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Chemistry & Physics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-May-2026 05:15 ET (22-May-2026 09:15 GMT/UTC)

How surfaces grow: Research team demonstrates universal 2D growth

University of Würzburg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Crystals, bacterial colonies, flame fronts: the growth of surfaces was first described in the 1980s by the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation. Since then, it has been regarded as a fundamental model in physics, with implications for mathematics, biology, and computer science. Now—forty years later—a Würzburg-based research team from the Cluster of Excellence ctd.qmat has achieved the first experimental demonstration of KPZ behavior on 2D surfaces in space and time. This was made possible by sophisticated materials engineering and a bold experimental approach: researchers injected polaritons—hybrid particles composed of light and matter—into the material. The results have been published in Science.

Journal: Science

Ultra-low efficiency roll-off high color purity blue perovskite QLEDs with exceeding 20% efficiency

Light Publishing Center, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics And Physics, CAS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Blue perovskite quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are highly attractive for new generation high-definition displays, but their practical deployment is hindered by severe efficiency roll-off at high luminance while maintaining high color purity (Commission International de l’Eclairage coordinates of y (CIEy) < 0.1). To overcome this challenge, we use a multifunctional molecule passivation strategy to improve the external quantum efficiency and operational stability of high color purity blue perovskite QLEDs while achieving ultra-low efficiency roll-off.

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sichuan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leading Talent Program, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, New Era Longjiang Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Project

Rice scientists discover new way metals bind oxygen, possibly starting ‘new chapter’ in chemistry

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rice researchers develop a way to enable pi interactions between dioxygen and a lanthanide metal called neodymium, enabling the creation of lanthanide-oxos.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

“Poor man’s Majoranas” can be used as quantum spin probes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A theoretical study conducted at São Paulo State University shows that quantum excitations without topological protection, previously considered experimental limitations, can serve as spectroscopic tools for identifying quantum statistics and stabilizing exotic states in superconducting nanostructures.

Journal: Journal of Physics Condensed Matter
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Imaging technique captures more information about ultrafast microscopic processes

Optica
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have developed a new imaging technique that captures more information about ultrafast processes in the microscopic world than was previously possible.

Journal: Optica

Surprising insights into the chemistry of hydroxyl radicals at BESSY II

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How do radicals form in aqueous solutions when exposed to UV light? This question is important for health research and environmental protection, for example with regard to the overfertilisation of water bodies by intensive agriculture. A team at BESSY II has now developed a new method of investigating hydroxyl radicals in solution. By using a clever trick, the scientists gained surprising insights into the reaction pathway.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

New AI technology to speed drug development

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have used artificial intelligence to dramatically accelerate both the creation of new medicines and the identification of existing drugs for new purposes.

The role of graphene in photocatalytic composites revealed by theoretical modelling

Tsinghua University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study uses theoretical modelling to reveal the key role of graphene in TiO₂/graphene photocatalytic composites. Presence of defects in graphene is found to enable covalent bonding between graphene and TiO₂, creating hybridised electronic states that facilitate charge transfer and hinder electron-hole recombination, and therefore enhance the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂/graphene composites.

Journal: Carbon Future

Synergy of heterojunction and doping engineering unlocks superior oxygen evolution in new catalyst

Tsinghua University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The widespread adoption of green hydrogen production through water electrolysis is currently hampered by the high cost and scarcity of state-of-the-art iridium-based catalysts. A research team from Shaoxing University and partners has developed a groundbreaking solution: a new strontium-palladium-ruthenium oxide catalyst engineered through a novel "heterojunction-doping synergy" strategy. This innovative material demonstrates exceptional performance and stability in facilitating the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a critical bottleneck in water splitting. This achievement not only provides a cost-effective alternative to iridium but also establishes a new, generalizable blueprint for designing next-generation electrocatalysts, bringing large-scale green hydrogen production a significant step closer to reality.

Journal: Nano Research

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