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The operational stability of perovskite solar cells is often tested in the laboratory environment but its correlation to real-world operation is still unclear. New research shows that the outdoor ageing behaviour of the devices can be modelled with temperature-dependent degradation rates from laboratory stability tests that apply both heat and light stressors.
Bipolar membranes are emerging as an enabling component in numerous energy-relevant electrochemical devices, but a greater understanding of how they operate in complex electrolytes is needed. Research now reveals that ionic species in mixed-ion electrolytes can block the heart of the membrane, the bipolar junction, hampering its performance.
The diverse structures of energy system models result in disparities in computed energy and climate outcomes. Through a systematic quantification of five diagnostic indicators, new research offers a comprehensive ‘energy model fingerprint’ that will enable better contextualization and comparison of models in climate mitigation studies.
As the climate gets more extreme, buildings need to dramatically reduce energy use for heating and cooling. A new model reproduces the relationship between local climate and hourly building energy use, allowing us to reliably quantify the impact of modified indoor or outdoor climatic conditions such as thermostat adjustment or climate change.
The long-term operational stability of perovskite photovoltaics is critical to their successful real-world deployment. New research shows that ammonium cations with a high acid-dissociation constant can inhibit degradation reactions and impart excellent long-term stability in solar cells operating at high temperatures.
Electrochemical methods are emerging as potential ways to electrify the production of ammonia (NH3). Now, researchers have discovered a copper–tin electrocatalyst that can efficiently and selectively achieve high production rates of ammonia from nitric oxide (NO) feedstocks, marking a key step forward in decarbonizing ammonia synthesis.
Irreversible structural transitions and disorder in electrodes during battery operation can cause electrochemical performance to deteriorate. Now, an innovative design that turns an irreversible phase transition into a partially disordered phase is shown to be effective in improving disordered rocksalt materials.
Solid electrolytes may enable a step-change in battery performance, but their brittleness often complicates their use. Now, a new inorganic electrolyte has been developed: it is a glassy material that offers viscoelasticity as well as good ionic conductivity.
Lithium-ion battery manufacturing is energy-intensive, raising concerns about energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions amid surging global demand. New research reveals that battery manufacturing will be more energy-efficient in future because technological advances and economies of scale will counteract the projected rise in future energy demand.
The solid–electrolyte interphase between the negative electrode and the electrolyte is vital to the performance of rechargeable batteries, yet it is challenging to quantify its physical properties. Now a way of directly measuring the electrical properties of the interphase has been devised, revealing voltage-dependent conducting behaviour.
Solar-driven oxidative coupling of methane is a promising approach to synthesize important C2+ products, yet poor efficiency limits its application. Now, a TiO2 membrane loaded with Au nanoclusters, which act as hole acceptors and catalytic centres, achieves high yield and selectivity in C2+ production.
Preparing the electric grid to withstand adverse impacts from climate change will require significant investments. New research focused on wildfire risk mitigation in California demonstrates that how the cost of such investments is shared has important implications for affordability and equity in electricity access.
The products of high rate, selective and stable electrochemical CO2 reduction are often restricted to molecules containing one or two carbon atoms, limiting market potential. Now, a catalyst with ionomer-coated surface-modified nanoparticles enables stable CO2 conversion to a three-carbon product with 90% Faradaic efficiency at high reaction rates.
The cost of solar photovoltaics has declined over the past two decades, but the driving mechanisms are not fully understood. Now, researchers examine the role of hardware and non-hardware features in cost reduction of photovoltaics and develop a model that could be used to understand cost reductions for other energy technologies.
It has been difficult for organic redox flow batteries to simultaneously achieve high capacity and long cycle life. Now, a catholyte design is shown to have the potential to overcome these challenges.
Understanding drivers of home energy efficiency efforts is important for slowing climate change and managing energy costs. A study now combines open-ended survey questions with natural language processing to find that renovations are typically motivated by factors like comfort and environmental concerns, and that energy efficiency investments are often delayed until renovations are needed.
Despite advances in batteries, certain applications call for alternative energy storage technologies with very fast charge/discharge capabilities. Now, a configurational entropy index is proposed for deterministic design of relaxor ferroelectric materials with not only high power but also high energy density.
Sodium superionic conductor (NASICON)-type polyanionic materials are promising cathodes for sodium-ion batteries, but they suffer from voltage hysteresis issues that cause cycling instability. Now, a new type of defect in NASICONs is unravelled as the root cause of voltage hysteresis, and molybdenum doping is shown to decrease defect concentration, improving capacity and cyclability.
Silicon heterojunction solar cells represent a promising photovoltaic approach, yet low short-circuit currents limit their power conversion efficiency. New research shows an efficiency record of 26.81% driven by lower resistance loss and higher current by replacing the conventional front and rear amorphous doped-silicon layers with nanocrystalline layers.
China’s electricity market reforms aim to improve the operational efficiency of the power sector, while simultaneously supporting reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. New research shows that the influence of local interests may limit gains to half of their estimated potential.
