News on China's scientific and technological development.

South Korean conglomerate OSTech establishes LCM project in Yueyang, China, with an investment of RMB 5 billion


A delegation led by the OSTech president visited the Chenglingji New Port Area in Yueyang on June 28 to discuss the project details with the local government.

The project’s expected annual output value is around RMB5 billion ($690 million). It will introduce LCM binding equipment from South Korea and establish a production demonstration base for large-size LCMs, with an annual capacity of 12 million pieces of LCD OpenCell displays.

The Chenglingji New Port Area focuses on the development of industries such as electronics and information, new energy materials, advanced equipment manufacturing, grain and oil processing, and modern logistics.

In 2019, it successfully attracted several Fortune 500 companies, including Huawei, Evergrande, and Chilwee, according to the local government.

Based on -assisted structural predictions, Chinese researchers have built a novel protein clustering method and developed a new base editing system that can precisely edit DNA/RNA, marking a transformative tech for gene function research, disease treatment & biological breeding...

Chinese researchers have built a novel protein clustering method and developed a new base editing system, supporting protein function analysis and new functional element exploration, according to a recent research article published in the journal Cell...

The 12,000-ton intelligent die-casting equipment


Shares in Guangdong Hongtu Technology Holdings soared by the exchange-imposed limit today after the Chinese developer and operator of aluminum alloy die-cast equipment said that the world's largest set of machinery that makes very large molded components for new energy vehicles, which it developed together with a partner, is now in operation.

Hongtu’s share price [SHE:002101] closed up 10 percent at CNY21.54 (USD3) today.

The 12,000-ton intelligent die-casting equipment, co-developed with precision machinery maker L.K. Technology Holdings, started operations on June 30, the Guangdong province-based company said today.

The new equipment is expected to bring in many more orders as automakers turn to integrated structural parts to reduce costs. The one-time die casting of car chassis components can replace the time-consuming assembly of parts by stamping and welding, greatly reducing labor costs, auto weight as well as manufacturing expenses.

The duo have already started work on an even bigger set of equipment. Hongtu is linking arms with Hong Kong-based L.K. Tech to develop 16,000-ton smart die-casting cells, so as to maintain its leading status in the sector, Hongtu said, citing the deal inked by the two parties at the inauguration ceremony on June 30.

Hongtu, which counts Xpeng Motors, Tesla, BYD and Nio among its customers, said in May that it planned to raise CNY2.2 billion (USD303.3 million) in a private placement of new shares.

The proceeds would be used to build production bases for large-sized NEV structural parts in the auto hub of Wuhan in central Hubei province, in its homebase of Zhaoqing, southern Guangdong province and in Tianjin, near Beijing. The funds will also be used to enhance R&D of new products and to replenish working capital.


16,000-ton intelligent die-casting equipment is under development. damnnnnn

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Departing from east China's Shandong Province, an intelligent research vessel named "Haitun 1" started its maiden voyage on Friday.

Developed by the Harbin Engineering University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, "Haitun 1" (or Dolphin 1), is 25 meters long with a displacement of 100 tons. It is equipped with digital twin technology and will carry out a series of experiments along the way.

According to Xia Guihua, a professor at the university who led the project, the vessel was named after dolphins, the highly intelligent animal known for its exceptional eyesight and hearing.

Click to expand...

Xia explained that the latest technologies such as 128-channel 2-nautical-mile lidar, 360-degree panoramic infrared vision system, and sound signal recognition system have been used in the vessel. These advanced features can enable the vessel to detect small targets half a meter above the water within a distance of two nautical miles.

In addition to its detecting abilities, the vessel realized remote control and autonomous navigation with the help of its maritime digital twin system.

Digital twin technology has also enabled researchers to monitor the condition of the ship engine, the propulsion system, and the navigation system, Xia said.

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"With the vessel, we would like to build a 'mobile maritime lab' for the development and upgrading of intelligent systems and equipment of Chinese ships," Xia added.

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- Rio Times​

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In China, a host of large technology companies and AI startups are already monetizing generative AI with practical use cases and business models applicable to industries including mobility, finance, health care and e-commerce. Western companies must learn from its approach or risk getting left behind.

Chinese drugmaker Sino Biopharmaceutical has started the third and final stage of clinical trials for its norovirus vaccine and is on track to produce the world’s first jab for the common stomach bug.

The vaccine, jointly developed by Sino Biopharma and the Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products, has already been administered to its first human subjects, Beijing-based Sino Biopharma said on its social media account yesterday.

The norovirus jab was the first in the world to be approved for clinical trials when Chinese authorities gave it the greenlight in 2019, Sino Biopharma said. Results from the first and second phases have shown the vaccine to be stable and to confer strong immunity, it added.

At present there are no specific vaccines or drugs available on the market for the norovirus, whose symptoms include nausea, vomiting and stomach ache. Treatment mostly targets symptoms and offers supportive therapies. Outbreaks normally occur in confined environments such as schools.

The norovirus is an RNA virus and prone to mutations, so new variants will emerge every few years, a source from a vaccine company told Yicai Global. Most infections are not reported because the majority of healthy adults with high immunity recover within a few days, which makes it difficult to predict the next outbreak.

The culture conditions are extremely complicated and culture costs are expensive as commonly used cell strains cannot be infected with the norovirus, and the amplification of progeny norovirus can only be detected on B-type white blood cells and intestinal organoid cells, the person said.

Other Chinese vaccine makers, such as Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products and Chengdu Kanghua Biological Products, are also taking part in the race to produce a norovirus vaccine. Zhifei’s quadrivalent recombinant norovirus vaccine is in the second stage of clinical trials, the firm said in its 2022 annual report.

Progress in 2D semiconductor materials made by a team from CAS.

Paper:

Low power flexible monolayer MoS2 integrated circuits​

Abstract​

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (ML-MoS2) is an emergent two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor holding potential for flexible integrated circuits (ICs). The most important demands for the application of such ML-MoS2 ICs are low power consumption and high performance. However, these are currently challenging to satisfy due to limitations in the material quality and device fabrication technology. In this work, we develop an ultra-thin high-κ dielectric/metal gate fabrication technique for the realization of thin film transistors based on high-quality wafer scale ML-MoS2 on both rigid and flexible substrates. The rigid devices can be operated in the deep-subthreshold regime with low power consumption and show negligible hysteresis, sharp subthreshold slope, high current density, and ultra-low leakage currents. Moreover, we realize fully functional large-scale flexible ICs operating at voltages below 1 V. Our process could represent a key step towards using energy-efficient flexible ML-MoS2 ICs in portable, wearable, and implantable electronics.


News release:

研究发展出单层二硫化钼低功耗柔性集成电路​

柔性电子是新兴技术，在信息、能源、生物医疗等领域具有广阔的应用前景。其中，柔性集成电路可用于便携式、可穿戴、可植入式的电子产品中，对器件的低功耗提出了极高的技术需求。相对于传统半导体材料，单层二硫化钼二维半导体具有原子级厚度、合适的带隙且兼具刚性（面内）和柔性（面外），是备受瞩目的柔性集成电路沟道材料。然而，推动二维半导体柔性集成电路走向实际应用并形成竞争力，降低器件功耗、同时保持器件性能是关键技术挑战之一。

中国科学院物理研究所/北京凝聚态物理国家研究中心研究员张广宇课题组器件研究方向近年来聚焦于二维半导体，在高质量二维半导体晶圆制备、柔性薄膜晶体管器件和集成电路等方向取得了重要进展。近年来的代表性工作包括实现百微米以上大晶畴及高定向的单层二硫化钼4英寸晶圆，进而利用逐层外延实现了层数控制的多层二硫化钼4英寸晶圆；率先实现单层二硫化钼柔性晶体管和逻辑门电路的大面积集成；展示单层二硫化钼柔性环振电路的人工视网膜应用，模拟人眼感光后电脉冲信号产生、传导和处理的功能。

近期，该课题组博士研究生汤建、田金朋等发展了一种金属埋栅结合超薄栅介质层沉积工艺（图1），将高介电常数HfO2栅介质层厚度缩减至5 nm，对应等效氧化物厚度（EOT）降低至1 nm。所制备的硬衬底上的场效应晶体管器件操作电压可以等比例缩放至3 V以内，亚阈值摆幅达到75 mV/dec，接近室温极限60 mV/dec。同时，研究通过优化金属沉积工艺，使得金属电极与二硫化钼之间无损伤接触，避免费米能级钉扎，使接触电阻降低至Rc<600 Ω·μm，有效地将沟道长度为50 nm的场效应器件的电流密度提升至0.936 mA/μm @Vds=1.5 V。在此基础上，科研人员将该工艺应用于柔性器件的制作。四英寸晶圆尺度下柔性二硫化钼场效应晶体管阵列及集成电路表现出优异的均匀性以及器件性能保持性（图2）。该工作对随机选取500个场效应器件进行测试发现，器件兼具高良率（> 96%）、高性能（平均迁移率~70 cm2 · V-1 · s-1）以及均匀的阈值电压分布（0.96 ± 0.4 V）。当操作电压在降低到0.5 V以下时，反相器依然具备大噪音容限和高增益、器件单元功耗低至10.3 pW·μm-1；各种逻辑门电路也能够保持正确的布尔运算和稳定的输出（图3）；11阶环振电路可以稳定地输出正弦信号，一直到操作电压降低到0.3 V以下（图4）。

该工作展示了单层二硫化钼柔性集成电路可以兼具高性能和低功耗，为二维半导体基集成电路的发展走向实际应用提供了技术铺垫。相关结果近期以Low power flexible monolayer MoS2 integrated circuits为题，发表在《自然-通讯》（Nature Communications 2023; 14, 3633）上。研究工作得到国家重点研发计划、国家自然科学基金和中国科学院战略性先导科技专项（B类）等的支持。该研究由物理所与松山湖材料实验室联合完成。

Scientists from USTC created a cost-effective solid-state electrolyt for all-solid-state lithium-based batteries.

Paper:

A cost-effective, ionically conductive and compressible oxychloride solid-state electrolyte for stable all-solid-state lithium-based batteries​

Abstract​

To enable the development of all-solid-state batteries, an inorganic solid-state electrolyte should demonstrate high ionic conductivity (i.e., > 1 mS cm−1 at 25 °C), compressibility (e.g., > 90% density under 250−350 MPa), and cost-effectiveness (e.g., < $50/kg). Here we report the development and preparation of Li1.75ZrCl4.75O0.5 oxychloride solid-state electrolyte that demonstrates an ionic conductivity of 2.42 mS cm−1 at 25 °C, a compressibility enabling 94.2% density under 300 MPa and an estimated raw materials cost of $11.60/kg. As proof of concept, the Li1.75ZrCl4.75O0.5 is tested in combination with a LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2-based positive electrode and a Li6PS5Cl-coated Li-In negative electrode in lab-scale cell configuration. This all-solid-state cell delivers a discharge capacity retention of 70.34% (final discharge capacity of 70.2 mAh g−1) after 2082 cycles at 1 A g−1, 25 °C and 1.5 tons of stacking pressure.

News release:

中科大突破全固态锂电池电解质在性能和成本上的双重瓶颈​

全固态锂电池可以克服目前商业化锂离子电池在安全性上的严重缺陷，同时进一步提升能量密度，对新能源车和储能产业是一项颠覆性技术。但是，由于全固态锂电池的核心材料—固态电解质—难以兼顾性能和成本，目前该技术的产业化仍面临巨大阻碍。6月27日，中国科学技术大学的马骋教授报道了一种新型固态电解质，它的综合性能和目前最先进的硫化物、氯化物固态电解质相近，但成本不到后者的4%，很适合产业化应用。该成果以“A cost-effective, ionically conductive and compressible oxychloride solid-state electrolyte for stable all-solid-state lithium-based batteries”为题发表在国际著名学术期刊《Nature Communications》上。

为了满足实际应用的需求，全固态锂电池的固态电解质至少需要同时具备三个条件：高离子电导率（室温下超过1毫西门子每厘米），良好的可变形性（250-350兆帕下实现90%以上致密），以及足够低廉的成本（低于50美元每公斤）。但是，目前被广泛研究的氧化物、硫化物、氯化物固态电解质都无法同时满足这些条件。氧化物作为脆性陶瓷，普遍不具备可变形性。硫化物和大部分氯化物则成本高昂，至少在200美元每公斤的量级。这些材料中唯一的例外是氯化锆锂，但是它的离子电导率却远低于1毫西门子每厘米。

此次研究中，马骋教授不再聚焦于上述氧化物、硫化物、氯化物中的任何一种，而是转向氧氯化物，设计并合成了一种新型固态电解质—氧氯化锆锂。这种材料具有很强的成本优势。如果以水合氢氧化锂、氯化锂、氯化锆进行合成，它的原材料成本仅为11.6美元每公斤，很好的满足了上述50美元每公斤的要求。而如果以水合氧氯化锆、氯化锂、氯化锆进行合成，氧氯化锆锂的成本可以进一步降低到约7美元每公斤，远低于目前最具成本优势的固态电解质氯化锆锂（10.78美元每公斤），并且不到硫化物和稀土基、铟基氯化物固态电解质的4%。在具备极强成本优势的同时，氧氯化锆锂的综合性能和目前最先进的硫化物、氯化物固态电解质相当。它的室温离子电导率高达2.42毫西门子每厘米，超过了应用所需要的1毫西门子每厘米。与此同时，它良好的可变形性使材料在300兆帕压力下能达到94.2%致密，也超过应用所需要的水平（250-350兆帕下90%以上致密）。由氧氯化锆锂和高镍三元正极组成的全固态电池展示了极为优异的性能：在12分钟快速充电的条件下，该电池仍然成功的在室温稳定循环2000圈以上。

氧氯化锆锂的发现，使固态电解质在性能、成本两方面同时实现了突破，对全固态锂电池的产业化具有重大意义。审稿人认为这一发现“很有新意和原创性”，并且认为氧氯化锆锂材料“很有前景”，“有益于固态电池技术的商业化”。

Chinese scientists develop new method of plastic recycling​

Xinhua | Updated: 2023-07-04 09:36

BEIJING -- A Chinese research team has developed a new method of recycling polyethylene plastic waste that could cut costs while producing a range of useful petroleum-based materials, according to a paper published recently in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Polyethylene plastic, which is one of the five main types of plastic, is highly stable and does not biodegrade easily. However, the research team from the University of Science and Technology of China has discovered a new recycling process that employs existing technology while producing useful by-products.

Considering the similarities between polyethylene and oil, in terms of both chemical structure and composition, the team borrowed technology from the oil industry to devise its new method.

The team devised a "hydrogen breathing" strategy, using catalysts to break down the chemical structure of waste plastic and reorganize it, forming high-value ring-shaped hydrocarbons. These can then be used as raw materials for the synthesis of drugs, dyes, resins and fibers.
Han Buxing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the research uses environmental pollutants such as abandoned polyethylene plastics to prepare petroleum-based chemical products, providing a new method for the "artificial carbon cycle" of waste plastics.

Another Big Breakthrough -

The world's thinnest "hand-sheared steel"! Successful rolling in China Baowu New Steel Group!

China's science and technology field has exploded like a supernova.

CCTV reported: The world's thinnest "hand-sheared steel" in the field of non-oriented electrical steel - a wide-width ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel with a thickness of only 0.1 mm was successfully rolled in China's Baowu New Steel Group on June 28.
It is understood that this is the first breakthrough in the rolling of ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel with a width of 0.1 mm in China, and it is also the first time in the global steel industry to realize the full-process production of ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel with a width of 1250 mm.

The R&D and production of ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel have reached the world's leading level.
According to reports, non-oriented electrical steel is a silicon-iron soft magnetic alloy with very low carbon content, and is an indispensable and important material in electric power, electronics and military industries. 0.1 mm wide ultra-thin non-oriented electrical steel is one of the important symbols to measure a country's special steel production and technological development level, and can be widely used in high-precision military equipment, high-efficiency motors, high-end drones, Energy vehicles and other fields.