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Laboratory innovations in energy research do not necessarily transfer into commercial success due to scale-up and other related issues. Here the authors review scientific challenges in realizing large-scale battery active materials manufacturing and cell processing, trying to address the important gap from battery basic research.
Single-crystalline layered oxides are much sought after as they offer high-performance promises in batteries. Here the authors report a facile and scalable planetary centrifugal mixing technique—aided by eutectic lithium salts—that enables the growth of high-quality single-crystalline cathode materials.
Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis is a green approach to produce this widely-used chemical and potential energy carrier, yet performance is often poor. A porphyrin-based photocatalyst is now shown to produce hydrogen peroxide by an unusual mechanism involving both photoexcited electrons and holes with promising efficiency.
The critical interphase overpotential (CIOP) represents the capability of the interphase on solid-state electrolyte surfaces to suppress Li-dendrite penetration. An interphase with a high CIOP is shown to enable an all-solid-state Li-metal battery to operate at high current and high capacity.
Glass panes have been used in windows since the times of ancient Rome, but they exhibit poor thermal insulation. Aerogels made from silanized cellulose nanofibres are better thermal insulators and more transparent than glass, offering an approach to developing window products to reduce the loss of building heating and cooling energy.
Windows are one of the least energy efficient parts of the building envelope because of poor thermal insulation. Abraham et al. develop a cellulose-based aerogel as a thermal barrier for windows that retains their optical properties.
The critical current density is generally used to evaluate dendrite-suppression capability in batteries. Here the authors propose a critical interphase overpotential descriptor for dendrite suppression and demonstrate high-performance solid-state battery design with the new descriptor.
Improving the manufacturability of perovskite solar cells is key to their deployment. Zheng et al. report a one-step deposition of the hole-selective and absorber layers that addresses wettability issues and simplifies the fabrication process.
Inorganic perovskite solar cells suffer from charge carrier losses. Chu et al. treat the perovskite surface with caesium fluoride, forming a wider-bandgap perovskite that increases the carrier lifetime and hole extraction efficiency.
Today’s sodium-ion batteries can not only be used in stationary energy storage applications, but also in 160–280 mile driving-range five-passenger electric vehicles. This technology will alleviate some of the supply-chain issues arising from limited resources of materials used in the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries.
Differences in the approach to community acceptance of energy technologies can muddy visions of energy futures. Acknowledgement of the tensions around justice perspectives and the degree of desired change can improve scholarship and policy dialogue.
Photocatalytic synthesis of H2O2 is an attractive route to this important chemical and potential energy carrier, but improvements in performance and operation without sacrificial agents are needed. Here the authors report a porphyrin-based photocatalyst with promising performance for H2O2 production from only H2O and O2.
Capping a three-dimensional metal halide perovskite with a layered, two-dimensional perovskite prevents ions from diffusing out of the perovskite keeping out oxygen and water as well as contributing to solar cell stability. New research shows that a thin cross-linked polymer layer can ensure that the boundary between the 3D and 2D materials remains sharp, further improving stability.
Russia has faced sanctions on its fossil energy exports since invading Ukraine, yet its nuclear industry has largely been overlooked. To explore Russia’s potential for influence through this sector, Szulecki and Overland analyse Russian nuclear power supplier Rosatom’s global project portfolio and the dependencies of countries on it.