Researchers have developed a design principle enabling the creation of complex patterns on silicon chips by way of microfabrication.

Thanks to these patterns, vibrations follow predetermined paths.

A material structured in this manner could harvest energy from vibrations or process signals without electricity.

Discovering new catalysts is one of the central challenges in developing clean-energy technologies such as green hydrogen production. Yet catalyst discovery has traditionally remained confined within individual material families, limiting researchers’ ability to transfer knowledge across chemically distinct systems.

Researchers from The University of Osaka created stable cobalt-based honeycomb structures inside a layered material and observed ferromagnetic-like ordering at low temperatures. By introducing a small amount of cobalt into NaSbO₃, the team demonstrated a new platform to study Kitaev materials using abundant 3d transition metals, potentially supporting future cost-effective quantum technologies.

Waste plastic and carbon dioxide are two major global waste carbon sources. A new study in Engineering introduces a simple, atmospheric-pressure catalytic method that turns polyethylene and CO₂ into high-value separable aromatics. Using a specially designed oxide–zeolite catalyst, the process delivers high selectivity and stable performance, turning two pollutants into useful petrochemical materials efficiently.

Discarded polyolefin plastics pose severe environmental risks, yet efficient recycling remains challenging. A new study in Engineering presents a simple entropy‑engineering method using silane agents to adjust catalyst surface polarity. This approach stabilizes polymer adsorption, boosts hydrogenolysis activity, and turns waste plastics into high‑value liquid fuels. It works for various catalysts and real‑world plastic wastes, showing strong potential for scalable, sustainable plastic upcycling.

Discarded PET plastic brings serious environmental pressure. A latest study in Engineering offers a green and controllable recycling solution. Without extra catalysts, it uses 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) to gently break down PET into adjustable oligomers guided by kinetic models. These intermediates can be directly reused to make high-performance elastomers and glycol-modified PET, showing good industrial scalability and promising a more sustainable way for plastic circular economy.