Lacking plasticity at room temperature is a critical limiting factor preventing the widespread use of hard ceramics, which exhibit many superior qualities but are brittle and susceptible to catastrophic failure. Coherent twin boundaries (CTBs) hold the potential to solve this difficult problem, but challenges remain. Here, we unveil a radically contrasting twin boundary migration (TBM)-driven detwinning mechanism that creates high plasticity in hard ceramics via collective motion and eventual annihilation of CTBs. Translational crystal symmetry breaking induced by CTBs allows strain concentration and energy-efficient segmented sequential local bond flipping to drive the TBM process while maintaining the intrinsic ultimate strength. Electronic structure analysis further reveals that CTBs enhance electron delocalization and weaken local bonding, thus enabling bond flipping and structural rearrangement. This work provides a conceptual breakthrough in understanding plastic deformation in hard and brittle crystals and opens a new pathway for overcoming the long-standing strength-toughness trade-off in transition-metal nitrides.

Effective lubrication is essential for mitigating friction and wear in mechanical systems, particularly in high-temperature, oxygen-containing environments where friction-induced energy dissipation and material degradation critically affect operational efficiency and safety. Traditional low-shear strength materials often suffer severe wear or even failure under such harsh conditions, making robust high-temperature lubrication a pressing need and key challenge in materials research. Here, we present recent advances in tailoring Ta(Zr)B2 films for superior high-temperature lubrication, guided by an unconventional design principle: first constructing materials with exceptional strength to withstand wear at elevated temperatures, and subsequently creating lubricity via operando tribochemical reactions at the contacting surface. Magnetron-sputtered Ta(Zr)B2 solid solution films exhibit enhanced mechanical and chemical stability compared with the recently deposited high-strength TaB2 film, exhibiting outstanding anti-wear ability with low wear rates of 1.0 × 10-5 - 1.7 × 10-5 mm3/N m. Moreover, tribochemically generated weak-shear products (B2O3 and Ta2O5) provide effective lubrication, yielding low friction coefficients (0.2 - 0.3) at 773 K. These findings offer a roadmap for solving the classic lubricity-durability tradeoff and developing a new class of transition-metal diboride protective films for demanding applications under high-temperature and oxygen-containing conditions.

ABSTRACT Transition metal diborides (TMB 2 ) possess excellent properties but suffer from rapid oxidation at elevated temperatures, severely limiting their applications. Here, we demonstrate crystal orientation engineering as an effective strategy to enhance oxidation resistance while retaining intrinsic characteristics. The polycrystalline TaB 2 films with strong (001) and (100) preferred orientations were synthesized via substrate‐bias‐controlled deposition. Air annealing revealed that (001)‐oriented TaB 2 films exhibit significantly improved oxidation resistance over (100)‐oriented films. First‐principles calculations show that the TaB 2 (001) surface has higher oxygen adsorption energy and a larger diffusion barrier, attributed to the alternating boron–metal layer stacking along [001]. Moreover, (001)‐oriented films maintain higher hardness and shear strength at both room temperature and 600°C. These findings establish orientation control as a promising pathway to simultaneously optimize oxidation resistance and mechanical robustness in TMB 2 , offering guidance for the design of protective coatings for high‐temperature applications.

Chitosan-based films are promising alternatives to petroleum-based food packaging materials but suffer from insufficient mechanical strength, poor water resistance, and limited antioxidant capacity. To address these issues, we synthesized chitosan-based nano-polymers loaded with luteolin (Lut) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (CLS nano-micelles). We then incorporated these nano-micelles into a chitosan-based film to produce a CLS film. The results showed that, compared with the pure chitosan film, the mechanical properties of CLS film significantly improved, with tensile strength increasing from 6.14 MPa to 37.50 MPa and elongation at break increasing from 17.4% to 34.6%. The barrier properties of the CLS film were also enhanced, as both water vapor permeability and solubility decreased. Notably, the CLS film also exhibited excellent antioxidant properties (with DPPH inhibition rates increasing from 4.4% to 48.3% and ABTS inhibition rates rising from 7.2% to 74.6%) and demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against E. coli, S. aureus, and B. subtilis. It also exhibited excellent biocompatibility and demonstrated favorable biodegradability in soil. Grape preservation assays further confirmed its efficacy in maintaining fruit freshness. These results demonstrate that integrating CLS nano-micelles into a chitosan matrix significantly improves its mechanical, barrier, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. This makes the CLS film a promising eco-friendly alternative for sustainable food packaging applications, offering an efficient and environmentally friendly solution.

Diamond is renowned for supreme hardness and supersized electronic bandgap, but knowledge is surprisingly incomplete on its prominent mechanical and electronic benchmarks under large loads. Here, using first-principles calculations, we create global mapping of extremal stress (GMES) and related strain and modulus profiles to bring out fresh perspectives on material behaviors at different scales (small versus large) and varieties (tension, compression or shear) of loads, unveiling patterns and trends of mechanical properties and record-shattering maximal stress. Moreover, we construct global mapping of electronic bandgap (GMEB) profiles to set benchmarks for rational modulation of electronic properties of diamond. This distinct protocol offers a fresh expansive view of key benchmarks beyond the prevailing paradigm, highlighting global emergent behaviors of extreme mechanics and electronics of diamond under ultimate elastic strain engineering.

Transition metal diborides (TMB2) possess excellent properties but suffer from rapid oxidation at elevated temperatures, severely limiting their applications. Here, we demonstrate crystal orientation engineering as an effective strategy to enhance oxidation resistance while retaining intrinsic characteristics. The polycrystalline TaB2 films with strong (001) and (100) preferred orientations were synthesized via substrate-bias-controlled deposition. Air annealing revealed that (001)-oriented TaB2 films exhibit significantly improved oxidation resistance over (100)-oriented films. First-principles calculations show that the TaB2(001) surface has higher oxygen adsorption energy and a larger diffusion barrier, attributed to the alternating boron-metal layer stacking along [001]. Moreover, (001)-oriented films maintain higher hardness and shear strength at both room temperature and 600 degrees C. These findings establish orientation control as a promising pathway to simultaneously optimize oxidation resistance and mechanical robustness in TMB2, offering guidance for the design of protective coatings for high-temperature applications.

A system loaded with MTO and encapsulated in SA achieved efficient drug delivery and tumor- microenvironment-triggered release. This release of MTO further exerted its chemotherapeutic effects and, in conjunction with ferroptosis, induced immunogenic cell death.

Neuroinflammation and oxidative damage act synergistically during Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, exacerbating neuronal damage and disease progression. Research into their interplay and corresponding targeted interventions for PD remains insufficient. Herein, we conducted an integrated analysis of three PD-related microarray datasets from human cohorts and identified an association between the CX3CL1-CX3CR1-NF-κB signaling axis and PD progression. Building on this mechanistic finding, we constructed Leo-AuPt nanozymes, a bimetallic nanoplatform modified with leonurine (Leo), a natural plant alkaloid. This hybrid nanotherapeutic integrates the robust reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of AuPt nanozymes and the immunomodulatory function of Leo, which targets the CX3CL1-CX3CR1-NF-κB axis. In vivo results showed that Leo-AuPt treatment notably alleviated motor dysfunction and corrected neuropathological abnormalities in a well-established PD model. Further mechanistic studies revealed that Leo-AuPt regulated microglial mitochondrial function and mitigated neuroinflammatory phenotypes. Collectively, the therapeutic efficacy of Leo-AuPt nanozymes is partially attributed to the modulation of the CX3CL1-CX3CR1-NF-κB neuroinflammatory cascade. This work highlights the potential of nanozyme therapy for alleviating acute dopaminergic neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation in experimental PD models, and provides a rational design strategy for the development of multimodal nanomedicines for neurodegenerative disease intervention.

Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) based structures are highly valued for their high specific strength and tunable mechanical properties. However, existing design approaches exhibit limitations in integrating unit cells across different length scales. Moreover, the influence of fine-scale feature arrangement during multiscale fusion on the final mechanical performance remains insufficiently understood. Here, a rotational hybridization strategy is proposed, in which smaller-scale TPMS substructures with rotational degrees of freedom are embedded into a primary TPMS scaffold to enable continuous tuning of elastic anisotropy and stiffness. The underlying mechanism stems from the complementary mechanical contribution of the multi-scale architectures. Using the P-surface as a representative case, the resulting Rotational Hybrid P structures achieve a wide modulus ratio ranging from 1.037 to 8.018 and an axial normalized modulus between 0.0410 and 0.2973 at low relative densities of 12-18%. Compared with the base P-structure, the optimized design exhibits a stiffness enhancement of 57.7-72.9%, together with a specific energy absorption of up to 3.67 J/g, corresponding to an improvement of 44%. The generality is further validated through successful extension to D, IWP, and F-RD-type TPMS. The proposed straightforward design method offers a robust and scalable strategy for developing customized performance metamaterials in advanced engineering applications.

Allergic asthma (AAS) is a chronic inflammatory airway disease. While zileuton (ZIL) has the efficient ability to relieve AAS symptoms, its systemic, untargeted administration could lead to adverse neurological effects. Thus, we constructed a drug combination nanomicelle (NMs) platform, H(BZP)-NMs, to reach synergistic effect therapy. It was comprised of a hydrophilic end formed from methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) and poly(Lglutamic acid) (PGlu), and a ROS/pH dual-sensitive hydrophobic core. The core was created by coupling 4-(hydroxymethyl)phenylboronic acid (HPBA) to betamethasone (BMZ). Zileuton (ZIL) was strategically loaded in the core. Hyaluronic acid (HA) functionalization further enabled CD44-targeting ability. In pathological microenvironments, the boronate ester bonds undergo responsive cleavage, causing the parallel delivery of the drugs. The slow-release profile addressed the need for rapid early-stage control and prolonged late-stage relief. In vivo, H(BZP)-NMs significantly decreased Penh values, lowered the IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and LTB4 levels, and ameliorated airway pathological injuries. Given the molecular docking and verification of network pharmacology, these effects were associated with the dual-drug synergistic inhibition of the TLR4-MyD88-NF-kappa B p65 signals. Collectively, this study shows that H(BZP)-NMs are an inventive nanomedicine approach that unifies targeted delivery and extended co-release, offering promise for accurate and synergistic treatment of AAS.

Green hydrogen production via water electrolysis requires efficient, low-cost catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to reduce energy consumption and system costs. Copper nanoparticles offer a promising low-cost alternative because they combine high conductivity, abundant surface sites, and earth abundance. However, conventional synthetic methods either require large amounts of ligands, which compromises environmental sustainability, or lack precise control over nanoparticle size. Here, we develop a ligand-free spark ablation in liquid (SAL) strategy for the size-controlled synthesis of Cu nanoparticles. By elucidating the formation and growth mechanisms, we show that spark discharge produces Cu nanoparticles through two competing mechanisms: plasma-mediated mechanism and molten-droplet mechanism. The thermal state of the discharge system controls the dominant ablation pathway and therefore determines the final particle-size distribution. The smallest and most uniform Cu nanoparticles deliver excellent hydrogen evolution performance, exhibiting a lower overpotential than commercial Pt/C at current densities above 400 mA cm(-2) and stable operation for over 50 h. Mechanistic analysis indicates that their superior activity arises from an altered rate-determining step during HER. These findings establish SAL as a clean and controllable platform for producing metal nanoparticle catalysts, and provide mechanistic guidance for designing high-performance Cu-based electrocatalysts.

The construction of TiO2 nanotube arrays with oxygen vacancies is widely used for the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, but crystal defects often reduce the stability of the catalyst. This article is mainly in the preparation of a supported porous catalyst by anodic oxidation of Ti foil and loading of Au nanoparticles with the assistance of Cinnamomum camphora leaf extract. The obtained Au/TiO2 nanotube array catalyst was applied to the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. The photoelectrocatalytic degradation efficiency was enhanced with the removal of plant molecules and the construction of oxygen vacancies by calcination in anaerobic conditions, and the reaction rate constant increased by 66% when the catalyst was heat pretreated at 673 K. In addition, the catalytic activity of Au/TiO2 nanotube array catalyst was maintained at a high level after 5 cycles of application. After characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyses, Fourier transform infrared, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence, the plant molecules played important roles in the reduction of gold ions, nucleation of gold atoms, and stabilization of oxygen vacancies to prevent collapse. This method for the preparation of photoelectrocatalysts with the assistance of plant molecules and the construction of oxygen vacancies would be expected to apply in the development of high stability supported catalysts toward degradation of organic pollutants.

Nature, which has been fueled by evolutionary innovation over millions of years, offers an inexhaustible source of inspiration for advanced materials with its infinite complexity and exquisite organization. In recent years, biological solutions have been widely used based on the understanding of multi-functional biological systems. At the same time, the concept of “Learning from Nature” allows material design to flourish further from the diversity of human life and living habitats. This is the key to addressing the challenges of sustainable development between humans and nature, and it is also the inevitability of humanity’s continuous exploration and discovery of the mysteries of nature. In this work, we review recent innovative achievements in advanced material design inspired by living organisms, human life, and living habitats, and summarize representative approaches of nature-inspired simulation. Finally, the challenges and perspectives on functional materials based on natural inspirations are proposed and discussed in detail. We hope to spur continuous efforts and sustainable innovations on nature-inspired functional materials to enable a harmonious and efficient ecosystem.

Artificial muscles have a wide range of potential applications and can be fabricated by using a variety of materials. To meet the demands of various applications, artificial muscles must exhibit excellent performance characteristics, such as a large contraction stroke, high contraction stress, and long cycle life. Here, we report a coiled nylon fiber artificial muscle and a triple-braided nylon fiber (TBNF) artificial muscle, which are prepared by the weaving method for twisted nylon fiber. Driven by Joule heating, the TBNF demonstrates excellent actuation properties, including 10.2% tensile stroke, 527.8 J/kg work capacity, and 9600 stable cycles. Moreover, the TBNF muscle can generate a reversible tensile stress of 5.85 MPa, which is 20 times that of human skeletal muscle. The TBNF muscles are demonstrated to drive a robotic car movement and bionic skeletal actions such as lifting weights and moving legs. In addition, due to the contraction driven properties of the TBNF muscle, it can be applied in microcurrent switches to control lighting. Consequently, electrothermally driven nylon fiber artificial muscles have significant applications in bionic robotics, prosthetic exoskeletons, and beyond.

Structural stability and durability are two foundational attributes underpinning all material functionalities, yet traditional approach only sets stability criteria in terms of elastic parameters derived at small strains, then extends their use to probing strength and durability at large strains via empirical relations due to a lack of accurate material benchmarks at strong deformation. Such extrapolations, however, may cause major quantitative or even qualitative deviations in assessing material behaviors at large strains when the elastic parameters fail to capture distinct underlying physics under strong deformations. Here, we introduce ultimate strengths, defined by peak stresses on diverse deformation paths from first-principles calculations, to set accurate and robust benchmarks for assessing materials at large-strain limits. We take transition-metal diborides as an exemplary class of materials to showcase strong directional anisotropy and load dependence of stress responses at large strains, in sharp contrast to the behaviors predicted by elastic parameters. We elucidate the impact and mechanism of load-constrained deformation, bond charge distribution, and electronic band structure on mechanical responses at elastic or dynamic stability limits. This work fulfills a longstanding need in materials science to set robust and accurate benchmarks that are tailored as explicit descriptors for key material characteristics under strong deformations.

Conventional treatments for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cause severe side effects and functional impairment. Chemodynamic therapy (CDT), a reactive oxidative stress (ROS)-based therapy, exploits H2O2 in the tumor micro-environment to produce large amounts of cytotoxic ROS to destroy cancer cells. Monotonic CDT efficacy is severely constrained by slow Fenton kinetics and insufficient intra-tumoral H2O2 content. In order to overcome these barriers, a multifunctional self-reinforced nanoreactor, MAGFH, was developed for the eradication of HNSCC. This nano-system employed an Fe-based metal-organic framework, MIL-100, to deliver artesunate (ART) for the exertion of H2O2-independent CDT. A gallic acid (GA)-Fe3+ metalpolyphenol network (MPN) coating was introduced to enhance the Fenton reaction by accelerating iron redox cycling while conferring photothermal therapy (PTT) effect. Hyaluronic acid (HA) was covered on the outermost layer to enable the tumor targeting. Following endocytosis into cancer cells, the released Fe3+ was reduced into Fe2+ by the consumption of glutathione (GSH), thereby catalyzing the production of hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) via the Fenton reaction. The GA-Fe network functioned as an amplifier for the iron redox cycle. Concurrently, the activation of ART by Fe2+ led to the generation of highly cytotoxic superoxide anions (center dot O2-) and C-centered free radicals (center dot C). The near infrared laser (808 nm) irradiation synergistically enhanced ROS generation and GSH depletion, resulting in the high accumulation of ROS and the dysregulation of redox homeostasis, subsequently inducing cell apoptosis and ferroptosis. In addition, the introduction of the GA-Fe MPN conferred both photo-acoustic imaging (PAI) and T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capabilities, enabling the integration of therapeutics and diagnosis. Collectively, this work established a PAI/MRI-guided nanoplatform for self-amplifying CDT/PTT against HNSCC via dual induction of apoptosis-ferroptosis.

With prevalence of bacterial resistance and decline in antibiotic development, immunotherapy is emerging as a promising strategy for bacterial infections. Macrophages play a crucial role in bacterial eradication and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) detoxification. However, overactivated macrophages triggered by excess LPS can also induce inflammatory injury and impaired antimicrobial response. Therefore, nanotherapies that synergize with and/or steer macrophages to simultaneously eliminate bacteria and LPS, provide an optimal strategy for immunomodulation to achieve a balance between antimicrobial and inflammatory responses. Inspired by antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), we report a peptide-nanoparticle conjugate (PNC) composed of opsonized peptides (B-mBPI) and engineered nanoparticle (PEGylated liposomes loaded with antibiotic). This PNC could effectively neutralized LPS with high affinity and specifically tag bacteria, then guiding macrophages towards the elimination of bacteria and LPS. With this steering-elimination function, a synergistic interaction was observed by evaluating the combination index (CI) of PNC and macrophages towards the antibacterial effect (CI = 0.103 < 1). Besides, we found that the dual-route administration regimen combining intraperitoneal (i.p) and intravenous (i.v) delivery of PNC demonstrated superior therapeutic efficacy compared to single-route therapy in intraperitoneal infection, highlighting the importance of tailoring nanocarrier delivery to infection dynamics. Consequently, this PNC significantly reduced the bacterial burden by more than 3 orders of magnitude and effectively reduce inflammatory factors (TNF-alpha, IL-6) and LPS levels to baseline, leading to a substantial improvement in the survival rate of mice infected with drug-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) (0 % improved to 71.4 %). This PNC presents a paradigm for antimicrobial immunotherapy by steering elimination of bacteria and LPS as well as modulating immune response.

The design of hierarchical structures represents a pivotal strategy inspired by nature, offering significant enhancements in the mechanical properties and multifunctionality of composites. Compared with traditional single reinforcement methods, this work proposes a novel ternary system that realizes bioinspired multi-scale collaborative design and functionalized integrated manufacturing through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Thermotropic liquid crystal polymer (TLCP) is used as the primary reinforcement phase, while multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are introduced to construct a secondary conductive network. Through the spatial distribution control of cross-scale fillers, mechanical reinforcement and electrical functionalization are synergistically optimized. The results show that, compared with pure materials, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and elongation at break of bioinspired PEI ternary composite filaments increased by 65.24 %, 30.25 %, and 71.69 %, respectively. The tensile strength and modulus of the samples increased by 22.94 % and 41.32 %, respectively. The surface quality and friction stability of composites have also been significantly improved. In addition, the double percolation network constructed by the synergistic action of MWCNTs and TLCP significantly improved the electrical conductivity, increasing it from 1.34 x 10(-8) to 5.09 x 10(-2) S/m. Through electromagnetic shielding testing and electrical signal acquisition experiments, the feasibility of using bioinspired PEI ternary composite system for shielding and structural health monitoring has been confirmed. This bioinspired hierarchical design, integrating multiscale reinforcements with FDM, establishes a new paradigm for aerospace components requiring combined load-bearing, EMI shielding, and self-diagnostic capabilities.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) exhibits excellent lubrication capacity rooted in its layered structure, but it suffers significant structural and functional deterioration due to oxidation in ambient environments, limiting its applications. Concerted efforts are focused on enhancing the antioxidation ability of MoS2, but challenges remain. This work conceptualizes and demonstrates a contrarian design of MoS2-based film via metal incorporation and oxidation based on consideration of key fundamental principles of thermodynamics, chemistry, and physical mechanics. A three-pronged process finds a metal of negative mixing enthalpy with Mo to induce amorphization of film, leading to structural densification and suppression of abrasive metal oxides that are harmful to lubrication, promotes, rather than impedes, oxidation in a top layer to enhance wear resistance and allow friction activated lamellar structure, and seeks low stacking fault energy for easy sliding in the lamellar structure to ensure superb low-shear lubrication. A screening of selected transition metals identifies niobium (Nb) as the promising choice; ensuing experiments synthesize amorphous MoS2-Nb (a-MoS2-Nb) film with superior tribological benchmarks. The present design strategy regulates the morphology and composition of the film to achieve the concurrent low-friction and low-wear functionality, opening a fresh path to making versatile lamellar structured lubricants for wide use in diverse environments.