opens new doors for innovation in materials and sustainable technologies. Owing to the great diversity and complexity of nature, the well-evolved natural structures corresponding to specific functionalities may vary from 1D nanofibers or nanoneedles to 2D nanosheets or nanoplates or even 3D multiscale-ordered structures. [32] A good understanding of the structureproperty relationships is essential for the design and fabrication of bioinspired nanomaterials.2D nanomaterials have achieved some significant triumphs in various applications, benefitting from their unique structural characteristics and relevant chemical and physical properties. [33][34][35] In fact, 2D nanostructures also widely exist in nature and generate some amazing functionalities, which offers us great opportunities to further expand the design and fabrication of 2D nanostructured materials, devices, and technologies. [36] By integrating 2D nanomaterials with the bioinspired strategies, innovative materials and technologies have been proposed and realized. In this research news, recent progress that mainly achieved over the past decade in bioinspired materials and technologies based on 2D nanomaterials for targeted sustainable energy and environmental technologies, such as energy conversion and storages, environmental remediation, etc., is reviewed and discussed. As shown in Figure 1, three topical subjects, including bioinspired 2D photonic structures, bioinspired 2D energy nanomaterials, and bioinspired 2D superwetting materials, along with the challenges and opportunities will be the focus of this article, and give an overall perspective to this emerging and promising research area. Bioinspired 2D Photonic MaterialsTo survive in the wild world, natural species have evolved various unique structures with fascinating optical functionalities, such as glitzy structural colors for attracting prey or mates, [37] tunable camouflage colors for escaping from predators, [38] antireflection function of compound eyes for weak light vision, [36] and so on. These structures, as known as photonic crystal structures, have inspired the design of novel photonic micro/nanostructures and some smart optical devices.Among the various natural photonic structures, one class consists of periodically stacked 2D multilayers, also known as Bragg Stacks, have been found in many natural organisms, such as plants, insects, and marine benthos. [39] Multiple pairs of 2D layers with different refractive indexes in Bragg Stacks can generate iridescent structural colors through constructive The increasing demand for constructing ecological civilization and promoting socially sustainable development has encouraged scientists to develop bioinspired materials with required properties and functions. By bringing science and nature together, plenty of novel materials with extraordinary properties can be created by learning the best from natural species. In combination with the exceptional features of 2D nanomaterials, bioinspired 2D nanomaterials and technologies have delivered signif...

2D nanomaterials, including graphene, transition metal oxide (TMO) nanosheets, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets, etc., have offered an appealing and unprecedented opportunity for the development of high-performance electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Although significant progress has been made on 2D nanomaterials for LIB applications in the recent years, some major challenges still exist for the direct use of these sheet-like nanomaterials, such as their serious self-agglomerating tendency during electrode fabrication and low conductivity as well as the large volume changes over repeated charging–discharging cycles for most TMOs/TMDs, which have resulted in large irreversible capacity, low initial Coulombic efficiency and fast capacity fading. To address these issues, considerable progress has been made in the exploitation of 2D nanosheets for enhanced lithium storage. In this review, we intend to summarize the recent progress on the strategies for enhancing the lithium-storage performance of 2D nanomaterials, including hybridization with conductive materials, surface/edge functionalization and structural optimization. These strategies for manipulating the structures and properties of 2D nanomaterials are expected to meet the grand challenges for advanced nanomaterials in clean energy applications and thus provide access to exciting materials for achieving high-performance next-generation energy-storage devices.

The authors investigate the effects of El Niño and La Niña on the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) in the boreal summer (May–October) over the western North Pacific (WNP). It is found that during El Niño summers, the ISO is dominated by a higher-frequency oscillation with a period of around 20–40 days, whereas during La Niña summers the ISO is dominated by a lower-frequency period of around 40–70 days. The former is characterized by northwestward-propagating convection anomalies in the WNP, and the latter is characterized by northward- and eastward-propagating convective signals over the tropical Indian Ocean/Maritime Continent. The possible mechanisms through which El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-induced background mean state changes influence the ISO behavior are examined through idealized numerical experiments. It is found that enhanced (weakened) mean moisture and easterly (westerly) vertical wind shear in the WNP during El Niño (La Niña) are the main causes of the strengthened (weakened) 20–40-day northwestward-propagating ISO mode, whereas the 40–70-day ISO initiated from the Indian Ocean can only affect the WNP during La Niña years because the dry (moist) background moisture near the Maritime Continent during El Niño (La Niña) suppresses (enhances) the ISO over the Maritime Continent, and the ISO propagates less over the Maritime Continent during El Niño years than in La Niña years.

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This study explores possible mechanisms for the barrier effect of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Continent (MC) on MJO propagation. In particular, this study examines whether similar mechanisms can be found in both observations and CMIP5 simulations. All models simulate individual MJO events but underestimate the percentage of MJO events propagating into the MC. The simulations are grouped into the top and bottom 50% based on their capability of reproducing the MJO spectral signal. When compared with the observations, the bottom 50% of the simulations significantly underestimate the MJO strength and exaggerate the barrier effect intensity, whereas these discrepancies are not significant in the top 50% of the simulations. From the top 50% of the simulations, the MJO strength, moisture processes, and surface evaporation in the MC all play important roles in constituting the barrier effect. No such evidence is found in observations. The discrepancies may come from small observed sample size and/or misrepresentations of key physical processes in the models. A consistent result is found in the observations and simulations: Whether MJO events can cross the MC depends on the degree to which dominant precipitation over land shifts to over water in the MC as MJO convection centers approach the MC and cross it. This result emphasizes the critical role of precipitation over water in carrying convective signals of the MJO through the MC. The results suggest that diagnosing the model alone on mechanisms for the barrier effect could be misleading; further investigations using a combination of observations, global gridded data, and high-resolution models are needed.

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