A noble‑metal‑free photocatalyst, Co-Ni(OH)₂/CdS, has been developed to efficiently convert benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde while simultaneously producing hydrogen under visible light. The study reveals a photon–heteroatom synergistic mechanism. Using a Pickering emulsion system, the team achieved gram‑scale synthesis, producing 12.4 g of high‑purity benzaldehyde. This work offers a promising strategy for sustainable chemical synthesis and clean energy production.

Renowned energy storage scientist Professor Shirley Meng will join Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) as its next Vice President (Industry).  She formally begins her tenure on 1 July 2026. Professor Meng is currently the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME). She leads the Energy Technologies Initiative, anchored at UChicago PME, which serves as a core part of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth (ICSG). She will maintain a partial appointment at UChicago PME for a transitional period and continue to be involved in the University’s Energy Transition Network, a programme established by her to safely, quickly, and cost-effectively transition the globe from fossil fuels through a collaborative approach.

Scientists achieved record-breaking ambient-pressure superconductivity in nickelate films, reaching an onset temperature of 63 K and zero resistance at 37 K, together with enhanced Meissner diamagnetism. By utilizing a novel non-equilibrium epitaxy method, they overcomed previous thermodynamic conflicts and significantly improved the crystalline integrity and control over oxygen content. The findings correlate high-T_c with strange-metal behavior and reveal strong interlayer coupling exceeding that of cuprates.

Scientists in Sweden have taken an important step toward fighting potato late blight, a plant disease that once triggered an historic famine in Ireland and now threatens to spread globally due to climate change. 

A new study reports the synthesis of a peptide that specifically attacks Phytophthora infestans (P. infestans) to protect potato and tomato crops—without harm to other plants. The work was carried out by researchers at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in collaboration with research partners in Italy, India and Australia.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a catalyst that uses vibrational energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide (CO), an important industrial feedstock. The work demonstrates a new piezocatalytic route for CO₂ conversion at low temperature and ambient pressure, offering a potential path toward future low-energy carbon recycling technologies.

Researchers have developed a MOF-derived hollow polyhedral Co₉S₈/Ag₂S heterojunction that traps light like a magic cage. The design combines nanoconfinement effects with a built-in electric field acts as a traffic cop, directing electrons to flow directionally and enabling efficient charge separation. This nanoconfinement design achieves 99.3% antibiotic degradation in 30 minutes and remains stable over multiple cycles.

Peatlands store vast amounts of carbon, but when drained for agriculture, they can become powerful sources of greenhouse gases. A new two year study shows that combining moderate water table management with biochar application can significantly reduce emissions, offering a promising strategy for climate mitigation.

Wiley announces the release of additional data to its IR and Raman spectral libraries, significantly broadening compound coverage, including materials, polymers, minerals and others.

The simple magnet could hold the key to more effecient ways to extract rare earth elements that are critical to modern technologies, a recent study found.