Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2019

Photocatalytic H₂ production using semiconductors is a promising approach to store solar energy as a chemical fuel, but the oxidizing power of the excited holes is often wasted. Now, holes are harnessed in a dehydrocoupling strategy that simultaneously produces H₂ and diesel fuel precursors from biomass-derived molecules.

Lead in perovskite solar cells is a potential environmental and health hazard if it is released from accidentally damaged panels. Now, the encapsulation of perovskite solar cells with self-healing polymers is shown to significantly reduce the risk of lead leakage from hail impact under a variety of weather conditions.

For emerging photovoltaic technologies to become commercially and technically viable, it is important to understand how performance in the laboratory translates to the field. A new study analyses the yearly changes in the energy yield of perovskite solar cells under simulated realistic temperature and irradiance conditions.

Fossil fuels have long been considered cheap compared to other energy sources, such as solar or wind. Researchers now show that with easy-to-access fossil fuels running out, the more productive renewables may be approaching and even exceeding oil and gas in net energy generation in many cases.

Along with high energy density, fast-charging ability would enable battery-powered electric vehicles. Here Yi Cui and colleagues review battery materials requirements for fast charging and discuss future design strategies.

Much has been said about the high-energy, long-lasting potential of Li metal batteries, and yet little has been demonstrated at the cell scale. Here, Jun Liu and colleagues demonstrate a Li metal pouch cell with a 300 Wh kg⁻¹ energy density and a 200-cycle lifetime.

While thicker battery electrodes are in high demand to maximize energy density, mechanical instability is a major hurdle in their fabrication. Here the authors report that segregated carbon nanotube networks enable thick, high-capacity electrodes for a range of materials including Si and NMC.

Real-world conditions under which solar cells operate can be different from standard testing conditions. Tress et al. investigate the effects of temperature and irradiation on the performance of a perovskite cell and a reference silicon cell, reproducing real weather conditions in the laboratory.

Biomass can be used to scavenge photogenerated holes in photocatalytic hydrogen production, but the oxidized molecules that form are not always useful products. Here, the authors use Ru-ZnIn₂S₄ to photocatalyse the dehydrogenative C−C coupling of lignocellulose-derived methylfurans, forming both hydrogen and diesel fuel precursors.

Lead leakage from damaged perovskite solar cells poses a challenge to the deployment of such technology. Here, Jiang, Qiu and co-workers quantify lead leakage caused by a simulated hail impact under a number of weather conditions and show that self-healing encapsulations can effectively reduce it.

LiCoO₂ is a widely used cathode material in Li-ion batteries for applications such as portable electronics. Here, the authors report multiple-element doping to enable stable cycling of LiCoO₂ at high voltages that are not yet accessible with commercial Li-ion batteries.

Adsorbing natural gas in porous materials is a potential storage alternative to conventional approaches based on liquefaction or compression, but higher capacities are required for commercial viability. Here, the authors employ porous covalent organic polymers that are flexible but robust, leading to high storage capacities and cyclability.

Published energy-return-on-investment ratios for fossil fuels have not always been estimated at the final point of use. By including all energy required for processing and the supply chain, Brockway et al. find that fossil fuels might have final energy return close to renewables and susceptible to rapid further decline in the near future.