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Intensive research efforts are underway to enable applications of layered lithium transition metal oxides in batteries. Here the authors report an oxidative chemical vapour deposition technique to conformally coat both the primary and the secondary particles of these oxides to unleash potential applications.
Defects and defect migration are detrimental for perovskite solar cell efficiency and long-term stability. Li et al. show that fluoride is able to suppress the formation of halide anion and organic cation vacancy defects by restraining the relative ions via ionic and hydrogen bonds.
Intensive efforts are underway towards developing battery-based grid-scale storage technologies. Here, the authors report an aqueous K-ion battery that offers many attractive advantages over various battery alternatives.
For photo-electrochemical hydrogen production to become viable on a large scale, not only efficiency but also power density must be optimized. Here, the authors explore the impact of thermal integration on photo-electrochemical devices driven by concentrated solar irradiation and design one that operates with high efficiency and power density output.
Electrochemical CO2 reduction to fuels and chemicals is typically accompanied by oxygen evolution as the anodic half reaction. Here, Verma et al. identify glycerol oxidation as a viable alternative half reaction, reducing cradle-to-gate CO2 emissions and improving the economics of CO2 conversion.
Carbon capture and storage can help reduce fossil-fuel power-plant emissions. Here the authors show that the energy return on input of thermal plants with carbon capture is in general lower than the energy return of most types of renewable energy even when combined with energy storage.
A key challenge for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells is the development of membranes with both high ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. Here the authors report a high-performance family of poly(aryl piperidinium) membranes enabling promising durability and power density.
The ever-increasing applications for Li-ion batteries in markets call for environmentally friendly and energy-efficient recycling technologies. Here the authors report using a deep eutectic solvent to extract valuable components of Li-ion batteries.
Oxygen evolution is one half of the overall water splitting reaction to produce hydrogen. Although this reaction is well studied, there remains debate over the particulars of the catalytic mechanism. Here, the authors investigate Co–Zn oxyhydroxide electrocatalysts, and suggest that the mechanism depends on the amount of Zn2+ they contain.
Accurately predicting battery lifetime is difficult, and a prediction often cannot be made unless a battery has already degraded significantly. Here the authors report a machine-learning method to predict battery life before the onset of capacity degradation with high accuracy.
Despite tremendous progress in the development of LiS batteries, their performance at the full-cell level is not as competitive as state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. Here the authors report a full-cell architecture making use of a hybrid intercalation-conversion cathode, enabling both high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities.
Tight oil and gas extraction is costly and low prices lead to reduction in investments and eventually production. Here, studying the effects of price volatility on active rigs, researchers find the break-even price and show that firms use future and not spot prices to plan exploration and development investment.
At a societal level, the choice is not how or where wind turbines should be sited, but whether electricity should be generated by wind or another source. This study shows that those who live near wind turbines strongly prefer them to coal or solar energy projects sited a similar distance away.
Planning of electric power systems often does not consider the potential for, and possible effects of, conflict and socio-political strife. Here, using a case study of South Sudan, researchers develop and implement a framework for power system planning in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Reversible electrochemical cells can operate in both fuel cell and electrolysis modes to interconvert between chemical and electrical energy. Here, Duan et al. design a reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cell that operates stably at 500–600 °C, with high Faradaic and round-trip efficiencies, by minimizing electronic leakage.
Driven by solar light, photoelectrocatalytic cells can convert CO2 into energy carriers, but strategies to improve their performance are still required. Here the authors combine molecular and semiconductor p–n junctions that have complementary absorption in the visible light range to convert CO2 to formate efficiently.
High-performance polymer electrolytes are highly sought after in the development of solid-state batteries. Lynden Archer and co-workers report an in situ polymerization of liquid electrolytes in a lithium battery for creating promising polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and low interfacial resistance.
Effects from electrolytes on supercapacitor electrodes, especially pseudocapacitive materials, are important but often overlooked. Gogotsi and colleagues demonstrate strong influences from electrolyte solvents on charge-storage processes in a titanium carbide and identify a best-performing electrode/electrolyte couple for supercapacitors.
Maintaining a pH gradient across a fuel cell improves device efficiency and flexibility in device chemistry. Here the authors develop an efficient microscale bipolar interface for direct borohydride fuel cells, enabling sustained operations with a pH differential between the anolyte and the catholyte.
Hydrogen fuel, produced from renewable power, could be critical in the decarbonization of the electricity and transportation sectors. Here, a thorough economic analysis shows that hydrogen obtained from wind power is already cost competitive in niche applications and may become widely competitive in the foreseeable future.