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Coaxial MXene-cuprammonium fiber harnesses water-compatible interfaces for reversible, durable sensing in harsh amphibious dry-wet environments.

Interfacial adhesion adjustment enables liquid metal printing on varied substrates for stretchable circuits, 3D electronics and sensor applications.

Heterostructure fillers are crucial for enhancing the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of composites, and the core lies in the regulation of their morphology. Inspired by the radial structures on marimo surfaces during growth, we propose a bioinspired heterostructure assembly strategy to fabricate novel marimo-like hollow spherical reduced graphene oxide (hs-rGO)@nickel-catalyzed nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Ni-NCNTs) and their corresponding polyimide aerogels. Benefiting from the synergistic design of multilevel porous architectures formed by the hollow microspheres in combination with the aerogel matrix, as well as radially aligned Ni-NCNTs epitaxially grown on hs-rGO surfaces, the resulting aerogels exhibit exceptional EMI shielding effectiveness, reaching up to 68 dB. Finite element simulations further elucidate the shielding mechanisms. Additionally, these aerogels exhibit rapid, durable pressure-sensing performance due to their excellent resilience and conductivity. The multifunctional combination of high-efficiency EMI shielding and mechanical sensing highlights their promising potential in next-generation intelligent electronics, aerospace systems, and advanced communication technologies.

Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes featuring nanovoid-containing polyamide (PA) layers on supportive nanofiber substrates represent a significant advancement in desalination technology. However, the separation performance of TFC membranes hinges critically on the nanoscale thickness of the PA layers and their distinctive ridge-and-valley roughness. This complex morphology is a direct result of interfacial instability arising during the highly exothermic interfacial polymerization (IP), where heat generation drives non-uniform PA layer growth. To mitigate these instabilities that adversely affect the overall membrane performance, thermally conductive MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x) nanosheets are spray-coated onto the supportive polymeric substrates before initiating the IP process. The MXene-coated substrate significantly improves the surface morphology of the PA layer, reducing its thickness to 18 nm and minimizing nanovoid formation due to the effective lateral heat dissipation by the Ti₃C₂T_x MXene interlayer. These interlayers regulate monomer diffusion via hydrogen bonding and covalent interactions, ensuring uniform polymerization and defect-free PA layers. The optimized Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-interlayered TFC membrane exhibits a more than two-fold increase in the water flux, exceeding that of commercial membranes, while significantly improving ion rejection. This study highlights the significant impact of substrate thermal conductivity on desalination efficiency, enabling the development of smooth and efficient PA nanofilms for high-performance desalination through the tailored design of interlayered TFC membranes.

The slow kinetics and irreversibility of Li₂S deposition and dissolution during the sulfur reduction/evolution reactions (SRR/SER) hinder the fast-charging and high-rate capabilities of lithium–sulfur (Li/S) batteries. To address this challenge, we design a zirconia membrane reactor (ZMR) composed of ZrO₂/N-doped carbon nanofibers (ZONC) to kinetically regulate the interfacial reversible conversion of Li₂S. Electrochemical measurements, in situ x-ray diffraction, and density functional theory calculations are employed to investigate the confinement catalysis of ZMR and elucidate the Li₂S activation mechanism for enhanced rate performance and cycling stability. Operating at the cathode side, the ZMR enables the Li/S cell to deliver an initial discharge specific capacity of 1460.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C (corresponding to a sulfur utilization of approximately 87.2%), a high-rate capability of 931.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 C, and a capacity retention of 91.0% after 200 cycles at 3 C. Moreover, when a sandwich configuration module (ZMR-S-ZMR) is fabricated to support a high-sulfur-loading cathode, the resulting Li/S coin cell with a sulfur loading of 12.0 mg cm⁻² achieves a remarkable areal capacity of 8.6 mAh cm⁻² and 94.2% capacity retention after 90 cycles at 0.1 C (2.2 mA).

Layered vanadium-based oxides have emerged as promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacity, multivalent vanadium species, and low cost. However, their practical development has been hindered by limitations such as narrow interlayer spacing and structural instability. To address these challenges, we successfully generated oxygen vacancies by a one-step hydrothermal method, and simultaneously inserted benzyltrimethylammonium organic cations (TMBA⁺) into the interlayers of V₂O₅ to obtain a VOH-TMBA⁺ composite electrode material, realizing the dual-strategy modification of V₂O₅. In the resulting VOH-TMBA⁺, oxygen vacancies and TMBA⁺ synergistically expand the interlayer spacing from 6.84 to 13.8 Å, stabilize the layered framework, and modulate the local atomic coordination and electronic structure. This “structural-electronic” dual regulation endows VOH-TMBA⁺ with a high specific capacity of 417.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2 A g⁻¹ and exceptional cycling stability (90.7% capacity retention after 7000 cycles at 10.0 A g⁻¹). In-situ XRD/Raman and ex-situ XPS/SEM characterizations clarify that the VOH-TMBA⁺ electrode is an energy storage mechanism based on H⁺/Zn²⁺ co-insertion/extraction. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations demonstrated that the conductivity of VOH-TMBA⁺ is further enhanced, while the reduction of electrostatic interactions facilitates the transfer of Zn²⁺. This work provides a generalizable strategy for engineering layered metal oxides through collaborative structural and electronic modulation, offering perspectives for designing high-performance cathode materials in AZIBs.

This study introduces a multifunctional coordination approach to enhance wide bandgap (WBG) tin (Sn) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by incorporating a naturally derived Vitamin H (Biotin) complex into the perovskite precursor. The Biotin complex exhibits strong chemical interaction with Sn²⁺ via its ureido ring (CO, NH), valeric acid chain (COO⁻), and tetrahydrothiophene (SC) functionalities. This multidentate interaction further helps to regulate crystal growth kinetics, resulting in compact, pinhole-free films with enhanced surface homogeneity. Furthermore, Biotin effectively passivates uncoordinated Sn sites, mitigates Sn²⁺ oxidation, and suppresses antisite defects, thereby reducing non-radiative recombination and ion migration. As a result, the optimized device demonstrates a record-high power conversion efficiency of 12.8% (independently certified at 12.5%) and an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 1.03 V for WBG Sn PSCs. Notably, the device exhibits outstanding ambient stability, retaining almost 80% of its initial efficiency after 1460 h of storage without encapsulation, highlighting the potential of the Biotin complex for high-performance and durable lead-free perovskite photovoltaics.

Hydrogen production via water electrolysis offers a sustainable pathway to decarbonize energy systems, yet the development of cost-effective, efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting (OWS) still remains a critical challenge. Current catalysts often rely on complex multiphase heterostructures to optimize oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER/HER), but their intricate designs increase costs and hinder scalability. Here, we present a single-phase bifunctional electrocatalyst, CaCu₃Co₂Ru₂O₁₂ (CCCRO), which exhibited exceptional performance for OWS in alkaline conditions, specifically, 1.536 V at 10 mA cm⁻² and 1.629 V at 100 mA cm⁻², along with 500 h of operational stability at a current density of 100 mA cm⁻². In situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) revealed the valence-state transition from Cu²⁺/Co³⁺/Ru⁵⁺ to Cu²⁺/Co^3.5+/Ru^5.5+ during OER, but both valence state reduction and structural reconstruction into a CuCoRu nanoalloy occurred under HER conditions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that synergistic effects among Cu, Co, and Ru ions enhance catalytic activities for both OER and HER. This work demonstrates that structurally simple yet compositionally tuned oxides can surpass complex catalysts in both the efficiency and durability of OWS, offering a scalable design paradigm for advancing green hydrogen technologies.

The simple solution processing of perovskite materials, combined with the high efficiency potential of tandem structures and the mature silicon infrastructure, makes perovskite/silicon tandems highly attractive for advancing cost-effective and high-performance photovoltaic technologies. In recent years, lots of work has been reported in improving device efficiency and enhancing long-term stability by optimizing the hole transport layer (HTL). In this perspective, we outline the limitations of conventional hole transport materials used for wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite subcells in tandem devices. We then briefly summarize the development of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (PS-TSCs) and highlight the landmark breakthroughs. Finally, we emphatically discuss and comment on the application and challenge of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in perovskite/silicon tandems. We hope this perspective will enable researchers to have a clearer understanding of recent research based on perovskite/silicon tandem and inspire more meaningful work in the future.

The precise construction of dual active sites has been uncovered for the electroreduction of C- and N-based precursors to synthesize urea. However, these strategies often face adsorption scaling constraints and spatial restrictions that hinder C–N coupling, resulting in suboptimal activity and selectivity. Here, we showcase a dynamically reversible evolution between vicinal Fe/Cu diatoms and alloy-like Fe–Cu sites, enabling cascade protonation and efficient C–N coupling. This approach markedly enhances urea electrosynthesis from CO₂ and NO₃⁻, achieving an ultrahigh urea yield of 2421.2 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹, Faraday efficiency (FE) of 70.4%, and C-selectivity of 96.7%, surpassing state-of-the-art dual-site electrocatalysts. Operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that neighboring Fe/Cu diatoms facilitate the selective adsorption and hydrogenation of NO₃⁻ and CO₂ into the key intermediates (*NO and *CO). Furthermore, alloy-like Fe–Cu sites, formed in situ due to declined metal surface free energy driven by electron transfer, facilitate C–N coupling and subsequent protonation to selectively produce urea, while dynamically reverting to vicinal Fe/Cu diatoms. This work provides new insights into the relay catalytic strategy for urea electrosynthesis by modulating the dynamic atomic-scale evolution of active sites.