Researchers have developed a multimodal artificial intelligence framework that predicts the research octane number (RON) of both pure fuel components and complex mixtures with high accuracy. For pure components, the model achieved an R² of 0.9373 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 4.04. For mixtures, the latent-space model achieved an R² of 0.9736 and an MAE of 1.46—reducing prediction error by 69.8 % compared with conventional linear blending rules. The model also enables inverse fuel formulation design, allowing researchers to search for feasible component proportions that meet target RON constraints.

Researchers have established a molecular‑scale reaction kinetic model for n‑hexane catalytic cracking over HZSM‑5 zeolite, revealing that isohexane is an important primary product and that the initial isomerization of n‑hexane to isohexane plays a critical role in the reaction network. Comparative analysis of reaction networks with and without isohexane showed that isomerization directly influences ethylene and propylene formation pathways and indirectly affects substances like isobutane. The kinetic model incorporating isomerization reduced the mean absolute error from 1.13 wt% to 0.21 wt%. Co‑feeding experiments confirmed that adding isohexane boosts ethylene selectivity and suppresses propylene formation.

Researchers have discovered that simply maximising the surface area of catalyst supports does not guarantee better performance. In a study on catalysts for producing a key biodegradable plastic precursor, a catalyst with the highest surface area performed the worst. The team identified two factors—the density of surface silanol (Si–OH) groups and pore size—as being far more important. By optimising these features, they achieved 92.2 % dimethyl oxalate conversion and 94.8 % methyl glycolate selectivity at 220 °C, offering a more practical route for manufacturing biodegradable polyglycolic acid.

Researchers have conducted a comprehensive techno‑economic analysis and life cycle assessment comparing the industrial mainstream one‑step isobutene ammoxidation process with the emerging two‑step route for methacrylonitrile production. Under unified conditions of 99.5 % product purity and 1 t·h⁻¹ isobutene feed, the two‑step process achieves a higher yield of 82.4 % compared with 77.3 % for the one‑step process. However, the one‑step process is superior in unit production cost at 1.90 vs. 2.23 USD·kgMAN⁻¹ and life cycle carbon emissions at 7.42 vs. 9.10 tCO₂‑eq·tMAN⁻¹. Sensitivity analysis reveals that each 1 % increase in the two‑step yield reduces cost by 0.07 USD·kgMAN⁻¹ and emissions by 0.37 tCO₂‑eq·tMAN⁻¹, and a yield of 86.9 % makes it economically and environmentally comparable to the one‑step process.

By pre-programming dense stacking faults into diamond, researchers have created a material that stays ultrahard (140 GPa) yet resists cracking, with toughness improved by 120%. The defects actively respond to crack-tip stress, triggering local phase transformations that absorb energy from the very moment a crack starts. This strategy offers a new path to alleviate the hardness–toughness trade-off in superhard materials.

Researchers have developed a multi‑step crosslinking strategy to construct UiO‑66‑AC@PEG by covalently bridging maleic anhydride‑prefunctionalized UiO‑66‑NH₂ with polyethylene glycol, enabling simultaneous interfacial engineering and pore regulation. The resulting crosslinked architecture incorporates abundant amide and ether oxygen moieties, generating CO₂‑philic domains that enhance CO₂ sorption through dipole‑quadrupole interactions. Meanwhile, crosslinking induces pore constriction within UiO‑66‑NH₂, strengthening size‑sieving effects toward CO₂/N₂ separation. The optimized UiO‑66‑AC@PEG/Pebax membrane achieved a CO₂ permeability of 125.8 Barrer and a CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 81.1, corresponding to increases of 56.6 % and 33.5 %, respectively, compared with the UiO‑66‑NH₂/Pebax MMM.

A latest study published in National Science Review has resolved inconsistencies in the responses of Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) to greenhouse warming that arise from earlier definitions. The study reports a robust increase in WPSH’s area and intensity, its northwestward expansion, as well as in occurrence of stronger, longer-lasting record-breaking WPSH events under the past and future climate change scenario. These changes imply increasing risk exposure to monsoon rainfall extremes and heatwaves beyond historical experience for human society and communities.

 Researchers have systematically reviewed the application of electromagnetic induction heating in energy chemical engineering, focusing on three susceptor categories: carbon‑based materials, macroscopic metals, and magnetic nanoparticles. Carbon‑based susceptors enable reactant‑heat source integration for high‑temperature endothermic reactions such as calcium carbide synthesis, achieving solid‑phase synthesis with reaction temperatures reduced by 400‑500 °C compared to the electric arc process. Macroscopic metal susceptors combine heat generation and catalytic functions, with iron‑based induction heating reducing ammonia decomposition activation energy by more than half and maintaining high conversion at ultra‑high space velocities. Magnetic nanoparticles generate heat precisely at catalytic sites, enabling nanoscale hot spots under mild macroscopic temperatures for reactions such as reverse water‑gas shift and dry reforming.