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The development of sustainable water oxidation catalysts is crucial for hydrogen production, yet cobalt-based materials often suffer from instability. Here, the authors report that co-doping LiCoO₂ with nickel, iron, and palladium yields a durable electrode with stability of over 2,000 hours.

Chiral aliphatic amine and alcohol derivatives are difficult to access due to the challenge to differentiate between spatially and electronically similar alkyl groups. Here the authors show a nickel-catalyzed enantioselective hydroalkylation of acyl enamines and enol esters with alkyl halides to afford enantioenriched α-branched aliphatic acyl amines and esters in good yields with excellent enantioselectivity.

The synthesis of regio- and stereo-defined alkenes with multiple alkyl substituents is an unmet challenge. Here, the authors report a nickel-catalyzed intermolecular cross-dialkylation of alkynes devoid of directing or activating groups to afford multiple aliphatic substituted alkenes in a syn-selective fashion.

An integrated photonics scheme is presented for the manufacture of communication systems supporting the use of fibre and wireless infrastructures simultaneously, addressing the long-standing bandwidth mismatch between the two domains and demonstrating ultrahigh data rates.

Samarium Cobalt-based magnets are a vitally important industrial magnet, and significant effort has been devoted to trying to improve the performance and reduce the cost through the addition of Fe. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of phase stability. Here, Wang et al show through careful choice of composition, a Samarium Cobalt permanent magnet with an ultrahigh coercivity of 6.71 MA/m.

A universal design strategy for nanograined metals aimed at utilizing oxygen nanoclustering to achieve the highly desired combination of high strength and large deformability that evades inverse Hall-Petch softening.

EuCo₂Al₉ is identified as a metallic spin supersolid with high thermal conductivity, exhibiting coexisting spin orders, strong quantum fluctuations and a giant magnetocaloric effect enabling efficient sub-Kelvin refrigeration.

Electrocatalysts with improved activity and stability for the conversion of CO₂ to CO are being sought. Using operando spectroscopies, the authors identify atomically dispersed Ni(i) as the active site in a nitrogenated-graphene-supported catalyst with high intrinsic activity and stability over 100 hours.

Lattice-oxygen redox is pivotal for high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. Here, LiNiO₂, a unary 3d-transition metal oxide catalyst, exhibits superefficient activity during the OER due to the creation of double O 2p holes states, according to operando XAS, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy observations.

Whether amorphous-amorphous interfaces constitute separate phases requires clarification. This study reports a Pd₄₀Ni₄₀P₂₀ bulk granular nanostructured glass with an interfacial structural-compositional rearrangement.

While dry reforming of methane, the reaction of CH₄ and CO₂ to create CO and H₂, is a promising reaction for industry, coke buildup often deactivates catalysts and limits commercialization. Here, authors report single-atom nickel on Ce-doped hydroxyapatite as a coke-resistant catalyst.

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in acidic conditions offers high utilization but is hindered by competing hydrogen evolution. Here, the authors demonstrate a nickel-based catalyst that regulates interfacial water, enabling efficient and durable CO₂ conversion to CO.

Urea oxidation could be a lower-energy alternative to water oxidation in hydrogen-producing electrolysers, but improved catalysts are required to facilitate the reaction. Geng et al. report nickel ferrocyanide as a promising catalyst and suggest that it operates via a different pathway to that of previous materials.

Intramolecular coupling of extended biphen[n]arenes is developed to yield cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs). The modular nature of biphen[n]arenes makes it possible to customize CPP structures, which permits tuning of their photophysical properties. The syntheses are short and excellent yields are achieved. Moreover, postsynthetic functionalization is possible.

The instability of conventional lithium salts poses a challenge for next-generation batteries. Here, the authors introduce LiDFTFB, a new salt that exhibits improved stability and enables high-energy batteries to retain 81.7% capacity after 650 cycles at 50°C.

K11/K48 branched ubiquitin chains regulate protein degradation and cell cycle progression. Here, the authors report the structural basis of how such a branched ubiquitin chain is recognized by the human 26S proteasome, revealing a multivalent binding mode that underlies selective recognition.

Achieving directional ion transport in thin membranes is desirable yet challenging. Here, authors demonstrate an ultrathin ferroelectric single-pore membrane that enables polarization-driven ion rectification and hysteretic responses under pH stimuli.

Achieving selective and precise modification of macromolecules under biocompatible conditions (such as aqueous solutions, mild temperatures, and neutral pH) remains a significant technical challenge. Here, the authors develop a photoinduced coupling reaction based on N-hydroxy naphthalimide esters, which is effective in biologically relevant conditions.

Effective development of rechargeable lithium-based batteries requires fast-charging electrode materials. Here, the authors report entropy-increased LiMn₂O₄-based positive electrodes for fast-charging non-aqueous Li metal batteries.

Polymerization-driven removal of pollutants in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) allows for sustainable contamination abatement and resource recovery. Here, authors achieved pollutant removal via complete polymerization by tailoring d-band center of high-valent metal-oxo species.

Nanofiltration membranes with high selectivity for Li⁺ are crucial to address the global lithium shortage. However, the conventional membranes often have low Li⁺ penetration and permeability due to electrostatic shielding, making practical applications challenging. Here the authors report a membrane modified with a quaternary ammonium electrolyte for enhancing selectivity.

The mechanical properties of inorganic solid electrolytes for Li batteries are typically characterised by a high Young’s modulus above 15 GPa and hardness above 1 GPa. Here, authors develop a cost-effective and mechanically compliant inorganic solid electrolyte, with reduced Young’s modulus and hardness of 1.41 and 0.22 GPa, respectively, for practical all-solid-state Li batteries.

Precipitation enables the straightforward production of a variety of inorganic materials, but the rapid reaction rates involved typically make controlling their morphologies difficult. Now, the growth of either one-, two- or three-dimensional materials has been promoted by tuning of the reactants’ electrolytic dissociation and solution supersaturation, without the need for capping agents and templates.

Synthesizing functionalized polyethylenes via ethylene coordination copolymerization using vinyl polar monomers is challenging. Here, the authors present an approach utilizing binuclear Ni catalysis for ethylene/acrylamide copolymerization to synthesize cyano-functionalized polyethylenes.

The practical application of sodium-ion batteries at subzero temperatures is hindered by the slow Na-ion transfer kinetics. Here, the authors reported the niobium doping of P2-type cathode active material capable of efficient battery cycling at low temperatures such as −40 °C.

Dissection of the physiological interactomes of histone post-translational modifications is crucial for understanding epigenetic regulatory pathways. Here, authors develop a nucleus-targeting histone-tail-based photoaffinity probe capable of profiling the hPTM-mediated interactomes in native cells.

Designing high performing low-cost nanomaterials for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains challenging. Here, the authors report a volcano-shape correlation between HER activity and cobalt atomic configuration in single-atom doped CoSe2-DETA (DETA = diethylenetriamine) nanobelts toward achieving high performance.

China’s power system decarbonization may cause material constraints for gallium, terbium, germanium, tellurium, indium, uranium and copper. Adjusting sub-technology market shares of solar photovoltaic and wind power greatly affects such constraints.

A reinforcement learning-based virtual reality system, implementing a series of sport sessions with coaching, was as effective as standard physical activity in reducing fat mass in adolescents, with positive effects on cognition.

Great efforts have been devoted to the development of chemiluminescence systems that emit light with high intensity over long periods of time. Here the authors show, firefly-mimicking intensive and long-lasting chemiluminescence hydrogels consisting of chitosan, N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol (ABEI) and catalyst Co²⁺.

Viruses such as EBV use various mechanisms to avoid antiviral responses. Here the authors propose that the EBV protein BRRF2 is secreted via extracellular vesicles from NPC cells, disrupts the cGAS-STING pathway, reduces cGAS-DNA phase separation and the subsequent antiviral response.

The authors identify an ideal thermoelectric barrier layer by exploiting distinct chemical reaction activities and diffusion behaviors during sintering and operation, achieving 11% module efficiency at 723 K with enhanced long-term stability.

An in vivo selection system based on the toxicity regulation of the N-terminal domain of gasdermin D and evolution of tobacco etch virus protease (TEVp) has been developed. The method enables development of a TEVp capable of precise cleavage of specific sequences on target proteins.

Tetrahydropyridines are vital scaffolds, yet regio- and site-selective assembly is hard. This work delivers a mild CoH-mediated reductive hydroarylation of pyridinium salts, enabling site-divergent arylation to access diverse tetrahydropyridines.

Zaman, Yang and Huang et al. demonstrate MDK’s suppressive effect on amyloid-β and its impact on amyloid burden and microglial activation in Alzheimer disease mice, highlighting its protective role in pathogenesis.

RNA-targeted degradation holds therapeutic potential but still needs more efficient tools. Here, authors develop dCasCMA, a platform that combines CRISPR targeting with a cellular degradation mechanism to efficiently degrade specific RNAs in live cells and in vivo, enabling multi-target therapies.

Solid-state lithium batteries typically utilize heterogeneous composite cathodes with conductive additives, which limit energy density and cycle life. Here the authors present a cathode material that exhibits efficient mixed conduction and near-zero volume change during cycling, thereby improving battery performance.

Cost-effective carbon is inherently selective for O₂-to-H₂O₂ conversion, yet challenged by insufficient activity and unclear active site identification. Here, the authors report surface-engineered carbon quantum dots that elucidate the active motifs and achieve high-rate H₂O₂ electrosynthesis.

Nonstoichiometric transition metal dichalcogenides break symmetry, enabling piezo/ferroelectric effects. Here, the authors propose an approach to integrate these properties with diverse 2D materials, advancing multifunctional materials and devices.

The regulatory mechanisms of PD-L1 posttranslational modifications are not completely understood. Here the authors show that USP8 negatively regulates PD-L1 protein abundance by removing the K63-linked ubiquitination of PD-L1; while USP8 inhibition increases MHC-I expression and triggers anti-tumour immune responses through activating NF-κB signalling.

The oxidative intermolecular amination of C-H bonds represents a straightforward method to construct aliphatic allylic amines. However, the utilization of widely available internal alkenes remains a synthetic challenge. Here, the authors present a regioselective Cu-catalyzed oxidative allylic C-H amination of internal olefins with azodiformates.

3,3,3-Trifluoropropene is a cost-efficient precursor for the preparation of trifluoromethylated compounds, but limited methods for its efficient transformation have been reported. Here, nickel-catalyzed alkyl-arylation of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene with tertiary alkyl iodides and arylzinc reagents is achieved with high efficiency.

A biomimetic electrochemical eye is presented that has a hemispherical retina made from a high-density array of perovskite nanowires that are sensitive to light, mimicking the photoreceptors of a biological retina.

Metastasis-associated recurrence is a major cause of poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, the authors show that expression of choroideremia-like (CHML) is elevated and associates with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, and mechanistically CHML promotes metastasis in a Rab14-dependent manner.

The Duf4243 dioxygenases GedK and BTG13 are known to catalyze the aromatic cleavage of bulky tricyclic hydroquinone. Here, the authors discover a distinct Duf4243 dioxygenase PaD that favors small monocyclic hydroquinones from the penicillic-acid biosynthetic pathway and determine the structural basis for its changed substrate specificity.

The development of superior and cost-effective catalysts for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions is pivotal for the future hydrogen economy. Now a series of Ru-modified Li₂MnO₃ catalysts have been designed to optimize the electronic structure and achieve a high performance in both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, as demonstrated in practical anion exchange membrane fuel cell and water electrolyser tests.