Nanofluidic ion transport, traditionally governed by charge-induced electrical double layers (EDLs), has enabled diverse applications in energy conversion, sensing, and ion sieving. However, such transport is intrinsically passive as it relies on static interface charges. Inspired by biological ion channels, which utilize dynamic interface charges to drive active ion pumping in chloroplast thylakoid membranes during photosynthesis, we demonstrate a photo-induced, active bionic ion transport system. This is achieved using an ultrathin nanofluidic membrane constructed from triazine-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The nanofluidic membrane is fabricated via confined interface polymerization, yielding a free-standing, large-area, ultrathin (∼40 nm) structure with robust mechanical properties (Young's modulus ∼1.9 GPa). Light induces a dynamic interface charge change and a photoelectric effect that break ionic thermodynamic equilibrium, thereby stimulating active ion transport with ultrafast sensitivity (response time <1 s) and a high ion transport rate (∼6 × 106 ions/s) and achieving a nanofluidic electrokinetic energy conversion (power density >1 mW/m2). The mechanisms underlying dynamic ion transport and active ion pumping are systematically elucidated and experimentally validated. This work demonstrates the potential of COF membranes for applications in areas such as ionic photodetectors, energy conversion systems, field-effect nanofluidic devices, and desalination processes.

Bioinspired nanochannel systems provide attractive platforms for coupling molecular recognition with ion transport regulation; however, integrating selective binding with efficient signal amplification remains challenging. In this study, we report a multi-level light-responsive asymmetric mesoporous nanochannel constructed via sequential interfacial assembly. The device consists of a dopamine-recognition mesoporous TiO2 (NMTI) layer integrated with a photothermally active mesoporous carbon/γ-Fe2O3 heterostructure on an anodic aluminum oxide scaffold (NMTI/AAO/MC-γ-Fe2O3). Dopamine is selectively captured through strong catechol-Ti coordination accompanied by proton transfer, inducing surface-charge modulation, and ion enrichment within the nanochannels. This recognition process enhances ionic conductance, while the MC-γ-Fe2O3 layer converts optical energy into localized heating, enabling photothermal regulation of ion transport. The synergistic coupling of molecular recognition, surface-charge regulation, and photothermal ion transport enables light-tunable dopamine sensing with an expanded dynamic range and an ultralow detection limit of 10 pM under illumination. The sensing mechanism, spanning molecular adsorption, nanoscale ion redistribution, and macroscopic current amplification, is elucidated through multiscale theoretical analyses, including density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics (MD), and finite element simulations. This work establishes a general strategy for integrating molecularly specific recognition and photothermal signal amplification in hierarchical nanochannel systems, providing new design principles for high-performance bioinspired sensing platforms.

Extensive experimental studies had been conducted on the flexural behavior of carbon/carbon (C/C) composite, there remained a lack of finite element models capable of effectively assessing their mesoscopic failure mechanisms. In this study, a multiscale coupled finite element model that accounted for interfacial behavior was established to examine how structural parameters affected flexural performance and damage evolution processes of fine-woven pierced C/C composite. It was indicated that the errors in the predicted longitudinal and transverse elastic moduli, flexural strength, and modulus of the established multiscale model were less than 10.0 %. Both fiber volume fractions and Z-yarns contents considerably influenced flexural performance and fracture behavior. The 40 V-6 K composite demonstrated increases of 159.9 % and 100.4 % in flexural strength and modulus compared to the 40 V-1 K composite. Similarly, the 50 V-3 K composite showed improvements of 154.4 % and 94.0 % in flexural strength and modulus over the 30 V-3 K composite. At higher fiber volume fractions, the damage zone in matrix were more narrowed, and interfacial damage around the Z-yarns became more evident. With an increase of Z-yarns, stress distribution became more concentrated around Z-yarns, exhibiting a narrow Ishaped pattern on the side profile, and interfacial damage propagated from the upper to the lower layers. The proposed multiscale flexural finite element method could reveal meso-scale failure evolution characteristics while avoiding excessive meshing, thereby enhancing computational efficiency and convergence. This approach was expected to provide theoretical guidance for the engineering application of fine-woven pierced C/C composite.

Molecular chirality is significantly important for drug synthesis, material design, and other life activities. Thus, developing an efficient, convenient, and rapid technique for chiral recognition is of great industrial and physiological significance. Here, we demonstrate an electrochemical method for the sensitive real-time recognition of chiral molecules by using high-density chiral nanochannels. The chiral porphyrins direct the self-assembly of porphyrin-cored star homopolymers (p-HP) into ordered helical porphyrin arrays, providing chiral-selective nanochannels with enantioselective recognition capabilities. This well-defined assembly enables dual functionality of osmotic energy conversion and chiral molecule recognition, which is combined with a self-powered nanosensor for chiral molecule recognition. This work bridges the gap between molecular chirality and macroscopic membrane engineering, offering a sustainable platform for convenient chiral molecule recognition.

Bacterial infections remain a major challenge in the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds, primarily due to hyperglycemic conditions that favor microbial proliferation. Conventional hydrogels incorporating physically entrapped antibiotics are often limited by burst release and inadequate long-term antibacterial efficacy. To address this, we developed a covalently grafted antibacterial hydrogel system based on neomycin sulfate (N) conjugated to sodium alginate (SA) to form SA-N. This modified polymer was further combined with poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and cross-linked via boric acid to establish an interpenetrating network structure, denoted as PBN hydrogels. Successful covalent conjugation of neomycin was verified by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Rheological analysis under alternating strain demonstrated the hydrogel's rapid self-healing behavior, a critical feature for dynamic wound environments. The PBN hydrogel exhibited strong broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, achieving inhibition rates of 98.03% against Staphylococcus aureus and 93.19% against Escherichia coli. Moreover, in a diabetic mouse wound model, treatment with the PBN hydrogel resulted in accelerated wound closure, reaching 96.59% after 21 days. Collectively, the PBN hydrogel demonstrates excellent biocompatibility, sustained antibacterial performance, and promising therapeutic potential for the management of chronic diabetic wounds.

Flexible tactile sensors have attracted extensive attention in fields such as wearable electronics, human–machine interaction, intelligent prosthetics, and robotics. However, their practical applications remain limited by several challenges, including signal interference, trade-offs among sensitivity, sensing range, and mechanical durability, as well as insufficient fatigue resistance under long-term cyclic deformation. Human skin, with its multiscale hierarchical structures, gradient mechanical properties, and spatially distributed mechanoreceptors, provides an important bioinspired model for addressing these challenges. This review summarizes recent advances in skin-inspired flexible tactile sensors, with a focus on the translation of biological skin structures into engineering designs. First, the relationships between biological skin structures and artificial sensor architectures are discussed, emphasizing the roles of skin microstructures, hierarchical architectures, and mechanoreceptor distributions in regulating deformation behaviors and sensing responses. Subsequently, representative bioinspired structural designs and key engineering regulation strategies are summarized, and their contributions to enhanced tactile sensing performance are discussed. In addition, skin-inspired strategies for multimodal perception and self-healing capabilities are reviewed. Finally, applications of skin-inspired tactile sensors in health monitoring, intelligent prosthetics, human–machine interaction, and robotic systems are summarized, followed by an outlook of future development directions.

Proton-conducting materials are essential to electrochemical energy storage, conversion and sensing, yet their performance is restricted by structural limitations. A key structural constraint is the architecture-imposed separation between hydrophilic sites, which prevents the formation of fully developed, continuous hydrogen-bond networks and imposes a persistent bottleneck on proton transport. Here, we propose a site spacing reconstruction strategy to strengthen the hydrogen-bond network and validate its effectiveness using a hydrogen-bonded organic framework built from 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (HOF-BTB) and its Na+-modified analogue (Na-HOF-BTB) as a model system. Through electrostatic self-assembly, strongly hydrophilic sites are introduced to shorten the intersite distance and convert long-range water bridges into short-range ones, thereby lowering the energetic barrier for hydrogen-bond network formation. At 97% relative humidity, Na-HOF-BTB exhibits a markedly strengthened hydrogen-bond network, leading to a substantial enhancement of proton conductivity relative to pristine HOF-BTB. The Na-HOF-BTB device achieves a switching ratio of up to approximately 7000, corresponding to a 182-fold improvement over the pristine HOF-BTB device. We further show the generality of this strategy in other HOF systems and demonstrate their representative applications in fruit spoilage surveillance, health management, and pharmaceutical preservation. This work provides a new design principle for high-performance proton-conducting materials.

The deterministic integration of multiple materials is the cornerstone of the semiconductor industry, traditionally accomplished through complex microfabrication techniques, such as lithography, transfer, and wafer bonding. Inspired by biological systems that precisely form intricate intracellular structures, self-assembly offers an efficient, bottom-up pathway for monolithic integration. The challenge, however, lies in controlling the transport of multiple components within the inherently chaotic and confined fluidic environments of microfabrication, which typically induces mixed phases and structural disorder. Herein, we utilize capillary bridges with Marangoni vortex flow to guide the segregation of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) by size, enabling the efficient self-assembly of multicomponent microstructures. The fluid flow in our system establishes a regulated concentration gradient. This gradient drives the diffusiophoresis of larger CQDs away from the evaporation front, inducing a "small-at-front" segregation. The versatility and robustness of our platform are demonstrated by the various phase-segregated microstructures with customizable morphologies and diverse compositions. To showcase its practical application, we leverage this technique to integrate dual-wavelength lasers within a single photonic circuit, achieving the on-chip propagation of coherent light for optical communications. Our work introduces a novel approach to multicomponent microfabrication.

ABSTRACT The implementation of an integrated system adept at simultaneously harvesting energy and recovering resources from currently abandoned environments represents an effective and strategic approach. Herein, we conceive a proof‐of‐concept ion‐cross‐phase system, capable of simultaneously harvesting osmotic energy and recovering lithium resources, a dual function not achieved by previous nanofluidics systems which normally focus on one aspect in aqueous environments. This process provides a synergistic driving force originating from ionic solvation energy during cross‐phase transport and salinity gradient energy across concentration gradients, facilitating the transport of lithium ions from the organic phase to the aqueous phase. Molecular dynamics simulations validate that the enhanced lithium transport rate is activated by a reduction in the free energy, resulting from the coupling of cross‐phase ionic solvation energy, and salinity gradient energy. Consequently, the system could harvest energy in treatment of organic industrial wastewater, which generates 7.2 kWh of electricity per day. Meanwhile, the lithium ions could be enriched in aqueous and converted into Li 2 CO 3 products, with a purity greater than 99%. This work exemplifies a first strategic approach to the holistic recovery of sustainable energy and critical resources from organic‐aqueous cross‐phase industrial wastewater.

The human olfactory sensing system, based on ionic signal transmission, is featured with fastness, high efficiency and low energy consumption. However, bionic gas sensing materials exhibit performance limitations compared to materials based on electronic signal transmission. Herein, bionic olfactory fibres are prepared by electrospinning for rapid gas sensing at the ppb level, which consist of confined ionic liquids (ILs) within nano spacing in a polymer matrix. The fibres showed a high response (69.29%) to 500 ppb NH3, ultrafast response (4 s) and a low theoretical limit of detection (45 ppb). The excellent sensing performance is attributed to the sufficient gas transport pathways formed by gas convection within the fibrous pore structures. In addition, the rapid transport of solvated ions, caused by the encapsulation of target molecules around ILs in the confined nano spacing, also plays a role, as confirmed by experimental and simulation results. Moreover, bionic olfactory fibres demonstrate excellent gas cyclic stability, mechanical robustness and humidity resistance, which makes them highly suitable for disease diagnosis and seafood spoilage detection in humid environments. Using AI-driven data analysis on gas response from shrimp spoilage, 95% test accuracy was attained, enabling precise seafood freshness monitoring. This work provides a novel platform for intelligent gas perception through hardware-software codesign, showing promising potential to create bioinspired integrated sensing systems combining gas and solvated ion transport mediation with AI for decision-making analysis.

High-speed continuous fluids transport within enclosed pipelines is a core driving technology in biomedicine, chemical analysis, and soft robotics. However, conventional pumping technologies rely on bulky compressors that suffer from excessive power consumption (>3 × 107 W), high noise (>60 dB), and considerable weight (>2 kg). Although emerging liquid metal (LM)-based micropumps offer silent and portable alternatives, the inherent clogging of chambers by deformed LM restricts operation to the high frequency (>100 Hz) and low duty cycle (<50%) of the electrical signal, inevitably leading to flow rate decay (<5000 μL min-1). Herein, we introduce a magnetic LM-based electro-magnetic fluid pump (mEMFP) that synergizes electric and magnetic fields for efficient liquid transport. By integrating core-shell Fe@PDA@Ag magnetic particles into LM, we generate magnetically responsive LM droplets (MLM) that can be precisely anchored within the pump chamber, thereby eliminating clogging. This design enables the operating frequency to be reduced to 10 Hz and the duty cycle to be increased to 80%, extending the effective actuation duration. Under 12 V square wave signal (12 Vp-p, 6 V DC offset), mEMFP equipped with a single MLM droplet achieves a flow rate of 1.59 × 104 μL min-1, while four serially integrated MLMs deliver 2.20 × 104 μL min-1 with power consumption below 20 mW. What's more, the mEMFP is successfully demonstrated in versatile applications including multifunctional liquid transport, phase-change valving, and personalized thermal management, offering a feasible pathway toward high-performance microfluidic systems.

Efficiently harvesting the intrinsic energy from low-grade heat, acidity, and high salinity of desulfurization waste liquors is crucial for sustainable management, yet remains challenging due to the instability of conventional membranes under such extreme multi-physics conditions. Herein, we report a high-performance osmotic energy conversion device engineered via a multivariate coupling strategy. The core of this device is a robust membrane based on β-ketoenamine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs), featuring nanochannels functionalized with tailored stimuli-responsive groups to dynamically regulate surface charge density. The β-ketoenamine linkage endows exceptional membrane stability, enabling durable operation under coupled thermal, chemical, and electrochemical stresses. Experimental and computational studies demonstrate that the remarkable power enhancement stems not only from acid-induced protonation that boosts charge density, but also from the utilization of low-grade heat to accelerate ion transport. By simulating the multi-physical field coupling in real waste liquors, the device achieves an ultrahigh power output of 258.81 W m- 2, surpassing commercial benchmarks by 52-fold. This COF membrane, with its exceptional permeability, selectivity, and stability, paves the way for high-efficiency energy harvesting from hostile industrial environments.

Developing robust water-repellent textiles is critical for outdoor, protective, and industrial applications. However, achieving long-lasting water repellency under mechanical stress remains a significant challenge. Conventional approaches typically rely on nanoparticle assemblies or PFAS-based finishes, which often detach or degrade when subjected to abrasion or harsh conditions. Here, we demonstrate a molecularly assembled robust superhydrophobic shell (MARS) technique that directly constructs an ordered, covalently bonded, fluorine-free silica shell on individual yarn fibers via a one-step process. MARS eliminates the need for discrete nanoparticles or fluorinated chemistries and is compatible with a wide range of natural and synthetic fibers. This fiber-level treatment maintains superhydrophobicity even after the fibers are woven or knitted into finished textiles, while preserving breathability and mechanical resilience. MARS combines biomimetic inspiration with practical, scalable fabrication to meet urgent performance needs. Unlike conventional coatings that progressively degrade, the permanently bonded MARS coating endures intensive abrasion, high-velocity water impacts, steam exposure, and extreme temperature cycles. By addressing key challenges such as PFAS restrictions and the fragility of traditional coatings, the MARS method paves the way for next-generation water-repellent fabrics that balance sustainability and high performance across outdoor, protective, medical, and industrial applications.

The fabrication of quantum dots (QDs) micro-patterns, especially those with both µm-scale high-resolution and mm-/cm- scale large area uniformity, remains a bottleneck limiting the application of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Current strategies have suffered from either low resolution or complicated micro-template assisted fabrications deteriorating the device performance. Here, we developed a new conceptual high-resolution QDs micro-pattern with a linewidth of merely 2 µm in an area of ∼10 cm2 by a template-free direct writing strategy, featured as the distinguishable QDs micro-line array by the periodical nanoscale thickness difference. The enhanced capillary flow accelerates QDs deposition at each tri-phase contact line in a positive feedback manner until the liquid film breaking, which proceeds uniformly across the whole printing area in a good periodicity. Thus, a periodic conformal complementary QDs/PMMA heterostructure bilayer film, composed of alternate thick-QDs/thin-PMMA and thin-QDs/thick-PMMA unit, was constructed as the light-emitting layer, which facilitates the autonomous charge distribution at both inter- and intra- interface. The as-developed high-resolution micro-patterned QLED shows an external quantum efficiency as high as 21.4% even at a linewidth of 2 µm. The result offers a low-cost facile strategy for making large-area high-resolution micro-patterned QLED devices.

Low-temperature visual mechanical sensing materials hold great promise for applications in cryogenic manufacturing, polar exploration, etc. Blue phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) are a promising candidate for low-temperature visual sensing materials based on their excellent optical properties and unique chiral helical structure. However, there remain challenges for low-temperature (<0°C) visual mechanical sensing BPLCs due to difficulties in fabrication of low-temperature flexible films and inadequate understanding of their thermal-optical-mechanical-structural relationships. Herein, a high-quality BPLC elastomer (BPLCE) is fabricated via "full chain extension followed by cooling-assisted assembly" strategy, and it exhibits visual mechanical sensing capabilities across -30 to 60°C based on the synergistic effect of the polymer cross-linked network (mechanical responsiveness) and BPLC structure (optical signal). There appear high- (20°C∼60°C) and low-sensitivity (-30°C∼20°C) mechanochromic regimes for the as-prepared BPLCE originating from stress-induced phase transition of unpolymerized liquid crystals upon cooling, which is validated by temperature-dependent dramatic change in spectra evolution, stress for equivalent stopband shift, recovery time, etc. Additionally, BPLCE undergoes distinct chiral optical transitions under compression. Potential applications including polarization recognition, critical pressure alert, and in situ low-temperature full-field stress monitoring are demonstrated, which may pave a way for advanced visual mechanical sensing in cryogenic engineering.

Through dip-coating technology, a series of composite coatings was fabricated by adjusting the concentration parameters of nano-SiO2 particles, PMMA, and dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) solvent. Systematic characterization using the contact angle measurements and the UV-Vis spectrophotometry revealed that the material achieved optimal performance balance of superhydrophobicity and transparency at a nanoparticle concentration of 6.25 g/L, exhibiting a static contact angle of (160.8 +/- 1.1)degrees and a transparency exceeding 90% at 550 nm. Mechanistic analysis revealed that the hierarchical micro-nano structures formed by nanoparticles at this concentration synergistically interacted with the polymer matrix, concurrently generating the surface roughness for the superhydrophobic Cassie-Baxter state while preventing Mie scattering effects to preserve the high transparency typically compromised by excessive particles. This research highlights advantages such as the availability of raw materials, straightforward processing, and low manufacturing costs, demonstrating promising self-cleaning potential and broad application prospects in the protection of optical device surfaces and the self-cleaning of photovoltaic modules.

Constructing artificial ionic diodes that mimic biological ion channels by suppressing ion diffusion in one direction is crucial for advancing the human-computer interaction. However, existing artificial channels exhibit large leakage current due to their inability to effectively block the channel in the closed state, making it challenging to achieve efficient unidirectional ion transport. In this work, we construct a unipolar ionic diode that regulates unidirectional proton transport by dynamically modulating the formation of an asymmetric electric double layer at the insulator-hydrogel interface in response to applied voltage. The construction of hierarchical hydrogel nanochannels with light-responsive spiropyran derivatives substantially boosts proton transport kinetics, enabling a record-high rectification ratio of 4 × 105. With this diode, a photonic synaptic transistor with excellent current modulation capabilities, optical synaptic plasticity, and potential for wireless communication is successfully constructed. The exceptional capability of voltage-dependent ion-to-electron signal transduction paves the way for advancing bioinspired nanofluidic ionotronics toward future neuromorphic devices.

Through the study of superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic phenomena in lotus leaves and animal corneas, etc., we have discovered that the micro/nanostructures and surface chemical composition are the physicochemical essence of superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity, confirming that ordered arrangement of water molecules at hydrophilic nanostructured interfaces is crucial for attaining superhydrophilicity and further defining superwettability as a complementarity of superlyophobicity and superlyophilicity. It is revealed that the intrinsic wetting threshold of the liquid corresponds to the transition point of superlyophobicity and superlyophilicity on a nanostructured surface, rather than 90° for all kinds liquids according to Young's equation. A superwetting interfacial nanomaterial system, including 64 combinations, was established and then extended to 13 kinds of liquid systems under different pressures and temperatures. More than 10 superwetting interfacial nanomaterials have been applied in energy, environment, agriculture, resources, and information fields. On the other hand, dynamic superwettability is defined as liquid superspreading on two-dimensional surfaces with nanostructure, directional fluid through one-dimensional micropores/microcones, or even ultrahigh flux of molecules/ions in biological/artificial nanochannels. Based on the study of dynamic superwettability, we posed a fundamental question in the life sciences: how do living systems accomplish ultralow-energy-consumption (UEC) processes such as biosynthesis, energy conversion, and information transmission? Experimental and theoretical studies have evidenced the ordered, directional collective motion of molecules/ions within biological nanochannels as the physicochemical essence for the UEC process. Some bionic UEC applications in biosynthesis, energy conversion, material separation, and information transmission are further provided.

Plastics play an indispensable role in daily life, but their adverse impacts on nature and human health are becoming increasingly severe due to their non-degradability and the persistent accumulation of plastic waste. It is essential to develop biodegradable and sustainable alternatives with favorable mechanical properties. Here, we developed a dilute-solution-based strategy that enables the facile and scalable production of high strength sustainable nanocomposites with multicomponent synergistic reinforcement. Owing to the shear-flow-induced nanosheets alignment and strong interfacial interactions, the nanocomposites achieve outstanding mechanical properties, with a high tensile strength of 566.9 +/- 13.5 MPa. Moreover, these nanocomposites possess electromechanical stability and thermal stability, and can fully biodegrade within 30 days in natural soil. This strategy provides an effective pathway for the design of high-performance sustainable nanocomposites.