In the quest for sustainable and efficient methods to detect heavy metals in the environment, a new study titled "Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biomass-Derived N-Doped Carbon Dots for Metal Ion Sensing" offers a promising solution. This research explores the innovative use of microwave-assisted synthesis to create nitrogen-doped carbon dots from biomass, providing a green and effective approach to metal ion sensing.

As China continues its rapid development, the emergence of new pollutants poses significant challenges to environmental sustainability and public health. A new study titled "Addressing the Challenges of New Pollutants in China: Current Status, Knowledge Gaps, and Strategic Recommendations" provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of new pollutants, identifies critical knowledge gaps, and offers strategic recommendations for effective pollution control and risk management.

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.

Our latest review in New Contaminants dives into the most cutting-edge physicochemical technologies to purify water from PFAS. From adsorption and membranes to plasma and photocatalysis—we’re exploring how science is fighting back against persistent pollution.

A research team led by Prof. WANG Feng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. Paolo Fornasiero from the University of Trieste in Italy, has developed a photochemical strategy for heterolytic hydrogen (H₂) dissociation at ambient temperature, a long-standing challenge in H₂ activation chemistry.

Soft porous crystals (SPCs), particularly soft metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), have emerged as a revolutionary class of materials distinguished by exceptional porosity, tunable structures, and most notably, structural adaptivity. These unique dynamic properties enable stimuli-responsive structural transitions—such as gate-opening or breathing effects—allowing them to selectively adsorb, sense, or separate molecules in ways that their rigid counterparts tend to lack. Despite growing interest, most current applications remain at the proof-of-concept stage, and certain application areas have yet to be extended to SPCs. This is primarily constrained by challenges such as long-term stability issues, inherent lack of conductivity, and difficulties in large-scale production. Rational design strategies—such as hybridization, doping, and functionalization—hold great promise for addressing these challenges. A team of scientists has recently summarized key progress in SPCs, shedding light on “dose-sensitive” applications and “scaling softness”. Their work is published in Industrial Chemistry & Materials on July 16, 2025.