http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/rss/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1521-4095

Highly robust conductive organo-hydrogels are fabricated via self-assembly assisted stretch training. The fabricated conductive organo-hydrogels exhibit remarkable strength and toughness, as well as impressive sensitivity even when subjected to significant stress. This study addresses the mechanical limitations of traditional conductive hydrogels, making them suitable for facing the practical complex conditions in motion monitoring of strenuous activities and the soft robotics.

The low mechanical strength of conductive hydrogels (<1 MPa) has been a significant hurdle in their practical application, as they are prone to fracturing under complex conditions, limiting their effectiveness. Here, this work fabricates a strong and tough conductive hierarchical poly(vinyl alcohol) (PEDOT:PSS/PVA) organo-hydrogel (PPS organo-hydrogel) via a facile combining strategy of self-assembly and stretch training. With PVA/PEDOT:PSS microlayers and aligned PVA/PEDOT:PSS nanofibers, PVA and PEDOT:PSS nanocrystalline domains, and semi-interpenetrating polymer networks, PPS organo-hydrogels display outstanding mechanical performances (strength: 54.8 MPa, toughness: 153.97 MJ m−3). Additionally, PPS organo-hydrogels also exhibit powerful sensing capabilities (gauge factor (GF): 983) due to the aligned hierarchical structures and organic liquid phase of DMSO. Notably, with the synergy of such mechanical and sensing properties, organo-hydrogels can even detect objects as light as 1 gram, despite bearing a tensile strength of ≈23 MPa. By incorporating these materials into human-machine interfaces, such as controlling artificial arms for grabbing objects and monitoring sport behaviors in soccer training, this work has unlocked a new realm of possibilities for these high-performance hierarchical organo-hydrogels. This approach to designing hierarchical structures has the potential to lead to even more high-performance hydrogels in the future.

Dynamic regulation of the metabolism of probiotics for precise colorectal cancer therapy by using inducible artificial enzymes as switchable “nano-promoter” to upregulate the expression of acidic metabolites in probiotics and “nano-effector” to produce a great deal of lethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) to combat the tumors.

Probiotics have the potential as biotherapeutic agents for cancer management in preclinical models and human trials by secreting antineoplastic or immunoregulatory agents in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, current probiotics lack the ability to dynamically respond to unique TME characteristics, leading to limited therapeutic accuracy and efficacy. Although progress has been made in customizing controllable probiotics through synthetic biology, the engineering process is complex and the predictability of production is relatively low. To address this, here, for the first time, this work adopts pH-dependent peroxidase-like (POD-like) artificial enzymes as both an inducible “nano-promoter” and “nano-effector” to engineer clinically relevant probiotics to achieve switchable control of probiotic therapy. The nanozyme initially serves as an inducible “nano-promoter,” generating trace amounts of nonlethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress to upregulate acidic metabolites in probiotics. Once metabolites acidify the TME to a threshold, the nanozyme switches to a “nano-effector,” producing a great deal of lethal ROS to fight cancer. This approach shows promise in subcutaneous, orthotopic, and colitis-associated colorectal cancer tumors, offering a new methodology for modulating probiotic metabolism in a pathological environment.

Ultraflexible self-powered perovskite sensors are developed by integrating high-performance solar cells and monochromatic light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These ultraflexible perovskite solar cell modules power ultraflexible perovskite nanocrystal LEDs (PNC-LEDs) even with the indoor light, with excellent power-conversion and current efficiencies of 18.2% and 15.2 cd A−1, respectively. The narrowband electroluminescence (EL) of PNC-LED eliminates Fabry–Pérot (FP) interference, resulting selective photo-plethysmography with a signal selectivity of 98.2%.

Self-powered skin optoelectronics fabricated on ultrathin polymer films is emerging as one of the most promising components for the next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) technology. However, a longstanding challenge is the device underperformance owing to the low process temperature of polymer substrates. In addition, broadband electroluminescence (EL) based on organic or polymer semiconductors inevitably suffers from periodic spectral distortion due to Fabry–Pérot (FP) interference upon substrate bending, preventing advanced applications. Here, ultraflexible skin optoelectronics integrating high-performance solar cells and monochromatic light-emitting diodes using solution-processed perovskite semiconductors is presented. n–i–p perovskite solar cells and perovskite nanocrystal light-emitting diodes (PNC-LEDs), with power-conversion and current efficiencies of 18.2% and 15.2 cd A−1, respectively, are demonstrated on ultrathin polymer substrates with high thermal stability, which is a record-high efficiency for ultraflexible perovskite solar cell. The narrowband EL with a full width at half-maximum of 23 nm successfully eliminates FP interference, yielding bending-insensitive spectra even under 50% of mechanical compression. Photo-plethysmography using the skin optoelectronic device demonstrates a signal selectivity of 98.2% at 87 bpm pulse. The results presented here pave the way to inexpensive and high-performance ultrathin optoelectronics for self-powered applications such as wearable displays and indoor IoT sensors.

This work provides a comprehensive analysis of ultrafast chiroptical responses in planar plasmonic nano-oligomers with facile reversibility. The polarimetric measurements demonstrate the transient helicity-resolved optical transitions in chiral nanoplasmonics in an all-optical setting, providing a framework for future applications of ultrafast switching and optical logic circuits in nanophotonics and quantum optics.

Ultracompact chiral plasmonic nanostructures with unique chiral light–matter interactions are vital for future photonic technologies. However, previous studies are limited to reporting their steady-state performance, presenting a fundamental obstacle to the development of high-speed optical devices with polarization sensitivity. Here, a comprehensive analysis of ultrafast chiroptical response of chiral gold nano-oligomers using time-resolved polarimetric measurements is provided. Significant differences are observed in terms of the absorption intensity, thus hot electron generation, and hot carrier decay time upon polarized photopumping, which are explained by a phenomenological model of the helicity-resolved optical transitions. Moreover, the chiroptical signal is switchable by reversing the direction of the pump pulse, demonstrating the versatile modulation of polarization selection in a single device. The results offer fundamental insights into the helicity-resolved optical transitions in photoexcited chiral plasmonics and can facilitate the development of high-speed polarization-sensitive flat optics with potential applications in nanophotonics and quantum optics.

A binder-electrolyte integrated solid-state battery (SSB) system exploiting a new synergistic ionic conduction mechanism through supramolecular bridging with p-phenylenediamine molecules is proposed. As such, the contact issue in SSBs can be minimized, enabling the implementation of high loading SSB systems. These achievements are expected to provide a strong foundation for the development of SSB systems with exceptional energy density.

The binder is an essential component in determining the structural integrity and ionic conductivity of Li-ion battery electrodes. However, conventional binders are not sufficiently conductive and durable to be used with solid-state electrolytes. In this study, a novel system is proposed for a Li secondary battery that combines the electrolyte and binder into a unified structure, which is achieved by employing para-phenylenediamine (pPD) moiety to create supramolecular bridges between the parent binders. Due to a partial crosslinking effect and charge-transferring structure of pPD, the proposed strategy improves both the ionic conductivity and mechanical properties by a factor of 6.4 (achieving a conductivity of 3.73 × 10−4 S cm−1 for poly(ethylene oxide)-pPD) and 4.4 (reaching a mechanical strength of 151.4 kPa for poly(acrylic acid)-pPD) compared to those of conventional parent binders. As a result, when the supramolecules of pPD are used as a binder in a pouch cell with a lean electrolyte loading of 2 µL mAh−1, a capacity retention of 80.2% is achieved even after 300 cycles. Furthermore, when it is utilized as a solid-state electrolyte, an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.7% and capacity retention of 98.7% are attained under operations at 50 °C without external pressure or a pre-aging process.

A cascade catalytic nanoparticle with high biocompatibility is reported, serving as a potent lysosomal alkalizer capable of converting excessive hydrogen peroxide and H+ into hydroxide ions only in cancerous lysosomes, leading to lysosomal alkalization and consequent suppression of tumor progression and metastasis.

Lysosomes are critical in modulating the progression and metastasis for various cancers. There is currently an unmet need for lysosomal alkalizers that can selectively and safely alter the pH and inhibit the function of cancer lysosomes. Here an effective, selective, and safe lysosomal alkalizer is reported that can inhibit autophagy and suppress tumors in mice. The lysosomal alkalizer consists of an iron oxide core that generates hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in the presence of excessive H+ and hydrogen peroxide inside cancer lysosomes and cerium oxide satellites that capture and convert •OH into hydroxide ions. Alkalized lysosomes, which display impaired enzyme activity and autophagy, lead to cancer cell apoptosis. It is shown that the alkalizer effectively inhibits both local and systemic tumor growth and metastasis in mice. This work demonstrates that the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles can be harnessed to build effective lysosomal alkalizers that are both selective and safe.

Spin quantum dot light emitting diode emitting circularly polarized light is achieved by introducing chiral perovskite with chiral induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. The spin polarized holes generated by the CISS effect of chiral perovskite recombine with correspondent electrons according to the optical selective rules and directly emit left- or right-handed circularly polarized light.

Chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect provides innovative approach to spintronics and quantum-based devices for chiral materials. Different from the conventional ferromagnetic devices, the application of CISS effect is potential to operate under room temperature and zero applied magnetic field. Low dimensional chiral perovskites by introducing chiral amines are beginning to show significant CISS effect for spin injection, but research on chiral perovskites is still in its infancy, especially on spin-light emitting diode (spin-LED) construction. Here, the spin-QLEDs enabled by 2D chiral perovskites as CISS layer for spin-dependent carrier injection and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) as light emitting layer are reported. The regulation pattern of the chirality and thickness of chiral perovskites, which affects the circularly polarized electroluminescence (CP-EL) emission of spin-QLED, is discovered. Notably, the spin injection polarization of 2D chiral perovskites is higher than 80% and the CP-EL asymmetric factor (g CP-EL) achieves up to 1.6 × 10−2. Consequently, this work opens up a new and effective approach for high-performance spin-LEDs.

A single-pixel perovskite-organic tandem light-emitting diode capable of changing colors is demonstrated. The distinctive dual time constants (fast organic emission and slow perovskite emission) are analogous to a biological synapse. High dynamic range and color-switching capabilities in pulsed emission are used in neuromorphic computing to improve the efficiencies of applications that are conventionally memory-intensive.

Neuromorphic devices can help perform memory-heavy tasks more efficiently due to the co-localization of memory and computing. In biological systems, fast dynamics are necessary for rapid communication, while slow dynamics aid in the amplification of signals over noise and regulatory processes such as adaptation- such dual dynamics are key for neuromorphic control systems. Halide perovskites exhibit much more complex phenomena than conventional semiconductors due to their coupled ionic, electronic, and optical properties which result in modulatable drift, diffusion of ions, carriers, and radiative recombination dynamics. This is exploited to engineer a dual-emitter tandem device with the requisite dual slow-fast dynamics. Here, a perovskite-organic tandem light-emitting diode (LED) capable of modulating its emission spectrum and intensity owing to the ion-mediated recombination zone modulation between the green-emitting quasi-2D perovskite layer and the red-emitting organic layer is introduced. Frequency-dependent response and high dynamic range memory of emission intensity and spectra in a LED are demonstrated. Utilizing the emissive read-out, image contrast enhancement as a neuromorphic pre-processing step to improve pattern recognition capabilities is illustrated. As proof of concept using the device's slow-fast dynamics, an inhibition of the return mechanism is physically emulated.

Carbene-gold-acetylide (CMAc) complexes are bright deep-blue and green phosphorescent emitters with quantum yields up to 43% which also show UV prompt-fluorescence. Organic light-emitting diodes based on CMAc emitters show near-UV electroluminescence with a device efficiency of 1% and a device lifetime LT50 up to 20 min at practical brightness.

A series of carbene-gold-acetylide complexes [(BiCAAC)AuCC] n C6H5− n (n = 1, Au1; n = 2, Au2; n = 3, Au3; BiCAAC = bicyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene) have been synthesized in high yields. Compounds Au1–Au3 exhibit deep-blue to blue-green phosphorescence with good quantum yields up to 43% in all media. An increase of the (BiCAAC)Au moieties in gold complexes Au1–Au3 increases the extinction coefficients in the UV–vis spectra and stronger oscillator strength coefficients supported by theoretical calculations. The luminescence radiative rates decrease with an increase of the (BiCAAC)Au moieties. The time-dependent density functional theory study supports a charge-transfer nature of the phosphorescence due to the large (0.5–0.6 eV) energy gap between singlet excited (S1) and triplet excited (T1) states. Transient luminescence study reveals the presence of both nonstructured UV prompt-fluorescence and vibronically resolved long-lived phosphorescence 428 nm. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) are fabricated by physical vapor deposition with 2,8-bis(diphenylphosphoryl)dibenzo[b,d]furan (PPF) as a host material with complex Au1. The near-UV electroluminescence is observed at 405 nm with device efficiency of 1% while demonstrating OLED device lifetime LT50 up to 20 min at practical brightness of 10 nits, indicating a highly promising class of materials to develop stable UV-OLEDs.

Design of experiments and response surface methodology applied to molten salt synthesis enable inverse design of N-rich nanoporous carbons for selective CO2 adsorption. Mapping the phase space of accessible N-rich turbostratic carbons reveals that a combination of moderate porosity with tuned interlayer d-spacing enables highly selective CO2 adsorption (even from dilute streams with only 4% CO2) due to molecular sieving.

Applying a design of experiments methodology to the molten salt synthesis of nanoporous carbons enables inverse design and optimization of nitrogen (N)-rich carbon adsorbents with excellent CO2/N2 selectivity and appreciable CO2 capacity for carbon capture via swing adsorption from dilute gas mixtures such as natural gas combined cycle flue gas. This data-driven study reveals fundamental structure-function relationships between the synthesis conditions, physicochemical properties, and achievable selective adsorption performance of N-rich nanoporous carbons derived from molten salt synthesis for CO2 capture. Taking advantage of size-sieving separation of CO2 (3.30 Å) from N2 (3.64 Å) within the turbostratic nanostructure of these N-rich carbons, while limiting deleterious N2 adsorption in a weaker adsorption site that harms selectivity, enables a large CO2 capacity (0.73 mmol g−1 at 30.4 Torr and 30 °C) with noteworthy concurrent CO2/N2 selectivity as predicted by the ideal adsorbed solution theory (S IAST = 246) with an adsorbed phase purity of 91% from a simulated gas stream containing only 4% CO2. Optimized N-rich porous carbons, with good physicochemical stability, low cost, and moderate regeneration energy, can achieve performance for selective CO2 adsorption that competes with other classes of advanced porous materials such as chemisorbing zeolites and functionalized metal-organic frameworks.

An unprecedented amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) thin film exhibits the highest ultimate tensile strength recorded for any nanostructured amorphous material, surpassing 10 GPa. This study showcases the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio a-SiC strings with quality factors exceeding 108, revealing significant potential for diverse high-performance applications, from nanomechanical sensors to space exploration, and offering newfound prospects for employing amorphous materials where strength and stability are crucial.

For decades, mechanical resonators with high sensitivity have been realized using thin-film materials under high tensile loads. Although there are remarkable strides in achieving low-dissipation mechanical sensors by utilizing high tensile stress, the performance of even the best strategy is limited by the tensile fracture strength of the resonator materials. In this study, a wafer-scale amorphous thin film is uncovered, which has the highest ultimate tensile strength ever measured for a nanostructured amorphous material. This silicon carbide (SiC) material exhibits an ultimate tensile strength of over 10 GPa, reaching the regime reserved for strong crystalline materials and approaching levels experimentally shown in graphene nanoribbons. Amorphous SiC strings with high aspect ratios are fabricated, with mechanical modes exceeding quality factors 108 at room temperature, the highest value achieves among SiC resonators. These performances are demonstrated faithfully after characterizing the mechanical properties of the thin film using the resonance behaviors of free-standing resonators. This robust thin-film material has significant potential for applications in nanomechanical sensors, solar cells, biological applications, space exploration, and other areas requiring strength and stability in dynamic environments. The findings of this study open up new possibilities for the use of amorphous thin-film materials in high-performance applications.

Argonaute-mediated transistor platform monitors single nucleotide variation (SNV) in ≈20 copies mL−1 microRNA, ctDNA, viral RNA, and cDNA samples and achieves the fastest SNV detection in 5 min with comprehensive advantages of specificity, sensitivity, easy operation, portability, and generality, benefiting efficient disease prevention and control as well as point-of-care diagnoses for timely, precise, and convenient healthcare.

“Test-and-go” single-nucleotide variation (SNV) detection within several minutes remains challenging, especially in low-abundance samples, since existing methods face a trade-off between sensitivity and testing speed. Sensitive detection usually relies on complex and time-consuming nucleic acid amplification or sequencing. Here, a graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) platform mediated by Argonaute protein that enables rapid, sensitive, and specific SNV detection is developed. The Argonaute protein provides a nanoscale binding channel to preorganize the DNA probe, accelerating target binding and rapidly recognizing SNVs with single-nucleotide resolution in unamplified tumor-associated microRNA, circulating tumor DNA, virus RNA, and reverse transcribed cDNA when a mismatch occurs in the seed region. An integrated microchip simultaneously detects multiple SNVs in agreement with sequencing results within 5 min, achieving the fastest SNV detection in a “test-and-go” manner without the requirement of nucleic acid extraction, reverse transcription, and amplification.

Here the first pair of pure-red circularly polarized (CP) multiple resonance emitters is presented using a boron-nitrogen covalent bond to lower the electron-withdrawing ability of the boron atom, and devices possessing maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 36.6% are constructed, circularly polarizing electroluminescence with dissymmetry factor of 1.91 × 10−3 and a long operational lifetime of > 400 h.

Chiral B/N embedded multi-resonance (MR) emitters open a new paradigm of circularly polarized (CP) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) owing to their unique narrowband spectra. However, pure-red CP-MR emitters and devices remain exclusive in literature. Herein, by introducing a B-N covalent bond to lower the electron-withdrawing ability of the para-positioned B-π-B motif, the first pair of pure-red double hetero-[n]helicenes (n = 6 and 7) CP-MR emitter peaking 617 nm with a small full-width at half-maximum of 38 nm and a high photoluminescence quantum yield of ≈100% in toluene is developed. The intense mirror-image CP light produced by the enantiomers is characterized by high photoluminescence dissymmetry factors (gPL) of +1.40/−1.41 × 10−3 from their stable helicenes configuration. The corresponding devices using these enantiomers afford impressive CP electroluminescence dissymmetry factors (gEL) of +1.91/−1.77 × 10−3, maximum external quantum efficiencies of 36.6%/34.4% and Commission Internationale de I’Éclairage coordinates of (0.67, 0.33), exactly satisfying the red-color requirement specified by National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard. Notably a remarkable long LT95 (operational time to 95% of the initial luminance) of ≈400 h at an initial brightness of 10,000 cd m−2 is also observed for the same device, representing the most stable CP-OLED up to date.

The photoexcited carrier dynamics are demonstrated in the heterostructures comprising borophene allotropes and MoS2 layers. The diverse borophenes exhibit distinct and selective carrier transfer behaviors with an ultrafast timescale, enabling efficient charge separation and opening doors to potential applications in optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices.

Borophene-based van der Waals heterostructures have demonstrated enormous potential in the realm of optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, which has sparked a wide range of interest. However, a thorough understanding of the microscopic excited-state electronic dynamics at interfaces is lacking, which is essential for determining the macroscopic optoelectronic and photovoltaic performance of borophene-based devices. In this study, photoexcited carrier dynamics of β 12 , χ 3, and α΄ borophene/MoS2 heterostructures are systematically studied based on time-domain nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. Different Schottky contacts are found in borophene/semiconductor heterostructures. The interplay between Schottky barriers, electronic coupling, and the involvement of different phonon modes collectively contribute to the unique carrier dynamics in borophene-based heterostructures. The diverse borophene allotropes within the heterostructures exhibit distinct and selective carrier transfer behaviors on an ultrafast timescale: electrons tunnel into α΄ borophene with an ultrafast transfer rate (≈29 fs) in α΄/MoS2 heterostructures, whereas β 12 borophene only allows holes to migrate with a lifetime of 176 fs. The feature enables efficient charge separation and offers promising avenues for applications in optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. This study provides insight into the interfacial carrier dynamics in borophene-based heterostructures, which is helpful in further design of advanced 2D boron-based optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices.

Chiral MnO2 NPs are constructed for the quantitative analysis of ROS. The redox reaction between H2O2 and chiral MnO2 NPs lead to decreased signals on CD and T1-weighted images, thus achieving ultrasensitive and dual-mode detection of H2O2. Noticeably, in vivo data show that scavenging ROS inhibits skin oxidative damage and prevents skin aging.

Excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can lead to oxidative stress and oxidative damage, which is one of the important factors for aging and age-related diseases. Therefore, real-time monitoring and the moderate elimination of ROS is extremely important. In this study, a ROS-responsive circular dichroic (CD) at 553 nm and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dual-signals chiral manganese oxide (MnO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are designed and synthesized. Both the CD and MRI signals show excellent linear ranges for intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations, with limits of detection (LOD) of 0.0027 nmol/106 cells and 0.016 nmol/106 cells, respectively. The lower LOD achieved with CD detection may be attributable to its higher anti-interference capability from the intracellular matrix. Importantly, ROS-induced cell aging is intervened by chiral MnO2 NPs via redox reactions with excessive intracellular ROS. In vivo experiments confirm that chiral MnO2 NPs effectively eliminate ROS in skin tissue, reduce oxidative stress levels, and alleviate skin aging. This approach provides a new strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of age-related diseases.

Synergy of defects and piezoelectric field renders an outstanding piezo-photocatalytic nitrogen reduction activity of BaTiO3. Oxygen-vacancies (OVs) can strengthen the piezoelectric polarization of BaTiO3 to promote photogenerated carrier separation, meanwhile the optimized piezoelectric polarization field can also modulate the electronic structure of Ti3+ adjacent to OVs to facilitate the chemisorption, activation and dissociation of N2.

Piezo-photocatalysis is a frontier technology for converting mechanical and solar energies into crucial chemical substances and has emerged as a promising and sustainable strategy for N2 fixation. Here, for the first time, defects and piezoelectric field are synergized to achieve unprecedented piezo-photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) activity and their collaborative catalytic mechanism is unraveled over BaTiO3 with tunable oxygen vacancies (OVs). The introduced OVs change the local dipole state to strengthen the piezoelectric polarization of BaTiO3, resulting in a more efficient separation of photogenerated carrier. Ti3+ sites adjacent to OVs promote N2 chemisorption and activation through d–π back-donation with the help of the unpaired d-orbital electron. Furthermore, a piezoelectric polarization field could modulate the electronic structure of Ti3+ to facilitate the activation and dissociation of N2, thereby substantially reducing the reaction barrier of the rate-limiting step. Benefitting from the synergistic reinforcement mechanism and optimized surface dynamics processes, an exceptional piezo-photocatalytic NH3 evolution rate of 106.7 µmol g−1 h−1 is delivered by BaTiO3 with moderate OVs, far surpassing that of previously reported piezocatalysts/piezo-photocatalysts. New perspectives are provided here for the rational design of an efficient piezo-photocatalytic system for the NRR.

This study implements the first integrated photonic and acousto-optic devices in novel thin-film boron-doped gallium phosphide, indicating its potential as a highly scalable hybrid photonics platform for integration with color centers in high-index materials. Optical, acoustic, and materials characterization is performed, revealing both strong intrinsic properties and clear pathways toward improvement.

The compact size, scalability, and strongly confined fields in integrated photonic devices enable new functionalities in photonic networking and information processing, both classical and quantum. Gallium phosphide (GaP) is a promising material for active integrated photonics due to its high refractive index, wide bandgap, strong nonlinear properties, and large acousto-optic figure of merit. This study demonstrates that silicon-lattice-matched boron-doped GaP (BGaP), grown at the 12-inch wafer scale, provides similar functionalities as GaP. BGaP optical resonators exhibit intrinsic quality factors exceeding 25,000 and 200,000 at visible and telecom wavelengths, respectively. It further demonstrates the electromechanical generation of low-loss acoustic waves and an integrated acousto-optic (AO) modulator. High-resolution spatial and compositional mapping, combined with ab initio calculations, indicate two candidates for the excess optical loss in the visible band: the silicon-GaP interface and boron dimers. These results demonstrate the promise of the BGaP material platform for the development of scalable AO technologies at telecom and provide potential pathways toward higher performance at shorter wavelengths.

An exceptional and stable oxygen-evolving electrocatalyst is developed from self-reconstruction of amorphous bimetallic FeOOH/Co(OH)2 microsheet arrays through a mechanical stirring strategy, yielding a current densities of 500 and 1000 mA cm−2 at low overpotentials of 290 and 304 mV. This catalyst rapidly reconstructs into Co1-xFexOOH species through in situ iron incorporation into CoOOH as confirmed by in situ X-ray photoelectron, Raman spectroscopic studies, and theoretical calculations.

The key dilemma for green hydrogen production via electrocatalytic water splitting is the high overpotential required for anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Co/Fe-based materials show superior catalytic OER activity to noble metal-based catalysts, but still lag far behind the state-of-the-art Ni/Fe-based catalysts probably due to undesirable side segregation of FeOOH with poor conductivity and unsatisfied structural durability under large current density. Here, a robust and durable OER catalyst affording current densities of 500 and 1000 mA cm−2 at extremely low overpotentials of 290 and 304 mV in base is reported. This catalyst evolves from amorphous bimetallic FeOOH/Co(OH)2 heterostructure microsheet arrays fabricated by a facile mechanical stirring strategy. Especially, in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman analysis decipher the rapid reconstruction of FeOOH/Co(OH)2 into dynamically stable Co1-xFexOOH active phase through in situ iron incorporation into CoOOH, which perform as the real active sites accelerating the rate-determining step supported by density functional theory calculations. By coupling with MoNi4/MoO2 cathode, the self-assembled alkaline electrolyzer can deliver 500 mA cm−2 at a low cell voltage of 1.613 V, better than commercial IrO2 (+)||Pt/C(-) and most of reported transition metal-based electrolyzers. This work provides a feasible strategy for the exploration and design of industrial water-splitting catalysts for large-scale green hydrogen production.

Highly crystallized Cl-doped SnO2 NCs that can form very stable aqueous dispersion with shelf life up to one year are herein prepared without the need of any stabilizer. The fabricated FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells with the electron transport layers made by such NCs achieve champion efficiency up to ≈25% for small cell (0.085 cm2) and ≈20% for mini-module (12.125 cm2).

Tin dioxide (SnO2) with high conductivity and low photocatalytic activity has been reported as one of the best candidates for highly efficient electron transport layer (ETL) in perovskite solar cell (PSC). The state-of-the-art SnO2 layer is achieved by chemical bath deposition with tunable properties, while the commercial SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) with low tunability still face the necessity of further improvement. Here, a kind of highly crystallized Cl-doped SnO2 NCs is reported that can form very stable aqueous dispersion with shelf life up to one year without any stabilizer, which can facilitate the fabrication of PSCs with satisfactory performance. Compared to the commercial SnO2 NCs regardless of the extrinsic Cl-doping conditions, the intrinsic Cl-doped SnO2 NCs effectively suppress the energy barrier and reduces the trap state density at the buried interface between perovskite and ETL. Consequently, stable PSCs based on such Cl-doped SnO2 NCs achieve a champion efficiency up to ≈25% for small cell (0.085 cm2) and ≈20% for mini-module (12.125 cm2), indicating its potential as a promising candidate for ETL in high-performance perovskite photovoltaics.

Lactic acid produced in degenerated tissues can activate the NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β axis and cause chronic inflammation, finally restricting tissue restoration. The engineered hydrogen ion-capturing hydrogel microspheres (GMNP) using biomimetic mineralization and microfluidic technologies can block the NLRP3 axis by simultaneously capturing excess hydrogen ions and suppressing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), eventually reconstructing the tissue microenvironment and promoting tissue regeneration.

Inflammaging is deeply involved in aging-related diseases and can be destructive during aging. The maintenance of pH balance in the extracellular microenvironment can alleviate inflammaging and repair aging-related tissue damage. In this study, the hydrogen ion capturing hydrogel microsphere (GMNP) composed of mineralized transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and catalase (CAT) nanoparticles is developed via biomimetic mineralization and microfluidic technology for blocking the NLRP3 cascade axis in inflammaging. This GMNP can neutralize the acidic microenvironment by capturing excess hydrogen ions through the calcium carbonate mineralization layer. Then, the subsequent release of encapsulated TGF-β and CAT can eliminate both endogenous and exogenous stimulus of NLRP3, thus suppressing the excessive activation of inflammaging. In vitro, GMNP can suppress the excessive activation of the TXNIP/NLRP3/IL-1β cascade axis and enhance extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in nucleus pulposus cells. In vivo, GMNP becomes a sustainable and stable niche with microspheres as the core to inhibit inflammaging and promote the regeneration of degenerated intervertebral discs. Therefore, this hydrogen ion-capturing hydrogel microsphere effectively reverses inflammaging by interfering with the excessive activation of NLRP3 in the degenerated tissues.