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Molten-salt batteries such as Na–NiCl2 are promising candidates for grid storage, but suffer from fragility of ion-selective ceramic membranes. Here the authors report the operation of a Li–Pb||PbCl2 battery fitted with a robust TiN mesh membrane that functions by protective faradaic reaction.
Electrification of transport offers many benefits for the energy transition but introduces a number of complexities around the electric system. This study undertakes modelling of residential power demand and electric vehicle use to understand the impact of uncoordinated vehicle charging on the electricity load.
Catalysts are required to increase the rate of H2 evolution over silicon photocathodes, but their presence can lead to parasitic light absorption. Here, the authors explore the contributions of catalysts and light absorption to the overall performance of Si microwires, depositing Ni–Mo catalysts spatioselectively to optimize efficiency.
Three-dimensional printing is changing the way we manufacture objects. Here, Kim et al. develop inks of inorganic thermoelectric materials to 3D print the legs of conformable thermoelectric generators, allowing waste heat recovery from hot water pipes.
The stability of perovskite solar cells depends on each layer and interface in the device. Here, Christians et al. systematically design the entire device stack focusing on stability, creating cells that retain 88% of their initial efficiency on average, after 1,000 h of unencapsulated operation.
Biological photovoltaic devices (BPVs) use photosynthetic microorganisms to generate electricity, but their efficiency is low. Here the authors report power densities of over 0.5 W per m2 for a flow-based BPV system, by decoupling the charging and the power delivery units.
Electric power grids exhibit frequency fluctuations brought on by changes in demand, trading and intermittency of renewable sources. Schäfer et al. analyse fluctuations in real power grids from North America, Japan and Europe and find deviations from Gaussianity and substantial contributions due to trading.
Future demographic changes will impact on energy use and hence carbon emissions through time-use and consumption pattern shifts. Using representative national time-use data, Yu et al. model scenarios for demographic transitions in China to explore shifts in energy demand as households change in size and age.
Perovskite solar cells suffer from poor operational stability. Stability measurement conditions used in various studies differ widely. Here, Domanski et al. systematically study environmentally induced degradation in an effort to drive the community towards a consensus on how to age perovskite solar cells.
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are attractive electrodes for supercapacitors but generally suffer from low electric conductivity and chemical stability. Here the authors report stable conductive MOFs based on hexaminobenzene linker with volumetric and areal capacitances in excess of 700 F per cm3 and 15 F per cm2, respectively.
Photoelectrodes used to split water, driven by solar energy, often suffer from a lack of stability. Here the authors demonstrate that a V5+-saturated electrolyte can be used to inhibit photooxidation-coupled dissolution of a BiVO4 photoanode, suppressing photocorrosion and allowing stable photocurrent generation over hundreds of hours.
Photoelectrochemical water splitting to produce H2 is dependent on the electrochemical potentials between photoelectrodes and the electrolyte, which are difficult to measure. Here the authors use an electrochemical atomic force microscope technique to sense the potential of catalyst-coated electrode surfaces in operando.
It is challenging to exploit anionic redox activity to boost performance of battery electrodes, especially for anti-fluorite structures. Here the authors report simultaneous anionic and cationic redox in Li5FeO4, which enables its high capacity and eliminates the undesired oxygen gas release.
CO2 is often found alongside CH4 in natural gas wells; therefore, separation of the gases is an important industrial process. Jalilov et al. demonstrate that the adsorption selectivity for CO2 over CH4 can be significantly enhanced through introduction of water into the pores of a high-surface-area carbon.
Hydropower is critical to eastern and southern Africa but it is at risk from climate variability. Conway et al. examine river basins and rainfall variability to explore potential hydropower disruption for present and planned generation sites, highlighting the risks to supply and their spatial interlinkages.
All energy generation technologies emit greenhouse gases during their life cycle as a result of construction and operation. Pehl et al. integrate life-cycle assessment and energy modelling to analyse the emissions contributions of different technologies across their lifespan in future low-carbon power systems.
Cation engineering has been used to tune the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. Here, Jodlowski et al. introduce guanidinium, a cation slightly larger than previously thought possible, mixed with the traditional methylammonium cation, into the 3D structure, improving device stability.
Anionic redox provides extra capacity for battery electrodes, but it is challenging to realize its full potential. Tarascon and colleagues report a record-high reversible capacity of 3.5 electrons per Ir in a Li3IrO4 phase, and discuss the importance of increasing the ratio of oxygen versus transition metal.
Electricity grids are susceptible to damage from climate-related incidents, which can cause power outages. This study shows that the value of uninterrupted electricity supply across 19 EU nations is related to local temperature, with summer power outages becoming more costly with global warming.
Safety issues have been a long-standing obstacle impeding the large-scale deployment of rechargeable batteries especially for those with organic electrolytes. Here the authors report fire-extinguishing organic electrolytes, which enable long-term cycling Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.