Current commercial UV-emitting materials rely heavily on non-sustainable resources such as rare metals, heavy metals, and petroleum-based chemicals. Recently, carbon dots have been synthesized from a renewable feedstock—green tea extract. These carbon dots exhibit UV emission in water. Interestingly, in poorer solvents, their emission blue-shifts and becomes nearly five times more efficient due to aggregation-induced emission behavior.

Inspired by the suckerfishes-shark motion behavior, they designed and prepared a kind of NIR light-propelled micro@nanomotor with weak acid-triggered release of H₂O₂-driven nanomotor. By the coordinated bond interaction, a large amount of Janus Au-Pt nanomotors with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-driven capacity, analogous to suckerfishes, were attached onto immovable yolk-shell structured polydopamine-mesoporous silica (PDA-MS) micromotor as the host to create two-stage PDA-MS@Au-Pt micro@nanomotor. PDA-MS@Au-Pt micro@nanomotor moved directionally by self-thermophoresis under the propulsion of NIR light with low power density. When the PDA-MS@Au-Pt entered into the weak acidic environment formed by a low concentration of H₂O₂, most small Au-Pt nanomotors were detached from the surface of PDA-MS due to the weak acidic sensitivity of the coordinated bond, and then performed self-diffusiophoresis in the environment containing a low concentration of H₂O₂ as a chemical fuel.

A groundbreaking non-hand-worn VR hand rehabilitation system has been developed, utilizing ionic hydrogel electrodes and deep learning for electromyography (EMG) gesture recognition. The system offers load-free rehabilitation without bulky mechanical components, providing a more accessible and flexible alternative to traditional rehabilitation methods. This VR-based solution enables immersive training and precise hand rehabilitation for stroke and joint disease patients in the comfort of their homes, without the constraints of time or location.

Addressing the urgent need for sustainable CO₂ conversion, researchers at Tongji University developed a novel copper-based metal-organic framework (MOF) catalyst, TJE-ttfp, which achieves 99.2% Faradaic efficiency for C1 liquid fuels (formic acid and methanol) at a remarkably reduction potential of −0.1 V. By leveraging dynamic Cu(I)/Cu(II) interconversion and electron-rich ligands, the material suppresses competing hydrogen evolution while enhancing CO₂ activation, offering a breakthrough for energy-efficient carbon utilization.

The SDG accelerator leverages circular economy solutions to drive efficient and sustainable consumption, emphasizing long-lasting, reusable, and recyclable products to reduce resource strain and waste. By shifting from a linear to a circular model, it aims to eliminate waste, circulate materials, and regenerate nature, fostering economic growth, job creation, and environmental benefits. The approach is central to achieving SDGs-especially responsible consumption and production-by optimizing resource use, supporting innovation, and enabling inclusive, resilient economies through collaboration among businesses, governments, and communities.

Zhengzhou University researchers unveil advanced strategies to overcome the commercialization barriers of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). the study highlights six key approaches—electrolyte optimization, artificial solid-electrolyte interfaces (SEI), separator innovation, solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), 3D electrode frameworks, and anode-free designs—to address challenges like dendrite growth, low Coulombic efficiency, and safety risks. By integrating cutting-edge materials science and multi-dimensional protection systems, this work paves the way for next-generation batteries with ultra-high energy density, extended lifespan, and enhanced safety, offering critical insights for advancing sustainable energy storage technologies.

High-temperature shock (HTS) successfully converts copper foil into a single-atom copper catalyst within just 0.5 seconds, reaching a reaction temperature of 1700 K and achieving a copper content of 0.54 wt%. This provides a novel and effective method to prevent the aggregation of single atoms and maintain their dispersion.

In the design of SACs, multiple variables (such as metal type, coordination configuration, substrate combination, etc.) poses significant challenges for traditional trial-and-error approach. The combination of DFT and ML brings new strategy of rapidly and effectively screening potential SACs. The catalytic mechanism is deeply understood from distinctive insights, which paves the way for more sustainable ammonia production.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) is a promising process for reducing CO₂ emissions and producing high-value chemicals. However, this process remains hindered by diffusion-limited mass transfer, low activity, and high overpotentials. Here, we controllably prepared hierarchically porous nitrogen-doped carbon, carbon nanosheets, and carbon nanotubes confined single-atom Fe catalysts for electrochemical CO₂ reduction. The hierarchically porous Fe-N-C (Fe-HP) exhibited prominent performance with a Faradaic efficiency of CO (FE_CO) up to 80 % and a CO partial current density (j_CO) of -5.2 mA cm⁻² at -0.5 V vs. RHE, far outperforming the single-atom Fe on N-C nanosheets (Fe-NS) and N-C nanotubes (Fe-NT). The detailed characterizations and kinetic analysis revealed that the hierarchically porous structure accelerated the mass transfer and electron transfer processes toward single-atom Fe sites, promoting the desorption of CO and thereby enhancing CO₂ reduction efficiency. This study provides a promising approach to designing efficient single-atom catalysts with porous structures for energy conversion applications.

Using the experimentally known aromatic icosahedral B₁₂H₁₂^2– and B₁₁CH₁₂^– as precursors and based on extensive density functional theory (DFT) calculations, bottom-up approaches are established to form a series of novel superatom-assembled 2D few-layered borophanes and carborophanes and the experimentally known 3D α-B₁₂, γ-B₂₈, and B₄C crystals which are all semiconductors in nature. In particular, the newly predicted trilayer, tetralayer, and pentalayer carborophanes (CB₁₁-CBC)_nH₈ (n=3-5) with the calculated band gaps of E_gap=1.32–1.26 eV appear to be well compatible with traditional silicon semiconductors in band gaps, presenting the viable possibility of a new class of boron-carbon binary 2D semiconducting nanomaterials different from monolayer graphene which features a Dirac cone.