Given the multitude of conditions that must be optimized in synthesis routes, chemical synthesis remains a complex and multidimensional challenge. The rapid development of computational guidelines and machine learning (ML) techniques has brought exciting hope to this dilemma. A new study published in the journal National Science Review highlights the advancement of computationally guided and ML-assisted approaches in inorganic material synthesis.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) achieved the first direct laboratory observation of ion acceleration through reflection off laser-generated magnetized collisionless shocks. This observation demonstrates how ions gain energy by bouncing off supercritical shocks, central to the Fermi acceleration mechanism. The research was published in Science Advances.

In a paper published in National Science Review, a Chinese team of scientists presents the role of pyrope garnet in water transport from the upper mantle to the topmost lower mantle. Pure single crystals of pyrope garnet were synthesized at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions of the upper mantle to the top lower mantle using a large-volume press. Pyrope garnet can contain up to 2000 wt. ppm water with a strong dependence on pressure and temperature in the transition zone and topmost lower mantle. Hydrated pyrope garnet may serve as a vital water carrier and reservoir in the deep mantle, offering new insights into water cycling up to the topmost lower mantle.

Researchers in Shanghai have developed a high-efficiency cryomodule with high quality factors, promising enhanced performance and accessibility for particle accelerator applications in healthcare, industry, and scientific research.

QUT researchers have identified a new material which could be used as a flexible semiconductor in wearable devices by using a technique that focuses on the manipulation of spaces between atoms in crystals.

A research group at the University of Stuttgart has manipulated light through its interaction with a metal surface so that it exhibits entirely new properties. The researchers have published their findings in Nature Physics.