News on China's scientific and technological development.

This is quite interesting and probably unknown to most people. Chinese soft tech companies are waging huge battles against American tech companies all over the world. This particular one is Didi vs Uber. Didi's 99 investment in Brazil is interesting since 99 has also invested in BYD cars. I wonder if Chinese auto exports can also help Didi gain market share around the world

New mainland Chinese suppliers added by Apple in its past financial year included Inner Mongolia-based Baotou INST Magnetic New Material Co, which designs and manufactures rare earth magnetic material application devices; electronic connectors maker Shenzhen Linkconn Electronics Co; and Jiangyin Kangrui Molding Technology Co, based in eastern Jiangsu province. Another new addition was Shanghai-listed Wingtech Technology Co, which is a semiconductor and communications integrated device manufacturer.

The seven Chinese firms that have lost supplier status with Apple included Shenzhen-listed Ofilm Group, which is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of optical and optoelectronic components. Apple dropped Ofilm as a supplier in March last year after it was added to Washington’s trade blacklist over alleged involvement in a government programme that transferred ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to work at the company’s factories.

Huawei Qingpu R&D Center construction site: largest innovation base of Huawei

The manager noted that despite the ban against Chinese products, the surveillance equipment of China’s two security equipment giants had not been erased from Taiwan. “The truth is that [Hikvision] supports local brands by putting those companies brands on its products. There are a lot of companies it does this with,” he said. Almost every Taiwanese distributor of Chinese security equipment manufacturers have rolled out own-branded products best described as “Chinese-made products in a Taiwanese shell.”

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In fact, the “China bans” created by all levels of government and state-run companies and supported by many layers of regulations may be “bans” in name only.

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According to a local vendor who sells both Taiwanese and Chinese products, Taiwan-made equipment costs twice as much as imported China-made goods, and the vendor described Hikvision products as “cheap and easy to use and they rarely break down.” As a vertically integrated manufacturer, Hikvision controls all aspects of its products in-house, resulting in a quality level that surpasses that of Taiwanese makers, the vendor said. Another vendor familiar with Hikvision products felt Hikvision has a one- to two-quarter technology lead over the rest of the market.

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Benefiting from the anti-China wave in the security equipment sector in Taiwan and even in Western countries, Vivotek had higher revenues in the first eight months of 2022 than in all of 2021, and its stock hit a seven-year high in mid-September. That’s because while many Taiwanese companies decided to slap their brands on Chinese-made products to stay in business, Vivotek bucked the headwinds and actually expanded its factory in Zhonghe, in the Taipei suburbs, and has also added two new production lines in Delta Electronics’ factory complex in Taoyuan.
In this two-system world, only “hard power” can survive for long, and it has provided Taiwanese brands with new opportunities to overcome intense competition from Chinese manufacturers.

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HARBIN -- A new national soybean yield record has been set in a high-yield soybean production competition in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, which was assessed by an expert panel authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

According to the assessment results made available on Sunday, the 854 Farm Co., Ltd. of the Beidahuang Group achieved 311.2 kg of soybean yield per mu (0.07 hectares) on a contiguous 100-mu field, taking first place in the provincial contest.

The farm planted "Kennong 34," a soybean variety developed by Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University.

Li Kun, an agricultural technician on the farm, said that the weather this year was suitable for soybean growth, with sufficient rainfall. Meanwhile, the company's unified supply of agricultural materials and the application of technical measures such as inoculation of rhizobia and the use of organic fertilizer also contributed to the bumper harvest.

Heilongjiang organized the competition in order to fully tap the potential of soybean production, attracting growers from 619 farming plots covering 385,600 mu of soybean plantation.

The province is China's main soybean production base, contributing to more than 40 percent of the country's total soybean planting area. It has achieved its target of adding 10 million mu of soybean plantation this year, with its total soybean growing area exceeding 68.5 million mu.

According to the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs, as of Sunday, soybeans have been harvested on more than 34 million mu.

Expect Beidou to have more accurate clocks thus to offer even higher precision.

Free-space dissemination of time and frequency with 10−19 instability over 113 km​

Abstract​

Networks of optical clocks find applications in precise navigation,, in efforts to redefine the fundamental unit of the ‘second’,,, and in gravitational tests. As the frequency instability for state-of-the-art optical clocks has reached the 10−19 level,, the vision of a global-scale optical network that achieves comparable performances requires the dissemination of time and frequency over a long-distance free-space link with a similar instability of 10−19. However, previous attempts at free-space dissemination of time and frequency at high precision did not extend beyond dozens of kilometres,. Here we report time–frequency dissemination with an offset of 6.3 × 10−20 ± 3.4 × 10−19 and an instability of less than 4 × 10−19 at 10,000 s through a free-space link of 113 km. Key technologies essential to this achievement include the deployment of high-power frequency combs, high-stability and high-efficiency optical transceiver systems and efficient linear optical sampling. We observe that the stability we have reached is retained for channel losses up to 89 dB. The technique we report can not only be directly used in ground-based applications, but could also lay the groundwork for future satellite time–frequency dissemination.


10月5日23点，国际学术期刊《自然》杂志在线发表中国科学技术大学教授潘建伟院士及其同事张强、姜海峰、彭承志等与上海技物所、新疆天文台、中科院国家授时中心、济南量子技术研究院和宁波大学等单位合作的新成果。该成果通过发展大功率低噪声光梳、高灵敏度高精度线性采样、高稳定高效率光传输等技术，首次在国际上实现百公里级的自由空间高精度时间频率传递，有效验证了星地链路高精度光频标比对的可行性，向建立广域光频标网络迈出重要一步。

审稿人评价称：“该工作是星地自由空间远距离光学时间频率传递领域的一项重大突破，将对暗物质探测、物理学基本常数检验、相对论检验等基础物理学研究产生重要影响。”

近年来，基于超冷原子光晶格的光波段原子钟（光钟）的稳定度已进入E-19量级，将形成新一代的时间频率标准（光频标），结合广域、高精度的时间频率传递可以构建广域时频网络，将在精密导航定位、全球授时、广域量子通信、物理学基本原理检验等领域发挥重要作用。例如，当全球尺度时频传递的稳定度达到E-18量级时，就可形成新一代的“秒”定义，2026年国际计量大会将讨论这种“秒”的重新定义。进一步，高轨空间具有更低的引力场噪声环境，光频标和时频传递的稳定度理论上能够进入E-21量级，有望在引力波探测、暗物质搜寻等物理学基本问题的研究方面产生重大应用。

然而，传统的基于微波的卫星时频传递稳定度仅有E-16量级，不能满足高精度时频网络的需求。基于光频梳和相干探测的自由空间时频传递技术，稳定度可以达到E-19量级，是高精度时频传递的发展趋势，但此前国际上的相关工作信噪比低、传输距离近，难以满足星地链路高精度时频传递的需求。

在此次刊发的成果中，研究团队发展了全保偏光纤飞秒激光技术，实现了瓦级功率输出的高稳定光频梳；基于低噪声平衡探测和集成干涉光纤光路模块，结合高精度相位提取后处理算法，实现了纳瓦量级的高灵敏度线性光学采样探测，单次时间测量精度优于100飞秒；进一步提升了光传输望远镜的稳定性和接收效率。

在上述技术突破的基础上，研究团队在新疆乌鲁木齐成功实现了113公里自由空间时频传递，时间传递万秒稳定度达到飞秒量级，频率传递万秒稳定度优于4E-19，系统可容忍最大链路损耗高达89dB，远高于中高轨星地链路损耗的典型预期值（约78dB），充分验证了星地链路高精度光频标比对的可行性。

中国科学技术大学副研究员沈奇、管建宇和研究员任继刚是本论文的共同第一作者。该工作得到中科院、科技部、基金委、安徽省、上海市和山东省等的资助和支持。

A team of scientists from USTC created a fully autonomous "robotic chemist".

Equipped with big data, machine learning and expert database system, the robotic chemist can learn from massive number of existing scientific papers, come up with its own scientific hypothesis and design experiments accordingly.

The whole system consists of a central computer, 2 mobile robotic arms, and 15 chemistry workstations.

In designing new high entropy alloys for catalysis, for example, the robotic chemist, in 5 weeks all by itself, read 16000 papers, selected 5 non-precious metals, computed 20 thousand theoretic data sets, carried out 207 full process experiments, finally found the best answer from all the 550 thousand possible ingredience proportions. It would have taken 1400 years in the traditional way to try all these permutations by human being.

According to one of the creators, the software and hardware of the robotic chemist are already better in all ways than those from the west.

中国科大研制出全流程机器化学家 初步实现智能化学范式​

中新网北京10月5日电 (记者 孙自法)机器人不仅能成为科学家的科研助手，还能成为科学家？中国科学技术大学(中国科大)青年科研团队通过最新研发成果给出了肯定的答案。

来自中国科学院(中科院)的最新消息称，在该院“数据驱动的化学、材料和生物科学的机器科学家”青年团队计划和国家自然科学基金委员会项目资助下，中国科大化学与材料科学学院罗毅、江俊教授团队与自动化系尚伟伟等合作，通过开发和集成移动机器人、化学工作站、智能操作系统、科学数据库，研制出数据智能驱动的全流程机器化学家，并已初步实现智能化学范式。





日前，中国科学技术大学化学与材料科学学院教授罗毅、江俊团队与自动化系副教授尚伟伟等合作，通过开发和集成移动机器人、化学工作站、智能操作系统、科学数据库，研制出数据智能驱动的全流程机器化学家。相关研究成果于9月发表在《国家科学评论》上。

国际审稿人认为，该成果中的“机器人系统、工作站和智能化学大脑都是最先进的”，“将对化学科学产生巨大影响”。该工作脱离了传统试错研究范式的限制，展现了“最强化学大脑”指导的智能新范式的巨大优势，引领化学研究朝着知识理解数字化、操作指令化、创制模板化的未来趋势前进，确立了我国在智能化学创新领域的全球领跑地位。

化学研究的对象日益复杂化、高维化，传统的研究范式主要是依赖于“穷举”、“试错”的手段。面对庞大的化学空间，配方和工艺的搜索常常止步于局部最优，无法进行全局探索。

机器化学家平台可采用机器智能去查找和阅读文献，从海量研究数据中汲取专家经验，在前人知识与数据的基础上提出科学假说并制定实验方案；调度2台移动机器人和15个自主开发的智能化学工作站，完成高通量合成、表征、测试的化学实验全流程，且预留标准接口，具备可扩展性；通过配套的后台操作系统，实现了数据的自动采集、处理、分析和可视化，并装载了云端数据库，可实时调用和更新数据库信息；独有的计算大脑通过调用物理模型、理论计算、机器学习和贝叶斯优化，让智能模型融入底层的理论规律与复杂的化学实验演化，使得机器科学家更加理解化学，更加擅长化学创造。

江俊介绍，该平台实现了大数据与智能模型双驱动下的化学合成-表征-测试全流程开发，在软硬件方面已全面超过欧美同类装置，具有更强的化学智能和广泛的化学品开发能力，目前已涵盖光催化与电催化材料、发光分子、光学薄膜材料等，且适用范围将随平台升级和拓展继续扩大。

以潜力巨大的高熵化合物催化剂为例，其多种元素的高度无序混合带来了高稳定性，也给人工试验找出最优配比带来了极大挑战。获得最优配方需要遍历测试极其庞大的化学配比组合，目前仅限于对最多3种金属组合进行优化。基于智能流程，机器化学家发挥其数据驱动和智能优化的优势，智能阅读16000篇论文并自主遴选出5种非贵金属元素，融合2万组理论计算数据和207组全流程机器实验数据，建立了理实交融的智能模型，指导贝叶斯优化程序从55万种可能的金属配比中找出最优的高熵催化剂，将传统“炒菜式”遍历搜索所需的1400年缩短为5周。

该研究得到中国科学院“数据驱动的化学、材料和生物科学的机器科学家”青年团队计划和国家自然科学基金委项目的资助。

SanWenYu said:

Expect Beidou to have more accurate clocks thus to offer even higher precision.

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Free-space dissemination of time and frequency with 10−19 instability over 113 km​

Abstract​

Networks of optical clocks find applications in precise navigation

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,

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, in efforts to redefine the fundamental unit of the ‘second’

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,

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,

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,

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and in gravitational tests

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. As the frequency instability for state-of-the-art optical clocks has reached the 10−19 level

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,

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, the vision of a global-scale optical network that achieves comparable performances requires the dissemination of time and frequency over a long-distance free-space link with a similar instability of 10−19. However, previous attempts at free-space dissemination of time and frequency at high precision did not extend beyond dozens of kilometres

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,

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. Here we report time–frequency dissemination with an offset of 6.3 × 10−20 ± 3.4 × 10−19 and an instability of less than 4 × 10−19 at 10,000 s through a free-space link of 113 km. Key technologies essential to this achievement include the deployment of high-power frequency combs, high-stability and high-efficiency optical transceiver systems and efficient linear optical sampling. We observe that the stability we have reached is retained for channel losses up to 89 dB. The technique we report can not only be directly used in ground-based applications, but could also lay the groundwork for future satellite time–frequency dissemination.

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10月5日23点，国际学术期刊《自然》杂志在线发表中国科学技术大学教授潘建伟院士及其同事张强、姜海峰、彭承志等与上海技物所、新疆天文台、中科院国家授时中心、济南量子技术研究院和宁波大学等单位合作的新成果。该成果通过发展大功率低噪声光梳、高灵敏度高精度线性采样、高稳定高效率光传输等技术，首次在国际上实现百公里级的自由空间高精度时间频率传递，有效验证了星地链路高精度光频标比对的可行性，向建立广域光频标网络迈出重要一步。

审稿人评价称：“该工作是星地自由空间远距离光学时间频率传递领域的一项重大突破，将对暗物质探测、物理学基本常数检验、相对论检验等基础物理学研究产生重要影响。”

近年来，基于超冷原子光晶格的光波段原子钟（光钟）的稳定度已进入E-19量级，将形成新一代的时间频率标准（光频标），结合广域、高精度的时间频率传递可以构建广域时频网络，将在精密导航定位、全球授时、广域量子通信、物理学基本原理检验等领域发挥重要作用。例如，当全球尺度时频传递的稳定度达到E-18量级时，就可形成新一代的“秒”定义，2026年国际计量大会将讨论这种“秒”的重新定义。进一步，高轨空间具有更低的引力场噪声环境，光频标和时频传递的稳定度理论上能够进入E-21量级，有望在引力波探测、暗物质搜寻等物理学基本问题的研究方面产生重大应用。

然而，传统的基于微波的卫星时频传递稳定度仅有E-16量级，不能满足高精度时频网络的需求。基于光频梳和相干探测的自由空间时频传递技术，稳定度可以达到E-19量级，是高精度时频传递的发展趋势，但此前国际上的相关工作信噪比低、传输距离近，难以满足星地链路高精度时频传递的需求。

在此次刊发的成果中，研究团队发展了全保偏光纤飞秒激光技术，实现了瓦级功率输出的高稳定光频梳；基于低噪声平衡探测和集成干涉光纤光路模块，结合高精度相位提取后处理算法，实现了纳瓦量级的高灵敏度线性光学采样探测，单次时间测量精度优于100飞秒；进一步提升了光传输望远镜的稳定性和接收效率。

在上述技术突破的基础上，研究团队在新疆乌鲁木齐成功实现了113公里自由空间时频传递，时间传递万秒稳定度达到飞秒量级，频率传递万秒稳定度优于4E-19，系统可容忍最大链路损耗高达89dB，远高于中高轨星地链路损耗的典型预期值（约78dB），充分验证了星地链路高精度光频标比对的可行性。

中国科学技术大学副研究员沈奇、管建宇和研究员任继刚是本论文的共同第一作者。该工作得到中科院、科技部、基金委、安徽省、上海市和山东省等的资助和支持。

Click to expand...

Chinese scientists successfully complete free-space dissemination of time and frequency with E-19 instability over 113 km

By Global Times Published: Oct 06, 2022 02:38 PM


Schematic diagram of the experiment Photo: research team

Chinese scientists have realized the experiment on free-space high precision time and frequency dissemination across 113 kilometers for the first time in the world, with dissemination of time stability reaching the femtosecond level, which can meet the time dissemination requirements of the optical clock with the current highest precision.

This achievement in basic scientific research is expected to have major applications in the study of fundamental problems in physics, from navigation, to gravitational wave detection, to dark matter search.

The relevant results were published online on Wednesday night in the international academic journal Nature, according to Chinese media.

The research was completed by the team of Pan Jianwei, China's leading quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China and a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) academician, together with cooperative institutes such as the Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Science and Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory.

In recent years the frequency instability for state-of-the-art optical clocks has reached the E-19 level, which can be used in precision navigation and positioning, global timing, wide-area quantum communication and basic principles of physics and will play an important role in the field of physics.

E-19 level means that a clock error is no more than one second in about 100 billion years, according to the report of the China News Service.

"Precise timing should not be limited to cold laboratories, but should also 'fly into ordinary people's homes,'" said Shen Qi, the first author of the article and an associate researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China. The expert also noted that there should be a time dissemination technology that matches the accuracy of the optical clock to spread precise time.

According to an abstract from the article, key technologies essential to this achievement include the deployment of high-power frequency combs, high-stability and high-efficiency optical transceiver systems and efficient linear optical sampling. The technique can not only be directly used in ground-based applications, but could also lay the groundwork for future satellite time-frequency dissemination.

SanWenYu said:

A team of scientists from USTC created a fully autonomous "robotic chemist".

Equipped with big data, machine learning and expert database system, the robotic chemist can learn from massive number of existing scientific papers, come up with its own scientific hypothesis and design experiments accordingly.

The whole system consists of a central computer, 2 mobile robotic arms, and 15 chemistry workstations.

In designing new high entropy alloys for catalysis, for example, the robotic chemist, in 5 weeks all by itself, read 16000 papers, selected 5 non-precious metals, computed 20 thousand theoretic data sets, carried out 207 full process experiments, finally found the best answer from all the 550 thousand possible ingredience proportions. It would have taken 1400 years in the traditional way to try all these permutations by human being.

According to one of the creators, the software and hardware of the robotic chemist are already better in all ways than those from the west.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

中国科大研制出全流程机器化学家 初步实现智能化学范式​

中新网北京10月5日电 (记者 孙自法)机器人不仅能成为科学家的科研助手，还能成为科学家？中国科学技术大学(中国科大)青年科研团队通过最新研发成果给出了肯定的答案。

来自中国科学院(中科院)的最新消息称，在该院“数据驱动的化学、材料和生物科学的机器科学家”青年团队计划和国家自然科学基金委员会项目资助下，中国科大化学与材料科学学院罗毅、江俊教授团队与自动化系尚伟伟等合作，通过开发和集成移动机器人、化学工作站、智能操作系统、科学数据库，研制出数据智能驱动的全流程机器化学家，并已初步实现智能化学范式。

View attachment 98871
View attachment 98872View attachment 98873

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日前，中国科学技术大学化学与材料科学学院教授罗毅、江俊团队与自动化系副教授尚伟伟等合作，通过开发和集成移动机器人、化学工作站、智能操作系统、科学数据库，研制出数据智能驱动的全流程机器化学家。相关研究成果于9月发表在《国家科学评论》上。

国际审稿人认为，该成果中的“机器人系统、工作站和智能化学大脑都是最先进的”，“将对化学科学产生巨大影响”。该工作脱离了传统试错研究范式的限制，展现了“最强化学大脑”指导的智能新范式的巨大优势，引领化学研究朝着知识理解数字化、操作指令化、创制模板化的未来趋势前进，确立了我国在智能化学创新领域的全球领跑地位。

化学研究的对象日益复杂化、高维化，传统的研究范式主要是依赖于“穷举”、“试错”的手段。面对庞大的化学空间，配方和工艺的搜索常常止步于局部最优，无法进行全局探索。

机器化学家平台可采用机器智能去查找和阅读文献，从海量研究数据中汲取专家经验，在前人知识与数据的基础上提出科学假说并制定实验方案；调度2台移动机器人和15个自主开发的智能化学工作站，完成高通量合成、表征、测试的化学实验全流程，且预留标准接口，具备可扩展性；通过配套的后台操作系统，实现了数据的自动采集、处理、分析和可视化，并装载了云端数据库，可实时调用和更新数据库信息；独有的计算大脑通过调用物理模型、理论计算、机器学习和贝叶斯优化，让智能模型融入底层的理论规律与复杂的化学实验演化，使得机器科学家更加理解化学，更加擅长化学创造。

江俊介绍，该平台实现了大数据与智能模型双驱动下的化学合成-表征-测试全流程开发，在软硬件方面已全面超过欧美同类装置，具有更强的化学智能和广泛的化学品开发能力，目前已涵盖光催化与电催化材料、发光分子、光学薄膜材料等，且适用范围将随平台升级和拓展继续扩大。

以潜力巨大的高熵化合物催化剂为例，其多种元素的高度无序混合带来了高稳定性，也给人工试验找出最优配比带来了极大挑战。获得最优配方需要遍历测试极其庞大的化学配比组合，目前仅限于对最多3种金属组合进行优化。基于智能流程，机器化学家发挥其数据驱动和智能优化的优势，智能阅读16000篇论文并自主遴选出5种非贵金属元素，融合2万组理论计算数据和207组全流程机器实验数据，建立了理实交融的智能模型，指导贝叶斯优化程序从55万种可能的金属配比中找出最优的高熵催化剂，将传统“炒菜式”遍历搜索所需的1400年缩短为5周。

该研究得到中国科学院“数据驱动的化学、材料和生物科学的机器科学家”青年团队计划和国家自然科学基金委项目的资助。

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One day even Chemical students can become couch potatoes like Computer Science students.

Scientists from the Nanjing University and USTC worked together on "in-situ resource utilization of lunar soil" for future lunar settlement. They found that the lunar soil sample brought back by Chang'e-5 can act as electrocatalyst to efficiently convert CO2 and H2O into H2, CH4 and O2.

Specifically, they simulated unmanned lunar soil processing using the robotic chemist developed by USTC.

Watch the 7min video clip embedded in the Chinese news release (second link below) to see how the robot worked on the simulated lunar soil.

Paper published in English:

In situ resource utilization of lunar soil for highly efficient extraterrestrial fuel and oxygen supply​

Abstract​

Building up the lunar settlement is the ultimate aim of lunar exploitation. Yet, limited fuel and oxygen supplies restrict human survival on the moon. Herein, we demonstrate the in situ resource utilization (ISRU) of lunar soil for extraterrestrial fuel and oxygen production, which may power up our solely natural satellite and supply respiratory gas. Specifically, the lunar soil is loaded with Cu species and employed for electrocatalytic CO2 conversion, demonstrating significant production of methane. In addition, the selected component in lunar soil (i.e. MgSiO3) loaded with Cu can reach a CH4 Faradaic efficiency of 72.05% with a CH4 production rate of 0.8 mL/min at 600 mA/cm2. Simultaneously, an O2 production rate of 2.3 mL/min can be achieved. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our developed process starting from catalyst preparation to electrocatalytic CO2 conversion is so accessible that it can be unmannedly operated via the robotic system. Such a highly efficient extraterrestrial fuel and oxygen production system is expected to push forward the development of mankind's civilization toward reaching the extraterrestrial settlement.

News release in Chinese:

全自动月壤资源化利用实现高效地外燃料和氧气供应

可持续的燃料和氧气供应是人类在月球建立地外定居点的必要条件。在地球上，通过光伏和电催化相结合，并以二氧化碳（CO2）和水为原料，科研人员已经成功实现人工合成碳氢燃料和氧气。因此该技术被认为是实现地外燃料和氧气供应的潜在方案之一。近年来随着月球探测的快速进步，研究人员发现月球表面具有可观的二氧化碳和水储量，进一步证实了该设想的可行性。然而，目前缺乏有效的催化剂、复杂的催化剂合成工艺等因素使得电催化CO2转化似乎只能在地外空间以实验室规模进行，所得燃料和氧气产率太低，远远无法满足人类的需求。

2021年，南京大学作为中国空间技术研究院牵头的联合团队组成单位之一，获得第一次发放的月球样品。针对以上目标，近日我校熊宇杰教授/龙冉教授等作为协作团队，与南京大学邹志刚院士/姚颖方教授团队紧密协作，发现“嫦娥五号”取回的月壤可以进行原位资源化利用（ISRU），作为电催化剂驱动地外燃料和氧气的生产。他们与我校江俊教授、罗毅教授和杨金龙院士合作，进一步展示了利用机器人实现从催化剂制备到地外燃料和氧气生产的全过程无人化操作。这种高效的地外燃料和氧气生产系统有望推动人类文明向地外定居点发展。这项研究由中国科学技术大学、南京大学、中国空间技术研究院合作完成，相关成果以“In situresource utilization of lunar soil for highly efficient extraterrestrial fuel and oxygen supply”为题发表在国际学术期刊《国家科学评论》(National Science Review)上。

此次的“嫦娥五号”取回的月壤（月球样品由国家航天局提供，样品编号：CE5C0400），是自1976年前苏联Luna 24任务以来第一个从月球带回的月壤样品。鉴于该工作的主要目的是实现月壤的原位资源化利用，研究人员以月壤作为催化剂，直接在月壤上负载铜，用于电催化CO2转化测试。研究发现低电压输入下，铜负载月壤在CO2供气条件下的电流密度明显高于Ar供气条件下，表明了月壤作为该反应催化剂的巨大潜力。核磁共振与气相色谱检测证明该反应的主要产物的为氢气、甲烷和一氧化碳。

在确定了月壤原位资源化利用作为催化剂的潜力后，研究人员进一步分析月壤在电催化过程中的主要活性成分，以优化碳氢燃料的选择性。首先经过多种表征测试，确定了其主要成分为辉石、斜长石、橄榄石和钛铁矿。研究人员发现辉石是月壤作为电催化剂的主要活性成分，进一步研究发现辉石中的硅酸镁具有优异的电催化二氧化碳转化活性。随后，通过在硅酸镁上负载铜，实现了高效的甲烷（产生速率为0.8 mL/min）和氧气（产生速率为2.3 mL/min）生产。该性能可以与地球上现有的电催化剂性能相媲美，展现出了月壤资源化利用的巨大潜力。

此外，鉴于地外空间有限的劳动力资源，开发全自动的电催化CO2转化系统尤为关键。受限于较为复杂的工艺流程，二氧化碳转化系统的无人操作被认为是实现该技术在地外应用的瓶颈之一。因此，该研究团队将电催化CO2转化系统尽可能地简化，以满足机器人系统的操作需求，实现了该系统中催化剂制备、电解槽组装与电催化反应的全自动无人操作。