Aerogels are ultra-lightweight, porous materials defined by a complex network of interconnected pores and nanostructures, which effectively suppress heat transfer, making them exceptional for thermal insulation. Furthermore, their porous architecture can trap and scatter light via multiple internal reflections, extending the optical path within the material. When combined with suitable light-absorbing materials, this feature significantly enhances light absorption (darkness). To validate this concept, mesoporous silica aerogel particles were incorporated into a resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) sol, and the silica-to-RF ratio was optimized to achieve uniform carbon compound coatings on the silica pore walls. Notably, increasing silica loading raised the sol viscosity, enabling formulations ideal for direct ink writing processes with excellent shape fidelity for super-black topographical designs. The printed silica–RF green bodies exhibited remarkable mechanical strength and ultra-low thermal conductivity (15.8 mW m^–1 K^–1) prior to pyrolysis. Following pyrolysis, the composites maintained structural integrity and printed microcellular geometries while achieving super-black coloration (abs. 99.56% in the 280–2500 nm range) and high photothermal conversion efficiency (94.2%). Additionally, these silica–carbon aerogel microcellulars demonstrated stable electrical conductivity and low electrochemical impedance. The synergistic combination of 3D printability and super-black photothermal features makes these composites highly versatile for multifunctional applications, including on-demand thermal management, and efficient solar-driven water production.

The discovery of superconductivity in nickel oxides has opened up new directions for high-temperature superconductivity research. This article reviews recent advances in the field, covering multiple nickel oxide systems, including structures such as infinite-layer LaNiO₂, bilayer La₃Ni₂O₇, and trilayer La₄Ni₃O₁₀. It begins by introducing the superconducting properties of the hole-doped LaNiO₂ system, which marked the starting point of nickel-based superconductivity; then focuses on the superconducting behavior of La₃Ni₂O₇ under high-pressure conditions and in thin-film form; and further discusses research on La₄Ni₃O₁₀ and other multilayer nickel oxides. Throughout the review, the authors examine emerging trends, key challenges, and unresolved open questions in the field. Finally, the article summarizes current limitations in material synthesis and characterization, and outlines potential future developments that may help reveal the underlying superconducting mechanisms.

Since the first design of tactile sensors was proposed by Harmon in 1982, tactile sensors have evolved through four key phases: industrial applications (1980s, basic pressure detection), miniaturization via MEMS (1990s), flexible electronics (2010s, stretchable materials), and intelligent systems (2020s-present, AI-driven multimodal sensing). With the innovation of material, processing techniques, and multimodal fusion of stimuli, the application of tactile sensors has been continuously expanding to a diversity of areas, including but not limited to medical care, aerospace, sports and intelligent robots. Currently, researchers are dedicated to develop tactile sensors with emerging mechanisms and structures, pursuing high-sensitivity, high-resolution, and multimodal characteristics and further constructing tactile systems which imitate and approach the performance of human organs. However, challenges in the combination between the theoretical research and the practical applications are still significant. There is a lack of comprehensive understanding in the state of the art of such knowledge transferring from academic work to technical products. Scaled-up production of laboratory materials faces fatal challenges like high costs, small scale, and inconsistent quality. Ambient factors, such as temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference, also impair signal reliability. Moreover, tactile sensors must operate across a wide pressure range (0.1 kPa to several or even dozens of MPa) to meet diverse application needs. Meanwhile, the existing algorithms, data models and sensing systems commonly reveal insufficient precision as well as undesired robustness in data processing, and there is a realistic gap between the designed and the demanded system response speed. In this review, oriented by the design requirements of intelligent tactile sensing systems, we summarize the common sensing mechanisms, inspired structures, key performance, and optimizing strategies, followed by a brief overview of the recent advances in the perspectives of system integration and algorithm implementation, and the possible roadmap of future development of tactile sensors, providing a forward-looking as well as critical discussions in the future industrial applications of flexible tactile sensors.

A new study published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences reveals that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) plays a dominant role in driving interdecadal changes of compound hot drought events in Northern East Asia. By analyzing observational datasets and conducting climate model experiments, researchers demonstrate that AMO-induced Rossby wave trains modulate the subtropical westerly jet, leading to decades-long fluctuations in heat and drought risks across the region. The findings offer critical insights for improving decadal climate prediction and disaster preparedness.

On 8:00 PM (EST) November 6, 2025, leading scientists from across the globe will gather online for the Extreme Manufacturing Webinar Series: “Additive Manufacturing and the 21st Century Industrial Revolution.” The event brings together four pioneering researchers whose work is pushing the boundaries of what can be made—and how fast, sustainable, and intelligent manufacturing can become.

Research teams from Lanzhou University, Shandong University of Technology, University of California, Irvine, and Hanyang University have published a comprehensive review on solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) for next-generation solid-state batteries. Their study, recently accepted in Materials Futures, explores the safety, flexibility, and scalable processability of SPEs, and illustrates how molecular design enables tunable ion-conduction pathways, stable electrode contact, and large-scale manufacturability. Key topics covered include ion-transport mechanisms, polymer chemistry strategies, inorganic filler engineering, and future research directions.

Rechargeable aqueous metal-ion batteries are promising alternative energy storage devices in the post-lithium-ion era due to their inherent safety and environmental compatibility. Among them, aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) stand out as next-generation energy storage systems, offering low cost, high safety, and eco-friendliness. Nevertheless, the instability of Zn metal anodes, manifested as Zn dendrite growth, interfacial side reactions, and hydrogen (H2) evolution, remains a major obstacle to commercialization. To address these challenges, extensive research has been conducted to understand and mitigate these issues. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in Zn anode stabilization strategies, including artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers, structural optimization, electrolyte modification, and bioinspired designs. These approaches collectively aim to achieve uniform Zn deposition, suppress parasitic reactions, and enhance cycling stability. Furthermore, it critically evaluates the advantages and feasibility of different strategies, discuss potential synergistic effects of multi-strategy integration, and provide perspectives for future research directions.

The presence of alkaline earth metal ions in biodiesel can exacerbate engine wear, impair fuel oxidation stability, and substantially reduce combustion efficiency. Improving the quality of biodiesel is therefore crucial for promoting its adoption as a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels. This study investigates the removal of alkaline earth metal calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) from Jatropha biodiesel using four amino polycarboxylate chelating agents: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), 1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA), and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-ethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA). The results showed that CDTA demonstrated the highest removal efficiency and selectivity for Ca2+ and Mg2+ among the four chelating agents, resulting in removal rates of 98.6% and 94.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the oxidative stability of biodiesel, measured as induction period, increased from 3.38 to 8.31 h after treatment with EDTA solution and reached a maximum of 8.68 h after treatment with CDTA. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to analyze Mulliken charges, electrostatic potential, frontier molecular orbitals, and interaction energies. The results indicate that the four chelating agents form cyclic structure complexes by simultaneously coordinating with a metal ion through multiple coordination atoms (N atom in amino group and O atom in carboxyl group). CDTA has the strongest interaction energies with Ca2+ and Mg2+, calculated at −826 and −915 kcal/mol, respectively, corroborating its superior chelation performance.

This study presents a specialized Electronic Probe Computer (EPC60) designed to efficiently address NP-complete problems—computational challenges that become increasingly complex as their size grows. The EPC60 system, constructed with 60 fully customized FPGA-based probe computing cards, utilizes a hybrid serial-parallel computational model along with seven fully parallel probe operators. In tests conducted on large-scale 3-coloring problems, the EPC60 achieved 100% accuracy on 2000-vertex graphs in under one hour, significantly surpassing the state-of-the-art solver Gurobi, which attained only 6% accuracy. Given the theoretical mutual reducibility of NP-complete problems in polynomial time, the EPC60 emerges as a universal solver for this class of problems. Additionally, the system's modular design facilitates scalable expansion, presenting a promising hardware solution for addressing real-world optimization challenges in logistics, telecommunications, and manufacturing.