Nanoscience News (<front>)

Using nanocellulose as a building block, P-doped MoO2−x nanoparticles anchored on N, P co-doped porous carbon are constructed by in situ polymerization and hydrothermal treatment combined with phosphorylation. When being used for modifying the commercial separator of lithium–sulfur batteries, the composite provides abundant catalytic active sites and rapid ion accessibility. The assembled cell achieves an initial specific capacity of 11.3 mAh cm−2 at a sulfur loading of 8.1 mg cm−2 under lean electrolyte conditions.

Abstract

The integration of nanocatalysts into the separators of lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) boosts the polysulfide conversion efficiency. However, the aggregation of catalyst nanoparticles diminishes the active surface area. Moreover, densely packed catalyst-modified layers often hinder ion transport rates and impede access to the catalytic sites. To overcome these challenges, a strategy is reported for modifying commercial separators, using wood nanocellulose as a building block to construct hierarchical P-doped MoO2−x nanoparticles anchored on N, P co-doped porous carbon (P-MoO2−x/NPC). The web-like entangled nanocellulose forms a framework for the in situ polymerization of polyaniline, providing abundant anchoring sites for MoO2 nanoparticles. The addition of P atoms optimizes the d-band center of MoO2 and enhances the catalytic activity of polysulfide conversion. The LSBs assembled using a P-MoO2−x/NPC coated polypropylene separator display an initial discharge capacity of 1621 mAh g−1 and rate performance of 774 mAh g−1 at 5 C. Even with a sulfur loading of 8.1 mg cm−2 and lean electrolyte conditions, the cell achieves an initial areal capacity of 11.3 mAh cm−2 at 0.1 C. This work provides a biopolymer nanofiber solution for constructing LSB separators with advanced electrochemical reactivity.

An inverse oxide/alloy-structured nanozyme, Co7Fe3/ZnO@C, is developed to achieve near-infrared light-triggered enzymatic cascade regulation. Under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, hot electrons are transferred from Co7Fe3 to ZnO, activating synchronized superoxide dismutase-like, catalase-like, peroxidase-like, and hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity-like enzymatic activities. These cascaded activities enable spatiotemporal modulation of reactive oxygen species dynamics, synergistically integrating chemodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy to accelerate infected wound healing.

Abstract

The precise spatiotemporal control of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and scavenging remains pivotal for infected wound healing. However, conventional nanozymes fail to adaptively regulate ROS dynamics across inflammatory and proliferative phases. A near-infrared (NIR)-activated inverse oxide/alloy-structured nanozyme (Co7Fe3/ZnO@C) is developed, featuring enzymatic cascade activities to tune ROS homeostasis through synergistic chemodynamic (CDT), photodynamic (PDT), and photothermal (PTT) therapies. The nanozyme orchestrates a self-regulated cascade: peroxidase (POD)-like activity initially generates bactericidal hydroxyl radicals in acidic wounds, while subsequent NIR triggers hot electron transfer from Co7Fe3 to ZnO, facilitating synchronized superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like, catalase (CAT)-like and hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity (HORAC) activities to scavenge residual ROS. This cascaded network dynamically balances ROS production (POD) and scavenging (NIR-driven SOD/CAT/HORAC), eradicating bacteria while resolving inflammation. In vitro/vivo studies have shown that the proposed method for maintaining ROS homeostasis can markedly enhance the rate of wound healing by the regulation of the inflammatory environment within the injured tissue and the facilitation of rapid re-epithelialization. This work provides an intelligent nanozyme platform that simulates the function of natural enzymes and constructs a cascade reaction strategy to balance the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory demands in the wound microenvironment.

An ionic-liquid based wide-temperature electrolyte inducing static and dynamic interface double shields of Zn anodes is developed for achieving highly stable Zn-ion batteries with an operating temperature range of ≈−40–60 °C.

Abstract

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) have experienced substantial advancements recently, while the aqueous electrolytes exhibit limited thermal adaptability. The low-cost Zn(BF4)2 salt possesses potential low-temperature application, while brings unsatisfied stability of Zn anodes. To address this challenge, an ionic liquid based eutectic electrolyte (ILEE) utilizing the Zn(BF4)2 presenting remarkable stability across a temperature range of ≈−100–150 °C is developed, enabling ZIBs to operate in diverse thermal conditions. The inner Zn2+ solvation structure can be modulated to a BF4 −-rich state within the ILEE system, forming a static ZnF₂ layer at the electrolyte-Zn anode interface, as evidenced by ab initial molecular dynamic simulations. Moreover, the positively charged EMIM+ can accumulate on the Zn anodes to form the secondary electrostatic dynamic shield that mitigates the uncontrollable Zn dendrites growth, enhancing the overall cycling life of Zn anodes to over 10 times compared with the pure Zn(BF4)2 system. When utilizing the ILEE as the electrolyte, PANI||Zn full cells demonstrate acceptable performances under the all-temperature environments, especially presenting a long life of over 9500 cycles at a low temperature of −40 °C and 500 cycles at a high temperature of 60 °C. This special ILEE holds significant promise for future aqueous batteries in extreme environment.

This work demonstrates an effective strategy for synthesizing high-catalytic and stable nanozymes, and introduces the first example of amyloid-ceria nanozymes reinforced microneedle which features a complex, synergistic catalytic behavior combining superoxide dismutase and catalase-like activities, promoting to remodel the infection microenvironment in diabetic wounds, and holding significant promise for clinical applications.

Abstract

Amyloid fibrils have emerged as excellent templates and building blocks for the development of ordered functional materials with considerable potential in biomedical applications. Here, lysozyme amyloid fibrils (Lys-AFs) are employed as templates for the in situ synthesis of ceria nanozymes (Lys-AFs-Ceria) with ultrafine dimensions, an optimized Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio, and uniform distribution on the fibril surface, addressing the challenges of low catalytic efficiency and high susceptibility to aggregation typical of traditional methods. As a proof of concept, it is further applied Lys-AFs-Ceria to develop hydrogel/microneedle for treating bacteria-infected diabetic wounds via non-covalent interactions between polyphenols and amyloid fibrils incorporating glucose oxidase (GOX). The hydrogel/microneedle facilitates superoxide dismutase and catalase cascade catalysis by Lys-AFs-Ceria, and integrates GOX-mediated glucose consumption, synergistically achieving glucose reduction, reactive oxygen species elimination, and hypoxia alleviation in the diabetic wound infection microenvironment. In addition to antibacterial properties and tissue regeneration promotion of Lys-AFs scaffold, Lys-AFs-Ceria regulates macrophages polarization toward an anti-inflammatory M2 state. Collectively, these attributes contribute to the enhanced efficacy of diabetic wound healing, with in vivo studies demonstrating increased healing efficiency following a single application, and more in general an effective strategy toward high-catalytic and stable nanozymes.

A series of ferroelectric cocrystals of cholesterol methanol (CHOL-MeOH) and cholesterol ethanol (CHOL-EtOH) have been constructed through the solvent effect, where the introduction of hydroxyl-containing solvents like methanol and ethanol can induce ferroelectricity in cholesterol by reducing the O−H···O hydrogen bond length as well as largely decreasing the maximum energy barrier for polarization reversal.

Abstract

Cholesterol (CHOL) is an inherently biodegradable material with multiple chiral centers, being an essential component for cell membranes. Considering the close relationship between chirality and ferroelectric feature, this compound with chiral-polar structure is an intrinsic polar material. However, the ferroelectricity of CHOL crystals has never been found to date. Herein, a series of ferroelectric cocrystals of CHOL methanol (CHOL-MeOH) and CHOL ethanol (CHOL-EtOH) have been constructed through the solvent effect. It is found that the introduction of some solvent molecules containing hydroxyls such as methanol and ethanol can reduce the acceptor···donor length and thus form a 1D electroactive channel and further induce ferroelectricity in CHOL. Based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculation analyses represented by CHOL-EtOH, the largely decreased maximum energy barrier for the polarization reversal of ≈50% suggests that the electric polarization of the cocrystal is much easier to be reoriented under the external electric field through the solvent effect. These ferroelectric materials show good biocompatibility and biodegradability through in vitro and in vivo evaluation. These attributes make these CHOL cocrystals good candidates for the application of next-generation smart implantable electronic devices. This work sheds light on the chemical design of biodegradable ferroelectrics in biomaterials.

High energy/power density batteries have become an urgent need for the electric vehicle and consumer electronics markets. In this work, Cheng et al. develop an lean lithium metal batteries (LLMB) prototype with lithiophilic-gradient, layer-stacked interfacial design and self-supplementary Li sources for bare Cu foil. It provides a new perspective for the optimization strategy for next generation lithium metal batteries (LMBs).

Abstract

The practicability of anode-less/free lithiummetal batteries (LMBs) is impeded by unregulated dendrite formation on thedeposition substrate. Herein, this study presents a lithiophilic-gradient, layer-stacked interfacial design for the lean lithium metal battery (LLMB) model. Engineered via a facile wet-chemistry approach, the high entropy metalphosphide (HEMP) particles with tunable lithiophilic species are dispersedwithin reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Moreover, a poly (vinylidene fluoride co-hexafluoropropylenepolymer) (PVDF-HFP), blended with molten Li at the tailorable amounts, forms aLi supplementary top layer through a layer-transfer printing technique. Theintegrated layer (HEMP@RGO-MTL@PH) not only regulates the dendrite-free lithiumdeposition towards the Cu substrate up to 10 mAh cm−2, but also maintains robust cyclability of the symmetric cell at 5 mA cm−2 even under 83% depth of discharge. As pairing the modified Cu foil with the LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 cathode (NCM811, 16.9 mg cm−2, double sided, N/P ratio of 0.21) in the 200 mAh pouch cell, achieves gravimetric energy densities of 414.7 Wh kg−1, power output of 977.1 W kg−1, as well as highly reversible phasic evolutionmonitored in operando. This gradient interfacial strategy can promotethe commercialization of energy/power-dense energy storage solutions.

Sampling with diffusion models

In this talk, Shreyas and Jiajun will discuss sampling with diffusion models. We cover two cases, one is to do posterior (or conditioning) sampling of diffusion models, for applications in inverse imaging, class-conditional sampling, text-to-image guidance and finetuning, and another is to learn a diffusion models to draw samples from unnormalized density. For the former, we cover inference-only corrections to existing diffusion models that fall under the umbrella of “reconstruction guidance” (DPS, Red-diff etc), as well as training methods such as classifier and classifier-free guidance. Finally, we discuss some recent work for efficient finetuning (ControlNet, DEFT etc), as well as an introduction to stochastic control techniques (DEFT, Adjoint Matching). For the latter, we will introduce some recently developed diffusion-based neural samplers, including diffusion denoising samplers (DDS, iDEM, etc) , escorted samplers (CMCD, etc.), or other variations.

Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.

• Speaker: Shreyas Padhy, Jiajun He (University of Cambridge)
• Wednesday 26 February 2025, 11:00-12:30
• Venue: Cambridge University Engineering Department, CBL Seminar room BE4-38..
• Series: Machine Learning Reading Group @ CUED; organiser: .

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Nature Energy, Published online: 25 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01727-7

Cooling vertical surfaces

“Primitive steroidogenesis in mast cells: A novel regulatory mechanism for mast cell function”

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 6 March 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Dr Bidesh Mahata, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge

Title: “Primitive steroidogenesis in mast cells: A novel regulatory mechanism for mast cell function”

Host: Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

• Speaker: Dr Bidesh Mahata, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
• Thursday 06 March 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
• Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.

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On induced completely prime primitive ideals in enveloping algebras of classical Lie algebras

On induced completely prime primitive ideals in enveloping algebras of classical Lie algebras

Abstract: The classification of completely prime primitive ideals in enveloping algebras of simple complex Lie algebras is long-standing classical problem in representation. Although the classification of all primitive ideals as a set was established in the 1980s the problem for completely prime primitive ideals has proved much more challenging. In this talk we will cover recent work in which we show that an important class of completely prime primitive ideals, which we refer to as Losev—Premet ideals, can be understood through a process of parabolic induction in the case of simple Lie algebras of classical type. We’ll explain how this can be reduced to problem about 1-dimensional representations of finite W-algebra. At the end of the talk, we’ll explain a modular analogue of these results about minimal dimensional representations of reduced enveloping algebras.

• Speaker: Simon Goodwin, University of Birmingham
• Wednesday 26 February 2025, 16:30-17:30
• Venue: MR12.
• Series: Algebra and Representation Theory Seminar; organiser: Adam Jones.

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From Machine Learning to Machine Reasoning: Deterministic Neural Syllogistic Reasoning

In my last talk (https://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/228790), I show four methodological limitations that prevent machine learning systems from reaching the rigour of syllogistic reasoning. They cannot achieve the rigour, not because of insufficient amount of training data, instead, to achieve the rigour, they shall not use training data. What kind of neural networks can be? Neural networks use vector embedding, which is a sphere embedding with zero radius. In this talk, I will show the four limitations can be completely avoided by promoting vector embedding into sphere embedding with non-zero radius. I will introduce a novel neural network, Sphere Neural Network (SphNN), which explicitly represents geometric objects, here spheres, and introduces the method of syllogistic reasoning by constructing Euler diagrams in the vector space. Instead of using training data, SphNN uses a neighbourhood transition map to transform the current sphere configuration into the target. SphNN is the first neural network that achieves deterministic human-like syllogistic reasoning in one epoch with the worst computational complexity of O(N) (where N is the length of the chain).

• Speaker: Tiansi Dong
• Monday 17 March 2025, 17:00-17:45
• Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building.
• Series: Foundation AI; organiser: Pietro Lio.

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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05681G, PaperJingui Zheng, Shaohan Xu, Lingzhi Sun, Xun Pan, Qihao Xie, Guohua Zhao
The indium single atom of InN3 affects the electronic properties of adsorption of CO2 and HN(CH3)2. This resulted in hydrogen transfer from HN(CH3)2 to CO2, generating the intermediate species of *N(CH3)2 and *COOH that are conducive to C–N coupling.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
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‘Humoral immunity in the lung of influenza infected mice’

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 20 March 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Tal Arnon, Professor of Cellular Immunology, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford

Title: ‘Humoral immunity in the lung of influenza infected mice’

Host: Ondrej Suchanek, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

• Speaker: Tal Arnon, Professor of Cellular Immunology, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford
• Thursday 20 March 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
• Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.

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Good moduli spaces of A_r-stable curves

The search for alternative compactifications of the moduli space of smooth curves has been central in the panorama of moduli spaces and a possible way to construct such compactifications is allowing curves with worse-than-nodal singularities. Curves with A_r-singularities, which we call A_r-stable, naturally appear in the literature as a possible choice. This project focuses on proving the existence of the good moduli space of a suitable open of the moduli stack of A_r-stable curves. We will explain the choice of the open by showing what the obstructions to S-completeness and Theta-reductivity are for the stack of A_r-stable curves. This is an on-going project with Davide Gori and Ludvig Modin.

• Speaker: Michele Pernice KTH
• Wednesday 26 February 2025, 14:15-15:15
• Venue: CMS MR13.
• Series: Algebraic Geometry Seminar; organiser: Mark Gross.

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Rotational Orientation Effects in Hydrogen Surface Scattering

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Helen Chadwick
• Wednesday 26 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Dept of Chemistry, Pfizer Lecture Theatre.
• Series: Chemistry Departmental-wide lectures; organiser: Xani Thorman.

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Axiomatization of infinity-categories

I’ll discuss our proposed axiomatization of synthetic categories that allows to develop most of (infinity-)category theory from first principles, without relying on explicit set-theoretic models. We expect that such a synthetic theory can make it easier to practice (infinity-)category theory for non-experts and teach it to beginners; moreover, it lends itself to formalization in proof assistants. This talk is based on ongoing collaborative work with D.-C. Cisinski, K. Nguyen and T. Walde.

• Speaker: Bastiaan Cnossen, University of Regensburg
• Friday 07 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: FW09, Computer Laboratory.
• Series: Logic and Semantics Seminar (Computer Laboratory); organiser: Thibaut Benjamin.

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2025 Scott Lectures - Lecture 2 Title tbc

Abstract not available

Refreshments will be served after the lecture

• Speaker: Professor Mikhail Lukin, Harvard University
• Wednesday 05 March 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Ray Dolby Auditorium, Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, CB3 0US.
• Series: Scott Lectures; organiser: Leona Hope-Coles.

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Tal Arnon, Professor of Cellular Immunology, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 20 March 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Tal Arnon, Professor of Cellular Immunology, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford

Title: TBC

Host: Ondrej Suchanek, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

• Speaker: Tal Arnon, Professor of Cellular Immunology, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford
• Thursday 20 March 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
• Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.

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Mathematical Modelling of Emergent Survival in Microbial Communities

The gut microbiome is more than a collection of individual bacteria – it is a dynamic ecosystem where survival depends on interactions between species. In fact, these interactions can be more decisive for a bacterium’s fate than external factors like the host’s diet or drug intake. In this talk, I will explore how gut microbial communities navigate challenges such as nutrient scarcity and drug exposure, often revealing surprising survival patterns that defy predictions based on single-species behaviour. I will introduce how mathematical models can capture these emergent survival dynamics, enabling predictions of which species thrive or decline in a community context. By delving into the metabolic alliances and competitive strategies of gut bacteria, my research aims to offer insights into microbiome resilience, pathogen resistance, and the design of targeted probiotic therapies. Whether you are fascinated by the gut-brain axis, applied mathematics, or simply intrigued by the unseen battles (and friendships) within, this lunchtime seminar aims to make the microscopic world come alive.

• Speaker: Naomi van den Berg
• Thursday 06 March 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Richard King room, Darwin College.
• Series: Darwin College Science Seminars; organiser: Alexander R Epstein.

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“The multifaceted roles of gamma delta T cell subsets in colon cancer”

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 27 February 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Seth Coffelt, Professor of Cancer Immunology, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute

Title: “The multifaceted roles of gamma delta T cell subsets in colon cancer”

Abstract: Understanding how immune cells impact cancer progression and metastasis is the major focus of the Coffelt lab. Specifically, we are interested in the mechanisms by which gd T cells participate in tumour evolution: from early stages of initiation to late stages of cancer spread. gd T cells encompass several phenotypically and functionally different subsets, including those that traffic between organs and lymph nodes as well as those that remain fixed within specific organs. We and others have shown that these gd T cell subsets can be either tumour-promoting or tumour-opposing. Recently, we have focused our efforts on gd T cells in colon cancer, asking questions about their behaviour during tumour evolution. Using genetically engineered mouse models of colon cancer, we have found that gut-resident Vg7 cells participate in cancer immunosurveillance, but are excluded from the tumour microenvironment. Current efforts are focused on understanding how pro-tumour gd T cells, including Vg4 and Vg6 cells, play a role in tumour initiation. Acquiring this knowledge may help in the design of new immunotherapies for patients with colon cancer

Host: Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

• Speaker: Seth B. Coffelt, Ph.D, Professor of Cancer Immunology, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
• Thursday 27 February 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
• Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.

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