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Organic solar cells can be fabricated with low-cost and scalable printing methods. Jiang et al. devise an alcohol-dispersed formulation of PEDOT — the commonly used hole-transport material — that overcomes drawbacks such as acidity, hygroscopicity and poor wetting properties, improving both the efficiency and stability of fully-printed solar cells.
Money spent on Californian rooftop solar subsidies can be much better spent supporting more cost-efficient emission reduction measures, argues Severin Borenstein.
Alkaline membrane fuel cells can operate using nonprecious metals as catalysts, but rely on polymeric membranes with high hydroxide conductivity and alkali-resistance, which are hard to find. A new membrane is now reported comprising ferrocenium cations in magnetically aligned domains with an excellent combination of these properties.
The ever-growing consumption of energy to cool indoor spaces calls for more efficient, environmentally friendly and grid-flexible alternatives to vapour compression. Now, researchers demonstrate electrochemical refrigeration based on the thermogalvanic effect that could potentially address these needs.
Severe capacity fade in layered sodium oxide cathodes hinders their commercial feasibility in sodium batteries. Now, intrinsic lattice strain is unveiled as a new origin for their short cycle life, in addition to the common belief that phase transition or parasitic reactions are solely responsible.
Understanding the role of different types of energy-related information on consumer purchases is important for the design of effective energy-efficiency policies. Now, a randomised experiment adds energy-cost information to conventional EU energy labels and finds a tension between energy efficiency, price and total energy cost.
PEDOT:PSS is a water-dispersible hole-transport material commonly used in printed electronics, but its acidity, hygroscopicity and poor wetting properties can affect device performance. These issues can now be overcome by adopting an alcohol-dispersible formulation — PEDOT:F — that enables the production of efficient and stable fully printable organic solar cells.
Li–S batteries are a promising next-generation storage technology and the assessment of their performance is critical for their development. Here the authors analyse key Li–S cell parameters, formulate the energy density calculation and discuss design targets for practical applications.
Alternatives to vapour compression refrigeration technology that do not make use of toxic fluid or have a high global warming potential are urgently needed. Now, Rajan et al. conceptualize a continuous electrochemically driven refrigerator based on the Brayton cycle and demonstrate practical cooling in a proof-of-concept device.
Through-plane conductivity in anion-exchange membranes is beneficial for their use in fuel cells as it aids movement of ions from cathode to anode. Liu and colleagues use ferrocenium polymers and an applied magnetic field to orient ion channels appropriately and achieve improvements in stability by formation of magnetically induced mixed-valence states.
Organic semiconductor heterojunction photocatalysts are promising for synthesis of solar fuels yet a deeper understanding of their underlying photophysics is needed to improve performance. Here, the authors show that such materials can intrinsically generate remarkably long-lived reactive charges, enabling them to efficiently drive hydrogen evolution.
One advantage of organic solar cells is that they can be fabricated by printing methods, yet the materials must be suitably designed. Now, Jiang et al. devise an alcohol-dispersed formulation of PEDOT with good wettability, solvent orthogonality and low acidity.
Energy-efficiency classes provide product information in a simple way but do not accurately report details about lifetime costs. Now, a randomized trial to add energy cost information to a retailer’s website finds that consumers tend to buy cheaper, lower-efficiency products but with similar overall energy and total costs.
Providing reliable, sustainable and clean energy in humanitarian contexts is increasingly important but a lack of data on settlements impedes progress. Here, Baldi et al. present a database and analytical tools for 288 refugee settlements in sub-Saharan Africa that can support renewable energy deployment decisions.