Editorial |
Featured
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Perspective |
The refinery of the future
Efforts to find renewable alternatives to fossil fuels that might enable a carbon-neutral society by 2050 are described, as well as outlining a possible roadmap towards a refinery of the future and evaluating its requirements.
- Eelco T. C. Vogt
- & Bert M. Weckhuysen
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Research Highlight |
Old electric-vehicle batteries can find new purpose — on the grid
An algorithm can monitor the health of retired vehicle batteries used to store surplus power fed into the electrical grid.
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Editorial |
UN plastics treaty: don’t let lobbyists drown out researchers
Tackling plastic pollution needs scientists to be in the negotiating room at upcoming talks.
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Technology Feature |
How synthetic biologists are building better biofactories
Artificial electron donors and acceptors expand researchers’ metabolic engineering options — if only cells would cooperate.
- Sara Reardon
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Nature Podcast |
How climate change is affecting global timekeeping
Melting polar ice could delay major time adjustment, and the strange connection between brain inflammation and memory.
- Elizabeth Gibney
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Research Highlight |
A view of wind turbines drives down home values — but only briefly
House prices drop by 1% if wind turbines are close and visible, but they rebound quickly.
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Research Briefing |
Reducing carbon dioxide efficiently to reuse and recycle it
Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide holds promise for converting CO2 into valuable products but is hampered by stability issues and wasted carbon. A proton-exchange membrane that uses lead as a catalyst demonstrates the feasibility of durable and efficient CO2 reduction.
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Spotlight |
How science is helping farmers to find a balance between agriculture and solar farms
In the French countryside, energy companies are rushing to set up solar farms, with the risk of marginalizing agriculture. Researchers are finding solutions.
- Magali Reinert
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Research Briefing |
Bendy silicon solar cells pack a powerful punch
Crystalline silicon solar cells have been brittle, heavy and fragile until now. Highly flexible versions with high power-to-weight ratios and power conversion efficiencies of 26.06–26.81% were produced by improving manufacturing and design technologies and by using thin wafer substrates.
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Perspective |
Designing a circular carbon and plastics economy for a sustainable future
Four future greenhouse gas emission scenarios for the global plastics system are investigated, with the lead scenario achieving net-zero emissions, and a series of technical, legal and economic interventions recommended.
- Fernando Vidal
- , Eva R. van der Marel
- & Charlotte K. Williams
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Article |
Durable CO2 conversion in the proton-exchange membrane system
We develop a proton-exchange membrane system that reduces CO2 to formic acid at a catalyst that is derived from waste lead–acid batteries and in which a lattice carbon activation mechanism contributes.
- Wensheng Fang
- , Wei Guo
- & Bao Yu Xia
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Correspondence |
Climate policy must integrate blue energy with food security
- Yuyan Gong
- , Liuyue He
- & Jiangning Zeng
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: A new kind of solar cell is coming — is it the future of green energy?
Perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaic panels could lead to cheaper electricity production.
- Mark Peplow
- & Benjamin Thompson
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News Feature |
A new kind of solar cell is coming: is it the future of green energy?
Firms commercializing perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaics say that the panels will be more efficient and could lead to cheaper electricity.
- Mark Peplow
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Spotlight |
Réunion’s search for energy self-sufficiency
Whether the French island succeeds in producing all of its electricity depends not only on technology, but also on social and political will.
- Rachel Nuwer
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Nature Index |
Are rooftop solar panels the answer to meeting China’s challenging climate targets?
Research is central to the success of major photovoltaic programmes in ramping up clean energy and alleviating rural poverty.
- Yvaine Ye
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Correspondence |
US universities must tackle their huge carbon footprints
- Mark O. Huising
- & Adam R. Aron
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Nature Podcast |
A mussel-inspired glue for more sustainable sticking
A soya-oil-derived adhesive matches the strength of conventional glues, and reassessing the extent and impacts of childhood malnutrition.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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Research Highlight |
Wood component yields useful plastics — without the health risks
Lignin and a catalyst allow for green and efficient production of alternatives to bisphenol A.
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Article
| Open Access
Bonding wood with uncondensed lignins as adhesives
A straightforward strategy for preparing lignin-based wood adhesives from lignocellulosic biomass is described, with the resulting adhesives demonstrating performance attractive for plywood manufacture.
- Guangxu Yang
- , Zhenggang Gong
- & Li Shuai
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Editorial |
Plastic waste is everywhere — and countries must be held accountable for reducing it
As UN negotiations on eliminating plastic pollution enter a crucial phase, researchers must play their part in designing adequate measurement, monitoring and compliance systems.
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World View |
The G20 should forge a pact to support nations’ shifts to a low-carbon future
Fossil fuels should be used sparingly, in the areas where they contribute most to human welfare.
- Navroz K. Dubash
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Article
| Open Access
Enhanced rare-earth separation with a metal-sensitive lanmodulin dimer
A study biochemically and structurally characterizes a lanmodulin from Hansschlegelia quercus with an oligomeric state sensitive to rare-earth ionic radius.
- Joseph A. Mattocks
- , Jonathan J. Jung
- & Joseph A. Cotruvo Jr
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Outlook |
A cleaner route to ammonia
A method driven by renewable energy could end the need for fossil fuels in fertilizer production.
- James Mitchell Crow
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Research Briefing |
Flexible solar cells made with crystalline silicon
Although crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells were developed nearly 70 years ago, their use is still limited. Tailoring the structural symmetry on the edges of textured c-Si wafers changes their fracture mechanism such that they can be used to fabricate flexible solar cells with a bending radius of about 8 millimetres.
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Nature Video |
Wind turbines are tough to recycle – this new chemistry could help
A method for breaking down epoxies could stop wind turbine blades ending up in landfill.
- Shamini Bundell
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Article
| Open Access
Catalytic disconnection of C–O bonds in epoxy resins and composites
The authors report a transition-metal-catalysed protocol for recovery of polymer building block bisphenol A and intact fibres from epoxy composites, demonstrating that chemical recycling approaches for thermoset epoxy resins and composites are achievable.
- Alexander Ahrens
- , Andreas Bonde
- & Troels Skrydstrup
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Nature Index |
European Union appeals for interdisciplinary collaboration in new funding model
Brussels hopes that getting scientists from different fields to work together on big issues will bring innovations such as viable hydrogen energy infrastructure to the market more quickly.
- Charles Ebikeme
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Research Highlight |
Sunshine is transformed into green hydrogen on an ambitious scale
Prototype facility smashes record for converting solar power to hydrogen for its technology category.
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News Feature |
Three ways to solve the plastics pollution crisis
Researchers are studying how more-sophisticated policies, smarter recycling and new materials could stem the tide of waste.
- Diana Kwon
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Editorial |
European backsliding on electric vehicles is bad news for the climate
Attempts to put a brake on the transition to electrification and allow ‘climate neutral’ fuels after 2035 ignore the science — what’s needed is policy clarity now.
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Article |
Copper-catalysed enantioconvergent alkylation of oxygen nucleophiles
The enantioconvergent alkylation of oxygen nucleophiles is achieved using α-haloamides and a readily available copper catalyst, and the reaction proceeds under mild conditions in the presence of a wide variety of functional groups.
- Caiyou Chen
- & Gregory C. Fu
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Correspondence |
ChatGPT: tackle the growing carbon footprint of generative AI
- Jiafu An
- , Wenzhi Ding
- & Chen Lin
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Research Highlight |
A dab of acid could upcycle common plastic foams
Widely used polymers called polyurethanes are difficult to recycle, but a chemical strategy allows them to be easily broken down into useful components.
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Correspondence |
Smart forest management boosts both carbon storage and bioenergy
- Peter Högberg
- , Tomas Lundmark
- & Pekka E. Kauppi
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Research Briefing |
A practical method for splitting seawater into hydrogen fuel
The electrolytic splitting of saline water is a highly desirable and sustainable method for the mass production of green hydrogen, but seawater contains many impurities that hinder the long-term stability of conventional electrolysis systems. A method for enabling the electrolysis of seawater has been developed that addresses previous side-reaction and corrosion problems.
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News Feature |
Plastics tsunami: Can a landmark treaty stop waste from choking the oceans?
As nations meet this week to negotiate an agreement on plastics pollution, researchers warn that a lack of information will make it hard to enforce any agreement.
- Meera Subramanian
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Editorial |
Overhyping hydrogen as a fuel risks endangering net-zero goals
Hydrogen is touted as a wonder fuel for everything from transport to home heating — but greener and more efficient options are often available.
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Outlook |
Short-circuiting the electronic-waste crisis
The computers, smartphones and other technologies that define modern life are creating waste across the world. A combination of technological and policy solutions could help to limit the damage.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Outlook |
The path towards more-sustainable building construction
The built environment provides a huge opportunity to move to a circular economy. Standardization and smart design will be key to enabling the shift.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Outlook |
Recycling our way to sustainability
A circular economy requires an overhaul of product design, consumption and waste management. Although recycling is dismissed by some as insufficient, it remains an essential process.
- Sarah King
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Outlook |
How to rescue biofuels from a sustainable dead end
An environmentally friendly path forwards for liquid fuel derived from plants will depend on smarter agriculture and smarter regulation.
- Peter Fairley
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Outlook |
How to fit clothing into the circular economy
Vast amounts of textiles end up in landfill. Technology to recycle the cellulose in fabric could make clothing more sustainable.
- Neil Savage
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News |
COP27 climate summit: what scientists are watching
Countries will grapple with how to pay for loss and damage from global warming, and how to bolster pledges to cut emissions.
- Jeff Tollefson
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Correspondence |
Adapt solar panels for sub-Saharan Africa
- Jonghoo Park
- , Mohammad Awwal Adeshina
- & Gunwoo Kim
Reinvent oil refineries for a net-zero future