Catalytic treatment of industrial pollutants has long faced a practical bottleneck. Noble metal nanoparticles are highly active, but they often tend to aggregate, reducing the number of active usable reaction sites. Traditional methods for producing polymer-supported catalysts can also be slow, multistep, and dependent on toxic reagents, surfactants, or poorly controlled batch conditions. Meanwhile, 4-nitrophenol remains a hazardous pollutant commonly found in industrial wastewater, and existing catalytic systems often suffer from limited surface area, uneven active-species distribution, and inefficient mass transfer. Based on these challenges, in-depth research is needed on controllable catalyst supports and continuous-flow catalytic platforms.

In a study published (DOI: 10.1038/s41378-026-01176-6) in 2026 in Microsystems & Nanoengineering, Li Ma and colleagues from Xi’an Jiaotong University and collaborating institutions reported a spiral-microchannel platform for continuously producing morphology-tailored polystyrene microspheres loaded with Ag, Ag-Au, or Ag-Pt nanoparticles. Corresponding author Nanjing Hao and the team showed that tuning the structure of the polymer carrier could directly improve catalytic behavior in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.

The researchers began with uniform solid polystyrene seeds averaging 1.48 μm in diameter, then used water-ethanol and water-toluene systems to drive them into hollow, dimpled, bowl-like, and open-hole forms. In one striking transformation, unsymmetrical dimples evolved into open-hole structures within 5 minutes after introducing a small amount of toluene. These evolving microspheres were then passed through a spiral microreactor, where rapid microscale mixing enabled metal precursors to form and anchor onto the polymer surface in minutes rather than hours. Hollow and open-hole structures provided larger surface areas and confined microenvironments, helping load more nanoparticles and improve mass transfer. The system produced evenly distributed Ag, Ag-Pt, and Ag-Au nanoparticles, while also reducing aggregation. Among all tested catalysts, open-hole Ag-Pt microspheres performed best, reaching a reaction rate constant of 1.73 × 10^^-2 s^{^-1} and an activity parameter of 692 s^^-1·g^^-1, while maintaining catalytic activity over five reuse cycles.

The study suggests that catalyst performance can be engineered not only by changing the metal itself, but also by reshaping the support beneath it. By controlling carrier morphology, the team was able to regulate nanoparticle immobilization, improve accessibility of active sites, and strengthen confined synergistic catalysis. In this sense, the microreactor becomes more than a synthesis tool: it becomes a way to manufacture catalytic function with precision.

The implications go beyond a single wastewater reaction. A scalable continuous-flow strategy for robust bimetallic catalysts could be valuable in environmental remediation, fine chemical synthesis, and other industrial processes where fast mixing, stable active sites, and reusable catalytic materials are essential. Just as importantly, the study turns a toxic pollutant into a useful product, pointing toward a broader model of greener chemistry in which waste treatment and value creation can happen together.

###

References

DOI

10.1038/s41378-026-01176-6

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01176-6

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFC3904301), the Key R&D Program of Shaanxi Province (2024GX-YBXM-471), the Qin Chuang Yuan Talent Program (2021QCYRC4-33), and the Distinguished Overseas Young Scholars of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (GYKP032).

About Microsystems & Nanoengineering

Microsystems & Nanoengineering is an online-only, open access international journal devoted to publishing original research results and reviews on all aspects of Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems from fundamental to applied research. The journal is published by Springer Nature in partnership with the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology.

Newswise — Micro- and nanofluidic systems are increasingly important in biology, medicine, chemistry, and materials science because they allow researchers to study reactions, transport, and molecular behavior in spaces that approach the dimensions of living capillaries or engineered nanosystems. Yet as chips become more integrated and more powerful, a bottleneck has emerged: the surrounding interface hardware often cannot match the chip’s sophistication. Researchers need systems that can simultaneously deliver multiple liquids, maintain stable seals, control heat and cooling, impose electric fields, and support in situ optical observation. Based on these challenges, deeper research was needed into multifunctional chip interfaces for highly integrated nanofluidic systems.

On January 19, 2026, a team from the Department of Physics at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden reported (DOI: 10.1038/s41378-025-01125-9) in Microsystems & Nanoengineering a temperature-controlled nanofluidic chip holder with integrated electrodes for real-time optical analysis. The system was designed for 1 cm² silicon-based chips with up to 12 fluidic connection points. By combining heating, cooling, electrical control, and nanofluidic scattering spectroscopy in one platform, the researchers created a versatile interface for studying nanoscale transport and reaction processes directly on-chip.

The holder pairs a transparent acrylic channel plate with a thermally connected chip stage and four Peltier elements, allowing both heating and cooling while keeping the chip accessible to dark-field microscopy and spectroscopy. It can host miniature chips only 10 mm wide, yet each chip supports up to 12 independently addressable inlets or outlets, and 52 such chips can be produced from a single 4-inch wafer. In performance tests, the platform maintained stable cooling down to 12 °C at an optimized current and reached 112 °C in heating mode; under short high-current operation, the chip briefly dropped as low as 4 °C. The team then used Brilliant Blue and Fluorescein as model molecules to demonstrate three functions: on-chip solution switching and mixing, temperature-dependent diffusion inside a single nanochannel, and electrically modulated diffusion. Higher temperatures accelerated Fluorescein transport, while stronger applied voltages suppressed or slowed entry into the channel. At higher fields, the optical spectra also shifted toward longer wavelengths, suggesting field-induced changes in the dye’s electronic behavior.

“This work addresses a practical but often overlooked problem in nanofluidics: not just how to fabricate advanced chips, but how to operate them with precision once they are made. By integrating temperature control, electrical actuation, pressure handling, and optical readout into a single compact holder, the study turns the chip interface itself into an enabling technology. That matters because many important nanoscale processes—from molecular transport to catalytic reactions—depend on tightly controlled conditions that must be adjusted and observed in real time.”

The new platform could expand the experimental reach of nanofluidics across several fields. In chemistry, it may support studies of nanoscale mixing, diffusion, and catalytic reactions under controlled thermal and electrical conditions. In biology and biophysics, it could help researchers examine processes such as protein aggregation, folding, or transport in confined environments. Because the design is compact, modular, and compatible with optical readout, it also offers a practical route toward more scalable lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip research tools. More broadly, the work highlights that the future of highly integrated fluidics will depend not only on smarter chips, but also on smarter interfaces that make those chips truly usable.

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References

DOI

10.1038/s41378-025-01125-9

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-01125-9

Funding information

Open access funding provided by Chalmers University of Technology.

About Microsystems & Nanoengineering

Microsystems & Nanoengineering is an online-only, open access international journal devoted to publishing original research results and reviews on all aspects of Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems from fundamental to applied research. The journal is published by Springer Nature in partnership with the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology.

Newswise — Marine mud is generated in large quantities during dredging, coastal development, land reclamation, and marine construction. In fast-growing urban regions, this sediment can become a major waste-management burden because it is wet, sticky, difficult to handle, and often contaminated with heavy metals. Conventional stabilization methods usually rely heavily on Portland cement, which is effective but energy-intensive and carbon-heavy. Alternative geopolymer approaches are promising, yet many still depend on corrosive or costly activators and do not always immobilize contaminants well enough. Based on these challenges, there is a pressing need to carry out in-depth research on low-carbon, practical, and safe strategies for the remediation and in-situ reuse of contaminated marine mud.

A team from Harbin Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, the University of Abomey-Calavi, and the Beninese Office for Geological and Mining Research reported (DOI: 10.1007/s11783-026-2122-z) online on January 10, 2026, in  ENGINEERING Environment that contaminated marine mud can be remediated and recycled in situ into engineered backfill materials using low-carbon formulations built around aluminosilicate raw materials.

To build a treatment route that was both effective and realistic, the researchers designed the work in stages. They collected marine mud from a construction site in Macao, then tested blends containing Portland cement, fly ash, slag, river sand, water, and low-concentration NaOH. The goal was not simply to harden the mud, but to find a mix that could improve strength, suppress heavy-metal release, and remain practical for large-scale site use. After preparing and curing the samples, the team evaluated compressive strength, unconfined compressive strength, leaching toxicity, and microstructural characteristics through XRF, XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses. The strongest optimized mixtures achieved unconfined compressive strengths (UCS) values of 7.75 MPa with 25% OPC, 4.24 MPa with fly ash, 8.69 MPa with slag, and 3.15 MPa with a river-sand formulation—each above the 1 MPa benchmark for backfill application. At the same time, the treatment sharply reduced the leaching of As, Ba, Cd, Cr, and Pb, with Pb completely removed in all mixtures. XRD and morphological analyses further showed that the stabilized mud developed mineral and gel phases dominated by SiO₂, Ca(CO₃), Mn_1.7Fe₁.₃O₄, and complex silicate structures, which helped explain the improved strength and contaminant immobilization.

“This work shows that contaminated marine mud does not have to remain an environmental liability,” the study suggests in essence. By replacing more carbon-intensive treatment approaches with lower-carbon mineral formulations, the research reframes marine sediment as a reusable resource rather than a disposal problem. Just as importantly, the team designed the system with real construction conditions in mind, including the use of locally available river sand and simplified activation chemistry. That practical orientation makes the study especially valuable for coastal cities facing both land scarcity and mounting waste-treatment costs.

The implications extend beyond one sediment stream. This research offers a route toward cleaner coastal engineering, lower landfill dependence, and more circular use of waste materials in infrastructure projects. For regions where marine mud accounts for a large share of construction waste, in-situ recycling could ease pressure on disposal sites while cutting transport and treatment expenses. The study also aligns with wider carbon-reduction goals by reducing reliance on traditional cement-heavy stabilization. In the longer term, such low-carbon remediation systems could help cities manage contaminated sediments more safely while turning them into useful materials for backfilling, site restoration, and future sustainable construction applications.

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References

DOI

10.1007/s11783-026-2122-z

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-026-2122-z

Funding Information

This work was supported by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (No. 2022B1515130006). Acknowledgements are also given to Shenzhen Science and Technology Program: Sustainable Development Special Project (No.KCXST20221021111408021) and International Collaboration Project (No. GJHZ20220913143007013).

About  ENGINEERING Environment 

ENGINEERING Environment  is an international journal in environmental disciplines, jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tsinghua University, and Higher Education Press. The journal is dedicated to advancing and disseminating the discoveries of cutting-edge theories, innovations in engineering technology, and practices in technological application within the environmental discipline. Adhering to the principle of integrating scientific theories with engineering technologies, the journal emphasizes the convergence of environmental protection with One Health, climate change response, and sustainable development. It places particular emphasis on the forward-looking nature of novel technologies and emerging challenges, the practicality of solutions, and interdisciplinary innovations.

Newswise — By comparing natural microbial adaptation with targeted bioaugmentation using an antibiotic-degrading strain, the study reveals how biodegradation capacity fundamentally reshapes microbial succession, stability, and resilience under sustained antibiotic exposure.

Environmental risk assessments often judge antibiotics solely by concentration and intrinsic toxicity, assuming uniform microbial responses. However, microbial communities actively shape contaminant fate, particularly when they include antibiotic-degrading organisms. Sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a common sulfonamide found in wastewater and surface waters, illustrates this complexity. Even at low levels, SMX can suppress sensitive taxa, disrupt community structure, and impair essential functions such as nutrient removal. Yet some bacteria possess specialized genes that enzymatically inactivate SMX, reducing antibiotic pressure for the broader community. How such biodegradation capacity governs microbial succession and community stability remains insufficiently understood.

A study (DOI:10.48130/biocontam-0025-0016) published in Biocontaminant on 12 December 2025 by Bin Liang’s team, Harbin Institute of Technology, demonstrates that antibiotic-degrading bacteria act as keystone protectors that mitigate antibiotic stress, stabilize microbial community succession, and enhance ecosystem resilience, highlighting biodegradation capacity as a critical determinant of environmental risk.

Using a controlled sequencing batch reactor framework, the study first isolated and characterized an SMX-degrading bacterium from activated sludge by continuous subculture with SMX as the sole carbon source, then tested how degrader-enabled biodegradation reshapes community succession by inoculating the strain under defined antibiotic stress and tracking community dynamics with SMX degradation assays, ex situ degradation tests, and 16S rRNA sequencing across multiple reactor phases. The isolated strain, Paenarthrobacter sp. M5 (100% 16S rRNA similarity to P. ureafaciens), fully degraded 30 mg/L SMX within 10 h, producing equimolar 3-amino-5-methylisoxazole and carrying the key gene sadA; mechanistically, a SadA/SadC two-component system drove ipso-hydroxylation and cleavage of the -C–S–N- bond, yielding non-antibacterial intermediates (including p-aminophenol that could be further metabolized for growth). Four reactor treatments were established—NN (no SMX), SN (natural adaptation with SMX), NM (M5 inoculated without SMX), and SM (pre-adaptation: M5 inoculated with SMX)—revealing that SN communities acquired biodegradation gradually (over ~28 cycles at 2 mg/L SMX), whereas SM communities showed immediate, efficient degradation after inoculation; with increasing SMX loads, both SMX-exposed groups ultimately achieved complete removal, indicating inducible biodegradation under sustained selection. When SMX exposure was paused and then reintroduced at high levels, functional recovery ranked SN > SM > NM, while NN showed ~70% degradation with high replicate variability, underscoring how evolutionary history governs resilience. Ex situ assays reinforced these trends: SN improved to 36.3%, 62.3%, and 100% removal at 2, 5, and 10 mg/L SMX, SM remained consistently complete across phases, NN stayed low (12.2%–16.6%), and NM declined (30.5%→13.4%), highlighting antibiotics as the key driver sustaining degrader colonization. 16S/OTU analyses showed a shared core microbiome across all groups, but shared OTUs dropped sharply during restructuring (from 1,035 to ~440) before stabilizing (~533–578), while α-diversity patterns revealed that slower biodegradation in SN retarded succession and preserved higher diversity during T2–T4, whereas efficient degradation in SM buffered antibiotic stress and restored “regular” successional dynamics. Multivariate statistics (ADONIS/MRPP) confirmed dose-dependent SMX-driven divergence in SN versus NN, but minimal structural differences between SM and NN through most phases, indicating that bioaugmentation-mediated biodegradation can protect community structure from antibiotic perturbation.

These findings have direct relevance for wastewater treatment and environmental management. Antibiotic-degrading bacteria can stabilize treatment performance by protecting key microbial functions from antibiotic disruption. Targeted bioaugmentation or monitoring of native degrader populations could reduce the risk of treatment failure and limit conditions that favor the spread of antibiotic resistance.

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References

DOI

10.48130/biocontam-0025-0016

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.48130/biocontam-0025-0016

Funding Information

The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52322007), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2023B1515020077), and Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No. JCYJ20240813105125034).

About Biocontaminant

Biocontaminant is a multidisciplinary platform dedicated to advancing fundamental and applied research on biological contaminants across diverse environments and systems. The journal serves as an innovative, efficient, and professional forum for global researchers to disseminate findings in this rapidly evolving field.

Newswise — The marginal ice zone marks the boundary between open ocean and sea-ice cover and represents one of the most dynamic environments in polar oceans. Ocean eddies generated near ice edges influence sea-ice transport, mixing processes, and energy exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. These rotating structures can redistribute floating sea ice, modify heat transport, and affect regional ecosystems and climate feedback mechanisms. However, direct observations of eddy evolution remain limited because of harsh polar conditions and sparse in-situ measurements. Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has become an important tool for detecting eddies through sea-ice patterns, yet most previous studies mainly analyzed spatial distributions rather than the dynamic evolution of individual eddies. Because of these challenges, deeper investigation of the spatiotemporal evolution of ice-edge eddies is required.

Researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported a new framework for analyzing the evolution of ice-edge eddies using sequential SAR satellite imagery. Their findings were published (DOI: 10.34133/remotesensing.1031) on March 2, 2026, in the journal Journal of Remote Sensing. The study focuses on an eddy observed in the Fram Strait, a key passage connecting the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. By integrating sea-ice motion tracking with hydrodynamic vortex modeling, the researchers quantified key physical characteristics of the eddy, including rotational velocity, circulation strength, and radius, providing new insight into polar ocean dynamics.

The study introduces a dynamical parameter inversion framework capable of reconstructing the structure and temporal evolution of ice-edge eddies. Using sequential SAR images, the researchers tracked the displacement of floating sea ice to derive high-resolution surface current fields. These currents were then analyzed using a vortex-based hydrodynamic model to estimate key parameters such as suction intensity, angular velocity, and circulation strength.

Applying the framework to an Arctic eddy revealed a complete life cycle lasting about 22 days. During the early stage, the eddy gradually intensified as both its radius and circulation strength increased. The vortex reached a mature phase when its structure became most coherent and energetic. Afterward, the eddy weakened and gradually dissipated. The results demonstrate how polar ocean eddies evolve dynamically and provide quantitative evidence of their growth, maturity, and decay processes. The research focused on the Fram Strait, where complex interactions between the southward-flowing East Greenland Current and the northward-flowing West Svalbard Current frequently generate ocean eddies. Researchers analyzed time-series SAR images collected by the Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B satellites, which provide high-resolution radar observations capable of monitoring sea-ice patterns regardless of cloud cover or lighting conditions. To reconstruct eddy dynamics, the team first tracked the displacement of floating sea ice between consecutive SAR images separated by roughly 50 minutes, allowing them to retrieve the horizontal surface current field associated with the eddy. The retrieved currents were then processed using singular value decomposition to isolate the dominant rotational component while suppressing background currents and noise.

Next, the Burgers–Rott vortex model—derived from the Navier–Stokes equations—was applied to invert the dynamical parameters describing the eddy. Analysis showed that the eddy radius expanded from roughly 28 km to over 35 km, while circulation strength peaked at about 4.5 × 10⁴ m²/s. The reconstructed current fields closely matched satellite-derived observations, confirming the reliability of the proposed method for capturing real ocean dynamics.

The researchers emphasized that ice-edge eddies are crucial components of polar ocean circulation. “These eddies strongly influence sea-ice redistribution and ocean mixing in Arctic waters,” the team explained. By enabling continuous monitoring of eddy evolution using satellite radar imagery, the new framework provides a valuable observational tool for studying ocean–ice interactions and improving understanding of polar climate dynamics.

The framework integrates satellite remote sensing with physical modeling techniques. Sequential SAR images were first preprocessed through radiometric calibration, filtering, and image registration. The displacement of floating sea ice between image pairs was calculated using a maximum cross-correlation method to retrieve horizontal current vectors. Singular value decomposition was then applied to isolate the dominant eddy structure from the current field. Finally, a Burgers–Rott vortex model combined with a Levenberg–Marquardt optimization algorithm was used to invert the eddy’s key dynamical parameters, enabling quantitative analysis of its evolution.

The proposed approach opens new opportunities for monitoring ocean dynamics in polar environments using satellite observations. As high-resolution SAR datasets continue to expand, researchers will be able to track multiple eddies simultaneously and analyze their interactions with sea ice, ocean currents, and atmospheric forcing. Such insights could improve numerical models of Arctic circulation and enhance understanding of how polar oceans respond to climate change. In the future, combining satellite observations with oceanographic models and in-situ measurements may provide a more comprehensive picture of Arctic marine processes and their global impacts.

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References

DOI

10.34133/remotesensing.1031

Original Souce URL

https://doi.org/10.34133/remotesensing.1031

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 62231024).

About Journal of Remote Sensing

The Journal of Remote Sensing, an online-only Open Access journal published in association with AIR-CAS, promotes the theory, science, and technology of remote sensing, as well as interdisciplinary research within earth and information science.

Newswise — By comparing sulfuric and boric acid absorption systems, they found sulfuric acid delivers higher recovery rates and reduces isotope fractionation, even at low concentrations. Field applications successfully distinguished emissions from cropland, livestock, orchards, and vegetables, improving the accuracy of ammonia source identification.

NH₃ is the most important alkaline gas in the atmosphere and a major contributor to air pollution. It reacts with sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) to form ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, key components of fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) that threaten human health, ecosystems, and climate balance. Because agricultural activities dominate NH₃ emissions, accurate source identification is essential for effective air-quality management. δ¹⁵N provides a powerful tool for distinguishing among fertilizers, livestock waste, and other sources. However, reliable isotope tracing depends on precise sampling. Common acidic absorbents used in passive collection may introduce isotope fractionation, particularly at low concentrations, highlighting the need for systematic methodological evaluation.

A study (DOI: 10.48130/nc-0025-0017) published in Nitrogen Cycling on 16 January 2026 by Chaopu Ti’s team, Chinese Academy of Sciences, establishes a more accurate and reliable method for nitrogen isotope analysis of atmospheric ammonia, improving source identification and supporting effective air pollution control strategies.

To evaluate the suitability of different acidic absorbents for NH₃ recovery and δ¹⁵N analysis, researchers conducted controlled laboratory experiments using (NH₄)₂SO₄ and certified N isotope reference materials (USGS-25, USGS-26, and IAEA-N1) as volatilization substrates, each with an initial NH₄⁺–N mass of 2.00 mg. NH₃ released during reaction was passively captured using sponge samplers containing either sulfuric acid or boric acid solutions, and recovery efficiency, reproducibility (CV), and isotope conversion performance were systematically assessed across NH₄⁺ concentrations of 20–100 μmol L⁻¹. Results showed that sulfuric acid achieved consistently high NH₃ recovery rates (95.98–96.88%, mean 96.43%, CV 0.47%) for (NH₄)₂SO₄ and similarly high recoveries for isotope standards (96.03–99.09%), indicating excellent precision and minimal isotopic bias. In contrast, boric acid produced significantly lower recovery rates (80.47–86.48%, mean 83.90%) and greater variability, suggesting potential isotope fractionation, especially at low concentrations. Conversion curves between δ¹⁵N–NH₄⁺ and δ¹⁵N–N₂O demonstrated that sulfuric acid maintained slopes close to the theoretical 0.5 across all concentrations, even before correction, reflecting stable isotope conversion and minimal blank effects. Boric acid showed weaker performance at 20 μmol L⁻¹, where slopes deviated markedly from theoretical expectations, though higher concentrations improved accuracy after correction. Accuracy tests confirmed that both methods reproduced certified δ¹⁵N values within ±0.5‰, but sulfuric acid exhibited superior stability and lower impurity interference. Field application of the optimized sulfuric acid method further revealed distinct δ¹⁵N signatures among agricultural NH₃ sources: cropland (−32.87‰), livestock (−36.64‰), orchards (−19.63‰), and vegetables (−24.95‰), with cropland and livestock significantly more depleted in ¹⁵N. Overall, the results demonstrate that 0.1 mol L⁻¹ sulfuric acid provides higher recovery, stronger reproducibility, and more reliable δ¹⁵N determination across variable concentration ranges, making it the preferred absorbent for atmospheric NH₃ source apportionment.

This study identifies sulfuric acid as the optimal absorbent for accurate δ¹⁵N analysis across varying NH₃ concentrations, providing a more reliable framework for ammonia source tracing. Enhanced isotope precision improves quantification of emissions from fertilizers, livestock, and other agricultural sources. The method strengthens nitrogen source apportionment, supports targeted fertilizer management, and offers robust scientific evidence for reducing PM₂.₅ formation and mitigating regional air pollution.

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References

DOI

10.48130/nc-0025-0017

Original Souce URL

https://doi.org/10.48130/nc-0025-0017

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42177313), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFC3707402).

About Nitrogen Cycling

Nitrogen Cycling is a multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on the nitrogen cycle. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient, and professional platform for researchers in the field of nitrogen cycling worldwide to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science.

Newswise — Liquid electrolytes enable fast ion transport but can raise safety concerns, and lithium metal anodes—despite their high capacity—can grow dendrites that trigger short circuits and rapid failure. Solid polymer electrolytes are attractive because they are processable and potentially compatible with lithium metal, yet many polymer systems (especially PEO-based) become highly crystalline at room temperature, restricting Li⁺ mobility. Adding plasticizers can improve conductivity, but excessive softening may weaken mechanical protection and destabilize interfaces. Meanwhile, strengthening the polymer often worsens ionic transport, leaving researchers stuck between conductivity and robustness. Based on these challenges, deeper research is needed to develop solid polymer electrolytes that simultaneously deliver high ionic conductivity and high mechanical strength.

Researchers at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University report a fiber-reinforced composite solid polymer electrolyte designed to overcome the long-standing “conductivity–strength” dilemma in polymer-based solid-state batteries. In a study published (DOI: 10.1007/s10118-025-3515-3) online on January 19, 2026 in the Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, the team shows that combining a porous PTFE fibrous membrane (as a reinforcing framework) with the plastic-crystal additive succinonitrile yields an electrolyte that is both mechanically robust and electrochemically effective for lithium metal battery operation.

The team’s concept borrows from structural engineering: a lightweight porous framework provides mechanical reinforcement, while the polymer phase supplies ion transport. They infiltrated a PEO/PVDF-HFP/LiTFSI matrix containing succinonitrile into a porous PTFE fibrous membrane via solution casting, aiming for uniform filling and intimate interfacial contact. Microscopy suggests the PTFE scaffold helps “hold” the electrolyte in a continuous network, while the succinonitrile component improves wetting and reduces PEO crystallinity—two factors expected to open faster Li⁺ pathways.

Material optimization mattered. At an optimized 20 wt% succinonitrile, the electrolyte achieved an ionic conductivity of 7.6×10⁻⁴ S·cm⁻¹ at 60 °C while retaining strong mechanical performance, reaching 3.31 MPa tensile strength with 352% elongation—a combination intended to resist dendrite penetration without sacrificing flexibility. Electrochemically, the composite sustained lithium symmetric-cell cycling for about 2,500 hours at 0.15 mA·cm⁻², indicating stable interfacial behavior during repeated plating/stripping. In Li//LiFePO₄ full cells, the electrolyte delivered durable cycling with 91.6% capacity retention after 300 cycles at 0.5C and coulombic efficiency consistently above 99.9%, supporting the claim that the composite design improves both stability and longevity.

According to the authors, the performance comes from a deliberate “division of labor” inside the composite. The PTFE fibrous membrane acts as a thermally stable, mechanically strong backbone that helps maintain structural integrity under cycling stress. Succinonitrile suppresses polymer crystallinity and promotes faster Li⁺ transport, while PVDF-HFP improves salt dissolution and contributes to electrochemical stability. Together, these components create a reinforced yet conductive electrolyte architecture that can be fabricated by straightforward casting and still deliver long-duration symmetric-cell stability and reliable full-cell cycling.

For solid-state lithium metal batteries to become practical, electrolytes must be manufacturable at scale, mechanically resilient, and consistently conductive—especially under conditions where dendrites are likely. This work points to a pragmatic materials strategy: instead of chasing a single “perfect” polymer, build composites in which a porous fiber scaffold provides structural protection and a carefully tuned additive accelerates ion transport. The demonstrated thousands-hour lithium cycling stability and strong capacity retention in LiFePO₄ full cells suggest potential for safer, longer-lived energy storage. If the approach translates to broader cathode chemistries and lower-temperature operation, it could help move polymer-based solid-state batteries closer to real-world deployment.

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References

DOI

10.1007/s10118-025-3515-3

Original Souce URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-025-3515-3

Funding information

This research was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFB3801500) and Fundamental Research Funds of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (No. 24202105-Y).

About Chinese Journal of Polymer Science (CJPS)

Chinese Journal of Polymer Science (CJPS) is a monthly journal published in English and sponsored by the Chinese Chemical Society and the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. CJPS is edited by a distinguished Editorial Board headed by Professor Qi-Feng Zhou and supported by an International Advisory Board in which many famous active polymer scientists all over the world are included. Manuscript types include Editorials, Rapid Communications, Perspectives, Tutorials, Feature Articles, Reviews and Research Articles. According to the Journal Citation Reports, 2024 Impact Factor (IF) of CJPS is 4.0.

Newswise — Lithium-ion batteries currently dominate portable electronics and electric vehicles, but the uneven distribution and high cost of lithium resources have raised concerns about long-term supply. Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a promising alternative because sodium is abundant, inexpensive, and widely distributed. Among the many cathode materials studied, layered transition-metal oxides have attracted particular attention due to their high capacity and relatively simple synthesis. However, these materials suffer from several major limitations, including structural instability, complex phase transitions during cycling, and poor air stability. When exposed to moisture or carbon dioxide, the active sodium can react to form inactive compounds, blocking ion transport and reducing battery performance. Based on these challenges, further research is needed to develop more stable cathode structures for sodium-ion batteries.

Researchers from Central South University and collaborating institutions reported (DOI: 10.1002/cey2.70115) a new cathode design strategy in the journal Carbon Energy that enhances the stability of sodium-ion batteries. The study introduces a layered cathode material with a radial gradient distribution of sodium content, phase structure, and transition-metal valence states. This structural design simultaneously improves ion transport kinetics and resistance to environmental degradation. By preventing harmful reactions with water and carbon dioxide, the cathode maintains its electrochemical performance even under humid conditions, addressing one of the key challenges limiting the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.

To construct the gradient structure, the team first synthesized nickel–manganese hydroxide precursors with a core–shell configuration using a controlled coprecipitation method. The inner core consisted mainly of Ni₀.₅Mn₀.₅(OH)₂, while the outer layer had a different composition, forming a radial concentration gradient. During subsequent solid-state sintering, elemental diffusion gradually blurred the interface between layers, generating a continuous transition from an outer P2/O3 mixed phase to an inner O3 phase structure.

Advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques confirmed the presence of radial gradients in sodium concentration, phase distribution, and transition-metal valence states. This architecture provides multiple functional advantages. The surface P2/O3 mixed phase increases the oxidation state of transition metals, suppressing Na⁺/H⁺ exchange reactions and improving resistance to water and CO₂. Meanwhile, the O3 phase in the interior maintains high sodium storage capacity.

Electrochemical tests showed that the optimized material delivered significantly improved cycling stability compared with the conventional cathode. After 200 cycles, the modified sample retained about 80% of its capacity, whereas the unmodified material retained only about 21%. The gradient structure also enhanced sodium-ion diffusion kinetics and reduced polarization during charge and discharge.
Importantly, the cathode demonstrated remarkable environmental stability. Even after 10 hours of exposure to humid air containing CO₂, the material maintained a first-cycle capacity of 103.8 mAh g⁻¹, and the capacity loss decreased dramatically from 50.12% to 12.35%.

According to the researchers, the success of the design lies in integrating multiple stability mechanisms into a single architecture. The radial gradient structure simultaneously regulates composition, phase distribution, and electronic states across the material. This approach not only stabilizes the crystal lattice during repeated sodium insertion and extraction but also protects the surface from environmental reactions. The team notes that such structural engineering could serve as a general strategy for designing next-generation cathode materials with improved durability and safety, especially for large-scale energy storage technologies where cost and long-term stability are critical.

The findings provide an important step toward the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries. Because sodium is abundant and inexpensive, these batteries are considered strong candidates for grid-scale energy storage, renewable energy integration, and backup power systems. However, poor air stability of cathode materials has been a major obstacle to practical deployment. The gradient-structured cathode introduced in this study addresses this issue by preventing moisture- and CO₂-induced degradation while maintaining high electrochemical performance. In the future, similar gradient design strategies could be applied to other battery materials, accelerating the development of cost-effective and environmentally resilient energy storage technologies for the global transition toward clean energy.

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References

DOI

10.1002/cey2.70115

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/cey2.70115

Funding information

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52202338).

About Carbon Energy

Carbon Energy is an open access energy technology journal publishing innovative interdisciplinary clean energy research from around the world. The journal welcomes contributions detailing cutting-edge energy technology involving carbon utilization and carbon emission control, such as energy storage, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis and thermocatalysis.

Newswise — For decades, global soil moisture monitoring from space has depended on reference datasets. Satellite observations, while indispensable, are rarely used alone; instead, their retrieval algorithms are typically calibrated or constrained using external soil moisture products derived from other satellites, models, or reanalysis systems. This practice has helped stabilize retrievals, but it has also introduced fundamental limitations—reducing transparency, constraining transferability across regions, and complicating long-term consistency as reference products evolve. A growing question in Earth observation is whether this dependence is truly unavoidable.

In a study published (DOI: 10.34133/remotesensing.0939) on January 7, 2026, in the Journal of Remote Sensing, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, and the China Meteorological Administration present PHYsics-based Soil rEflectivity Retrieval (PHYSER)—a physics-based framework for spaceborne GNSS-R soil moisture retrieval. The study demonstrates that global soil moisture can be retrieved independently, without relying on any external soil moisture referenSatellite Observationce products.

A long-standing constraint in satellite soil moisture retrieval

Soil moisture governs the exchange of water, energy, and carbon between the land surface and the atmosphere, influencing droughts, floods, ecosystem functioning, and agricultural productivity. Satellite remote sensing has become essential for monitoring soil moisture at regional to global scales, yet existing approaches face persistent challenges.

Conventional microwave sensors provide physically meaningful measurements but often struggle to balance spatial resolution, temporal coverage, and mission cost. More recently, Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) has emerged as a promising alternative. By passively receiving L-band signals continuously transmitted by navigation satellites such as GPS and BeiDou, GNSS-R offers low power consumption, all-weather capability, and dense spatiotemporal sampling.

Despite these advantages, most GNSS-R soil moisture retrieval methods still rely on empirical or semi-empirical relationships calibrated against external soil moisture products. This reliance weakens the physical interpretability of the results and limits their robustness when applied across regions, time periods, or future satellite missions. As GNSS-R constellations rapidly expand, the absence of an independent, physics-based retrieval framework has become a critical bottleneck.

Retrieving soil moisture from physical principles

PHYSER addresses this bottleneck by rethinking GNSS-R soil moisture retrieval from first principles. Rather than fitting GNSS-R observations to existing soil moisture datasets, the framework derives soil moisture directly from the physical interaction between navigation signals and the land surface.

At the core of PHYSER is the accurate reconstruction of soil surface reflectivity from GNSS-R measurements. This is achieved through a stepwise physical correction strategy. First, system-related biases inherent to the GNSS-R “multi-transmitter, single-receiver” observation geometry are corrected using inland water bodies as stable natural calibration targets. This step ensures consistency across different navigation signals and viewing geometries.

Second, land surface effects—particularly vegetation attenuation and surface roughness—are explicitly corrected using a physically based radiative transfer model. These land surface factors are shown to introduce larger uncertainties than satellite system errors, underscoring the importance of addressing them through physics-based correction rather than statistical adjustment.

With these corrections applied, soil reflectivity is transformed into soil permittivity using Fresnel equations. Soil moisture is then retrieved using established dielectric mixing models informed by global soil texture data.

Independent validation across space and ground observations

The PHYSER framework was evaluated using one year of observations from the BuFeng-1 A/B twin satellites, China’s first spaceborne GNSS-R mission designed for technology demonstration. The retrieved soil moisture fields were compared with SMAP satellite products, ERA5-Land reanalysis data, and hundreds of in situ measurement sites worldwide.

Across diverse climatic and land surface conditions, the PHYSER-based retrievals show strong spatial and temporal consistency with these independent datasets. While retrieval errors are comparable to—or only slightly higher than—those of empirical GNSS-R approaches, PHYSER achieves this performance while remaining fully independent of reference soil moisture products.

“This work shows that GNSS-R soil moisture retrieval does not have to be a statistical imitation of other products,” said a member of the research team. “By grounding the retrieval in physics, we gain transparency, robustness, and the ability to extend the method to future missions without retraining against external datasets.”

Implications for future Earth observation missions

As GNSS-R missions multiply and satellite constellations become denser, the need for scalable and physically interpretable retrieval methods is becoming increasingly urgent. PHYSER provides a pathway toward soil moisture monitoring that is not tied to any specific reference product or satellite mission.

The framework has the potential to strengthen climate reanalysis, improve hydrological forecasting, and support agricultural decision-making, particularly in data-sparse regions. With further refinement—especially in densely vegetated environments—PHYSER could help enable operational GNSS-R soil moisture products that complement, and potentially stand alongside, traditional microwave remote sensing systems.

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References

DOI

10.34133/remotesensing.0939

Original Source URL

https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/remotesensing.0939

Funding information

This study is supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. ZR2024QD048), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project (Grant No. 42471511), the BUFENG-1 Application Extension Program of the China Spacesat Co., Ltd., the ESA-MOST China Dragon5 Programme (ID.58070), the Fengyun Application Pioneering Project (FY-APP-2021.0301), the Beijing Nova Program (Grant Nos. 20230484327 and 20240484540), and the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation project (Grant No. 2024JJ9186).

About Journal of Remote Sensing

The Journal of Remote Sensing, an online-only Open Access journal published in association with AIR-CAS, promotes the theory, science, and technology of remote sensing, as well as interdisciplinary research within earth and information science.

Newswise — Near-field optical trapping has transformed particle manipulation in biology, chemistry, and nanotechnology, enabling contact-free control of objects ranging from nanoparticles to living cells. However, most existing whispering-gallery-mode and waveguide-based platforms rely on evanescent fields that penetrate only about 100 nanometers into the surrounding medium. This shallow interaction region restricts trapping efficiency and makes the system highly sensitive to perturbations caused by trapped particles themselves. Such instability limits practical applications requiring dense, large-area, or long-term manipulation. Given these challenges, it is necessary to develop optical trapping strategies that achieve deeper field penetration, stronger light–matter interaction, and greater robustness against particle-induced disturbances.

Researchers from Fudan University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University report a new optical trapping platform in Microsystems & Nanoengineering, published (DOI: 10.1038/s41378-026-01167-7) in January 2026. The team demonstrates a gradient-thickness-protected microbottle resonator that enables large-scale, stable optical trapping via whispering-gallery modes. By introducing a controlled wall-thickness gradient into a hollow microbottle geometry, the device supports high-order axial modes that generate multiple optical trapping sites along its length. This design allows particles to be trapped efficiently over nearly 200 micrometers with ultralow optical power.

The core innovation lies in the microbottle resonator’s gradient wall thickness, which is thinnest at the equator and gradually thickens toward both ends. This geometry fundamentally changes how optical fields are distributed inside the resonator. Instead of confining particles to weak evanescent fields near the surface, the device generates strong optical-field antinodes that extend several micrometers into the liquid core, creating deep, stable trapping potentials.

The researchers show that this configuration supports high-order axial whispering-gallery modes, forming dozens of discrete trapping “orbits” along the resonator axis. Experiments demonstrate stable trapping of 500-nanometer-radius polystyrene particles across an axial span exceeding 195 micrometers, far larger than that of most near-field platforms. Remarkably, the trapping threshold power is only 0.198 milliwatts, highlighting the system’s energy efficiency.

Equally important, the gradient-thickness design protects the strongest optical fields by confining them within the silica wall at the resonator ends. This minimizes degradation of the optical quality factor when particles are trapped, ensuring consistent performance even during large-scale, multi-particle manipulation. The platform also supports localized, tunable trapping via standing-wave excitation, enabling precise repositioning of individual particles.

“This work shows that optical trapping performance is not only about stronger lasers, but about smarter structures,” the researchers note. “By engineering the resonator geometry, we can control where optical energy resides and how it interacts with particles.” They emphasize that isolating the peak optical fields from particle-induced perturbations is key to achieving robust and scalable trapping. The approach, they suggest, bridges the gap between laboratory demonstrations and practical optofluidic systems capable of handling complex, real-world samples.

The gradient-thickness microbottle resonator opens new possibilities for high-throughput and label-free particle manipulation. Its extended trapping range and multiple stable orbits make it suitable for parallel single-cell analysis, bioparticle sorting, and real-time monitoring of microbial dynamics. The rapid orbital motion of trapped particles can also enhance micromixing, potentially accelerating biochemical reactions in microfluidic environments. Beyond biology, the platform may enable advanced sensing, targeted drug delivery, and reconfigurable optofluidic devices. More broadly, the study highlights how geometric design can unlock new regimes of light–matter interaction, offering a versatile blueprint for next-generation optical manipulation technologies.

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References

DOI

10.1038/s41378-026-01167-7

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01167-7

Funding information

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 62175035, X.W.), Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (grant no. 21ZR1407400 X.W.), Hong Kong Research Grant Council/University Grants Committee (grant no. 21203724, L.K.C.) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Global STEM Professorship BDA8, A.-Q.L.).

About Microsystems & Nanoengineering

Microsystems & Nanoengineering is an online-only, open access international journal devoted to publishing original research results and reviews on all aspects of Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems from fundamental to applied research. The journal is published by Springer Nature in partnership with the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology.