It is still a great challenge to improve deformability and fatigue-resistance of stretchable conductors when maintaining their high-level conductivity for practical use. Herein, a high-performance stretchable conductor with hierarchically ternary network and self-healing capability is demonstrated through in situ polymerizing N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) on well-defined sulfur-containing molecule-modified Ag nanowire (AgNW) aerogel framework. Owing to hierarchical architecture from nanoscale to microscale and further to macroscale and strong interactions of polymer chains and AgNWs, the composite exhibits good conductivity of 93 S cm⁻¹, excellent electromechanical stability up to superhigh tensile strain of 800% and strong fatigue-resistant ability through well accommodating the applied deformations and sharing external force in the network. Furthermore, the composite delivers a fast and strong healing capability induced by reversible Ag–S bonds, which enables the healed conductor to hold an impressive electromechanical property. These prominent demonstrations confirm this material as top performer for use as flexible, stretchable electronic devices.

Two-dimensional (2D) magnets with intrinsic ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic (FM/AFM) ordering are highly desirable for future spintronic devices. However, the direct growth of their crystals is in its infancy. Here we report a chemical vapor deposition approach to controllably grow layered tetragonal and non-layered hexagonal FeTe nanoplates with their thicknesses down to 3.6 and 2.8 nm, respectively. Moreover, transport measurements reveal these obtained FeTe nanoflakes show a thickness-dependent magnetic transition. Antiferromagnetic tetragonal FeTe with the Néel temperature (T_N) gradually decreases from 70 to 45 K as the thickness declines from 32 to 5 nm. And ferromagnetic hexagonal FeTe is accompanied by a drop of the Curie temperature (T_C) from 220 K (30 nm) to 170 K (4 nm). Theoretical calculations indicate that the ferromagnetic order in hexagonal FeTe is originated from its concomitant lattice distortion and Stoner instability. This study highlights its potential applications in future spintronic devices.

As the continuation and advances in traditional BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I), bismuth-rich bismuth oxyhalides (Bi_aO_bX_c) show distinct differences in the surface local atomic structure, electronic structure, optical properties, and electrical conductivity relative to BiOX. These features endow bismuth-rich Bi_aO_bX_c with more tunable properties to achieve excellent photocatalytic performance. Here, the state-of-the-art progress in bismuth-rich bismuth oxyhalides is reviewed to clarify the key structure–activity relationship for enhanced photocatalytic performance. Various methods for the controllable synthesis and formation mechanism of bismuth-rich Bi_aO_bX_c are presented. Different strategies to tailor the photocatalytic behaviors are summarized, namely thickness tuning, morphological control, heteroatom doping, surface defect engineering, single atom engineering, surface modification, preparation of a solid solution and engineering of semiconductor heterojunctions. Moreover, the recent advances in Bi_aO_bX_c for diversified photocatalytic applications, such as H₂ generation, O₂ production, CO₂ reduction, N₂ reduction, organic synthesis and pollutant removal, are summarized. Finally, the existing challenges and perspectives are also presented to bring about new opportunities for future research.