Materials Horizons 2025 Outstanding Paper Awards

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Abstract

We are delighted to introduce the winners of our 2025 Outstanding Paper awards in this Editorial. Our selection process remains the same as in previous years (see our introductory Editorial from 2019) retaining the focus on the science presented and the potential future impact of the work. We put together a shortlist of articles published during the year based on a variety of metrics including article downloads, Altmetrics, and citations. The shortlist was reviewed by the journal's Editorial and Advisory Board members based on the science presented and potential future impact. The quality of the articles we published throughout 2025 was excellent, and therefore following from last year we have chosen to award not only our most Outstanding Paper, but also a runner-up and an Outstanding Review for 2025. Please join us in congratulating our winners, we hope you enjoy reading their outstanding articles as much as we did.

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Materials Horizons Outstanding Article 2025

Breaking scaling relations in AgAuCuPdPt high-entropy alloy nanoparticles for CO₂ electroreduction via machine learning

Juan Manuel Arce-Ramos, Quang Thang Trinh, Zicong Marvin Wong, Ben Wang, Benjamin W. J. Chen, Jia Zhang and Teck Leong Tan

In this outstanding article,¹ the authors present a two-tier machine-learning + DFT workflow that bridges compositional screening and mechanistic insight for AgAuCuPdPt high-entropy alloy nanoparticles. An ultralight linear-regression surrogate predicts CO adsorption energies across millions of Monte Carlo-generated local motifs in seconds, while targeted DFT calculations probe the most promising sites. The study uncovers a previously unrecognized active motif in which Au centers with CN = 8 sit adjacent to Cu corners with CN = 6. These sites stabilize bidentate *COOH and *CHO, break the conventional CO–CHO scaling relation, and drive the rate-limiting *CO → *CHO step to near-thermoneutrality, providing transferable design rules for CO₂ electroreduction catalysts.

This work emerged from a sustained effort at A*STAR's Institute of High-Performance Computing (IHPC) to accelerate the discovery of catalysts for decarbonization technologies, supported by a portfolio of national programmes spanning low-carbon energy research and advanced materials research. The team brings together complementary expertise in solid-state DFT, heterogeneous catalysis modelling, machine learning for computational catalysis, and high-entropy materials. Within IHPC's Computational Sustainability Division, the group has increasingly embedded AI into its catalysis workflows, training surrogate models and machine-learning interatomic potentials on high-fidelity DFT data to navigate compositional and configurational spaces that were previously intractable, and to translate atomic-scale insights into actionable design rules.

Materials Horizons Outstanding Article Runner-up 2025

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles boosting growth and photosynthesis in biohybrid plants

Manuela Ciocca, Mauro Maver, Ciro Allará, Damiano Zanotelli, Soufiane Krik, Antonio Orlando, Thilo Rühle, Sabrina Walz, Theo Figueroa Gonzalez, Giovanna Gentile, Alexandros A. Lavdas, Pietro Ibba, Fabio Trevisan, Zygmunt Milosz, Melanie Timpel, Marco V. Nardi, Andrea Pedrielli, Andrea Gaiardo, Paolo Lugli, Franco Cacialli, Dario Leister, Tanja Mimmo and Luisa Petti

In this outstanding article,² the authors report the first demonstration of a bio-hybrid plant engineered through the in vivo integration of conjugated polymer nanoparticles (P3HT-NPs) into Arabidopsis thaliana. The nanoparticles exhibit spectral overlap with chlorophyll and act as photonic antennas enhancing light harvesting and interacting with the photosynthetic machinery. This led to increased root growth (45%), biomass production (up to 17%), and CO₂ assimilation (11%) in Arabidopsis thaliana. This work introduces a non-genetic strategy to improve photosynthesis and establishes a new platform for hybrid living systems, opening promising perspectives for sustainable energy, carbon capture, and advanced bio-hybrid nano-engineered technologies.

This work represents the outcome of a highly interdisciplinary collaboration integrating expertise in nanotechnology, materials science, physics, and plant biology. It addresses the in vivo integration of conjugated polymer nanoparticles (namely poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanoparticles (P3HT-NPs)) into plants (i.e., Arabidopsis thaliana) to investigate their interaction. The research brought together contributions from the Faculty of Engineering (Sensing Technologies Lab and PRIME research group), the Competence Centre for Plant Health, and the Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, in synergy with national and international partners including Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Eurac Research, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and IMEM-CNR. The success of this work relied on strong coordination and complementary expertise, enabling the realisation of a visionary concept into a rigorous and impactful advance in the field of bio-hybrid systems: the first engineered bio-hybrid plant with enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and growth.

Materials Horizons Outstanding Review 2025

Porous polymers: structure, fabrication and application

Qingxian Liu, Jinkui Xiong, Wengui Lin, Jinlong Liu, Yongbiao Wan, Chuan Fei Guo, Quan Wang and Zhiguang Liu

In this outstanding review,³ the authors focus on the pore structure of porous polymers, systematically elaborating their structural characteristics, fabrication techniques, and application performances, as well as exploring the inherent relationships among these aspects. Meanwhile, they summarize the challenges encountered by porous polymers throughout research and application and propose corresponding strategies to tackle these issues. This review is anticipated to provide valuable references and insights for relevant research fields, and to offer meaningful guidance for the further advancement and practical applications of porous polymers.

Author biographies

Materials Horizons Outstanding Article 2025

Breaking scaling relations in AgAuCuPdPt high-entropy alloy nanoparticles for CO₂ electroreduction via machine learning

Dr Juan Manuel Arce-Ramos is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), ASTAR, Singapore. His experience is in computational catalysis simulations for decarbonization technologies, specializing in DFT of solid–gas and solid–liquid interfaces, ab initio thermodynamics, and machine-learning surrogates for catalyst discovery. His work spans heterogeneous thermocatalysis and electrocatalysis on metal, oxide, and high-entropy alloy systems, with applications in CO₂/CO conversion, Fischer–Tropsch chemistry, and selective oxidation, often in close partnership with operando experimental studies. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2015 from the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (UASLP), México, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Houston (2015–2017) before joining ASTAR in 2018.

Dr Quang Thang Trinh completed a PhD in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the National University of Singapore in 2014. During his career, he has been a research fellow at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore from 2014 to 2021 and a research scientist at the Agency for Science, Research and Technology (A*STAR) from 2021 to 2023. Currently, he is a research fellow and program manager at the Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Research Institute, Griffith University. His research areas focus on catalyst design and process development for sustainable chemistry in methane utilization, CO₂ reduction, N₂ fixation, sonocatalysis, plasma-catalysis, plastic waste recycling, and biomass conversion.

Dr Zicong Marvin Wong is a Senior Scientist at the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), in the Computational Sustainability division. He is a materials science chemist specializing in computational modelling and machine learning for the design and discovery of advanced materials across scales, from molecules to bulk systems. His work spans high-entropy alloys, perovskites, MXenes, and other functional materials, with applications in catalysis, energy storage, CO₂ capture, and hydrogen technologies, alongside the development of AI-driven tools in cheminformatics for molecular property prediction and synthesis planning. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the National University of Singapore. Outside research, he is interested in visual science communication, nature photography, and sustainable urban gardening, and contributes to community outreach initiatives.

MSc Ben Wang received his BEng degree in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) from Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST), and his MSc degree in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) from the National University of Singapore (NUS). His research focuses on the design and screening of catalysts and organic small molecules based on machine learning.

Dr Benjamin Chen is a senior research scientist at A*STAR's Institute of High Performance Computing. His research focuses on developing novel high-throughput computing methods and coupling them with machine learning to enable modelling of catalytic materials and reactions with high realism and fidelity. By doing so, he aims to increase the predictive power of computations, enhance their value and synergy with experiments, and accelerate the rational design of novel catalysts.

Dr Jia Zhang is a Principal Scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, where she co-manages the Catalysis and Process Control Group within the Computational Sustainability Division at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC). She earned her BS (2000) and MS (2003) in Chemistry from Nankai University, China, and her PhD in Chemistry from the National University of Singapore in 2007. Zhang's research focuses on advancing a low-carbon future by integrating traditional computational methods, machine learning, and high-throughput calculations to deepen mechanistic understanding of catalytic systems and accelerate the rational design and discovery of advanced catalysts. Her work has been published in leading journals such as Nature Communications, ACS Catalysis, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition. She also co-led interdisciplinary efforts to develop the Accelerated Catalyst Development Platform (ACDP), which received the IES Sustainability Award 2023 and the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award 2023. Her research supports the development of sustainable chemical processes, including CO₂ conversion, hydrogen production, and low-carbon manufacturing.

Dr Teck Leong Tan is a Senior Principal Scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, and Director of the Multiscale Science Department at the Institute of High-Performance Computing (IHPC). He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the National University of Singapore. His work focuses on multiscale simulations and modelling, spanning atomistic to macroscopic length and time scales, to support materials and process development for sustainable industrial applications, including decarbonisation and green chemistry. His recent research involves integrating computational and experimental data with machine-learning approaches to develop Data–AI–Computation frameworks that improve the efficiency of physics-based simulations through surrogate and generative models. These methods are applied to the study and design of complex materials systems in collaboration with experimental partners. Dr Tan obtained his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, with a specialisation in Computer Science and Engineering, and joined A*STAR in 2011. His research interests are in Materials AI, with applications in catalysis, aerospace materials, nanoscale technologies, electronics, corrosion science, and sustainability.

Materials Horizons Outstanding Article Runner-up 2025

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles boosting growth and photosynthesis in biohybrid plants

Manuela Ciocca obtained her MSc degree in Medical Engineering in 2016 and her PhD in Electronic Engineering in 2020 from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy), with a thesis entitled “Conjugated polymer photosensitive platforms for artificial retina and light control of living cells.” focused on the development of organic semiconducting interfaces for bioelectronic applications. During her doctoral studies, she spent one year as a visiting PhD researcher at the University of Surrey (UK), supported by the Lazio Region “Torno Subito” programme. She has received the ITWIIN (Italian Women Inventors and Innovators) Award – Special Mention Material ConneXion (2016) and the European International Women Inventors and Innovators Network (EUWIIN) Special Recognition Award (2017), in recognition of her contributions to innovative materials and technologies. Dr Ciocca is currently Assistant Professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy), within the PRIME (Printable Materials for Sustainable Optoelectronics and Photonics) research group at the Faculty of Engineering. Her research lies at the interface of bioelectronics, physics and materials science. Her research especially focuses on conjugated polymers and mixed ionic–electronic conductors, as well as electron transport processes and photophysical mechanisms within photosynthetic and light-responsive biological systems. She is particularly engaged in developing nanomaterial-based strategies to modulate light–matter interactions in biological systems, including photosynthetic processes, with the aim of advancing sustainable energy technologies and bio-inspired functional materials.

Mauro Maver obtained his MSc degree in Plant Biotechnology and his PhD in Mountain and Environmental Agriculture, developing a strong interdisciplinary expertise at the interface of plant physiology, soil chemistry, and plant–microbe interactions. His doctoral research focused on nutrient dynamics, rhizosphere processes, and the biochemical mechanisms underlying plant responses to environmental constraints. During his research career, he gained extensive postdoctoral experience, further consolidating his work on plant nutrition, allelopathy, and soil–plant system functioning.

Dr Maver is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Verona (Italy), within the Department of Biotechnology. His research focuses on plant physiology, biochemistry, and rhizosphere processes, with particular attention to plant nutrition, plant–microbe interactions, and plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, with a specific emphasis on the study and development of biostimulants and their biochemical and physiological modes of action to enhance plant performance, resilience, and resource-use efficiency.

Ciro Allará received his BSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, in 2017, and his MSc degree in Industrial Bioengineering from the same University, in 2020. In 2021, he was research assistant at the Center of Colloid and Surface Science at University of Florence, in collaboration with Procter&Gamble. Then he was a researcher and project manager at BioCheckUp S.r.l. in Naples before he earned a PhD from the Faculty of Engineering from the Free University of Bozen, in 2026. He is now a researcher in the same university. His area of research focuses on machine learning and data analysis applications.

Damiano Zanotelli is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UNIBZ), where he conducts research within the Tree Ecophysiology and Ecosystem Group. He graduated cum laude in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Bologna and obtained an international Master's degree in “Land and Water Conservation,” jointly offered by the University of Bologna and Washington State University (USA). He received a joint PhD in Horticultural Sciences (Doctor Europaeus) from the Universities of Bologna and Bolzano in 2012. His research focuses on carbon and water dynamics in the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum, with particular emphasis on woody agroecosystems in the context of climate change. He was awarded the “Premio Giovane Ricercatore” (Best Young Researcher) in the “Fruticulture” category by the Italian Society of Horticultural Sciences (SOI) in 2016.

Soufiane Krik received his BSc degree in Physics in 2015 and subsequently completed his MSc degree in Physics in 2017, both from the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Science at the University of Casablanca, Morocco. He successfully defended his doctoral dissertation to earn his PhD degree in Physics in July 2021 from the University of Ferrara in collaboration with the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento. Following the completion of his doctoral studies, he held positions as a postdoctoral researcher at the Free University of Bolzano (Italy) from 2021 to 2023 and as a junior university researcher from 2023 to 2024 at the same institution. Currently, he is working as a technologist in the same university and his research interests revolve around the development of biodegradable and flexible substrates and materials employed in fabricating sensors, devices, and circuits, with a specific emphasis on photonics and optoelectronics devices.

Antonio Orlando earned a degree with honors in Chemistry, Materials and Energy from the University of Ferrara (UniFe) in 2020 and obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UniBz) in 2025. He is currently a researcher at the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK), within the Materials and Topologies for Sensors and Devices (MTSD) unit of the Center for Sensors and Devices (SD). His research focuses on the development and investigation of innovative functional nanomaterials, as well as the development of MEMS-based sensing devices for the selective detection and monitoring of gaseous compounds.

Thilo Rühle studied Biology at the Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany (2000–2002), completing his pre-degree (Vordiplom), and then Biotechnology at the École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS), France (2002–2005). During this time, he conducted his master's thesis at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and graduated in 2005 with a Master of Science (Diplom-Biotechnologe). He completed his PhD (Dr rer. nat.) at Ruhr-University Bochum (2006–2009) under Prof. Thomas Happe, focusing on photobiological hydrogen production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. He then joined Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU) as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Dario Leister (2010–2016), where he obtained his habilitation in 2019. He was subsequently appointed “Akademischer Rat auf Zeit” (2016–2023) and has been serving as “Akademischer Oberrat auf Zeit” since August 2023.

Sabrina Walz obtained her MSc in Molecular Plant Science from the University of Hamburg, Germany, in 2020, and her PhD from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, in 2025. Entitled ‘A pgrl1ab Suppressor Screen to Explore Fluctuating Light Acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana', her PhD thesis focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying photosynthetic acclimation to dynamic light conditions. She specialises in photosynthesis and plant physiology, particularly light-responsive processes. Following her doctoral studies, she joined the family business, Heinz Walz GmbH. Founded over 50 years ago, the company now serves more than 1500 universities worldwide. In her role as an application scientist, she supports the plant science research community by providing them with advanced instrumentation for chlorophyll fluorometry and gas exchange.

Theo Figueroa González obtained his Diploma in Biotechnology in 2017 from the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (Argentina). In 2018, he was awarded a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) to pursue doctoral research in Munich, Germany. He completed his PhD in Molecular Biology in 2024 at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, with a thesis entitled “Evolutionary engineering of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 towards fluctuating-light stress tolerance.” His doctoral research focused on the evolutionary engineering of photosynthetic microorganisms, including microalgae and cyanobacteria, to enhance their tolerance to dynamic and extreme light conditions. This work integrated experimental evolution approaches with molecular and physiological characterization. Dr Figueroa González currently serves as Scientific Director at a biotechnology startup based in Abu Dhabi (UAE), where he leads the development of innovative microbial solutions for the bioremediation of crude oil contamination in the Arabian Gulf.

Giovanna Gentile is a biomedical researcher specializing in stem cell biology, neurodegenerative disease modelling, and biosensor development. She holds a Master's degree in Functional Genomics from the University of Trieste, where she investigated chromatin proteins and epigenetic regulation in cancer. In 2025 she earned her PhD in Advanced Systems Engineering from the Free University of Bolzano in collaboration with the Institute for Biomedicine of EURAC Research, where her interdisciplinary research bridged cell biology, materials science, and bioelectronics. During her doctoral training, she completed a research period in Germany, gaining valuable international experience and exposure to diverse research approaches. Her doctoral research focused on two complementary areas: developing patient-derived iPSC models of neurodegenerative diseases, and engineering bio-hybrid interfaces using organic materials for cellular applications. She has presented her research at numerous international conferences and received second place for her poster presentation at IEEE IFETC 2024.

Dr Gentile's expertise bridges fundamental research and applied biotechnology, with particular interests in disease modelling, biosensor development, and translational applications of stem cell technologies.

Alexandros A. Lavdas, MSc, PhD, is a tenured Senior Researcher Neuroscientist and Imaging Lead at the Institute for Biomedicine, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute, Concord, MA, USA, and collaborating Faculty at Webster University, Athens Campus, Greece. He holds an MSc and PhD in Neuroscience from University College London (UCL) and in the past he has worked at UCL and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens, and also done research and taught at various other institutions. He has worked extensively in nervous system development and regeneration, and his current interests revolve around morphology at various scales, and examining elements of visual organized complexity, such as those found in our environment, and exploring their psychophysiological and neural correlates.

Pietro Ibba earned his BSc in Biotechnology and MSc in Food Quality and Safety from the University of Tuscia and a PhD in Food Engineering and Biotechnology from the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen in 2021 with a thesis on fruit quality evaluation using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy. After his PhD, he continued at the university's Sensing Technologies lab, first as a postdoctoral researcher and, since April 2022, as an assistant professor (RTDa). His research focuses on electrical impedance spectroscopy for fruit and plant health assessment and the development of low-cost electrode interfaces, sensors and sensor systems for environmental, agricultural, and food monitoring applications.

Zygmunt Milosz graduated in Physics (speciality: Nanotechnology) at the Faculty of Physics of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in 2013. After two years of working as technician in the Surface Science and Tunneling Spectroscopy Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, he started PhD studies in the NanoBioMedical Center AMU. He obtained his PhD in Physics at Faculty of Physics AMU in 2022 with a thesis entitled “Growth and characterization nanostructures supported on epitaxial graphene” focused on the development of different nanostructures supported on epitaxial graphene, new substrates and methods for growth of epitaxial graphene. During his PhD studies he took part in short term abroad (University of Genoa [IT], BESSY Synchrotron [DE], Elettra Synchrotron [IT]) and had national (University of Wrocław, University of Białystok, Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences) research stays and beamtimes. He was involved in upgrading the Scanning Tunneling Microscope to the low temperature standard in the UHV Laboratory and developing compact fully UHV compatible Magneto-optic Kerr effect apparatus both placed in CNBM AMU. Since 2023 Dr Milosz is postdoc researcher at the ESCA Microscopy beamline in Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. His scientific research is focused on alloying and dealloying process of bicomponent alloys and the growth and development of 2D materials examined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Melanie Timpel is a materials scientist specializing in the synthesis, functionalization, and nanoscale characterization of hybrid organic–inorganic and two-dimensional materials. She is currently a permanent Researcher at the Institute of Materials for Electronic and Magnetism (IMEM) of the National Research Council (CNR), Italy, a position she has held since 2020. Prior to this, she held postdoctoral positions at the University of Trento and at IMEM-CNR, as well as at the Humboldt University of Berlin. She obtained her PhD in Materials Science in 2012 from the Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy, Germany, and her MSc in Nanostructure Technology from the University of Würzburg. Her research focuses on advanced nanomaterial systems, including 2D materials and complex synchrotron-based characterization techniques, contributing to interdisciplinary fields at the interface of physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology. Dr Timpel has led and contributed to several national and international research projects, including as Principal Investigator of a national project on scalable 2D materials. Her work has been recognized with awards such as the International Acta Student Award, the Young Scientist Award of the German Society for Materials Science (DGM), and fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) and CARITRO Foundation (Italy). In parallel, she has long-standing experience as a reviewer for leading journals and serves as an editorial board member. Beyond scientific evaluation, she is a gender equality trainer of CNR, selected within a European project, promoting fairness, inclusiveness, and transparency in research careers.

Dr Marco Vittorio Nardi obtained his Laurea in Chemistry from the University of Padova (2003) and a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Milano-Bicocca (2007). He is currently senior researcher at the Institute of Materials for Electronic and Magnetism of the Italian National Research Council and affiliated with the BEAR beamline at the Elettra Sinchroton facility in Trieste (Italy). His research lies at the forefront of nanostructured materials, hybrid organic/inorganic interfaces, graphene-like and 2D materials and heterostructures, with a focus on tailoring electronic and optical properties for next-generation functional systems with a strong emphasis on synchrotron-based and in operando methodologies. His work on two-dimensional materials, especially transition metal dichalcogenides and their heterostructures, has contributed to advancing the understanding of structure–property relationships at the nanoscale.

Dr Nardi's international career includes postdoctoral research at the Italian National Research Council (2007–2010), a position at Humboldt University of Berlin (2010–2015), where he served as Work Package Leader in a European FP7 project, a position as a project PI at the University of Trento (2015–2018) and other short periods of scientific activities in different universities and laboratories in Europe.

He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications (H-index 26) and holds a patent on SiC/SiO₂ nanostructures for cancer-related biomedical applications. He serves major funding agencies including the European Commission, the French National Research Agency (ANR), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), and others as scientific evaluators. He holds the Italian National Scientific Habilitation for Associate professor in three scientific disciplinary sectors.

Andrea Pedrielli earned his PhD in Engineering from the University of Trento in 2018. Before that, he completed his Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Physics at the University of Bologna. He has a strong background in computational modelling and experimental research on nanostructured materials. He currently works as a technologist at Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Trento. His recent focus is on Plasma Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (PFIB-SEM) and advanced materials characterization (SEM, AFM, and techniques like EDS and EBSD). He obtained a personal project from Fondazione CARITRO in 2019, focused on high-Z ceramic oxide nanosystems for proton cancer therapy. He is also involved in the SU.PRE.MO. project, which started in 2022. This multi-million euro initiative explores advanced wood materials, where he played an active role in writing proposals and developing the project. He is a co-inventor of two international patents for new wood processing methods. He is a co-author of over 25 scientific publications (H-index 9, with more than 300 citations).

Andrea Gaiardo graduated with honors in Chemistry from the University of Ferrara in 2013 and obtained his PhD in Physics from the same institution in 2018. He is currently a researcher at Fondazione Bruno Kessler, in the Materials and Topologies for Sensors and Devices (MTSD) unit of the Center for Sensors and Devices (SD), where he leads the Gas Sensors Team (GST).

His research focuses on advanced sensing systems for the detection of gaseous molecules, with applications in air quality monitoring, precision agriculture, and clinical diagnostics. He has authored or co-authored more than 75 scientific publications (H-index: 21, Scopus, March 2026) and holds 5 patents.

He is actively involved in European, national, and industry-funded research projects, serving as both principal investigator and team member. He has contributed to more than 100 national and international conference proceedings and has been invited speaker at several conferences. He also served as session organizer and chairman at Nanoinnovations (Rome, 2021 and 2024) and as a member of the local organizing committee for the AISEM 2025 conference. In addition, he has been guest editor for five special issues in leading journals.

In 2015, he co-founded the innovative start-up Scent S.r.l., awarded the Gaetano Marzotto Prize. He received the “Young Researchers for Innovation 2024” award from the Autonomous Province of Trento and holds the Italian National Scientific Habilitation for Associate Professor in five scientific disciplinary sectors.

Paolo Lugli graduated in Physics at the University of Modena, Italy, in 1979. In 1981 he joined Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, where he received his Master of Science in 1982 and his PhD in 1985, both in Electrical Engineering. From 1988 to 1993 he was Associate Professor of Solid State Physics at the Engineering Faculty of the 2nd University of Rome Tor Vergata. In 1993 he was appointed as Full Professor of Optoelectronics at the same University. In 2002 he joined the Technical University of Munich where he was appointed head of the newly created Institute for Nanoelectronics. From 2015 to 2016 he was Dean of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at TUM. From 2017 to 2024 he was Rector of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Bolzano, Italy. His current research interests involve printed electronics, nanoimprint lithography, the modelling, fabrication and characterization of organic devices for electronics and optoelectronics applications, the design of circuits and architectures for nanostructures and nanodevices, the numerical simulation of microwave semiconductor devices, and the theoretical study of transport processes in nanostructures. He is author of more than 550 scientific papers and co-author of the books “The Monte Carlo Modelling for Semiconductor Device Simulations” (Springer, 1989) and “High Speed Optical Communications” (Kluver Academic, 1999). He served as General Chairman of the IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology held in Munich in 2004 and as Program Chair of the same conference held in Rome in 2015. He is an IEEE Fellow and a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH).

Franco Cacialli is Professor of Physics at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. His research interests focus on the physics and application of organic semiconductors (OS) and more generally of advanced functional materials to light-emitting and photovoltaic diodes, as well as to field-effect transistors, and, more recently, to biological materials and systems. Particular attention has been placed on the electronic properties of the electrode–semiconductors interface, an overarching issue in virtually all device applications. Over the years, research interests have also included supramolecular architectures for the control and tailoring of intermolecular interactions, and thus of OS photophysics, and high-resolution nanolithography by means of the scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) or the scanning thermal microscope. Franco received his degree and PhD in Electronic Engineering from Pisa, and after post-doctoral work at Cambridge has been a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the period 1996–2004, first at Cambridge until 2001, then at University College London, where he became Professor of Physics in 2005. Franco (co)authored over 300 publications and 6 patents, and coordinated a Marie-Curie Network dedicated to investigation of threaded molecular wires (THREADed Molecular wIres as supramoLecularly engineered muLtifunctional materials – THREADMILL – https://www.threadmill-rtn.eu/), as well as a European Training Network (SupramolecularlY eNgineered arCHitectures for optoelectRonics and photONICS – SYNCHRONICS, https://synchronics-msca.eu/). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FinstP, 2001), and of the American Physical Society (2009), a recipient of a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2015–2019), and has been a founding co-director of the London Institute for Advanced Light Technologies (https://london-light.org 2019–2022).

Dario Leister has been Professor (Chair) of Plant Molecular Biology at the LMU Munich since 2005. In 1995, he received his PhD in Genetics from the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research. He habilitated in genetics at the University of Tübingen in 2001. He has received numerous prizes and awards, including the Karl-Lohmann-Prize from the German Society for Biological Chemistry (2003), a Top Author Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists (2015), and election to the Leopoldina – National Academy of Sciences (2017). He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Viikki Plant Science Centre, Helsinki, Finland, and founding director of the Copenhagen Plant Science Centre (2013–2016). He is the spokesperson of the Transregio-SFB 175 (The Green Hub – Central Coordinator of Acclimation in Plants) since 2016 and the coordinating PI of the ERC Synergy Cluster “PhotoRedesign” since 2020. He was Dean of the Faculty of Biology for 6 years (2017–2023). His current research focuses on the regulation and improvement of photosynthetic light responses, using a variety of approaches and organisms.

Tanja Mimmo obtained her PhD in Agricultural, Forestry, and Food Sciences in 2006 from the University of Torino, Italy. She subsequently held a postdoctoral position at the University of Bologna and was awarded a Marco Polo fellowship at BOKU – University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria. She joined the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in 2008, where she served as laboratory technician, fixed-term researcher, and associate professor before being appointed Full Professor of Agricultural Chemistry in 2019. From 2020 to 2025, she was Director of the Competence Centre for Plant Health at the Free University of Bolzano. In 2024, she has been appointed as Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the same institution. She has also held several scientific leadership roles, including Chair of the ERIAFF Working Group on Agroecology since 2021 and member of the Technical Scientific Committee of the Resoil Foundation since 2024. She is an experienced researcher in soil science and plant nutrition, with more than twenty years of work spanning both basic and applied research. Her research focuses on rhizosphere processes influencing nutrient and metal bioavailability at the soil–root interface, rhizodeposition, particularly low-molecular-weight organic compounds released by roots, and soil–plant–microorganism interactions. She is the author of more than 180 scientific papers, two book chapters, 200 conference contributions, and has supervised more than 20 bachelor's theses, 5 master's theses, and 8 PhD theses. She is actively involved in national and international research projects addressing soil biodiversity, rhizosphere ecology, and sustainable agroecosystems.

Luisa Petti received her BSc and MSc degrees in Electronic Engineering in 2009 and 2011, respectively, from the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), and her PhD in Electronic Engineering in 2016 from ETH Zürich (Switzerland), with a dissertation entitled “Metal-oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors for flexible electronics,” awarded the 2017 ETH Medal for outstanding dissertations. During her doctoral studies, she also gained industrial experience through an internship at Apple Inc. (2014). After completing her PhD, she worked as a scientist at Cambridge Display Technology Ltd (UK) from 2016 to 2017 and as a research engineer at FlexEnable Ltd (UK) from 2017 to 2018. Prof. Petti is currently Full Professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy). Since 2019, she has been leading the Sensing Technologies Lab (STL), an interdisciplinary research group with more than 20 members. She is also a member of the Competence Centre for Plant Health (since 2020) and has been serving as the program director of the BSc in Electronics and Information Engineering since 2022. Her research focuses on flexible, printable, and sustainable electronic devices, with particular emphasis on organic and hybrid materials, large-area electronics, and environmentally friendly fabrication processes. She is especially engaged in developing innovative sensing platforms and electronic systems for applications in areas such as wearable technologies and agrifood monitoring. She is actively involved in the international scientific community and currently serves as a member of the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Board of Governors, Associate Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Flexible Electronics, and Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Agrifood Electronics.

Materials Horizons Outstanding Review 2025

Porous polymers: structure, fabrication and application

Qingxian Liu is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shantou University. He received his Ph. D degree in Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering from Southern University of Science and Technology, China. His scientific interests include the design and fabrication of porous polymers and their application in flexible electronics, absorption and separation membranes, and so forth.

Jinkui Xiong is a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shantou University. He completed his postgraduate studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shantou University in July 2025. His research interests include acoustic performance enhancement and applications of porous structures through pore reconstruction.

Wengui Lin is a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering at Shantou University. He received his bachelor's degree from the Department of Construction Machinery at Chang’ an University. His scientific interests include the design and fabrication of flexible electronic devices and the design of porous structures.

Jinlong Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shantou University. He received his PhD degree in Mechanics from the Southern University of Science and Technology, China. His current research interests include flow-induced vibrations and their applications in energy harvesting.

Yongbiao Wan is an assistant professor at the Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology. His research interests include flexible electronics, micro/nano fabrication, and physical unclonable functions.

Chuan Fei Guo is a professor in the Department of Materials Science & Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology, China. He received his PhD degree from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, (NCNST), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. From 2011 to 2016, Dr Guo worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at Boston College and the University of Houston. He is an influential scholar in flexible electronics and advanced manufacturing. He serves as an editor for Materials Today Physics.

Quan Wang received his PhD degree in Solid Mechanics at Peking University in 1994. He is an influential scholar in the research areas of energy harvesting, smart materials, and nanotechnology. He was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Canada in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Zhiguang Liu is a Professor and PhD Supervisor in the Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He received his bachelor's degree from the USTC's Special Class for the Gifted Young and his PhD from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests focus on exploring the physicochemical interaction mechanisms at the micro- and nanoscale, advancing state-of-the-art three-dimensional micro- and nanofabrication technologies, and addressing scientific challenges in optics, mechanics, and biomedicine.

References

1. J. M. Arce-Ramos, Q. T. Trinh, Z. M. Wong, B. Wang, B. W. J. Chen, J. Zhang and T. L. Tan, Mater. Horiz., 2025, 12, 10124–10134.
2. M. Ciocca, M. Maver, C. Allará, D. Zanotelli, S. Krik, A. Orlando, T. Rühle, S. Walz, T. F. Gonzalez, G. Gentile, A. A. Lavdas, P. Ibba, F. Trevisan, Z. Milosz, M. Timpel, M. V. Nardi, A. Pedrielli, A. Gaiardo, P. Lugli, F. Cacialli, D. Leister, T. Mimmobc and L. Petti, Mater. Horiz., 2025, 12, 7937–7950.
3. Q. Liu, J. Xiong, W. Lin, J. Liu, Y. Wan, C. F. Guo, Q. Wang and Z. Liu, Mater. Horiz., 2025, 12, 2436–2466.

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