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The sluggish hydrogen oxidation reaction hinders the development of anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Here, the authors develop high-curvature RuIr CNCs that induce an O-down water orientation, thereby strengthening hydrogen-bond networks and reducing proton transfer barriers.

The electrooxidation of ethylene to ethylene glycol (EG) offers a sustainable pathway for chemical manufacturing, but demands selective non-precious-metal electrocatalysts. Here, the authors report a class of (111)-rich Mn₂O₃ nanoarray electrode, which achieves a high selectivity of 52.6% for for ethylene-to-EG conversion in aqueous electrolytes.

A new artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek-R1, is introduced, demonstrating that the reasoning abilities of large language models can be incentivized through pure reinforcement learning, removing the need for human-annotated demonstrations.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ over copper can be made highly selective by ‘tuning’ the copper surface with adsorbed organic molecules to stabilize intermediates for carbon-based fuels such as ethylene

Breaking the symmetry of high-entropy alloy surfaces for delicate strain tuning is highly appealing for electrocatalysis. Herein, high-entropy alloy nanorings with stress-release-driven compressive strain at stepped defects are reported for efficient oxygen reduction reaction.

Copper-based catalysts are preferred for electrochemical CO₂ reduction to hydrocarbons, which however easily undergo structural reconstruction. Here, the authors report a class of reconstruction-resistant copper sites with tunable electronic structures through σ-π dative bonding interaction.

Dual-atom catalysts have the potential to accelerate the reaction kinetics of polysulfide conversion. Here, authors design a Ga-Cd diatomic catalyst that efficiently facilitates the conversion of solid-phase potassium polysulfides via strong orbital electron coupling of p-block Ga and d-block Cd, enabling high-performance K-S batteries.

A fuzzy sequencer can exceed the current limit of information efficiency of DNA sequencers for resequencing applications.

Producing ethanol from carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity offers a route to sustainable energy. Here, the authors enhance electrocatalytic activity for carbon dioxide reduction by tuning adsorbed hydrogen in a class of copper catalysts with oxide- and hydroxide-modified surfaces.

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into high-value products is attractive for lowering net carbon emissions. Lee et al. present the valorization of chemisorbed CO₂ to CO in an aqueous monoethanolamine electrolyte via tailoring of the electrochemical double layer, with 72% Faradaic efficiency at 50 mA cm^–2.

Developing robust catalysts for proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers is essential for industrial applications. Here, the authors report a Pb-RuO₂ catalyst that uses large-sized Pb to reduce the reactivity of lattice oxygen, enhancing stability and allowing it to operate for over 1100 h.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells face challenges like low efficiency and degradation from Nafion ionomers. Here, the authors report a core/shell nanoparticle design with a Pt₃Fe core and an atomically-thin, porous N-doped carbon shell that reduces ionomer poisoning and improves fuel cells performance.

Atomically thin alloys are promising electrocatalysts but suffer from poor homogeneity. Here a multi-element metallene system is synthesized using an auto-catalytic method. The hexagonal close-packed intermetallic structure and isolated surface Ru–O₃ sites provide optimal adsorption of intermediates, contributing to high hydrogen oxidation activity and stability.

Turing-structured topology electrocatalysts are reported to control the reorientation of interfacial water through the tuning of surface oxophilicity. The optimal Turing catalyst achieves a formate Faradaic efficiency of 92.0% at 1,000 mA cm⁻².

While the metabolic benefits of physical exercise are well known, it is less clear whether exercise can prevent cardiac damage in diet-induced obesity. Here, the authors show that while exercise prevented weight gain in mice, it surprisingly worsened heart damage due to excessive lipid uptake and lipotoxicity.

Although structurally ordered intermetallic nanocrystals are promising electrocatalysts for fuel cells, their high-temperature large-scale preparation has proved challenging. A low-melting-point-metal-induced bond strength weakening strategy to promote alloy catalyst ordering is now proposed.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising photocatalysts for the direct photosynthesis of H₂O₂, but their symmetric structure can lead to weak O₂ adsorption. Now thiophene sulfur atoms are introduced into COFs to induce local asymmetric electron distributions, which enhance the O₂ adsorption capacity and interaction of the COFs, promoting direct photosynthesis of H₂O₂.

Developing highly efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts is crucial for AEMWEs. Here, the authors employ electron-deficient and oxophilic Ga single atoms as an electronic bridge to stabilize Ru clusters in an N-doped carbon-supported catalyst.

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into liquid fuels, powered by renewable electricity, offers one means to address the need for the storage of intermittent renewable energy. Now, Sargent and co-workers present a cooperative catalyst design of molecule–metal interfaces to improve the electrosynthesis of ethanol from CO₂ by producing a reaction-intermediate-rich local environment.

Building an efficient proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzer with low Ir loading remains important but challenging. Here, the authors report an Ir/MnO_x catalyst with rich Ir-O-Mn bonds that serve as charge-transfer channels to generate and stabilize active Ir³⁺ species, enhancing both activity and stability.

Converting CO2 and H2O into value-added chemical feedstocks and fuels offers a carbon neutral approach to tackling global energy and climate concerns. Here the authors report a metal supported single-atom catalytic site enabling the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methane.

Atomically precise modification of high-entropy alloys is highly appealing for electrocatalysis. Here, the authors design single-atom Mo-tailored high-entropy alloy nanosheets with dilute Pt-Pt ensembles and intrinsic tensile strain for promoting methanol electro-oxidation towards formate.

Lack of stability in RuO₂-based catalysts at industrial currents impedes their use in green hydrogen production. Here, the authors show that incorporating lanthanide elements into RuO_x shields against external factors, enabling fine-tuned Ru-O covalency for durable oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis.

CO₂-to-ethylene conversion using renewable electricity provides a sustainable route to produce valuable chemicals. Here, the authors report high ethylene activity of 215 mA cm⁻² and selectivity of 65% made possible by silica clusters in copper.

Ethylene glycol is a commodity chemical with an annual consumption of 20 million tonnes. Its production generates 1.6 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of ethylene glycol. To reduce these CO₂ emissions, the authors report a one-step electrochemical route to selectively convert ethylene to ethylene glycol at ambient temperature and pressure in aqueous media.

The electrocatalytic upgrading of CO to higher-value fuels provides a promising route to multi-carbon alcohol products. Here, the authors show that high alcohol selectivity and activity can be achieved by incorporating palladium in copper.

Copper is unique among CO₂ electrocatalysts owing to its ability to produce multicarbon products at high rates; however, achieving selectivity for specific products remains challenging. Here, Cu surfaces decorated with alkaline earth metal oxides are found to strongly favour alcohols over hydrocarbons.

The electroreduction of CO₂ to ethanol could enable the clean production of fuels using renewable power. This study shows how confinement effects from nitrogen-doped carbon layers on copper catalysts enable selective ethanol production from CO₂ with a Faradaic efficiency of up to 52%.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to multicarbon products is useful for producing high-value chemicals and fuels. Here the authors present a strategy that is based on the in situ electrodeposition of copper under CO₂ reduction conditions that preferentially expose and maintain Cu(100) facets, which favour the formation of C₂₊ products.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a crucial role in regulating tumour growth, local neuronal damage, and the progression of depression in a mouse model of colorectal cancer comorbidity.

While single-atom catalysis offers an efficient materials usage, the ambiguous interactions with supports poses a difficulty in understanding catalytic performances. Here, authors show an ensemble effect via synergy of Co adatoms and the S of MoS₂ supports to boost hydrogen evolution activities.

PdMo bimetallene, a highly curved and sub-nanometre-thick nanosheet of a palladium–molybdenum alloy, is an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions under alkaline conditions.

A direct search for effective electromagnetic interactions between dark matter and xenon nuclei that produce a recoil of the latter is carried out and the first constraint on charge radius of dark matter is derived.

Tuning the surface strain in multimetallic nanomaterials represents an effective strategy to improve their electrocatalytic properties. In this Review, using the oxygen reduction reaction as a model, the underlying relationship between surface strain and catalytic activity is discussed, along with the introduction, tuning and quantification of strain in nanocatalysts.