Modulating N2 flow during carbonization represents a powerful yet overlooked lever for tuning hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in carbon-based electrodes. Here, we employ sustainable Bombyx mori silk as a nitrogen/carbon-rich precursor. Carbonization of ammonium molybdate-loaded silk without continuous N2 flow is found to induce in situ "self-activation", increasing molybdenum retention (primarily as beta-Mo2C) and pyridinic-N content by 149 % and 37 %, respectively, compared with continuous N2 flow. Consequently, the optimized electrode (carbonized without continuous N2 flow) exhibits superior HER activity, particularly in alkaline media, surpassing its counterpart carbonized under continuous N2 flow (296 mV lower in HER overpotential) and closing the gap with commercial 40 wt % Pt/C to only 82 mV at 100 mA cm(-2). Furthermore, the electrode demonstrates exceptional long-term stability after a 50-h chronopotentiometry test at 100 mA cm(-2) in alkali, outperforming Pt/C. Density functional theory calculation reveals a possible synergistic interaction between beta-Mo2C and pyridinic-N, which lowers the Volmer step energy barrier under alkaline conditions. This study establishes a facile, scalable route to fabricate flexible, noble-metal-free HER electrodes, overcoming limitations of previously reported silk-derived HER electrodes.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are typically constrained by an inherent trade-off between activity and stability. To address this, we propose a dual strategy integrating low-electronegativity induction with high-entropy engineering to develop a (NiCoFeMnCr)3S4 catalyst. The incorporation of low-electronegativity Mn and Cr optimizes the electronic structure by enhancing Bader charge transfer and upshifting the d-band center, lowering the energy barriers for oxygenated intermediates (*OH, *O, *OOH). Energy barrier analysis identifies Co and Fe as the primary active sites, with their barriers decreasing from 1.61 to 1.14 eV and from 1.73 to 1.16 eV, respectively. Concurrently, the high-entropy configuration provides thermodynamic stabilization, suppressing structural degradation. As a result, the catalyst achieves a low overpotential of 232 mV at 10 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH and maintains stable operation for 70 h. Overall, the synergy of low-electronegativity induction and high-entropy effects, together with the identification of Co and Fe as the main active sites, offers a feasible strategy to mitigate the activity-stability trade-off and provides insights for designing high-entropy OER electrocatalysts.

The development of efficient and durable electrocatalysts for industrial-level water splitting remains a critical challenge. Here we report a CuO-MoS2/MoO3 precatalyst that undergoes electrochemical reconstruction under working conditions to yield two distinct active phases: Cu-MoS2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode and an optimized CuO-MoS2/MoO3 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. In 1.0 M KOH, the reconstructed electrodes deliver remarkably low overpotentials of 35 mV for HER and 124 mV for OER at 10 mA cm-2, along with outstanding long-term durability, sustaining 500 mA cm-2 for 100 h. Combined in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations reveal that Cu species not only enhance charge transport but also tailor the electronic structure to optimize intermediate adsorption and reorganize interfacial water into a strongly hydrogen-bonded network, thereby accelerating water dissociation and proton transfer kinetics. When assembled into an anion-exchange-membrane water electrolyzer, the system delivers 1.0 A cm-2 at a low voltage of 1.77 V and 80 °C, with stable operation for 500 h, substantially surpassing noble-metal benchmarks. Our findings offer an efficient and durable catalyst system for sustainable hydrogen production, as well as fundamental insights into catalyst reconstruction and interfacial water regulation that inform the rational design of electrocatalytic materials.

The Lewis acidic molten salt etching temperature tailors the total number of surface terminations and the Cl/O ratio of Ti 3 C 2 MXenes, enabling customized EMW absorption with either strong attenuation or broadband response.

The development of advanced platinum-alternative anode catalysts with high catalytic activity and strong CO poison tolerance is of great significance to break through the technical bottleneck of the direct methanol fuel cell. Herein, we report the spatial construction of a rhodium-decorated three-dimensional macro- and mesoporous architecture built from holey graphene and holey Ti3C2T x MXene (Rh/HG-HMX) through a combined oxidative-etching and solvothermal coassembly process. Such an exquisite structural design not only fully exposes the internal catalytically active sites as well as improves the mass transfer efficiency of reactants and products, but also affords strong interfacial interactions between metallic Rh and HG-HMX matrix to optimize their electronic structure, thus resulting in significant synergistic catalytic effects. Accordingly, the as-derived Rh/HG-HMX architecture exhibits excellent electrocatalytic methanol oxidation abilities in terms of a large electrochemically active surface area of 171.5 m2 & centerdot;g-1, a high mass activity of 2082.0 mA & centerdot;mg-1, and dependable long-term durability, far exceeding those of traditional graphene and MXene-supported Rh catalysts as well as commercial Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts.

Developing flexible electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials that synergistically combine high shielding effectiveness (SE), mechanical resilience, and efficient self-healing remains challenging due to the inherent trade-off between dense shielding fillers and dynamic network mobility. In this work, we synthesize a high-performance flexible EMI shielding stretchable hydrogel with remarkable self-healing capabilities via a multiscale design that integrates hybrid shielding filler synergy and dynamic interfacial anchoring. Hybrid fillers comprising 1D carboxylated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 2D NiCo2O4 nanoplates are embedded into a dual-dynamic crosslinked polyacrylic acid (PAA) matrix. The 1D/2D hybrid fillers construct efficient attenuation pathways, while their surface functional groups act as dynamic anchoring sites to kinetically guide the reconstruction of the dual-dynamic crosslinked network across damaged interfaces. This creates an interpenetrating ”rigid island–flexible network” structure, which achieves an elongation of ≥1,700% and a shielding efficiency (SE) of 69.1 dB for a sample with a thickness of 3 mm and a density of 1.3 g/cm3. Crucially, this interfacially guided reorganization enables the autonomous recovery of >70% of its mechanical strength and >90% of its SE after damage, as validated by finite element simulations. This paradigm provides a generalizable strategy for lightweight, thin, high-strength, highly tough, and self-healing flexible electromagnetic shielding materials.

The densification and grain growth mechanism of binderless tungsten carbide (WC) during spark plasma sintering (SPS) were investigated by power-law creep and grain growth models. A comprehensive analysis of the phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of binderless WC was also implemented. The effective stress exponents (n) and grain growth exponents (m) were determined, and the isothermal densification of binderless WC was mainly controlled by grain boundary diffusion (n = 1.5) and dislocation climbing (n = 3), respectively. The corresponding apparent activation energies of densification (Qd) were calculated to be 419.87 f 57.88 kJ/mol and 920.81 f 126.53 kJ/mol. The grain growth mechanism at higher temperatures (1900-2100 degrees C) was determined to be grain boundary diffusion (m = 2). The binderless WC with well-balanced mechanical properties (HV = 2700 f 27 kgf/mm2, KIc= 8.85 f 0.12 MN/m3/2) was prepared via SPS at 1750 degrees C.

The stringent demand for long-term reliability in flexible electronics necessitates EMI shielding materials with autonomous healing capabilities. However, the inherent trade-offs among high shielding effectiveness (SE), mechanical robustness, and efficient self-healing pose a grand challenge. Herein, we propose a novel strategy by engineering dynamic interfacial anchoring sites at the filler-matrix interface, the thermodynamic reconstruction of conductive pathways can be kinetically guided to overcome healing barriers in highly filled composites. To validate this, we design a multiscale synergistic system featuring a dual-dynamic network (Fe3+-carboxyl coordination and hydrophobic association) integrated with hybrid 1D/2D conductive-magnetic fillers (CNTs/ NiCo2O4). This architecture creates a rigid islands-in-flexible network morphology, which synergistically enhances electromagnetic attenuation by achieving an ultrahigh SE of 69.1 dB and mechanical resilience achieving over 1700% elongation. Crucially, the filler surface-anchored dynamic bonds actively direct network reorganization, enabling >70% mechanical strength recovery and >90% SE restoration post-damage. These mechanisms have been rigorously validated through detailed characterization and finite element simulations. This work establishes a generalizable design paradigm for developing high-performance, self-reliant shielding systems, offering transformative potential for next-generation flexible electronics

The escalating demand for 5G/6G communication technologies requires ultra-lightweight and high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. However, biomass-derived carbon materials often suffer from intrinsically low conductivity and poor interfacial adhesion with metallic coatings. In this work, we present a mussel-inspired interfacial engineering strategy to fabricate a high-performance silver-coated wood-derived carbon composite. By utilizing polydopamine (PDA) as a universal adhesive, a continuous silver conductive network was constructed via in-situ electroless plating, transforming the interface from weak physical adsorption to robust chemical coupling.This structural design synergistically combines conductive loss from the Ag network with dielectric loss and multiple scattering within the hierarchical porous carbon matrix. Consequently, the optimized composite (LCW/Ag) achieves an exceptional EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 66.43 dB in the x-band and 104.91 dB in the Ka-band, despite possessing an ultralow density of merely 0.327 g·cm⁻3. The specific electromagnetic shielding efficiency (SSE/t) of LCW/Ag800-60 in the Ka-band is 2333 dB·cm2·g⁻1. This remarkable performance, combined with the material’s low density, results in a superior specific shielding effectiveness.Furthermore, the silver coating significantly enhances the thermal stability and corrosion resistance of the carbon scaffold. This work presents a facile, eco-friendly route to fabricate advanced biomass-derived ceramic/carbon composites, demonstrating great potential for applications in next-generation aerospace and high-frequency electronic devices.

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) is a promising matrix-free technique for small-molecule bioanalysis because of its low background signals and simple sample preparation. However, its analytical performance is still constrained by insufficient laser desorption/ionization (LDI) efficiency, poor substrate uniformity, and limited analytical throughput. In this work, we developed a high-performance SALDI-MS substrate based on patterned Au-Ag core-shell nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) arrays. Its high performance is attributed to the following factors: (1) the Au@Ag NPs integrate the strong LSPR effect of Ag and the high chemical stability of Au; (2) the Ag-shell thickness of the Au@Ag NPs was optimized based on the investigation of the "shell thickness-LSPR-LDI" relationship, thereby achieving high LDI efficiency;(3) hotspot distribution is homogenized by minimizing assembly defects through the patterned structure; and (4) the substrate is divided into independent array units, enabling multi-analyte detection on a single chip and thereby improving analytical throughput. Benefiting from these advantages, the patterned Au@Ag NPs arrays substrate provides a wide quantitative linear range (0.1-1000 mu M, R & sup2; > 0.99) and picomolar-level limits of detection for small molecules in blood. This work establishes a sensitive, repeatable, and practical SALDI-MS platform for rapid trace-level bioanalysis of small molecules.

The development of high-performance, easily tunable, and multifunctional electromagnetic materials remains a challenge in the field of microwave absorption. To address key issues such as impedance mismatch and insufficient loss capacity in absorbers, this paper proposes a dual-strategy approach based on solvent-mediated competitive coordination and reaction-driven modulation for the design and preparation, a tunable Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-67 (ZIF-67) shell was successfully constructed on the surface of flake carbonyl iron (FCI). FCI@ZIF-67-d achieves an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.37 GHz at 1.59 mm, while FCI@ZIF-67-s exhibits a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -54.00 dB at 4.48 GHz. In addition, the combination of first-principles (DFT) and electromagnetic finite element simulation techniques with experimental results has further elucidated the loss mechanism of FCI@ZIF-67. When the shell transitions from a three-dimensional (3D) dodecahedral structure to a two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet, the nanosheet shell effectively releases the π-π* bonds constrained within the 3D framework, significantly enhancing the conduction and dielectric polarization capabilities of the material. This enhancement effect strongly couples with the magnetic loss provided by the FCI core, synergistically optimizing impedance matching and attenuation mechanisms in the low-frequency range. This research provides a clear physical framework for understanding microwave absorption through dimensional control and introduces a low-temperature, frequency-customizable design strategy for advanced absorbers.

Cu-based catalysts are able to activate both CO2 and NO3- for CN coupling, enabling them with the capability to replace energy-intensive industrial urea production. However, the in situ electrochemical reconfiguration occurring at the reduction potential causes Cu0 accumulation and the imbalance of the Cu+/Cu0 ratio, resulting in a substantial decrease of their catalytic activity. In this work, CeO2-CuOx composite catalysts with a tailored Cu+/Cu0 ratio and a high concentration of oxygen vacancies (OVs) are synthesized via a one-step method. This approach leverages the synergistic effect between Ce3+/Ce4+ and OVs to mitigate the excessive accumulation of Cu0 and optimize the Cu+/Cu0 ratio. Electrochemical experiments coupled with in situ characterization demonstrate that CeO2 effectively stabilizes Cu+ species, endowing CeO2-CuOx-10% (with an optimal Cu+/Cu0 ratio of ≈2:1) with the ability to synergistically facilitate the formation of the key intermediate *NH, stabilize *CO in a highly reactive top conformation, and inhibit the competing Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER), thereby achieving efficient CN coupling. Hence, CeO2-CuOx-10% achieves remarkable urea yield of 50.14 mmol h-1 g-1 at -1.0 V (vs. Reversible Hydrogen Electrode (RHE)), and a high Faraday efficiency (FE) of 42% at -0.6 V (vs. RHE), demonstrating an excellent electrochemical performance. This work illustrates the critical role of valence scaling and defect engineering in improving the performance of electrocatalysts, which may provide new ideas for designing highly efficient CN coupling electrocatalysts.

High-value utilization of cyanobacterial bloom residues remains challenging because improper disposal may cause secondary pollution. In this study, dried cyanobacterial powder (CBP) was used as a sacrificial pore-forming template, while coal fly ash (CFA) served as the aluminosilicate precursor for fabricating open-cell porous geopolymers (OCPGs) via alkali activation. After formulation optimization, the optimal OCPG exhibited an open porosity of 64.13 ± 0.83%, a thermal conductivity of 0.138 ± 0.003 W/(m·K), and a compressive strength of 4.08 ± 0.07 MPa. Capric acid (CA) was subsequently incorporated into the optimal porous skeleton through vacuum impregnation to produce an optimized shape-stabilized phase change composite, denoted OCPG-C. CA impregnation increased the thermal conductivity from 0.138 to 0.690 W/(m·K), while OCPG–C achieved a melting latent heat of 97.7 J/g. The interconnected pore network effectively confined molten CA, resulting in a cumulative mass loss below 2% and relatively stable thermal properties within 150 thermal cycles, indicating good thermal reliability within the tested cycling range. Model-house experiments showed that walls incorporating OCPG-C attenuated indoor temperature fluctuations and maintained the maximum indoor temperature approximately 8–10 °C below the outdoor peak temperature. EnergyPlus simulations further demonstrated that inner-layer placement enhanced winter heat retention, outer-layer placement provided the strongest summer insulation, and middle-layer placement achieved the best overall year-round thermal performance. These findings demonstrate that waste cyanobacterial biomass can function as an effective sacrificial template for constructing phase-change energy-storage frameworks, providing a sustainable route for cyanobacterial waste valorization and passive thermal management in energy-efficient buildings.

To address disinfection failure associated with biofilms and disinfection-tolerant bacteria in complex aquatic environments, we constructed a MXene@CuS-CeO2 photothermal-nanozyme composite by in situ growing CuS on MXene nanosheets and anchoring CeO2 nanoparticles to form a multi-interface-coupled architecture. The material integrates stable near-infrared (NIR) photothermal performance with multi-enzyme-like catalytic activities. Under visible/NIR irradiation with trace H2O2, it synergistically generates multiple reactive oxygen species (OH, O-2(-), and O-1(2)), enabling rapid inactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and effective biofilm disruption. Colony counting confirmed that the combined photothermal, photodynamic, and chemodynamic modes achieved complete bactericidal efficiency (100%) with a synergy index (SI) > 1. Transcriptomics of S. aureus revealed coordinated perturbations in oxidative-stress defense, membrane repair, and energy metabolism, supporting ROS overload coupled with membrane damage as the dominant mechanism. In real lake water, MXene@CuS-CeO2 effectively reshaped microbial communities while maintaining high mammalian cell viability and negligible hemolysis, defining a biologically safe dosage window. This work establishes an energy-coupled disinfection paradigm integrating electron-transport channels, photothermal activation, nanozyme catalysis, and redox cycling for rapid and controllable microbial inactivation in complex water matrices.

The development of advanced platinum-alternative anode catalysts with high catalytic activity and strong CO poison tolerance is of great significance to break through the technical bottleneck of the direct methanol fuel cell. Herein, we report the spatial construction of a rhodium-decorated three-dimensional macro- and mesoporous architecture built from holey graphene and holey Ti3C2Tx MXene (Rh/HG-HMX) through a combined oxidative-etching and solvothermal coassembly process. Such an exquisite structural design not only fully exposes the internal catalytically active sites as well as improves the mass transfer efficiency of reactants and products, but also affords strong interfacial interactions between metallic Rh and HG-HMX matrix to optimize their electronic structure, thus resulting in significant synergistic catalytic effects. Accordingly, the as-derived Rh/HG-HMX architecture exhibits excellent electrocatalytic methanol oxidation abilities in terms of a large electrochemically active surface area of 171.5 m2·g-1, a high mass activity of 2082.0 mA·mg-1, and dependable long-term durability, far exceeding those of traditional graphene and MXene-supported Rh catalysts as well as commercial Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts.

Zn-doped CuSe nanosheets were electrochemically reconstructed into ZnCu alloy catalysts for the co-electroreduction of CO2 and nitrate to urea.The influence of varying Zn doping concentrations on the electrocatalytic performance was systematically investigated.The findings revealed that the CuSe nanosheets were reduced in situ to porous Cu nanosheets,generating a significant number of grain-boundary active sites.The incorporation of Zn atoms modulated the electronic structure of the ZnCu alloy.The synergistic interaction between Cu and Zn sites enhanced the adsorption of reactants and facilitated the C—N coupling reaction for urea formation.Upon optimization of Zn content,the Zn2.8Cu97.2 alloy delivered the best performance,achieving a urea yield of 2.18 µmol·h-1·cm-2 with a Faradaic efficiency of 34.7%at a low potential of-0.2 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE).The proposed electrochemical reconstruction strategy provides a robust approach for the rational design of bimetallic-site catalysts and demonstrates significant potential for future applications in electrochemical synthesis.

Metasurfaces capable of realizing complex electromagnetic responses provide new design routes to microwave absorption. The traditional optimization process for metasurface is time-consuming and computationally resource-consuming. With the help of advanced deep learning methods, the design of metasurfaces can be accelerated. In this paper, a trained residual neural network model is combined with an adjusted genetic algorithm to effectively reduce the optimization time of the metasurface pattern and structural parameters, thereby achieving a broadband effective absorption. The trained residual neural network has good prediction ability, with 99.48% of the test set samples having a loss value below 5 & times; 10-5; the adjusted genetic algorithm is more effective in searching the potential space where the metasurface pattern is located. The optimal metasurface absorber covers the frequency range from 7.83 to 18.0 GHz (EAB 10.17 GHz) with a thickness of 3.97 mm. The combination of deep neural networks and optimization algorithm provides an effective way for the fast design of metasurface absorbers.

Designing dimensionally stable anodes with high activity and stability is urgently needed, since they play important roles in the areas of chlorine evolution reaction (CER). In this study, a nitrogen-doped RuO2-TiO2/Ti (NRT) anode with enhanced CER activity and stability is developed via an easy to batch producible way, that is by in-situ modifying the coating solution through the prevalent brush coating method. Nitrogen atoms interstitially doped into the RuO2-TiO2 solid solution lattice, and help to form low valence Ti species (Ti 3 +) and oxygen vacancy active sites. This is accompanied by the decrease of CER overpotential, improvements of electrochemically active surface area and electron transfer ability for NRT electrodes. The Faraday efficiency and accelerated service life of NRT are both about twice that of RuO2-TiO2/Ti anode (RT), while the energy consumption is only half that of RT. Batch production of NRT is achieved, and NRT is applied in a portable electrochemical device, demonstrating superior water disinfection performance that can completely inactivate Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus coli by 5 min electrolysis of tap water, and remain above 99.99 % inactivating rates for up to 400 h of continuous operation. The high activity, long-term stability, as well as batch producible preparation methods enable the NRT electrodes to have great potential in chlorine evolution reaction areas.

We designed a broadband anti-reflection film of 400 to 1100 nm using the deep reinforcement learning method of long short-term memory network and proximal policy optimization (PPO). The sample preparation was carried out by electron beam evaporation. The samples were subjected to rigorous testing and characterization using a variety of analytical instruments, including a spectrophotometer, an atomic force microscope, a scanning electron microscope, and an X-ray diffractometer, among others. The experimental findings indicate that within the 400 to 1100 nm wavelength range, the mean transmittance of the samples attained 98.5%. This design method provides a more optimal approach for the fabrication of optical films.

Solar-driven thermochemical energy storage based on salt hydrates offers high energy density and long-duration storage, providing a promising route to mitigate the temporal mismatch between renewable energy supply and thermal demand. However, sluggish reaction kinetics, poor cycle stability, and low solar utilization efficiency remain long-standing challenges. Here, we demonstrate a synergistic shape-interface-channel ordering strategy that substantially enhances thermochemical energy storage performance through rational engineering of CaCl2-based pellets featuring red blood cell-mimic shape, nanoengineered hydrophilic interfaces, and hierarchical leaf veins-inspired channel networks. The optimized sample exhibits an ultrafast sorption rate coefficient of 0.03973 min-1, a high sorption capacity of 885 mg g-1, and a high energy storage density of 988.38 kJ kg-1, with only 5.65% capacity decay over 1000 cycles (~3722 h). With further assistance of high solar absorptance of 97.72%, the desorption efficiency achieves as high as 93% within 60 min under one-Sun irradiation. This work establishes a general design paradigm for thermochemical energy storage pellets based on multiscale structural ordering, offering a pathway towards scalable solar-driven thermochemical energy storage.