Antibiotics are widely used in the field of disease prevention and treatment, but the overuse of antibiotics has caused great pollution to aquatic ecosystems. Photocatalytic synergistic peroxynitrite advanced oxidation technology with high efficiency degradation can be applied to the treatment of antibiotic wastewater. In addition, transition metal activation of peroxynitrite (PMS) can generate strong oxidizing sulfate radicals which is the most effective method. However, transition metal activation of PMS transforms to high valence state and is difficult to reduce to low valence state. Therefore, how to improve the regeneration rate of the low-valent state has become a challenge in advanced oxidation technology. This work studies the degradation of antibiotics using PMS activated on composite catalysts consisting of C3N5 and transition metal oxides. Under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm), the system containing 0.8 % C3N5-NiFe2O4 achieves 89.1 % degradation of 50 ppm tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) with good stability. EPR characterization reveals that the catalyst promoted the generation of four reactive oxygen species (ROS), O-1(2), SO4-, O-2(-) and OH, which synergistically contributed to the degradation of the pollutants. Finally, we analyze the intermediates that may be produced during the explanation process and conducted toxicity assessments.

Designing humidity-responsive protein fibers that combine high recovery stress with structural integrity is essential for advancing soft actuators under physiological conditions. However, conventional polymer-based actuators are limited by low mechanical strength and poor humidity tolerance. Spider silk provides a natural model for water-responsive actuation, yet replicating its performance in recombinant systems remains challenging due to hydration-induced β-sheet disruption and insufficient crystalline stabilization. Here, recombinant spidroin fibers are engineered by introducing terminal cysteine crosslinking, enabling site-specific disulfide bonds to form during shear-assisted wet spinning. This covalent edge reinforcement preserves β-sheet alignment even at 90% relative humidity, as confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations and spectroscopic analyses. The optimized C4S fibers exhibit reversible and controllable humidity-driven actuation, delivering rapid contraction with a recovery stress of 45 MPa and a work density of 122 kJ m-3, exceeding typical synthetic actuators and surpassing human skeletal muscle by over threefold. This sequence-encoded crystalline locking strategy provides a generalizable molecular design for creating moisture-resilient, high-performance protein actuators, with potential applications in soft robotics, adaptive textiles, and biomedical devices.

Hydrogels, prized for tissue-like properties and biointegration, are crucial for sustainable, self-powered wearable/implantable devices. However, adoption is hindered by low energy output, robustness issues, integration complexity, environmental sensitivity, and biosafety concerns. This review synthesizes recent advances in hydrogel-based piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators (PENGs/TENGs). It outlines their fundamental principles and different design architectures. Key synthetic and natural polymer properties are examined, summarizing material/structural innovations to boost energy output while discussing potential trade-offs. Critical hydrogel properties for biomedical use, tunable adhesion, mechanics, self-healing, environmental adaptability, biocompatibility and degradation, and injectability are systematically reviewed, detailing current design strategies. Practical applications explored include wearable energy harvesters, human-computer interfaces, physiological monitoring, and bioelectronic medicine, with discussions of device implementation and clinical translation. Finally, the review covers remaining research gaps and emerging directions in self-powered functional hydrogel bioelectronics, providing insights to advance soft bioelectronics and self-powered wearables.

During laser cladding under different elevation angles, there is an interaction between the waist beam and the laser energy. The interaction law is complicated, involving many physical and chemical processes such as laser energy absorption, powder melting, evaporation, and solidification. It is a bottleneck problem in the industry to quantitatively reveal the interaction law between laser and powder during cladding, which is significant to improve the cladding quality. In this paper, a continuous-discrete phase gas/solid coupling model of laser and powder interaction during laser cladding under different elevation angles was established. In the modeling, the random distribution of 316L powder with different particle sizes was realized through Rosin-Rammler-Sperling curve fitting, and a custom UDF cone heat source program was written to calculate and reveal the temperature, concentration, and flow velocity of powder with random particle size distribution during cladding under different elevation angles. The effects of different elevation angles of laser head on powder convergence and laser powder interaction were quantified. On this basis, the multi-field coupling numerical model of laser cladding process under different elevation angles was established, and its transient evolution was revealed. The calculation shows that the powder temperature, concentration, flow velocity, and cladding layer height of 15 degrees elevation angle are more in line with the process requirements, and the convergence of powder reaching the substrate is better. Finally, the temperature of the cladding process was collected by infrared thermal imaging camera, and the cladding profile was compared and analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the model.

Burn care and treatment differ markedly from other types of wounds, as they are significantly more prone to infections and struggle to maintain fluid balance post-burn. Moreover, the limited self-healing abilities exacerbate the likelihood of scar formation, further complicating the recovery process. To tackle these issues, an asymmetric wound dressing comprising a quercetin-loaded poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P34HB@Qu) hydrophilic layer and a zinc oxide nanoparticle-loaded, thermally treated polyvinylidene fluoride (HPVDF@ZnO) hydrophobic layer is designed. This dressing provided antibacterial property and exudate management in the early stages of burn treatment, preventing infection and maintaining moisture balance at the wound site. As healing progresses, the electroactive properties of HPVDF@ZnO and quercetin from P34HB@Qu synergistically regulate cell migration and differentiation, accelerating wound healing and facilitating scar-free regeneration. Furthermore, the wound dressing assisted in the regeneration of skin appendages. This study underscores the full-cycle strategy of versatile wound dressings for spatiotemporal burn wound management from injury to scarless healing.

The key to repair and strengthen mechanical parts based on laser cladding technology lies in the preparation of an excellent cladding layer. However, the shape of general mechanical parts is relatively complex, involving the intersection of various curved structures. It is significant to explore the instantaneous action mechanism of multifield coupling during the cladding process under different elevation angles of the laser head for the preparation of the high-quality cladding layer. In this paper, a multifield coupled numerical model of laser cladding 316L powder under different elevation angles of the laser head was established, and the instantaneous evolution of multifield coupled laser cladding under different elevation angles was revealed. The calculation shows that the elevation angle of the laser head has significant effects on the temperature field and flow field but has relatively weak effects on the stress field and phase transition field. The thickness and depth of the cladding layer can be effectively regulated by changing the elevation angle of the laser head. This study provides a significant theoretical basis for determining the control parameters of cladding layer morphology and lays a significant theoretical foundation for expanding the extensive application of laser cladding technology in the field of repair and strengthening.

Regulating the activity of carbon (C) atoms on encapsulating carbon layers through metal clusters has emerged as a promising strategy for achieving efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysis. Herein, we reported a biochar-based electrocatalyst (BCMo900-1), which was synthesized via a one-step pyrolysis method using molybdenum-enriched biomass as the precursor, featuring molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) clusters encapsulated within nitrogen (N)-doped biochar. In acidic electrolytes, BCMo900-1 exhibited superior HER performance, achieving a low overpotential of 30.0 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a small Tafel slope of 33 mV dec- 1, comparable to the benchmark Pt/C electrode. Density functional theory calculations revealed that Mo2C clusters more effectively regulated the electron density of N-coordinated C atoms than MoC, significantly reducing the Gibbs free energy for H* adsorption (Delta GH* = -0.32 eV) and lowering the dissociation energy barrier of H* in acidic solution. This regulatory mechanism was identified as a key factor in enhancing H* activation and dissociation on C atoms, while maintaining excellent stability and durability. This proof-ofconcept study highlighted a sustainable and innovative approach for developing green, efficient, and durable HER electrocatalysts by leveraging solid waste resources.

Recombinant spidroins offer numerous possibilities for creating new biomaterials. However, their polymorphic and prone to aggregation characteristics present challenges in both their production and practical application. Here, mutant recombinant spidroins are reported forming hydrogels rapidly and controllably at 37 degrees C and with visible light irradiation. In the mutant spidroins phenylalanine residues (F) are systematically substituted by tyrosine residues (Y) in repeat motifs of (GGX), which contributes to the self-assembly of beta-sheet and further formation of amyloid-like nanofibrils. As expected, micellar/globular spidroins solution converts to spidroins hydrogel composed of nanofibrils network and subsequently further crosslinked by di-tyrosine. The conformation transformation process is verified by spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and molecular dynamics simulation. Furthermore, the spidroin hydrogels are used as bioink and biomimetic cellular scaffolds according to their good biocompatibility, shear thinning properties, and nanofibril network structure. The findings reveal the structural transformation mechanism of spidroins and expand their applications in biomedical engineering.

The preparation of Ni–Co dual phase cladding layer on the surface of ductile iron can effectively improve its wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Quantifying the forming process of Ni–Co composite cladding layer can provide an important theoretical basis for improving the service life of cladding layer. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical model and a molecular dynamics (MD) model of Ni–Co composite coating multi-layer cladding forming were established from both macroscopic and microscopic perspectives. The transient evolution of the temperature, height, energy, crystal structure and radial distribution function during Ni–Co composite coating multi-layer cladding forming were calculated and revealed. The results showed that the temperature of the first Ni-based cladding layer was slightly lower than that of the second Co-based cladding layer, and the height was slightly higher than that of the second Co-based cladding layer. When the first Ni-based cladding layer was formed, the content of FCC crystals was the highest, and the content of HCP and BCC crystals was very small. When the second Co-based cladding layer was formed, FCC crystals were the most, followed by HCP, BCC crystals were the least. The XRD results were consistent with the numerical results, which verified the reliability of the numerical calculation.

Structural design and element doping are two common ways to improve the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. Herein, a novel sponge-like (Ni,Co)0.85Se with porous and ultrathin nanosheets was prepared by a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The sponge-like structure can increase the active surface area of electrode materials, which is conducive to the rapid transport of ions. At the same time, selenization can reduce the resistance and increase the conductivity. The (Ni,Co)0.85Se/CF electrode material exhibits a high specific capacity of 1019.5 C/g at a current density of 1 A/g, and a specific capacity of 703.9 C/g when the current density is increased by 40 times, showing excellent rate capability. This assembled hybrid supercapacitor exhibited 96.8 Wh/kg and a highest power density of 16 kW/kg, which is superior to other recently reported hybrid supercapacitor devices, showing a clear comparative advantage. In addition, two hybrid supercapacitors connected in series enabled the yellow light-emitting diode (LED) bulb to be lit for more than 35 minutes, which fully demonstrated the great potential of this capacitor material in practical applications.

Wound healing requires a contamination-free, sterile, and breathable environment. However, to develop an ideal wound dressing with all these functionalities simultaneously poses significant challenges. In this study, we designed a wound dressing that mimics the structure of skin with good breathability and protective functions. The wound dressing consists of a hydrophilic Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P34HB) membrane coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles and a hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane. Meanwhile, plasma treatment was also utilized to bond the two layers, resulting in an enhancement of 60% in mechanical properties. The crosslinked fibrous membranes exhibited uniform stress distribution when stretching. Due to the unique structures of the wound dressing, it demonstrates wound exudate management, antibacterial functions, and hemostatic properties. The hydrophobic layer guided wound exudate towards the hydrophilic layer and the zinc oxide nanoparticles acted as a barrier against external bacteria and released zinc ions to inhibit bacterial growth in the exudate. Moreover, the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) was measured to be over 86.55 kg/m2/day, the hemolysis rate was 2.38%, and an impressive 81.98% healing rate was recorded during in vitro wound healing. This skin-mimicking wound dressing shows great potential as a promising solution for the therapy of chronic wounds and infections.

Tough materials play an important role in human society, from daily life, and industry to military. However, the contradiction between strength and ductility limits the development of tough materials. With the development of bionics, researchers are inspired by the unique properties of spider silk. Spider silk is a natural protein fiber with ultra-high toughness and strength, and has optical, thermal, water response, and biocompatibility. The excellent mechanical properties of spider silk are associated with its unique multistage structure, including the primary and secondary structures of spider silk proteins, nanofibril, and skin-core structures. Limited by the production of natural spider silk, the researchers focused on mimicking the structure of spider silk, especially the β-fold structure, to create ultra-tough biomimetic materials. In this review the relationship between the structure and properties of natural spider silk, and the latest progress in the synthesis of tough materials from different raw materials are discussed. Various advanced spinning processing technologies are summarized, and then many advanced applications based on the unique properties of tough materials are pointed out. Based above, some progress has been made in spider silk-inspired tough materials, and this review aims to provide a complete set of guidelines to produce this fascinating material.

Maintaining a reasonably stable body temperature is vital for a variety of human activities in an energy-conservation strategy. However, it is well-known that metal-like materials, utilized as radiative reflectors, severely restrict wearability properties, thus posing a tremendous obstacle in personal thermal management (PTM) systems. Herein, we designed a supramolecular-enhanced membrane (SupraEM) acting as a mid-infrared (MIR) reflector to solve the conundrum of warmth-wearability performance. Benefiting from the low-emissivity of decorating titanium carbide (MXene) and the formation of supramolecular interactions, the prototyped polyvinylidene difluoride&Polyurethane/MXene (PVDF&PU/MXene) SupraEM demonstrated a low-emissivity of 0.246 and reinforced mechanical performance, resulting in an evenly higher temperature retention of 8 °C in comparison to the pristine hybrid membrane counterpart, and compared with a commercial textile that is three times thicker, it also exhibited higher temperature retention of 6.2 °C. This work demonstrates the wearability of decorated MXene without sacrificing its temperature retention, overcoming a major bottleneck that has plagued MXene as a thermoregulatory material for PTM systems.

The exciting development of hydrogels makes it a promising candidate to be applied in various fields. However, it remains a great challenge to store the precursors of hydrogels and to process them after gelation, like synthetic polymer materials. Herein, spidroin‐inspired novel nanogels with extraordinary processability, which can be spun into fibers via direct drawing and fabricated into thermal actuators easily after gelation are prepared. These soluble and spinnable nanogels are composed of a liquid metal core and a poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) shell and are entangled with each other. The as fabricated nanogels and diluted dope solution can be stored >1 month. The as‐spun nanogel fibers with hierarchical structures achiev extraordinary mechanical properties (tensile stress of 575 MPa, toughness of 381 MJ m −3 ) and supercontraction at 60% RH. Besides, a photothermal actuator is prepared by coating the nanogels on a polyethylene substrate with a commercial shading ink, and the as‐prepared actuator shows a rapid response to near‐infrared light as well as a fast recovery. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals a possible working mechanism of the actuator. This study provides a new strategy to prepare processable nanogels with broad application prospects for smart textiles and soft robots.

Spider-capture-silk (SCS) can directionally capture and transport water from humid air relying on the unique geometrical structure. Although there have been adequate reports on the fabrication of artificial SCSs from petroleum-based materials, it remains a big challenge to innovate bio-based SCS mimicking fibers with high-performance fog collection ability and efficiency simultaneously. Herein, we report an eco-friendly and economical fiber system for water collection by coating gelatin on degummed silk. Compared to the previously reported fibers with the best fog collection ability (~ 13.10 μL), Gelatin on silk fiber 10 (GSF10) can collect larger water droplet (~ 16.70 μL in 330 s) with ~ 98% less mass. Meanwhile, the water collection efficiency of GSF10 demonstrates ~ 72% and ~ 48% enhancement to the existing best water collection polymer coated SCS fibers and spidroin eMaSp2 coated degummed silk respectively in terms of volume-to-TCL (vapor–liquid-solid three-phase contact line) index. The simultaneous function of superhydrophilicity, surface energy gradient, and ~ 65% water-induced volume swelling of the gelatin knots are the key factors in advancing the water collection performance. Abundant availability of feedstocks and ~ 75% improved space utilization guarantee the scalability and practical application of such bio-based fiber. Graphic Abstract

Spiders can produce different types of silks with different functions by tuning the hierarchical structure of spidroin. Inspired by the secondary structure of spider silk, a series of peptide-polyurethane/urea (PUU) hybrids with various peptide contents were synthesized in this work. By effective control of polymerization degree, simultaneous presence of α-helixes and β-sheets in the polymer was realized. The modulus of films increased with peptide loading and reached more than 200 MPa at 71.1% peptide content. Notably, the PUU hybrid with 41.5% peptide content (P-41.5) showed the highest tensile strength (6.6 MPa) and strain (1238%). At the same time, this film (P-41.5) exhibited shape memory effect at 37 °C, as well as excellent shape recovery ratio during successive cycles at 100% strain. Furthermore, Ag nanowires/P-41.5 hybrid film exhibited superb electric resistance stability under bending and stretching conditions, making it a promising material for strain sensors.

Layered double hydroxide (LDH) with special layered structure has been proved to have excellent hole transport capacity and good stability. Herein, we report a high efficient composite photocatalyst of CoAlLDH and BiPO4 prepared by hydrothermal and chemical adsorption (denoted as CoAl-LDH/BiPO4). Phenol can be entirely degraded by 1% CoAl-LDH/BiPO4 under 30 min ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, and the degradation rate constants k are 3 times and 39 times higher than that of pure BiPO4 and CoAl-LDH, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to effective holes transfer from BiPO4 to CoAl-LDH, which hinders the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. In addition, the combination of BiPO4 and CoAl-LDH avoids the agglomeration of BiPO4 and improves the stability of BiPO4. Active species capture experiments indicate that superoxide radicals (center dot O-2(-)) are the main active species responsible for the degradation of phenol. This work provides technical approaches and research ideas for solving the photogenerated charge carrier recombination problem of photocatalyst.

As the state-of-the-art energy storage technology, lithium-ion batteries have been attracting lots of attention, but their finite energy densities cannot satisfy the overwhelming demand for large energy storage and commercial flammable liquid electrolytes are also plagued by safety concerns. Solvent-free single-ion polymer electrolytes with excellent electrochemical properties are expected to solve these issues and enhance the energy density of the next-generation batteries technology. Here, we engineered the networking of a series of solvent-free anionic network polymer electrolytes to improve ionic transport for Li-metal battery applications. The anionic network polymers formed as a diamondoid structure consisting of borate anions bridged by branched ethylene glycol linkers of differing stoichiometric ratios, enabling the controlled segmental mobility of network polymers. The increasing segmental mobility offered an elevated ionic conductivity, revealing ionic transport was mostly controlled by engineering the segmental mobilities of polymers, especially at the given interanionic distance. However, there was a restricted ionic transport in fast segmental dynamics of the network polymers featuring free branches, implying that the branching would less contribute to ionic transport compared to the interanionic distance likely due to the frustration in changing the coordination site. Standout network polymer exhibited notable ion selectivity in Li+ cation transport and high oxidative stability. Galvanostatic cycling reveals outstanding resistance to dendrite growth, suggesting that the solvent-free network polymer can serve as a powerful electrolyte for Li-metal batteries.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have recently emerged as an important type of electrode materials for supercapacitors due to their intrinsically outstanding specific capacity and high conductivity. Herein, we report Mn doped Ni12P5 nanowires (Mn-Ni12P5) as an advanced cathode material for hybrid supercapacitors, which delivers a high specific capacity of 808 C g-1 at 1 A g-1 (560 C g-1 at 10 A g-1, the retention rate is near 70%) and good cyclic stability (capacity retention of 87% after 1000 cycles at 10 A g-1). Meanwhile, the theoretical calculations reveal that the Mn-doping can form an octahedral supporting structure between Mn atoms and P atoms to enhance the structure stability. The assembled Mn-Ni12P5//active carbon hybrid device demonstrates good capacity retention of 67.3% after 5000 cycles at 2 A g-1. This research brings a new implication to the development of supercapacitors.