Themed collection Materials Horizons HOT Papers

Lost in translation: no targeted nanoparticle has reached the clinic due to poor targeting efficacy, and overcoming this will require rethinking pharmacokinetics, optimizing dosing regimens, and addressing issues like antigen depletion.

This Focus Article dispels 19 common myths and misconceptions about photon avalanching nanoparticles to remove the shroud of mystery surrounding the mechanism, utility, and future prospects of these uniquely nonlinear optical materials.

This review systematically explores the directional manipulation of bubble behavior on wettability gradient surfaces: the mechanisms, strategies, and applications.

The latest progress on synchronous reinforcement and toughening methods and mechanisms of thermosets is reviewed, and the development direction and challenges of high-performance thermosets are discussed.

Ensuring access to safe drinking water is a key global priority.

Recent advances in clay-based proton exchange membranes are reviewed, focusing on microstructural design and regulation of proton transport channels.

Electromagnetic interference has promoted the development of hydrogel shielding materials. This review explores their shielding mechanisms, research progress, challenges and future directions.

This review provides a comprehensive analysis of silicon-based negative electrodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

This review outlines key machine learning algorithms for biosignal analysis and offers guidance on model selection. Applications in neural, cardiovascular, and biochemical signal monitoring for health tracking and disease prediction are discussed.

This TOC signifies the mp-g-CN photocatalyst enriched with a finely tuned functional porous surface and enhanced optoelectronic features, which suitably enables solar fuel production by using renewable stuffs to maintain the circular energy cycle.

This review presents a comprehensive overview of bioinspired rational design of nanozymes, guided by the catalytic mechanisms and structural characteristics of natural enzymes, and enhanced by emerging trend of machine learning assisted strategies.

With the advances and ongoing research efforts discussed in this review, a continuous breakthrough in high-performance thermogalvanic hydrogels for efficient low-grade heat harvesting and wearable electronics for health monitoring is foreseeable.

The growing plastic pollution crisis demands novel approaches, with innovative materials that mimic robotic behaviors emerging as a promising solution.

This review discusses advances in self-powered electrochemical systems for fuel production. Critical evaluations of the electrochemistry are highlighted to estimate the obstacles still hindering large-scale application in this field.

This review emphasizes memory-based intelligence, enabling artificial muscles to execute a range of pre-programmed movements and refresh stored actuation states in response to changing conditions, as well as sensory-based intelligence.

State-of-the-art review of magnetic hybrid organic–inorganic transition metal halide perovskites, focusing on chemical design, the origin and tunability of magnetism, and potential applications in magneto-optics, sensors, and spin filters.

From individuals to families: design and application of self-similar chiral nanomaterials.

In this work, a modular and facile method was proposed to prepare a series of melanin-like polymers with excellent ultraviolet (UV) absorption properties through the direct polymerization of tyrosine–oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) conjugates.

Systematic modulation of ISC/RISC in D–A–D molecules with O, S, and Se enabled a tunable emission from fluorescence to TADF and then to RTP.

Shining light on a mixed conductor can induce shifts in stoichiometry and nonequilibrium in the ionic defect disorder, with implications for the optimization of devices like perovskite solar cells and the design of novel optoionic functionalities.

Increasing the length of lateral alkoxy chains in ferroelectric liquid crystals reveal a competition between the formation of layered and heliconical structures.

Solvent-triggered, scattering-mediated switching of circularly polarized light in chiral photonic crystals for dynamic optical encryption and authentication.

Low-activation-energy bipolar organic nanostructures delivered consecutive electron delocalization pathways to fully expose built-in multi-redox sites, affording high-capacity and ultralong-life aqueous Ca-ion batteries.

A major challenge in organic single-component photocatalysts (SCPCs) for hydrogen (H₂) generation is their intrinsically inefficient exciton separation and charge generation.

SnS₂ with a discrete Sn 5p/5s–S 3p band is integrated with a La:HfO₂/HfO₂ NC gate stack, achieving sub-60 mV dec⁻¹ switching at 0.4 V. Bi contacts suppress Fermi-level pinning, widening this regime and enabling hysteresis-free, low-power operation.

We report a multifunctional peptide–polymer conjugate that can block dental calculus formation while preserving oral microbiota.

iRGD-based hydrogel scaffolds offer versatile platforms for chemoimmunotherapy including tumor cell penetration, STING pathway activation and self-luminescence.

Lymph node targeted metabolic regulatory nanovaccines (DAL) are developed to evoke robust immune responses for preventing tumor initiation and progression while potentiating the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

To address the challenges of zinc-anode corrosion, hydrogen evolution reactions and dendrite growth in aqueous zinc-ion batteries, we introduce tetraethylammonium perchlorate as ferroelectric small molecules additives in an aqueous electrolyte.

The development of high-performance Ni/TiAl composite structures demands innovative solutions to overcome strength–ductility synergy.

All-wood-based nanofluidic membranes with superior ionic conductivity, selectivity, and mechanical strength for salinity-gradient power conversion.

Here, we fabricate a laser-induced graphene/iron oxide cellulose evaporator achieving 91% strength gain and 1.62 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ evaporation (99% efficiency), enhanced to 1.82 kg m⁻² h⁻¹via folding under 1 sun, enabling scalable water treatment.

An injectable 3D-bioprinted scaffold with two-phase emulsion bioink-engineered MSCs exhibits shape memory properties for in situ injection and the augmented paracrine function of MSCs for innervated and vascularized skin regeneration.

A zero-wastewater-discharge solar soil desalination system, which does not rely on freshwater, was developed. It can reduce soil salinity from 11.04 mg g⁻¹ to 0.95 mg g⁻¹ using brine under sunlight, fully meeting the requirements for crop growth.

Single-component halide perovskites (HPs) rarely satisfy all the necessary criteria for optoelectronic applications, such as achieving an optimal band gap while maintaining high chemical and structural stability.

Mechanism of water evaporation rate enhancement beyond thermal limit.

Non-covalent hydrogen bonding dramatically boosts thermal transport in boron-nitride polymer composites, revealing an inverse, quantitative relationship between hydrogen-bond density and interfacial thermal resistance.

Utilizing co-assembled nanoparticles composed of lipidated rapamycin and itaconic acid to enable repeatable administration of recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors by eliminating the formation of anti-drug antibodies.

Can weakness drive strength? Strategically weakened non-covalent networks enable overstrain-driven strengthening and toughening in epoxidized natural rubber, redefining the design of high-performance sustainable rubber.

Machine learning-guided robotic synthesis enables fabrication of high-quality Cu₃(HHTP)₂ SURMOFs exhibiting intrinsic metallic conductivity—marked by increasing conductivity upon cooling—paving the way for investigating quantum phenomena in 2D MOFs.

An investigation into the conformational effects of polyester on its clusteroluminescence (CL) reveals a temperature-dependent CL response, enabling precise characterization of polymer chain dynamics, including β-transition and glass transition.

A pair of luminescent chiral 3D hybrid metal-halide perovskite piezoelectrics were reported and the polycrystalline film device based on a reported compound exhibits favorable performance in energy harvesting and underwater ultrasound detection.

This paper describes a detailed simulation approach to simulate the redox process on CuZn alloys, bridging traditional calculations with large-scale, multi-step processes and identifying key active sites for ethanol production.

High-throughput analysis of 100+ semiconducting polymers reveals key structure–property links, with planarity L_pp, coupling β, and dipole moment μ as top charge transport predictors. ML accelerates discovery by using these critical features.

A polymer–fullerene blend OMIEC system shows enhanced capacitance, mobility, and response time due to synergistic ionic and electronic transport, driven by microstructural tuning.

A bioinspired water-electricity co-generation system was developed, featuring a polydopamine-coated film and a 3D-printed microchannel support, enabling seamless integration of water evaporation and electricity generation.

This work reveals that lattice stretching contributes the largest portion, while direct volume changes play a minor role in the electrostrain by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, offering theoretical insights for optimizing actuator performance.

Six infrared nonlinear optical materials with promising performances were successfully designed using a “dimensionality addition” strategy.

A 3D graphene architecture with a hydrophilic gradient hydrogel evaporator and a hydrophobic thermal storage composite achieves an evaporation rate of 3.6 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ under sunlight, maintaining 2.7 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ for 30 minutes when sunlight dims.

The microneedle system with pressurized gas-releasing particles delivers oxygen and enhances diffusion, thus improving the efficacy of tumor photodynamic therapy.

Soaking in a supersaturated salt simultaneously optimizes the mechanical performance and puncture resistance of hydrogels.

A dynamic chemical cross-linking method has been proposed to synthesize leakage-proof and tough PCMs for thermal management of modern electronics. The PCMs exhibit excellent shape memory feature, recyclability and self-healing property.

Solvation energy plays the key role in determining the cycling stability of electrochromic WO₃ thin films.

This work not only inspires environmentally friendly chemical synthesis strategy to fundamentally address fire hazards, additive risks, and plastic pollution, but also paves the way for sustainable lifecycle management of organic polymer materials.

A paired electrolysis system was constructed to synchronously valorize nitrate wastewater and upgrade polyethylene terephthalate, utilizing oxygen-vacancy-rich Co₃O₄ as the cathode and Cu-doped Ni(OH)₂ as the anode, respectively.

Two-dimensional metal halide perovskites were transformed into colloidal lyotropic liquid crystals with precisely adjustable semiconducting bandgaps and linearly polarized photoluminescence.

A medium bandgap dimeric acceptor DYO-1 achieved an open-circuit voltage exceeding 1.00 V in binary organic solar cells. Ternary devices with DYO-1 obtained efficiencies of 19.6% and 15.8% for small- and large-area devices, respectively.

“Sieging tumor cells” strategy is proposed based on FeCPs, which efficiently kills tumors while alleviating metastasis. The released SA inhibits the activity of HPA to reinforce the ECM, while DHTA as electron mediator strengthen Fe-mediated CDT.

Digital twins based on true 3D microstructures predict the bulk mechanical response of lipid-based materials and composites made thereof.

Inspired by Maya blue, color superoleophobic coatings were fabricated using silica, metakaolin and azo dyes, exhibiting excellent stability, wettability and color fastness.

Defect engineering improves breakdown strength, reduces conduction losses and induces localized disorder to achieve an ultra-high energy storage density.

This study uses contrast matched small angle neutron scattering and simulations to explore how increased pore size in carbon sorbents influences perfluorooctanoic acid adsorption and aggregation, facilitating semi-cylinder micelle formation.

Yttria films with nanocrystallite aggregates synthesized via photo-assisted chemical solution deposition achieved an E_bf over 12.7 MV/cm⁻¹, suggesting a new strategy to enhance dielectric breakdown strength beyond the experimental scaling law.

With broader UV absorption and higher antioxidative capacity than the commercial UV-shielding agent UV326 and antioxidant AO1010, one-component anti-aging agents have the potential to improve polymer photostability and food preservation packaging.

We developed a fabrication method to achieve a record-high thermal conductivity of 13.5 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ for electrically insulated polyethylene at a coverage area of 2.16 mm².

Electron–hole separation efficiency and catalytic site activity can be simultaneously enhanced by tuning the charge flow direction.

The synergistic effect of a single atom of Fe and heteroatom in X-doped Mo₂CS₂–MXene (X = B, N, O, F, P and Se) in enhancing the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrogen to ammonia.

Tunable multi-emission and ultra-broadband visible to near-infrared luminescence in Sn²⁺/Mn²⁺-doped lead-free Zn-based metal halides have been achieved by adjusting the doping ratios and excitation wavelengths.

The spin absorption of the CoGd layer spontaneously formed at the Co/Gd interface enhances spin-dependent transport in Pt/Co/Gd/Ir multilayers.

We developed a novel strategy for preparing conductive and tough hydrogels through in situ growth of metal dendrites within the gel. The resulting gel demonstrated outstanding conductivity, fracture toughness and fatigue fracture threshold.