Clean hydrogen production depends on catalysts that can split water efficiently while using precious metals more wisely. A new catalyst design addresses one of the long-standing barriers in alkaline water electrolysis: the slow breakdown of water molecules on platinum (Pt) surfaces. By placing Pt clusters on a symbiotic oxide support made from titanium dioxide quantum dots and cobalt oxide (TiO₂ QDs/Co₃O₄), the study reshapes the electronic state of Pt and creates paired active sites. These sites separately accelerate water dissociation and hydrogen adsorption, enabling faster hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, stronger stability, and a clearer path toward more efficient alkaline electrolyzers.

In an international experiment, researchers observed Jahn–Teller polarons – quasiparticles that could play an important role in future ultrafast spintronic devices. These polarons emerged within the crystal lattice of cobalt oxide that had been activated by carefully tailored laser pulses.

Recently, Professor Hanjun Sun and his team from Nanjing Normal University proposed a novel C_sp–π–d conjugation design strategy. By incorporating carbon–carbon triple bonds (C≡C) into a metalloporphyrin framework, they constructed a C_sp–π–d conjugated structure with unique electronic modulation capability, enabling precise regulation of the adsorption behavior of the key oxygen reduction intermediate *OH and thereby significantly enhancing the performance of non-precious-metal catalysts. The resulting p-Co-TEPP/rGO catalyst not only exhibited outstanding oxygen reduction activity in alkaline media, but also delivered superior overall performance to the Pt/C–RuO₂ cathode in zinc–air batteries, offering a new strategy for the design of low-cost, high-performance energy catalysts.

Mechanoluminescence(ML) directly converts mechanical energy into light, offering a promising route for energy-free sensing. Here, we report a low cost, stable Al₂O₃:Cr³⁺ platform with self-recoverable near-infrared emission. A reversible stress induced ionization–recapture mechanism, together with defect engineering, annealing, and heterostructure optimization, delivers strong and recoverable luminescence. The material enables flexible ML paper and alloy-surface coatings for real time structural stress visualization.

Researchers demonstrate a giant insulator-to-metal transition and room-temperature superparamagnetism by controlling defect reconstruction and nickel nanoparticle formation in perovskite oxide thin films.