A research team from Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory introduced a new, eco-friendly method to transform carbon dioxide (CO₂, a major greenhouse gas) into useful high-performance plastics using a simple copper-based catalyst. Conducted under mild conditions at room temperature and ambient pressure, this process efficiently incorporates CO₂ into polymer materials that can be used in packaging, sensors, biomedical devices and more. The developed polymers are highly soluble, customizable, and can be quickly modified to create multifunctional materials. This innovative approach not only offers a sustainable way to recycle CO₂ but also opens new possibilities for producing advanced materials that support environmentally friendly manufacturing and help combat climate change. 

Patients with prostate cancer often face the additional burden of developing secondary primary malignancies (SPMs), which significantly reduce survival outcomes.

Prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers among men, yet current screening tools often fail to distinguish between harmless and aggressive forms of the disease. 

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Biochar X – a new international journal dedicated to unlocking the endless potential of biochar. Biochar X aims to foster interdisciplinary innovation and global collaboration from energy storage and environmental remediation to healthcare and construction. Join us in advancing sustainable solutions for a better future.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs), with high gain, solution processability, tunable emission, and low cost, are promising gain media for next-generation lasers. Yet, electrical pumping—especially surface emission—faces two hurdles: insufficient carrier injection and high optical losses. Prof. Shuming Chen’s team at SUSTech introduced an “electro-thermal-optical co-design,” enabling the first electrically pumped surface-emitting ASE in CQDs, paving the way for QD-VCSELs.

Testosterone is far more than a reproductive hormone—it shapes nearly every aspect of men’s health, from muscle and bone strength to cardiovascular protection and cognitive performance. 

Single-photon sources are pivotal for securing quantum communications and powering optical quantum computers. To overcome their fragility to defects, scientists have pioneered a topological bulk-state "quantum emitter" by coupling semiconductor quantum dots to an irregular 'Q'-shaped cavity. This innovation "locks" photons within a disorder-resistant zone while ejecting them vertically with 92% simulated efficiency. The system demonstrates robust light-matter interaction against structural disorder, enabling topologically protected quantum sources with high efficiency and cavity-boundary imperfection resistance.

A recent review in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing highlights advances in fabricating compositionally heterogeneous and gradient structures, exploring methods, equipment, and strategies to control interfacial defects. It also showcases innovative designs and potential applications, from Z-direction gradients to fully three-dimensional heterogeneous structures. The authors conclude with perspectives on future research directions, offering a roadmap for integrating functionality and performance in next-generation manufacturing.

Developing innovative resource utilization strategies to achieve sustainable recycling of waste-to-fuel is highly desirable, yet the design of cost-effective bifunctional catalysts with dual high-efficiency remains unexplored. While the Fenton-like reaction relies on enhancing peroxymonosulfate (PMS) adsorption and accelerating interfacial electron transfer to improve kinetic rates, CO₂ reduction is constrained by sluggish kinetics and competing hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we construct a bifunctional catalyst (NiFe-BNC) featuring dual-atomic active sites by introducing boron atoms into a biomass-derived chitosan substrate rich in functional groups, which optimizes atomic coordination environments. In situ experiments and density functional theory calculations reveal that B-atom modulation facilitates carbon substrate defect enrichment, while the charge-tuning effect between metal sites and “boron electron bridge” optimizes PMS adsorption configurations. This synergistic effect facilitates the interfacial electron transfer and enhances the CO₂ adsorption capacity of NiFe-BNC by 6 times that of NiFe-NC. The obtained NiFe-BNC exhibits significantly enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity, realizing 99% efficient degradation of volatile organic pollutants in the flowing phase within 2 h and stable mineralization exceeding 60%, while achieving a large current density of 1000 mA cm⁻² and CO Faraday efficiency of 98% in the flow electrolytic cell. This work innovatively paves a new way for the rational design of cost-effective functional catalysts to achieve carbon cycle utilization.