Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have achieved two major breakthroughs in interfacial polymerization, a key technique for preparing advanced functional materials. By integrating quantum mechanics with machine learning, the team has elucidated the mechanism by which water molecules facilitate reactions at the molecular level. At the same time, they have transformed microcapsule design from a traditional trial-and-error approach into a predictive science.

A new AI model has become so good at predicting how molecules evolve over time that, in the future, it could speed up the costly and time-consuming process of testing new drugs. In the long term, this technology could facilitate the development of medicines and new treatments, as promising drug candidates are able to be identified more quickly and with greater accuracy. The findings are being presented in a new Swedish study published in Science Advances. 

Researchers have presented a new direct air capture (DAC) method for separating CO₂ from the air. Their technique uses food waste from cheese and tofu production, which is processed into protein beads. The capture and isolation of CO₂ uses less energy than in conventional processes and is therefore expected to be more cost-effective.  

GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are promising for displays, sensing, and optical communication, but improving efficiency remains challenging. Researchers have now shown that “cavity tuning,” which controls resonance wavelength, strongly affects laser performance. By analyzing variations across a VCSEL wafer, the team identified optimal mirror loss conditions and extracted device parameters. Their approach achieved 26.4% wall plug efficiency, offering guidance for next-generation high-efficiency visible-light semiconductor lasers.

An MOU with Applied Materials and a new postgraduate specialisation highlight CDE’s contributions across research, impact and education.

Inverted perovskite solar cells have achieved exceptional efficiencies, yet their operational stability, particularly under reverse-bias stress, remains a critical challenge. This instability is fundamentally driven by lattice strain, which lowers ion migration barriers and promotes defect formation. Here, we identify the buried hole-transport-layer/perovskite interface as the principal site of strain accumulation. By incorporating 3-fluorothiophene-2-carboxylic acid (3F-2TC) at this buried HTL/perovskite interface, we directly engineer the initial perovskite crystallization template. This buried interface engineering strategy effectively alleviates intrinsic lattice strain, as unambiguously confirmed by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction analysis. Crucially, we utilize reverse-bias stress as a diagnostic probe to decouple strain relaxation from mere defect passivation, revealing that a low-strain lattice constitutes the primary defense against bias-induced degradation. Consequently, the champion devices achieve a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.10% and markedly enhanced stability, retaining 91.58% of their initial PCE after 200 h under − 1.0 V reverse bias. This work thereby establishes the buried interface engineering for strain modulation as a generalizable design principle toward efficient and operationally resilient perovskite photovoltaics.