Hydrogen fuel cells are widely recognized as a clean and high-efficiency alternative to fossil energy, but commercial deployment remains restricted by the cost and scarcity of platinum-group catalysts. The reviewed work presents nickel-based catalysts as a promising non-noble solution for the alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), summarizing progress in understanding catalytic mechanisms and performance evaluation. It highlights how optimizing hydrogen binding energy, hydroxide adsorption, electronic structures and surface configurations can significantly boost catalytic activity. The authors further classify development paths including alloys, compounds, heterostructures, core–shell systems, doping strategies and supports, offering a roadmap for designing efficient Ni-based HOR catalysts.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are emerging as promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key barrier in clean hydrogen production. However, their catalytic performance has long been restricted by limited active sites, sluggish electron transfer, and structural instability under operational conditions. A new review summarizes how electronic defect engineering, including vacancy creation, heteroatom doping, single-atom incorporation and lattice modulation, which reconfigures electron distribution, enhances active site exposure, accelerates reaction kinetics, and strengthens catalytic durability. The work highlights strategies that effectively lower OER overpotential and improve stability by tuning LDH atomic coordination environments, providing a unified framework for the design of next-generation high-performance water-splitting catalysts.

Silicon stands as a key anode material in lithium-ion battery ascribing to its high energy density. Nevertheless, the poor rate performance and limited cycling life remain unresolved through conventional approaches that involve carbon composites or nanostructures, primarily due to the un-controllable effects arising from the substantial formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during the cycling. Here, an ultra-thin and homogeneous Ti doping alumina oxide catalytic interface is meticulously applied on the porous Si through a synergistic etching and hydrolysis process. This defect-rich oxide interface promotes a selective adsorption of fluoroethylene carbonate, leading to a catalytic reaction that can be aptly described as “molecular concentration-in situ conversion”. The resultant inorganic-rich SEI layer is electrochemical stable and favors ion-transport, particularly at high-rate cycling and high temperature. The robustly shielded porous Si, with a large surface area, achieves a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 84.7% and delivers exceptional high-rate performance at 25 A g⁻¹ (692 mAh g⁻¹) and a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.7% over 1000 cycles. The robust SEI constructed through a precious catalytic layer promises significant advantages for the fast development of silicon-based anode in fast-charging batteries.

Dendrite growth represents one of the most significant challenges that impede the development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Herein, Gd³⁺ ions are introduced into conventional electrolytes as a microlevelling agent to achieve dendrite-free zinc electrodeposition. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that these Gd³⁺ ions are preferentially adsorbed onto the zinc surface, which enables dendrite-free zinc anodes by activating the microlevelling effect during electrodeposition. In addition, the Gd³⁺ additives effectively inhibit side reactions and facilitate the desolvation of [Zn(H₂O)₆]²⁺, leading to highly reversible zinc plating/stripping. Due to these improvements, the zinc anode demonstrates a significantly prolonged cycle life of 2100 h and achieves an exceptional average Coulombic efficiency of 99.72% over 1400 cycles. More importantly, the Zn//NH₄V₄O₁₀ full cell shows a high capacity retention rate of 85.6% after 1000 cycles. This work not only broadens the  application of metallic cations in battery electrolytes but also provides fundamental insights into their working mechanisms.

Precise regulation of the platform capacity/voltage of electrode materials contributes to the efficient operation of sodium-ion fast-charging devices. However, the design of such electrode materials is still in a blank stage. Herein, based on tunable metal–organic frameworks, we have designed a novel material system—two-dimensional high-entropy metal–organic frameworks (HE-MOFs), which exhibits unique properties in sodium storage and is of vital importance for realizing fast-charging batteries. Furthermore, we have found that the high-entropy effect can regulate the electronic structure, the sodium-ion migration environment, and the sodium-ion storage active sites, thereby meeting the requirements of electrode materials for sodium-ion fast-charging devices. Impressively, the HE-MOFs material still maintains a reversible specific capacity of 89 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 20 A g⁻¹. It presents an ideal sodium storage voltage plateau of approximately 0.5 V, and its platform capacity is increased to 122.7 mAh g⁻¹, far superior to that of Mn-MOFs (with no platform capacity). This helps to reduce safety hazards during the fast-charging process and demonstrates its great application value in the fields of fast-charging sodium-ion batteries and capacitors. Our research findings have broken the barriers to the application of non-conductive MOFs as energy storage materials, enhanced the understanding of the regulation of platform capacity and voltage, and paved the way for the realization of high-security sodium-ion fast-charging devices.

The positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information is fundamental to modern information systems. Over the years, people have invented many navigation systems to get PNT information, whereas each single navigation system has its flaws. As far as radio navigation is concerned, besides global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), exploiting non-navigation signals of opportunity for navigation under complex environments has attracted more and more interest in recent years. Satellite signals of opportunity positioning (SSOOP) attempts to work out a navigation solution with many non-GNSS satellite signals, such the many low-earth-orbit direct-to-cell and broadband satellite communications signals, when GNSS signals are not available. It is promising in addressing GNSS vulnerability by using an overwhelming quantity of satellites with diverse signal formats, multiple radio bands, and global availability. However, existing work on SSOOP is still quite preliminary. No work on identifying the passing satellite has been done when a receiver powers on without a rough guess on its location.

Gust load alleviation is a crucial topic for the practical application of high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles. Passive flexible wingtips mitigate gust loads by naturally adapting their shape to airflow disturbances. Without active control or energy input, they passively relieve aerodynamic peaks, smooth transient loads, and enhance flight stability and structural safety, offering a lightweight, reliable, and energy-efficient gust alleviation solution.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team investigated Escherichia albertii, what is known about this bacterium, and directions of future research to fill the knowledge gap. 

Nitrogen dioxide is one of the most harmful air pollutants in urban and industrial regions, contributing to respiratory disease, smog formation, and climate forcing. As governments tighten air quality standards worldwide, scientists are searching for affordable and efficient ways to remove this toxic gas before it reaches the atmosphere. A new theoretical study reveals that a simple and naturally abundant element, potassium, could dramatically enhance the ability of biochar to capture and chemically transform nitrogen dioxide.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have emerged as a significant class of materials promising for photocatalysis, and defect engineering offers an effective route for enhancing their photocatalytic performance. In this mini-review, a first-principles design perspective on defect engineering in 2D materials for photocatalysis is provided. Various types of defects in 2D materials, spanning point, line, and planar defects are explored, and their influence on the intrinsic properties and photocatalytic efficacy of these materials is highlighted. Additionally, the use of theoretical descriptors to characterize the stability, electronic, optical, and catalytic properties of 2D defective systems is summarized. Central to the discussion is the understanding of electronic structure, optical properties, and reaction mechanisms to inform the rational design of photocatalysts based on 2D materials for enhanced photocatalytic performance. This mini-review aims to provide insights into the computational design of 2D defect systems tailored for efficient photocatalytic applications.