Nanomaterials play crucial roles in energy, catalysis, biomedicine, and electronic devices. A systematic and in-depth understanding of the dynamic behavior during structural evolution and practical applications is significant. Liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM) is a powerful in situ characterization technique. It provides atomic-scale resolution and high temporal resolution observation for the evolution of nanomaterials in solution and has become a crucial tool for studying the dynamic processes of nanomaterials. This review summarizes the latest research progress of LP-TEM in nanomaterial nucleation and growth, etching and corrosion, self-assembly, and electrochemical ap... More >

The demand for reliable and sustainable infrastructure necessitates a fundamental shift in engineering materials, moving beyond incremental improvements toward an integrated paradigm combining intrinsic performance enhancement, functional adaptability, and intelligent design. In this perspective, we highlight the key opportunities and challenges of advanced cement-based engineering materials, focusing on high strength-toughness, long-service-life, frontier engineering materials, and intelligent design. These interdependent areas collectively pave the way for a new generation of engineering materials capable of withstanding unprecedented service conditions while substantially reducing environ... More >

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C$_3$N$_4$) has garnered interest as a versatile photocatalytic platform owing to its tailorable electronic architecture; however, its solar-to-chemical conversion is bottlenecked by high exciton binding energies and slow charge-carrier transport. To circumvent these impediments, the construction of ``molecular junctions'' within the conjugated polymeric scaffold enables atomically precise modulation of spatial electron configurations. Unlike conventional heterostructures relying on physical contact, molecular junctions employ robust covalent bridging, facilitating molecular orbital hybridization and $\pi$-conjugation. This review summarizes recent advances in mol... More >

The growing demand for high-performance energy storage, particularly in electric vehicles and grid applications, has highlighted the limitations of conventional lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Traditional wet-processing electrode fabrication, though widely used, faces challenges such as solvent waste, limited scalability, and inconsistent microstructures. Dry electrode technology (DET) offers a promising alternative by eliminating solvents and drying steps, enhancing sustainability, cost-efficiency, and performance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of DET, emphasizing key microstructural advantages including uniform material distribution, low ion-transport tortuosity, and sup... More >

The generation of high-brightness white light in laser-illuminated devices is achieved by exciting yellow-green phosphors with a blue laser source. This configuration offers advantages such as high energy density and strong central luminous intensity. Among luminescent materials, LuAG:Ce phosphor ceramics (PCs) are notable for their high thermal stability and luminous output. In this study, LuAG:Ce PCs were produced from co-precipitated monophase nanopowders. The effects of vacuum sintering and air annealing temperatures on their porosity and luminescent properties were investigated. The sample, sintered at 1550°C and subsequently annealed at 1350°C, exhibited 3.5 vol.% porosity, highest r... More >

Additive manufacturing (AM) is redefining the limits of directional solidification (DS) and single-crystal (SX) fabrication for nickel-based superalloys. By reconciling classical Bridgman theory with the extreme thermal gradients (G) and solidification velocities (V) inherent to AM, this review establishes a unified framework for controlled epitaxy. It dissects the kinetics of grain competition and the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET), highlighting how scan strategies and thermal management dictate melt pool geometry and the G/V ratio. A comparative assessment of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF), and directed energy deposition (DED) delineates di... More >

3D-printed ultra-high-performance concrete (3DP-UHPC), which combines high strength, high toughness, and construction flexibility, provides a solution to the reinforcement difficulty of conventional printed concrete. However, the layer-by-layer printing process induces pronounced anisotropy in compressive and flexural properties, which remains a key challenge for engineering applications. We used X-ray computed tomography (X-CT) to quantitatively analyse the internal pores and to reveal the orientation and distribution of steel fibres in 3DP-UHPC. Splitting tensile tests showed that the interlayer splitting tensile strength is approximately 49.3% lower than the conventional splitting tensile... More >

Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS), characterized by low surface energy and minimal adhesion to liquids, have attracted extensive attention for applications such as self-cleaning, waterproofing, dust resistance, and corrosion protection. Beyond these traditional functions, the de-icing and anti-icing capabilities of SHS have recently garnered significant interest due to their inherent passive ice-shedding behavior. However, a comprehensive, mechanistic understanding of icing phenomena on SHS, along with effective strategies for improving ice-phobic performance, remains inadequately established. This review presents a systematic evaluation of passive and hybrid active–passive anti-icing and de... More >