Nanoscience News (<front>)

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00878F, PaperWendi Shi, Qiansai Han, Wenkai Zhao, Ruohan Wang, Longyu Li, Guangkun Song, Xin Chen, Guankui Long, Zhaoyang Yao, Yan Lu, Chenxi Li, Xiangjian Wan, Yongsheng Chen
Non-fullerene acceptors with a large conjugated rigid skeleton are conducive to promoting low disorder and reducing non-radiative recombination loss (ΔEnr), thereby improving open voltage(Voc) in organic solar cells (OSCs). However,...
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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00788G, PaperWei Zhong, Qing-Ling Hong, Qiu-Yu Du, Bao Yu Xia, Xuan Ai, Fumin Li, Yu Chen
Nitrate electroreduction reaction (NO3ERR) under acidic conditions provides a green and sustainable pathway for acidic industrial wastewater treatment and ammonia (NH3) synthesis. As a typical multi-electron transfer and proton-coupled reaction,...
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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00584A, PaperHui Zhang, Tianyu Qiu, Jinlin Yang, Yifei Ma, Chenfeng Ding, Luis K. Ono, Jinfeng Zeng, Wanli Liu, Shu-Nan Zhao, Chao Zou, Qing Jiang, Yabing Qi, Xinlong Tian, Hu Chen
Polymer protective layers possessing high flexibility and compatibility with substrates show potentials to stabilize zinc anodes. However, inferior electronic or ionic conductivity, as well as limited structural tunability restrain electrochemical...
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Interaction of Mechanical Ventilation and Natural Convection

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Dan Toy, IEEF
• Thursday 01 May 2025, 11:30-12:30
• Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
• Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.

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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00823A, Paper Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.Pingxuan Liu, Ziyang Song, Qi Huang, Ling Miao, Yaokang Lv, Lihua Gan, Mingxian Liu
All-organic ammonium-ion batteries (AOBs) with light organic electrodes and small-hydrated-sized NH4+ charge carriers are up-and-coming for next-generation energy storage. However, the low NH4+-accessible redox-active motifs of organics with high coordination...
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A torsion-polarization synergy strategy utilizing cyano-functionalized thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-3,6-dicarbonitrile (2CNTT) achieves intramolecular decoupling and intermolecular polarization, optimizing exciton dissociation and charge transport. The single-component phototransistor based on 2CNTT exhibits ultralow energy consumption, high photoresponse, and synaptic functionalities, providing an efficient design strategy for multifunctional optoelectronic devices and neuromorphic applications.

Abstract

Organic optoelectronic devices are advancing toward miniaturization and integration, demanding high performance, low energy consumption, and simplified manufacturing. The development of single-component phototransistors is still in its early stages, particularly for high-performance n-type polymer semiconductors. Here, thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-3,6-dicarbonitrile (2CNTT) is developed and a cyano-mediated torsion-polarization synergy strategy is proposed to construct conjugated polymers via direct (hetero)arylation polycondensation. This structural modification promotes intramolecular decoupling and enhances intermolecular interactions, enabling intra-/interchain charge distribution to be regulated. N-type copolymers based on 2CNTT exhibited broad visible-light absorption range and small exciton binding energy, capable of stable exciton generation and stepwise dissociation. The PFIID2NTT-based single-component phototransistor showed stable unipolar electron mobility and strong photoresponse with light-current/dark-current ratio as high as 9.02 × 104, and a paired-pulse facilitation index over 236% under visible light. The devices also operate at an ultra-low energy consumption (13.23 aJ), mimicking neural synapse behavior and enabling long-term memory functionality. The strategy optimizes charge distribution and exciton utilization in n-type polymer semiconductors, presenting a new paradigm for developing multifunctional organic optoelectronics.

Advanced Materials, EarlyView.

A contemporary and critical review on carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics. The common thermoplastic and carbon fiber applied in the manufacture of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics are summarized, and the processing and postprocessing methods are reviewed, with emphasis on state-of-the-art welding techniques. The typical applications of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics in industry are also highlighted.

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTs) have witnessed a resurgence in recent times since their first industrial use over five decades ago, with revitalized interest from aerospace companies and other key sectors including energy and automotive sectors. CFRTs are increasingly gaining footholds in high volume rapid manufacturing in aerospace and nonaerospace sectors owing to their inherent recyclability. However, there has been a lack of contemporary and critical review on this topic so far. This work aims to review the recent advances in CFRTs with emphasis on high performance thermoplastics. Both continuous and discontinuous fiber forms in tape, organosheet and short/long fiber architectures are discussed, their processing and postprocessing methods are reviewed, with emphasis on state-of-the-art welding techniques. Typical applications of CFRTs in industry are examined, including fuselage, pressure vessel, and automotive components. Finally, insights are provided into ongoing challenges, future development, and a roadmap for expediting the development of high-performance CFRTs.

A double-side interfacial engineering of the hole transport layer (HTL) is presented for lead sulfide colloidal quantum dot solar cells. This strategy achieves a record efficiency of 14.28% by using classic P3HT as HTL and exhibits exceptional stability with unencapsulated devices retaining 90% initial efficiency for over 520 hours at maximum power point in ambient air, doubling the previous best 260 hours.

Abstract

Although lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells demonstrate excellent storage stability under ambient conditions, the operational stability is still rather poor for devices based on both organic or inorganic hole transport layer (HTL), seriously limiting their practical applications. In this work, it is find that both the CQD/polymer HTL bottom interface and the polymer HTL/electrode top interface are critical factors limiting device performance and operational stability. By proposing a double-side interfacial engineering strategy to achieve surface energy matching and energy level grading, a high efficiency of 14.28% is realized using the classic P3HT HTL material, which is the highest reported efficiency for PbS CQD solar cells with organic HTLs. More importantly, the unencapsulated device can maintain 90% of its initial power (T90) after ≈520 hours at the maximum power point (MPP) in ambient air, far exceeding the highest value previously reported in the literature (260 hours). This work provides new insights into the development of stable CQD-based optoelectronic devices.

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00216H, PaperXinjie Yuan, Pengfei Qiu, Chuanyao Sun, Shiqi Yang, Yi Wu, Yumeng Wang, Ming Gu, Lidong Chen, Xun Shi
Thermoelectric (TE) technology provides a promising self-powered solution to the wearable electronics and Internet of Things (IoT), but the output voltage density and power density of current TE devices are...
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Nature Materials, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02206-w

Multislice electron ptychography reveals ferroelectric microstructures with sub-ångström lateral resolution and nanometre depth resolution, directly imaging a ferroelectricity generated by anion displacements relative to the Nb sublattice.

Nature Materials, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02219-5

Inspired by the entangled structure of double-network hydrogels, the authors integrate stiff truss and compliant woven components into metamaterial architectures to realize simultaneous high stiffness and high stretchability.

Nature Materials, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02205-x

Limited by challenges in light-atom imaging, microscopic investigations of ferroelectricity have used cation–cation displacements as a proxy for the true cation–anion distortions. Using electron ptychography, oxygen anions can be tracked to observe an otherwise-hidden ferroelectric mechanism in thin-film NaNbO3, which would have appeared antiferroelectric from cations alone.

Nature Energy, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01762-4

Llewelyn Hughes is a social scientist working on the low-carbon energy transition, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region, and Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He talks to Nature Energy about evolving trade relationships and interdependencies in the energy transition, and the role of social sciences research in informing policy in these spaces.

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01904-5

This study presents an oral CRISPR–Cas9 delivery system that precisely disrupts the TRAP1 gene in colorectal cancer, enhancing chemo-immunotherapy with robust antitumour effects.

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01907-2

The FDA-approved nanodrug ferumoxytol can relieve reactive oxygen species in haematopoietic stem cells, facilitating their post-injury regeneration.

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01919-y

Microscale ferroelectric topological textures in freestanding BaTiO3 nanomembranes enable dynamic vortex light manipulation via nonlinear spin-to-orbit conversion.

Black hole radiation from non-vacuum initial states

Hawking derived the black hole thermal radiation state by comparing the vacuum state at the future null infinity I+ with that at the past null infinity I-. We revisit Hawking’s computation, considering a non-vacuum initial state at the past of the black hole geometry. We show in which cases the black hole radiation arising from the initial matter state differs from the well-known thermal state. We moreover classify what initial states are distinguishable from one another through measurements on the black hole radiation in this framework. Finally we provide a physical interpretation of the classification, using Algebraic Quantum Field Theory localisation.

• Speaker: Ali Akil, Hong Kong University
• Friday 25 April 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Venue: Potter room/Zoom: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/88420112623?pwd=uogMItLtNT8pn4aks1hO4nJVmonbpV.1.
• Series: DAMTP Friday GR Seminar; organiser: Xi Tong.

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An Explicit Filtered Lie Splitting Scheme for the Original Zakharov System with Low Regularity Error Estimates in All Dimensions

In this talk, we present low-regularity numerical schemes for nonlinear dispersive equations, with a particular focus on the Zakharov system (ZS) and the “good” Boussinesq (GB) equation. These models exhibit strong nonlinear interactions and are known to pose significant analytical and numerical challenges when the solution has limited regularity.

We concentrate on our recent results for the Zakharov system, where we construct and analyze an explicit filtered Lie splitting scheme applied directly to its original coupled form. This method successfully overcomes the essential difficulty of derivative loss in the nonlinear terms, which not only obstructs low-regularity analysis, but has long prevented rigorous error estimates for explicit Lie splitting schemes based directly on the original Zakharov system. By developing multilinear estimates in discrete Bourgain spaces, we rigorously prove the first explicit low-regularity error estimate for the original Zakharov system, and also the first such result for a coupled system within the Bourgain framework. The analytical strategy developed here can also be extended to other dispersive equations with derivative loss, offering a way to overcome both low-regularity difficulties and the fundamental obstacle posed by derivative-loss nonlinearities. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical predictions.

• Speaker: Hang Li (Sorbonne Université)
• Thursday 01 May 2025, 15:00-16:00
• Venue: Centre for Mathematical Sciences, MR14.
• Series: Applied and Computational Analysis; organiser: Georg Maierhofer.

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The Porous Medium Equation: Multiscale Analysis of a Zero-Range Process, Integrability Estimate and Large Deviations

We consider a doubly-rescaled zero-range process with jump rate $g(k)=k\alpha, \alpha>1$, with scaling parameters $\chi_N\to 0, N\to \infty$, as a microscopic model for the porous medium equation. As a result of the superlinear jump rate, new ingredients are needed in addition to the Kipnis-Landim framework, of which the most interesting is an integrability estimate: Even if one can prove rapid equilibration on macroscopically small boxes, the superexponential estimate could fail due to configurations in which a vanishing proportion of mass produces a nonvanishing contribution to the $L\alpha_{t,x}$ norm. In order to rule this out, we show that the realisations of the particle system enjoy pathwise regularity estimates with superexponentially high probability across suitably chosen scales, which can be used in a multiscale argument to obtain the necessary integrability. Joint work with Benjamin Gess (TU Berlin / Max-Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences)

• Speaker: Daniel Heydecker (Imperial College)
• Tuesday 06 May 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: MR12.
• Series: Probability; organiser: Perla Sousi.

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