Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking mechanism in waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) that breaks conventional limits on quantum emitter lifetimes. By leveraging non-Markovian dynamics and delayed feedback, the team demonstrated a sub-local decay rate—where the total decay rate of emitters drops below their intrinsic free-space decay rate. This energy quantum confinement effect dynamically traps photons within the waveguide, enabling unprecedented suppression of local dissipation. The discovery opens new pathways for robust quantum memory, high-fidelity metrology, and scalable quantum networks.

Researchers from Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed an new strategy for designing highly efficient and cost-effective catalysts for electrochemical water splitting, a crucial process in the production of green hydrogen. The new catalyst based on nanoporous metallic glass exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic performance, requiring only 1.53 V bias to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² for overall water-splitting. This surpasses the current performance of commercial Pt/C || IrO₂ catalysts, which require 1.62 V.

Boracycles are important functional scaffolds, finding increasing applications in catalysis, synthesis, materials science, and pharmaceuticals. However, current studies predominantly focus on three-, five-, and six-membered boracycles, leaving four-membered boracycles largely unexplored. A research team led by Prof. QUAN Yangjian and Prof. LIN Zhenyang from the Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with Prof. LYU Hairong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has made a breakthrough in developing an efficient synthetic approach to four-membered boracycles. This advancement enables the facile synthesis of other previously inaccessible boracycles, which may lead to valuable applications.

A new study reveals a fresh way to control and track the motion of skyrmions—tiny, tornado-like magnetic swirls that could power future electronics. Using electric currents in a special magnetic material called Fe₃Sn₂, the team got these skyrmions to “vibrate” in specific ways, unlocking clues about how invisible spin currents flow through complex materials. The discovery not only confirms what theory had predicted but also points to a powerful new method for detecting spin currents—paving the way for smarter, faster, and more energy-efficient tech.

A team of chemists from The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with international scientists, has made significant strides in the field of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs). Their work, recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Synthesis, showcases the development of a compact catenane with tuneable mechanical chirality, offering promising applications in areas such as material science, nanotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.