In recent years, anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs) have garnered significant attention as prospective next-generation high-energy batteries. However, the advancement of high-performance AFLMBs is severely impeded by challenges such as the uncontrolled growth of lithium dendrites and excessive volume expansion during cycling. Consequently, the design of three-dimensional (3D) lithiophilic carbon-based hosts to substitute conventional metal current collectors has emerged as apromising strategyfor constructing high-performance AFLMBs. Herein, we present a critical and timely review of recent advances in the design of 3D lithiophilic carbon-based hosts for AFLMBs. Specifically, the intrinsic properties of various carbon materials, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, porous carbon and carbon fibers, and their applications in AFLMBs, are first summarized. This is followed by a systematic classification of lithiophilic modification strategies, including surface heteroatom doping, surface decorating, and lithiophilic structural engineering and framework design, along with their research progress. Furthermore, the classifications, mechanisms, and structural configurations of lithiophilic gradient designs for 3D carbon-based hosts are summarized, with a specific focus on their application in high-performance AFLMBs. Finally, future challenges and perspectives regarding the lithiophilic structural design and practical application of novel 3D lithiophilic carbon-based hosts are proposed, offering valuable insights for the development of advanced AFLMBs.

Polydopamine (PDA) exhibits unique advantages in the treatment of oxidative damage owing to its melanin-mimetic structure, abundant redox-active functional groups, and excellent biocompatibility. Distinct from conventional antioxidant molecules, PDA-based nanoplatforms can efficiently eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) via hydrogen atom transfer and electron transfer mechanisms, while relying on the dynamic redox cycling of catechol/quinone moieties to achieve sustained antioxidant activity. However, systematic summaries of PDA-based antioxidant nanoplatforms remain relatively limited. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the antioxidant mechanisms of PDA and its associated physicochemical properties, with particular emphasis on the design strategies of diverse PDA-based nanoplatforms, including solid, mesoporous, hollow, doped, and coated architectures, as well as the effects of structural features, particle size, composition, and surface charge on their antioxidant performance. In addition, recent research progress is systematically categorized around core pathological challenges, including breaking ROS-inflammation feedback loops, overcoming biological delivery barriers, remodeling regenerative microenvironments, and regulating programmed cell death.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, ubiquitous sensing, and edge computing is exposing fundamental limitations of conventional von Neumann architectures, in which the physical separation of sensing, memory, and computation leads to excessive data movement, high energy consumption, and latency. As transistor scaling slows in the post-Moore era, architectural innovation has become essential to sustain progress in intelligent systems. In-sensor-memory computing (ISMC) addresses these challenges by co-locating perception, storage, and computation within unified device and system architectures, enabling in situ signal processing, mixed-signal computation, and event-driven intelligence at the data source. Recent advances in memristive and ferroelectric devices, low-dimensional and multifunctional materials, three-dimensional heterogeneous integration, and neuromorphic architectures have significantly expanded the functional scope of ISMC platforms. In parallel, the co-evolution of algorithms-including spiking neural networks, reservoir computing, and neuromorphic compilers-has facilitated the translation of device-level advantages into system-level performance. This perspective surveys the technological foundations, architectural trends, and emerging applications of ISMC, examines global industry-academia-research (IAR) collaboration, and outlines key challenges related to variability, reliability, scalability, and benchmarking. Collectively, ISMC is positioned as a post-von Neumann hardware paradigm for energy-efficient, distributed intelligence.

Carbonaceous zinc-ion capacitors (ZICs) offer inherent advantages for energy storage, yet the role of pore structures in enabling high zinc-ion capacitance remains underexplored. Herein, a dual-molten-salt regulation strategy is employed to derive N/O/S-doped porous carbon nanomaterials, achieving a high specific surface area (SSA) of 2523 m2g-1 with ultramicropores (< 0.86nm) contributing 30.6% of the total SSA. Structural analyses reveal that increasing molten FeCl3 content yields materials with comparable heteroatom contents and defect structures, but a progressive shift from ultramicropores to mesopores. Crucially, the individual contributions of the pore structure are decoupled by both in situ characterizations and theoretical simulations: The ultramicropores facilitate the desolvation of [Zn(H2O)6]2+ (ultramicropore effect), while the hierarchical pores ensure rapid ion transport (hierarchical pore effect). The optimized HHPC-2 delivers a high specific capacitance of 222.6Fg-1 at 1Ag-1 and an energy density of 120.0Whkg-1 in ZICs. Intriguingly, its outstanding oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity enables self-charging upon air exposure after a full discharge, achieving a self-charging rate of 15mAhg-1h-1 and recovering 80% of the externally charged capacity in subsequent discharge cycles. This positions the device as highly promising for practical deployment in regions with intermittent grid power supplies.

Hydrogels, as water-rich, three-dimensional polymer networks, have emerged as essential materials across diverse fields including bio-integrated electronics, load-bearing biomedical implants, and soft robotics. However, conventional hydrogels often fail under mechanical extremes, limiting their deployment in mechanically demanding environments. This review bridges this gap by presenting a transformative design paradigm that shifts the focus from merely robust hydrogels to intelligently adaptive systems capable of withstanding and dynamically responding to extreme mechanical environments. We first deconstruct the fundamental toughening mechanisms-including sacrificial bonding, topological entanglements, and nanocomposite reinforcement-that form the foundation of mechanical robustness. Moving beyond static strength, we critically examine how stimuli-responsive elements (e.g., temperature, light, pH, magnetic fields) can be integrated to enable real-time, dynamic modulation of mechanical properties. Advanced fabrication strategies, particularly bioinspired structuring and 3D printing, are highlighted as essential tools for achieving hierarchical architectures that optimize stress distribution and functional integration. Finally, we showcase pioneering applications in artificial muscles, wearable sensors, and adaptive tissue scaffolds, culminating in a forward-looking perspective on the convergence of artificial intelligence, multiscale modeling, and self-growing materials to guide the development of next-generation autonomous hydrogel systems.

The incessant quest for high-energy-density batteries to meet the growing demand of electrification makes high-level safety operation a critical concern. Traditional polypropylene separators, susceptible to thermal instability and sodium dendrite growth, often lead to internal short circuits and catastrophic thermal runaway. Here, a flame-retardant, dendrite-suppressing, and ion-regulating hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) separator is designed by a simple and scalable strategy. The HOF lattice, featuring abundant polar N-H and C=O sites, preferentially coordinates PF6-. This selective interaction suppresses anion migration, yielding a high Na+ transference number (0.91). Concurrently, the liquid-filled pores and weakly coordinating channels of the HOF facilitate rapid Na+ transport, achieving an ionic conductivity of 1.57mScm-1 at 60°C. Interfacial analyses reveal that the HOF stabilizes Na+ deposition by fostering a NaF-rich solid electrolyte interphase with a high Young's modulus (~ 11 GPa), which suppresses dendrite penetration. Furthermore, thermogravimetric and combustion tests confirm exceptional resilience above 380°C and the formation of carbon nitride layer that effectively suppresses heat release. Consequently, Na||Na symmetric cells cycle stably for over 2000 h at 2mAcm-2, while Na||Na3V2(PO4)3 full cells retain high capacity ~ 99% over 5000 cycles at 5C. A pouch cell with a Prussian blue cathode further demonstrates practical applicability with consistent operation at 0.5C. This multifunctional HOF separator establishes a new paradigm for stable, fast, selective, dendrite-free, and fire-safe sodium metal batteries.

With the rapid development of flexible electronics and wearable devices, there is an increasing demand for absorbing materials that exhibit high electromagnetic wave absorption efficiency and mechanical flexibility. In this work, we present a novel and effective strategy for fabricating flexible microwave absorbers via synergistically integrating a polymer framework with conductive fillers. Carbon dots (CDs) functionalized with catechol groups were first synthesized via a bottom-up approach using directed ultrasonication, employing tannic acid dispersed in acetone as the precursor. Owing to the abundant surface functional groups, the as-prepared CDs were uniformly anchored onto MXene nanosheets through chemical bonding, forming a well-dispersed MXene/CDs composite. Subsequently, this hybrid filler was incorporated into a polymer network composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and acrylamide, with water and glycerol as co-solvents, to fabricate a flexible MXene/CDs organic hydrogel. Notably, glycerol plays an important role in adjusting the polarity of the gel system, thereby effectively optimizing impedance matching. Meanwhile, the abundant heterogeneous interfaces between MXene and CDs significantly enhanced interfacial polarization, and the synergistic coupling of optimized impedance matching with strong dielectric loss endowed the MXene/CDs organic hydrogel with outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance. The absorber achieves a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of - 47.9dB at 9.46GHz with a matching thickness of 3.1mm, along with an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.5GHz. Furthermore, the synergistic reinforcement of dual-crosslinked polymer chains and the MXene/CDs filler endowed the hydrogel with excellent mechanical robustness, making it suitable for flexible and wearable absorption applications.

The performance limits of perovskite quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) remain incompletely explored currently. Energy dissipation arising from interdot electronic coupling in QD solid films is readily induced by reduced interparticle distances and delocalized electron wavefunctions, thereby triggering severe nonradiative recombination and impeding further efficiency gains. To mitigate this energy loss, 1H,1H-undecafluorohexylamine (11-PFHA), characterized by pronounced steric self-repulsion and concentrated electron density distribution, was employed. The steric self-repulsion of 11-PFHA enlarges interdot spacing, while its concentrated electron distribution restructures the QDs' surface electron distribution and establishes a higher interfacial electronic potential barrier between adjacent QDs. The treatment of 11-PFHA effectively suppresses electronic coupling and concomitant energy dissipation. Consequently, 11-PFHA-treated red-emitting perovskite QDs exhibit a near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield. PeLEDs fabricated with these optimized QDs achieve record external quantum efficiencies (EQEs), reaching 28.9% at 640 nm and 32.0% at 657 nm, indicating the highest EQE values reported to date.

Choroidal melanoma is a prevalent intraocular malignant tumor with high mortality rate and liver metastases, related to the lack of sensitive and noninvasive therapeutic modalities. To address the imaging diagnostics and therapeutic predicaments for choroidal melanoma, a novel nanoplatform is developed through the integration of an aggregation-induced emission photosensitizer with two-dimensional MXene nanosheets (MX@PEG-MeoTTPy). This nanoplatform simultaneously exhibits distinctive properties and multiple functions including exceptional biocompatibility, efficient type I reactive oxygen species generation, high-quality fluorescence bioimaging, mild near-infrared (NIR) photothermal performance and superior cellular uptake. Furthermore, a thermosensitive hydrogel composite is engineered to encapsulate the nanosheets, enabling controlled and sustained release over 72h via NIR irradiation and tumor microenvironment-induced gel-sol transition. The nanoplatform leverages synergistic mild photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, leading to precise and sustained tumor ablation through pyroptosis-mediated cell death. Both in vitro and in vivo studies validate that the nanosystem serves as an effective theranostic agent for dual-modal imaging-guided synergistic therapy, offering a multifaceted therapeutic strategy for intraocular tumors and showing significant potential for clinical application in choroidal melanoma therapy.

Pseudocapacitive materials employ rapid, non-diffusion-limited faradaic processes to store charge, demonstrating significant potential for fast-charging batteries and supercapacitors. However, the high redox potentials of existing pseudocapacitive anodes substantially lower the overall cell voltage and energy density. Here, a cation-disordered rock-salt lithium titanium oxyfluoride (DRX-LixTiOF2, 0 < x < 2) is reported to reversibly accommodate approximately 1.19mol of Li+ (~ 310mAhg-1) and delivers high-rate performance (exceeding 64.4C) via pseudocapacitive Li+ storage within a low potential window extending down to 0.1V vs. Li+/Li. This pseudocapacitive behavior is characterized by several structural and electrochemical features: the absence of phase transformation during Li+ intercalation, quasi-rectangular cyclic voltammetry curves, sloping charge/discharge profiles and a surface-controlled current response. We further reveal that the pseudocapacitive characteristics originate from a three-dimensional percolation network that facilitates fast Li+ migration with low energy barriers, enabled by a cation/anion-disordered structure arising from the mixed occupancy of Li/Ti cations and O/F anions. Owing to its low operating potential and high-rate capability, DRX-LixTiOF2 allows a lithium-ion capacitor to attain 4.0V cell voltage and achieve energy and power densities several times higher than those obtained with conventional anodes, such as battery-type Li4Ti5O12 or pseudocapacitive materials like Nb2O5 and TiO2.