{"title":"Molecular-level petroleum refining by graded membranes.","authors":"Yuecheng Wang, Fang-Di Dong, Yujie Ban, Ziyi Hu, Dong-Dong Zhou, Jie-Peng Zhang, Xiao-Ming Chen, Weishen Yang","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag488","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag488","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Light naphtha is a critical feedstock whose full value relies on molecular-level fractionation into value-specific streams. Achieving such precise separation remains difficult because its components exhibit extremely similar physicochemical properties. Here, we address this challenge by developing a graded membrane cascade based on metal-organic framework CuBTC whose pore size and surface chemistry are continuously tuned through mild tannic acid treatment. Membranes with distinct sieving characteristics were created to sequentially co-separate linear and mono-branched alkanes and then selectively permeate aromatics. The integrated cascade fractionated a 15-component C<sub>5</sub>-C<sub>7</sub> mixture into three high-purity streams, ethylene feedstock, chemical intermediates, and gasoline fuel, with recoveries of 85%-90% and an estimated 91% reduction in energy consumption compared to conventional distillation. This strategy establishes an energy-efficient route toward molecular refining.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 18","pages":"nwag488"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13622342/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149081523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-12eCollection Date: 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag486
Yushan Zhou, Yingzheng Wang, Donghai Zheng, Wenfeng Chen, Guoqing Zhang, Bo Su, Bin Cao, Jun Hu, Zhiwei Li, Xin Li
{"title":"Contrasting glacier mass balance changes in High Mountain Asia from 1975 to 2013.","authors":"Yushan Zhou, Yingzheng Wang, Donghai Zheng, Wenfeng Chen, Guoqing Zhang, Bo Su, Bin Cao, Jun Hu, Zhiwei Li, Xin Li","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag486","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag486","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 18","pages":"nwag486"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13602414/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Control regimes of nitrate air pollution reconciled by multiphase dissociation equilibrium.","authors":"Guangjie Zheng, Guannan Geng, Yuexuanzi Wang, Yuxi Liu, Ruilin Wan, Yihao Wang, Hongli Wang, Xiue Shen, Jingkun Jiang, Qiang Zhang, Kebin He, Yafang Cheng, Hang Su","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag481","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag481","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Particulate nitrate is a major component of haze pollution, yet substantial debate exists regarding its effective control policies. Here, we develop a multiphase dissociation equilibrium equation, based on which the influence of meteorological conditions and chemical profiles can be decoupled, and the analytical expression of nitrate sensitivity to different species can be derived. With this framework, four nitrate control regimes are identified, namely the nitric-acid-control, ammonia-control, transition, and meteorology regimes. The framework also explains the trade-offs between sulfate and nitrate, and elucidates the influence of sulfate and non-volatile cations on the regime transitions. Across most Northern Hemisphere continental regions, and nearly all of China, particulate nitrate is generally more sensitive to nitric acid than to ammonia due to the universal NH<sub>3</sub> excess. The framework provides transparent criteria for interpreting nitrate sensitivity and control regime classifications, serving as an important scientific basis for nitrate control policies and reactive nitrogen interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 17","pages":"nwag481"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13556601/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148920186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multi-channel high-speed flip-chip packaging platform for thin-film lithium niobate photonic circuits.","authors":"Zhenzheng Wang, Xiangzhi Xie, Yikun Chen, Yifan Wu, Zeyu Luo, Hanke Feng, Yulong Chen, Zengyi Xu, Zixi Wang, Yuansong Zeng, Mandie Huang, Ke Zhang, Yingxia Liu, Cheng Wang","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag480","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To address the urgent need for multi-channel high-speed electrical interfacing of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic circuits, we realize a flip-chip packaging platform capable of simultaneously delivering 13 high-speed and 32 low-speed electronic signals to a centimeter-sized TFLN chip. The platform exhibits low flip-chip bonding loss and low inter-channel crosstalk over a broad bandwidth up to 50 GHz. Leveraging this packaging platform, we demonstrate high-speed electrical interfacing with two proof-of-concept TFLN photonic circuits, namely a 2 × 8 optical switch and an electro-optic comb-based transmitter. The switch achieves arbitrary 8-channel routing with ∼3 dB insertion loss, <-20 dB crosstalk, and an equipment-limited switching time of ≤34 ps. The transmitter circuit includes a 50 GHz electro-optic comb generator with 2.8-dB flatness, a tunable microring to arbitrarily filter one comb line, and a modulator for data transmission at 20 Gbit/s. The packaging platform could significantly advance large-scale TFLN circuits in optical communications, microwave photonics, and photonic computing.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 19","pages":"nwag480"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13637627/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149112368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-07eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag478
Sheng Fang, Ziyan Wang, Jürgen Kurths, Jingfang Fan
{"title":"Tipping points and cascading transitions: methods, principles, and evidence.","authors":"Sheng Fang, Ziyan Wang, Jürgen Kurths, Jingfang Fan","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag478","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This review synthesizes recent advancements in understanding tipping points and cascading transitions within the Earth system, framing them through the lens of nonlinear dynamics and complexity science. It outlines the fundamental concepts of tipping elements, large-scale subsystems like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the Amazon rainforest, and classifies tipping mechanisms into bifurcation-, noise-, and rate-induced types. The article critically evaluates methods for detecting early-warning signals, particularly those based on critical slowing down, while also acknowledging their limitations and the promise of non-conventional indicators. Furthermore, we explore the significant risk of cascading transitions between interacting tipping elements, often modeled using conceptual network models. This shows that such interactions can substantially increase systemic risk under global warming. The review concludes by outlining key challenges related to data limitations and methodological robustness, and emphasizes the promising role of artificial intelligence and complex network science in advancing prediction and risk assessment of Earth system tipping dynamics.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 20","pages":"nwag478"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13715440/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149298834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-06eCollection Date: 2026-08-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag475
Guixiang Zhou, Junxi Liu, Jiabao Zhang
{"title":"Impacts of multitrophic biological loop on soil carbon sequestration.","authors":"Guixiang Zhou, Junxi Liu, Jiabao Zhang","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag475","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag475","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Interactions among soil viruses, microbes and soil fauna form a unified soil biological loop that shapes microbial necromass and controls soil carbon storage. This work extends the microbial carbon pump theory by introducing the virus-mediated microbial carbon pump, offering a new framework to explain soil carbon sequestration under global change.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 16","pages":"nwag475"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13532577/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148875511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-05eCollection Date: 2026-08-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag474
Yang Liu, Yongliao Zou, Chi Wang
{"title":"Moon Insight: a conceptual framework for future lunar exploration.","authors":"Yang Liu, Yongliao Zou, Chi Wang","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag474","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag474","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Moon Insight conceptual framework aims to map lunar lava tubes and understand their shapes and internal structures. It will use these natural underground spaces to study the Moon's interior and volcanic history, improve our understanding of how the Moon formed and evolved, and support future lunar bases, long-term human stays, scientific research, and resource use.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 16","pages":"nwag474"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13532574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148874230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-05eCollection Date: 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag473
Mahyar Mohtadi, Martina Hollstein, Mehdi Pasha Karami, Haowen Dang, Zhimin Jian, Andreas Lückge, James M Russell, Stephan Steinke
{"title":"The Australian-Indonesian monsoon through time.","authors":"Mahyar Mohtadi, Martina Hollstein, Mehdi Pasha Karami, Haowen Dang, Zhimin Jian, Andreas Lückge, James M Russell, Stephan Steinke","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag473","DOIUrl":"10.1093/nsr/nwag473","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Australian-Indonesian monsoon (AIM) is the manifestation of seasonal rainfall change and wind reversal over northern Australia and the Maritime Continent, within a region of extreme land-sea fragmentation. Past AIM variability and change have been related to large, covarying shifts in the boundary conditions such as the atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, orbital insolation, and sea-level variations. This review synthesizes what is currently known about AIM evolution and mechanisms, emphasizing the Quaternary where proxy evidence, dating control, and modeling experiments are most abundant. We assess how model hierarchies have been used to separate rainfall and circulation responses, diagnose the role of SST pattern changes and inter-hemispheric energy balance, and show whether shelf exposure should be treated as a first-order monsoon control or a modest boundary condition adjustment. We argue that progress now hinges more on explicit quantification of data uncertainty and proxy-aware evaluation, as well as using isotope-enabled transient simulations and proxy system models that compare models to what proxies record rather than to precipitation alone.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 17","pages":"nwag473"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13639189/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149112033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
National Science ReviewPub Date : 2026-08-05eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag472
Xia Li, Junzhi Wang, Fengxia Wang, Yajie Fu, Peng Wang, Wei Lin, Yu Tang, Lizhi Wu, Li Tan
{"title":"Steering the reaction pathway of methane-to-oxygenates with zero CO<sub>2</sub> production via photo-thermal catalysis.","authors":"Xia Li, Junzhi Wang, Fengxia Wang, Yajie Fu, Peng Wang, Wei Lin, Yu Tang, Lizhi Wu, Li Tan","doi":"10.1093/nsr/nwag472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag472","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The direct conversion of CH<sub>4</sub> into liquid oxygenates via heterogeneous catalysis is highly challenging due to the facile overoxidation of target products. Herein, we present a potential Ag-modified In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> photo-thermal catalyst that enables the selective oxidation of CH<sub>4</sub> to CH<sub>3</sub>OH and HCHO using molecular O<sub>2</sub> under mild conditions (150°C, Xe lamp irradiation). The optimized Ag-3/In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> catalyst exhibits remarkable performance, achieving 100% selectivity toward liquid oxygenates with complete suppression of CO<sub>2</sub> formation, and delivers a high production rate of 6544 μmol · g<sup>-1</sup> · h<sup>-1</sup>, 2.6 times greater than that under pure photocatalysis at 25°C. Mechanistic studies reveal that photogenerated holes facilitate C-H bond activation to form ·CH<sub>3</sub> radicals, while O<sub>2</sub> is selectively reduced at electron-rich Ag sites to generate ·OH species. Meanwhile, it is demonstrated that excessive ·OH generation on the Ag-10/In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> contrast catalyst promotes HCHO overoxidation to CO<sub>2</sub>, highlighting the importance of ·OH regulation in determining product selectivity over the Ag-3/In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> catalyst. Moreover, combined with experiments and DFT calculations, the results demonstrate that In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> with a suitable band structure exhibits weak adsorption affinity toward CH<sub>3</sub>OH and HCHO, while also providing an in-depth understanding of the zero CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in this catalytic process. The work illustrates that the strategic coupling of thermal and photocatalytic pathways enhances charge-carrier utilization and promotes selective radical chemistry for efficient CH<sub>4</sub> valorization.</p>","PeriodicalId":18842,"journal":{"name":"National Science Review","volume":"13 19","pages":"nwag472"},"PeriodicalIF":18.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13717460/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149298314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}