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.

Suspending Light-Absorbing Nanoparticles in Silica Aerogel Enables Numerous Superblacks.

Current strategies for constructing sparse nanostructures for fabricating superblacks are only suitable for a few light-absorbing materials, severely limiting their applications. Herein, ultra-low reflective silica aerogels with ultra-high light transparency are used as solid smokes to individually or simultaneously suspend at least 100 species of light-absorbing nanoparticles with a volume fraction as low as 0.005%, for creating > 100 superblacks in practice and one billion superblacks in theory if taken permutation and combination among these 0D, 1D, or 2D nanoparticles into account.

Co-delivery of retinoic acid and miRNA by functional Au nanoparticles for improved survival and CT imaging tracking of MSCs in pulmonary fibrosis therapy.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as promising candidates for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) therapy. Increasing the MSC survival rate and deepening the understanding of the behavior of transplanted MSCs are of great significance for improving the efficacy of MSC-based IPF treatment. Therefore, dual-functional Au-based nanoparticles (Au@PEG@PEI@TAT NPs, AuPPT) were fabricated by sequential modification of cationic polymer polyetherimide (PEI), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and transactivator of transcription (TAT) penetration peptide on AuNPs, to co-deliver retinoic acid (RA) and microRNA (miRNA) for simultaneously enhancing MSC survive and real-time imaging tracking of MSCs during IPF treatment.

Simultaneous Regulating the Surface, Interface, and Bulk via Phosphating Modification for High-Performance Li-Rich Layered Oxides Cathodes.

Li-rich Mn-based layered oxides (LRMOs) are regarded as the leading cathode materials to overcome the bottleneck of higher energy density. Nevertheless, they encounter significant challenges, including voltage decay, poor cycle stability, and inferior rate performance, primarily due to irreversible oxygen release, transition metal dissolution, and sluggish transport kinetics. Moreover, traditionally single modification strategies do not adequately address these issues.

Constructing Predictive Implicit Solvent Models: Insights from Exploring Potential Parameter Space and Property Predictions.

Implicit solvent (IS) models enhance the efficiency of simulating liquid systems, but those based on the potential of mean force calculations using explicit solvent (ES) models often fail to capture the solute structure and assembly dynamics under various conditions. This study examines the relationships between the parameter space of IS models and their predictive capabilities regarding solute structure and assembly dynamics, focusing on NaCl solutions and protein-bound silica colloidal nanoparticles. For NaCl solutions, models developed using concentration-dependent dielectric constants generally lack efficacy, and their effectiveness in predicting high-concentration liquid structures varies based on the ES model used.

Advanced characterization of confined electrochemical interfaces in electrochemical capacitors.

The advancement of high-performance fast-charging materials has significantly propelled progress in electrochemical capacitors (ECs). Electrochemical capacitors store charges at the nanoscale electrode material-electrolyte interface, where the charge storage and transport mechanisms are mediated by factors such as nanoconfinement, local electrode structure, surface properties and non-electrostatic ion-electrode interactions. This Review offers a comprehensive exploration of probing the confined electrochemical interface using advanced characterization techniques.

Toward Precise Fabrication of Finite-Sized DNA Origami Superstructures.

DNA origami enables the precise construction of 2D and 3D nanostructures with customizable shapes and the high-resolution organization of functional materials. However, the size of a single DNA origami is constrained by the length of the scaffold strand, and since its inception, scaling up the size and complexity has been a persistent pursuit. Hierarchical self-assembly of DNA origami units offers a feasible approach to overcome the limitation.

Reactive oxygen species-scavenging biomaterials for neural regenerative medicine.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are natural by-products of oxygen metabolism. As signaling molecules, ROS can regulate various physiological processes in the body. However excessive ROS may be a major cause of inflammatory diseases.

Selective light-driven methane oxidation to ethanol.

Methane (CH) photocatalytic upgrading to value-added chemicals, especially C products, is significant yet challenging due to sluggish energy/mass transfer and insufficient chemical driven-force in single photochemical process. Herein, we realize solar-driven CH oxidation to ethanol (CHOH) on crystalline carbon nitride (CCN) modified with CuS and Cu single atoms (CuS/Cu-CCN). The integration of photothermal effect and photocatalysis overcomes CH-to-CHOH conversion bottlenecks, with CuS as a hotspot to convert solar-energy to heat.

Collagen Hydrogel Loaded With 9-cisRA-Lip Is an Option for Treatment of Secondary Lymphedema after Surgery.

Secondary upper limb lymphedema is easy to occur after breast cancer surgery, for which treatment is limited. 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cisRA) has been demonstrated to increase lymphangiogenesis without enhancing tumor metastasis but has the disadvantages of poor water solubility, easy decomposition in light, unstable to heat, and short half-life. Based on this, 9-cisRA-Lip with a particle size of roughly 143 nm and high dispersibility was prepared by thin-film dispersion method and verified by Malvern Laser Particle Size Analyzer and electron microscopy.

Photothermal Upcycling of Waste Polyvinyl Chloride Plastics.

Upgrading the most difficult-to-recycle waste polyvinyl chloride remains a significant challenge due to the potential formation of highly toxic substances, such as polychlorinated biphenyls. Here, we introduce a paradigm shift with a mild photothermal dechlorination-carbonization process that converts waste polyvinyl chloride plastics into valuable carbon materials. Through detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA) process modeling, based on recycling 96,000 tons of plastics, we demonstrate that utilizing clean solar energy for photothermal conversion can save approximately 2.

ScAlN PMUTs Based on Flexurally Suspended Membrane for Long-Range Detection.

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) have been widely applied in distance sensing applications. However, the rapid movement of miniature robots in complex environments necessitates higher ranging capabilities from sensors, making the enhancement of PMUT sensing distance critically important. In this paper, a scandium-doped aluminum nitride (ScAlN) PMUT based on a flexurally suspended membrane is proposed.

Hollow Pt-Encrusted RuCu Nanocages Optimizing OH Adsorption for Efficient Hydrogen Oxidation Electrocatalysis.

As one of the best candidates for hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), ruthenium (Ru) has attracted significant attention for anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), although it suffers from sluggish kinetics under alkaline conditions due to its strong hydroxide affinity. In this work, we develop ternary hollow nanocages with Pt epitaxy on RuCu (Pt-RuCu NCs) as efficient HOR catalysts for application in AEMFCs. Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations confirm that the synergy in optimized Pt-RuCu NCs significantly modifies the electronic structure and coordination environment of Ru, thereby balancing the binding strengths of H* and OH* species, which leads to a markedly enhanced HOR performance.

In vivo gene editing of T-cells in lymph nodes for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, while promising for cancer treatment, faces challenges like unexpected side effects and limited objective responses. Here, we develop an in vivo gene-editing strategy for improving ICB cancer therapy in a lastingly effective manner. The approach uses a conductive hydrogel-based electroporation system to enable nucleofection of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) targeted CRISPR-Cas9 DNAs into T-cells directly within the lymph nodes, and subsequently produces PD1-deficient T-cells to combat tumor growth, metastasis and recurrence in different melanoma models in mice.

A Chiral COFs Membrane for Enantioselective Amino Acid Separation.

Incorporating chiral molecules in the covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with uniformly ordered pores results in chiral COFs, which have been highly promising candidates for enantioseparation. Herein, a homochiral COF nanochannel membrane is reported by introducing chiral centers (L-phenylalanine methyl ester) into one of the organic ligands for the enantioseparation of chiral amino acids. The separation results show that the D-isomer is preferentially transported through the porous membrane channel.