ABSTRACT: Strengthening the stability of metal-oxygen bonds in catalysts is imperative for the advancement of efficient and durable electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, using a mild boron-reduction strategy, a self-supported electrode with robust Co-B bonds was constructed. The Co-B@Co(OH)₂–Ru/NF (Co-B@CRN) electrode demonstrates low overpotentials for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, 20 mV) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER, 160 mV) at 10 mA cm⁻². Furthermore, long-term stability was achieved for over 400 h at 10 mA cm⁻² and 270 h at 200 mA cm⁻², respectively. For overall water splitting, the assembled electrolyzer exhibited a low voltage of 1.40 V at 10 mA cm⁻², with stable operation maintained for over 240 h. Detailed X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) characterization verified the mixed valence state of Co and the Co-B coordination environment. Further electronic analysis indicated strong hybridization between Co d-orbitals and B p-orbitals. The B bonding induced a downward shift in the d-band center at the Co site, thereby significantly suppressing metal leaching during catalysis and stabilizing electronic structure regulation. This research shows that the boron reduction strategy offers an effective dynamic regulation mechanism for the electronic structures and coordination environments of transition metals, enabling a highly efficient and stable overall water splitting process.

Steric hindrance of long-chain ligands leads to abundant unpassivated dangling bonds on quantum dots (QDs), which significantly impair the efficiency and operational stability of QD light-emitting diodes (QLEDs), especially in ultra-small pixel devices. Professors Fushan Li and Hailong Hu at Fuzhou University have pioneered a "ligand reconstruction" strategy using zirconium acetylacetonate (Zr(acac)₄) to precisely repair the surface defects of QDs. This reconstruction strategy markedly enhances the efficiency and operational stability of QLEDs, and the resultant record-breaking performance metrics lay a solid foundation for the commercialization of high-resolution, high-performance QLED technology.

Climate-driven changes in vegetation are already reshaping air quality across East Asia, according to a new study. Researchers found significant changes in biogenic emissions that drive the formation of ground-level ozone and biogenic secondary organic aerosols by replacing two-decade-old vegetation data with recent satellite observations. The findings show that updating vegetation information alone can substantially change air pollution estimates, highlighting the importance of keeping atmospheric models current as ecosystems continue to respond to climate change.

A highly integrated phased-array wireless integrated circuit developed at Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, enables 144 Gbps dual-polarized multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication in the 150 GHz sub-terahertz band, bringing practical 6G devices a step closer to reality. By developing a highly integrated phased-array transceiver with a significantly smaller circuit footprint, the research paves the way for future applications such as immersive extended reality and remote healthcare services.

This research shows a new way to control light at extremely high speeds using ultra-thin silicon metasurfaces. By carefully designing how light passes through them, the team achieved strong and fast control over a wider range of colours than previously possible. This breakthrough helps overcome a key limitation in current technology and could support faster internet, improved data processing, and future light-based computing systems.

The occurrence of fires in the Arctic is linked not only to warming temperatures and increasingly dry conditions, but also human activity in the region. An international research team led by the University of Zurich found that fires occurred 2.5 times more often in lit areas associated with human activity than in climatically similar unlit areas. Effective fire prevention and response can help reduce risks whose impacts extend far beyond the Arctic.