Electrochromic devices (ECDs), featuring passive optical modulation, backlight-free operation, and bistable low-power characteristics, are promising candidates for energy-efficient display applications. However, wide-gamut color modulation in electrochromic displays is hampered by both the narrow spectral tunability of conventional materials and the fabrication complexity of existing wide‑gamut devices. Herein, we develop an approach in achieving reversible wide-gamut color switching by depositing ellipsoidal metallic nanoparticles and an electrochromic WO₃ layer in series. Specifically, the dielectric environment surrounding the metallic nanoparticles is dynamically altered by electrochemically modulating the refractive index of the WO₃ layer, enabling precise tuning of the localized surface plasmon resonance absorption peak. As a result, a broad collective color gamut spanning the visible spectrum is achieved through Ag NP dimension engineering. In addition, the Ag NPs/WO₃ working electrode exhibits a low electrode-level average coloration power density of 4 W m^-2. We believe the results demonstrated in this work provide a new strategy for electrochromic display devices.

Zeolite materials, featuring well-defined pore architectures, tunable framework structures, ion-exchange capability, and favorable thermal stability, have been widely utilized in catalysis, adsorption, and separation processes. Recent advances in synthetic strategies and functional modification have further extended their utility into a diverse range of emerging interdisciplinary fields. This review systematically surveys recent progress in zeolite synthesis and application, with a particular emphasis on elucidating the relationship between synthetic strategies, structural modulation, and resultant performance. Representative synthetic approaches, including hydrothermal, sonochemical, microwave-assisted, mechanochemical, dry-gel conversion, and molten-salt synthesis, are discussed in terms of their effects on crystal size, morphology, pore hierarchy, and framework composition. The emerging applications of zeolite materials in biomedicine, energy storage and conversion, and intelligent sensing are subsequently examined. In biomedical contexts, zeolite materials have shown promise in drug delivery, bone regeneration, diagnostic imaging and wound hemostasis, attributable to their controllable loading behavior, favorable ion-release properties, and biocompatibility. As for energy-related applications, they have been employed in electrochemical energy storage, separator modification, hydrogen storage, and thermal energy storage, achieved through precise pore structure regulation and interface engineering. In the realm of intelligent sensing, zeolite materials have evolved from passive sieving media into active functional components with enhanced selectivity and signal responsiveness. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the synthesis and functional applications of zeolites and discusses their prospects across a broad range of emerging interdisciplinary fields.

Organic anti-corrosion coatings are extensively used to protect metallic structures, but conventional coatings mainly serve as passive barriers and offer limited information on concealed interfacial degradation. Once corrosive media pass through pores, cracks, or local delamination, under-coating corrosion may begin before visible rusting or coating blistering becomes evident. Early, in situ, and real-time monitoring of coating degradation is therefore necessary for assessing coating performance, clarifying failure mechanisms, and supporting timely maintenance. This review presents recent advances in corrosion monitoring technologies for anti-corrosion coatings. Electrochemical sensing methods, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, electrochemical noise monitoring, and galvanic corrosion sensors, are examined with respect to their signal mechanisms, sensor configurations, and suitability for service-state assessment. Optical and electromagnetic sensing techniques are subsequently reviewed for nondestructive and spatially resolved detection of under-coating corrosion. Special attention is given to corrosion-sensing coatings that introduce responsive molecules or micro/nanocontainers into coating matrices to realize pH- or metal ion-triggered fluorescent and colorimetric warning. Finally, the major remaining challenges and future research directions are discussed, including high-sensitivity detection, long-term signal stability, multi-signal coupling, quantitative interpretation, and engineering implementation of intelligent coating systems.

Joint disorders, such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), significantly impair patients’ quality of life and pose persistent challenges for current clinical management. The articular cavity presents a uniquely challenging therapeutic environment characterized by dense avascular cartilage, stringent synovial barriers, rapid synovial fluid clearance, and complex dynamic mechanical loading. Conventional therapeutic strategies, ranging from systemic pharmacological administration and intra-articular (IA) injections to invasive surgical approaches, are severely constrained by poor local bioavailability, rapid drug clearance, off-target toxicity, and the inherent passivity of static scaffold designs. Consequently, there is an urgent need for intelligent platforms capable of responsively adapting to pathological microenvironments to orchestrate concurrent biochemical regulation and tissue reconstruction. This review summarizes recent advances in smart devices for joint tissue intervention and repair, focusing on multi-scale therapeutic strategies specifically for the management of arthritis and related joint disorders, encompassing microneedle (MN)-based systems and 3D-printed structural scaffolds. Finally, the primary translational bottlenecks and future perspectives of these technologies are outlined to guide next-generation joint therapeutics.

Smart windows are expected to improve building energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, yet material-level optical modulation alone does not directly predict room-level optical and thermal responses. This study investigates the scenario-dependent performance of commercial stimuli-responsive smart windows through controlled chamber tests, outdoor chamber tests, full-scale office measurements, and a large-area skylight field case. Thermochromic windows (TCWs), electrochromic windows (ECWs), and polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) dimming films were evaluated in terms of spectral modulation, illuminance response, temperature variation, and spatial distribution. Controlled chamber tests showed that TCW transition depended jointly on transition temperature and radiation intensity, while ECW coloration was governed by driving voltage and radiation-induced surface heating. Outdoor chamber tests further revealed that side-window modulation and skylight transmittance jointly shaped indoor daylight and heat gain. In the two tested south-facing office rooms, the passively operated TCW room exhibited longer daylight availability and a more spatially distributed illuminance profile through diffuse transmission, together with higher indoor temperatures. The ECW room, maintained at the fixed T2 state, showed lower indoor temperatures but limited daylight during most occupied periods. The large-area skylight case showed that PDLC visual dimming reduced illuminance but provided limited thermal regulation because near-infrared transmittance remained high. These results show that the measured optical and temperature responses were jointly shaped by material response, building configuration, solar exposure, and operation strategy. Scenario-specific spectral design and adaptive control are important for aligning optical and thermal responses in building-envelope applications.

Smart electrochromic devices based on reversible electrodeposition/dissolution have attracted increasing attention owing to their large optical modulation, simplified device configuration, and potential multifunctionality. Different from conventional electrochromic systems relying on ion insertion/extraction in pre-deposited films, these devices offer dynamic optical regulation through reversible electrochemical deposition and dissolution at the electrode/electrolyte interface. In this review, recent progress in reversible electrodeposition-based electrochromic devices is summarized with emphasis on three representative families: reversible metal, iodine, and MnO₂ electrodeposition. For metal-based devices, deposition morphology, alloy composition, electrolyte regulation, and electrode surface modification are key factors determining optical contrast, color tunability, and cycling stability. For iodine systems, the suppression of the polyiodide shuttle and dead iodine formation is central to achieving stable neutral-color modulation. For MnO₂ systems, reversible Mn²⁺/MnO₂ conversion enables wide ultraviolet (UV)-visible modulation and multicolor states, while dead manganese residues and non-uniform deposition remain major challenges. Finally, the common design principles and system-specific trade-offs are compared and discussed, followed by an outlook on practical reliability, large-area fabrication, adaptive thermal regulation, and multifunctional integration. This review aims at inspiring future endeavors towards implementation of reversible (non-)metal electrodeposition-based smart electrochromic devices.

Photothermal phase change materials (PCMs) are emerging as one kind of multifunctional wearable energy materials that integrate latent-heat storage with solar-to-thermal conversion, electrothermal heating, radiative regulation, and intelligent sensing. Unlike conventional PCMs, wearable photothermal PCMs should simultaneously satisfy thermal performance, flexibility, breathability, leakage resistance, cycling stability, and skin compatibility. We summarize recent progress in photothermal PCMs for wearable thermal management and intelligent healthcare, focusing on material systems, energy-conversion mechanisms, and application scenarios. Shape-stabilized solid-liquid composites, intrinsically flexible solid-solid/polymeric PCMs, photothermal-filler-enhanced composites, and phase-change azobenzene (PC-Azo) molecular solar thermal (MOST) systems are discussed. Their applications in personal thermal management (PTM), solar-thermal/optically switched heat release, wearable thermotherapy, intelligent healthcare, wearable electronics, and self-powered systems are highlighted. Finally, key challenges and future opportunities are proposed, including human-centered evaluation standards, multimodal thermal regulation, epidermal phase-change hydrogels, phase-change solar thermal textiles, and AI-guided material design.

Seawater electrolysis is a promising route for sustainable hydrogen production, yet its practical deployment is severely restricted by the chloride-rich electrolyte environment, which imposes more stringent demands on anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts than conventional purified water electrolysis. Chloride ions not only trigger competing chlorine-related reactions but also accelerate catalyst corrosion, surface reconstruction, active-site degradation, and interfacial reaction complexity, making the rational design of active and durable chloride-resistant catalysts a central challenge in this field. In this context, synchrotron radiation (SR)-based spectroscopies have emerged as indispensable tools for bridging catalyst design and mechanistic understanding under operating conditions. In particular, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) enables direct probing of the oxidation state, electronic structure, and local coordination environment of catalytic centers, providing atomic-scale insights into chloride-induced structural evolution, active-site reconstruction, and stability regulation. SR-based infrared spectroscopy (SR-IR) offers molecular-level information on adsorbed intermediates, surface functional groups, and interfacial water structure, thereby revealing how chloride perturbs reaction pathways and interfacial chemistry during seawater electrolysis with large-scale applications in the future. This review first summarizes the fundamental challenges of seawater electrolysis, with emphasis on the critical role of chloride in governing catalyst selectivity and durability; it then introduces the basic principles and unique advantages of XAS and IR, highlighting their irreplaceable value in studying working electrocatalytic systems; subsequently, recent progress in applying these techniques to chloride-resistant catalyst design and reaction mechanism studies is discussed; finally, future opportunities are outlined, which are expected to substantially deepen the understanding of chloride-related processes and guide the rational development of efficient, robust, and low-cost catalysts for seawater electrolysis.

P2-type layered manganese-based oxides are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) but suffer from structural instability and irreversible phase transitions. This study demonstrates that iron doping in P2-Na_2/3Li_1/6Fe_1/6Mn_2/3O₂ (NLFM) effectively reconfigures the structural and redox chemistry. Structural and electrochemical analyses reveal that Fe³⁺ incorporation expands the Na⁺ interlayer spacing, enhances reversible cationic (Fe³⁺/Fe⁴⁺) and anionic redox activity, and promotes a dominant surface-controlled charge storage mechanism. Consequently, the NLFM cathode delivers a high initial capacity of 225 mAh·g^-1 at 0.1 C, an impressive initial Coulombic efficiency of 110.21%, and superior cycling stability (73.6% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 1 C). Furthermore, Fe doping effectively mitigates the Jahn-Teller distortion and the reversible P2 to O2 phase transition at high voltages. This work highlights the multi-functional role of iron doping in stabilizing the structure and optimizing the redox chemistry of P2-type cathodes, providing an effective strategy for developing high-energy and durable SIBs cathodes.

In the past decades, multi-functional materials have attracted significant attention for applications in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal management, and intelligent sensing. Extensive efforts have focused on developing conductive composites with enhanced functional performance. Increasing evidence indicates that the structural characteristics of conductive networks play a decisive role in determining material properties. Among various structural engineering strategies, oriented conductive networks have emerged as a highly effective platform for optimizing charge transport, heat transfer, and electromagnetic wave attenuation through the deliberate alignment of functional fillers. Unlike isotropic networks, oriented architectures provide new opportunities for achieving high performance with reduced filler loading by forming anisotropic transport pathways. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in multi-functional materials based on oriented conductive networks, with particular emphasis on the underlying structure–property relationships governing sensing, EMI shielding, and thermal management performances. The effects of filler characteristics, orientation degree, and structural features on functional properties are critically analyzed. More importantly, this review highlights oriented conductive networks as a universal structural design strategy for multifunctional materials and discusses emerging opportunities associated with advanced fabrication technologies, AI-assisted materials design, and integrated material–structure engineering. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives regarding scalability, structural precision, reliability, and multifunctional integration are discussed to guide the future development of next-generation multifunctional composites.

Supercapacitors (SCs) are critical for high-power energy storage, yet their practical deployment is still limited by insufficient energy density. MXenes have emerged as promising electrode materials owing to inherent metallic conductivity, hydrophilic terminations, and intercalation pseudocapacitance, but suffer from layer restacking and oxidative degradation. Hybridizing MXenes with 3D carbon scaffolds offers a synergistic strategy by providing interlayer spacers, hierarchical ion transport pathways, and oxidation barriers. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first to systematically couple the structural design of MXene/3D-carbon composites with machine learning (ML) guided optimization, summarizing recent advances in MXene/3D-carbon composite electrodes. This review systematically evaluates MXene etching routes and representative composite assembly strategies, and classifies existing systems into three structural categories, critically comparing their performance metrics, strengths, and inherent limitations. It further highlights the frontier applications of ML in performance prediction, compositional optimization, and mechanical design, along with current challenges, including data bias, the black-box nature of models, and the gap between idealized predictions and real synthesis. Overall, this work aims to provide a framework for integrating advanced synthesis strategies, 3D architectures, and data-driven tools toward the rational design of high-performance SCs.

The flight of insects exemplifies nature’s use of resonance to achieve large-amplitude, high-frequency motion with exceptional energy efficiency. Emulating this resonant amplification effect (RAE) in artificial systems remains a key challenge in soft robotics. Conventional dielectric elastomers (DEs) can be tuned electrically but rely on in-plane deformation. This generates insufficient inertial forces for resonance and thus requires rigid external frames, which consequently add fabrication complexity and reduces energy density. Here, we present a material-level approach to achieve intrinsic resonance amplification using space charge-driven dielectric elastomers (SC-DEs), which generate asymmetric electric fields and self-induced bending without external support. The optimized materials exhibited efficient actuation at low driving fields (~1 V μm^-1), with bending angles amplified from 20° to 150° through resonance without increasing field strength. This work establishes a framework for realizing resonance-amplified electromechanical actuation intrinsically within soft materials, offering new design routes toward lightweight, energy-efficient, and high-performance soft robotic systems.