Ammonia is a promising carbon-free fuel for internal combustion engines (ICEs). However, existing research has not yet provided satisfactory solutions for ammonia combustion, a crucial gap that significantly limits its practical application. In this study, ammonia thermal atmosphere compression ignition (TACI) combustion mode was proposed as a promising solution to achieve efficient and clean ammonia diffusion combustion in ICEs. This study investigates the stable combustion mechanism of ammonia spray, the formation characteristics of nitrogen oxides, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of the ammonia TACI combustion mode. Experimental results of the TACI mode demonstrate high thermal efficiency, low NO_x emissions, ultra-low N₂O emissions, and negligible unburned ammonia slip. Intake control strategies, including intake pressure and intake temperature, are explored to further improve the ammonia substitution ratio (ASR) and GHG reduction performance. Intake air heating significantly improves the ASR, but must be coupled with high intake pressure to ensure sufficient oxygen supply. The combined strategy of intake air heating and high intake pressure increases the ASR by 17% and the GHG reduction ratio by 9%. Under medium-load conditions, this approach achieves an ASR over 80% and GHG reduction exceeding 70%, meeting the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2040 GHG reduction target.

The transition from a linear economy to a circular carbon economy urgently requires sustainable and efficient technologies for converting non-fossil biomass and waste plastics into fuels and high-value chemicals. Solar-driven photocatalytic technology has emerged as a promising strategy due to its mild reaction conditions and potential for selective transformation, which addresses the limitations of traditional recycling and conversion methods (e.g., high energy consumption, harsh conditions, and poor selectivity). However, current photocatalytic valorization systems still suffer from insufficient activity and selectivity, mainly due to the inability to precisely regulate reaction pathways. Considering that selective bond activation (especially C–H and C–C bond activation) is the key determinant, this review focuses on the photocatalytic valorization of biomass and plastics, classifies reaction pathways based on dominant bond selectivity, and mainly emphasizes the contrast between C–H and C–C bond activation. This classification approach overcomes the limitations of traditional substrate-based classification, providing new insights for the rational design of highly selective photocatalytic systems to realize the valorization of biomass and waste plastics.

Stretchable printed electronic devices are essential for the advancement of soft robotics, bioelectronics, and wearable systems. Liquid metals, owing to their high electrical conductivity and intrinsic deformability, have emerged as promising candidates for these applications. However, their limited functionality hinders their integration into multifunctional electronic devices. Here, we present versatile MXene-assembled liquid metal hybrid microparticles (MLHMs), which serve not only as conductive platforms for diverse electronic devices but also as electrochemical electrodes for stretchable energy storage devices. This multifunctionality stems from their unique structure, in which MXene nanosheets self-assemble around liquid metal microparticles via coordination interactions, forming an interconnected hybrid network within the printed pattern. This architecture enables the activation of electrical conductivity in hybrid microparticles at a minimal strain of 2.5%, achieving a high electrical conductivity of 3.7 × 10⁵ S m⁻¹ and excellent stretchability of ~ 700%. The MLHMs demonstrate multifunctionality in stretchable antennas, micro-supercapacitors, electroluminescent devices, and flexible printed circuit boards, enabling wireless power transmission, energy storage, and stretchable and interactive display. These hybrids represent versatile material units for advancing stretchable and integrated electronic systems.

Ultrafast all-optical modulators are central to the advancement of next-generation photonic computing and signal-processing systems. However, the intrinsic electron–phonon relaxation bottleneck in plasmonic materials has long constrained modulation speeds to the picosecond regime, hindering the realization of sub-100 fs modulation. Here, we report a metastructured silver–single-crystal silicon nanodisk antenna that delivers experimentally resolved sub-100 fs all-optical modulation. Distinct from conventional planar metal–semiconductor junctions, the nanodisk architecture spatially co-localizes plasmonic energy deposition with the metal–semiconductor transfer boundary within a nanoscale-confined volume. This configuration markedly shortens hot-carrier transport pathways and preferentially activates interfacial carrier extraction during the earliest relaxation stage, thereby establishing an interface-dominated modulation pathway that precedes electron–phonon thermalization. By enabling modulation on timescales comparable to intrinsic electronic response limits, this work establishes a physical foundation for ultrafast photonic modulation, including femtosecond free-space photonic computing architectures, temporal optical gating, and other ultrafast systems constrained by carrier or cavity lifetimes.

A research paper by scientists from Nanjing Medical University developed a biomimetic nanoparticle (NP) system composed of macrophage-membrane-coated Prussian blue@KGN (KGN@PB@CM) loaded into a thermosensitive Pluronic@F127/hyaluronic acid (HA-F127) hydrogel for synergistic tendon healing.

The new research paper, published on Apr. 23 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, developed a biomimetic nanoparticle system that simultaneously tackles clinical challenges, accelerating tendon repair through a “dual‑modulation” approach.