Xianqiang Song (, ), Yunlong He (, ), Zhan Wang (, ), Xiaoli Lu (, ), Jing Sun (, ), Ying Zhou (, ), Yang Liu (, ), Jiatong Fan (, ), Xiaoning He (, ), Xuefeng Zheng (, ), Xiaohua Ma (, ), Yue Hao (, )
{"title":"The in-situ parasitic microstructure interface and defect formation mechanism in (010) β-Ga2O3 epitaxial film via MOCVD","authors":"Xianqiang Song \u0000 (, ), Yunlong He \u0000 (, ), Zhan Wang \u0000 (, ), Xiaoli Lu \u0000 (, ), Jing Sun \u0000 (, ), Ying Zhou \u0000 (, ), Yang Liu \u0000 (, ), Jiatong Fan \u0000 (, ), Xiaoning He \u0000 (, ), Xuefeng Zheng \u0000 (, ), Xiaohua Ma \u0000 (, ), Yue Hao \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3221-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3221-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, a typical hillock surface defect was discovered in (010) <i>β</i>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and the morphology and structure were systematically investigated. The observed defects exhibit a polygonal shape with a ridge-like hillock along the [001] direction. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) microanalysis reveals that polygonal hillock defects are composed of twin grains forming an inverted pyramid shape embedded in the epitaxial layer, which exhibits twofold rotational symmetry along the [100] crystal direction. The boundary between the defective and perfect lattices appears band-like, characterized by complex faults, with structural relationships between the twin region and the matrix identified as [001]<sub>matrix</sub>∥[010]<sub>Defect</sub> and {−310}<sub>matrix</sub>∥{−201}<sub>Defect</sub>. The origin of surface defects in the (010) <i>β</i>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> homoepitaxial layers could be attributed not only to the extent of substrate defects but also to epitaxial process conditions. The definitive explanation is the localized aggregation of gallium atoms/oxygen vacancies during the growth process, as evidenced by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and optimized experiments. This work provides brand-new perspectives into the study of defects in <i>β</i>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> epitaxial films, which further advances the application of Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> materials in power device technologies.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"515 - 522"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143108037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Weidong Zhao (, ), Mengfei Zheng (, ), Hongyu Chu (, ), Jingxuan Zhang (, ), Kun Wang (, ), Chenguang Yang (, ), Na Shen (, ), Zhaohui Tang (, )
{"title":"An azo bond primary cleavage and C–C bond secondary cleavage-based polymeric β-lapachone prodrug for selective anti-cancer therapy","authors":"Weidong Zhao \u0000 (, ), Mengfei Zheng \u0000 (, ), Hongyu Chu \u0000 (, ), Jingxuan Zhang \u0000 (, ), Kun Wang \u0000 (, ), Chenguang Yang \u0000 (, ), Na Shen \u0000 (, ), Zhaohui Tang \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3185-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3185-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>β-Lapachone (β-Lap) is a promising <i>ortho</i>-naphthoquinone drug for cancer treatment and has been in clinical trials. Its application is constrained by the low aqueous solubility, and severe side effects. Even prodrug designation is an effective approach to render it with tumor selectivity, it is limited by the lack of modifiable groups on β-Lap. Herein, a novel azo bond primary cleavage and carbon–carbon (C–C) bond secondary cleavage-based polymeric β-Lap prodrug (Azo-Lap NP) is designed, in which the self-immolated <i>para</i>-aminobenzyl linker is connected to poly(<span>l</span>-glutamic acid) (PGlu) via azo linkage and the responsive drug release of β-Lap against tumors can be achieved under high NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) expression and low pH environment in tumors. The effective covalent loading of β-Lap by Azo-Lap NPs permitted a high administration dose of β-Lap and enabled significant tumor retention time. Moreover, Azo-Lap NPs markedly reduced the side effects of β-Lap by avoiding hemolysis and the production of methemoglobin. The safety of Azo-Lap NPs administration is validated in the antitumor experiment of mice. In the 4T1 model, Azo-Lap NPs exhibited a markedly higher tumor suppression rate than β-Lap. This work provides an effective and safe polymeric prodrug for tumor selective delivery of β-Lap.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"640 - 651"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143108165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kangmin Wang (, ), Min Zhang (, ), Danni Yang (, ), Liqiu Wan (, ), Shouxin Zhang (, ), Liang Yan (, ), Ke Yang (, ), Bijin Li (, )
{"title":"Harnessing the enol/keto-form emission of ESIPT: mechanochromism, multi-channel imaging, and detection of a chemical warfare agent mimic","authors":"Kangmin Wang \u0000 (, ), Min Zhang \u0000 (, ), Danni Yang \u0000 (, ), Liqiu Wan \u0000 (, ), Shouxin Zhang \u0000 (, ), Liang Yan \u0000 (, ), Ke Yang \u0000 (, ), Bijin Li \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3206-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3206-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Reported herein is the first time mechanochromic materials based on sole enol-form emission of 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)azoles containing one triphenylamine (TPA). Three different single crystals were obtained and represent pristine, intermediate, and ground states, respectively. The 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)azoles containing two TPA exhibit balanced dual-emission and could be used in multi-channel imaging, and selectivity accumulated in mitochondria of living cells. In addition, we developed the first example of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) materials with sole enol-form emission and balanced dual-emission to detect chemical warfare agents (CWAs) mimic diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP) with good selectivity, highly sensitive, and fast responsive.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"448 - 454"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40843-024-3206-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi Cen (, ), Ying Chen (, ), Hua Cai (, ), Xinxuan Li (, ), Xiayun Chen (, ), Qianqian Liu (, ), Baixue Yu (, ), Yibin Liu (, ), Tao Wang (, ), Shiying Li (, )
{"title":"Carrier-adjuvanted immunostimulator to boost photodynamic immunotherapy by downregulating PD-L1 and impairing ATP hydrolysis","authors":"Yi Cen \u0000 (, ), Ying Chen \u0000 (, ), Hua Cai \u0000 (, ), Xinxuan Li \u0000 (, ), Xiayun Chen \u0000 (, ), Qianqian Liu \u0000 (, ), Baixue Yu \u0000 (, ), Yibin Liu \u0000 (, ), Tao Wang \u0000 (, ), Shiying Li \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3170-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3170-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Immune evasion behavior and immunosuppressive characteristics of tumor extensively impede the immune initiation effect of therapy triggered immunogenic cell death (ICD). In this work, a carrier-adjuvanted immunostimulator (designated as CoCeC) is developed to boost photodynamic immunotherapy by downregulating programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and impairing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. Among these, the crosslinked chitosan oligosaccharide is applied as the drug carrier for delivery of Ce6 and Ceritinib, which also serves as an immune adjuvant to downregulate PD-L1. Meanwhile, the robust photodynamic therapy (PDT) of CoCeC exhibits lethal toxicity against tumor cells to induce ICD and release damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which can also impair ATP hydrolysis by blocking CD39. <i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> results demonstrate the robust therapeutic efficacy of CoCeC to suppress primary tumor growth and activate a superior immune elimination against lung metastasis by amplifying the immune initiation of ICD with the assistance of immune adjuvants. This work provides a self-adjuvanted strategy to enhance the immune response of therapy induced ICD, which is promising to activate systemic antitumor immunity in consideration of the complicated immunosuppressive factors.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"626 - 639"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143108166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yiran Zhang (, ), Yang Xu (, ), Qi Zhou (, ), Junjun Li (, ), Xinyi Wang (, ), Zhenwei Zhao (, ), Zhicheng Zhang (, )
{"title":"Achievements, challenges and opportunities in hydrogen production from water/seawater splitting using boron-based materials","authors":"Yiran Zhang \u0000 (, ), Yang Xu \u0000 (, ), Qi Zhou \u0000 (, ), Junjun Li \u0000 (, ), Xinyi Wang \u0000 (, ), Zhenwei Zhao \u0000 (, ), Zhicheng Zhang \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3201-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3201-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Water splitting is recognized as an environmentally friendly and feasible method to produce hydrogen. However, the high cost, low storage capacity, and poor stability of traditional noble metal-based electrocatalysts have severely limited the industrial application of electrocatalytic water splitting. The utilization of seawater splitting not only facilitates the production of high-purity hydrogen on a large scale but also concurrently promotes the desalination process. Over the past decades, transition metal borides (TMBs) have been widely used in the field of water splitting due to the advantages of simple preparation process, good stability, and easily adjustable composition. This review summarizes the recent progress of TMBs in the electrolysis of water and sea-water. Firstly, the influencing factors of electrocatalytic performance and related evaluations are introduced. The basic principles of hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, and chlorine evolution reaction in seawater electrolysis are discussed in detail, pointing out the various problems caused by chloride ions (Cl<sup>−</sup>) in the process of hydrogen production from seawater splitting. In addition, the preparation and optimization strategies of TMBs are emphasized. Finally, the development, challenges, and prospects of electrolytic seawater hydrogen production technology are presented. This review aims to furnish deeper insights into enhancing the electrocatalytic performance of TMBs in this critical area of research.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"341 - 363"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143108167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhizhuang Liu (, ), Xiaoxu Kuang (, ), Baowen Li (, ), Chenghua Sun (, ), Rong Tu (, ), Song Zhang (, )
{"title":"CO2 adsorption and activation on p-block catalyst Ga2O3","authors":"Zhizhuang Liu \u0000 (, ), Xiaoxu Kuang \u0000 (, ), Baowen Li \u0000 (, ), Chenghua Sun \u0000 (, ), Rong Tu \u0000 (, ), Song Zhang \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3184-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3184-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The fixation and conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> from medium- and high-temperature industrial exhaust gases are scientifically important and challenging tasks owing to the harsh conditions required. Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, a stable <i>p</i>-block compound, is surprisingly active in the thermal conversion of hot CO<sub>2</sub> waste gas, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption and activation across 11 different Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-terminated faces using density functional theory. Charge transfer and chemical bond analyses revealed the occurrence of two distinct activation mechanisms involving synchronous electron gain and loss, driven by a strong synergetic effect between Ga cations and O anions on the substrate surface. This Ga-O synergy enhances the CO<sub>2</sub> activation efficiency compared with single active sites, with CO<sub>2</sub><sup>δ+</sup> cation more readily capturing H atom than CO<sub>2</sub><sup>δ−</sup>. To the best of our knowledge, such a dual activation mechanism has not been reported before, particularly for <i>p</i>-block catalysts. Our findings provide new insights into the direct catalytic conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and offer strategies for the rational design of industrial-grade catalysts for medium- and high-temperature CO<sub>2</sub> tail gas conversion.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"590 - 596"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lin Huang (, ), Wantao Wang (, ), Lei Liu (, ), Wenzheng Ma (, ), Jinghao Fan (, ), Dan Zhou (, ), Lei Zhao (, ), Zhaomin Zheng (, ), Hongmei Liu (, ), Decheng Wu (, )
{"title":"Injectable chitosan microspheres resisting inflammatory and oxidative stress for ameliorating intervertebral disc degeneration","authors":"Lin Huang \u0000 (, ), Wantao Wang \u0000 (, ), Lei Liu \u0000 (, ), Wenzheng Ma \u0000 (, ), Jinghao Fan \u0000 (, ), Dan Zhou \u0000 (, ), Lei Zhao \u0000 (, ), Zhaomin Zheng \u0000 (, ), Hongmei Liu \u0000 (, ), Decheng Wu \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3153-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3153-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The treatment of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration remains a significant challenge due to the unique ischemic structure of the IVD, which comprises the scavenging of inflammatory cytokines, alleviation of cellular oxidative stress responses, restoration of nuclei pulposus (NP) cell viability, and recovery of IVD biomechanical function. Herein, we developed an injectable microsphere (CS-MnO<sub>2</sub>@PC) by incorporating chitosan microspheres (CS) with manganese dioxide (MnO<sub>2</sub>) nanozymes and celecoxib encapsulated in Pluronic F-127 (PC) nanosized micelles, via <i>in situ</i> redox or Schiff base reaction. The hybrid carrier demonstrates robust capabilities in scavenging free radicals, alleviating extracellular oxidative stress, and reducing inflammatory cytokines in NP cells, as evidenced by RT-qPCR and immuno-fluorescence staining assays. <i>In vivo</i> evaluations further indicate that this hybrid carrier helps preserve NP hydration and the lamellar structure of the annulus fibrosus (AF), as confirmed by radiological analysis and histological staining evaluations. These injectable chitosan microspheres, combining nanozymes and nanosized drug micelles, represent a promising therapeutic strategy for degenerative IVD.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"610 - 625"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuanyuan Zheng (, ), Chunxu Xiang (, ), Yuancai Gong (, ), Yize Li (, ), Shiliang Xiao (, ), Haoyu Guo (, ), Chengfeng Ma (, ), Shaoying Wang (, ), Weibo Yan (, ), Wei Huang (, ), Hao Xin (, )
{"title":"Effects of cadmium alloying on solution-processed CZTSSe solar cells: morphology, band alignment and efficiency improvement","authors":"Yuanyuan Zheng \u0000 (, ), Chunxu Xiang \u0000 (, ), Yuancai Gong \u0000 (, ), Yize Li \u0000 (, ), Shiliang Xiao \u0000 (, ), Haoyu Guo \u0000 (, ), Chengfeng Ma \u0000 (, ), Shaoying Wang \u0000 (, ), Weibo Yan \u0000 (, ), Wei Huang \u0000 (, ), Hao Xin \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1007/s40843-024-3212-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s40843-024-3212-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Kesterite Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSn(S,Se)<sub>4</sub> (CZTSSe) thin-film solar cells are considered promising candidates for sustainable photovoltaic applications due to their high theoretical efficiency and the abundance of low-toxicity elements. However, their performance is hindered by Cu<sub>Zn</sub> antisite defects and associated defect clusters, which contribute to harmful band tailing and non-radiative recombination. Substituting Zn with Cd, which has a larger ionic radius, has been shown to effectively suppress non-radiative recombination, achieving efficiencies of up to 11.73%. However, the effect of Cd alloying on absorber morphology, electronic properties, and device performance has not yet been fully explored. In this work, using the Cu<sup>+</sup>-Sn<sup>4+</sup>-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution as a platform, we have successfully incorporated Cd<sup>2+</sup> into the lattice of CZTSSe across the full concentration range, enabling a systematic investigation of the Cd alloying effect. The results show that Cd alloying promotes grain growth, resulting in a flat and compact film at low concentration, but excessive grain growth at high concentration. Furthermore, low Cd content inhibits lattice disorder, thereby reducing band tailing. Incorporation of Cd is found to linearly reduce the band gap by raising the valence band maximum and lowering the conduction band minimum, which increases the conduction band offset (CBO) at the heterojunction, but the CBO remains a relatively ideal value (<0.3 eV) at low Cd content (<50%). Notably, the 5% Cd alloyed CZTSSe solar cell achieved 13.31% efficiency without an anti-reflective coating, owing to the improved film properties, ideal CBO (<0.24 eV), and suppressed interface recombination. This represents an over 7.0% improvement compared to the intrinsic device performance without Cd alloying. However, high-concentration Cd alloying can damage the absorber, leading to void formation within the grains and the crystal structure transition from kesterite to stannite at 50% Cd, resulting in significant device performance degradation.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":773,"journal":{"name":"Science China Materials","volume":"68 2","pages":"523 - 530"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}