applications in nanophotonic devices. The activation and enhancement of second harmonic generation (SHG) in graphene, which is generally forbidden in monolayer and AB-stacked bilayer graphene due to their centrosymmetry, is of urgent need for nanophotonic applications. Here, we present a comprehensive study of SHG performance of twisted multilayer graphene structures based on stacking engineering.

Biomimetic Strategies of Slip Sensing, Perception, and Protection in Prosthetic Hand Grasp.

This study develops biomimetic strategies for slip prevention in prosthetic hand grasps. The biomimetic system is driven by a novel slip sensor, followed by slip perception and preventive control. Here, we show that biologically inspired sensorimotor pathways can be restored between the prosthetic hand and users.

Directional Chiral Exciton Emission via Topological Polarization Singularities in all Van der Waals Metasurfaces.

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with strong exciton effects have enabled diverse light emitting devices, however, their Ångstrom thickness makes it challenging to efficiently manipulate exciton emission by themselves. Although their nanostructured multi-layer counterparts can effectively manipulate optical field at deep subwavelength thickness scale, these indirect band gap multi-layer TMDs are lack of strong luminescence, hindering their applications in light emitting devices. Here, the integration of monolayer TMDs is presented with nanostructured multi-layer TMDs, combining both strong exciton emission and optical manipulation in a single ultra-thin platform.

Photocatalytic Partial Water Oxidation Promoted by a Hydrogen Acceptor-Hydroxyl Mediator Couple.

Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is an important chemical in synthetic chemistry with huge demands. Photocatalytic synthesis of HO via oxygen reduction and water oxidation reactions (ORR and WOR) is considered as a promising and desirable solution for on-site applications. However, the efficiency of such a process is low due to the poor solubility of molecular oxygen and the rapid reverse reaction of hydroxyl radicals (OH) with hydrogen atoms (H).

Performance Enhancement of Carbon Nanotube Network Transistors via SbI Inner-Doping in Selected Regions.

Semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) represent one of the most promising materials for surpassing Moore's Law and developing the next generation of electronic devices. Despite numerous developed approaches, reducing the contact resistance of s-SWCNTs networks remains a significant challenge in achieving further enhancements in electronic performance. In this study, antimony triiodide (SbI) is efficiently encapsulated within high-purity s-SWCNTs films at low temperatures, forming 1D SbI@s-SWCNTs vdW heterostructures.

Three-in-one strategy via anchored MoSe for construct stable conversion-type Na-Se batteries: Chemisorption, catalytic conversion and stress dispersion.

Conversion-type selenium cathodes are considered a highly promising alternative to sulfur cathodes due to their high conductivity and similar theoretical capacity. However, stress-diffusion and shuttle effects during the conversion process remain significant challenges that urgently need to be addressed. Herein, a composite matrix of MoSe anchored on the surface of N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NHMCNS) was designed as a Se host to construct Se/C cathodes (Se/MoSe@NHMCNS).

Hijacking endogenous iron to amplify lysosomal-mitochondrial cascade damage for boosting anti-tumor immunotherapy.

The cross-talk between lysosomes and mitochondria is crucial for keeping intracellular homeostasis and metabolic function, providing a promising approach for tumor therapy. Herein, we employed polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-modified Cu-gallic acid (CuGA) complex nano-boosters for amplifying lysosomes-mitochondria cascaded damage, and thereby effectively inducing cuproptosis and pyroptosis of breast tumor cells to boost anti-tumor immunotherapy. The CuGA nano-boosters could hijack lysosomal iron to form a bimetallic catalyst Cu(Fe)GA in situ through ion-exchange reaction, and cause the release of Cu and metal ion dysregulation (i.

Photothermal Catalytic Recycling of Polyester Over Magnetic Ni-MnO Nanocatalyst.

The solar-driven catalytic recycling of plastics has recently emerged as a new frontier in industry. Nevertheless, its large-scale application requires the catalysts being capable of the strong absorption of visible and near-infrared light, strengthened photothermal efficiency, high activity and selective toward target product, enhanced stability, as well as easy separation from the products. In this work, magnetic Ni-MnO nanocatalyst (MN/C) is synthesized via the pyrolysis of metal-organic framework (MOF) for the photothermal catalytic recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET).

Low-Temperature Lithium Metal Batteries Achieved by Synergistically Enhanced Screening Li Desolvation Kinetics.

Lithium metal anode is desired by high capacity and low potential toward higher energy density than commercial graphite anode. However, the low-temperature Li metal batteries suffer from dendrite formation and dead Li resulting from uneven Li behaviors of flux with huge desolvation/diffusion barriers, thus leading to short lifespan and safety concern. Herein, differing from electrolyte engineering, a strategy of delocalizing electrons with generating rich active sites to regulate Li desolvation/diffusion behaviors are demonstrated via decorating polar chemical groups on porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Flexible Phase-Change Films with Exceptional Water and Temperature Resistance for Smart Personal Thermal Protection.

Personal thermal protection is crucial in extreme temperature environments, and the rising global temperatures present significant challenges in managing heat stress for individuals. Phase-change materials (PCMs) can absorb or release heat during phase transition to maintain a constant temperature, thus making them ideal innovative thermal protection materials. However, it is currently a bottleneck issue for using PCMs in wearable thermal protection systems due to a balance between the mechanical properties, latent heat, temperature resistance, and rapid response on demand.

Progress in Chinese medicine monomers and their nanoformulations on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) is the entire process of myocardial injury resulting from ischemia and hypoxia following acute myocardial infarction, which involves complicated pathogenesis including energy metabolism disorders, calcium overload, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted intensive attention in the treatment of MIRI owing to its multitarget therapeutic effects and low systemic toxicity. Increasing evidence indicates the promising application of TCM on the protection of cardiomyocytes, improvement of endothelial cell functions and regulation of energy metabolism and inflammatory response.

Robust MnO-WO Complementary Electrochromic Device Enabled by Reversible Electrodeposition of MnO.

Reversible electrodeposition and dissolution of manganese oxide (MnO) represent an emerging electrochromic system. However, challenges such as "dead MnO" formation, limited optical modulation across a narrow wavelength range, and difficulties in scaling up have significantly hindered the development of MnO reversible electrodeposition-based electrochromic windows. In this work, we introduced Fe/Fe mediator ions into the electrolyte to suppress the Jahn-Teller effect, thereby preventing the formation of "dead MnO" and achieving stable and reversible MnO deposition/dissolution.