Researchers from Hebei University of Technology have developed an innovative approach to lithium-ion battery management that could significantly improve the safety and performance of electric vehicles. The new method, which estimates a battery's state of charge (SOC) based on its internal core temperature rather than surface temperature, addresses a critical flaw in current battery management systems while requiring less computational resources. SOC estimation—essentially determining how much "fuel" remains in an electric vehicle's battery—is crucial for safe and efficient battery operation. However, current methods typically rely on surface temperature measurements that can be misleading for the accuracy of SOC estimation.

Researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo created a new material platform for non-volatile memories using covalent organic frameworks (COFs), which are crystalline solids with high thermal stability. The researchers successfully installed electric-field-responsive dipolar rotors into COFs. Owing to the unique structure of the COFs, the dipolar rotors can flip in response to an electric field without being hampered by a steric hindrance from the surroundings, and their orientation can be held at ambient temperature for a long time, which are necessary conditions for non-volatile memories.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells achieve remarkable efficiencies (> 26%) yet face stability challenges. Quasi-2D alternating-cation-interlayer perovskites offer enhanced stability through hydrophobic spacer cations but suffer from vertical phase segregation and buried interface defects. Herein, we introduce dicyanodiamide (DCD) to simultaneously address these dual limitations in GA(MA)_nPb_nI_3n+1 perovskites. The guanidine group in DCD passivates undercoordinated Pb²⁺ and MA⁺ vacancies at the perovskite/TiO₂ interface, while cyano groups eliminate oxygen vacancies in TiO₂ via Ti⁴⁺–CN coordination, reducing interfacial trap density by 73% with respect to the control sample. In addition, DCD regulates crystallization kinetics, suppressing low-n-phase aggregation and promoting vertical alignment of high-n phases, which benefit for carrier transport. This dual-functional modification enhances charge transport and stabilizes energy-level alignment. The optimized devices achieve a record power conversion efficiency of 21.54% (vs. 19.05% control) and retain 94% initial efficiency after 1200 h, outperforming unmodified counterparts (84% retention). Combining defect passivation with phase homogenization, this work establishes a molecular bridge strategy to decouple stability-efficiency trade-offs in low-dimensional perovskites, providing a universal framework for interface engineering in high-performance optoelectronics.

The study reported the development of a transparent mesoporous tungsten trioxide (WO₃) film that achieved efficient and durable solar-driven water splitting. A unique in situ template-carbonization strategy, the material maintains crystallinity, optical transparency, and stability under neutral conditions were optimized. This enhances photocurrent generation, oxygen evolution efficiency, and long-term performance, offering a scalable route for tandem photoelectrochemical devices and advancing the prospects of sustainable hydrogen production from sunlight.

Recently, the team of Academician Xiaojun Peng from Dalian University of Technology, Associate Professor Haidong Li, and the team of Professor Juyoung Yoon from Ewha Womans University, South Korea cooperated to develop a series of near-infrared (NIR) dyes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, based on an electron-acceptor engineering strategy to regulate the excited-state dynamic processes of dyes. By introducing diphenylamine into the xanthene structural unit, due to the increase in freely rotatable single bonds and asymmetric structures, the dyes exhibited enhanced AIE characteristics as well as potential for photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and photoacoustic imaging (PAI). Variation in the number of cyano groups within the dyes could regulate their excitation wavelength, PDT efficacy, and PTT capability. Experimental results showed that Hcy-ON displayed high ROS production and heat-generating capacity under 760 nm laser irradiation. Molecular theoretical calculations indicated that Hcy-ON exhibited a significant spin–orbit coupling matrix element (SOCME) value <S₁|SOC|T₃>, with the minimum energy gap between S₁ and T₁ energy levels being 0.678 eV, which is related to its strongest ROS generation capability. In addition, analyses of the singlet–triplet (S–T) energy gap, electron transition mechanism, root-mean-square displacement (RMSD) value, and Huang–Rhys factor confirmed the excellent photothermal performance of Hcy-ON. This strategy provides a new paradigm for constructing multimodal light-driven tumor therapies. This research work was published in CCS Chemistry.