{"title":"In-situ deciphering the plasmon-boosted gas sensing behavior of orthogonally self-organized 3D cross-stacked Au/WO<sub>3</sub> nanowire arrays on microchips.","authors":"Yuxin Zhao, Wei Wang, Juan Wang, Jiafeng Geng, Bing Luo, Wenjie Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of highly sensitive and reliable gas sensors is crucial for environmental monitoring, industrial safety, and healthcare applications. We report a facile block copolymer self-assembly approach for fabricating plasmonic Au nanoparticle-decorated WO<sub>3</sub> three-dimensional cross-stacked nanowire arrays on microchips for enhanced gas sensing. The porous nanostructure of 3D WO<sub>3</sub> NW framework, coupled with the catalytic and surface plasmon resonance properties of Au NPs, synergistically boosts the NO<sub>2</sub> sensing performance. The Au/WO<sub>3</sub> sensor exhibits an exceptional response of 340.7 to 50 ppm NO<sub>2</sub> at 150 °C in dark conditions, which further increases to 980 under white light illumination, along with rapid response/recovery times, a low detection limit, and excellent stability. To elucidate the gas sensing mechanisms, we employ environmental operando micro-spectroscopy techniques, including conductive atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. These advanced characterizations, combined with theoretical calculations, provide direct evidence for the efficient generation and transfer of hot electrons from Au NPs to the WO<sub>3</sub> NW matrix under light irradiation, revealing their pivotal role in enhancing NO<sub>2</sub> adsorption and expanding the electron depletion layer. In-situ measurements also unveil the dynamic modulation of the Schottky barrier height at the Au/WO<sub>3</sub> junction, offering deeper insights into the interplay between environmental factors, hot electrons, and resistance alteration in the metal-semiconductor system. This work provides a promising strategy for designing high-performance gas sensors and paves the way for probing complex gas sensing mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":421,"journal":{"name":"Science Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144141018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bio-inspired solar evaporators for stable and efficient desalination of high-salinity brine with zero liquid discharge.","authors":"Meichun Ding, Demin Zhao, Zhenying Duan, Zhengrun Pan, Chen-Yang Liu, Chenwei Li, Jun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.071","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has shown great potential for achieving desalination with high energy conversion efficiency. However, maintaining a high evaporation rate is challenging due to salt accumulation on solar evaporators (SEs), leading to a long-standing trade-off between stable evaporation and salt accumulation in conventional SEs. Inspired by the salt secretion and brine transport mechanisms in mangroves, we present a bio-inspired solar evaporator (BSE) featuring an external photothermal layer and an internal water supply channel. This design enables efficient and continuous evaporation from near-saturated brine using less photothermal material. The BSE exhibits high evaporation performance (3.98 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> for 25 wt% brine), effcient salt collection (1.27 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> for 25 wt% brine), long-term durability (7 d in 25 wt% brine), and zero liquid discharge desalination. Notably, the BSE achieves a record-high water production rate of 3.50 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> in outdoor tests. Furthermore, it can purify World Health Organization-standard freshwater from various types of contaminated water. Importantly, the universality of BSE design is validated by extending it to other solar desalination systems. This work demonstrates a universal SE design, providing key insights into the design of next-generation SEs for efficient and stable evaporation in continuous high-salinity brine desalination.</p>","PeriodicalId":421,"journal":{"name":"Science Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144179836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Science BulletinPub Date : 2025-05-09DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.05.015
Teng Gao, Zhe Wang, Serik Tabarak, Qingqing Yin, Lin Lu
{"title":"The glymphatic system in psychiatric disorders: a new perspective.","authors":"Teng Gao, Zhe Wang, Serik Tabarak, Qingqing Yin, Lin Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.scib.2025.05.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.05.015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":421,"journal":{"name":"Science Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144085596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Science BulletinPub Date : 2025-05-09DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.069
Yuyao Wang, Peng Chen, Wenwen Li, Yanfei Wang, Qianzhen Dong, Wan Song, Yinlu Liu, Tao Cai, Yuanxia Sun, Jiangang Yang, Yanhe Ma
{"title":"Cell-free synthesis of high-order carbohydrates from low-carbon molecules.","authors":"Yuyao Wang, Peng Chen, Wenwen Li, Yanfei Wang, Qianzhen Dong, Wan Song, Yinlu Liu, Tao Cai, Yuanxia Sun, Jiangang Yang, Yanhe Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.04.069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Artificial conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> into foods and chemicals offers a sustainable way to tackle population-related and environmental issues. Thermochemical and electrochemical methods for reducing CO<sub>2</sub> to low-carbon molecules have made significant progress; however, it remains challenging to generate long-chain, structurally diverse carbohydrates, which are the most abundant substances in nature. Here, we report the successful design and realization of in vitro sucrose synthesis from C<sub>1</sub> and C<sub>3</sub> molecules through a thermodynamically favorable pathway with short reaction steps and low energy input. By engineering the phosphatase and sucrose synthase to improve their catalytic efficiency by 3- to 71-fold, and by optimizing the reaction system through an iterative scanning strategy, we achieved a high conversion yield of 86% and a specific synthetic rate of 5.7 g L<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>. Additionally, we demonstrated the cell-free starch synthesis without the need for dextrin primers, achieving a superior C<sub>1</sub>-to-starch synthesis rate compared to previously developed multienzyme systems. Building upon this platform, we further extended methanol conversion to a variety of sugars, especially for cellooligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization of C<sub>n</sub><sub>≥18</sub>. Together, our system provides a promising, plant-independent route for de novo synthesis of structure-diversified oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.</p>","PeriodicalId":421,"journal":{"name":"Science Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144140987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}