New research introduces a contactless way to see how mirror-image materials respond differently to circularly polarized light, without first building them into a complete electronic device. The researchers developed a novel method based on light-induced charge separation  that allows to directly probe how the material’s structure acts like a microscopic filter, influencing how electrons separate and move. The advance is important because it gives scientists a faster, cleaner way to test promising materials without metal contacts and other parts of a finished device affecting the results. The approach could ultimately help researchers develop new mirror-image materials for technologies that use circularly polarized light, electrical charge, and electron spin.

A renewable polymer with agricultural potential

Modern agriculture faces a difficult balance: raising productivity while reducing dependence on petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. In a review published in Carbon Research, authors led by Hongliang Wang of China Agricultural University examine how lignin, the most abundant natural aromatic polymer, could serve as a versatile platform for eco-friendly agricultural inputs. The article positions lignin valorization within a broader push toward low-carbon, circular agriculture.

The review explains that lignin’s appeal comes from a combination of structural and functional traits. Its phenolic and aliphatic hydroxyl groups, aromatic backbone, antioxidant activity, UV-shielding capacity, antimicrobial behavior, and tunable degradability make it suitable for multiple agricultural uses. Rather than treating lignin as a low-value industrial by-product, the authors describe it as a candidate feedstock for materials that can improve nutrient efficiency, crop protection, and soil performance while reducing pollution.

- Professor Jihan Kim's team in KAIST's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has demonstrated for the first time that a porous material can arrange disordered gas molecules into a crystal-like structure.

- The team discovered a new principle for controlling both adsorption and separation simultaneously, with potential applications in next-generation carbon-capture and hydrogen-storage materials

- Using machine learning, the team computationally designed candidate materials that induce a desired gas lattice, confirming that gas lattices are a "designable" adsorption state.