The global push to transition from fossil fuel dependence to low-carbon sustainable energy systems has spurred urgent research into advanced functional materials that address critical performance gaps in energy storage and conversion technologies. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an emerging class of porous crystalline materials with ultrahigh surface areas and precisely tunable pore structures, have exhibited outstanding advantages across electrochemical energy storage, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis, offering transformative solutions to advance the deployment of next-generation clean energy technologies.

Researchers at Northeast Normal University have shown that the relative twist angle between two WS₂ layers can be used to tune both exciton binding energy and photoinduced bandgap renormalization. Using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, they found that the exciton binding energy changes from 265 to 336 meV as the twist angle approaches 30 degrees, while bandgap renormalization near the Mott transition varies by more than 100 meV. Strong interlayer coupling near 0 degrees also enhances exciton transport, yielding an effective mobility of 134 cm²/(V·s), about three times that of the near-30-degree bilayer. The results connect twist-controlled interlayer coupling with dynamic screening and nonequilibrium many-body physics in two-dimensional semiconductors.

To unlock the full energy potential of lithium-ion batteries, researchers at Tsinghua University have developed a novel synthesis route for the high-capacity cathode material LiNiO₂. Their “low-temperature reaction–high-temperature crystallization” (LR-HC) strategy bypasses problematic rocksalt phase formation that plagues conventional methods, yielding a material with significantly improved cycling stability and efficiency. The work offers a scalable pathway toward next-generation high-energy-density batteries and deepens the fundamental understanding of nickel-based cathode synthesis.

The fabrication of high-performance 3D hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering requires a balance between mechanical stiffness and structural integrity, yet single-wavelength femtosecond laser processing has struggled to achieve both simultaneously. A dual-wavelength dual-pulse strategy with optimized spatiotemporal coordination has now been applied to the preparation of three-dimensional hydrogel cell scaffolds, overcoming the inherent limitations of single-wavelength processing and enabling 20-layer bubble-free scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and in-situ nanoscale topography for improved cellular responses.

5G/6G expansion intensifies electromagnetic interference, demanding high‑performance absorbers (EWAs). Conventional equilibrium syntheses suffer from slow diffusion and long heating, driving materials toward stable configurations that erase defect‑rich, metastable features beneficial for microwave loss. Flash Joule heating (FJH) offers a paradigm shift: millisecond electrical pulses generate >3000 K and ultrafast quenching, trapping materials in non‑equilibrium states. This perspective establishes FJH as a programmable platform for designing EWAs with tailored defects, metastable interfaces, and discontinuous networks.

Organic fluorophores operating in the second near-infrared window can provide deep-tissue images with high contrast, but their performance often depends on nanocarriers that can prevent hydrophobic dyes from leaking in complex biological environments. Researchers at Tong and Xiang’s group have developed multivalent tetraphenylethylene-modified DNA nanoaggregates that remain assembled under denaturing conditions, stably retain NIR-II fluorophores, and enable high-contrast vascular imaging in living mice.

They can be heated using infrared light, release antioxidant substances, and electrically stimulate cells when activated by ultrasound. These are the new nanoparticles designed and produced by a research group at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), coordinated by Gianni Ciofani, with the aim of providing nanomedicine with a new, versatile and effective therapeutic tool. This is the first time that three properties, being piezoelectric, photothermal and antioxidant, have been combined in a single organic structure measuring 500 nanometres. Described in the international journal ACS Nano, the new nanoparticles could be used to modulate cellular activity, with potential applications in oncology and the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.