Light olefins, represented by ethylene, are key feedstocks in the petrochemical industry, but traditional production technologies suffer from high energy consumption and carbon emissions. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) have emerged as a promising high-temperature electrochemical platform for light alkane upgrading, offering a green and efficient alternative for ethylene production. This review systematically summarizes the research progress, reaction mechanisms, and advanced material systems of SOEC-driven conversion of light alkanes (mainly methane and ethane) to ethylene. SOECs operate at 600–900 °C, enabling precise regulation of oxygen species activity and flux or proton extraction via electrochemical means, thereby overcoming the inherent conversion–selectivity trade-off of conventional thermochemical processes. The technology encompasses two main routes: oxygen-ion-conducting SOECs for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane and oxidative coupling of methane (OCM), and proton-conducting SOECs for the non-ODH of ethane. Key reaction mechanisms involve the regulation of active oxygen species (e.g., lattice oxygen, peroxide, and superoxide) and proton transfer, while strategies such as in situ exsolution, elemental doping, and surface infiltration effectively enhance catalyst activity and selectivity. Advanced anode materials, including perovskites, metal–oxide heterointerfaces, and composite systems, have demonstrated remarkable performance. Ethane conversion rates of up to 80% with ethylene selectivity exceeding 85% have been achieved, comparable to those of conventional thermocatalytic routes, while highly stable systems capable of long-term operation have also been developed. For methane conversion, OCM technology achieves near-quantitative C₂ selectivity (> 99.5%) at moderate conversions, providing a foundation for further optimization. SOEC technology offers significant advantages such as low-carbon emissions, flexible feedstock adaptability, and compatibility with renewable energy. This review highlights the synergistic integration of material innovation, mechanism understanding, and system optimization in SOEC-driven alkane upgrading, providing a comprehensive reference for the development of low-carbon light olefin production technologies.

The deployment of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) necessitates efficient, stable, and low-Ir electrocatalysts for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. Herein, an IrO_x/Ir-Co₃O₄ heterostructure electrocatalyst is developed featuring bulk-doped Ir-Co₃O₄ with surface-anchored IrO_x, synthesized via a facile two-step electrochemical co-deposition process followed by programmed annealing. The IrO_x/Ir-Co₃O₄ catalyst requires an overpotential of only 237 mV to reach 10 mA/cm² and achieves a high mass activity of 230 A/g_Ir at 1.5 V versus RHE. In a 1 cm² membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer (Pt/C∥IrO_x/Ir-Co₃O₄), a cell voltage of only 1.773 V delivers 1 A/cm², with stable operation exceeding 160 h at 200 mA/cm². Moreover, a 100 cm² IrO_x/Ir-Co₃O₄ anode was fabricated, exhibiting performance comparable to that of its 1 cm² counterpart. Structural and computational analyses reveal that the synergy between bulk-doped Ir-Co₃O₄ and surface anchored IrO_x optimizes the electronic structure, thereby enhancing both catalytic activity and durability. This work provides a viable and scalable pathway for developing low-Ir electrocatalysts for practical PEMWE applications.

For decades, the mathematical backbone of high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning has rested on a Gaussian assumption that rarely holds in the real world. 

Plants produce an enormous array of chemical compounds to defend themselves against insects, herbivores, and pathogens. 

A research team has shown that combining genomic information with low-cost drone-derived phenomic data can improve the prediction of key yield traits in potato breeding. 

Hypersonic vehicles and reusable spacecraft demand lightweight thermal protection systems that can withstand extreme heat while mitigating electromagnetic wave radiation, yet single-scale ceramic architectures typically sacrifice one function for another. Now, researchers have developed a multiscale SiC fiber/nanowire aerogel that breaks this performance trade-off. Inspired by traditional Chinese papermaking, the team combined a scalable room-temperature ceramic papermaking process with high-temperature chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to fabricate hierarchical aerogels with an ultralow density of 0.23 g·cm^-3, a minimum reflection loss of −46.62 dB, and the ability to limit back-surface temperatures to ~250 °C under a 1000 °C flame. Remarkably, prolonged ablation triggers a “fire-strengthening” effect that simultaneously enhances mechanical strength and expands the effective absorption bandwidth from 4.6 GHz to 11.5 GHz—covering 72% of the 2–18 GHz range and fully spanning the C, X, and Ku bands. This work provides a new paradigm for next‑generation extreme‑environment thermal protection materials.

Thermal-barrier coatings rely on ceramic layers that limit heat flow to metal components. A team studying (Gd_1−xSm_x)TaO₄ (GST-x) found that the conventional Klemens-Abeles parameter peaks near x = 0.5. However, room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity is lowest at x = 0.8. From GST-0 to GST-0.8, mean sound velocity fell by about 20%, while conductivity dropped by nearly one-third. Ultrasonic measurements and first-principles calculations linked most of the decline to acoustic softening. Comparison with GST-1 also suggests additional point-defect scattering from Gd/Sm site mixing. The findings could help coating designers choose rare-earth tantalate compositions with lower thermal conductivity.

With the continuous advancement of industrialization, high-precision actuators are increasingly being applied in fields requiring high accuracy, such as aerospace, smart vehicles, and robotics. However, the current mainstream actuator materials on the market are lead-containing ceramics primarily composed of lead zirconate titanate (PZT). During the manufacturing process, these ceramics produce lead and lead oxide, both of which are highly harmful to the environment and human health. Therefore, the development of lead-free ceramics capable of serving as high-precision actuator materials is urgently needed. As the most widely studied lead-free system, perovskites have rightfully become the most extensively investigated lead-free material family. Among them, barium titanate (BaTiO₃)-based lead-free ceramics, one of the most promising systems, have attracted widespread research due to their excellent stability and favorable electro-strain properties. However, although phase boundary engineering, the construction of polar nanoregions (PNRs), and defect engineering have partially improved the strain hysteresis of ceramic materials, these advances still fall short of meeting the demands of high-precision actuators.