Selective activation of inert C-H bonds-the "Holy Grail" of organic synthesis-has long eluded chemists due to their high bond energy and weak polarity. Now, a comprehensive review published in Polyoxometalates highlights how metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and polyoxometalate-based MOFs (POMOFs) are emerging as game-changing photocatalysts that harness sunlight to convert these stubborn bonds into high-value chemicals under mild conditions, offering a greener path for the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine chemical industries.

Researchers from UCL, the University of Southampton and the University of Nottingham have developed a reinforcement learning-based control scheme that helps wave energy converters harvest more power from the ocean without relying on a precise mathematical model of the device. By combining a proximal policy optimization (PPO) algorithm with short-term wave forecasts, the controller continuously adapts itself and generated up to 13.9% more energy than a conventional controller when tested on real sea-wave data collected off the coast of Cornwall, UK.

Published in Science, an international study with the contribution of Politecnico di Milano: carbon dioxide can be used as an oxygen source in a key reaction for the production of molecules useful to the chemical, pharmaceutical and materials industries

Researchers at the University of Würzburg have succeeded in detecting exceptionally robust electrical transport in a topological insulator. This could lead to new metrological applications.

It has been a challenge that Dirac points in topological acoustics are typically pinned in reciprocal space, restricting versatile applications for wave steering and manipulation. Now, an article shows that Dirac points can be moved arbitrarily across the Brillouin zone by independently adjusting coupling strengths in a 2D sonic crystal. This enables a full-space scanning topological antenna and an acoustic heterostructure for fully angle-tunable Klein tunneling. Both passive devices surmount the angle-tuning barrier, offering a new paradigm for classical wave control.

An international study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) reveals that Indigenous, African and Afro-descendant communities relied more heavily on marine resources, while communities of immigrants from Germany consumed mainly plant species and terrestrial products.