Reviews & Analysis

Using a hybrid fixture, application of an appropriate external pressure on Li-metal pouch cells with a liquid electrolyte considerably reduces cell swelling. Mapping of the pressure distribution across the cell surface provides insight into the electroplating process that could inform strategies to overcome uneven Li plating on the Li-metal surface.

During extreme storms, the failure of a small fraction of transmission lines can trigger a cascade of outages in a power grid. Going beyond static approaches, it is now demonstrated that resolving the spatio-temporal interactions between the storm and the power grid is key to identifying these critical lines.

Factors such as wealth might be expected to affect the transition to clean cooking, specifically the transition choices of uptake, primary use, and exclusive use of liquefied petroleum gas. Data from Ghana’s largest household energy survey show, however, that eleven out of thirteen factors considered do not have a significant or consistent role across these transition choices.

The emissions impact of the time-matching requirement between grid-connected electrolytic hydrogen production and contracted renewables has been the focus of a vigorous policy debate. Energy system model-based analysis of grid-connected hydrogen production demonstrates that emissions impacts under any time-matching requirement are highly sensitive to the definition of additionality and region-specific policies.

An interlayer of aluminium oxide with fixed charges is shown to boost perovskite solar cell performance. The open-circuit voltage is increased by 60 meV, and there is no significant efficiency drop after 2,000 hours under one sun illumination at 85 °C.

Nickel-rich layered cathode materials deliver high energy density but suffer from rapid capacity fading owing to various side reactions at the cathode–electrolyte interface. A proposed near-surface modification of nickel-rich cathode materials increases their cycling stability, enabling the realization of high-energy-density and durability requirements for practical application.

A high-quality tunnelling-recombination layer composed of a boron- and phosphorus-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) stack is obtained by suppressing dopant interdiffusion. Strong adsorption of the hole-transport layer on the poly-Si substrate enables efficient charge-carrier transport and extraction, enabling the realization of a perovskite/tunnel oxide passivating contact tandem solar cell with 29.2% efficiency.

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction can produce carbon-based fuels; however, the design of more efficient catalysts has proved challenging. A tandem electrocatalyst comprising SnS₂ nanosheets and Sn single atoms bound to three oxygen atoms on a carbon support is shown to exhibit high catalytic performance for CO₂ reduction to ethanol, including high selectivity.

Offshore wind energy could have an important role in decarbonizing regional power systems in the USA. By modelling a range of scenarios, power system uncertainties related to policy, technology costs, transmission, and siting are assessed to understand how they influence the deployment of offshore wind.

Aqueous polysulfide-based flow batteries are candidates for large-scale energy storage but the sluggish reaction kinetics of the polysulfide electrolyte limit the operating current density and energy efficiency. A molecular catalyst, riboflavin sodium phosphate, is applied to catalyse polysulfide reduction, enabling the demonstration of long-life polysulfide-based flow batteries with high energy efficiencies.

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) have the potential to operate below 450 °C, but their performance is poor at such temperatures. Through the development of a low-resistance electrolyte and the in situ formation of a composite positive electrode, a PCEC with good fuel cell and electrolysis cell performance at <450 °C is demonstrated.

The addition of a guest component can improve the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells. Spectroscopic experiments, combined with quantum chemistry simulations, conducted on a series of ternary organic solar cells provide a guide to further improving the open-circuit voltage, and hence the power conversion efficiency, of these solar cells.

The commercialization of lithium- and manganese-rich layered cathodes has been hindered by voltage decay during cycling, attributable to the instability of the honeycomb local structure. A lithium-rich cathode material is developed in which the introduction of excess transition metal ions pins and stabilizes the honeycomb structure, suppressing the voltage decay.

Transporting containerized batteries by rail between power-sector regions could aid the US electric grid in withstanding and recovering from disruption. This solution is shown to be a technically feasible and cost-effective means of ensuring grid reliability in the face of high-impact, low-frequency events.

A photocatalyst comprising CdTe quantum dots and V-doped In₂S₃ exhibits a strong interfacial built-in electric field and an interfacial trapping state that provide sufficient driving force for extracting excitons and separating carriers during photocatalytic water splitting. Multiple excitons can be generated per photon and exploited to achieve an internal quantum efficiency of more than 100% for hydrogen production.

A method for using ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy — an affordable and widely available technique — to monitor redox activities during charge storage in electrochemical systems has been developed. Using this method, charge storage mechanisms can be determined and the electron transfer number quantified, as demonstrated for MXene electrodes in different electrolytes.

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.

The performance of solid electrolytes is hindered by instabilities caused by the formation of lithium intrusions. The mechanism responsible for these intrusions is not well understood. Experiments with a scanning electron microscopy setup revealed that applied stresses can control the probability of intrusion formation and influence the propagation behaviour.

A perovskite nanolayer formed at the surface of layered cathode particles enables ultra-stable high-voltage cycling. The lanthanum and calcium-based perovskite layer serves as an oxygen buffer, and effectively suppresses the oxygen evolution reaction that is a common cause of failure in hybrid anion- and cation-redox cathodes.