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Lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation is a promising pathway to electrochemical ammonia synthesis, but the role of metallic lithium and its passivation layer are unclear. Here the authors employ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to explore these components, finding that the proton donor is the key determinant of lithium reactivity.
Historical appraisals of US neighbourhoods are thought to have led to present-day disparities in homeownership, home values and environmental and health outcomes. Cushing et al. examine the links between this historic red-lining, the siting of fossil fuel power plants and the burden of emissions.
There is a growing need for sustainable and green solvent processing of organic optoelectronics. Now Corzo et al. show that terpene solvents in a binary formulation enable device performance on par with that of more toxic solvents.
Understanding the drivers of opposition to renewable energy infrastructure is increasingly important. Here the authors find an association between wind farm opposition and belief in conspiracy theories and test the effectiveness of information provision in countering it.
How well households understand their own energy usage patterns may impact the effectiveness of demand response initiatives. Zanocco et al. find that only half of a sample of California households were able to identify their own usage pattern from among four test patterns before COVID-19 restrictions.
Solid oxide ionic conductors typically require elevated temperature to activate ionic transport. Here the authors report unusually high proton conductivity close to room temperature in a hydrogenated oxide, HSrCoO2.5, which they attribute to the intrinsically ordered oxygen vacancy channels and high proton concentration.
Bifacial Cu(In,Ga)Se2 photovoltaics have limited efficiency. Now Yang et al. have developed a process for low-temperature deposition of the absorber material that suppresses the formation of a detrimental GaOx interlayer and reduces the back interface recombination, enabling efficiencies of over 19% and 10% under front and rear illumination, respectively.
Organic solar cells with a bulk-heterojunction architecture suffer from photocurrent loss driven by triplet states. Now, Jiang et al. show that sequentially deposited donor–acceptor planar–mixed heterojunctions suppress triplet formation, enabling efficiencies over 19%.
Sustainable battery development requires high-performance components that are made of low-cost Earth-abundant materials. Here the authors report that an iron fluorosulfate—capable of both intercalation and conversion reactions during battery cycling—displays promising capacity and cyclability.
Achieving both high efficiency and stability in organic solar cells is challenging. Now, Liang et al. show that oligomer acceptors improve the molecular packing and morphology of the active layer, affording a 15% efficiency and enhanced stability.
Fabricating perovskite heterojunctions is challenging. Now, Ji et al. form a phase heterojunction with two polymorphs of CsPbI3, leading to 20.1% efficiency in inorganic perovskite solar cells.
It is challenging to decipher electrochemical processes, especially at the molecular scale, inside a working battery. Here Tarascon and colleagues develop a technique that pairs optical fibre sensors with operando infrared spectroscopy to reveal the dynamic mechanisms of key processes in commercial Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.
High-speed deposition of organic solar cells is crucial to manufacturing, yet it remains a challenge. Now, Sun et al. show that layer-by-layer deposition holds potential for speeding up the fabrication of solar cells while retaining high efficiency.
It is a challenging task to understand the reversibility of lithium-metal anodes in batteries. Here the authors identify the lithium electrode potential as a critical factor that affects the anode reversibility and subsequently propose an electrolyte design to improve the cycling performance.
Projects are under way for direct-current ultra-high-voltage transmission lines that would allow trading of renewable electricity across world regions. Guo et al. use integrated assessment models to explore different scenarios for the operation of these projects and assess their potential for decarbonization.
Increased use of cooling technologies, such as air conditioning, during hot weather can lead to higher bills for low-income households. Using Southern California Edison data, this study quantifies the relationship between daily temperature, electricity use and utility disconnections for low-income households in California.
Electrochemical approaches to carbon capture have the advantages of operation under ambient conditions and modular design, but improved sorbent molecules are still needed. Here the authors present a library of redox-tunable Lewis bases, shedding light on molecular design guidelines to tune sorbent properties.
The efficiency of kesterite solar cells has been stuck at 12.6% since 2013 due to challenges in controlling defects. Now Gong et al. present a low-temperature annealing of the kesterite/CdS junction to form an epitaxial interface with a low defect density, enabling 13%-efficiency devices.
The performance of CO2 electrolysers is often limited by poor transfer of reactants and products. Here the authors design a CO2 electrolyser in which forced convection of the catholyte throughout a porous electrode addresses this issue and allows high current densities to be reached.
Dehydrogenation of alkanes produces hydrogen and useful carbon molecules but typically requires harsh conditions to operate effectively. Here the authors show that Pt/TiO2 photocatalysts where Pt atoms are isolated from, yet still close to, one another are promising for visible-light-driven alkane dehydrogenation.