Harvesting energy from water evaporation through hydrovoltaic devices provides a sustainable approach to electricity generation and decentralized power solutions. However, practical performance remains limited by low-current outputs (<100 nA cm) and operation restricted to low-ionic-strength conditions (<10 M). Here, dual-function, mesh-structured core-shell Ag/AgX reversible electrodes are developed to construct high-current hydrovoltaic devices operable across diverse ionic environments. The in-situ-formed AgX shell mediates redox-driven interfacial ion-electron transduction, while the Ag core provides high-speed electronic pathways, synergistically promoting the efficient conversion of ionic migration into continuous electron flow. Leveraging the localized charge inversion effect, programmable electrical outputs in both magnitude and polarity are obtained further. By co-designing Ag/AgI electrodes with KI-based electrolytes, this device delivers a record-high current density of 26.0 µA cm sustained over 160 h with power density exceeding 3.9 mW m, ≈260-fold higher current and ≈39-fold greater power than previously reported inert-electrode-based systems. Moreover, the solid-liquid interfacial charge inversion enables tunable ion transport and reconfigurable nanochannel selectivity, realizing programmable outputs over an extensive ionic-concentration window (10-10 M) and multiple ionic species. This strategy implements versatile energy-sensing systems capable of powering electronics and supporting diversified self-powered monitoring across natural and industrial water sources.

Sodium metal anodes (SMAs) are pivotal for high-energy-density batteries but suffer from uncontrolled dendrite growth and interfacial instability caused by infinite volume expansion and a fragile solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein, an innovative strategy is proposed, in which a p-block matrix is in-situ formed from NiTe nanocrystals onto N-doped carbon hollow microspheres (NiTe@NC) during electrochemical activation to overcome these challenges. The p-block matrix with sodiophilic NaTe and conductive metallic nickel effectively reduces the nucleation barrier and establishes bi-continuous ion/electron conduction networks, guiding uniform Na plating. Critically, NaTe dominates the formation of a gradient inorganic-rich SEI with high Young's modulus and low Na⁺ diffusion barrier, significantly enhancing mechanical resilience and ion transport kinetics. Consequently, the NiTe@NC electrode achieves exceptional cyclability (1,000 cycles at 1.0 mA cm /1.0 mAh cm with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.79%). When configured in full-cells with a NaFe(PO)PO cathode, it maintains the capacity retention of over 96.1% (103.9 mAh g ) after 1,200 cycles at 10.0 C. Critically, the full-cell maintains superior electrochemical resilience with high discharge-capacity and >90% retention at low-temperatures (-20 and -40 °C), demonstrating exceptional practicality for sodium metal batteries. This work establishes a new paradigm for stabilizing reactive metal anodes via in-situ-constructed multifunctional interfaces.

A major challenge to effective cancer gene therapy is the absence of delivery systems that both protect nucleic acids in circulation and release them efficiently inside tumor cells. Nucleic acids are rapidly degraded by nucleases, cleared from the blood, and poorly internalized due to size and charge. Existing vectors address parts of this problem but remain limited by cytotoxicity, instability, or inadequate tumor selectivity. Here, a lock-and-shield strategy integrating a hyaluronic acid Nanogel with a hybrid membrane shell (Nanogel@hMVs) is reported. The Nanogel "lock" physically entraps nucleic acids with high efficiency (81.6%-89.2%) and incorporates dual pH/redox-responsive linkers for controlled release under tumor-associated conditions. The membrane "shield", derived from tumor cell membranes and fusogenic lipids, reinforces systemic stability, preserves homotypic recognition, and mediates fusion-driven cytosolic entry, ensuring tumor-selective and efficient intracellular delivery. Nanogel@hMVs remain stable for 30 days, promote efficient uptake with minimal lysosomal sequestration, and silence Survivin. Across DNAzyme, siRNA, and ASO, they consistently produce potent gene silencing and in vitro antitumor activity. In vivo systemic administration yields preferential tumor accumulation, marked tumor inhibition, and prolonged survival without detectable toxicity. Collectively, Nanogel@hMVs establish a robust, safe, and adaptable lock-and-shield platform for systemic nucleic acid delivery in cancer therapy.

Photothermal-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) face critical barriers in biomedical applications: phase transition temperatures exceeding 80 °C risk thermal injury, and free-space optical actuation fails in confined spaces. Here, a thiol-ene crosslinked LCE is developed with a biocompatible phase transition temperature (37.6 °C), enabling safe actuation within biological tissues. Through coaxial extrusion, the fabrication of waveguide-structured LCE optical fibers is pioneered, achieving ultralow optical loss (0.76 dB cm) and enabling long-range light transmission and remote actuation via silica optical fiber coupling. Under 808 nm laser stimulation (375 mW), these LCE optical fibers generate 30% contraction strain in 23 s, maintaining maximum surface temperature < 48 °C. Integrated into an endoscopic system, LCE optical fibers replaced rigid mechanical components. Ex vivo characterization reveals their omnidirectional bending capability (94° angular range), while in vivo trials on live rats and rabbits validate their operational functionality in anatomical environments, enabling hemorrhage detection and laser-steered tumor ablation via controlled navigation. Histopathological analysis confirms no thermal damage at fiber-tissue interfaces. This work establishes biocompatible LCE optical fibers as a photonic platform integrating photonic-driven soft actuation and tissue-compliant adaptability, enabling mechanically safe interventions in confined anatomical environments.

Conventional hot-melt adhesives (HMAs) suffer from low shear strength and poor recyclability, limiting their structural applications. Here, a sustainable HMA system is developed from renewable building blocks that combines strong adhesion with closed-loop chemical recyclability. Incorporating polar functional groups into crystalline lamellae enables efficient stress transfer through rigid domains, achieving a balance between cohesive and adhesive forces. The resulting sulfur-based polymers exhibit shear strengths above 14.7 MPa on wood and 15.1 MPa on stainless steel, along with excellent oxygen and water vapor barrier properties suitable for microelectronic encapsulation. Moreover, these materials can be fully depolymerized from a mixed materials system under mild hydrogenation to regenerate the original monomers. This work establishes a design strategy for structural HMAs that unifies high performance, sustainability, and recyclability.

All-inorganic CsPbI perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer enhanced thermal stability compared to hybrid counterparts but suffer from interfacial defects, iodide vacancy-mediated recombination, detrimental I formation, and lead leakage, limiting performance and stability. To address these challenges simultaneously, we introduce ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (AP) as a multifunctional interfacial modifier. AP features thiocarboxylate groups that strongly chelate undercoordinated Pb, passivating defects and mitigating lead leakage, while its nitrogen-containing moieties form hydrogen bonds with I, suppressing iodide vacancy formation. Crucially, AP's redox-active nature chemically scavenges existing I and inhibits its generation under thermal and ambient stress. These synergistic interactions promote improved film crystallinity, reduced trap density, optimized interfacial energy level alignment, and enhanced charge extraction dynamics. Consequently, AP-modified CsPbI PSCs achieve significantly enhanced power conversion efficiency of 22.16% and open-circuit voltage of 1.29 V. Furthermore, the devices exhibit exceptional operational stability, retaining 97% initial efficiency after 1000 h continuous illumination under maximum power point tracking. This work demonstrates AP as a highly effective interfacial regulator and presents new insights into multifunctional molecular engineering for stable and high-efficiency all-inorganic PSCs.

The fabrication of a new class of biomimetic biomaterials is reported using nanostructured microgel pastes formed from "overpacked" assemblies of ultrasoft poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) microgels and their composites with collagen. Despite the solid-like nature of microgel pastes, collagen fibrillogenesis is robust and rapid, with a 3D collagen network forming throughout the paste volume. Structural organization within the composite is interrogated via a suite of microscopy methods, while rheological characterization provides insight into the static and dynamic mechanical properties of the materials. Long-range fibrillogenesis is enabled by local crowding, dynamics, and spatial reconfigurability of pastes at the colloidal length-scale, and by liquid-liquid phase separation during fibril formation, features that mimic the dynamic reorganization of natural extracellular matrix. In vitro 3D cell culture studies illustrate that the paste is non-toxic, permeable to nutrients, and permissive to cell invasion, while collagen fibers present sites for cell attachment and spreading. Together, these results suggest the platform's potential in the development of tissue scaffolds that mimic crowded and dynamic biological tissues. These materials address the need for new approaches to biomaterials that offer dynamic, bio-integrative environments for tissue healing and regenerative medicine via synthetic and spatial control from the polymer to the macroscopic length scales.

The kagome lattice, with its inherent frustration, hosts a plethora of exotic phenomena, including the emergence of 3q charge-density-wave order. The high rotational symmetry required to realize such an unconventional charge order is broken in many kagome materials by orthorhombic distortions at high temperature, the origin of which remains much less examined despite their ubiquity. In this study, synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals a structural phase transition from a parent hexagonal structure to an orthorhombic groundstate, mediated by a critical regime with diffuse scattering in the prototypical kagome metals RRuSi (R = Nd, Pr). Structural analysis uncovers partially ordered bonds between kagome layers in the orthorhombic phases. Accordingly, a short-range correlated dimer model on the kagome layers reproduces the diffuse scattering, with the short-range order arising from competing structures induced by the geometrical frustration of the kagome lattice. The observations point to molecular orbital formation between Ru orbitals as the driving force behind the transition, consistent with ab initio calculations. A framework based on electronegativity and a tolerance factor is proposed to evaluate the stability of the hexagonal phase in various kagome metals, guiding the design of highly symmetric materials.

Understanding the dynamical reconstruction mechanisms of the active phase in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) during the course of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is central to the development of efficient and durable OER catalysts, but remains elusive till present. Herein, a spatiotemporally decoupled reconstruction strategy is pioneered to engineer a dual-metal-node MOF ([FeO(hbdc)][Ni(trz)]) catalyst (hbdc: 2-hydroxyterephthalic acid, trz: 1,2,4-triazole), in which orbitally coupled pore-microenvironments drive time-phased kinetic reconstruction of the spatially separated Fe/Ni metal nodes, creating a foundational platform to lay bare the mechanisms governing the reconstruction processes and the cross-scale kinetic. Furthermore, a multimodal operando diagnostic platform is developed that integrates in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), in situ Raman spectroscopy, and real-time reaction kinetics tracing, to decipher the MOF atomic-to-mesoscale reconstruction kinetics from the Fe-centered active phase to the NiFe-centered more active phase. Crucially, the purpose-partitioned pore architecture synergizes the interplay between the Fe─Ni nodes, while the self-adaptive defects, bond relaxation, and structural regeneration collectively modulate the kinetic behavior, leading to the pronounced OER activity enhancement. This work establishes a structural dynamics tracking methodology that can integrate multi-scale characterization techniques and provide deep insights into the reconstruction mechanisms, thus filling the critical gap in understanding structure-activity relationships under operando conditions.

Skin plays critical roles in defending against external threats and maintaining homeostasis. However, wound repair is frequently impeded by infection, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation, especially in pathological conditions. Traditional dressings offer passive protection but lack responsiveness to the evolving wound environment. Self-adaptive wound dressings dynamically interact with wound microenvironments, exhibiting stimuli-responsiveness, controlled therapeutic release, mechanical adaptability, and multifunctional bioactivities, thereby offering tailored support across diverse stages of wound repair. This review provides a comprehensive overview of self-adaptive wound dressings, beginning with the biological basis of skin repair and factors that impede healing in chronic wounds. Traditional and self-adaptive dressings are compared, emphasizing advances in material design, structural engineering, and functional integration. Recent advances in key platforms, including hydrogels, films, sponges, microneedles, nanofibers, wearable biosensors, and nano/microparticle-based systems, are critically evaluated for their roles in managing acute, chronic, and complex wounds. Finally, current challenges in clinical translation, including biosafety, scalability, and personalization, are highlighted, and future directions for intelligent wound care are proposed. This review aims to inform the rational design of advanced self-adaptive wound dressings and promote their integration into precision wound therapy.

Soft materials with on-demand mechanical tunability remain challenging to realize, particularly those capable of large, reversible, and programmable changes within a single material system. In this work, a synthetic elastomer is designed that undergoes thermally reversible topological network reconfiguration, switching between brush- and linear-like architectures, thereby enabling a reversible transition from soft to stiff mechanical states. This reconfiguration is achieved by grafting crystallizable side chains onto a polymer backbone via Diels-Alder (DA) adducts at low annealing temperatures to form brush-like networks, while retro-DA reactions at higher temperatures release the side chains, yielding a linear topology. The brush architecture suppresses crystallization, whereas the linear form facilitates crystallinity to form an additional crystalline framework, leading to a reversible rubbery-to-glassy transition. As a result, the elastomers undergoing annealing cycles between 60 and 130 °C exhibit reversible enhancements in stiffness and strength by up to 286-fold and 25-fold, respectively. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations reveal that the significantly improved stiffness and strength originate from the formation of a crystalline framework that effectively bears mechanical load and impedes crack propagation. This thermally programmable strategy enables dynamic control of mechanical behavior, offering a novel paradigm for designing intelligent materials with tailored and on-demand performance.

Methane (CH) photooxidation under mild conditions represents a transformative approach for sustainable production of fuel and chemicals, however, it remains challenging due to the persistent requirement for exogenous oxidants. Herein, this study reports a series of well-defined bicluster photocatalysts CuPOF/PCN-n (n = 1/5/8/10, denoting the mass ratio of PCN: CuPOF), constructed by integrating [Cu(µ-I)] (denoted as Cu) clusters and MnMo polyoxometalates (POMs) within ultrathin metal-organic layers (MOLs) anchored on PCN nanoflakes. The optimized CuPOF/PCN-8 photocatalyst achieves efficient CH conversion to HCOOH with 10.5 mmol g yield and 95% selectivity without any exogenous oxidant. Comprehensive studies demonstrated that the engineered MOLs architecture enables uniform and ordered assembly of complementary catalytic bicluster, where MnMo POMs act as electron reservoirs to promote charge separation for in situ HO generation, and Cu clusters mimic CH monooxygenase to selectively cleave C-H bonds via forming Cu-O···H···CH intermediate. This work highlights the vital role of MOL-directed bicluster assembly for C-H functionalization that bypasses the need for sacrificial oxidants in selective CH functionalization.

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NORR) offers a sustainable route for green ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions. However, achieving high NH selectivity across a broad potential window, which is crucial for integration with fluctuating renewable energy sources, remains challenging due to difficulties in precisely controlling the active hydrogen supply. Herein, a hydrogen spillover strategy is presented to address this challenge by optimizing hydrogen activity. This strategy is realized using a Pt nanoparticle decorated nanoporous CoP (Pt/np-CoP) catalyst. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, density functional theory calculations, and a suite of control experiments reveal that Pt nanoparticles generate active hydrogen, which migrates via the spillover pathway to hydrogenate *NO on CoP. This process significantly lowers both thermodynamic and kinetic barriers for *NO hydrogenation. As a result, the Pt/np-CoP catalyst maintains a Faradaic efficiency (FE) above 90% across a wide 600 mV potential window by ensuring sufficient *H availability at low overpotentials and suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution reaction at high overpotentials. The FE approaches 100% at an industrially relevant current density of ≈1 A cm. Similar performance enhancements observed for other noble metal-decorated np-CoP confirm the universality of hydrogen spillover strategy for designing efficient catalysts toward practical ammonia synthesis.

Polymer dielectrics are indispensable for high-energy-density capacitors due to their lightweight, mechanical flexibility, and excellent processability. However, most existing polymer dielectrics suffer from limited operating temperatures, which significantly restricts their application in emerging fields such as electrified transportation, aerospace electronics, and compact high-power systems, where reliable operation under elevated temperatures and high electric fields is crucial. With increasing device integration and power density, there is a growing demand for polymer dielectrics capable of sustaining high energy storage performance under simultaneous thermal and electrical stress. This review summarizes the latest advances in high-temperature all-organic polymer dielectrics and provides fundamental insights to guide molecular design and structural engineering for capacitive energy storage under extreme conditions. While key structural parameters influencing capacitive behavior are discussed, emphasis is placed on the interplay between molecular structure, dielectric properties, and energy storage performance. The advantages and limitations of current approaches to high-temperature all-organic polymer dielectrics are critically evaluated. Finally, the review outlines the remaining challenges and future opportunities for advancing the development of high-performance all-organic polymer dielectrics capable of delivering reliable, efficient high-temperature energy storage.

Understanding and predicting the dynamic processes that underpin material performance are crucial for designing next-generation materials capable of meeting the evolving demands of modern technologies. These processes-often occurring at atomic or molecular scales in condensed phases-remain notoriously difficult to probe experimentally. Artificial intelligence (AI) now offers a transformative framework that enables unprecedented realism in modeling, interpreting, and even generating multiscale dynamics under various external conditions. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in AI-based machine learning potentials, AI-guided interpretability, and generative AI for dynamic prediction, and demonstrate their applications to key challenges in materials science, including phase transitions in transforming materials and plastic deformation in metallic structural materials. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges and outline future opportunities, aiming to inspire the development of AI-powered frameworks that can probe atomic-level dynamics and accelerate materials design.

Rhombohedral (ABC-stacked) graphene systems with different number of layers feature an abundance of correlated phases and superconducting states in experimental measurements with different doping and displacement fields. Some of the superconducting pockets can emerge from - or close to - one of the correlated states. Therefore, studying the phase diagram of these phases for varying number of layers can be useful to interpret the experimental observations. To achieve this, systematic Hartree-Fock calculations have been performed in the presence of long-range Coulomb interactions. By varying the external displacement field and carrier density, a cascade of metallic partially-isospin-polarized phases that spontaneously break spin and/or valley (flavor) symmetries is found. In addition, these states can present nematicity, stabilized by electron-electron interactions, exhibiting rich internal complexity. Polarized states are more stable for electron doping, and they are found for systems with up to 20 layers. Moreover, the tunability of the phase diagram via substrate screening and spin-orbit coupling proximity effects is studied. The results offer new insights into the role of correlations and symmetry breaking in graphitic systems, which will motivate future experimental and theoretical works.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) leveraging near-infrared-II (NIR-II) light holds promise for deep-tissue cancer treatment, yet conventional photosensitizers (PSs) suffer from low singlet oxygen (O) quantum yields due to inefficient intersystem crossing (ISC) and short-lived triplet states, hindering PDT effectiveness and subsequent immunogenic cell death (ICD) induction. Herein, a dual-optimized PS is reported by intercalating I-functionalized isophthalic acid (I-IPA) into ZnAl-LDH interlayers (LDH@I-IPA) for NIR-II PDT/immunotherapy. LDH-mediated confinement effect not only narrows the bandgap for effective NIR-II excitation, but also prolongs its triplet lifetime by 3 orders of magnitude through suppressing reverse intersystem crossing (RISC). Combined with I-induced heavy-atom effect promoting ISC, LDH@I-IPA achieves a record-high relative O quantum yield of 1.89. After polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification, LDH@I-IPA-PEG demonstrates potent tumor apoptosis and ICD, suppressing primary/metastatic tumors by 99.5%/52.2% through dendritic cell maturation, macrophage polarization, and cytotoxic T-cell activation. Theoretical calculations and transcriptomic analysis confirm bandgap engineering, RISC inhibition, and immune pathway regulation.

Optical physical unclonable functions (OPUFs) provide a powerful and advanced anti-counterfeiting solution by harnessing inherent random physical features. However, achieving a balance among multichannel unclonability, scalability, and non-destructive implementation remains a significant challenge. This study introduces a single-challenge, multichannel-response OPUFs label engineered with hierarchical disorder spanning sub-nanoscale molecular programming, nanoscale assembly amplification, and microscale optical integration. First, by precisely controlling the ratio of surface functional groups, the carbon dots are directed to form either highly aggregated or weakly aggregated states. These aggregation states spontaneously generate sub-nanoscale fractal structures with intrinsic randomness, which function as physically unclonable fingerprints. Moreover, the random assembly and printing produce irreproducible micro-nano architectures that are inherently resistant to duplication. The OPUFs validation confirms an ultrahigh theoretical encoding capacity of ≈2.04 × 10. A single 5 µm label generates three independent keys from bright-field, green, and red channels, exhibiting near-ideal bit uniformity and exceptionally low error rates. When demonstrated on delicate butterfly specimens, the label integrates seamlessly into protective coatings without damaging microscopic features, providing an "invisible armor" with broad applications in secure data storage and high-precision anti-counterfeiting.

Accurate detection of small molecule metabolites in vivo is critical for rapid screening of disease biomarkers and health monitoring. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has emerged as a promising platform for metabolic profiling, but its capability is hindered by the limited light absorption and energy transfer of conventional matrix materials. In this work, a high-efficiency metabolic detection platform based on high-entropy oxide particles (mHEO) with an interconnected mesoporous structure and tailored compositions is established. Owing to their abundant active sites and excellent light utilization efficiency, the mHEO particles show significantly improved photothermal and photochemical properties with an eightfold localized enhanced electromagnetic field and higher surface temperatures (616 °C) than nonporous HEOs (336 °C). As a result, MALDI-MS based on the mHEO matrix exhibits high sensitivity, good reproducibility (Coefficient of Variation < 10%), and ultralow detection limits with 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than their endogenous concentrations. Furthermore, the mHEO-based MALDI-MS platform is applied to analyze paired arterial/venous blood samples from pancreatic cancer (PC) patients with the assistance of machine learning. Four tumor microenvironment-associated metabolites are identified as a potential biomarker panel of PC, achieving a robust pancreas-venous plasma classification, which allows the timely screening and targeted treatment of PC.

The topological noncollinear antiferromagnet (AFM) MnSn exhibits a giant anomalous Hall conductance (AHC) originating from its nonvanishing Berry curvature. Conventionally, the two AHC states are regarded as time-reversal pairs coupled to the magnetic octupole moment, and their control has relied on reversing this moment by external magnetic fields or electric currents. Here, an alternative mechanism is demonstrated-the chirality-selected noncollinear antiferromagnetic state-in which the AHC polarity is defined by the vector spin chirality (VSC) of the Kagome lattice. By constructing MnSn/Pt heterostructures, a Fert-Levy-type Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is introduced that sets the lattice chirality. The induced DMI changes the VSC from counterclockwise (CCW) to clockwise (CW), resulting in a corresponding inversion of the AHC sign. This behavior is confirmed by symmetry analysis and atomistic simulations that link the polarity inversion to the competition between DMI energy and intrinsic anisotropy. These findings establish a chirality-defined route for controlling noncollinear antiferromagnetic order and highlight DMI engineering as a powerful means of tailoring Berry-curvature-driven transport in AFMs.