Abstract Non-viral gene delivery offers a promising route for treating central nervous system (CNS) disorders, but its translation remains limited by the difficulty of achieving both safety and efficiency in the brain. This review summarizes recent advances in non-viral CNS gene delivery from the perspectives of safety and efficacy, highlighting progress in biodegradable and biomimetic materials, cargo engineering, blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing strategies, administration route optimization, and cell-type-specific targeting. We further discuss representative clinical studies. Overall, this review emphasizes that the future of non-viral CNS gene therapy will depend on the rational co-optimization of safety and efficacy.
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (eNO3RR) presents an innovative approach to achieve green NH3 synthesis and mitigate environmental NO3u2212 pollution. However, the bottleneck for large-scale application of eNO3RR is the development of efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, inspired by the structure of nitrogenase and nitrate reductase, a novel Fe-Mo-based electrocatalyst (FeMoS-O) with distinctive bimetallic Fe-O-Mo active centers was developed using FeMo2S4 as the precursor via in situ electrochemical activation to induce surface O-doping. Combining comprehensive in situ characterizations and theoretical calculation results reveal that the Fe and Mo sites of the Fe-O-Mo center are responsible for the hydrogenation of NOx species and the dissociation of H2O, respectively, which is similar to the working mechanism of nitrate reductase. Meanwhile, O-doping on the Fe-O-Mo surface significantly reduces the energy barriers of the rate-determining steps of these two processes. As feedback, the synergistic effect of Mo and Fe sites endows the resultant FeMoS-O with excellent eNO3RR performance under neutral conditions, with high Faradaic efficiency (u0026gt; 90%) in a potential window exceeding 0.50 V, large partial current density and yields, as well as quite good stability towards NH3 production. This work provides new insights into the preparation of more advanced enzyme-mimicking catalysts.
Abstract Monolayer lateral heterostructures (LHSs) composed of two-dimensional semiconducting ferroelectrics hold promise for non-volatile electronic and optoelectronic applications. Lattice misfit strain at these atomically sharp interfaces can significantly modulate in-plane polarization and related electronic properties, yet the direct characterization of the strain profile remains challenging. Here, we map the strain in SnTe-PbTe monolayer LHSs quantitatively via low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). By combining moiré pattern simulation and geometric phase analysis, we achieve lattice parameter measurements with 0.02 Å precision—which substantially exceeds conventional STM resolution. Significant tensile strain is observed in SnTe regions, while PbTe sections exhibit much smaller strain. Density functional theory calculations attribute this asymmetric strain distribution to distinct atomic coordination in each monolayer semiconductor. These findings offer critical insights into strain engineering of ultrathin group-IV monochalcogenide heterostructures.
Abstract Self-powered photodetectors are indispensable for low-power optoelectronic systems such as edge sensing, optical communication, and machine vision. However, their development is severely hampered by interfacial defects that induce carrier leakage and nonradiative recombination. Here, we overcome this challenge by designing a WSe2/GaSb van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction with favorable band alignment and a strong built-in electric field at the interface. The device delivers an ultralow dark current of ~2 pA at zero bias and a rectification ratio exceeding 104, enabling zero-bias operation across 210-1000 nm. Under 880 nm illumination, it exhibits a responsivity of 331.5 mA W-1, a specific detectivity of Jones, an open-circuit voltage of 0.52 V, a maximum output power of 1.66 nW, and fast rise/fall times of 431/356 μs. Beyond device-level metrics, we demonstrate a closed “sensing-communication-computing” loop by realizing 8-bit ASCII optical communication and low-power near-infrared traffic sign recognition. Using U-Net reconstruction and YOLOv8n classification, the recognition accuracy is boosted from ~30% to ~80%, confirming its practical utility. This work provides an experimental and theoretical pathway toward next-generation self-powered, low-noise, intelligent vdW heterojunction photodetectors.
Abstract Lithium-rich layered oxides (LROs) are promising cathode materials for high-energy lithium-ion batteries because of their high specific capacity and energy density. However, oxygen release, stress accumulation, and interfacial degradation during high-voltage cycling still hinder their practical application. Here, an aqueous-processed polyimide/carbon hybrid coating is designed to stabilize LROs. The coating is constructed from a polyimide and a conductive carbon network composed of carbon nanotubes and Super P. The hybrid coating layer provides surface protection, while the carbon components form continuous electron-transport pathways. During post-treatment, mild carbothermal reactions further induce surface oxygen vacancies, which help regulate oxygen-related surface reactions. The modified cathode delivers discharge capacities of 246.6 mAh g−1 at 1 C, with a capacity retention of 94.9% after 200 cycles at 25 °C. This work provides a practical aqueous interfacial coating strategy for improving the durability of high-energy LROs.
