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The hydrolysis/methanolysis of silicon has received considerable attention to achieve efficient and on-demand hydrogen conversion. However, the intense covalent network and highly localized electrons in pure Si impede its reactivity with water (H 2 O) or methanol (CH 3 OH), thereby hindering the hydrogen release. In this work, we report the synthesis of Zintl phase alkalis-Si alloys via simple ball-milling or sintering, showing eminent performance in enhancement of H 2 O/CH 3 OH dissociation. Experiments combined with DFT calculations have revealed that the obtained Zintl phase alloys exhibit discrete Si clusters containing well-defined unpaired electrons that efficiently facilitate the interaction between reductant and solvent molecules. Such an effect thereby reduces the activation barrier of H 2 O/CH 3 OH dissociation to yield active intermediates containing Si-H structure, which significantly promotes the hydrogen release with favorable kinetics and efficiency. The optimal Zintl Li 21 Si 5 alloy achieves ultrahigh Si utilization rates of 86.9% in water and 98.1% in methanol at 25 °C, respectively. Remarkably, even at an extremely low temperature of −40 °C, a substantial hydrogen yield of 1.091 L g − 1 in methanol is retained. Furthermore, the desirable Zintl phase-water reaction inspires an economic-friendly “charge-hydrolysis-separation” strategy, for effectively recovering the valuable lithium, graphite, Si and Cu resources from the degraded lithium-ion batteries. Si-based hydrogen generation via hydrolysis/methanolysis faces reactivity challenges. Here, zintl-phase alkali–Si alloys, featuring discrete Si clusters with unpaired electrons, efficiently lower activation barriers, enabling high-yield, low-temperature H 2 release.

Highlights There is a novel “hydrolysis-driven synthesis” approach for the preparation of a dual-surface functionalized micron-sized Si anode with a SiO x /C layer. The functionalized inner pores and dual-functional SiO x /C layer synergistically alleviate volume change of Si lithiation, minimize stress concentration and improve electrochemical reaction kinetics. The optimized micron-Si anode performs impressive lifespan, excellent high rate capacity and outstanding stack cell volumetric energy density. Micro-silicon (Si) anode that features high theoretical capacity and fine tap density is ideal for energy-dense lithium-ion batteries. However, the substantial localized mechanical strain caused by the large volume expansion often results in electrode disintegration and capacity loss. Herein, a microporous Si anode with the SiO x /C layer functionalized all-surface and high tap density (~ 0.65 g cm⁻ 3 ) is developed by the hydrolysis-driven strategy that avoids the common use of corrosive etchants and toxic siloxane reagents. The functionalized inner pore with superior structural stability can effectively alleviate the volume change and enhance the electrolyte contact. Simultaneously, the outer particle surface forms a continuous network that prevents electrolyte parasitic decomposition, disperses the interface stress of Si matrix and facilitates electron/ion transport. As a result, the micron-sized Si anode shows only ~ 9.94 GPa average stress at full lithiation state and delivers an impressive capacity of 901.1 mAh g⁻ 1 after 500 cycles at 1 A g⁻ 1 . It also performs excellent rate performance of 1123.0 mAh g⁻ 1 at 5 A g⁻ 1 and 850.4 at 8 A g⁻ 1 , far exceeding most of reported literatures. Furthermore, when paired with a commercial LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 , the pouch cell demonstrates high capacity and desirable cyclic performance.

Natural fruits contain a large variety of cis -diols. However, due to the lack of a high-resolution sensor that can simultaneously identify all cis -diols without a need of complex sample pretreatment, direct and rapid analysis of fruits in a hand-held device has never been previously reported. Nanopore, a versatile single molecule sensor, can be specially engineered to perform this task. A hetero-octameric Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopore modified with a sole phenylboronic acid (PBA) adapter is prepared. This engineered MspA accurately recognizes 1,2-diphenols, alditols, α-hydroxy acids and saccharides in prune, grape, lemon, different varieties of kiwifruits and commercial juice products. Assisted with a custom machine learning program, an accuracy of 99.3% is reported and the sample pretreatment is significantly simplified. Enantiomers such as DL-malic acids can also be directly identified, enabling sensing of synthetic food additives. Though demonstrated with fruits, these results suggest wide applications of nanopore in food and drug administration uses. Fruits contain a large variety of cis -diols but their rapid and direct analysis without complex sample pretreatment was not achieved. Here, the authors report a Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopore modified with a phenylboronic acid adapter for recognition of 1,2-diphenols, alditols, α-hydroxy acids and saccharides in fruits.

Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a rare and heterogeneous group of hematological malignancies. Compared to our knowledge of B-cell tumors, our understanding of T-cell leukemia and lymphoma remains less advanced, and a significant number of patients are diagnosed with advanced stages of the disease. Unfortunately, the development of drug resistance in tumors leads to relapsed or refractory peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas (r/r PTCL), resulting in highly unsatisfactory treatment outcomes for these patients. This review provides an overview of potential mechanisms contributing to PTCL treatment resistance, encompassing aspects such as tumor heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment, and abnormal signaling pathways in PTCL development. The existing drugs aimed at overcoming PTCL resistance and their potential resistance mechanisms are also discussed. Furthermore, a summary of ongoing clinical trials related to PTCL is presented, with the aim of aiding clinicians in making informed treatment decisions.

Traditional optical organic vapor sensors with solvatochromic shift mechanisms have lower sensitivity due to weak intermolecular interactions. Here, we report a general strategy to prepare a higher sensitivity optical organic vapor sensor through polymeric swelling-induced variation of fluorescent intensity. We combine one-dimensional polymeric structures and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules together to form a polymer/AIE microwires array as a sensor. The prepared sensors based on different commercial polymers can successfully classify and identify various organic vapors. Among them, the poly(vinyl butyral)/AIE microwires array can detect methanol vapor as low as 0.05% of its saturation vapor pressure. According to the theory of like dissolves like, we further fabricate a polymer/AIE microwires array derived from designable polyethersulfones, through regulating their side chains, to distinguish similar organic vapors of benzene and toluene. Both experimental and theoretical simulation results reveal that specific molecular interactions between the polyethersulfones and organic vapors can improve the specific recognition performance of the sensors. Traditional optical organic vapor sensors with solvatochromic shift mechanisms have lower sensitivity due to weak intermolecular interactions. Here, the authors report a general strategy to prepare a higher sensitivity optical organic vapor sensor through polymeric swelling-induced variation of fluorescent intensity.

Noise pollution in fully mechanized mining workfaces threatens the occupational health and safety of miners. Obstacles such as mechanical equipment and pipelines in roadways can alter noise propagation patterns, and clarifying this influence is crucial for mine noise control and personal protection. This study established numerical simulation models for medium- and high-frequency noise propagation in fully mechanized mining workfaces using the finite element method and ray acoustics method within the acoustic module. The reliability of the models was validated by comparing the simulation results with field measurement data from test roadways. On this basis, the influence laws of key parameters such as obstacle obstruction rate, shape, number, and spacing on noise propagation were analyzed. The results show that the obstruction rate and shape of obstacles have a weak impact on the attenuation of mid-to-high-frequency noise, and the noise reduction effect is negligible. When the number of obstacles is fixed, a spacing of 1m achieves a significant noise reduction effect on high-frequency noise (sound pressure level change of approximately 20 dB) but has little impact on mid-frequency noise at 2000 Hz. The number of obstacles significantly affects high-frequency noise, and the optimal configuration is related to spacing—under a spacing of 1m, a single obstacle can achieve significant noise reduction (>10 dB); under a spacing of 3m, 1 or 4 obstacles yield the optimal effect (approximately 20 dB), while their impact on mid-frequency noise is negligible. The research results provide a key basis for mine noise control and obstacle configuration optimization, and have practical value for improving the occupational health protection of miners and ensuring the safe production of coal mines.

Transition metal tellurides (TMTs) have been ideal materials for exploring exotic properties in condensed-matter physics, chemistry and materials science 1 – 3 . Although TMT nanosheets have been produced by top-down exfoliation, their scale is below the gram level and requires a long processing time, restricting their effective application from laboratory to market 4 – 8 . We report the fast and scalable synthesis of a wide variety of MTe 2 (M = Nb, Mo, W, Ta, Ti) nanosheets by the solid lithiation of bulk MTe 2 within 10 min and their subsequent hydrolysis within seconds. Using NbTe 2 as a representative, we produced more than a hundred grams (108 g) of NbTe 2 nanosheets with 3.2 nm mean thickness, 6.2 µm mean lateral size and a high yield (>80%). Several interesting quantum phenomena, such as quantum oscillations and giant magnetoresistance, were observed that are generally restricted to highly crystalline MTe 2 nanosheets. The TMT nanosheets also perform well as electrocatalysts for lithium–oxygen batteries and electrodes for microsupercapacitors (MSCs). Moreover, this synthesis method is efficient for preparing alloyed telluride, selenide and sulfide nanosheets. Our work opens new opportunities for the universal and scalable synthesis of TMT nanosheets for exploring new quantum phenomena, potential applications and commercialization. Fast and scalable synthesis of a variety of transition metal telluride nanosheets by solid lithiation and hydrolysis is demonstrated and several interesting quantum phenomena were observed, such as quantum oscillations and giant magnetoresistance.

MXene, a new intercalation pseudocapacitive electrode material, possesses a high theoretical capacitance for supercapacitor application. However, limited accessible interlayer space and active sites are major challenges to achieve this high capacitance in practical application. In order to stimulate the electrochemical activity of MXene to a greater extent, herein, a method of hydrothermal treatment in NaOH solution with reducing reagent-citric acid is first proposed. After this treatment, the gravimetric capacitance of MXene exhibits a significant enhancement, about 250% of the original value, reaching 543 F g−1 at 2 mV s−1. This improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the tailoring of an interlayer structure and surface chemistry state. An expanded and homogenized interlayer space is created, which provides enough space for electrolyte ions storage. The –F terminations are replaced with O-containing groups, which enhances the hydrophilicity, facilitating the electrolyte’s accessibility to MXene’s surface, and makes MXene show stronger adsorption for electrolyte ion-H+, providing sufficient electrochemical active sites. The change in terminations further leads to the increase in Ti valence, which becomes more prone to reduction. This work establishes full knowledge of the rational MXene design for electrochemical energy storage applications.

Proper pericarp thickness protects the maize kernel against pests and diseases, moreover, thinner pericarp improves the eating quality in fresh corn. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in maize pericarp during kernel development and identified the major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for maize pericarp thickness. It was observed that maize pericarp thickness first increased and then decreased. During the growth and formation stages, the pericarp thickness gradually increased and reached the maximum, after which it gradually decreased and reached the minimum during maturity. To identify the QTLs for pericarp thickness, a BC 4 F 4 population was constructed using maize inbred lines B73 (recurrent parent with thick pericarp) and Baimaya (donor parent with thin pericarp). In addition, a high-density genetic map was constructed using maize 10 K SNP microarray. A total of 17 QTLs related to pericarp thickness were identified in combination with the phenotypic data. The results revealed that the heritability of the thickness of upper germinal side of pericarp (UG) was 0.63. The major QTL controlling UG was qPT1-1 , which was located on chromosome 1 (212,215,145–212,948,882). The heritability of the thickness of upper abgerminal side of pericarp (UA) was 0.70. The major QTL controlling UA was qPT2-1 , which was located on chromosome 2 (2,550,197–14,732,993). In addition, a combination of functional annotation, DNA sequencing analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) screened two candidate genes, Zm00001d001964 and Zm00001d002283 , that could potentially control maize pericarp thickness. This study provides valuable insights into the improvement of maize pericarp thickness during breeding.

Polymer semiconductors are promising candidates for wearable and skin-like X-ray detectors due to their scalable manufacturing, adjustable molecular structures and intrinsic flexibility. Herein, we fabricated an intrinsically stretchable n-type polymer semiconductor through spatial nanoconfinement effect for ultrasensitive X-ray detectors. The design of high-orientation nanofiber structures and dense interpenetrating polymer networks enhanced the electron-transporting efficiency and stability of the polymer semiconductors. The resultant polymer semiconductors exhibited an ultrahigh sensitivity of 1.52 × 10 4 μC Gy air −1 cm −2 , an ultralow detection limit of 37.7 nGy air s −1 (comparable to the record-low value of perovskite single crystals), and polymer film X-ray imaging was achieved at a low dose rate of 3.65 μGy air s −1 (about 1/12 dose rate of the commercial medical chest X-ray diagnosis). Meanwhile, the hybrid semiconductor films could sustain 100% biaxial stretching strain with minimal degeneracy in photoelectrical performances. These results provide insights into future high-performance, low-cost e-skin photoelectronic detectors and imaging. Wearable and skin-like X-ray detectors need intrinsic flexibility and high sensitivity. Here Guo et al. develop a stretchable n-type polymer semiconductor with aligned nanofiber networks which achieve photosensitivity of 1.52×10^4 μC Gyair^-1 cm^−2 and low detection limit of 37.7 nGyair s^-1.