Coupling photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with organic alcohol oxidation offers an efficient strategy to enhance overall photocatalytic performance; however, most inorganic semiconductors lack chemically specific active sites to precisely regulate the adsorption and oxidation pathways of glycerol. Herein, we rationally engineer poly(heptazine imide) (PHI) photo-catalysts by tuning the polymerization degree and exposing active sites through precise control of the molten-salt melting point, thereby simultaneously modulating charge-carrier dynamics and glycerol activation. The optimized PHI exhibits efficient visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution with an apparent quantum yield of 46
Liquid-metal (LM) elastomer composites offer an attractive route to intrinsically deformable conductors for flexible electronics. However, they frequently suffer from unstable conductive pathways induced by cyclic deformation, and their chemically crosslinked matrices render them unrecyclable. Herein, we report a processable and closed-loop recyclable liquid metal-polymer composite (LMPC) based on covalent adaptable networks (CANs). A unique synergistic migration mechanism enables polymer chain sliding to drive synchronous LM droplet rearrangement, effectively suppressing aggregation. Specifically, reversible disulfide exchange and hydrogen bonding endow the LMPC with topological reconfigurability and thermoplastic processability, while the metal-ligand coordination between Ga3+ and sulfur atoms robustly anchors the LM droplets. This design successfully reconciles bulk processability with electrical stability. Consequently, the LMPC supports complete recycling and the precise three-dimensional (3D) printing of customized flexible architectures, including triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and capacitive sensors. Ultimately, alongside these manufacturing and integration advantages, the LMPC delivers a high electrical conductivity (∼1068 S m−1), excellent self-healing capacity, robust electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (66.1 dB), and efficient low-voltage Joule heating (50 °C at 3 V). This work establishes a general strategy for the design of stable, multifunctional, and sustainable flexible electronics.
Alkaline secondary batteries, known for their low cost, high safety, and environmental friendliness, have significant potential for large-scale energy storage applications in the future. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered significant attention as cathode materials for alkaline batteries. Unlocking their full electrochemical potential necessitates precise manipulation of both metal nodes and organic linkers. Herein, we present a systematic engineering of the structure-electrochemical properties of a bimetallic MnNi-MOF cathode. Upon electrochemical activation, MnNi-MOF converts to Mn/Ni hydroxides with intercalated terephthalate ligands. These organic ligands act as pillars to expand the interlayer channels for OH− ion insertion, while these ligands are bonded together by π-π interactions, resulting in the stability of the enlarged interlayer spacing. Additionally, Mn doping reduces the deprotonation energy of the nickel active sites, unlocking the full electrochemical performance. Compared to Ni(OH)2 and Ni-MOF, the synergistic effects of the ligand-pillared interlayer spacing and Mn doping endow MnNi-MOF with superior rate capability and cycling stability. Specifically, it delivers a specific capacity of 251 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 and retains 72
Emerging solar photothermal technologies demonstrate significant potential for addressing global freshwater and energy shortages, as well as for treating offshore oil spills. However, simultaneously optimizing hydrophilic and hydrophobic sites at material interfaces to balance the specific functions of efficient water evaporation, anti-saline fouling, and resistance to oily contaminants is a significant challenge. Herein, inspired by the dual properties of “hydrophobic gliding and hydrophilic moisture retention” observed in water strider legs, the competitive assembly of hydrophilic polyoxometalates and hydrophobic oleic acid anions with polyaniline cations is selected for fabricating an innovative heteropoly blue-polyaniline-oleic acid shell-encapsulated melamine foam evaporator (3D MF@HPB-PAnx-OA). Under electrostatic repulsion, hydrophilic HPB and hydrophobic OA respectively bind to the inner and outer sides of PAn, forming a unique spatially segregated structure. Hydrophilic HPB enhances evaporation performance by serving as an in-situ photothermal evaporation site. The hydrophobic armor layer enhances surface self-cleaning properties and the ability to treat oily substances. By leveraging its unique structural design and excellent mechanical stability, MF@HPB-PAn10-OA accomplished zero-liquid-discharge seawater treatment at an evaporation rate of 3.70 kg m−2 h−1 and achieved a recovery rate as high as 3.11 × 104 kg m−3 h−1 in highly challenging crude oil treatment scenarios.
Hard carbon (HC) attracts significant attention as an auspicious anode material for commercial sodium-ion batteries. However, the relationship between the pore architecture and the kinetics and cycling stability of sodium-ion storage of HC remains poorly understood. Based on the construction of HC anodes with distinct pore architectures through multi-dimensional structure regulation of the lignin precursors, we systematically investigated the correlation between the pore architecture and the kinetics and cycling stability of sodium-ion storage. HCs with smaller pore sizes and abundant pores exhibit lower formation energy of sodium clusters, faster charge transfer rates, and more abundant diffusion networks for sodium ions. These properties enable HC to exhibit fast sodium-ion storage kinetics, thereby demonstrating superior rate capability and sodium-ion storage capacity at low operation temperatures. During high-current cycling, the graphene nanodomains of HC, rich in sp3-hybridized carbon content and large pore size, are prone to being destroyed. This leads to increased disorder in the graphene layer structure and decreased pore volume, accelerating the decay of the plateau potential capacity of HC. Moreover, the disordered graphene layer structure hinders sodium ion diffusion between interlayers, thus lowering the formation potential of sodium clusters and increasing the risk of sodium dendrite formation.
Biological membranes, encompassing the plasma membrane and diverse intracellular membrane compartments, constitute the structural basis for maintaining cellular homeostasis and vital cellular activities. Decoding molecular events at these interfaces is essential for elucidating fundamental biological processes, regulating cellular behavior, and facilitating therapeutic intervention. However, the high dynamics, spatial heterogeneity, and compositional complexity of biological membranes pose significant challenges for precise molecular analysis and manipulation. Leveraging their programmability, molecular specificity, and biocompatibility, functional nucleic acids (FNAs) have emerged as powerful tools for probing and engineering biological membrane interfaces. In this review, we summarize recent advances in FNAs, with a particular focus on their applications for membrane-related monitoring and modulation. We also discuss current challenges and further prospects of FNAs in advancing the study of biological membrane interfaces and their role in precision medicine.
Organic intelligent materials are functional systems composed of organic molecules, which can generate signals or functional responses to external stimuli. In recent years, these materials have attracted much attention due to their wide range of applications. Among them, proton-transfer-inspired photoswitches have recently emerged as a distinctive class of photoresponsive systems, offering access to a diversity of photophysical outputs and exceptional performance in single-molecule state and solid-state environments, yet they remain comparatively underexplored and insufficiently systematized. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of recent advances in proton-transfer-inspired photoswitches over the past five years and establish a unified classification by dividing these systems into two fundamental categories, Type I and Type II, according to the temporal sequence of proton-transfer events. Particular emphasis is placed on photochromic mechanisms, structure-property relationships, and the central role of proton transfer in governing photophysical behavior in these organic smart materials. We further critically evaluate emerging functional applications enabled by proton-transfer-inspired photoswitching and highlight their unique advantages over conventional isomerization-based systems. Finally, we discuss the key challenges, unresolved mechanistic questions, and future research directions that must be addressed to advance the development of high-performance proton-transfer photoswitches, with the aim of providing conceptual guidelines for the rational design of next-generation functional materials.
This review systematically summarizes the developmental background, core applications, and recent research progress in the interdisciplinary field of artificial intelligence (AI) and chemistry. AI has revolutionized chemical research by shifting it from a hypothesis-driven to a data-driven paradigm, establishing a “prediction-validation” closed loop and an interpretable model-assisted decision-making system. Following a logical framework covering electronic structure calculation, material application, spectral characterization, chemical reactions, and mechanistic essence, this paper elaborates on the application pathways of AI in chemistry, focusing on key directions including metallic materials, lithium-ion battery materials, semiconductors, inorganic crystalline materials, and biomaterials. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in spectral analysis, reaction design, and microscopic mechanism elucidation, which effectively facilitate cross-scale information transmission. Despite these advances, the field still faces prominent challenges, such as data barriers, data heterogeneity, insufficient mechanistic exploration, and a shortage of interdisciplinary talents. Future research will focus on the construction of open databases, algorithm optimization, and the in-depth integration of AI with computational simulation and experimental validation, and an integrated research paradigm driven by data, supported by computation, and verified by experiments will be established to accelerate the in-depth application of AI in chemistry, thereby providing innovative solutions to global challenges in energy, health, and the environment.
Engineering the hydrogen-bond network is essential for enhancing multicarbon (C2+) formation during electrochemical CO2 reduction. However, rational regulation of the hydrogen-bond network by modifying the interfacial water microenvironment remains a great challenge. Here, we develop an atomically dispersed Gd doped Cu2O that could attract H2O molecules and weaken O–H bonding, thereby facilitating water dissociation and providing sustained *H. The as-prepared catalyst achieved a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 63.5
Phthalocyanine-based metal-organic frameworks (Pc-MOFs) are rapidly emerging as a distinctive subclass of coordination materials with unique optoelectronic features and structural versatility. Their extended π-conjugation, capacity for metalation, and stability under operational conditions make them attractive for applications where conventional MOFs have often shown limitations. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of Pc-MOF chemistry, with emphasis on their synthetic design, structural diversity, and functional integration. Then, we examine their most relevant applications across three main areas: (1) Sensing. Pc-MOFs have enabled chemiresistive, electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical devices with enhanced sensitivity, selectivity, and low detection limits. (2) Catalysis. Studies in CO2 valorization and oxygen electrocatalysis demonstrate that Pc-MOFs can achieve competitive performance by exploiting their electronic structure and redox-active centers, although the scope of explored reactions remains relatively limited. (3) Energy storage. The use of Pc-MOFs in supercapacitors and batteries has revealed promising charge-storage capacities, high cycling stability, and mechanical flexibility, pointing to their suitability for next-generation electrochemical devices. While Pc-MOFs still represent an emerging field with relatively few examples compared to other functional MOFs, the available evidence underlines their vast potential. The combination of phthalocyanine linkers with reticular chemistry offers unprecedented opportunities for rational material design. We foresee that continued progress in synthetic diversification and integration strategies will unlock their applicability not only in sensing, catalysis, and energy, but also in broader areas such as biomedicine, environmental remediation, and optoelectronics, in the upcoming years.
Rotaxanes, as a class of mechanically interlocked molecules with unique stimulus-responsive behavior and topological features, show broad prospects in functional materials. Current rotaxane assembly primarily relies on flexible organic macrocycles, while metal wheel clusters with rich photoelectric functionalities are often hindered by their inherent rigidity. This limits adaptive conformational adjustments and poses a significant challenge in constructing related rotaxanes. In this study, we successfully developed a series of (poly)rotaxane systems based on an octanuclear titanium-oxo macrocycle (Ti8) under solvothermal conditions. By precisely regulating Ti centers bridging mode, we achieved fine control over the geometric shape and charge distribution of the Ti8 macrocycle, enabling it to efficiently encapsulate a wide range of guests from solvent molecules, purely organic axles, coordination axles, to polymer axles. Thereinto, Ti8 polyrotaxane with encapsulated infinite polymer axle displays distinct thermo-responsive dynamic behavior, which can be directly observed through single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SC-SC) transformation. Besides, it also shows a significant blue shift in fluorescence emission and a markedly extended luminescence lifetime. This work not only provides a general and editable platform for synthesizing metal wheel cluster-based rotaxanes, but also opens a new pathway for designing regulable luminescent materials.
The global burden of oral health issues is becoming increasingly severe, with approximately 3.5 billion people affected by various oral diseases. Common conditions such as dental caries, periodontitis, and oral cancer not only directly impair oral functions, including chewing and speech, but are also closely associated with systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and respiratory infections, representing a major public health challenge that cannot be overlooked. Current conventional oral treatments exhibit significant limitations in terms of lesion targeting, local drug retention, and microbial drug resistance, falling short of meeting the demands of precision medicine and long-term health management. Against this backdrop, engineered nucleic acid nanomaterials offer a breakthrough tool for constructing a new generation of intelligent oral diagnosis and treatment platforms, leveraging their programmable self-assembly capability, molecular-level precision recognition, favorable biocompatibility, and environmental responsiveness. This review systematically elaborates on nucleic acid nanostructures—including DNA aptamers, DNA origami, tetrahedral framework nucleic acids, DNA polyhedra, and spherical nucleic acids—which enable precise design and functional integration at the molecular scale, demonstrating broad application potential in several key areas of oral medicine. They can guide the ordered regeneration of dental and periodontal tissues, achieve sensitive detection and efficient antibacterial action against pathogenic bacteria while modulating inflammatory microenvironments, integrate diagnostic and therapeutic functions in oral cancer management for early identification and targeted treatment, and bridge oral and systemic health by regulating oral microbiota and immune responses, thereby driving the transformation of oral medicine toward precision, minimally invasive, and regenerative approaches. Although challenges remain in large-scale preparation, long-term stability, and clinical translation pathways, the deep integration of these materials with cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence is propelling their development into a powerful platform technology for systemic health management—not only in oral health but also beyond—promising revolutionary prospects for the future prevention, treatment, and health promotion of oral diseases.
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), as quasi-one-dimensional graphene nanostructures, constitute a highly tunable platform for next-generation electronics and spintronics. A variety of precision GNRs with well-defined edge and backbone structures have been synthesized via bottom-up approaches, driving forward research into their applications in fields such as single-molecule devices and quantum information processing. However, achieving precise and uniform length control remains a significant challenge. This control is essential not only for tuning fundamental properties such as charge carrier mobility and device performance, but also for meeting key practical requirements such as device integration and operational stability. To address this, synthetic strategies including stepwise and chain-growth methods have been developed, enabling the controlled fabrication of GNRs with defined lengths and topologies and thus facilitating systematic property investigation. This review first provides a concise overview of bottom-up synthesis methods and representative GNR structures. Building on these advances, we focus on strategies for achieving length control that enable the fabrication of GNRs with defined lengths and narrow dispersity. We further discuss how such synthetic precision deepens the understanding of structure-property relationships, particularly the influence of length on optoelectronic and quantum transport behaviors. By integrating controlled synthesis with property exploration, these developments lay the groundwork for advancing GNRs toward practical nanotechnology applications.
Direct deracemization of racemates presents an ideal access to acquire highly enantioenriched molecules. Research in photocatalytic deracemization, since its first demonstration in 2018, has been advancing steadily and witnessed explosive growth in 2025, becoming a more diverse and active field. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in photocatalytic deracemization by categorizing the catalytic systems employed, including organocatalysis, metal catalysis, biocatalysis, or cooperative strategies, with a focus on their evolution and mechanisms. The diversification of catalytic systems has advanced the understanding of photochemical stereocontrol and offered useful guidance for the development of novel catalysts and the optimization of reaction systems. Moreover, these advances have laid a solid foundation for the preparation of valuable chiral compounds, enabling their broader application in pharmaceutical development and materials science.
Thrombotic disorders remain a major global health burden, yet conventional small-molecule anticoagulants often lack safety and specific reversibility. Nucleic acid aptamers offer a precise targeting coagulation with the unique advantage of “built-in” reversibility via complementary antidotes. This review examines the landscape of anticoagulant aptamers, highlighting the shift from bench discovery to reversible clinical applications. We critically analyzed translational obstacles using the clinical termination of the REG1 system as a major example, as well as other representative clinical cases, to illustrate challenges regarding nuclease stability, immunogenicity and production cost. Finally, we discuss emerging engineering strategies, such as novel conjugation strategies and enzymatic cyclization, to overcome these barriers, paving the way for next-generation systems that combine potent anticoagulation with rapid, programmable control.
Precise combinatorial cell recognition is limited by the slow, diffusion-limited kinetics of DNA circuits in complex physiological environments. Here, we report a surface-confined synthetic DNA circuit that overcomes this limitation by anchoring programmable DNA logic modules onto liposome membranes. This spatial confinement reduces the reaction space from 3D to 2D, driving proximity-enhanced interactions that dramatically accelerate reaction kinetics. The circuit executes a sequential YES-AND logic operation triggered by specific cell-surface receptors, enabling stringent discrimination of target cells from off-target populations. Notably, the platform identifies rare target cancer cells (as low as 0.1
