Physics

Thermal Shock-Stabilized Mo0.5Ru0.5O2 as a Durable Catalyst A Mo0.5Ru0.5O2 nanoparticle catalyst is synthesized via thermal shock in oxygen. This process uniformly incorporates Mo into the RuO2 lattice, suppressing phase separation, Ru over-oxidation, and structural degradation during acidic oxygen evolution, enabling the catalyst to retain high activity while substantially enhancing durability. More details can be found in the Research Article by Liangbing Hu, Litao Yan, and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202520210).

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) supports a wide range of 2D technologies, yet assessing its crystalline quality over large areas remains a fundamental challenge. Both antiparallel domains, an intrinsic outcome of epitaxy on high-symmetry substrates, and associated structural defects have long evaded optical detection. Here, we show that interferometric second-harmonic generation (SHG) imaging provides a powerful, non-destructive probe of lattice orientation and structural integrity in 2D hBN grown by chemical vapor deposition. This approach reveals the ubiquitous formation of antiparallel domains and quantifies their impact on crystalline order. SHG intensity also emerges as a direct optical metric of domain disorder, spanning three orders of magnitude across films produced by ten different growth routes. Correlation with Raman spectroscopy establishes a unified framework for evaluating crystalline quality. Beyond hBN, this method offers a high-throughput route to wide-area structural imaging in various non-centrosymmetric materials, advancing their deployment in electronics, photonics, and quantum technologies.

Programmed cell death protein 1/its ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) blockade has revolutionized cancer immunotherapy, yet its efficacy is limited by incomplete checkpoint inhibition and persistent PD-L1 transcription. In this work, lysine acetyltransferase 8 (KAT8) is identified as a nucleator of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)-mediated condensates that concentrate transcription factors to drive sustained PD-L1 transcription and promote immune resistance. Leveraging this mechanism, a PD-1-functionalized hybrid vesicle-liposome platform (PD-1-HVL-siKAT8) is developed to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting KAT8 for LLPS modulation and enhanced cancer immunotherapy. In this platform, the PD-1-presenting vesicles enable tumor accumulation and PD-L1 blockade, while the fused liposomes provide efficient siRNA encapsulation and cytosolic release, leading to potent KAT8 silencing and condensate dissolution. This LLPS modulator platform markedly suppresses PD-L1 expression and reshapes the tumor immune microenvironment, augmenting type I interferon signaling, dendritic cell maturation, cytotoxic T-cell activation, and M1-like macrophage polarization. In subcutaneous and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma models, PD-1-HVL-siKAT8 significantly inhibits tumor growth, prevents recurrence, and extends survival with negligible toxicity. Collectively, this approach integrates PD-L1 blockade with disruption of LLPS-dependent transcription for durable immunotherapy.

Stretchable tactile sensors are essential for robotic skin; however, conventional planar integration methods struggle to accommodate complex geometries, thereby limiting advanced sensing applications. Existing fabrication approaches (e.g., transfer printing) also face scalability challenges due to their reliance on preassembled planar structures. Inspired by biological systems, we propose a novel 3D fabrication strategy that integrates 3D printing, material innovation, and laser direct writing to directly construct stretchable tactile sensor arrays on 3D substrates, enabling seamless multilayer interconnections. Mimicking the 3D folded epidermis of crocodile skin, the proposed biomimetic structure exhibits performance advantages beyond those of human skin. The proof-of-concept sensor arrays demonstrate high responsiveness, with an amplitude response time of less than 0.5 ms and a maximum operating frequency of 473.33 Hz, along with a frequency resolution of 0.35 Hz and an angular resolution of 1°. Notably, 900 sensors were integrated onto a sub-meter-scale film, achieving 100% accuracy in complex pattern recognition tasks via deep learning. This approach enables a transition from 2D to scalable 3D fabrication and provides a versatile platform for next-generation robotic bionic skin and intelligent sensing systems.

The effectiveness of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment remains constrained due to the limited drug delivery efficiency resulting from the intestinal epithelial barriers. Although solid nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery systems can enhance drug penetration, most of them are digested and excreted from the body, with only a small portion successfully crossing the intestinal epithelial barrier. Herein, we demonstrated lemon-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs)-engineered oral capsules loaded with capecitabine (EVOC), enabling them to trigger temporary opening of the intestinal epithelial barrier as a result of mechanical stress and thereby greatly enhancing the drug delivery efficiency. The EVOC enabled them to induce cellular stress responses within the intestinal epithelial barrier due to their much larger dimensions than cells, resulting in cytoskeleton relaxation and thereby breaking the original balance of tight junctions among cells. This cellular stress response could temporarily open the intestinal epithelial barrier, allowing highly efficient drug penetration into tumor tissues. The concentration of 5-fluorouracil (metabolite of capecitabine) accumulated in tumor tissues within the EVOC group was approximately 13-fold higher than that in the free capecitabine group and 6-fold higher than that in the capecitabine@EV nanodrugs. As expected, the EVOC group significantly enhanced the chemotherapy efficiency of CRC.

Large Strains from Small Materials In their Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202518417), Lane W. Martin and co-authors overcome substrate-induced limitations in the electromechanical response of thin films. By producing multilayer heterostructures based on domain-engineered ferroelectrics like PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 it is possible to produce enhanced piezoelectric coefficients and maximum electromechanical strains that surpass the performance of bulk piezoceramics even in sub-100-nm films.

A multiscale understanding of the structure of ionogels - nanoparticle-free polymer composites incorporating ionic liquids - is essential for enhancing their macroscopic functional properties and unlocking their potential in critical applications such as energy storage, sensing, and actuation. We establish a complete picture of the nano- and microstructuration of an ionic liquid within the matrix of a practically relevant electroactive copolymer poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene), by combining neutron scattering with cryogenic scanning electron tomography assisted by focused ion beam milling and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy with elemental analysis. We show that the ionic liquid is primarily located in the polymer amorphous phase and forms nanostructures with 10-12 nm size. It does not penetrate into the crystalline lamellae or the polymer amorphous phase confined between them, and it does not affect the polymer degree of crystallinity nor its complete crystallization in the highly electroactive β-phase. Saturation of the unconfined amorphous phase with ionic liquid is identified as the key factor enabling high ionic conductivity while preserving mechanical integrity. At high ionic liquid concentrations, its excess microphase-separates during the composite processing and accumulates in predominantly interconnected micrometer-sized pores, providing the magnetoelectric response and further increasing the ionic conductivity.

The film quality of wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskites is critical for achieving high-efficiency perovskite/organic tandem solar cells (POTSCs). However, the Br-rich WBG perovskites often suffer from inhomogeneous crystallization, leading to severe phase-segregation and substantial non-radiative energy losses. Here, cyanates are rationally designed to modulate the crystallization of WBG perovskites. RbOCN is successfully incorporated into the perovskite crystal lattice, optimizing the cation-anion composition distribution, reducing the lattice constant, and inducing a blue-shift in the band edge. These synergistic effects produce highly crystalline, phase-stable WBG perovskites, yielding an impressive efficiency of 22.45% for a 1.73 eV perovskite device (0.09 cm²). Moreover, RbOCN exhibits broad applicability across WBG perovskites with varying band gaps (1.79 eV, 1.85 eV, and 1.92 eV). These optimized sub-cells are subsequently integrated with organic sub-cells to fabricate POTSCs. Benefiting from well-aligned spectral responses, an exceptional efficiency of 26.75% is achieved for POTSCs (0.09 cm²) based on 1.85 eV perovskite sub-cells. Notably, the strategy demonstrates excellent scalability, delivering an impressive efficiency of 25.37% and a record open-circuit voltage of 2.22 V for 1 cm² POTSCs. This study establishes a robust approach for mitigating inhomogeneous crystallization and stabilizing the crystal lattice in WBG perovskites, thereby advancing the development of high-performance TSCs.

The surging deployment of electric vehicles and energy storage systems is rapidly accelerating the accumulation of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), underscoring the urgency of efficient and sustainable regeneration technologies. Although LiFePO₄ (LFP) dominates the commercial iron-based cathode market, its long-term operation is plagued by lithium (Li) loss, FePO₄ formation, and the accumulation of Li-Fe anti-site defects, which collectively block the [010] diffusion channels and severely impair electrochemical reversibility. Here, we demonstrate that the performance decay of LFP originates fundamentally from a stress-induced structural degradation process rather than simple compositional imbalance. Guided by this mechanistic insight, we develop a stress-regulated electrochemical regeneration strategy in which an applied electric field simultaneously drives Fe³⁺ reduction and targeted Li⁺ reinsertion into the depleted lattice. This self-limiting repair process eliminates Li-Fe anti-site defects (from 3.24% to 1.05%), releases accumulated lattice micro-strain, and reconstructs a relaxed, fully accessible Li⁺ transport framework. Subsequent magnesium and aluminum co-doping introduces uniform compressive prestress, enabling controlled redistribution of internal lattice stress and imparting long-range structural robustness. The regenerated LFP exhibits 94% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 1C rate, together with markedly improved structural reversibility. Life-cycle assessment confirms both economic and environmental benefits.

With cocktail effect from the special synergism of multiple components, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) catalysts are increasingly being investigated to address the sluggish kinetics of electrochemical conversion processes. However, the origin of the cocktail effect and how it affects the catalytic performance is elusive and poorly understood due to complicated interaction between each component. Herein, we decouple the cocktail effect into lattice and coordination two main aspects in HEAs for HER catalysis. Flexible quantum theoretical methods coupled with in situ spectra investigations disclose that the lattice effect contributes to a coarse modulation with a larger tuning range through modification of 3d band structures in active sites, while coordination effect functions as a fine tailor to further optimize electronic structure by adjusting electron occupancy in 3d bands. This work elucidates the intrinsic origin of the cocktail effect in HEAs, providing a guideline for the rational design of catalysts targeting extraordinary properties.

Integrated Hydrogel Optical Fiber Electronics A multi-functional hydrogel fiber-based bioelectronics, consisting of a hydrogel core with perfect step-index and a conducting hydrogel cladding for electrophysiological recording, enables the simultaneous electrophysiological recording and optical modulation in behaving mice at the same region. More details can be found in the Research Article by Yi Lu, Ji Liu, and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202517771).

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are promising candidates for next-generation display and lighting technologies. However, conventional strategies for controlling morphology and crystalline structure often face challenges such as inefficient carrier transport and poor batch-to-batch reproducibility, primarily due to the presence of long organic ligands and the environment-sensitive nature of crystallization dynamics. Here, we present a localized micro-solvent field engineering strategy that simultaneously enhances device efficiency and reproducibility. By applying a nitrogen micro-gas flow, we obtain a clean nitrogen atmosphere and a lower substrate temperature for subsequent film coating. By incorporating low-boiling-point solvent acetonitrile into the precursor solution as a nucleation promoter, we precisely control the nucleation and growth kinetics. This synergistic approach, which avoids chemical hot-injection synthesis and insulating long-chain ligands, produces uniform quasi-quantum-dot perovskite films with the grain size (7-15 nm) approaching the exciton Bohr diameter with higher exciton binding energy. PeLEDs fabricated using this method demonstrate a peak external quantum efficiency of 33.79%, an average efficiency approaching 31%, excellent batch-to-batch consistency, and successful integration in pixel array devices. This strategy not only overcomes critical limitations in efficiency and reproducibility for solution-processed PeLEDs but also provides a broadly applicable framework to advance the performance and scalability of other perovskite optoelectronic devices.