Cell Reports Physical Science最新文献

Ammonia (NH₃), touted as a promising hydrogen carrier, has received increasing attention. However, the technoeconomic prospects of comprehensive conversion of hydrogen to ammonia and ammonia to hydrogen (H₂-NH₃-H₂) are unclear, and the approach to ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion has not yet reached the full commercialization stage. In this work, we perform a technoeconomic analysis of a H₂-NH₃-H₂ conversion system, including synthesis, storage and transportation, and ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion, where we particularly compared thermal ammonia cracking with ammonia electrolysis. We find that ammonia electrolysis has a significant economic advantage thanks to its low energy consumption and capital cost. With this as motivation, we develop an energy-efficient and durable ammonia electrolyzer with an energy consumption of 0.84 kWh Nm⁻³ H₂ and a continuous operation for 317 h at 100 mA cm⁻². In addition, we also innovate a tandem cell to produce hydrogen without any electric power supply by coupling fuel-cell and electrolysis technologies.

Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) translocation is considered a hallmark event of cellular apoptosis. The development of non-invasive multi-modality probes targeting PE for apoptosis detection holds great promise. Here, we develop a dual-modality imaging probe, duramycin-Fluc-AuNRs (DFA), for detecting apoptosis in tumor cells. DFA is created by linking duramycin peptide and firefly luciferase (Fluc) recombinant protein to gold nanorods (AuNRs). Duramycin exhibits high affinity for PE, while Fluc produces a robust bioluminescence signal, and AuNRs enhance imaging resolution through photoacoustic conversion. The DFA probe demonstrates low toxicity in both cells and mice, showcasing its potential for in vivo applications. In A549 and 4T1 cell lines, the bioluminescence signal of the DFA probe increases with the degree of doxorubicin (Dox)-induced apoptosis. At the mouse level, mice with Dox-triggered apoptosis exhibit higher bioluminescence and photoacoustic imaging signals. Thus, this dual-modality bioluminescence/photoacoustic imaging platform holds significant potential for detecting cellular apoptosis and providing high-performance imaging information.

Fog water harvesting offers a solution to water scarcity. Here, we introduce a method to enhance fog water harvesting systems utilizing electrospun yarns featuring a wettability gradient. These yarns, made from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), gain photoinduced hydrophilicity under UV light due to TiO₂ photocatalytic properties, allowing dynamic shifts from hydrophobic to hydrophilic states. Experiments show that an alternating PVDF-TiO₂ harp with a wettability gradient surpasses purely hydrophobic or hydrophilic versions in fog collection. The strategic mix of hydrophobic and hydrophilic sections enhances droplet movement and water capture, achieving a 16% increase in collection rate up to 400 mg cm⁻² h⁻¹. This approach introduces a novel method for creating wettability gradients in electrospun yarns via UV irradiation and represents a significant advancement in adaptable fog water harvesting systems.

Conductive hydrogels with remarkable flexibility and sensitivity have attracted substantial attention as a potential material for the construction philosophy of wearable electronics. Nevertheless, the development of high-performance hydrogels continues to be a significant challenge due to the inherent trade-off between conductivity and deformation adaptability. Here, a novel strategy is demonstrated for the preparation of intrinsically conductive reticulated polymer-based hydrogels (allylated hydroxyethyl cellulose-PEDOT:PSS/PAM hydrogel [AHEC-PP/PAM]) with mechanical robustness and perceptual sensitivity. The conductive reticulated component, AHEC-PP, is obtained by an ingenious polymerization involving AHEC and EDOT and demonstrates favorable dispersion and stability, with the treatment of H₂SO₄ and the charge regulation of PSS. The AHEC-PP/PAM hydrogel has a tensile strength of 0.69 MPa, a fracture strain of 1,273%, a broad sensing range, and a high gauge factor of 7.86. The synergistic performance enables integration into smart wearable electronic devices for the detection of motion signals, electronic skin, and advanced human-machine interaction.

Materials with solid-to-solid phase transformations have considerable potential for use in thermal energy storage systems. While these materials generally have lower latent heat than materials with a solid-to-liquid phase transformation, their significantly higher thermal conductivity enables rapid thermal charging/discharging. Here, we show that this property makes them particularly promising for thermal energy storage applications requiring highly dynamic operation. A numerical analysis (using an experimentally validated numerical model) has revealed that some materials with solid-to-solid phase transformations offer an excellent capacity-power trade-off for thermal energy storage applications compared to the corresponding conventional phase change materials. While most conventional phase change materials generally offer higher thermal capacity due to larger latent heat, some metallic materials with solid-state transformation (e.g., Ni-Ti-based alloys, Mn-Co-Ga-B alloys) exhibit up to 10 times higher thermal output powers. These results highlight a significant potential of caloric solid-state materials to outperform traditional latent thermal storage systems for certain applications.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) are increasingly of interest for Fenton-like processes for water treatment due to maximized metal utilization. However, their feasibility has not been conclusively demonstrated, partly due to inconsistent preparation and benchmarking. Here, we verify the catalytic activity of lanthanum single atoms for pollutant degradation by a rigorous benchmarking protocol that considers the contributions of adsorption, catalytic activity of supports, and leached ions. The reaction rate constant increases linearly with lanthanum loading up to 9 wt %, illustrating the viability of synchronously realizing high specific activity and maximized atom utilization. In addition, we show that the synergetic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and oxygen to produce multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS) is responsible for the catalytic performance, revealing the previously ignored contributions of air in catalytic systems. We anticipate that this protocol will aid in the development of SACs to realize their full prospects.

Quorum sensing is widespread in the microbial world; however, the role of this population behavior at low temperatures (<15°C) remains poorly understood. Here, the effects of quorum sensing in wastewater treatment processes at low temperatures are revealed using both microcosm experiments and global surveys. Quorum-sensing bacteria act as pioneers to facilitate microorganism migration from the species pool to the carrier surface during biofilm colonization at 15°C. A high biofilm formation rate is accompanied by significant enrichment of quorum-sensing bacteria and upregulation of gene expression. By analyzing the global activated sludge microbiome data, we find that quorum-sensing bacteria exhibit a typical temperature-dependent distribution pattern. The performance of the process is strongly linked to the content of quorum-sensing bacteria. Our findings elucidate a potential response mechanism of the microbial community to environmental stress and provide implications for the enhancement of the wastewater biotreatment process at low temperatures.

Achieving net-zero power supply in China will require massive investments over the coming decades. Precise cost uncertainty quantification is essential to align this transition with economic and policy realities. Here, we report an analysis addressing this need by introducing a cost uncertainty estimation framework, integrating meta-analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and probabilistic cost forecasting. Our findings reveal significant cost uncertainties for China’s energy transition from 2020 to the end of the century, estimated to be between 15.1 and 62.7 trillion US dollars for the 1.5°C scenario and 12.9–50.8 trillion US dollars for the 2°C scenario. The lower end of these estimates suggests that China’s net-zero power supply transition could be more cost effective than previously anticipated. However, the feasibility of these transitions largely depends on the availability of low-cost capital, highlighting the urgent need to develop strategies that accelerate clean energy finance and reduce investment hesitation.

Glass metamaterials that integrate optical transparency, chemical stability, and mechanical robustness are essential for satisfying the specific requirements of diverse fields, such as electronic screens or structural glazing. Yet, in practice, the requirements are only met by limited materials, and research in this area is still in its infancy. Here, we successfully incorporate microlattice architectures into three-dimensional (3D)-printed glass and develop transparent glass mechanical metamaterials with lightweight and high strength. A series of transparent glass microlattice metamaterials featuring diverse structural configurations, including tunable relative density, controllable strut volume, and adjustable strut counts, have been fabricated and thoroughly investigated for their mechanical properties. This progress offers a basis for the systematic tailoring of mechanical properties in 3D-printed glass microlattices, thereby paving the way for high-strength transparent metamaterials that are significantly lighter than their solid counterparts while offering opportunities for multifunctional applications as well.