Outside Front Cover: The study reported in doi:10.1002/idm2.12233 examines recent progress in tactile sensing and machine learning for texture perception, focusing on sensor design principles, touch- and sliding-based approaches, and associated machine learning algorithms. This image illustrates that the robots can recognize object textures through touch/sliding sensors and improve manipulation dexterity, critical for applications in healthcare, education, and space exploration. The work also discusses challenges and future opportunities, aiming to advance tactile perception in humanoid robotics.

Outside Back Cover: The article of doi:10.1002/idm2.12239 presents a novel microgroovebased continuous-spinning (MCS) strategy for fabricating polyelectrolyte nanocomposite fibers with exceptional mechanical strength. This approach leverages shear flow within a Y-shaped microgroove hydrogel to induce the extension and alignment of irregularly coiled polymer chains, which enhances the electrostatic interaction sites between the ordered chains, thereby significantly improving the mechanical properties of the fibers.

This review highlights the challenges faced by anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs) regarding cycling stability due to lithium loss during deposition. It focuses on the mechanisms of lithium metal nucleation and growth on the anode side while summarizing key influencing factors and strategies for improvement. The insights aim to advance research and enhance battery performance.

This review first explores the design and operational principles of tactile sensors used in texture perception, distinguishing between touch-based and sliding-based approaches. It then discusses various machine learning algorithms for texture perception utilizing these tactile sensors. Finally, this article addresses the current challenges and future opportunities, providing insights into the state-of-the-art developments and suggesting directions for future research.

Stable thermodynamics and slow kinetics of hydrogen storage materials are the bottlenecks to its widespread applications. Thermodynamic and kinetic barriers can be tailored by doping nanocatalysts, reducing particle sizes, and nanoconfinement/core–shell structures. Hydrogen storage material's fast kinetics, lower operational temperature, high hydrogen ab/desorption capacity, and large number of cycles are significantly important for designing a practical hydrogen fuel tank.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides, carbon-nitrides, and nitrides (i.e., MXene) exhibit excellent mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, unique tunable surface chemistry, and two-dimensional structure. MXene-based material sensors demonstrate excellent sensing performance. This paper discusses the MXene sensing properties and their mechanisms of action in different types of sensors, outlining the unique role of these MXene-based sensors in the future of smart living.

Catalytic activity of electrochemical hydrazine oxidation reactions (HzOR) is related to the binding energy of the intermediate N₂H₃*. Through density functional theory studies, the influence of metal surfaces on N₂H₃* binding energy in HzOR is investigated. The Co/ZnO catalyst, prepared by introducing zinc as a second element into cobalt, optimizes the binding energy to the key intermediate N₂H₃*, thus exhibiting enhanced activity for hydrazine oxidation.

We used theoretical calculations to guide the synthesis strategy of amorphous metal metaphosphate. Both Mn(PO₃)₂-C/C₃N₄/CQDs (carbon quantum dots) and Mn(PO₃)₂-C/C₃N₄/CNTs (carbon nanotubes) exhibited excellent oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity, with half-wave potentials of 0.85 V and 0.80 V, respectively.

A stretchable, transparent, and attachable polyionic eco-skin with enhanced force-electric conversion performance is developed by configuring electroactive material and polyionic electrode. Integrating multiple characteristics enables the polyionic skin to support self-powered functionality and realize the accurate manipulation of targets. It holds promise for applications in self-powered security systems, interactive interfaces, and bionic robots, and advances human–cyber–physical intelligence integration.

This work innovatively designs a hydrogel with Y-shaped microgroove to prepare ultra-strong polyelectrolyte nanocomposite fibers. The alignment of polymer chains and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets that is induced by shear flow, along with the strong interactions between them, synergistically results in excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of up to 1783.8 ± 47.1 MPa and modulus as high as 183.5 ± 4.6 GPa.

PANoptosis, a type of inflammatory programmed cell death, serves as a reliable approach to combat cancer by activating various cell death pathways, including pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis. In this study, we design and develop anion-cation vacancy-rich ultrathin HTiO nanosheets to function as inducers of PANoptosis, thereby triggering the activation of the PANoptosis process.

This work reports a novel nanofibrous composite by introducing carbon quantum dots (CDs) into electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer to construct a high-performance TENG. This all-in-one multifunctional nanofiber with simultaneously integrated energy harvesting, self-powered sensing, and tunable photoluminescence demonstrates the promising potential for the application in smart wearable electronics.