Reviews & Analysis

There is great interest in commercializing perovskite solar cells, however, the presence of defects and trap states hinder their performance. Here, recent developments in characterization techniques to investigate defects and ion migration in halide perovskites are reviewed.

Aqueous batteries are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. In this Review, the challenges and recent strategies for various aqueous battery systems are discussed with key factors needing the most improvement highlighted.

Scintillators are materials of great interest for versatile and fast radiation detection systems. This Review discusses recent advances and strategies to improve the light yield, decay time, and coincidence timing resolution of all-inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite scintillators.

High-entropy materials have been realized in a wide number of alloys and ceramics, usually in bulk form. This Perspective discusses the emerging field of two-dimensional high-entropy materials, focusing on their formation, structure and applications.

Lead-based relaxor ferroelectrics are known for their large piezoelectric response, but the relation between the response and the nanoscale structure of these materials is still under debate. In this Perspective, the microscopic implications of the polar nature of disordered relaxor ferroelectrics are critically reviewed.

Electrolytes are a key component of a battery and therefore receive extensive research interest. This Perspective discusses how to ensure that reports of non-aqueous electrolyte solutions for lithium batteries are reliable and can be reproduced by others.

High-entropy materials are defined by the configurational entropy of their bulk phase, yet it is interesting to consider whether grain boundaries can also be “high entropy”. This paper discusses a thermodynamic framework for “high-entropy grain boundaries” and relevant concepts and unique thermodynamic properties.

Integrating perovskite photovoltaics with other systems can substantially improve their performance. This Review discusses various integrated perovskite devices for applications including tandem solar cells, buildings, space applications, energy storage, and cell-driven catalysis.

Lead-based halide perovskite solar cells offer attractive power conversion efficiencies, but the release of lead into the environment is a major concern. Here, lead-free, tin-based perovskites are reviewed as an alternative, with a focus on how to extend their long-term stability.

Graph neural networks are machine learning models that directly access the structural representation of molecules and materials. This Review discusses state-of-the-art architectures and applications of graph neural networks in materials science and chemistry, indicating a possible road-map for their further development.

Inverted perovskite solar cells are promising for real-world energy harvesting, but suffer from issues with environmental stability. This Review discusses current understanding of stability in these devices and recent attempts to improve stability, as well as future directions that might enable their market roll-out.

Coin and pouch cells are typically fabricated to assess the performance of new materials and components for lithium batteries. Here, parameters related to cell fabrication that influence the reliability of these measurements are discussed, including guidelines for reliable cell preparation.

3D perovskites are widely researched for their use in optoelectronic devices, yet suffer from issues with environmental stability. Here, the improved stability of 2D and quasi-2D perovskites under a range of environmental factors, as compared to their 3D counterparts, is discussed.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is a powerful and increasingly accessible approach for studying kinetic processes in batteries. Here, key factors for using impedance to obtain accurate and reproducible data from batteries are discussed, providing guidance for researchers.

Machine learning is an increasingly important tool for materials science. Here, the authors suggest that its contextual use, including careful assessment of resources and bias, judicious model selection, and an understanding of its limitations, will help researchers to expedite scientific discovery.

Stable performance in solar cells is a key requirement for industrial success. Here, stability and degradation of perovskite solar cells are discussed within the context of the International Electrotechnical Commission’s standards for commercialized solar cells.

Battery research is often focused on candidate materials that result in the most promising battery performance numbers, which makes it vital that findings are accurately reported. This paper discusses a number of errors that often occur in the battery literature, which impact reproducibility.

Hall effect measurements are often used to identify chiral spin textures in materials through the topological Hall effect, but similar Hall signals can arise due to sample inhomogeneity or experimental issues. Here, SrRuO3 is used as a model system to discuss the ambiguity in Hall signals, questioning the reliability of Hall effect measurements as evidence of chiral spin textures.

Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis allows for enhanced reaction kinetics and selectivity. Here, the importance of hot holes in plasmonic catalysis is discussed, with a focus on their efficient extraction via different nano-heterointerfaces.

There is growing interest in organic semiconductor devices for light-mediated neuromodulation, such as for retinal stimulation. Here, the key working principles of these devices are discussed, as well as promising applications and outstanding challenges for the field.