Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02034-8
Practical application of portable, mechanical-energy-driven water disinfection technologies has, to date, been limited. Now, a portable, disinfection system is developed based on the generation of a nanoscale interfacial electric field through manual agitation. The system can achieve 99.9999% inactivation of Vibrio cholerae within 1 min and demonstrates broad-spectrum disinfection against various pathogens.
{"title":"Interfacial electric fields for portable, electricity-free water disinfection","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02034-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02034-8","url":null,"abstract":"Practical application of portable, mechanical-energy-driven water disinfection technologies has, to date, been limited. Now, a portable, disinfection system is developed based on the generation of a nanoscale interfacial electric field through manual agitation. The system can achieve 99.9999% inactivation of Vibrio cholerae within 1 min and demonstrates broad-spectrum disinfection against various pathogens.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"20 12","pages":"1727-1728"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145545160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02049-1
Costanza Toninelli
Two molecules coupled to independent waveguides emit indistinguishable photons and the number of accessible pairs is ready for scaling up.
耦合到独立波导上的两个分子发射出难以区分的光子，并且可访问的光子对的数量已经准备好扩大。
{"title":"Record high visibility of two-photon interference from distinct molecules on a chip","authors":"Costanza Toninelli","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02049-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02049-1","url":null,"abstract":"Two molecules coupled to independent waveguides emit indistinguishable photons and the number of accessible pairs is ready for scaling up.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"20 12","pages":"1717-1718"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145545161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02059-z
Yun Song, Charles B. Musgrave III, Jianjun Su, Libei Huang, Weihua Guo, Yong Liu, Geng Li, Yinger Xin, Qiang Zhang, Xing Feng, Can Liao, Shunjie Liu, Ryan Tsz Kin Kwok, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Mingming He, Kai Shen Choong, Zhenxing Feng, Ben Zhong Tang, William A. Goddard III, Ruquan Ye
Electrosynthesis of value-added chemicals in strong acids can mitigate carbon loss and the operational cost of CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). However, molecular catalysis for CO2RR is typically conducted in neutral or alkaline environments. CO2RR in acidic media is challenged by the scarcity of catalyst candidates, competitive hydrogen evolution and slow product formation. Here we report a locally ionic yet simultaneously hydrophobic and aerophilic layered structure that modulates the microenvironment surrounding cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecular catalysts, enabling efficient, multielectron CO2RR in acidic media. Experiment and theoretical modelling reveal that the polarized electrostatic field arising from the cationic groups suppresses hydronium migration. Concurrently, the van der Waals forces between the reactant gas and alkyl groups improve local CO availability, combining to achieve a methanol partial current density of 132 mA cm−2 with 62% selectivity at a pH of ~1 and –1.37 VRHE for CoPc, exceeding previous reports on neutral or alkaline electrolytes. The improved CO coverage also enables the detection of *CHO and *CO intermediates from in situ spectroscopy. We validate our strategy on various molecules, which champion the efficient inhibition of hydrogen evolution and improved CO2RR partial current density in acidic media. CoPc-based layered structure with similar ionic, hydrophobic and aerophilic interfaces also yields comparable methanol productivity. Multielectron molecular CO2 reduction in acid is challenged by weak CO binding and competing hydrogen evolution. Here a methanol Faradaic efficiency of 62% is achieved in acid by tuning the microenvironment with cationic, hydrophobic and aerophilic layers.
在强酸中电合成增值化学品可以减少碳损失和二氧化碳还原反应（CO2RR）的运行成本。然而，CO2RR的分子催化通常在中性或碱性环境中进行。CO2RR在酸性介质中受到催化剂候选物稀缺、竞争性析氢和缓慢产物形成的挑战。在这里，我们报道了一种局部离子但同时疏水和亲气的层状结构，该结构调节了酞菁钴（CoPc）分子催化剂周围的微环境，使酸性介质中高效的多电子CO2RR成为可能。实验和理论模型表明，阳离子基产生的极化静电场抑制了水合氢离子的迁移。同时，反应物气体和烷基之间的范德华力提高了局部CO的可用性，使CoPc在pH为~1和-1.37 VRHE时的偏电流密度达到132 mA cm - 2，选择性为62%，超过了之前关于中性或碱性电解质的报道。改进的CO覆盖范围也使原位光谱检测*CHO和*CO中间体成为可能。我们在各种分子上验证了我们的策略，这些策略支持在酸性介质中有效抑制析氢和提高CO2RR偏电流密度。基于copc的层状结构具有相似的离子、疏水和亲气界面，也产生相当的甲醇生产率。酸中的多电子分子CO2还原受到弱CO结合和竞争性析氢的挑战。在这里，通过调整带有阳离子、疏水和亲氧层的微环境，在酸中实现了62%的甲醇法拉第效率。
{"title":"Efficient CO2-to-methanol electrocatalysis in acidic media via microenvironment-tuned cobalt phthalocyanine","authors":"Yun Song, Charles B. Musgrave III, Jianjun Su, Libei Huang, Weihua Guo, Yong Liu, Geng Li, Yinger Xin, Qiang Zhang, Xing Feng, Can Liao, Shunjie Liu, Ryan Tsz Kin Kwok, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Mingming He, Kai Shen Choong, Zhenxing Feng, Ben Zhong Tang, William A. Goddard III, Ruquan Ye","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02059-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02059-z","url":null,"abstract":"Electrosynthesis of value-added chemicals in strong acids can mitigate carbon loss and the operational cost of CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). However, molecular catalysis for CO2RR is typically conducted in neutral or alkaline environments. CO2RR in acidic media is challenged by the scarcity of catalyst candidates, competitive hydrogen evolution and slow product formation. Here we report a locally ionic yet simultaneously hydrophobic and aerophilic layered structure that modulates the microenvironment surrounding cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecular catalysts, enabling efficient, multielectron CO2RR in acidic media. Experiment and theoretical modelling reveal that the polarized electrostatic field arising from the cationic groups suppresses hydronium migration. Concurrently, the van der Waals forces between the reactant gas and alkyl groups improve local CO availability, combining to achieve a methanol partial current density of 132 mA cm−2 with 62% selectivity at a pH of ~1 and –1.37 VRHE for CoPc, exceeding previous reports on neutral or alkaline electrolytes. The improved CO coverage also enables the detection of *CHO and *CO intermediates from in situ spectroscopy. We validate our strategy on various molecules, which champion the efficient inhibition of hydrogen evolution and improved CO2RR partial current density in acidic media. CoPc-based layered structure with similar ionic, hydrophobic and aerophilic interfaces also yields comparable methanol productivity. Multielectron molecular CO2 reduction in acid is challenged by weak CO binding and competing hydrogen evolution. Here a methanol Faradaic efficiency of 62% is achieved in acid by tuning the microenvironment with cationic, hydrophobic and aerophilic layers.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"21 1","pages":"78-86"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145531526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02056-2
Demid V. Sychev, Peigang Chen, Yuheng Chen, Morris Yang, Colton Fruhling, Alexei Lagutchev, Alexander V. Kildishev, Alexandra Boltasseva, Vladimir M. Shalaev
The distinctive characteristics of light, such as high-speed and low-loss propagation, low crosstalk and low power consumption, along with the unique quantum properties of photons, make it most suitable for various applications in communications, high-resolution imaging, optical computing and quantum information technologies. One limiting factor, however, is the weak optical nonlinearity of conventional media, which poses challenges for controlling light at ultralow intensities. Here we demonstrate all-optical modulation of the refractive index enabled by the electron avalanche process in silicon using a control beam with single-photon light intensities. The observed process corresponds to an extremely high nonlinear refractive index of $${n}_{2}approx 1.3times {10}^{-2},{{rm{m}}}^{2},{{rm{W}}}^{-1}$$ , which is several orders of magnitude higher than those of the best-known nonlinear optical materials. Using single photons for light modulation opens the possibility of gigahertz-frequency—and potentially even faster—optical switching for on-chip photonic and quantum devices operating at room temperature. Electron avalanche multiplication can enable an all-optical modulator controlled by single photons.
{"title":"All-optical modulation with single photons using an electron avalanche","authors":"Demid V. Sychev, Peigang Chen, Yuheng Chen, Morris Yang, Colton Fruhling, Alexei Lagutchev, Alexander V. Kildishev, Alexandra Boltasseva, Vladimir M. Shalaev","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02056-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02056-2","url":null,"abstract":"The distinctive characteristics of light, such as high-speed and low-loss propagation, low crosstalk and low power consumption, along with the unique quantum properties of photons, make it most suitable for various applications in communications, high-resolution imaging, optical computing and quantum information technologies. One limiting factor, however, is the weak optical nonlinearity of conventional media, which poses challenges for controlling light at ultralow intensities. Here we demonstrate all-optical modulation of the refractive index enabled by the electron avalanche process in silicon using a control beam with single-photon light intensities. The observed process corresponds to an extremely high nonlinear refractive index of $${n}_{2}approx 1.3times {10}^{-2},{{rm{m}}}^{2},{{rm{W}}}^{-1}$$ , which is several orders of magnitude higher than those of the best-known nonlinear optical materials. Using single photons for light modulation opens the possibility of gigahertz-frequency—and potentially even faster—optical switching for on-chip photonic and quantum devices operating at room temperature. Electron avalanche multiplication can enable an all-optical modulator controlled by single photons.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"21 1","pages":"71-77"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145531527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aqueous zinc metal batteries are ideal candidates for grid storage applications. However, their practical application is hindered by a narrow operating temperature range and a limited electrolyte electrochemical stability window, both of which can be attributed to the water activity. Here, to minimize water activity in the electrolyte solution, we introduce a nanoengineered approach in which the water molecules are confined within a hydrophilic–hydrophobic water solvation sheath. The hydrogen-bond interaction with the hydrophilic groups in the inner solvation layer effectively suppresses water decomposition, and the hydrophobic solvents in the outer solvation layer establish a repulsive effect against water molecules. As a proof of concept, a hydrophobic and non-polar hydrofluoroether cosolvent is introduced into a Zn-ion aqueous electrolyte solution and tested together with various fluorinated hydrotrope molecules to favour the compatibility of the cosolvent with water. By such a water confinement strategy, an average Zn plating/stripping reversibility of 99.92% is achieved for over 4,000 cycles at 2.0 mA cm−2 and 2.0 mAh cm−2 in a Zn||Cu coin cell configuration. When tested in a Zn||VOPO4·2H2O lab-scale cell configuration, the selected aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid electrolyte solution enables long-lasting and highly reversible battery performance across temperatures from −80 °C to +60 °C. Aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid liquid electrolyte solutions enable overcoming the electrochemical stability window and operational temperature limits of aqueous electrolyte solutions in secondary zinc-based batteries, also improving the battery performance.
含水锌金属电池是电网存储应用的理想选择。然而，它们的实际应用受到较窄的工作温度范围和有限的电解质电化学稳定窗口的阻碍，这两者都可以归因于水活性。在这里，为了最小化电解质溶液中的水活性，我们引入了一种纳米工程方法，其中水分子被限制在亲疏水的水溶剂化鞘中。氢键与内溶剂化层亲水性基团的相互作用有效抑制了水的分解，外溶剂化层的疏水溶剂对水分子建立了排斥作用。作为概念验证，将疏水和非极性氢氟醚共溶剂引入锌离子水溶液电解质中，并与各种含氟的水分子一起测试，以支持助溶剂与水的相容性。通过这种水约束策略，在锌||铜硬币电池结构中，在2.0 mA cm - 2和2.0 mAh cm - 2下，平均镀锌/剥离可逆性达到99.92%，超过4000次循环。当在Zn|| voo4·2H2O实验室规模的电池配置中进行测试时，所选的水-水混合电解质溶液在−80°C至+60°C的温度范围内具有持久和高度可逆的电池性能。水-疏水混合电解质溶液能够克服二次锌基电池中水溶液的电化学稳定窗口和工作温度限制，提高电池性能。
{"title":"Nanoengineered aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid liquid electrolyte solutions for efficient zinc batteries across a wide temperature range","authors":"Xueying Zheng, Haotian Zhu, Zhongqiang Wang, Hua Yang, Ruhong Li, Wei Luo, Wang Hay Kan, Yiming Dai, Haikuo Zhang, Jinze Wang, Huilin Cui, Xiulin Fan, Chunyi Zhi, Yunhui Huang","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02060-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02060-6","url":null,"abstract":"Aqueous zinc metal batteries are ideal candidates for grid storage applications. However, their practical application is hindered by a narrow operating temperature range and a limited electrolyte electrochemical stability window, both of which can be attributed to the water activity. Here, to minimize water activity in the electrolyte solution, we introduce a nanoengineered approach in which the water molecules are confined within a hydrophilic–hydrophobic water solvation sheath. The hydrogen-bond interaction with the hydrophilic groups in the inner solvation layer effectively suppresses water decomposition, and the hydrophobic solvents in the outer solvation layer establish a repulsive effect against water molecules. As a proof of concept, a hydrophobic and non-polar hydrofluoroether cosolvent is introduced into a Zn-ion aqueous electrolyte solution and tested together with various fluorinated hydrotrope molecules to favour the compatibility of the cosolvent with water. By such a water confinement strategy, an average Zn plating/stripping reversibility of 99.92% is achieved for over 4,000 cycles at 2.0 mA cm−2 and 2.0 mAh cm−2 in a Zn||Cu coin cell configuration. When tested in a Zn||VOPO4·2H2O lab-scale cell configuration, the selected aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid electrolyte solution enables long-lasting and highly reversible battery performance across temperatures from −80 °C to +60 °C. Aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid liquid electrolyte solutions enable overcoming the electrochemical stability window and operational temperature limits of aqueous electrolyte solutions in secondary zinc-based batteries, also improving the battery performance.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"21 1","pages":"95-105"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145531934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-14DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02077-x
Guoming Gao, Emily R. Sumrall, Nils G. Walter
{"title":"Nanoscale domains govern local diffusion and ageing within fused-in-sarcoma condensates","authors":"Guoming Gao, Emily R. Sumrall, Nils G. Walter","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02077-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02077-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"170 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":38.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145510031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-13DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02095-9
Metal–organic frameworks are transitioning from laboratory curiosity to industrially viable materials driven by extensive community efforts to enhance their functionality and stability, and by breakthroughs in large-scale manufacturing.
{"title":"Metal–organic frameworks for the future","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02095-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02095-9","url":null,"abstract":"Metal–organic frameworks are transitioning from laboratory curiosity to industrially viable materials driven by extensive community efforts to enhance their functionality and stability, and by breakthroughs in large-scale manufacturing.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"20 11","pages":"1539-1539"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-02095-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145513530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-13DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02051-7
Yi Hou
An optimized gold nanolayer drives record efficiency in perovskite triple-junction solar cells, bringing laboratory performance closer to theoretical limits.
优化的金纳米层驱动钙钛矿三结太阳能电池的创纪录效率，使实验室性能更接近理论极限。
{"title":"Interface engineering in triple-junction perovskite solar cells","authors":"Yi Hou","doi":"10.1038/s41565-025-02051-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41565-025-02051-7","url":null,"abstract":"An optimized gold nanolayer drives record efficiency in perovskite triple-junction solar cells, bringing laboratory performance closer to theoretical limits.","PeriodicalId":18915,"journal":{"name":"Nature nanotechnology","volume":"21 1","pages":"13-14"},"PeriodicalIF":34.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145498214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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