Nanoscience News (<front>)

A high-energy silicon solid-state battery exceeding 400 Wh kg⁻¹ is demonstrated using a 99.9 wt% micro-Si anode, a thin sulfide electrolyte, and high-loading NMC811 cathode. Optimized dry/wet processing and interface engineering enable excellent cell cycling stability. Key degradation mechanisms are identified, providing strategies to enhance long-term performance of solid-state batteries.

For the first time, we demonstrate a silicon solid-state battery (SSB) architecture that achieves >400 Wh kg−1, approaching the theoretical limit for silicon-based SSBs. This configuration features a 99.9 wt% micro-Si, a thin sulfide solid electrolyte (SSE), and a high-loading NMC811. Key to these results is strategically selecting and evaluating the processing techniques, whether wet or dry, for the negative electrode, positive electrode and thin sheet-type SSE. Excessive lithium incorporation into the silicon host, beyond the Li3.75+Si phase to form a LiSi composite, is essential to match the high capacity of the positive electrode. This SSB achieves over 1000 cycles for a 2 mAh cm−2 with ≈80% capacity retention and 94% capacity retention for 3 mAh cm−2 over 500 cycles at 25 °C. Post analysis identifies the primary capacity decay mechanisms as oxidation at the NMC/SSE interface and structural disruptions within NMC. Meanwhile, the Si electrode maintains a robust solid-electrolyte interphase layer, minimizing capacity decay. This study highlights the necessity for improved NMC coatings, lattice oxygen stabilization, and a durable positive electrode-electrolyte interface to improve the long-term stability of SSBs. Strategies leading to a single-layer pouch cell SSB exceeding 400 Wh kg−1 are developed.

An in situ heterogeneous nucleation strategy for quasi-2D perovskite films via microelectronic printing is demonstrated, employing delaminated Cd-MOF as modulators. The layered Cd-MOF framework facilitates controlled nucleation, regulates phase distribution, and promotes stress relaxation, yielding films with an ultrahigh photoluminescence quantum yield and enhanced stability. These advancements underscore the potential of MOF-assisted synthesis in advancing high-performance perovskite materials for optoelectronics.

Microelectronic printing technology has recently emerged as a key approach in advancing pixel-array perovskite films, particularly quasi-2D perovskite films, to meet current scientific and technological demands. However, its further development remains hindered by the uncontrollable crystallization of perovskite during the printing process. Herein, a novel in situ heterogeneous nucleation growth approach for obtaining quasi-2D perovskite films is demonstrated, utilizing delaminated metal–organic frameworks (i.e., layered Cd-MOF) with an ordered structure as modulators. The inosculation of phenylethylammonium (PEA+) with layered Cd-MOF serves as crystal nuclei, facilitating heterogeneous crystal nucleation and growth while regulating the distribution of the n-phase. Moreover, the intercalation of the layered Cd-MOF alleviates rigid stress, thereby eliminating defects in the printed films. The resulting quasi-2D perovskite films exhibit an impressive photoluminescence quantum yield of 37.40% along with exceptional luminescent stability, making them promising candidates for various optoelectronic applications. Overall, this study highlights the significant potential of MOF-assisted synthesis in advancing high-performance perovskite materials through microelectronic printing technology, offering a promising pathway for the development of future optoelectronic devices.

Properties of LM and its application in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remains a leading cause of high mortality and imposes a significant health burden globally. The biocompatibility between materials and the cardiovascular system, encompassing biological safety, modulus matching, and anti-fatigue performance in dynamic physiological environments, has been a critical challenge in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. The emergence of liquid metal (LM) offers promising opportunities to develop diagnostic and therapeutic methods that exhibit excellent biocompatibility with the cardiovascular system. In this perspective, the progress of LM applications in contrast agents, nanomedicine, implantable and wearable bioelectronic devices, and bionic materials is evaluated, providing a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the role and advantages of LM in CVDs management. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of LM in the field of CVDs diagnosis and treatment are outlined.

A nonlinear conductive graphene composite (NcGc) layer, incorporating a conductive laser-reduced graphene oxide layer, is assembled into flexible pressure sensors without microstructural designs, achieving high sensitivity (742.3 kPa−1) and a wide linear sensing range (>800 kPa). The nonlinear conductivity of the NcGc layer enables bias-tunable sensitivity, inherently correcting thermal drifts and thereby preserving the precision of robotic gripper manipulation across varying temperatures.

Thermal fluctuations pose a significant challenge to the signal stability of nanomaterial-based piezoresistive pressure sensors, limiting their effectiveness in applications such as electronic skin and robotics. Conventional temperature compensation strategies often rely on additional thermal sensors or complex calibration algorithms. Here, a flexible pressure sensor is reported featuring a nonlinear conductive graphene composite layer within a bilayer architecture, enabling bias voltage-controlled sensitivity without structural redesign. The sensor achieves ultra-high sensitivity (742.3 kPa−1), a broad linear sensing range of up to 800 kPa (R2 = 0.99913), and excellent long-term durability over 10 000 cycles. Crucially, the unique nonlinear characteristics enable the bias voltage to function as an internal remote control for correcting temperature drifts between 25 and 60 °C, as demonstrated by precise manipulation in robotic grippers under varying temperature conditions. This work offers a universal strategy for building environmentally adaptive sensors, advancing the development of robust and high-precision wearable electronics.

The formation of Bi2O2(OH)(NO3) monolayer with strong force-sensitivity eliminates interlayer electric field screening induced by H bond between [Bi2O2OH] and [NO3] layers, resulting in larger piezoelectricity and strengthened internal electric field (IEF). It also incurs sufficient surface polar inherent hydroxyls, benefiting surface charge carrier decoupling and more favorable H2O molecules adsorption and H* desorption. Mechanical strain can induce in situ self-polarization, which further boosts IEF and reduces energy barriers of H* desorption and key intermediate *OH formation, facilitating piezocatalytic water splitting.

Piezocatalytic two-electron water splitting into spontaneously isolated H2 and H2O2 shows huge prospects in meeting industrial requirements. Herein, asymmetric single-unit-cell Bi2O2(OH)(NO3) monolayer (BON-M) with superb force-sensitivity are developed for pure water and seawater dissociation. The formation of a monolayer structure allows sufficient exposure of polar inherent hydroxyls and eliminates the interlayer electric field screening induced by hydrogen bonding between [Bi2O2OH] slices and [NO3] layers, resulting in larger piezoelectricity and strengthened internal electric field. It also benefits surface charge carrier decoupling and renders more favorable H2O molecules adsorption and H* desorption. Particularly, the mechanical strain can induce the in situ self-polarization of BON-M, which further enhances electric field intensity and reduces energy barriers of H* desorption and key intermediate *OH formation, facilitating water splitting to H2 and H2O2 kinetically and thermodynamically. An exceptional piezocatalytic H2 and H2O2 production rate up to 2071.05 and 970.27 µmol g−1 h−1 is delivered by BON-M from pure water. It also accumulates H2 output of 12 429.68 µmol g−1 within 8 h from seawater splitting, along with mechanical-to-hydrogen efficiency of 0.15%. This work develops an effective strategy for exploiting high-performance piezocatalyst by building ultrafine nanostructure enriched with inherent polar groups on the surface.

This paper reports the one-step preparation of ultralight polyimide microtube aerogel sponges (PMAS) using airflow-induced spinning. PMAS has ultralow density, excellent thermal insulation properties and compression resilience over a wide temperature range, and can be applied in thermal insulation. Notably, airflow-induced spinning technology fills the gaps in industrial-scale preparation and material compatibility of microtube.

Flexible thermal protection is of great significance in fields facing various environments such as aerospace and electric vehicles. Elastic aerogels with micro-nanofibers as the base unit effectively solve the force-thermal compatibility, optimized the contradiction between mechanical strength and thermal insulation performance, and solves the risk of fragile aerogel. In order to develop elastic aerogels with lower density and better thermal insulation properties. Here, the first one-step preparation of ultralight polyimide microtube aerogel sponges (PMAS) using airflow-induced spinning is reported. PMAS consists of a large number of structurally controllable microtube, resulting in ultralight density (≈50 mg cm−3), ultralow thermal conductivity (37 mW m−1·K at 25 °C), and excellent elasticity and fatigue resistance, with no significant attenuation of the maximum stress after 1000 cycles of compression at 80% strain. In addition, PMAS has temperature-invariant dynamic mechanical stability and an operating temperature range from 77 to 573 K. These superior properties enable PMAS to be ideal choice for thermal insulation in extreme environments, thermal runaway in batteries, adsorption and gas filling. Airflow-induced spinning fills the gap in the industrial-scale preparation and material compatibility of microtube, while also providing a promising solution for the universal preparation of microtube structures.

A 3D array of magnetoactive mechanical metamaterials enables rapid and reversible stiffness modulation under external magnetic fields. By adjusting field direction and intensity, the system exhibits diverse deformation modes and tunable modulus. This fast-responding mechanical metamaterial offers real-time adaptability for advanced reconfigurable and load-bearing applications.

Programmable mechanical materials often require dynamic stiffness adaptability, but existing solutions face challenges with slow response times and limited precision. This study introduces magnetically tunable stiffness metamaterials (MTSM) that utilize a bioinspired ternary programming framework to achieve rapid and precise stiffness modulation. Drawing inspiration from biological sarcomeres, which naturally adjust stiffness through structural changes, the MTSM design employs direct ink writing, a 4D printing method, to incorporate neodymium microparticles and a styrene-isoprene-styrene polymer matrix. This approach enables the metamaterial to transition between three distinct stiffness states—soft, moderate, and stiff—through structural deformation controlled by magnetic torque. Integration of MTSM into a 3D array further enhances its versatility, allowing multi-layer stiffness adjustments under magnetic fields. The MTSM array achieves an impressive 390 percent stiffness modulation range and rapid changes in response to an external magnetic field, surpassing the limitations of prior designs. These findings emphasize the potential of ternary programming in MTSM as a foundation for creating next-generation programmable mechanical systems capable of rapid and efficient adaptability.

A fluorogen-activating HSA engineered via confinement fluorescence enhances brightness, minimizes phototoxicity, and achieves superior cell permeability for nanoscale mitochondrial imaging. Co-crystal structure reveals HSA immobilizes the fluorophore in hydrophobic cavities via α-type binding, restricting torsional motions for high quantum yields. Theoretical calculations elucidate excited-state dynamics. AmpHecy@HSA enables low-phototoxicity super-resolution mitochondrial imaging in living cells, expanding fluorogenic toolkit for mitochondrial science.

Fluorescence nanoscopy of living cells employs contrast agents to reveal intrinsic correlations between mitochondrial dynamics and functions at the molecular level. However, regular mitochondrial fluorophores usually present poor photostability, low brightness, non-specific inhibitory effects, high phototoxicity, and rapid photobleaching, which have hindered the use of these tools to capture the intricate dynamic features of mitochondria. Herein, we engineered a fluorogen-activating protein (FAP), AmpHecy@HSA, a non-covalent self-assembly of HSA and amphiphilic hemicyanine (AmpHecy) fluorophore, with exceptional cell permeability, long-lasting photostability, high brightness/fluorogenicity, and minimal phototoxicity. Crystallography and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy techniques were combined to elucidate the structural and mechanistic intricacies of fluorescence activation. These findings revealed that fluorophore photoactivation happens through the molecular conformation-induced intramolecular charge transfer, whose kinetics is mainly determined by the hydrophobic interaction between the fluorophore and nearby amino acids. This aligns with classical molecular dynamics simulations and excited-state conformation quantum mechanics. It was further demonstrated that AmpHecy@HSA can be used for super-resolved images of mitochondria within living cells without apparent phototoxicity. This work expands the fluorescent toolkit based on FAP engineering for studying live-cell mitochondrial morphology and function, advancing the fields of chemistry and biomedicine.

I will survey recent progress on Chowla’s conjecture on the correlations of the Möbius function. I will discuss some of the methods that have been used to approach this conjecture, and how these methods have turned out to be useful also for some other problems in additive combinatorics and ergodic theory.

• Speaker: Joni Teräväinen (University of Cambridge)
• Wednesday 28 May 2025, 13:30-15:00
• Venue: MR4, CMS.
• Series: Discrete Analysis Seminar; organiser: Julia Wolf.

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Initial support by the British Empire Cancer Campaign in Uganda led to the description of Burkitt Lymphoma and subsequently to the establishment of the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI). The Uganda Cancer Institute was established in 1967 as a result of a collaboration between Makerere University, the Ministry of Health and the US National Cancer Institute. It was established as a treatment centre for the then recently discovered Burkitt Lymphoma, and was expanded in 1969 to cater for all cancer. The Institute participated in the seminal initial studies on combination chemotherapy. However, years of political turmoil led to a steady decline in care, research and training. Over the past ten years, the UCI has been building capacity address the cancer care gap and here we describe some of the steps taken towards this effort. The Institute has expanded clinical care capacity, increase human resource capacity and is currently building a cancer research and innovation facility. The Institute is undertaking high quality research and here we describe Our model could also serve other developing countries in building capacity for cancer care and research to address the growing burden of cancer in LMI Cs.

• Speaker: Nixon Niyonzima, Uganda Cancer Institute
• Thursday 19 June 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: CRUK CI Lecture Theatre.
• Series: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (CRUK CI) Seminars in Cancer; organiser: .

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Multidimensional-Encrypted Meta-Optics Storage

By introducing a single-cell order-decoupling method and enabling simultaneous four-dimensional optical parameter manipulation, the meta-optics storage system developed by Zhongyang Li and co-workers achieves multidimensional optical encryption. This platform supports 16-channel encrypted holographic images with low crosstalk and high fidelity, demonstrating significant potential for advanced optical information security and storage applications. More details can be found in article number 2419322.

Metal-Polyphenol Meat Freshness Intelligent Monitoring Platform

In article number 2503246, Yunfei Xie, Tiancong Zhao, and co-workers propose for the first time a multi-level competitive coordination chromogenic mechanism between metal, polyphenol, and amine. The metal-polyphenol network colorimetric sensor array (MPN-CSA) developed based on this has excellent stability, specificity, and economic environmental benefits. Combined with convolutional neural network technology, it can achieve sensitive, accurate, and real-time online intelligent monitoring of meat freshness.

Residue-Free Fabrication of 2D Materials

In article number 2418669, Minyoung Lee, Changho Kim, Jae Hun Seol, and co-workers report a residue-free fabrication technique for 2D materials using van der Waals interactions. This approach allows for the isolation and precise manipulation of residue-free 2D materials while preserving their intrinsic properties. The technique enhances the performance and versatility of 2D material-based electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Stretchable Electronics

The stretchable circuit can resist compression and autonomously repair circuit cracks by filling a micropillar-embedded channel with a biphasic liquid-solid metal. More details can be found in article number 2420469 by Jian Lv, Jinyou Shao, and co-workers.

Nature Energy, Published online: 27 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01788-8

Nature Energy, Published online: 27 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01789-7

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dr Zac Goodwin (Oxford)
• Wednesday 04 June 2025, 16:00-17:30
• Venue: Seminar Room 3, RDC.
• Series: Theory of Condensed Matter; organiser: Bo Peng.

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An unpublished result of Emerton states that every trianguline representation of the absolute Galois group of Q, satisfying certain conditions, arises as a twist of the Galois representation attached to an overconvergent p-adic cuspidal eigenform of finite slope. I will outline a new approach to prove this result by patching trianguline varieties and eigenvarieties for modular forms on GL2 to establish an “R=T” theorem in the setting of rigid analytic spaces. There are several nice consequences to such a theorem, including a new approach to deduce the classicality of overconvergent eigenforms of small slope, as well as applications to the Fontaine-Mazur conjecture.

• Speaker: James Kiln (Queen Mary)
• Tuesday 27 May 2025, 14:30-15:30
• Venue: MR13.
• Series: Number Theory Seminar; organiser: Jef Laga.

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This work systematically summarizes the development of synaptic devices with negative photoconductivity (NPC) phenomena. Material systems, device structures, and mechanisms of NPC effect-based devices are summarized for designing high-performance neuromorphic electronics. The prospect and challenge are deeply discussed for advanced application scenarios, which provides valuable guidance for next-generation optoelectronic in-sensor neuromorphic computing devices.

The emerging optoelectronic devices with positive photoconductivity (PPC) and negative photoconductivity (NPC) have promoted the development of high-performance photodetectors, non-volatile photoelectric memory, and neuromorphic computing. With advantages of high bandwidth, low power consumption, and parallel computing, NPC effect-based optoelectronic devices show great application potential in logic gates, in-sensor computing, and artificial visual systems. Material systems, device structures, and mechanisms of NPC effect-based devices are summarized for designing high-performance neuromorphic electronics. The evaluation parameters of the photoelectric properties, memory capabilities, and synaptic plasticity of optoelectronic devices are discussed for the realization of high-efficiency neuromorphic computing. Hardware and software operation of in-sensor computing for neuromorphic computing using NPC effect-based devices are systematically summarized to provide insights into future applications. The prospect and challenge are deeply discussed for advanced application scenarios, which provides valuable guidance for next-generation optoelectronic in-sensor neuromorphic computing devices.