Advanced Functional Materials

ABSTRACT We report on heat capacity measurements on thin gold films deposited on Si before and after chemisorption of chiral and achiral molecular monolayers, performed by applying Joule heating and time‐resolved thermometry. Our results reveal modifications in heat capacity with a distinct dependence on molecular chirality and organizational structure: Ordered homochiral monolayers increase the …

ABSTRACT Seawater‐based zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs), in terms of integration with high safety, environmental friendliness, and low cost, have been regarded as one of the most promising next‐generation large‐scale electrochemical storage systems. However, the complex ionic environment of seawater‐based electrolytes, which leads to chloride pitting corrosion, zinc (Zn) dendrite growth, and hydrogen e…

ABSTRACT Lead‐free ultrawide‐bandgap semiconductors are crucial for next‐generation optoelectronics, yet achieving materials that concurrently enable polarization‐resolved ultraviolet detection and high‐energy radiation sensing remains a grand challenge. Here, we report the synthesis of high‐quality Rb 2 AgI 3 perovskite single‐crystals via a customized chemical vapor deposition method. This mate…

ABSTRACT Electrolyte‐gated synaptic transistors (EGSTs) have emerged as promising neuromorphic devices capable of modulating synaptic weights via ion‐mediated control. However, the correlations between ion–polymer interactions and ion‐doping retention characteristics remain poorly understood. Notably, strategies that simultaneously control ion–polymer interactions and synaptic retention via elect…

ABSTRACT Optimizing carrier dynamics to elevate photocatalytic efficiency represents a central goal in the design of photocatalysts; however, achieving this remains a daunting challenge within the research community. In this study, we have devised and synthesized four types of intramolecular heterojunctions (POM@MOFs), constructed by integrating polyoxometalates (POMs) with metal–organic framewor…

ABSTRACT The transparency of modern battlefields, dominated by multispectral surveillance, demands adaptive camouflage that can dynamically evade both infrared and radar detection. However, the fundamental conflict between the high electromagnetic loss required for radar stealth and the low emissivity essential for infrared stealth has long impeded progress toward such intelligent and compatible …

ABSTRACT Designing high‐performance platinum (Pt) single‐atom electrocatalysts for acidic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of significance yet remains challenging. An elaborated design of support materials is crucial to address the key issues posed by the low concentration of hydrogen intermediates ( * H) and their weak adsorption on the Pt single atoms in high‐valence states. Herein, a catio…

ABSTRACT Solar‐driven interfacial evaporation by gel‐based materials stands as a promising strategy to alleviate freshwater scarcity. However, the conventional monolithic gel constituted with randomly oriented polymeric walls significantly increases the diffusion/transfer resistance of water and contained matters. Here, we demonstrate a gel‐granule ensemble evaporator, featuring programmatically …

ABSTRACT Achieving scalable dielectric absorbers with ultra‐broadband performance remains challenging due to the intrinsic trade‐off between dielectric attenuation and impedance matching. Here, we report oxygen‐doped and vacancy‐engineered ordered mesoporous carbon (OOMC) prepared via a facile and scalable thermal oxidation strategy using commercially available polystyrene‐block‐poly(ethylene‐ran…

The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Bio-Inspired Materials was established in June 2014 to create a Swiss research network dedicated to developing environmentally adaptive and stimuli-responsive materials inspired by nature. Throughout its twelve-year funding period, the centre has been guided by the vision of its main funders—the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Univers…

ABSTRACT Zinc‐based flow batteries (ZFBs) have garnered significant attention for stationary energy storage, yet they still face critical inactive zinc accumulation issues, especially at high depth of charge/discharge (DOC/DOD), high areal capacity, and high current density. Efficient and rapid “dead zinc” revitalization chemistry was proposed to address these issues by recovering inactive zinc d…

ABSTRACT Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) containing nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centers are powerful quantum sensors capable of nanoscale optical and spin‐based detection of temperature and electric or magnetic fields. Improving their fluorescence brightness is critical for enhancing sensitivity, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that treatment with strongly oxidizin…

ABSTRACT Optimizing the morphology of the active layer via the incorporation of a sui` third component is crucial for enhancing the device performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, a third component L8‐BO‐C 4 is introduced into the D18/L8‐BO pseudo‐planar heterojunction (P‐PHJ) system to prepare P‐PHJ OSCs. L8‐BO‐C 4 and L8‐BO share akin chemical structures, but L8‐BO‐C 4 exhibits…

ABSTRACT Catalysis is crucial for lowering the operating temperature of MgH 2 hydrogen storage, enabling its practical use under milder conditions. However, single‐component catalysts typically lack the versatility to efficiently drive all reaction steps involved in the (de)hydrogenation of MgH 2 . Herein, we reveal that Ni single‐atom catalysts (Ni 1 ) excel specifically in hydrogen dissociation…

ABSTRACT Ideal separators for rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries should facilitate Faradaic reactions near the electrode surface while mitigating the shuttle effect. However, conventional separator materials often exhibit sluggish Li + migration rates and reaction kinetics due to their high Li + desolvation energy and diffusion resistance. Investigating the Li + transport mechanism with…

ABSTRACT Next‐generation intelligent perception systems require photodetectors that are functionally reconfigurable for in‐sensor processing. However, integrating broadband response, polarization sensitivity, and electrically reconfigurable photoresponse into a single compact device remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate a solution using a gate‐programmable photodetector based on a 2H‐MoTe 2 /…

ABSTRACT High temperature superconductors, especially YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7‐δ (YBCO), are considered a key enabling technology toward a clean energy future. Hole doping in YBCO is a prerequisite for the emergence of its unchallenged superconducting properties. Up to now, research was focused on the under‐ and optimally doped region, due to practical limitations in reaching the overdoped state, despite b…

ABSTRACT Interfacial solar steam evaporation (ISSE) technology has attracted significant attention due to its remarkable potential for producing clean water using solar energy. Although substantial progress has been made in photothermal materials and evaporator design, a critical bottleneck persists in translating this technology from laboratory research to real‐world application: the pronounced …

ABSTRACT Interface optimization is an indispensable key step for planar high‐efficiency and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, existing interface optimization strategies mostly focus on defect passivation or energy level alignment on the upper surface of perovskite, making it difficult to construct a dense and stable protective layer on the perovskite surface to effectively resist str…

ABSTRACT Achieving precise control over the electromagnetic response of materials across multiple length scales from atomic to mesoscopic via multi‐level hybridization and preferred orientation strategies remains a central challenge in the development of high‐performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers. This work successfully prepared a CoSe 2 /Ni 3 Se 2 /CeSe 1.9 /CNFs (CNCS) composite with…