Article 19 January 2025 | Open Access Molecular ferroelectric self-assembled interlayer for efficient perovskite solar cells The conventional approach with applying self-assembled monolayer suffers from limited interface coverage and weaker dipole interactions. Here, authors employ ferroelectric molecule to construct a dipole layer, achieving certified efficiency of 25.36% for inverted perovskite solar cells. Chang Xu, Pengjie Hang & Hongzheng Chen Article 19 January 2025 | Open Access Explicit relation between thin film chromatography and column chromatography conditions from statistics and machine learning The selection of experimental conditions for column chromatography is usually determined by experience. Here, authors have discovered explicit relation between thin layer chromatography and column chromatography through statistics and deep learning. Hao Xu, Wenchao Wu & Fanyang Mo Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources becomes crucial in meeting increasing lithium demand. Here, authors design an economically feasible electrochemical process that achieves selective lithium extraction from geothermal brine and finally produce battery grade lithium hydroxide. Lingchen Kong, Gangbin Yan & Xitong Liu Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Liquid-infused nanostructured composite as a high-performance thermal interface material for effective cooling Thermal resistance at interfaces is a critical bottleneck for the thermal management of electronic devices. Here, authors report a high-performance liquid-infused nanostructured composite with thermal resistance under 1 mm² K W−1 and reliability for advanced electronic cooling. Rui Cheng, Qixian Wang & Sheng Shen Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction Ruthenium oxide is a promising electrocatalyst in PEM water electrolyzers, with significant research efforts focused on doping to enhance its stability. Here, the authors report that ruthenium oxide can achieve stability without doping by inhibiting bulk-phase proton participation. Jiayi Tang, Daqin Guan & Zongping Shao Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Quantum magnetometry of transient signals with a time resolution of 1.1 nanoseconds Most existing developments in quantum magnetometers have focused on achieving high sensitivity rather than high time resolution. Here the authors report quantum sensing of dynamical magnetic fields with 1 ns time resolution using NV center magnetometry, which can be applied to studies of magnetization dynamics. K. Herb, L. A. Völker & C. L. Degen Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Optical signatures of lattice strain in chemically doped colloidal quantum wells Chemical doping induces lattice strain in semiconductor nanocrystals which modulates their optical properties. Here, the authors show that the study of coherent acoustic phonons can explain this behavior in Cu-doped colloidal quantum wells. Junhong Yu, Hilmi Volkan Demir & Manoj Sharma Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Schlieren texture and topography induced confinement in an organic exciton-polariton laser Organic exciton-polaritons represent an attractive platform for quantum devices. Here, authors show how introducing Schlieren texturing and a rough intra-cavity topography in a liquid crystalline polymer enables strong in-plane confinement of polaritons and drastically improved lasing. Florian Le Roux, Andreas Mischok & Malte C. Gather Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Design of antiferroelectric polarization configuration for ultrahigh capacitive energy storage via increasing entropy The authors use entropy increase effect to craft a local antiferroelectric polarization landscape, where commensurate, incommensurate, and relaxor antiferroelectric configurations intertwine, achieving excellent energy storage performance. Yongxiao Zhou, Tianfu Zhang & Jun Chen Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access A metal-trap tests and refines blueprints to engineer cellular protein metalation with different elements Investigating how proteins acquire specific metals in cells is challenging. Here, the authors use a cyanobacterial MnII-cupin (MncA) as a metal trap to test predictions of metalation, and determine metal-preferences by refolding MncA in buffered competing metals. Sophie E. Clough, Tessa R. Young & Nigel J. Robinson Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Non-metallic iodine single-atom catalysts with optimized electronic structures for efficient Fenton-like reactions Electronic structure modulation of active sites is important for Fenton-like catalysis. A non-metallic iodine single-atom catalyst with C-I coordination is reported here, which can effectively activate peroxymonosulfate into 1O2 for water treatment. Junjun Pei, Jianbin Liu & Jinming Luo Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Mass wasting reveals ongoing asymmetric retreat of the martian north polar ice cap This work quantifies the current water ice loss of the north polar ice cap on Mars and provides evidence of the basal unit undercutting effect, revealing an ongoing asymmetric retreat of the ice cap. Shu Su, Lida Fanara & Jürgen Oberst Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Enantioselective construction of silicon-stereogenic vinylsilanes from simple alkenes The enantioselective synthesis of silicon-stereogenic vinylsilanes from simple alkenes remains underexplored. Here the authors report the enantioselective method from simple alkenes to yield linear silicon-stereogenic vinylsilanes with good yields and enantiomeric ratios under rhodium catalysis. Kailin Yin, Jinyu Zhang & Dongbing Zhao Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access High transmission in 120-degree sharp bends of inversion-symmetric and inversion-asymmetric photonic crystal waveguides The study explores high transmission in 120-degree bends of photonic crystal waveguides. It reveals that high bend-transmission is primarily influenced by domain-wall configurations and is independent of inversion symmetry (valley-photonic effect). Wei Dai, Taiki Yoda & Masaya Notomi Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access High-entropy assisted capacitive energy storage in relaxor ferroelectrics by chemical short-range order The authors propose a strategy for designing chemical short-range ordering in high-entropy ferroelectric ceramics, where elements with chemical short-range order exhibit lower local ferroelectric potential barriers. Tongxin Wei, Jinzhu Zou & Dou Zhang Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Quantifying the pyroelectric and photovoltaic coupling series of ferroelectric films The Yang’s charge is proposed as a metric for evaluating the coupling performance in this study. Compared to the conventional charge coupling factor which only considers the relative performance change, the Yang’s charge also considers the absolute performance of the device. Chaosheng Hu, Xingyue Liu & Ya Yang Article 18 January 2025 | Open Access Refining potential energy surface through dynamical properties via differentiable molecular simulation The accuracy of machine learning potential (MLP) is limited by the underlying ab initio methods. Here, authors refine the MLP by learning from experimental dynamical data (like spectroscopy) using an automatic differentiation technique. Bin Han & Kuang Yu Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Yttrium-doped NiMo-MoO2 heterostructure electrocatalysts for hydrogen production from alkaline seawater Hydrogen production from alkaline seawater requires efficient catalysts, but controlling interaction with intermediates is challenging. Here, the authors report an yttrium-doped NiMo-MoO2 catalyst that optimizes water dissociation and enables efficient seawater splitting at high current densities. Shujie Liu, Zhiguo Zhang & Mingkui Wang Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access High-performance solid-state proton gating membranes based on two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded organic framework composites Artificial nanochannels suffer from weak gating effects owing to their large nanopores failing to completely block ion transport in the off-states. Here, the authors present hydrogen bonded organic framework membranes with proton gating controlled by ambient humidity, using proton transport pathway switch instead of traditional ion blockage or activation effects. Dandan Lei, Yixiang Wang & Zhen Zhang Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Tracking solid electrolyte interphase dynamics using operando fibre-optic infra-red spectroscopy and multivariate curve regression A finer understanding of complex mechanisms governing Li-ion batteries performance demands operando techniques. Here, the authors combine fibre-optic infrared spectroscopy with multivariate regression chemometrics to reveal the dynamics and composition of the solid electrolyte interphase. Cédric Leau, Yu Wang & Jean-Marie Tarascon Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Enhanced sampling of protein conformational changes via true reaction coordinates from energy relaxation Enhanced sampling simulations require collective variables that effectively accelerate dynamics. Here the authors show how to identify true reaction coordinates from energy relaxation simulations using the generalized work functional method. Huiyu Li & Ao Ma Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Metal-organic cage crosslinked nanocomposites with enhanced high-temperature capacitive energy storage performance The authors synthesize metal-organic cage crosslinked nanocomposites by incorporating self-assembled metal-organic cages with amino reaction sites into the polyetherimide matrix. The in-situ crosslinking achieves a homogeneous distribution of inorganic components, constructing robust organic-inorganic interfaces. Shuo Zhao, Weifeng Peng & Ce-Wen Nan Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Dynamic hydrogen-bonding enables high-performance and mechanically robust organic solar cells processed with non-halogenated solvent Developing high-performance and mechanically robust active-layer systems is crucial to commercializing flexible organic solar cells. Here, authors design small molecule acceptors with ethyl ester side chains and achieve certified efficiency of over 19% for mechanically robust devices. Haozhe He, Xiaojun Li & Yongfang Li Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Thermoelectric porous laser-induced graphene-based strain-temperature decoupling and self-powered sensing The authors design the stretchable thermoelectric porous graphene foam-based materials via facile laser scribing, demonstrating decoupled sensing of strain and temperature during the wound healing process in situ. Li Yang, Xue Chen & Huanyu Cheng Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Multidimensional free shape-morphing flexible neuromorphic devices with regulation at arbitrary points Integration of perception and action is still difficult for current physically separated designs of neural-imitating electronics. This work presents a flexible device which can emulate essential synaptic functions and replicate muscle actuation in response to efferent neuromuscular commands. Jiaqi Liu, Chengpeng Jiang & Wentao Xu Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Rationally designed universal passivator for high-performance single-junction and tandem perovskite solar cells The perovskite/electron transport layer interface in inverted solar cells suffers from severe nonradiative recombination losses. Here, authors employ amino acid salts to passivate the film surface, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 26.28% using vacuum flash processing technology. Zuolin Zhang, Yinsu Feng & Cong Chen Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Insights into excitonic behavior in single-atom covalent organic frameworks for efficient photo-Fenton-like pollutant degradation Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) are difficult to remove from complex water systems, but photo-Fenton-like reactions offer a promising solution. Here, the authors develop Cu single-atom loaded covalent organic frameworks to reduce excitonic effects and enhancing radical generation thereby improving EOCs degradation. Chao Zhu, Mingzheng Yang & Yi Shen Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Rotation symmetry mismatch and interlayer hybridization in MoS2-black phosphorus van der Waals heterostructures Stacking layers from different van der Waals materials can enable rotational symmetry breaking and engineering of the electronic band structure. Here, the authors report the observation of the creation of anisotropic minigaps and the appearance of flat bands at the valence band maximum in monolayer MoS2-black phosphorus heterojunctions. Zailan Zhang, Alberto Zobelli & Zhesheng Chen Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Aggregation control of anionic pentamethine cyanine enabling excitation wavelength selective NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy Near-infrared-II fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy is hindered by the undesired aggregation of photosensitizers and the competition between fluorescence emission and reactive oxygen species generation. Here, the authors report an anionic pentamethine-based photosensitizer enabling excitation wavelength-selective fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy. Yibin Li, Fei Qu & Zhong’an Li Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Energy and climate policy implications on the deployment of low-carbon ammonia technologies This study assesses the economic feasibility of low-carbon ammonia production pathways. It finds that, in the US policy and market context, carbon capture and biomass methods are cost-effective, while electrolysis faces challenges. Efficient decarbonization requires policy neutrality and technological advancements. Chi Kong Chyong, Eduardo Italiani & Nikolaos Kazantzis Article 17 January 2025 | Open Access Neutralizing antibody immune correlates in COVAIL trial recipients of an mRNA second COVID-19 vaccine boost Here the authors analyze data from COVAIL trial participants receiving an mRNA second COVID-19 vaccine boost and show that, while neutralizing antibody titer is correlated with Omicron COVID-19 risk, the correlation is weak in naïve individuals compared to previously infected ones. _ Bo Zhang, Youyi Fong & Dean Follmann Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Control of water for high-yield and low-cost sustainable electrochemical synthesis of uniform monolayer graphene oxide The water electrolytic oxidation of graphite is a low-cost sustainable synthesis method for the large-scale production of graphene oxide (GO), but it is usually limited by non-uniform oxidation. Here, the authors report a liquid membrane electrolysis method enabling the high-yield synthesis of uniform monolayer GO at industrial scales. Jiaqi Guo, Songfeng Pei & Wencai Ren Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Time-resolved spectroscopy uncovers deprotonation-induced reconstruction in oxygen-evolution NiFe-based (oxy)hydroxides Real-time monitoring of the structural evolution of catalysts is essential for uncovering catalytic mechanisms and enhancing performance. Here, the authors report a time-resolved measurement that reveals the reconstruction of NiFe-based (oxy)hydroxides, facilitating highly active oxygen evolution. Dan Wu, Longfei Hu & Tao Yao Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Rational engineering of DNA-nanoparticle motor with high speed and processivity comparable to motor proteins DNA-based artificial molecular motors have flexibility in design, but exhibit lower speed and shorter run-length than motor proteins. Here, authors rationally engineered an artificial DNA-nanoparticle motor with high speed and long run-length which is comparable to motor proteins. Takanori Harashima, Akihiro Otomo & Ryota Iino Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access An unusual chiral-at-metal mechanism for BINOL-metal asymmetric catalysis Chiral binaphthols have been staples as ligands in homogeneous asymmetric catalysis for decades, inducing chirality in transformations of the substrate by noncovalent interactions between the catalyst microenvironment and ligand. Here, the authors demonstrate that the chiral-at-metal stereoinduction mode is also a viable method for stereoinduction when using this ligand class. Zhenxing Li, Pengfei Chen & Shuhua Li Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Integrated system for electrolyte recovery, product separation, and CO2 capture in CO2 reduction CO2 capture, product separation, and electrolyte recovery are critical challenges in CO2 electroreduction. Here, the authors present an electrochemical recovery-separation system that addresses these challenges and facilitates the application of CO2 reduction technology. Peng Wang, An Pei & Guangxu Chen Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Spontaneous curvature in two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures Lattice mismatch in 2D van der Waals heterostructures induces lattice reconstruction to optimize the stacking. Here, the authors show how this introduces curving of different heterobilayers from deep-learning-assisted molecular dynamics simulations. Yuxiang Gao, Fenglin Deng & Zhicheng Zhong Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Tunning valence state of cobalt centers in Cu/Co-CoO1-x for significantly boosting water-gas shift reaction Constructing catalysts with dual active sites is crucial for optimizing adsorption sites and enhancing catalytic performance. Here, uniformly dispersed CuCo alloy and CoO nanosheet composite catalysts with dual active sites were developed, significantly boosting activity in the water-gas shift reaction. Xing-Chi Li, Jun-Hao Wang & Ya-Wen Zhang Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Continuous photo-oxidation of methane to methanol at an atomically tailored reticular gas-solid interface The photooxidation of CH4 to CH3OH is limited by the availability of reactants at flooded interfaces. Now the authors report a modified metal organic framework nanoreactor to promote the direct photooxidation of CH4 to CH3OH at the gas-solid interface. Yuchen Hao, Liwei Chen & Jinhua Ye Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Electrochromism via reversible electrodeposition of solid iodine Several electrochromic material systems have been described but the electrochromic phenomenon has rarely been observed in non-metallic elemental substances. Here, the authors describe iodine electrodeposition-based electrochromic windows using a water-in-salt electrolyte containing iodine ions, achieving optical contrast, near colour neutrality, and excellent cycling stability. Shanlin Li, Yingyu Chen & Zhigang Zhao Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Ultra-high electrostriction and ferroelectricity in poly (vinylidene fluoride) by ‘printing of charge’ throughout the film The authors make a high-density charge structure to enhance the electrostriction of pristine poly (vinylidene fluoride), improving its ferroelectric performance to nearly 10 times its traditional limit. Ningyi Zhang, Xiaobing Dong & Chao Jiang Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Probing quantum floating phases in Rydberg atom arrays The critical floating phase can bridge crystalline orders and the disordered phase. Here, the authors experimentally observe the quantum floating phase in neutral atom qubit arrays, revealing domain walls and incommensurate quasi long-range order, and analyse its emergence via Fourier spectroscopy. Jin Zhang, Sergio H. Cantú & Shan-Wen Tsai Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Green coal and lubricant via hydrogen-free hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass Biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass is a sustainable substitute for petroleum. Upgrading biocrude will consume hydrogen or encounter high-yield solid residue. Here, the authors report a hydrogen-free paradigm for nearly complete valorization via co-generating green coal and lubricant. Maojiong Cao, Reaihan E & Zhidan Liu Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access A compliant metastructure design with reconfigurability up to six degrees of freedom Compliant metastructures lack versatility due to limited programmability and form customizability. In this work, the authors propose a design concept to enhance their reconfigurability, utilizing stiffness-changing materials to create metastructures with up to six degrees of freedom, enabling broader applicability across diverse fields. Humphrey Yang, Dinesh K. Patel & Lining Yao Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Gypsum heterogenous nucleation pathways regulated by surface functional groups and hydrophobicity This work demonstrates different gypsum nucleation pathways on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces through in situ microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Yan-Fang Guan, Xiang-Yu Hong & Menachem Elimelech Article 16 January 2025 | Open Access Mitochondrial segmentation and function prediction in live-cell images with deep learning MoDL, a deep learning algorithm, is developed to link mitochondrial morphology and function. Trained on extensive mitochondrial image and biochemical data, MoDL delivers high segmentation accuracy and accurate function prediction. Yang Ding, Jintao Li & Wei Huang Article 15 January 2025 | Open Access Guaranteed efficient energy estimation of quantum many-body Hamiltonians using ShadowGrouping This work addresses energy estimation of quantum many-body systems suitable for current and near-term hardware. It introduces ShadowGrouping, an efficient strategy combining shadow estimation and Pauli grouping, allowing efficient energy estimation. Alexander Gresch & Martin Kliesch Article 15 January 2025 | Open Access Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice Here, the authors report the experimental observation of k-gap topology in a large-scale optical temporal synthetic lattice, manifesting as temporal topological boundary states. Yudong Ren, Kangpeng Ye & Yihao Yang Article 15 January 2025 | Open Access Visualizing stepwise evolution of carbon hybridization from sp3 to sp2 and to sp Regulating carbon hybridization states lies at the heart of engineering carbon materials with tailored properties but orchestrating the sequential transition across three states has remained elusive. Here, the authors visualize stepwise evolution in carbon hybridizations occurring at the linkages within polymers on metal surfaces. Wei Xiong, Guang Zhang & Jinming Cai Article 15 January 2025 | Open Access Two dimensional confinement induced discontinuous chain transitions for augmented electrocaloric cooling Solid-state cooling technology based on electrocaloric materials shows promising potential for addressing electronic overheating challenges. Here, the authors employ two-dimensional polyamide to enhance the electrocaloric cooling performance by reducing intermolecular interactions and facilitating electrocaloric phase transitions thereby, offering insights into the application of spatially confined materials in flexible electronics. Fang Wang, Zhong-Ye Wang & Qun-Dong Shen