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Bioelectronics for modulating the nervous system have shown promise in treating neurological diseases 1 – 3 . However, their fixed dimensions cannot accommodate rapid tissue growth 4 , 5 and may impair development 6 . For infants, children and adolescents, once implanted devices are outgrown, additional surgeries are often needed for device replacement, leading to repeated interventions and complications 6 – 8 . Here, we address this limitation with morphing electronics, which adapt to in vivo nerve tissue growth with minimal mechanical constraint. We design and fabricate multilayered morphing electronics, consisting of viscoplastic electrodes and a strain sensor that eliminate the stress at the interface between the electronics and growing tissue. The ability of morphing electronics to self-heal during implantation surgery allows a reconfigurable and seamless neural interface. During the fastest growth period in rats, morphing electronics caused minimal damage to the rat nerve, which grows 2.4-fold in diameter, and allowed chronic electrical stimulation and monitoring for 2 months without disruption of functional behavior. Morphing electronics offers a path toward growth-adaptive pediatric electronic medicine. Viscoplastic electronic devices adapt as nerves enlarge in growing animals.

As a key component in stretchable electronics, semiconducting polymers have been widely studied. However, it remains challenging to achieve stretchable semiconducting polymers with high mobility and mechanical reversibility against repeated mechanical stress. Here, we report a simple and universal strategy to realize intrinsically stretchable semiconducting polymers with controlled multi-scale ordering to address this challenge. Specifically, incorporating two types of randomly distributed co-monomer units reduces overall crystallinity and longer-range orders while maintaining short-range ordered aggregates. The resulting polymers maintain high mobility while having much improved stretchability and mechanical reversibility compared with the regular polymer structure with only one type of co-monomer units. Interestingly, the crystalline microstructures are mostly retained even under strain, which may contribute to the improved robustness of our stretchable semiconductors. The proposed molecular design concept is observed to improve the mechanical properties of various p- and n-type conjugated polymers, thus showing the general applicability of our approach. Finally, fully stretchable transistors fabricated with our newly designed stretchable semiconductors exhibit the highest and most stable mobility retention capability under repeated strains of 1,000 cycles. Our general molecular engineering strategy offers a rapid way to develop high mobility stretchable semiconducting polymers. Designing intrinsically stretchable semiconducting polymers with suitable charge transport and mechanical properties required for stretchable electronic devices remains a challenge. Here, the authors report terpolymer-based semiconductors with intrinsically high stretchability and mobility.

Stretchable semiconducting polymers have been developed as a key component to enable skin-like wearable electronics, but their electrical performance must be improved to enable more advanced functionalities. Here, we report a solution processing approach that can achieve multi-scale ordering and alignment of conjugated polymers in stretchable semiconductors to substantially improve their charge carrier mobility. Using solution shearing with a patterned microtrench coating blade, macroscale alignment of conjugated-polymer nanostructures was achieved along the charge transport direction. In conjunction, the nanoscale spatial confinement aligns chain conformation and promotes short-range π–π ordering, substantially reducing the energetic barrier for charge carrier transport. As a result, the mobilities of stretchable conjugated-polymer films have been enhanced up to threefold and maintained under a strain up to 100%. This method may also serve as the basis for large-area manufacturing of stretchable semiconducting films, as demonstrated by the roll-to-roll coating of metre-scale films.Solution shearing of semiconducting polymers with a patterned blade induces improved alignment of the polymeric chains at the nano- and macroscale. This leads to increased charge transport in stretchable, roll-to-roll deposited organic transistors.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) thin-film transistor (TFT) is a promising candidate for flexible and wearable electronics. However, it usually suffers from low semiconducting tube purity, low device yield, and the mismatch between p- and n-type TFTs. Here, we report low-voltage and high-performance digital and analog CNT TFT circuits based on high-yield (19.9%) and ultrahigh purity (99.997%) polymer-sorted semiconducting CNTs. Using high-uniformity deposition and pseudo-CMOS design, we demonstrated CNT TFTs with good uniformity and high performance at low operation voltage of 3 V. We tested forty-four 2-µm channel 5-stage ring oscillators on the same flexible substrate (1,056 TFTs). All worked as expected with gate delays of 42.7 ± 13.1 ns. With these high-performance TFTs, we demonstrated 8-stage shift registers running at 50 kHz and the first tunable-gain amplifier with 1,000 gain at 20 kHz. These results show great potentials of using solution-processed CNT TFTs for large-scale flexible electronics. Carbon nanotube thin-film transistor is promising for solution-processed, large-scale flexible electronics, but the device yields remain poor to date. Lei et al. show low-voltage flexible digital and analog circuits based on high-purity and high-yield separation of semiconducting carbon nanotubes.

Two-dimensional conjugated coordination polymers exhibit remarkable charge transport properties, with copper-based benzenehexathiol (Cu-BHT) being a rare superconductor. However, the atomic structure of Cu-BHT has remained unresolved, hindering a deeper understanding of the superconductivity in such materials. Here, we show the synthesis of single crystals of Cu 3 BHT with high crystallinity, revealing a quasi-two-dimensional kagome structure with non-van der Waals interlayer Cu-S covalent bonds. These crystals exhibit intrinsic metallic behavior, with conductivity reaching 10 3  S/cm at 300 K and 10 4  S/cm at 2 K. Notably, superconductivity in Cu 3 BHT crystals is observed at 0.25 K, attributed to enhanced electron-electron interactions and electron-phonon coupling in the non-van der Waals structure. The discovery of this clear correlation between atomic-level crystal structure and electrical properties provides a crucial foundation for advancing superconductor coordination polymers, with potential to revolutionize future quantum devices. Two-dimensional conjugated coordination polymers can show large electrical conductivity. Here, the authors synthesize high-quality single crystals of Cu 3 BHT to unveil the atomic structure and intrinsic superconducting properties.

Stretchable electronics have seen substantial development in skin-like mechanical properties and functionality thanks to the advancements made in intrinsically stretchable polymer electronic materials. Nanoscale phase separation of polymer materials within an elastic matrix to form one-dimensional nanostructures, namely nanoconfinement, effectively reduces conformational disorders that have long impeded charge transport properties of conjugated polymers. Nanoconfinement results in enhanced charge transport and the addition of skin-like properties. In this Outlook, we highlight the current understanding of structure–property relationships for intrinsically stretchable electronic materials with a focus on the nanoconfinement strategy as a promising approach to incorporate skin-like properties and other functionalities without compromising charge transport. We outline emerging directions and challenges for intrinsically stretchable electronic materials with the aim of constructing skin-like electronic systems.

Stretchable polymer semiconductors (PSCs) have seen great advancements alongside the development of soft electronics. But it remains a challenge to simultaneously achieve high charge carrier mobility and stretchability. Herein, we report the finding that stretchable PSC thin films (<100-nm-thick) with high stretchability tend to exhibit multi-modal energy dissipation mechanisms and have a large relative stretchability ( rS ) defined by the ratio of the entropic energy dissipation to the enthalpic energy dissipation under strain. They effectively recovered the original molecular ordering, as well as electrical performance, after strain was released. The highest rS value with a model polymer (P4) exhibited an average charge carrier mobility of 0.2 cm 2 V −1 s −1 under 100% biaxial strain, while PSCs with low rS values showed irreversible morphology changes and rapid degradation of electrical performance under strain. These results suggest rS can be used as a parameter to compare the reliability and reversibility of stretchable PSC thin films. Stretchable polymer semiconductors with high mechanical and electrical properties are challenging to develop. Wu et al. show that reversible molecular ordering under strain important for performance optimization and relative stretchability can be used to compare the relative strain tolerance of materials.

The strategic utilization of earth-abundant transition metals in catalysis has emerged as a trans-formative movement in advancing of synthetic chemistry. Despite notable progress, the potential of leveraging diverse geometric configurations of these catalysts to achieve divergent synthesis remains largely untapped. In this work, we present a stereodivergent three-component borylfunctionalization of alkynes, enabled by ligand-modulated geometric variations in nickel catalysts. This approach provides a versa-tile platform for the stereodivergent synthesis of two classes of valuable polysubstituted alkene building blocks, a challenging feat in organic synthesis. Its practical utility is showcased by the rapid construction of biologically relevant molecules. Mechanistic studies support that different geometric configurations of nickel catalysts display distinct reactivity during key reaction steps, leading to the observed stereochemical outcomes. The potential of leveraging diverse geometric configurations of the catalysts to achieve divergent synthesis remains largely untapped. Here, the authors report a stereodivergent three-component borylfunctionalization of alkynes, enabled by ligand-modulated geometric variations in nickel catalysts.

High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is a gynaecological malignancy that is often fatal. Poor prognosis of HGSOC patients is primarily attributed to concealed initial symptoms, diagnostic challenges, postsurgical recurrence , and chemoresistance. Distinct programmed cell death (PCD) patterns play a pivotal role in tumour progression, serving as valuable predictors for postoperative intervention outcomes in HGSOC. Additionally, they provide insights into HGSOC’s pathogenesis and the exploration of immunomodulatory therapeutic mechanisms. Transcriptome and clinical data were collected from TCGA-OV and the GSE26193 databases. We constructed an ovarian carcinoma death score intervention model using eight genes and machine learning algorithms based on 13 PCD modes (apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, cuproptosis, ferroptosis,entotic cell death, netotic cell death, parthanatos, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy, alkaliptosis, oxeiptosis, and disulfidptosis). Three molecular subtypes of HGSOC with different biological processes were identified using unsupervised clustering models. A nomogram was constructed by combining the cell death index (CDI) with clinical features, which exhibited high predictive performance. The correlation between CDI and immune checkpoint genes, components within the tumour microenvironment, and drug therapy sensitivity was analysed. After multiple dataset validation, the prognosis of HGSOC patients with high CDI was relatively poor. CDI and immune checkpoint genes were related to components of the tumour microenvironment. Patients with HGSOC and high CDI may have resistance to standard adjuvant therapy; therefore, targeting these genes could be a potential therapeutic strategy. Finally, we found that our model had better predictive ability than published models. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of 13 PCD patterns and established a novel CDI model, which can evaluate the prognosis of HGSOC and provide a theoretical basis for its clinical treatment.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and is characterized by the presence of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and defective autophagy in the brain, which is believed to cause neuronal dysfunction. By using APP/PS1 transgenic AD mice, we investigated the influence of orientin (Ori) on cognitive function and its underlying mechanisms in AD models. Our data indicated that Ori improved spatial learning and memory in APP/PS1 mice, possibly through decreasing brain Aβ deposition and attenuating autophagy impairment. Ori decreased the LC3-II/I ratio, p62 and cathepsin D (Ctsd) protein levels and the number of autolysosomes, whereas the protein levels of Ulk1 and Beclin-1 were no different between the control and treatment groups, indicating increased autolysosome clearance and thus a decreased Aβ burden in the brain. Our results showed that Ori could enhance autolysosome clearance, decrease brain Aβ deposition and improve learning and memory in AD mice.