Science Highlights

Antarctic ozone recovery alters austral summer Southern Hemisphere circulation patterns

A vicarious calibration model enables quantitative applications of Fengyun-3 satellite ocean color data

Methane dry reforming converts CO₂ and CH₄ into syngas for green fuel synthesis to advance carbon neutrality. Low-cost Ni catalysts suffer severe deactivation from sintering and coking.We fabricate a robust Ni_BN catalyst with uniformly dispersed 6 nm Ni nanoparticles withelectron-deficient Ni speciestailored by interfacial boron, delivering coke-free operation over 350 hours. This unique structure suppresses deep CH₄ cleavage while boosts CO₂ reactivity. It offers new guidance for C–H activation related catalyst design.

Refractive index (RI) reflects key sample properties such as morphology, density, stress, and composition. Optical tomography (OT) and optical diffraction tomography (ODT) reconstruct 3D RI distributions from transmittance wavefronts recorded at multiple illumination angles using Fourier slicing or diffraction principles. This review summarizes the principles, implementations, and reconstruction algorithms of 3D RI imaging techniques. Further, different 3D RI imaging approaches are compared, and the current trends and future perspectives are discussed.

Decoupling the size and electronic interplay in Pd and PdAg nanocatalysts reveals critical thresholds in ensemble size and Pd valence state for steering 1,3-butadiene hydrogenation selectivity towards 1-butene (66%).

The generation of high-intensity, ultrashort, coherent terahertz pulses in the 5-15 THz frequency range presents a formidable challenge in ultrafast science. Recently, researchers have introduced a novel scheme for generating intense, broadband THz pulses over a gapless wide spectral range based on collinear phase matched Raman-resonance-enhanced four-wave mixing (R-FWM) in strained diamond, providing a scalable route toward high-field THz sources for driving and interrogating complex dynamics in matter.

Inspired by insect compound eyes, Prof. Ji Chen’s team from Southeast University proposes a bioinspired motion detector based on planar metalens arrays. It realizes an ultra-wide 135° field of view and achieves high-precision perception of moving targets’ velocity and direction. The design effectively detects tiny and slow-moving objects in complex backgrounds and enables intelligent motion trajectory prediction. Featuring high integration and lightweight structure, it provides solid technical support for autonomous perception, industrial early warning and unmanned intelligent systems.

Near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorophores possess transformative potential for biomedical applications. This review systematically summarizes the advances over past five years in organic small-molecule NIR-II fluorophores for phototheranostics, including cyanine, BODIPY, benzobisthiadiazole, xanthene, cyano-based derivatives and small-molecule metal complexes, providing insights into further innovation and facilitating clinical translation.

The study utilized the CN05.1 gridded observation dataset and ERA5 reanalysis data to investigate the primary systems and mechanisms influencing run-of-river hydropower generation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin.