A cross-disciplinary research team led by Professor Hongjie DAI (Sapientia Eminence Professor, Chair Professor in Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Biomedical Sciences, Director of The Materials Institute of Life Sciences and Energy (MILES)) and Professor Simon Ying Kit LAW (Chairperson and Cheung Kung-Hai Professor in Gastrointestinal Surgery, Chair Professor in Department of Surgery, the School of Clinical Medicine, HKUMed) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has, for the first time, successfully applied NIR-II (1000–3000 nm) fluorescence video imaging during esophagectomy – a complex surgical procedure involving the resection of a diseased or cancerous portion of the esophagus, where the most dreaded complication, anastomotic leakage, a gastrointestinal defect at the suture line between the esophagus and the gastric conduit, affects 10-30% of patients and leads to high postoperative morbidity rate and even death. In Hong Kong, about 30 patients have already benefited from esophagectomy performed with the aid of this new fluorescence imaging and video analysis technique, with highly promising outcomes to date.

An international team led by researchers from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), including postdoctoral fellow Dr Tianyang LYU, Professor Man Hoi LEE (also with the Department of Physics), and Mok Sau-King Professor Guochun ZHAO, has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets. Using advanced numerical models, the team systematically classified for the first time six distinct planetary tectonic regimes and identified a novel regime: the “Episodic-Squishy Lid”. The study not only provides crucial clues to the origin of Earth’s plate tectonics but also offers a robust theoretical framework for deciphering the enigmatic geological features of Venus. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

High-resolution full-color quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) displays still face significant challenges, particularly limitations in restricted pixelation manufacturing process and the operational longevity of specific pixels. Researchers have developed a single-layer color-tunable QLEDs technology that achieves color-tunable emission via operating voltage adjustment, avoiding complex tandem structures while demonstrating record-breaking external quantum efficiency （EQE） and broad color gamut including standard white emission, highlighting significant potential for application in full-color display and lighting technologies.

Researchers developed a new, symmetry-consistent way to describe CP-violating neutral triple gauge couplings, correcting problems in the conventional approach since 1999. Using systematic simulations of the e⁺e⁻ → Zγ process, they demonstrated that CP-violating effects have distinctive angular distributions in the Z-boson decay. With optimized observables and polarized beams, the proposed colliders can probe new physics at the multi-TeV scale, offering a powerful indirect window beyond the Standard Model.

Professor Yongzhe Wun's team at East China University of Science and Technology significantly improved the interfacial contact and mechanical stability of inverted perovskite solar cells by constructing triphenylamine-based co-assembled hole transport monolayers. This work addressed key issues such as poor interfacial wettability and insufficient mechanical stability of traditional carbazole-based self-assembled monolayers (e.g., Me-4PACz) in inverted perovskite solar cells. They designed and synthesized a series of multi-legged triphenylamine derivatives (TPA-nCPA) containing cyanoethylphosphonic acid anchoring groups and innovatively proposed a co-assembly strategy with Me-4PACz. Rigid devices fabricated based on this strategy achieved an excellent photoelectric conversion efficiency of 26.27%, while flexible devices achieved an efficiency of 22.38%. Furthermore, after 5000 cycles at a 5mm bending radius, they maintained 90% of their initial efficiency, demonstrating outstanding mechanical stability. The article was published as an open access research article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A new study highlights a promising path toward sustainable hydrogen peroxide production using sunlight, oxygen, and water, offering a cleaner alternative to the energy-intensive anthraquinone process that dominates global manufacturing today.

Since most people carry their phones with them every day, Shogo Takada is working on a way to use smartphone microphones to assist in locating disaster victims. The method combines two types of sound sources, monopole and dipole. In a disaster situation, a rescuer would emit two dipole sounds, which would be received by the microphone of a trapped victim, and then an electromagnetic wave would be sent from the victim’s phone to broadcast their location.