Xin Xu

High energy consumption and complex processes constrain the industrial production of high-performance SiC/SiO₂ fibers. A direct synthesis route for SiC/SiO₂ fibers at low temperatures (700–1100 °C) is developed in this work using pure-material microwave heating without external heating assistance. The phase composition, microstructure, and microwave-assisted synthesis process of the fibers were systematically investigated. A two-stage growth mechanism is proposed based on real-time microwave coupling analysis, consisting of kinetically controlled SiC fiber growth followed by thermodynamically driven SiO₂ bead formation. The SiC/SiO₂ fibers synthesized at 1000 °C exhibit outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance, achieving a minimum reflection loss (RL_min) of −42.49 dB at an ultrathin thickness of 2.9 mm, demonstrating great potential for lightweight, high-efficiency microwave absorbers.

Correction for ‘Design, synthesis, and fluorescence property tuning of methyl p -ethynylbenzoate-based [10]cycloparaphenylenes’ by Wanchun Duan et al. , Nanoscale , 2025, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NR02115D.

Correction for ‘Bis-Fischer indole[3,2- b ]carbazole modification of [10]cycloparaphenylenes: tuning optical properties through rigid substitution’ by Wanchun Duan et al. , Org. Chem. Front. , 2025, 12 , 4800–4807, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5QO00539F.

The scarcity and high price seriously hinder the large-scale industrial application of Pt as the preferred catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A PtMo₃@Mo₂C catalytic electrode was designed based on a porous Mo₂C ceramic membrane with finger-like holes, where PtMo₃ nanograins were uniformly embedded in the surface of the Mo₂C grains by electrodeposition and thermal reduction. The loading of Pt is as small as 7.8 × 10^-4 g m^-2. The electrode exhibits extraordinary HER catalytic performance with an overpotential of 189 mV to drive a current density of 2.0 A cm^-2 (acidic) and 212 mV to drive a current density of 1.0 A cm^-2 (alkaline). Under ultrahigh current densities, the electrode can operate stably for over 152 h, demonstrating high structural stability and catalytic stability. Theoretical calculations indicate that the formation of Mo₂C(100)/PtMo₃(200) can further optimize the electronic structure of the interface Pt atoms, thereby enhancing the HER performance.

We predicted and verified the intramolecular charge transfer and solvatochromic behavior of carboxymethyl ester-functionalized [10]cycloparaphenylene derivatives, clarifying their optical properties.