Recently, a collaborative team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, led by Guoqiang Yang, Wanbin Zhang, and Jianming Zhang, reported an asymmetric bimetallic synergistic CuAPS (copper-catalyzed propargyl substitution reaction) strategy. By activating the propargyl electrophile and the α-cyano ester nucleophile respectively using a chiral Cu(I)–BOX complex catalyst, and through a transient binuclear catalytic mechanism, they achieved the tandem cyclization of asymmetric propargyl substitution and the Pinner reaction to construct chiral cyclic imine esters. The article was published as an open access Research Article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Rice paddies feed more than half of the world’s population, yet they are also hotspots for toxic arsenic contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. A new study reports a promising solution that addresses both problems at once, using an engineered biochar material enhanced with titanium dioxide.

University of Tennessee researchers James Ostrowski and Rebekah Herrman are developing quantum-computing tools to tackle multi-stage stochastic decision problems in fields like energy, logistics, and healthcare. Their NSF-funded project combines quantum and classical methods, creates scenario-encoding strategies, benchmarks performance, trains PhD students, and releases open-source libraries so non-experts can test quantum optimization in real-world workflows.

In a new Nature Physics publication, University of Amsterdam researchers introduce human-made materials that spring to life. These ‘metamaterials’ don’t just learn to change shape, but can autonomously adapt their shape-changing strategy, perform reflex actions and move around like living systems do.

A review article by Prof. Fengcheng Wu and Prof. Allan H. MacDonald highlights the emerging field of semiconductor moiré superlattices, where diverse strongly correlated and topological quantum phases have been observed.

A composite material with a “reinforced concrete” structure was constructed by using core-shell CF@PANI as the “steel reinforcement” and Fe3O4/PDA/Ti3C2Tx as the “concrete” matrix through a combined approach involving in-situ polymerization, in-situ mineralization, and electrostatic self-assembly. This material not only exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance but also demonstrates significantly enhanced mechanical properties.

Through DFT calculations, it is revealed that loading transition metal (Pt, Pd, Au) single atoms on the surface of SnS2/CdS heterojunctions can synergistically enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction on the CdS component and the lactic acid oxidation reaction on the SnS2 component.

This study applied AI/ML-assisted literature mining and descriptor-based screening to guide the rational design of PCN-based photocatalysts, with dopants and loadings finalized through experimental optimization. A Ga–Na–PCN with Ga–N anchoring sites and intercalated Na⁺ was synthesized via molten-salt calcination and coupled with Fe-modified Kunipia-F clay to form a heterojunction. The interfacial electric-field interaction significantly enhanced charge separation and hydrogen evolution, clarifying the structure–activity relationship of carbon nitride systems.

A novel bio-inspired strategy combining natural diatom biochar with ZIF-67-derived electromagnetic absorbers is developed to fabricate a Co-C/SiO₂ composite with hierarchical porosity.