A global analysis suggests that biochar, a charcoal-like material made from biomass, could play a larger role in climate-smart agriculture when it is applied according to local soil and climate conditions. The study, published in Biochar, combines global meta-analysis, machine learning, and density functional theory calculations to identify how different biochar types and application rates can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from croplands while improving crop yields.

Wastewater treatment plants are key to global carbon neutrality efforts. A new study in Engineering shares a clear, science-based roadmap to cut emissions and energy use in these facilities. It covers smarter operation, low-carbon technologies, greenhouse gas control, energy from sludge and effluent heat, and turning wastewater into valuable resources. This practical guide shows how to make wastewater treatment sustainable without losing treatment quality.

A new series of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), donated as USC-CP-5-R, have been constructed using 14-connected metal-organic polyhedra as super-molecular building blocks (SBBs), exhibiting ultrahigh water stability. Functionalized with variable hydrophilic groups enables systematic tuning of the water adsorption performances, including uptake capacity and inflection point (a). These frameworks can efficiently capture atmospheric moisture, even in arid environments and can release collected water using low-grade solar thermal energy, highlighting their potential as a sustainable solution for freshwater production in water-scarce regions.

With the development of quantum chips, quantum communication is becoming essential for quantum computing and quantum networks. Flying Qubits, quantum information carried by photons, play a vital role in transferring data between nodes. Prof. Guofeng ZHANG, Professor of Department of Applied Mathematics of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is dedicated to developing precise control methods for flying qubits, aiming to significantly improve the reliability and fidelity of quantum information transfer in future technologies.

Lead (Pb) contamination in agricultural soils is an invisible threat that can infiltrate food systems and jeopardize public health. 

By imaging the superfluid density and superconducting transition temperature in an infinite-layer superconductor, researchers revealed a strong correlation between the two quantities. This correlation is quantitatively similar to that reported in cuprate superconductors, hinting at a close connection between the superconductivity of infinite-layer nickelates and that of cuprates.

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanostructures are highly promising for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to their excellent electron mobility, chemical stability, and large surface area. However, the wide bandgap (~3.4 eV) of GaN limits its ability to absorb a broad spectrum of solar radiation, restricting its PEC performance. To address this limitation, MoS₂/GaN nanorods (NRs) heterostructures for enhanced PEC applications were fabricated on thin tungsten foil using a combination of atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE). The Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed the hexagonal phase of GaN and MoS₂. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy examined the electronic states of the GaN and MoS₂. PEC measurements revealed that the MoS₂-decorated GaN NRs exhibited a photocurrent density of approximately172 μA/cm², nearly 2.5-fold compared to bare GaN NRs (~70 μA/cm²). The increased photocurrent density is ascribed to the Type II band alignment between MoS₂ and GaN, which promotes effective charge separation, the decrease in charge transfer resistance, and the increase in active sites. The findings of this work underscore that the CVD and LMBE technique fabricated MoS₂/GaN heterostructures on W metal foil substrate can provide the vital strategy to raise the PEC efficiency toward solar water splitting.