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This review spotlights the critical challenges faced by aluminum metal anodes and aqueous electrolytes. Recent progress on activating and stabilizing Al metal anode is summarized and discussed in terms of two aspects, including anode engineering and electrolyte optimization. Finally, some revelatory insights and possible strategies are provided for the future design of high reaction activity of Al anode and electrolytes.

Aqueous aluminum metal batteries (AAMBs) have garnered significant attention due to the abundant reserves, low cost, high theoretical capacity, and intrinsic safety of aluminum (Al). However, Al3+-based energy storage technologies remain in their nascent stages, facing a multitude of challenges. One major issue is the poor thermodynamic stability of the aluminum metal anode in aqueous electrolytes, stemming from self-corrosion, surface passivation, or hydrogen evolution reactions. These parasitic reactions dramatically reduce the reactivity, prevent reversible deposition/dissolution of aluminum, and restrict the electrochemical performance of AAMBs. This review spotlights the critical challenges faced by aluminum metal anodes and aqueous electrolytes. Then, recent progress on activating and stabilizing Al metal anode is summarized and discussed in terms of two aspects, including anode engineering and electrolyte optimization. Ultimately, future designs of high reaction activity of Al metal anode and electrolytes with high reversibility, long lifespan, and high energy density are proposed, which potentially facilitate the development of new generation of Al-based energy storage batteries.

A durable high-voltage all-solid-state electrolyte is developed by incorporating a novel organic/inorganic hybrid porous component with a fluoroether design. Due to the weakened Li+ coordination structure, the proposed high-voltage SSE exhibits durable antioxidation. The optimized electrolytes show ultra-stable cycling performance in Li||Li cells, LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2||Li cells, and LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4||Li cells even under 4.5V.

Developing high-voltage all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) holds transformative potential for next-generation energy storage technologies but remains a formidable challenge. Herein, a new prototype design is presented that integrates fluorinated ether segments into the traditional oxide nanocomposite phase, enabling poly(ethylene oxide)-based composite electrolytes with exceptional anti-oxidation durability and enhance overall electrochemical performance. Through a combination of experimental and computational analyses, it is demonstrated that the superior performance is attributed to the formation of reconstructed Li⁺ solvation with weakly coordinating environments. The proposed formulation exhibits excellent Li-metal compatibility, enabling stable cycling in symmetric Li||Li cells for over 9500 h. The solid-state electrolyte also exhibits outstanding high-voltage stability with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathodes, extending the operational voltage from 4.0 to 4.5 V. Moreover, the LiMn1-xFexPO4||Li cells have delivered remarkable cycling performance, achieving over 1200 cycles with 99% capacity retention after 500 cycles. This work establishes an innovative platform for designing electrolytes with superior antioxidation properties and enhance structural durability, paving the way for the advancement of high-voltage all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Self-growing scaffolds increase both the border and the space of obsolete defects. By balancing molecular cohesion and hydrogen bonding, the growth time can be regulated within 3–7 days. Dynamic shear forces induced by scaffold growth can inhibit hematoma, enhance focal adhesion, and accelerate extracellular matrix remodeling. This regenerative model allows for minimally invasive treatment of vertical bone augmentation.

Tissue regeneration and repair techniques approaching personalized treatment are devoted to fabricating high-precision scaffolds that accurately match the size of the defect. However, scaffolds are difficult to implant in situ for obsolete defects with loss of original space, and the size is limited by confined boundary tissue. In nature, the development of fetuses, organs, and even plants all experience a matched growth in volume and border. Inspired by that, this study proposes a space-expanding regeneration model with a self-growing (SG) scaffold, which is then used in refractory alveolar ridge vertical bone augmentation. The SG scaffold contains a multistage hydrophilic polymer network. The initial size can be eliminated for minimally invasive implantation, and gradually increased by orderly absorption of tissue fluid, achieving controlled growth in vivo. The shearing force of the SG scaffold suppresses tissue hematoma and stimulates extracellular matrix remodeling. In addition, macrophages polarize toward M2 and secrete transforming growth factor-β1. Meanwhile, bone regeneration is induced within the expanded space, achieving a ≈5-fold vertical increase of the rat skull, and supporting a 6-mm-long titanium implant. The SG scaffold provides a spatial and border extension model for obsolete injuries.

The comprehensive phase diagram is established by a directional etching technique with H3PMo12O40 as an etchant to target MOFs defect-engineered hollow hierarchical structures. The etched MOF achieves an exceptional H2 evolution rate due to the enhanced exposure of encapsulated polyoxometalate clusters in the hollow structure.

Encapsulating guests in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) can widely expand their functionality, but usually reduces porosity, hindering reactant and product diffusion. Herein, a simple and rapid room temperature directional etching technique is developed to engineer MOFs with tailored hierarchical structures. With H3PMo12O40 (PMo12) as an etchant, classical cubic morphology of WNi@Z8, a ZIF-8 MOF encapsulating SiW11NiO39 (WNi), can be transformed into various defect-engineered hollow structures, and a comprehensive phase diagram is established by systematically adjusting etching parameters. Mechanistic studies reveal that PMo12 infiltrates ZIF-8 preferentially through {111} facet, followed by controlled etching along {110} and {100} facets, enabling precise spatial control over cavity formation. The etched WNi@Z8 achieves an exceptional H2 evolution rate of 12,667 µmol g−1 h−1, nearly threefold enhancement over the non-etched counterpart due to the enhanced exposure of encapsulated WNi clusters in the hollow structure. This work provides a generalizable strategy for engineering guest@MOFs to achieve high-efficiency catalysis.

In layered magnets, the atomistic Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) depends critically not only on the orbital occupancy of the interface layer but also on the sequence of the atomic layers. The effect can be understood by analyzing the contributions of different orbitals to DMI. Both the chirality and the magnitude of the atomistic DMI can be controlled through interface engineering.

Chirality is one of the inherent characteristics of some objects in nature. In magnetism, chiral magnetic textures can be formed in systems with broken inversion symmetry and due to an antisymmetric magnetic interaction, known as Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). Here, aiming for a fundamental understanding of this chiral interaction on the atomic scale, several synthetic layered structures composed of alternating atomic layers of 3d ferromagnetic metals epitaxially grown on the Ir(001) surface are designed. It is demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically that the atomistic DMI depends critically not only on the orbital occupancy of the interface magnetic layer but also on the sequence of the atomic layers. It is shown that even large atomistic DMI values can result in a small effective DMI, and conversely. Furthermore, the dependence of the effective DMI on the number of atomic layers deviates from a simple scaling law. These observations are attributed to the complexity of the electronic structure and the contributions of different orbitals to the hybridization and DMI. The results are anticipated to provide guidelines for achieving full control over both the chirality and the magnitude of the atomistic DMI in layered materials.

Dual-amide engineering creates a hierarchical energy dissipation system in blue phase liquid crystal elastomers, yielding remarkable toughness and ultralow hysteresis. This strategy enables programmable mechanochromics via thermally induced bond rearrangement. A multidimensional encryption platform is demonstrated by synergistically combining mechanical strain, UV-triggered luminescence, and temporally-gated phosphorescent afterglow for advanced anti-counterfeiting applications.

Blue phase liquid crystal elastomers (BPLCEs) hold significant promise for flexible photonic devices due to their 3D periodic photonic lattices and intrinsic soft-matter characteristics. However, achieving an optimal balance between mechanical resilience and dynamic responsiveness remains a critical challenge. This study introduces a dynamic hydrogen-bonding network design strategy, wherein N,N'-bisacryloylcystamine monomers are incorporated to construct a hierarchical energy dissipation system, yielding BPLCEs with remarkable toughness (1.72 MJ m− 3) and ultralow hysteresis (4.8%). By integrating thermally induced topological bond rearrangement, programmable mechanical gradient films are developed to enable high-precision strain-induced patterning and an adaptive encryption mechanism governed by a “relaxation-concealment/stretching-development” paradigm. Furthermore, leveraging the spatiotemporal gating properties of embedded phosphorescent materials, a dual-mode dynamic verification system is established, facilitating multidimensional information decryption via ultraviolet-triggered rapid visualization and controlled afterglow decay lasting up to 5 s. This study not only mitigates the inherent trade-off between mechanical durability and stimulus responsiveness in soft photonic crystals but also establishes a novel framework for multidimensional synergistic regulation across mechanical, optical, and temporal domains. These findings provide a transformative strategy for advancing next-generation dynamic encryption systems, intelligent sensing technologies, and adaptive photonic displays, paving the way for innovative applications in flexible photonic devices.

A computation-guided strategy for non-inflammatory photothermal therapy is developed, leveraging machine learning to identify RuO2 as the optimal photothermal agent with anti-inflammatory properties. Through an integrated approach, the mechanisms are elucidated using density functional theory calculations. This dual-methodology framework allows for a deeper understanding of the photothermal and anti-inflammatory performance.

Due to the promotive role of inflammation in tumor progression, designing multifunctional nanomedicines that synergistically combine anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties emerges as a promising approach to enhance cancer treatment. However, identifying optimal nano-agents from a vast pool of candidates using traditional trial-and-error methods remains inefficient and lacking in systematic guidance. In this study, this challenge is addressed by integrating photothermal therapy for tumor ablation with catalase-mimicking nanozymes for inflammation mitigation as a model system to explore non-inflammatory tumor treatment strategies. Using interpretable machine learning techniques, experimental data are systematically analyzed to elucidate the relationships between nanomaterial features and functional properties, enabling the precise identification of photothermal agents with robust anti-inflammatory synergistic effects. Through this framework, ruthenium oxide nanoparticles (RuO2 NPs) are identified as a highly efficient multifunctional candidate. The catalytic properties of RuO2 NPs are further validated and rationalized through density functional theory calculations. Experimental investigations confirm the remarkable performance of RuO2 NPs, demonstrating their ability to achieve efficient photothermal tumor ablation at NIR-II biowindow and simultaneously mitigate inflammation by promoting a favorable immune microenvironment. This work highlights the transformative potential of machine learning-driven approaches in the rational design and accelerated discovery of multifunctional nanomaterials.

The use of organic-inorganic hybrid chlorine sources allows the preparation of thick perovskite films, leading to sky-blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a record-high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 26.2%.

Achieving efficient and stable blue-emitting quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) remains a challenge due to the poor solubility of conventional chloride precursors and the difficulty to form thick, uniform films with a well-controlled phase distribution. A new strategy is proposed to address this challenge using CsPbCl3 quantum dots (QDs) capped with oleylamine (OLA) ligands as an alternative chlorine source. It is demonstrated how the use of these QDs enables formation of quasi-2D perovskite films with vertically aligned crystalline structure, thickness over 100 nm, and improved stability. OLA ligands regulate the crystal phase distribution and grain boundaries, suppressing the appearance of small-n 2D phases and reducing the number of crystal defects, while inorganic CsPbCl3 QD cores induce vertical crystallization of quasi-2D perovskite films, endowing them with enhanced structural stability. The use of this non-conventional chlorine source is proven instrumental in improving external quantum efficiency of quasi-2D perovskite sky-blue LEDs, reaching 26.2% at 485 nm, with significantly enhanced electroluminescence stability both in terms of peak position and brightness. This study demonstrates a novel methodology using CsPbCl3 QDs capped with conventional organic ligands to achieve thick quasi-2D perovskite layers for blue LEDs, addressing existing limitations in perovskite optoelectronics.

Static aerodynamic surfaces are inherently limited in their ability to adapt to dynamic velocity profiles or environmental changes, restricting their performance. Here, a stretched-induced auxetic dimpling textile that tunes surface roughness while tightly fitted is presented. Wind-tunnel tests and FE design mapping show controllable dimples can cut drag by up to 20% in target ranges, and real-time strain adjustments can sustain optimal performance of a cylindrical body

Static aerodynamic surfaces are inherently limited in their ability to adapt to dynamic velocity profiles or environmental changes, restricting their performance under variable operating conditions. This challenge is particularly pronounced in high-speed competitive sports, such as cycling and downhill skiing, where the properties of a static textile surface are mismatched with highly dynamic wind-speed profiles. Here, an textile metamaterial is introduced that is capable of variable aerodynamic profiles through a stretch-induced dimpling mechanism, even when tightly conformed to a body or object. Wind-tunnel experiments are used to characterize the variable aerodynamic performance of the dimpling mechanism, while Finite Element (FE) simulations efficiently characterize the design space to identify optimal textile metamaterial architectures. By controlling dimple size, the aerodynamic performance of the textile can be tailored for specific wind-speed ranges, resulting in an ability to modulate drag force at target wind-speeds by up to 20%. Furthermore, the potential for active control of a textiles' aerodynamic properties is demonstrated, in which controlled stretching allows the textile to sustain optimal performance across a dynamic wind-speed profile. These findings establish a new approach to aerodynamic metamaterials, with surface dimpling and thus variable fluid-dynamic properties offering transformative applications for wearables, as well as broader opportunities for aerospace, maritime, and civil engineering systems.

The coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orders in van der Waals magnet above room temperature, inducing an intrinsic exchange bias and canted perpendicular magnetism is discovered. Such non-trivial intrinsic magnetic order enables the realization of energy-efficient and magnetic field-free spin-orbit torque memory devices.

The discovery of van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials exhibiting non-trivial and tunable magnetic interactions can lead to exotic magnetic states that are not readily attainable with conventional materials. Such vdW magnets can provide a unique platform for studying new magnetic phenomena and realizing magnetization dynamics for energy-efficient and non-volatile spintronic memory and computing technologies. Here, the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orders in vdW magnet (Co0.5Fe0.5)5-xGeTe2 (CFGT) above room temperature, inducing an intrinsic exchange bias and canted perpendicular magnetism is discovered. Such non-trivial intrinsic magnetic order enables to realize energy-efficient, magnetic field-free, and deterministic spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching of CFGT in heterostructure with Pt. These experiments, in conjunction with density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrate the coexistence of non-trivial magnetic orders in CFGT, which enables field-free SOT magnetization dynamics in spintronic devices.

A monolithic topological Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is presented, integrating the splitter, combiner, and waveguide arms on a single chip. The interferometric fringes exhibiting high on-off contrast with extinction ratios over 20 dB are achieved by utilizing tailored unit cells that facilitate interface-dependent out-of-plane radiation losses. We also demonstrate active tuning of the MZI response through photoexcitation of the MZI arms.

The pursuit of on-chip electromagnetic wave control for high throughput communication, spectroscopy, and quantum computing underlies the motivation for terahertz photonic integrated circuitry. Recent breakthroughs in topological photonics have enabled the development of chips that harness topologically resilient interface modes to achieve area and performance efficiency. However, the demonstration of a compact, monolithic topological Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), remains a critical gap. In this work, a terahertz topological MZI is presented, exhibiting six interferometric fringes across a 17 GHz bandwidth, with splitter, combiner, and arms integrated on a single chip. The interferometric fringes exhibiting high on-off contrast with extinction ratios over 20 dB are achieved by utilizing tailored unit cells that facilitate interface-dependent out-of-plane radiation losses. Active tuning of the MZI response is also demonstrated through photoexcitation of the MZI arms. The presented approach is the first step toward realizing topological photonic modulators that leverage the phase degree of freedom for photonic integrated communication and quantum information processing.

This review summarizes the recent electrocatalytic/photocatalytic synthesis of C–N coupling compounds (including urea, amide, and amino acids) from various carbonaceous species and various nitrogenous species, focusing on the designs of different catalytic sites and reaction mechanisms. The existing challenges and future research directions are also supplemented.

Electrocatalytic/photocatalytic C─N coupling from small carboncontaining (such as CO2 and CH3OH) and nitrogen-containing species (such as N2, NO3 −, and NH3) enables the synthesis of value-added organonitrogen compounds, including urea, amides, and amino acids. This approach, ideally driven by renewable energy, holds great promise for sustainable developments and has thus been attracting increasing research interest in recent years. To enhance the C─N coupling under mild reaction conditions, it is necessary to activate different substrate molecules effectively and balance the adsorption and desorption of various C- and N-containing intermediates and/or radicals, thereby realizing different value-added organonitrogen compounds. In this review, the recent advances in electrocatalytic/photocatalytic C─N coupling reactions targeting those three types of products, i.e., urea, amides, and amino acids is aimed to summarized. The rational designs of active sites for synergistic catalysis are discussed, including their types, compositions, spatial arrangements, crystal facets, heterostructures, and local environments. Different reactant molecules and catalytic mechanisms for the electrocatalytic/photocatalytic C─N coupling reactions, as well as the methods of C─N coupling products detection, are also described. Finally, the existing challenges in this field are summarized, and the potential research perspectives are also proposed.

Through polyphenol-amine-mediated covalent modification, quaternary ammonium groups (bactericidal agents) and phosphate groups (promoting bone-regeneration factors) are spatially organized on titanium (Ti) surfaces to regulate the surface chemical characteristics of dental implants. The surface-engineered implants (Ti-AQs) exhibited balanced antibacterial and biocompatible properties.

Implant-associated infections and compromised osseointegration pose a dual threat to bone implants due to the biological conflict between microbial invasion and host cell colonization. However, conventional contact-killing antimicrobial coatings may negatively affect the viability of mammalian cells, limiting their further application. Here, a surface modification strategy is proposed to help mammalian cells to win the “race for the surface” on the material-tissue interfaces. Through polyphenol-amine-mediated covalent modification, quaternary ammonium groups (bactericidal agents) and phosphate groups (promoting bone-regeneration factors) are spatially organized on titanium (Ti) surfaces to regulate the surface chemical characteristics of dental implants. The surface-engineered implants (Ti-AQs) exhibited balanced antibacterial and biocompatible properties. The optimized Ti-AQ-2 coating eradicated >99% of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli) via destruction of disrupted bacterial membranes through metabolic interference, and simultaneously promoted adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells through Ca2+-mediated signaling pathways. Moreover, Ti-AQs can drive immunomodulation biased macrophages toward pro-repair M2 polarization. In vivo evaluations in an implant-associated infection modal confirmed that Ti-AQ-2 inhibited infection at the early stage and enhanced bone-implant integration at the late stage. This work presents a facile strategy to regulate the surface performances for developing of antibacterial implants with high biocompatibility and bioactivity.

This study presents a customizable porous liquid-metal (LM)/elastomer composite film with controlled LM distribution, overcoming conventional limitations of LM-based composites (unintended activation of unsintered regions under strain). It can achieve precise patterning through imprinting, thereby enabling the creation of flexible conductive patterns, which can be used in multifunctional stretchable electronics.

Stretchable conductors with conductive patterns are crucial for flexible electronics, which demand high conductivity and stable electrical properties under significant deformations. Liquid-metal (LM)-based composites patterned by selective sintering are promising for flexible electronics, however, short-circuiting may occur due to unintended activation of unsintered regions under strain. Hence, developing highly customizable LM-based stretchable conductors remains a persistent challenge. Stretchable LM/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) porous films are designed with controlled LM distribution through non-solvent-induced phase separation and surface modification of LM particles, which overcomes the limitations of conventional LM-based stretchable composites and enables the design of diverse flexible electronics with conductive patterns via imprinting. The porous structure increases spacing between LM particles and alleviates stress on LM particles, ensuring electrical insulation of the unimprinted regions during stretching. The customizable patterning process enables the films to be used for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and stripe patterns allow for dynamic tuning of EMI shielding performance. Additionally, they demonstrate excellent performance in wireless communications, tunable EM wave filters, and stretchable Joule heaters. Moreover, the solubility of TPU makes it easy to recycle LM from the film, thus demonstrating ideal recyclability. Outstanding electrical stability and versatile applications guarantee its significant impact on stretchable electronics.

By combining the advantages of two-dimensional (2D)two-dimensional ferroelectrics and 2D topological insulators, the Bi2Te3/SnSe hetero-memristor is constructed to achieve ultra-high and stable optoelectronic sensing characteristics. The device shows an average 0.25 µW on/off power and 32 controllable conductive states. The semi-hardware neuromorphic system based on it achieved a 97.68% classification accuracy in low orbit satellite image recognition tasks.

As the application of artificial vision systems continues to grow, developing efficient and low-power visual sensing devices has become a key challenge. Memristors offer tunable conductivity and integrated in-situ storage and computation functions, making them ideal for low-cost visual systems. However, most memristors currently face the dual challenges of poor stability and limited optoelectronic synaptic plasticity. Here, a Bi2Te2.7Se0.3/SnSe hetero-memristor is designed, which combines the advantages of two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators and 2D ferroelectric materials. The hetero-memristor performance can be tuned by the SnSe ferroelectric polarization and Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 topological surface state, which improve the utilization and mobility of carriers, thereby significantly improving the performance. The high 104-cycle stability, average 0.25 µW on/off power, and 25 conductive states are achieved. Under different signals, the hetero-memristor can enable in situ light-electric conversion and successfully simulate various optoelectronic plasticity behaviors, such as paired-pulse facilitation, post-tetanic potentiation, spike rate-dependent plasticity, etc. Mean while, an efficient in-situ bionic-visual semi-hardware system is constructed based on the 28 × 28 perception hetero-memristor array. This system efficiently performs satellite image recognition and classification, achieving an accuracy of 97.68%. The research shows that the Bi2Te2.7Se0.3/SnSe hetero-memristor is with excellent optoelectronic performances and broad application prospects, particularly in brain-like computing, smart hardware, and storage technologies.

This work demonstrates formation of robust ordered skyrmion lattices in pre-annealed 2D Fe3GaTe2 at room temperature via minimal strain. Magnetic force microscopy reveals that the stabilized skyrmion phase endures thousands of cycles of mechanical fatigue (stretching/bending/twisting), maintains stability across broad magnetic field and temperature ranges, and exhibits field-free stability. These results hold promise for flexible, low-power spintronic applications.

Manipulating topological magnetic orders of 2D magnets by strain, once achieved, offers enormous potential for future low-power flexible spintronic applications. In this work, by placing Fe3GaTe2 (FGaT), a room-temperature 2D ferromagnet, on flexible substrate, a field-free and robust formation of skyrmion lattice induced by strain is demonstrated. By applying a minimal strain of ≈0.80% to pre-annealed FGaT flakes, the Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) tip directly triggers the transition from maze-like domains to an ordered skyrmion lattice while scanning the sample surface. The skyrmion lattice is rather stable against extensive cyclic mechanical testing (stretching, bending, and twisting over 2000 cycles each). It also exhibits stability across a wide range of magnetic fields (≈2.9 kOe) and temperatures (≈323 K), as well as long-term retention stability, highlighting its robustness and field-free stabilization. The strain effect reduces the lattice symmetry and enhances the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) of FGaT, thus stabilizing the skyrmion lattice. The findings highlight the potential of FGaT for integrating magnetic skyrmions into future low-power-consumption flexible spintronics devices.

A strategy for fully suppressing nearfield coupling is reported between subwavelength separated meta-atoms with arbitrarily large resonant quality factors, opening the door to dynamic high resolution wavefront shaping with vanishingly small refractive index biasing. The platform provides a route for densely arrayed high Q metasurfaces with independently addressable meta-atoms, paving the way for highly efficient nonlinear and dynamic wavefront shaping.

High Q phase gradient metasurfaces are promising for revolutionizing light manipulation, but near-field coupling typically forces a trade-off between quality factor and resolution. Here, a strategy for eliminating coupling-based nonlocal effects in wave shaping metasurfaces composed of meta-pixels is presented with arbitrarily long resonant lifetimes arranged with sub-diffraction spatial resolution. By working at a zero-coupling regime introduced by the interference between enhanced longitudinal and transverse electric fields, the tradeoff between Q and resolution no longer exists. Numerical demonstrations show that metasurfaces with quality factors of a few million and resolution <λ/1.6 can produce beam-splitting to angles of ±53° and beam-steering to an angle of 33° with diffraction efficiencies over 90% via refractive index modulations of just 2 × 10−6 and 7 × 10−6, respectively. Experimentally, the signature of a zero-coupling regime is discovered in the form of a sign flip in the angular dispersion with resonant wavelength, which validates the scheme. Aside from triangulating a perfect decoupling configuration, one of the fabricated nanofin-isolated metasurfaces with Q-factor >870 has a resonant wavelength that stays within the half linewidth for incident angles of −20° to 20°. This platform paves the way for combining precise wavefront shaping with highly efficient nonlinearity and rapid programmability.

This review comprehensively summarizes the recent progress in the design and fabrication of sensory-adaptation-inspired devices and highlights their valuable applications in electronic skin, wearable electronics, and machine vision. The existing challenges and future directions are addressed in aspects such as device performance optimization, multimodal adaptive sensors, and system-level integration.

The human perception system features many dynamic functional mechanisms that efficiently process the large amount of sensory information available in the surrounding environment. In this system, sensory adaptation operates as a core mechanism that seamlessly filters familiar and inconsequential external stimuli at sensory endpoints. Such adaptive filtering minimizes redundant data movement between sensory terminals and cortical processing units and contributes to a lower communication bandwidth requirement and lower energy consumption at the system level. Recreating the behavior of sensory adaptation using electronic devices has garnered significant research interest owing to its promising prospects in next-generation intelligent perception platforms. Herein, the recent progress in bioinspired adaptive device engineering is systematically examined, and its valuable applications in electronic skins, wearable electronics, and machine vision are highlighted. The rapid development of bioinspired adaptive sensors can be attributed not only to the recent advances in emerging neuromorphic electronic elements, including piezoelectric and triboelectric sensors, memristive devices, and neuromorphic transistors, but also to the improved understanding of biological sensory adaptation. Existing challenges hindering device performance optimization, multimodal adaptive sensor development, and system-level integration are also discussed, providing insights for the development of high-performance neuromorphic sensing systems.

Water impacting, freezing, melting, and being mechanically removed from the designed dielectric surfaces generates a triboeletric signal that can be used to detect various icing and de-icing scenarios. The charge transferred directly scales with the interfacial fracture mechanism, further validating triboelectricity as an excellent ice-detection platform, including in-flight on drones flying at subzero temperatures, as demonstrated.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have significant potential to perform as sensors or compact electric power generators through the production of electrical charge during the frictional interactions between two dissimilar materials, such as liquids impacting solids. However, whether phase transitions generate a triboelectric response is not known. This study investigates the occurrence of triboelectrification during the water-ice phase transition using TENGs for real-time ice detection on critical engineering surfaces such as aircraft, wind turbine blades, and vehicles. TENGs are fabricated using aluminum electrodes and either polyethylene, silicone, or polytetrafluoroethylene as the dielectric. The freezing of water and the melting of ice are found to generate triboelectric current only during motion of the contact line, and the presence of ice can lessen additional charge transfer during continuous ice accretion. Further, ice type (rime versus glaze) can be differentiated during accretion by the initial transferred charge and how quickly the signal plateaus. It is observed that mechanical de-icing generates triboelectric charges that are proportional to the de-icing force, and this allows for the identification and quantification interfacial fracture mechanisms such as stress-controlled, toughness-controlled, and cavitation-controlled de-bonding. A prototype ice sensor is validated on a flying drone exposed to simulated rain under icing conditions, where it is able to detect both icing and de-icing in flight. The TENGs exhibited a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 83 dB, highlighting triboelectricity as a novel, real-time, and energy-efficient solution for ice detection and protection systems.

Nonreciprocal optical patterns are fabricated using heterogeneous multilayers of photopatternable azopolymers and polyvinyl alcohol polarizers. The nonreciprocal optical patterns can only be read from one direction, providing a unique security feature for information encryption. The responsiveness of the nonreciprocal optical patterns and the mechanical robustness of the multilayers enable the design of flexible, portable, and wearable devices for information encryption.

Society has a growing demand for information security. The development of nonreciprocal patterns is a new approach for high-security information encryption, but it is difficult to achieve due to its complexity in material design. Herein, heterogeneous polymer multilayers are designed to prepare nonreciprocal patterns for information encryption. The heterogeneous polymer multilayers are constructed by gluing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polarizers and photoresponsive azobenzene-containing polymers (azopolymers) via photocontrolled adhesion. Nonreciprocal optical patterns are fabricated via photopatterning of the azopolymer layer with polarized light. The information can only be decrypted from one direction of the nonreciprocal optical patterns. The nonreciprocal optical patterns are dynamic, which can be erased and rewritten with updated information via light irradiation. The nonreciprocal optical patterns can be further imprinted with diffraction elements, showing dual-mode optical signals. The nonreciprocal optical patterns with dynamic, dual-mode features enable high-security information encryption. Moreover, the heterogeneous polymer multilayers are flexible, bendable, and foldable, enabling the design of devices with nonreciprocal optical patterns for encryption in 3D space. The heterogeneous polymer multilayers with photoresponsive nonreciprocal patterns offer a solution for designing secure, updatable, and mechanically robust information encryption materials for flexible photonics, portable electronics, new anti-counterfeiting technologies, and wearable devices.