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Hygroelectric generators comprised of electrodes and a hygroscopic material with a chemical-gradient structure can produce electricity by absorbing water vapor. Here, the authors achieve a high output voltage by employing hygroscopic heterogeneous graphene oxide and materials with Schottky junctions.

Electrochemical capacitors are promising for miniaturized line filtering but suffer from sluggish ion migration. Here, the authors design a highly ion-conductive separator to replace the commercial ones, realizing a 120% capacitance improvement and line filtering at high-load power conditions.

Through precise adjustments to the curvature gradient inherent in stacked graphene assembly walls, a highly controllable water casting process for self-shaping with an accuracy of ca. 10 μm is demonstrated for making shaped functional materials.

The recharging and rapid self-discharge of supercapacitors imposes constraints on their application. In response, the authors have developed a moisture-powered supercapacitor capable of self-charging and voltage stabilizing by absorbing water in air.

Solar-powered interfacial system has emerged as a sustainable, efficient and CO₂-neutral strategy to produce clean water. The solar-powered graphene/alginate hydrogel-based clean water extractor shows super resistance to the transport of complex contaminants and has an ultra-antifouling capacity.

In this study, Wang et al. show that the glycolytic metabolite phosphoenolpyruvate, produced by enolase 2, contributes to colorectal cancer malignancy and resistance to antiangiogenic therapy by inhibiting endogenous histone deacetylase 1 and favouring β-catenin signalling.

A miniaturized narrow-channel in-plane electrochemical capacitor shows drastically reduced ionic resistances within both the electrode material and the electrolyte and an ultrahigh areal capacitance by downscaling the channel width with femtosecond-laser scribing.

Liquid water or moisture discharge is a significant source of energy waste in current single-stage water-enabled electric generators. Here, authors propose a modular multistage coupling device that integrates internal liquid water flow and subsequently generated moisture to optimize energy harvesting at all stages.

Despite a promising water harvesting approach solar steam generation low efficiency remains a challenging obstacle. Here, authors present a macro- and microscopically reconfigurable and magnetically responsive assembly towards a dynamic evaporation system with improved performance and salt resistance.

Large-scale nanochannel integration and the multi-parameter coupling restrictive influence on electric generation are big challenges for effective energy harvesting from spontaneous water flow within artificial nanochannels. Here, authors apply transfer learning to overcome these and design optimized water-enabled generators.

Graphene aerogels are highly porous and have very low density; despite this they also exhibit high mechanical strength. Here the authors present a laser-engraving strategy for producing graphene meta-aerogels with different configurations and properties.

Reducing humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels will require the development of alternative, renewable energy technologies. Here, authors prepare a moisture adsorption-desorption power generator that asymmetrically adsorbs and desorbs moisture at high and low humidity to provide an electric output.

Aqueous battery Se-based cathodes are based on a two-electron transfer electrochemical reaction and generally show inadequate rate capability behaviour. Here, the authors propose a four-electron Se chemistry with copper ions as charge carriers to enable fast-charging battery cycling.

A power generator exhibits enhanced output due to a dual-charge-carrier design. The voltage produced is constant yet competitive even under low relative humidity.

Moisture-sorption-based energy harvesting (MSEH) is a promising strategy for obtaining heat, cold and electricity from ubiquitous moisture anywhere and anytime. This Perspective article discusses the thermodynamic characteristics of MSEH, evaluates global energy production potential and highlights challenges and strategies for realizing high-energy-productivity MSEH.

Graphene and its macroscopic assemblies and composites are currently enabling a range of high-performance ‘smart’ materials that are responsive to various stimuli. In this Review, different graphene-based smart materials are described, along with their potential applications in actuators, chemical or strain sensors, self-healing materials, photothermal therapy and controlled drug delivery.

In this review, the significant advances of the new type of graphene fibers (GFs) achieved during the recent few years have been systematically summarized, including the tunable and controllable preparation of GFs with functionalizations and their remarkable applications for unconventional devices such as flexible fiber-type of actuators, robots, motors, photovoltaic cells and supercapacitors.