Materials Horizons最新文献

This work describes an electrochemical biosensor using iron-doped copper nitride (Cu₃N-Fe) nanostructures for the rapid detection of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a key metabolic biomarker released by cancer cells. The sensor, prepared by drop-casting the nanocomposite onto a glassy carbon electrode, shows high electrocatalytic activity towards H₂O₂ oxidation, with a wide linear range from 0.01 mM to 1 M and a detection limit of 9.8 µM. The sensor successfully differentiated multiple cancer cell lines from non-cancerous controls and was clinically validated using 28 cancer patient tissue samples, distinguishing cancerous from adjacent normal tissues with approximately 90% accuracy. A strong positive correlation was established between the response of the sensor and the expression levels of formyl peptide receptor-1 in the cancer tissues, which validates the sensing mechanism. This work shows the potential of Cu₃N-Fe as a material for developing cost-effective, point-of-care diagnostic tools for rapid, qualitative cancer screening.

The global pursuit of carbon neutrality demands transformative clean energy solutions, with advanced energy storage materials at the forefront. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), owing to their tunable porosity, ultrahigh surface areas, and adaptable physicochemical properties, have rapidly risen as promising building blocks for next-generation electrochemical energy storage. Beyond pristine MOFs, engineered composites and derivatives now showcase remarkable multifunctionality, enabling improved performance in diverse battery systems. Despite this progress, significant barriers remain in translating laboratory success into practical deployment. This review provides a systematic overview of recent advances in MOF-based materials, highlighting their evolving roles as electrodes and separators in Li/Na/K-ion, Li/Na/K-S, and Zn-ion batteries. We classify design strategies by battery type, critically assess electrochemical performance, and dissect the structure-property-function relationships that underpin device operation. Finally, we outline the central challenges-stability, scalability, and interface engineering-while offering forward-looking perspectives on how to bridge these gaps. By integrating state-of-the-art progress with future opportunities, this review seeks to inspire innovative material design and accelerate the realization of sustainable MOF-based energy storage technologies.

Designing functional sites with well-defined and directional photocatalytic activities is crucial for efficiently utilizing spatially separated photogenerated charge carriers and achieving high photocatalytic performance. Herein, inspired by natural photosynthesis, we successfully developed a series of phosphonic acid functionalized polyoxo-titanium clusters. We uncover the pivotal role of strategically positioning noncovalent interactions surrounding the catalytic center in regulating the CO₂ reduction performance. Remarkably, introducing amino groups in synergy with proton-rich phosphate moieties near the cobalt-nitrogen active site leads to a six-fold enhancement in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction activity. Among them, the modified cluster NH₂-BQTiCo delivers an exceptional CO₂ photoreduction performance under visible light, achieving a CO production rate as high as 1456 µmol g^-1 h^-1. Combining experimental results with DFT calculations reveals that strong intermolecular hydrogen-bonding traction around the catalytical center can significantly strengthen CO₂ adsorption and facilitate a smoother activation pathway. This work highlights a biomimetic design strategy to optimize electron delocalization within polyoxo-titanium clusters, thereby promoting efficient intramolecular charge transfer and advancing high-performance CO₂ photoreduction.

Wireless technology advances exacerbate electromagnetic interference challenges, fueling the demand for microwave absorption (MA) materials with broadband compatibility and adaptive tunability. This work proposes a dual-layer intelligent broadband MA composite. The upper and lower layers exhibit complementary microwave loss characteristics across the frequency spectrum. Synergistically, this ensures high-efficiency MA that seamlessly covers the entire 2-18 GHz band. Specifically, the dual-layer structure utilizes carbonyl iron powder (CIP)/boron nitride (BN) and FeSiAl/BN/vanadium dioxide (VO₂) composite powders, prepared via plasma ball milling, for the upper-layer and lower-layer absorbers, respectively. The BN coating modulates the dielectric properties of the composite powders. As a result, the upper layer, featuring a lower characteristic impedance, primarily attenuates X/Ku-band microwaves, while the lower layer, with a higher characteristic impedance, is designed to absorb S/C-band microwaves. Strong magnetic loss from CIP in the X/Ku band and FeSiAl in the S/C band further enhances layer-specific MA within their target frequency ranges. Ultimately, this structure achieved an ultra-wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of up to 13.49 GHz at a thickness of 3.70 mm. Compared with the application of a single magnetic absorber, it demonstrated a 48% enhancement in EAB. Additionally, the VO₂ enables dynamic Ku-band MA modulation through insulator-to-metal transition, yielding a maximum tunable EAB range (ΔEAB) of 8.35 GHz. A dynamic poly(urethane urea) matrix enables the composite to achieve adhesive-free layer assembly through self-healing. Thus, this composite is promising for applications in 5G/6G telecommunications, multi-band radar and health-monitoring flexible devices.

As the annual volume of data production exceeds tens of zettabytes, there is increasing interest in developing non-volatile materials for next-generation memory technologies. Among them, HfO₂-based fluorite-structured ferroelectrics have emerged as leading candidates due to their ability to maintain ferroelectric properties even at thicknesses below 10 nm and their compatibility with conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes. However, the inherently large depolarisation field induced by the ultra-thin film nature makes it challenging to achieve the over 10-year data retention required for practical memory applications. In this study, we identify that retention degradation originates from the tail region of the polarisation switching distribution and demonstrate that Lorentz-tail engineering can substantially enhance retention performance. Accelerated retention tests show that the engineered ferroelectric HZO retains over 93% of its polarisation after a projected 10 years, thus contributing to the advancement of HfO₂-based ferroelectrics for memory device applications.

Planar, carbon-electrode-based perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) without a hole transport layer (HTL) are highly attractive due to their simple fabrication, low cost, and scalability. However, their performance is often limited by inefficient physical and electrical contact at the perovskite/carbon interface, which impedes hole extraction and promotes charge recombination. This study introduces a pre-engineered, multifunctional interlayer for HTL-free C-PSCs utilizing tetrabutylammonium ion (TBA⁺)-intercalated black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs). The TBA⁺ intercalation during synthesis pre-engineers the BPQDs with enhanced conductivity, a raised valence band maximum (-5.27 eV), and defect-passivation capabilities. This creates a favorable cascade energy-level alignment between the perovskite absorber (-5.5 eV) and the carbon electrode (-5.0 eV), thereby facilitating efficient hole extraction. The BPQDs interlayer also ensures seamless perovskite/carbon contact, promoting interfacial charge transfer. Additionally, TBA⁺ ions released from BPQDs effectively passivate defects on the perovskite surface, suppressing nonradiative recombination. Consequently, the optimized devices achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.08%, which is 24.1% and 11.9% higher than that of control devices without an interlayer (13.76%) and with a pristine BPQDs interlayer (15.26%), respectively. Furthermore, the encapsulated devices demonstrate improved operational stability, retaining 89.1% of their initial PCE after 360 hours under 1-sun illumination at 85 °C and 85% relative humidity.

The pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass yields biochar consisting of high-carbon scaffolds bearing a variety of functional groups. As produced, the biochar is mechanically fragile and lacks the structural cohesion needed for making structural materials. To enhance both its chemical stability and mechanical strength, elemental sulfur is here introduced to induce a vulcanization reaction with biochar. Heating a biochar-sulfur (BS) mixture up to 185 °C under pressure induces effective crosslinking within the carbon network of biochar, a reaction attributed to free-radical sulfur polymerization and addition to functional groups attached to the carbon network of biochar. The synthesis method yields a crosslinked biochar with markedly enhanced mechanical strength. Depending on the synthesis conditions, the compressive strength and Young's modulus can reach values between 22-382.5 MPa and 6-165 GPa, respectively. With the density of only 1.4 g cm^-3, the mechanical properties of the best synthesized materials closely match that of structural steel. The BS materials can potentially be used as sustainable materials in parts and products for human infrastructure and transport. Alternatively, this method may also provide an alternative pathway for biomass-derived carbon storage contributing to climate change mitigation.

The morphology and chain orientation of conjugated polymer films strongly influence their charge transport properties. In this study, we investigate the solution crystallization behavior of semiconducting polymers in nanoconfinement generated using 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (sym-TCB), a solvent additive that crystallizes at room-temperature. Solutions of a diketopyrrolopyrrole-bithiophene (pDPPBT) copolymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and other polymers were prepared in chloroform with varying concentrations of sym-TCB. Upon film casting, sym-TCB crystals directed the growth of polymer domains, resulting in spherulitic morphologies replicated from the solvent crystals. pDPPBT films exhibited predominantly edge-on chain orientation at the dielectric interface, whereas P3HT showed bimodal orientation: face-on alignment near the top film surface via epitaxial crystallization and edge-on alignment at the bottom interface. This crystallization behavior was also observed in other conjugated polymer systems. Notably, pDPPBT films with conductive domains templating the solvent crystals significantly enhanced field-effect mobility (∼5.60 cm² V^-1 s^-1), outperforming control films with randomly aligned fibrillar domains (1.60-2.40 cm² V^-1 s^-1). These findings demonstrate that solvent crystal-induced nanoconfinement enables precise control over multiscale polymer ordering, offering an effective strategy to enhance charge transport in organic thin-film transistors.

Electrolyte optimization is recognized as a critical strategy for enhancing both the long-term cycling stability and safety performance of lithium-ion batteries. Modified electrolytes must possess the following critical properties, including suppressed decomposition reactions, reduced viscosity at low temperatures, and enhanced ionic transport capabilities, while ensuring compatibility with high-voltage cathodes and optimizing the formation of both solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) and cathode electrolyte interphases (CEI). With the inherent limitations of traditional carbonate-based systems, emerging solvents including fluorinated, ether, sulfone and siloxane-based solvents demonstrate significant potential due to their intrinsic safety and wide temperature adaptability. Fluorinated solvents reduce the formation of lithium dendrites to improve safety, and ether-based solvents have low viscosity and excellent low-temperature performance for extreme environments, while sulfone and siloxane-based solvents exhibit excellent thermal stability and interfacial compatibility to extend cell longevity, respectively. Through synergistic molecular design and experimental optimization, such advanced electrolyte systems not only underpin the development of high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries but also establish the basis for breakthroughs in energy storage technology, especially in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and operation under extreme conditions. Future research should prioritize innovations in high-performance electrolytes that will accelerate the progress of the global energy transition and contribute to carbon neutrality objectives.

Correction for ‘Shape programming of liquid crystal elastomers by two-stage wavelength-selective photopolymerization’ by Tom Bruining et al., Mater. Horiz., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MH01907A.