Developing sustainable and atom-economical hydrogen transfer routes for constructing pharmacologically valuable quinoline scaffolds from abundant alcohol feedstocks remains a significant challenge. Herein, a tailored pyridinic-nitrogen-coordinated cobalt (Co) single-atom catalyst (Co-N/C-U) is showcased, enabling the efficient synthesis of quinoline derivatives from inexpensive and readily available 2-nitrobenzyl alcohol and various secondary or primary alcohols via a cascade hydrogen transfer process followed by annulation. Characterization confirmed that Co-N/C-U contains atomically dispersed Co centers and exhibits exceptional catalytic activity, accessing quinolines with up to 98% yield across a broad substrate scope (47 examples) with a turnover number of up to 30,808, outperforming state-of-the-art catalytic systems. This strategy demonstrates scalability to gram-scale reactions and enables the synthesis of the Cavosonstat derivative, while the pronounced stability and reusability of the catalyst further underscores its promising potential for practical implementation. Mechanistic studies revealed that the pyridinic-N-Co moiety plays a dual role, where the isolated Co sites facilitate efficient hydrogen transfer, and the neighboring pyridinic-N atoms act as basic sites to promote the key Friedländer cyclization step. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the enhanced catalytic performance of Co-N/C-U originates from its optimized pyridinic-N-Co coordination environment. This work establishes a sustainable route to a wide range of quinolines, providing a foundation for the precise design of next-generation SACs for complex organic transformations.

Metamaterial absorbers have been extensively investigated for broadband light harvesting and narrowband sensing, but integrating both into one compact device still remains challenging. In this work, we propose a bifunctional metamaterial absorber (BMA) based on zirconium nitride (ZrN). The device consists of periodically arranged ZrN concentric-ring arrays on a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) spacer with an Au film underneath for broadband absorption, and ZrN-based four-by-four square-grid arrays on the opposite side of the Au substrate for narrowband refractive index sensing. Numerical simulations show that the broadband mode achieves an average absorptivity of 97.48% over the wavelength range of 800 to 2,300 nm, while the narrowband mode exhibits a near-perfect absorptivity at 948.1 nm with a bandwidth of 23.14 nm, delivering a sensitivity of 1,015.62 nm RIU^-1. Electric field distributions and impedance analyses indicate that the absorption behavior arises from the couplings of localized surface plasmon resonances, multipole resonances, and Rayleigh Anomalies (RAs). Parametric studies demonstrate that the broadband absorption maintains high absorptivity in a wide wavelength range, whereas the narrowband resonance systematically shifts as the varying structural parameters. These results not only highlight the importance of integrating light harvesting and refractive index sensing in a single design, but also pave the way for incorporating multiple functionalities into one compact device for broad applications.

Single-phase optimization is increasingly insufficient to simultaneously satisfy the demands of rechargeable batteries for high energy density, fast rate capability, and long-term cycling stability. Growing evidence indicates that electrochemical performance is governed not only by chemical composition, but also by the spatial organization and dynamic evolution of multiple coexisting phases. Inspired by gene editing, this review introduces the concept of phase programming, in which crystalline phases, defect-ordered states, and interfacial phases are regarded as editable functional modules. By deliberately inserting, suppressing, reorganizing and spatially reprogramming these phases, electrode properties can be tuned in a programmable manner. Using energy density, rate performance, and cycling stability as guiding metrics, we reinterpret the interactions among functional modules under different modification strategies and their impacts on electrochemical behavior. On this basis, a phase programming design map is constructed, unifying gradient, core-shell, and multiphase architectures within a common physical framework. This framework establishes phase programming as a potentially transferable materials design language for next-generation battery electrodes.

The development of high-performance self-recoverable near-infrared (NIR) mechanoluminescent materials is crucial for advancing applications. In this work, we presented a self-recoverable NIR mechanoluminescent material, platelike SrAl₁₂O₁₉, through singly doped with Cr³⁺ and co-doped with lanthanide ions (Nd³⁺, Yb³⁺, Er³⁺) in one step. By modulating the Cr³⁺ doping concentration, we achieved precise control over the mechanoluminescence (ML) intensity as well as the spectral tunability between characteristic R-line emission (~ 690 nm) and the broadband emission (750-950 nm). Moreover, energy transfer from Cr³⁺ to lanthanide ions enables multispectral ML emission extending into the NIR-II window (1,000-1,700 nm). The resultant material exhibits excellent ML self-recoverability and high chemical stability. The co-doped system was demonstrated with great potential in dynamic stress visualization, naked-eye-invisible information encryption and special identification under challenging conditions (e.g., underwater). We further demonstrated practical applications by fabricating dual-mode flexible NIR mechanoluminescent paper sheets and sprayable coatings. This work contributes to the advancement of new NIR mechanoluminescent materials with unique morphological features for various scenarios, including the advancement of intelligent sensing and multi-level anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Classical constitutive models explicitly couple macroscopic mechanical responses with underlying microstructural evolution, which is crucial for capturing complex deformation mechanisms across varying strain rates. However, current deep learning (DL) constitutive models predominantly focus on macroscopic stress-strain mapping, often neglecting these critical microstructural transitions. To bridge this gap, this work proposes a mechanics-informed deep learning constitutive model (MIDLCM) that integrates gated recurrent units and multi-head attention with a mechanics-informed layer and a mechanics-informed loss, enabling simultaneous prediction of stress response and microstructural descriptors. Trained on a CrFeNi FCC alloy dataset spanning strain rates from 10^-4 to 5,000 s^-1, MIDLCM accurately reproduces strain-rate-dependent stress-strain behavior and captures the associated evolution of dislocation density and twin volume fraction. Crucially, the model successfully represents the distinct dislocation accumulation regimes and the dynamic transition of plasticity mechanisms - from dislocation-dominated to twinning-assisted - across extreme dynamic loading, consistent with experimental trends and crystal-plasticity-based references. Ablation studies show that attention-based temporal encoding and mechanics-informed constraints contribute complementary improvements while preserving inference efficiency. By explicitly tracking these internal state variables, the proposed framework provides a mechanism-level interpretable and computationally efficient microstructure-mechanics coupled alternative for rate-dependent constitutive modeling and is readily extendable to other alloy systems and loading paths.

The dimensionless figure of merit ZT is the key metric for quantifying thermoelectric performance; however, its optimization is inherently limited by the intrinsic coupling between electrical and thermal transport properties. Herein, we perform first-principles calculations using the temperature-dependent effective potential method to investigate cation alloying in SnSe, where Sn²⁺ ions were randomly substituted by aliovalent cations - specifically Na⁺ and Sb³⁺ - a strategy that induces chemical bond synergy in NaSn₂SbSe₄, effectively decoupling electronic and phonon transport behaviors. Random cation occupation induces a mixed covalent-ionic bonding character, generating local bond-strength fluctuations that act as phonon-scattering centers. Furthermore, localized Sb-Se and Sn-Se antibonding states below the Fermi level correlate with the softening of low-frequency optical phonon branches. Combined with pronounced lattice anharmonicity, this phonon softening significantly enhances four-phonon scattering rates and suppresses the lattice thermal conductivity. Concurrently, aliovalent cation incorporation promotes electron delocalization between Sn-5p and Se-4p orbitals and strengthens covalent bonding character. This modified orbital hybridization alters band dispersion, reducing the hole effective mass while preserving high electrical conductivity in NaSn₂SbSe₄. The optimal balance between low lattice thermal conductivity and high power factor yields superior thermoelectric performance for NaSn₂SbSe₄ relative to SnSe across the entire temperature range, with a peak ZT of 0.88 at 800 K. This study establishes chemical bonding engineering as a promising strategy for enhancing thermoelectric performance and provides guidance for exploring high-performance high-entropy thermoelectric materials.

Ultrafast transmission electron microscopy (UTEM) is an advanced experimental technique that integrates a femtosecond (fs) laser with transmission electron microscopy to capture material dynamic processes at exceptionally high spatiotemporal resolution. This review aims to provide an overview on the recent progresses on UTEM from technical principles, instrument developments to scientific applications and future prospects. The fundamental operation principle of UTEM involves exciting the sample with a pump laser/electric pulse, followed by probing with a time-delayed electron pulse. By precisely varying the delay time between the pump and probe pulses, electron imaging, diffraction or spectroscopy at fs-nanometer/atomic scale can be achieved. Based on these capabilities, these advances have recently culminated in techniques such as five-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy and Attosecond electron microscopy, which push the boundaries toward quantitative strain mapping and sub-cycle dynamics. UTEM has demonstrated significant applications in the study of microscopic dynamics in correlated materials, semiconductors, catalysts, nanophotonics, etc. It enables direct visualization of fundamental dynamic processes such as carrier relaxation, lattice vibrations, phase transitions, near-field evolution and magnetic domain switching, etc., thereby deepening the understanding of non-equilibrium states and providing critical insights for the design of novel functional devices. With ongoing advancements in fs electron sources and high-sensitivity electron detectors, the temporal resolution and detection sensitivity of UTEM continue to improve, highlighting its substantial potential in nanometer/atomic-scale ultrafast science. Future technique developments are expected to drive major breakthroughs in condensed matter physics, materials science, chemical reactions and even biological structure dynamics, offering a powerful tool for exploring the ultrafast microscopic world.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) technology offers a revolutionary approach for precise intervention against “undruggable” targets by exploiting intracellular pathways such as the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy-lysosome system. However, its clinical translation faces significant challenges, including limited delivery efficiency, poor tissue specificity, and off-target toxicity. The integration of nanotechnology with TPD not only overcomes the physicochemical limitations of traditional TPD molecules [e.g., Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs), Autophagosome-Tethering Compounds (ATTECs), Lysosome-Targeting Chimeras (LYTACs), molecular glues] through the design of functionalized carriers but also equips these systems with spatiotemporal precision activation via diverse regulation of “initiation conditions”. This review systematically traces the developmental trajectory and fundamental mechanisms of TPD technology, explores the delivery characteristics and principles of functional modification in nanocarriers, and comprehensively discusses the design strategies, mechanisms, and recent advances of nanotyped TPD systems categorized by their initiation conditions: endogenous microenvironment-responsive [pH, enzyme, reactive oxygen species (ROS)/glutathione (GSH)], exogenous stimulus-initiated (light, magnetic, ultrasound, bioorthogonal reaction), and multi-conditionally co-initiated systems (endogenous-endogenous and endogenous-exogenous signal synergy). Furthermore, this review highlights key challenges in the field, such as carrier biocompatibility, modulation of degradation efficiency, and in vivo fate tracking, while outlining critical directions for clinical translation, including personalized customization, intelligent logic gating, and multimodal characterization. By providing a systematic theoretical framework and practical insights, this review aims to promote cross-disciplinary integration and foster innovative drug development at the intersection of nanotechnology and TPD.

Pyrochlore-type oxides are considered potential oxide-ion conductors due to their high concentration of oxygen vacancies in the unit cell. In this work, the pyrochlore-type Ca_1.46Ti_1.38Nb_1.11O₇ was synthesized and its crystal structure was characterized by Rietveld refinement. A high oxygen vacancy concentration in the material was confirmed by thermogravimetry (TG) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TG, XPS, and electron paramagnetic resonance collectively demonstrated the change in oxygen vacancy concentration of the material following atmosphere switching. The electrical properties of Ca_1.46Ti_1.38Nb_1.11O₇ under different atmospheres were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The conductivity of Ca_1.46Ti_1.38Nb_1.11O₇ was 4.20 × 10^-2 S cm^-1 in 5% H₂/Ar, 9.22 × 10^-3 S cm^-1 in Ar and 2.92 × 10^-5 S cm^-1 in air at 900 °C. Bond valence site energy calculations indicated that oxide ions diffuse three-dimensionally in Ca_1.46Ti_1.38Nb_1.11O₇. Ca_1.46Ti_1.38Nb_1.11O₇ is a promising solid electrolyte for oxygen sensors. This work investigates the structure-property relationship between oxygen vacancies and conductivity in pyrochlore-type oxides.

The plasticity of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) is closely correlated with the nature of shear bands; however, the structural origin of shear bands remains elusive due to the difficulty of obtaining direct observations. In this study, we investigated the microstructural evolution of shear bands during thermal relaxation by examining the local atomic-scale response to heating. Zr_52.5Cu_17.9Ni_14.6Al₁₀Ti₅ BMGs were subjected to two specifically designed deformation methods, namely, cold rolling and high-pressure torsion (HPT), to generate shear bands with varying volume fractions and rejuvenation states. In situ synchrotron diffraction results revealed a more pronounced growth of medium-range ordering at sub-T_g temperatures in the deformed BMGs than in the as-cast sample. The HPT-deformed BMG, with the highest volume fraction and distribution complexity of shear bands, demonstrated the most rapid increase in the ordering process. The transition of cluster connection modes possibly explained the anomalous emergence of medium-range order in the shear bands of deformed BMGs during sub-T_g relaxation or tension. Our study offers new insights into the atomic structure origins of shear bands, contributing to a deeper understanding of BMG plasticity.

Artificial olfaction, inspired by biological sensory systems, offers new opportunities in environmental, industrial, and healthcare applications. Semiconducting metal oxide based chemoresistive gas sensors provide a scalable and core interface for chemical detection and therefore constitute the most extensively explored front end for artificial olfactory systems. Nevertheless, conventional chemoresistive sensing that relies on surface charge transfer remains constrained by incomplete response and recovery, humidity interference, cross selectivity, and strong temperature dependence. This review surveys material- and device-level strategies developed to address these bottlenecks, with an emphasis on nanostructuring approaches that improve gas accessibility and reaction kinetics. Moving beyond device-level performance, the review further situates oxide-based gas sensing within a hierarchical neuromorphic olfactory framework. In biological systems, chemical information is represented by distributed activation patterns and temporal dynamics that extend beyond individual receptor responses. Within this broader context, emerging oxide-based transduction concepts that extend conventional chemoresistive operation are also discussed. Recent artificial olfactory system studies have begun to explore alternative oxide-based transduction mechanisms that extend beyond conventional chemoresistive operation. Among these emerging approaches, chemo-memristive responses based on vacancy-mediated ion redox processes are briefly discussed as one possible pathway toward more tightly coupled sensing and signal encoding at the device level. Such developments reflect ongoing efforts to more closely couple sensing and signal processing at the device level. By integrating insights from nanostructured oxide sensors and neuromorphic encoding principles, this review outlines conceptual pathways toward artificial olfactory systems that extend beyond standalone gas detection toward more integrated sensory information processing architectures.

Large magnetocrystalline anisotropy field H_a and narrow ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth ΔH are obtained for M-type hexaferrites Ba(ZnTi)_xFe_12-2xO₁₉ (BaM, x = 0.0 - 0.5) via the introduction of Zn-Ti co-substitution. Meanwhile, c-axis orientation provides effective access to the enhanced squareness ratio M_r/M_s. These gyromagnetic properties make the developed BaM particularly suitable as a substrate for a self-biased circulator at U band. Raman Spectroscopy indicates that Zn²⁺-Ti⁴⁺ ions tend to preferentially occupy the 4f₁ and 4f₂ sites as x < 0.1, and then gradually spread across all available sites as x increases, which is consistent with the trend observed in saturation magnetization M_s. Outstanding magnetic properties are simultaneously achieved at x=0.1, including M_s = 55.84 emu/g, H_a = 11,930 Oe, and M_r/M_s = 0.87. In particular, the narrowest FMR linewidth (ΔH = 289 Oe at 59 GHz) is realized as x = 0.2, lower than previously reported values for BaM.

The development of highly efficient microwave absorbers presents a significant challenge, driven by the growing issue of severe electromagnetic pollution. In this context, precise structural design emerges as a decisive factor for enhancing the microwave absorption capabilities. In this work, the hollow Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/C/Ni microspheres were fabricated through hydrothermal method, calcination treatment and further annealing. The results of the morphology observation demonstrate that the heterogeneous Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/C/Ni composites are hollow microspheres, consisting of many nanoparticles. Strikingly, the appearance of metallic Ni alongside increased carbon graphitization results from the partial reduction of Ni²⁺ by carbon during high-temperature annealing in the Ar atmosphere, which can be beneficial to the dielectric loss. The hollow Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/C/Ni microspheres possess outstanding microwave absorption capabilities, mainly owning to the better interface and dipole polarization, eddy current loss, conduction loss and natural resonance loss, multiply reflection and scattering between the microspheres. The hollow Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/C/Ni microspheres annealed at 700 °C exhibited an optimal reflection loss (RL) value of -35.79 dB at 2.5 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.29 GHz at 2.0 mm. The present study reveals a design approach for heterostructures, which offers novel insights into the fabrication of high-performance microwave absorbing materials.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), two important classes of crystalline porous organic frameworks (POFs), are constructed from organic structural units for COFs, and metal ions/clusters coordinated with organic ligands for MOFs, via robust chemical bonds. Due to their outstanding physicochemical properties, including large specific surface area, favorable structural stability, excellent biocompatibility and high porosity, POFs have gained considerable attention in the domain of electrochemical sensing of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs). Through the persistent endeavors of researchers, the construction of POFs-based electrochemical sensors for detecting OPs has made significant advances. Accordingly, this review introduces the dimensional classifications of POFs (one-, two- and three-dimensional POFs), and summarizes the six typical preparation methods to further realize the controllable synthesis of POFs with tunable compositions and structures. More importantly, the research advances in the fabrication of POFs-based non-enzymatic/enzymatic electrochemical sensors and their electrochemical performance for the detection of OPs are emphatically reviewed. In addition, the research progress of other POFs-based electrochemical sensors, including molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), aptamer based (APT) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensors for the detection of OPs, is also briefly presented. Finally, the prospective research directions for developing high-performance POFs-based electrochemical sensors are outlined to facilitate the accurate, quick, efficient and economical real-time detection of OPs in food matrices.

The central challenge in achieving efficient solid-state refrigeration is the harnessing of the synergistic interplay between barocaloric and magnetocaloric effects. In this study, a quantitative phase-field model is developed to elucidate the cooperative enhancement mechanism of multicaloric effects under coupled fields in the ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy Ni₂MnGa. As demonstrated by simulations, the application of hydrostatic pressure results in a linear increase in the martensitic transformation temperature by approximately 24 K/GPa. Concurrently, this pressure-induced process generates a substantial barocaloric response. In the context of the magnetocaloric effect, an anomalous non-monotonic behaviour emerges in proximity to the phase transition. The application of weak magnetic fields results in an inverse magnetocaloric effect, characterised by a positive magnetocaloric coefficient (ΔS > 0), while strong fields reverse this effect, resulting in a negative magnetocaloric coefficient (ΔS < 0). Microstructural analysis corroborates the underlying cause of this effect as being attributed to magneto-structural entropy changes. It is imperative to note that hydrostatic pressure exerts a significant suppression effect on this anomalous magnetocaloric response. Furthermore, the synergistic application of 1GPa pressure and a 0.75 T magnetic field yields an entropy change |ΔS| of 4.46 J·kg^-1·K^-1, which exceeds the sum of the individual field effects, thereby demonstrating positive magnetoelastic coupling for synergistic enhancement. The present study offers significant theoretical and simulation-based insights into the design of high-performance multicaloric cooling materials.

MXene heterostructure compositions offer unique advantages by addressing self-stacking issues and increasing capacity simultaneously. The weak van der Waals (vdW) interaction between MXene heterostructures provides an excellent opportunity for engineering material properties. In this study, using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, we focus on Ti₃C₂T_x/Nb₂CT_x heterostructures, discover a synchronous correlation between interlayer spacing and system energy during global sliding, with the distance between the nearest functional groups on opposite sides of the interlayer remaining almost constant, which we term the “decoupled interlayer correlation”. Based on this correlation, we investigate the potential applications of Ti₃C₂T_x/Nb₂CT_x 2D heterostructures in batteries and capacitors. Specifically, we perform calculations on 1-layer and 2-layer Li/Na intercalation, focusing on structural transformations and optimal capacities achievable through layer-sliding. Additionally, we explore Young’s moduli of ground-state configurations to characterize the elastic properties. These findings not only provide insights for further research on energy storage utilizing MXene heterostructures but also encourage exploration into sliding in other 2D systems that leverage vdW interactions.

Combining the advantages of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions, ferrimagnetic tunnel junctions are highly desirable for spintronic applications. Here, we design and experimentally demonstrate a novel type of perpendicular compensated ferrimagnetic tunnel junction composed of the ferrimagnetic oxide NiCo₂O₄ and the compensated ferrimagnetic alloy Co_100-xGd_x separated by an MgAl₂O₄ insulating barrier. The tunneling magnetoresistance undergoes a sign transition from positive to negative (from +72% to -22%) as the temperature increases across the magnetization compensation point of Co_100-xGd_x, which is attributed to the reversible magnetic dominance between the Co and Gd sublattices. Furthermore, we employ this ferrimagnetic tunnel junction to realize temperature-dependent non-volatile multilevel states. Our findings on the perpendicular compensated ferrimagnetic tunnel junctions can provide an attractive avenue for developing ferrimagnet-based devices.

Scintillators, which are critical for X-ray detection, are widely used in medical imaging, radiation detection, and high-energy physics. In this study, Eu³⁺-doped Gd₃Al₃Ga₂O₁₂ (GAGG: xEu³⁺) transparent ceramic scintillators were fabricated using a solid-state reaction method combined with pressureless atmosphere sintering. The effect of Eu³⁺ concentration on the optical quality, scintillation performance, and thermal stability of the ceramics was systematically investigated, and their X-ray imaging performance was preliminarily evaluated. The as-prepared ceramics exhibited high optical transmittance and a uniform grain-size distribution. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed characteristic Eu³⁺ emission peaks at approximately 590 nm, corresponding to the dominant ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₁ magnetic dipole transition. The optimal Eu³⁺ concentration was determined to be 2 at%, and the concentration quenching behavior was predominantly governed by electric dipole-dipole interactions. Furthermore, the GAGG: xEu³⁺ ceramics demonstrated satisfactory thermal stability and radioluminescence performance, with the radioluminescence intensity reaching its maximum at a doping concentration of 3 at%. The discrepancy between the optimal concentrations obtained from PL and radioluminescence measurements is attributed to the different excitation mechanisms involved. These results indicate that GAGG: xEu³⁺ transparent ceramics are promising candidates for X-ray detection and imaging applications.

Dielectric ceramics are critical for pulsed power applications owing to their high-power density and rapid charge-discharge capabilities. Among them, tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB)-type ceramics have attracted attention as potential energy-storage materials due to their non-volatile compositions and structural adaptability. However, previous studies have primarily focused on regulating energy storage performance through multi-element doping, with relatively little attention paid to optimizing the sintering process to enhance the inherent performance of ceramics. In this work, we demonstrate an alternative and effective strategy to improve the intrinsic energy-storage performance in TTB-structured Sr_0.6Ba_0.4Nb₂O₆ (SBN) ceramics through the incorporation of sintering aids, including MnO₂, CuO, and Li₂CO₃, rather than complex compositional doping. The influence of these additives on the microstructure, dielectric behavior, and energy-storage characteristics is systematically investigated. Results show that CuO-modified SBN ceramics achieve a high recoverable energy density of 4.41 J/cm³, representing a 128% enhancement compared to pristine SBN ceramic, along with an efficiency of 93.4%. This superior performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of enhanced densification and strengthened relaxor characteristics. Moreover, the ceramic presents excellent thermal (25-125 °C) and frequency stability (1-200 Hz). Our findings highlight sintering-aid engineering as a facile route to significantly enhance the energy-storage performance of SBN ceramics, thereby laying a foundation for the performance optimization of TTB-structured energy-storage ceramics.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as a versatile class of two-dimensional materials whose strong light-matter interactions and tunable physicochemical properties enable a broad range of biomedical applications. This Review provides a mechanism-driven overview of TMDs as multifunctional platforms for phototherapeutic and optical biosensing technologies, with emphasis on how their atomic structure, electronic configuration, excitonic behavior, and surface chemistry govern optical absorption, energy relaxation, and biointerfacing processes. We first summarize the fundamental optoelectronic characteristics of TMDs that distinguish them from conventional nanomaterials, including strong exciton binding, efficient nonradiative energy dissipation, and layer-dependent symmetry and band structure. Building on these principles, recent advances in TMD-enabled phototherapeutic applications, such as photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, are discussed, highlighting how strong near-infrared absorption, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and structural robustness enable precise and durable light-triggered treatments. We then examine emerging optical biosensing modalities based on TMDs, including multiphoton and nonlinear optical imaging, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and photoacoustic imaging. Across these platforms, exciton-mediated nonlinear responses, defect- and edge-induced charge-transfer pathways, and efficient optothermal transduction allow TMDs to overcome long-standing limitations in sensitivity, photostability, and imaging depth associated with traditional contrast agents. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future opportunities for translating TMD-enabled photonic and optothermal functionalities into scalable, biocompatible, and clinically relevant technologies, positioning TMDs as unifying materials for next-generation theranostic and biosensing platforms.

Interfacial engineering enables various emergent effects such as spin reorientations and transport anisotropy. Noncollinear spin textures are essential for realizing many emergent quantum transport phenomena. However, driving such spin structures requires precise control of the interfacial magnetic coupling in complex oxide heterostructures. Here, by utilizing competing exchange interactions at the interface between ferromagnetic metal SrRuO₃ and ferromagnetic insulator LaCoO₃, we investigated a noncollinear spin configuration in SrRuO₃ sublayers. Stripe-like domains were induced by out-of-plane rather than in-plane magnetic fields, indicating strong anisotropy pinning in our superlattices. The observed magneto-transport anisotropy can be well explained by our proposed spin reorientation configurations. No magnetic skyrmionic textures were observed in our superlattice samples. The interfacial exchange interaction may compete with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) that stabilizes skyrmions, featuring a higher exchange coupling energy than that for the topological spin textures according to our micromagnetic simulations. Our work highlights the potential of interfacial engineering in tuning the spintronic properties by designing proper interfacial interactions.

Understanding the three-dimensional (3D) micro-arrangement of active phases in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is paramount for the rational design of MOFs-based encapsulation materials. While electron tomography (ET) enables 3D reconstruction of real-space microstructures with high spatial resolution, conventional ET is time-consuming and dose-intensive, which sacrifices characterization efficiency and introduces the risk of sample damage. Herein we develop a pre-calibration fast ET acquisition method that reduces ET series acquisition time from 1 h 20 min to 9 min 54 s and decreases the cumulative electronic dose by 88.9%. The fast ET delivers detailed 3D information of metal nanoparticles encapsulated within zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (MNPs@ZIF-8). Unlike ambiguous qualitative assessment in two-dimensional (2D) projections, we precisely quantify the encapsulation efficiency, aggregation ratio, radial distribution and nearest-neighbor distance (NND) of MNPs based on the 3D reconstruction. These unique analyses reveal that MNPs’ encapsulation exhibits two modes: saturated adsorption and adsorption decay, which can be regulated by altering the relative abundance between MNPs and adsorption active sites. It is also found that MNPs exhibit unbiased isotropic dispersion characteristics, which is evidenced by the NND following a single-peaked Gaussian distribution. This work achieves a leap from 2D qualitative to 3D quantitative analysis of MOFs-encapsulated materials, thereby paving the way to structure-oriented rational design.

Electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers for complex environments require appropriate impedance matching, strong absorption, and rapid heat dissipation. Although carbonyl iron powder (CIP) exhibits high magnetic loss, its practical application is hindered by intrinsic oxidation, as well as severe impedance mismatch and low thermal conductivity at low filler loadings. Herein, by applying an ultrasonic cavitation-driven Ga-based liquid metal (LM) encapsulation process, we constructed a core-shell heterostructure (CIP@C@LM), in which an intermediate C shell was introduced to protect the CIP core from severe oxidation and to improve impedance matching. During this process, an oxygen-vacancy rich α-GaOOH outer shell and a small amount of interfacial α-FeOOH form in situ, enabling dielectric-loss dominated attenuation through enhanced polarization relaxation and a secondary magnetic-loss contribution. Consequently, at a filler loading of 60 wt.%, the composite achieves a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of -52.6 dB at a thickness of 2.31 mm and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB_max) of 7.56 GHz (10.44-18 GHz) at a thickness of 2.08 mm. The excellent performance significantly outperforms that of the pristine CIP (RL_min = -16.29 dB; EAB_max = 4.17 GHz). Furthermore, the C and dual-hydroxide shells act as a physical barrier and a heat-conducting network, providing strong corrosion resistance and rapid cooling ability (from 96.7 °C to 37.7 °C in 40 s). This work provides new insights into interfacial engineering, offering a viable route toward next-generation multifunctional EMW absorbers.

Tungsten wire, known for its high strength, has been developed for more than one century, but the understanding of its microstructure and deformation mechanisms remains limited, so do its applications. Near 6 GPa ultra-strong tungsten wires were prepared with help of cerium oxide addition. The fiber grains in the tungsten wire were refined from 399 to 39 nm on average with a drawing strain of 4.87, showing a geometrical refinement of the grain size without saturation. It was benefited from the cerium oxide, together with possible deformation twinning, offset the dynamic coarsening caused by boundary activation that is normally observed during the deformation of pure metals. Increased coincidence site lattice grain boundaries, including up to 15% of Σ3 twin boundaries have been detected in the tungsten wire. The microstructural evolution and deformation mechanisms of these heavily drawn tungsten wires are discussed based on quantitative characterization down to the atomic scale.

Melanoma remains challenging due to pronounced heterogeneity, early metastasis, and dynamic treatment resistance. Conventional tissue biopsy and imaging provide essential information but are limited by invasiveness, sampling bias, and an inability to capture longitudinal tumor-immune evolution. As endogenous bio-nanomaterials, small extracellular vesicles/exosomes circulate stably in body fluids and carry multi-omic cargo (DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids), enabling minimally invasive liquid biopsy and real-time disease monitoring. Beyond diagnostics, engineered exosomal nanomaterials can be functionalized and loaded with therapeutic payloads to improve targeted delivery and support combination regimens, including immunotherapy. This review highlights mechanistic roles of exosomes in melanoma progression, summarizes key liquid-biopsy biomarkers (e.g., exosomal PD-L1 and EV-miRNA/protein signatures), and discusses translational barriers such as standardization, scalable manufacturing, safety, and clinical validation.

Photon counting imaging represents a revolutionary breakthrough, surpassing current scintillator-based imaging technology and holding significant promise for the field of medical computed tomography. CdTe is a representative example of a high-performance photon-counting imaging material. However, defects within it, particularly point defects, act as carrier trapping centers and are a key factor limiting its count rate capability. In this paper, the size distribution and density of Te inclusions in CdTe single crystal were first analyzed using an infrared transmission microscope. Subsequently, point defects were studied both theoretically and experimentally using modern research methods. Specifically, a point defect complex model was first established using the first-principles method based on density functional theory plus the Coulomb interaction potential (U). The calculated results show that electrons are localized around the point defect complex and its surrounding region, resulting in an increased electron density around it. This provides a theoretical basis for the reduced positron lifetime (100.0 ps) for the point defect states. Based on this value, the concentration of the defect complex was calculated to be 2.17 × 10¹⁴ cm^-3. Finally, X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy revealed best-fit bond lengths of 2.79 Å for Te-Cd₁ (CdTe), and 2.81 Å (Te-Te₁) and 3.47 Å (Te-Te₂) for Te inclusions. These results primarily arise from fitting using three paths, based on a realistic cubic zinc-blende structure model together with an elemental Te model.