Hydrogen release at the electrode surface has long hindered the development of aqueous zinc metal batteries, a promising technology for grid-scale energy storage. While most studies have focused on hydrogen evolution during zinc plating, new evidence reveals that significant hydrogen is also generated during zinc stripping, driven by chemical corrosion of newly exposed zinc surfaces. Researchers now show that small organic additives, particularly cysteamine, can form a protective gradient solid electrolyte interphase that isolates water molecules from the electrode surface. This approach greatly reduces unwanted hydrogen generation and improves battery reversibility, achieving more than 4000 stable cycles with high Coulombic efficiency.

An international research team reveals consistent growth in PFAS research by conducting bibliometric analysis of 1,281 publications from 2003 to 2023. The study, conducted using analytical tools like CiteSpace and VOSviewer, identifies the United States, China, and Sweden as the leading contributors. It provides a comprehensive overview of PFASs in drinking water, highlighting that their entry into water supplies is governed by surface runoff, soil leaching, and atmospheric deposition. While traditional analysis relies on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, new portable sensors are emerging. Current removal strategies—such as activated carbon, ion-exchange, membranes, and advanced oxidation processes—involve significant cost-performance trade-offs. Key persistent challenges include monitoring short-chain and novel ether PFASs, managing concentrated waste, and establishing unified regulatory standards. This study aims to guide future research and policy to accelerate the achievement of PFAS-free drinking water.

Dynamic manipulation of optical signals between on-chip and free-space optical fields are highly pursued in various applications. Towards this goal, scientists in China proposed an addressable on-chip metasurface network on lithium niobate platform to present dynamic waveguide-based holographic display with improved multiplexing capability. Such scalable platform will advance holographic displays, high-capacity optical communication, and integrated photonic information processing, leveraging the potential of thin-film lithium niobate technology with high integration, fast response and high scalability.

A review study by Professor Weifeng Zhang from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, pointed out that stabilized fertilizers added with urease or nitrification inhibitors provide an effective path to solve this contradiction. China has achieved technological breakthroughs in this field and become a major global producer. The related paper has been published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2025635).

Wenchao Li from Hebei Agricultural University and Lingling Hua from Beijing University of Agriculture et al. have developed an online monitoring system for NPS pollution in continuous cropping farmland based on a serial pipeline. The system, with diversion trenches, online flowmeters, and dynamic acquisition devices as the core, realizes real-time monitoring and automated sampling of farmland runoff through innovative design. Compared with traditional runoff pools, the design of diversion trenches and transmission pipelines in the new system significantly reduces the project scale, lowers construction costs and land occupation, and avoids interference with agricultural production activities. The related paper had been published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2024596).