Reduction of CO₂ into fuels and chemicals by means of photocatalysis or electrocatalysis offers a sustainable route to mitigate greenhouse emissions. Hydrophobic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising photo/electro-catalysts for CO₂ reduction due to their tunable porosity, high surface areas, and ability to repel water for suppressing competing hydrogen evolution. This review summarized the recent advances of hydrophobic MOFs for photo/electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction, catalogged by the principle mechanism of CO₂ reducion, design strategies of hydrophobic MOFs and the applications of hydrophobic MOFs in CO₂ reduction. The personal perspectives are also proposed to inspire more efforts in design diversified hydrophobic MOFs for efficient CO₂ utilization.

A new study reveals that a specially engineered form of biochar can dramatically enhance the natural ability of soil microbes to break down pollutants in rice paddies, offering a promising strategy for cleaner and more sustainable agriculture.

Researchers have developed a new strategy to transform microalgae into high-value fuel chemicals more efficiently and cleanly, offering a promising pathway toward sustainable energy production.

For more than 70 years, scientists have suspected treetops might emit these corona electrical discharges because of odd electric field activity in and over forests during storms, yet they have never been documented outside the lab — until now. 

Assisted evolution could help corals survive future heatwaves, but careful trait choice and strong repeated selection will be needed for it to be effective.

Penn State researchers have created an approach to 3D printing bioelectrodes that can stretch and morph to fit the minor differences that make every brain unique using software to simulate detailed brains. They report that their electrodes better fit the brain's structure while remaining effective and biologically compatible.

Quantum coherence is a fundamental mechanism driving ultrafast molecular reaction dynamics, playing a decisive role in processes such as light-induced ultrafast vision molecular isomerization and dissociation. However, due to the complexity of highly excited states in polyatomic molecules and interference from decoherence processes, directly observing vibrational quantum coherence signals from excited states has long been a major experimental challenge. This study, using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, clearly resolves quantum beat signals resulting from interference between different vibrational states during the ultrafast predissociation dynamics of excited SF6 molecules. By combining high-precision calculations of the excited state potential energy surface and quantum dynamics simulations, the vibrational levels involved in the quantum coherence process are identified, and the lifetimes of the predissociating vibrational states are quantitatively analyzed. This work opens new avenues for understanding the role of quantum coherence in complex photo-induced ultrafast chemical reactions and ultimately for achieving active control over them.