Solid materials for carbon capture can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but many existing systems remain energy-intensive and costly, because releasing captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) typically requires high temperatures. Recently, researchers from Japan developed three kinds of 'viciazites', a new type of carbon-based material with precisely positioned nitrogen-containing functional groups. Through tight molecular control, these materials can release captured CO₂ at temperatures as low as 60 °C, paving the way for efficient carbon capture.

Researchers have created a high-performance infrared detector that operates at room temperature without requiring external power or cooling. By growing high-quality lead sulfide films and using an asymmetric electrode design, the device achieves fast response and clear imaging, paving the way for affordable, compact infrared cameras in smartphones, automobiles, and security systems.

Ghost forests serve as powerful, visible warnings of climate change. Encroaching ocean waters are poisoning salt-intolerant trees, leaving behind eerie skeletal remains. Researchers from the University of Delaware are wading through these surreal landscapes along the mid-Atlantic coastline to determine the environmental impact of this climate-driven phenomenon. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have proposed a compact LED design that directly emits circularly polarized light using a nanoscale GaN metasurface integrated onto the device. This design removes the need for bulky optical components traditionally used to create polarized light and could help enable smaller optical systems for applications such as 3D displays, augmented reality, and photonic technologies.

Rivers do not just move water; they act as nature's hard drives, saving a permanent record of what happens on the surface. When toxic chemicals settle into the mud at the riverbed, they create a chronological diary of human activity. Recently, a detailed investigation published in Carbon Research has opened up one of these geological diaries in Mongolia’s Orkhon River Basin, revealing exactly how economic booms and traffic jams translate into chemical fallout.

The detective work was spearheaded by corresponding author Jing Chen from Beijing Normal University. Drawing on the analytical power of the State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control and the Center for Atmospheric Environmental Studies, Chen's team extracted sediment cores to trace the history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—a notoriously stubborn class of toxic pollutants created by burning fuel and organic matter.

A new strategy for the efficient conversion of hemicellulose to furfural through a microwave-coupled multi-stage tandem process was proposed by the research team led by Academician Jiang Jianchun from the Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry.