Hohai University

Energy-saving buildings (ESBs) are an emerging green technology that can significantly reduce building-associated cooling and heating energy consumption, catering to the desire for carbon neutrality and sustainable development of society. Smart photovoltaic windows (SPWs) offer a promising platform for designing ESBs because they present the capability to regulate and harness solar energy. With frequent outbreaks of extreme weather all over the world, the achievement of exceptional energy-saving effect under different weather conditions is an inevitable trend for the development of ESBs but is hardly achieved via existing SPWs. Here, we substantially reduce the driving voltage of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) by 28.1 % via molecular engineering while maintaining their high solar transmittance ( Tsol  = 83.8 %, transparent state) and solar modulating ability (Δ Tsol  = 80.5 %). By the assembly of perovskite solar cell and a broadband thermal-managing unit encompassing the electrical-responsive PDLCs, transparent high-emissivity SiO 2 passive radiation-cooling, and Ag low-emissivity layers possesses, we present a tri-band regulation and split-type SPW possessing superb energy-saving effect in all-season. The perovskite solar cell can produce the electric power to stimulate the electrical-responsive behavior of the PDLCs, endowing the SPWs zero-energy input solar energy regulating characteristic, and compensate the daily energy consumption needed for ESBs. Moreover, the scalable manufacturing technology holds a great potential for the real-world applications.

In recent years, the problem of microplastics (MPs) pollution has become increasingly serious, and there is an urgent need to develop highly sensitive and efficient microplastic detection and adsorption technologies. Based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology, a new type of modified hydrogel (M-Hydrogel) substrate was prepared by compounding chitosan, polydopamine and polyvinyl alcohol with nano-silver as the enhancing unit. Taking polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate and polyvinylidene fluoride as typical MPs, the adsorption behavior and mechanism of M-Hydrogel on MPs were systematically studied, and the surface morphology, chemical composition and thermal stability of M-Hydrogel were revealed through characterization and analysis. The experimental results show that the adsorption capacity of M-Hydrogel for the same MPs in different actual water bodies does not change much. After six cycles, the adsorption capacity for MPs decreases by less than 46%. Further single-component and mixed sample detection experiments were conducted to verify the high sensitivity and selectivity of M-Hydrogel combined with micro-Raman spectroscopy in the detection of MPs. This study provides a new strategy for the efficient detection and adsorption of MPs in the environment, which has potential practical application value.

Wastewater effluent introduces substantial dissolved organic nitrogen into rivers, thereby increasing the risk of carcinogenic N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation from its precursors. However, the microbial metabolic mechanisms governing dynamics of these precursors along receiving rivers remain unclear. Here, through a 21-day time-series incubation of sediments from upstream, outfall, and downstream areas of a representative wastewater treatment plant, combined with multi-omics analyses i.e., 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics, and metabolomics, the transformation of precursors and microbially mediated nitrogen metabolism were elucidated. A biphasic pattern of NDMA precursors measured as formation potential (FP) was observed during incubation, characterized by a rapid formation from days 0 to 3 followed by a remarkable degradation until day 7 and subsequent stabilization. Nitrate peaked paralleling NDMA FP, with nitrite accumulation following the onset of precursors degradation. Multi-omics analysis revealed that this turnover was driven by strong functional coupling between key nitrogen-cycling taxa and specific metabolites, particularly short-chain peptides. Community structure in the early phase was dominated by r‑strategists e.g., Bacillota, which promoted organic nitrogen degradation and nitrification, resulting in the accumulation of NDMA precursors. As anoxia developed, the community shifted toward K‑strategists such as Pseudomonadota and Chloroflexota, which likely degraded precursors through co-metabolism and consumption of ammonia source. Metabolomics revealed the conversion of precursors into short-chain peptides and amino acid analogues. Notably, effluent exposure established a functionally specialized legacy effect in downstream sediments, stabilizing into a microbial metabolic hotspot with a peak NDMA FP of 1285 ng/L, 158% and 80.7% higher than those in the upstream and outfall area, respectively. This study establishes a mechanistic framework for evaluating the transformation and risk of NDMA precursors in river systems, with direct implications for monitoring strategies and designing of the wastewater outfall location.