Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems in the post-lithium era, owing to their inherent safety and cost-effectiveness. However, their practical implementation faces significant challenges, including chemical corrosion, uncontrolled dendrite formation, and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). To address these limitations, an innovative “hydrophobic-zincophilic” Pd/g-C₃N₄ composite coating was developed for Zn anodes by atomic-layer-deposition (ALD). The g-C₃N₄ matrix serves as an ion flux regulator, while uniformly dispersed Pd nanoparticles function as zincophilic nucleation sites, enabling homogeneous Zn deposition. In situ optical characterization demonstrates the coating’s dual functionality: the hydrophobic component effectively minimizes water contact, while the zincophilic phase guides ordered Zn plating, jointly suppressing parasitic reactions. The modified Pd/g-C₃N₄@Zn anode achieves exceptional cycling stability (> 2500 h) and maintains a remarkable Coulombic efficiency of 99.56% over 5000 cycles at 2 A/g, representing a significant advancement in AZIB anode engineering. This work provides a generalizable interfacial design strategy for developing high-performance AZIB systems.

Efficient overall water splitting (OWS) technology has been highly demanded across the world, of which the key is the development of active and stable electrocatalysts for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). Herein, novel crystalline Ni₃S₂ nanorods tuned by low-crystalline NiCoS_x (NiCoS_x@Ni₃S₂) are synthesized via an ion-exchange strategy. The built-in electric field at the heterogeneous interface driven by work function difference, facilitates rapid electron transfer from Ni₃S₂ to NiCoS_x via a robust Ni–S–Co bond bridge. This synergistic combination of the conductive crystalline core and low-crystalline shell optimizes the d-band center, balancing intermediate adsorption/desorption, speeding up water dissociation, enhancing hydrogen adsorption/desorption for HER, and lowering the energy barrier for OER, ultimately boosting OWS efficiency. The defect-rich, low-crystalline NiCoSx shell, bonded to the crystalline core via Ni–S–Co bonds, serves as a protective armor, enabling dynamic reconstruction into NiCoOOH and suppresses sulfide leaching, ensuring catalytic stability. The optimized NiCoS_x@Ni₃S₂ achieves low HER/OER overpotentials of 346/520 mV@1000 mA cm⁻², evidenced by an ultralow cell voltage of 2.10 V@1000 mA cm⁻² for OWS and long-term durability up to 400 h. The work paves a novel way to fabricate sulfur-based electrocatalysts with high yet balanced activity and stability for OWS via an interface engineering strategy.

The new AI model, called the Earth System Foundation Model, has learned the fundamental relationships between the atmosphere, the land surface and the water cycle. 

The AI model can fill in missing data and flexibly handle a wide range of data types and research questions in weather and environmental science. 

By understanding how air, land and water interact, it helps improve insight into extreme weather events such as storms or droughts. 

CHANGWON, South Korea — Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by President Chul-jin Choi, announced that a research team led by Hee-jung Lee, senior researcher at KIMS, in collaboration with Professor Sunghwan Park of Kyungpook National University and Professor Mingyu Kim of Yeungnam University, has developed a technology that enhances CO₂ adsorption performance in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by up to 75% through precise laser-based control of their internal structure.

SUTD researchers used mobile phone GPS traces, street view imagery, and open-source spatial data to show that pedestrian route choices in a rapidly developing city are shaped far more by street conditions and context than by distance alone.

A new artificial intelligence framework developed at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering aims to alert water managers to E. coli contamination risk before anyone falls sick.