Volume 3 Issue 4, April 2026

Lignin valorization into polymers has traditionally followed two extremes: depolymerization into discrete aromatic monomers followed by downstream reconstruction, or the direct use of lignin in its irregular macromolecular form. Now, a more practical transformation scale emerges, lignin oligomers, which strikes a balance between molecular definability and preservation of useful native connectivity.

A machine-learning-powered framework, CARE, enables the automated generation of reaction networks in heterogeneous catalysis. Integrating tasks routinely handled by computational scientists, CARE facilitates the fast prediction of experimental reaction rates and the elucidation of reaction mechanisms, enabling the systematic study of previously inaccessible processes.

High-throughput production of uniform nanocarriers could drive biomedical breakthroughs, but remains challenging. Now an approach based on robust, scalable self-nanoemulsification driven by non-equilibrium surfactant partitioning is developed to synthesize diverse uniform nanocarriers at a rate of up to 5 l min⁻¹.

The selectivity–conductivity trade-off limits the performance of ion-exchange membranes. Now, a hydrogen-molecule-mediated proton-exchange membrane is developed that uses indirect proton transfer via hydrogen evolution and oxidation. This approach eliminates ionic crossover while maintaining low resistance, as demonstrated in a pH-decoupled rechargeable battery and an electrochemical stack for acid–base generation.

This study harnesses reductive catalytic fractionation to produce lignin oligomers within a design space that enables efficient epoxidation. The developed epoxidation process activates aliphatic hydroxyl groups, yielding low-viscosity lignin epoxy resins with high functionality that form thermosets with near-benchmark properties while offering improved biomass-to-resin yield and sustainability.

This study presents a micro-space transformation process for scalable, high-performance ZIF-8 membranes. This method overcomes scalability barriers, enabling more sustainable and efficient membrane synthesis for propylene/propane separation, offering a cost-effective alternative to energy-intensive olefin separation processes.

This study reports an alkaline polymer layer-coated proton-exchange-membrane electrolyzer that enables the co-electrolysis of CO₂ and pure water, mitigating salt precipitation and carbon loss. By using an ionomer with a high ion-exchange capacity to optimize the interfacial environment, the system achieves high CO Faradaic efficiency and operational stability, including in scaled-up demonstrations.

Ionuț Farcaș and Karen Willcox discuss how reduced-order models open new paths for simulating complex physics by compressing days of computation into seconds.