Articles

Biomolecular condensates have emerged as a promising strategy to control metabolic reactions in living cells. Here the authors use mathematical modeling to uncover the key physical parameters that govern the outcomes of metabolic reactions modulated by condensates. These governing principles are then demonstrated experimentally by modulating the biosynthesis of metabolites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Plastic additives can hinder the mechanical recycling of plastics; a similar issue arises in chemical deconstruction, where plastic additives can deactivate catalysts. Here the authors compare hydroconversion and catalytic pyrolysis to identify specific criteria needed to mitigate the effects organic additives on the deconstruction of polyolefins.

Existing lithium-ion battery recycling methods often involve energy-, chemical- and/or waste-intensive processes. Here, the authors develop an electrochemical method for lithium-ion battery recycling based on a porous solid electrolyte reactor, enabling efficient reuse of valuable materials in spent cathodes, with high lithium and transition metal recovery efficiency and low energy consumption.

Upgrading biogas to valuable solid carbon can potentially lead to negative CO₂ emissions with long-term carbon storage but faces substantial thermodynamic and kinetic limits using a single reactor. Tandem strategies can decouple reactions into tandem reactors, integrate non-equilibrium processes and identify synergistic catalytic sites to enhance carbon nanofiber production.

This study reports on biologically sourced polymuconate polymers with weakened C–C backbone bonds, designed for closed-loop chemical recycling to monomers. Synthesized via free-radical polymerization, these materials achieve tunable mechanical properties comparable to those of commercial plastics. A techno-economic analysis shows that recycling significantly reduces costs and environmental impacts, enhancing the competitiveness of these polymers in the sustainable plastics market.

Glucose uptake is the initial step in cellular metabolism, and its uptake rate directly determines the overall metabolic flow. Here the authors develop a set of programmable bifunctional biosensors for real-time monitoring of glucose uptake rates and dynamic dual control of glucose uptake and central metabolism.

Platinum nanoclusters comprising about ten atoms each made by reducing isolated platinum cations in CeO_x nests isolated on high-area silica are demonstrated. Two forms of platinum were reversibly interconverted by oxidation/reduction, remaining stably confined to the nests even under severe conditions, in H₂ at 600 °C and under atmospheric pressure.

Forward-biased bipolar membranes (FB-BPMs), which recover potential from pH gradients through ion–ion recombination, show promise for application in sustainable devices. The authors use physics-based modeling to elucidate how ion-specific phenomena dictate performance, reveal how selective ion management can mitigate energy losses and provide insights into the rational design of next-generation FB-BPMs.

In an aqueous quinone-mediated system, both pH swing and nucleophilicity swing mechanisms contribute to CO₂ capture, but traditional measurement methods report only the combined contributions, without quantifying their relative contributions. Here the authors introduce thermodynamic and kinetic analyses coupled with two in situ experimental techniques to quantify the contributions of these mechanisms.

This study reports the preparation of degradable poly(β-amino ester) microparticles as a promising replacement for nondegradable microplastics in cleansing products and food fortification, demonstrating effective cleansing, toxic element removal and robust nutrient protection with efficient release.

Preventing freezing droplet accretion on surfaces is practically important, yet challenging. Leveraging the water volume expansion during the freezing process, a structured elastic surface with spring-like pillars and wetting contrast is reported, which renders the spontaneous ejection of freezing water droplets, regardless of their impacting locations.

Biosynthesis of aromatic esters is challenged by unclear natural pathways and low efficiency. This study presents a bacterial platform for efficient production, using systematic engineering strategies including enzyme identification, reshaping enzyme tunnels and automating cellular resource allocation to enhance output.

A multistep stretch–relaxation process is used to produce critically thin polyethylene films. Several key physical properties of the polyethylene films are presented, and their potential applications in nuclear fusion and epidermal sensing are highlighted.

The development of tiny, soft and biocompatible batteries to power minimally invasive biomedical devices is of critical importance. Here the authors present a microscale soft rechargeable lithium-ion battery based on the lipid-supported assembly of silk hydrogel droplets that enables a variety of biomedical applications.

This study develops a liquid-gating topological gradient microfluidics device that generates finely tuned microbubbles in a functional liquid in a high-throughput manner for air purification in different scenarios.

Metal recycling plays a crucial role in mitigating the shortage of critical metals. Here the authors develop an electrothermal chlorination process incorporating direct electric heating into chlorination metallurgy for rapid and selective recovery of metals that are critical in electronics.

Low-temperature CO₂ methanation processes have potential for improved energy efficiency due to high equilibrium conversion but are generally limited by poor catalyst activity. Here the authors report an inverse CeZrO_x/Ni catalyst that realizes high low-temperature (200 °C) methanation activity at ambient pressure.

Gene therapies and cellular programming rely on effective cell transfection. Here it is shown that optimizing the viscosity of cell culture media to match that of biological fluids substantially enhances the transfection efficiency for various gene delivery vehicles across different cell types.

The fundamental thermodynamic principles of sulfur redox reactions in Li–S batteries are not fully understood. A ternary phase diagram is obtained after equilibrium between sulfur, lithium sulfide and dissolved polysulfides, which accurately describes the system evolution and predicts the behavior of Li–S batteries at an arbitrary given state.

Upcycling end-of-life tire waste is complex due to the recalcitrant nature of the toxic legacy additive, 6PPD. Here the authors present a new decontamination strategy that can isolate 6PPD, convert it to safe and valuable products, and valorize end-of-life tire waste.