Quantum coherence governs the outcome and efficiency of photochemical reactions and ultrafast molecular dynamics. Recent ultrafast gas-phase X-ray scattering and electron diffraction have enabled the observation of femtosecond nuclear dynamics driven by vibrational coherence. However, probing attosecond electron dynamics and coupled electron-nuclear dynamics remains challenging. This article discusses advances in ultrafast X-ray scattering and electron diffraction, highlighting their potential to resolve attosecond charge migration and vibronic coupling at conical intersections. Novel techniques, such as X-ray scattering with orbital angular momentum beams and combined X-ray and electron diffraction, promise to selectively probe coherence contributions and visualize charge migration in real-space. These emerging methods could further our understanding of coherence effects in chemical reactions.

The development of layered molybdenum chalcogenides with largely exposed active sites is receiving intense interest because of their potential applications in energy storage and catalysis. Here, we report a strategy for the synthesis of hierarchical MoSe2 and S-doped MoSe2-x nanostructures resulting from the assembly of nanosheets. The incorporation of S exposes a large quantity of the active edge sites as well as abundant unsaturated sites. For example, the hierarchical S-doped MoSe2-x nanotubes show a high reversible capacity and excellent cycling performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIB). In addition, the synthesized S-doped MoSe2-x nanosheets exhibit excellent catalytic activity and superior stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic medium. The excellent performance of S-doped MoSe2-x nanosheets has been attributed to the synergistic effect of the high density of active sites as well as the enhanced conductivity.

An increase in microplastic weathering under UV lights decreases their surface hydrophilicity by the formation of polar groups and increases their mobility in the stormwater biofilter under freeze–thaw cycles.