Themed collection Energy & Environmental Science Recent HOT Articles

We reveal the insignificance of advanced materials in further enhancing the energy efficiency of desalination and suggest more impactful approaches.

Renewable electricity can be leveraged to produce fuels and chemicals from CO₂, offering sustainable routes to reduce the carbon intensity of our energy and products-driven economy.

The recent research progress in film quality optimization strategies and the investigations of the film formation mechanism in all-inorganic CsPbX₃ perovskite solar cells are systematically reviewed.

As the photovoltaic (PV) industry heading towards the multi-TW scale, PV technologies need to be carefully evaluated based on material consumption rather than just efficiency or cost to ensure sustainable growth of the industry.

The pulp and paper industry is a suitable candidate to lead the deployment of BECCS in the US.

Energy storage at all timescales, including the seasonal scale, plays a pivotal role in enabling increased penetration levels of wind and solar photovoltaic energy sources in power systems.

A record PCE of ∼9.5% is achieved for a P3HT-based non-fullerene OSC with enhanced V_OC and optimized phase separation morphology by modifying the end groups of the NFA, ZY-4Cl.

We discover that an Sb single atom material consisting of Sb–N₄ moieties anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets can serve as a CO₂RR catalyst to produce formate with high efficiency.

We demonstrate the important role of the water dissociation process in proton-feeding and enhancing ORR kinetics under an alkaline environment.

The uphill reaction of H₂ evolution was made possible by harvesting wastewater energy using electrical circuiting.

Iron ions are observed in a previously unobserved coordination environment in iron–nickel oxyhydroxide. Complementary characterization techniques suggest the environment sits atop the two-dimensional Ni(OH)₂ sheets.

Kinetic formation of the peroxo-like O₂²⁻ dimer is identified as the origin of a voltage hysteresis in oxygen-redox battery electrodes.

A novel electron acceptor, BTP-H2, demonstrates a high efficiency of 18.5% with a high V_oc of 0.932 V. It also enables the ternary device to yield an efficiency of 19.2%, ranking the highest among single-junction organic photovoltaics.

High efficiencies for organic solar cells are achieved. Two different morphology change paths are revealed with both in situ and ex situ measurements.

Schematics of water-mediated ex-solution and accordingly nano-engineered protonic ceramic fuel cell furnished with the water-mediated ex-solution on a cathode and H₂ ex-solution on an anode.

The rational molecular design of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) in organic solar cells (OSCs) can profoundly influence the photovoltaic (OPV) performance.

We report a universal phase reconfiguration phenomenon and a doping strategy to enhance the activity of multivalent nickel sulfides in hydrogen evolution. Based on these, a life-time dynamic structure-activity correlation has been established.

We analyzed the techno-economic and environmental performance of a wide-range of CO₂-to-fuel pathways and the critical role of hydrogen in CO₂ utilization framework.

The projected GHG emissions cannot reach the climate goal under any SSP. Further efforts on lowering per capita in-use metal stocks and GHG emission intensity of metal production and promoting recycling are the key to achieve the climate goal.

Sanitary tissue is utilized as the precursor to construct a hard carbon microbelt paper (HCMB), which can be employed as a high-initial-coulombic-efficiency and low-discharge-platform K⁺-storage anode for 4.5 V hybrid capacitors.

By constructing a ternary cell with a B1:BO-2Cl:BO-4Cl donor:acceptors combination, an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.0% (certified to be 16.9%) has been realized for all-small-molecule organic solar cells (ASM-OSCs).

A series of PtLn alloys have been synthesized to act as efficient electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reactions, where the electronic perturbations of lanthanide guarantee high electroactivity and long-term durability.

A sustainable Janus wood evaporator with asymmetric surface wettability shows persistent salt-resistance for off-grid hypersaline waters desalination.

A large FAS²⁺ ion in FAPbI₃ scavenges localized electrons in defects, leading to perovskite solar cell module with remarkable performance values of 18.76% (25.74 cm²) and 15.87% (65.22 cm²), respectively.

Junctions formed from materials that contain mobile charged species and fixed counterions can assist in photo-induced charge separation and lead to photovoltaic action, irrespective of whether the mobile charges are electronic or protonic.

A dual-cation concentrated electrolyte has been developed to enable a stable Zn anode and a vanadium-oxide-based cathode for efficient aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

The artificial intelligence – aided analysis and prediction the performance of alkaline anion exchange membranes for fuel cells are reported.

The ternary all-small-molecule organic solar cells deliver a top-ranked power conversion efficiency of 16.28%, benefiting from the rational compatibility in the B1:BO-4Cl:Y7 matrix.

A new research method based on process innovation combined with digital technologies is pioneered for printed electronics.

The European technical potential for biogenic carbon dioxide removal is assessed considering seven different BECCS configurations that do not require purpose-grown bio-energy plantations.

A stretchable supercapacitor at −30 °C was developed for the first time by in situ growth of polyaniline onto the newly-designed anti-freezing organohydrogel polyelectrolyte.

We develop and demonstrate a comprehensive data-driven screening protocol with co-validation between experiment and theory to maximize the success rate of materials discovery for photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

Transition metal d-states and oxygen p-states overlap and oxygen lattice integrity dictates the oxygen redox reversibility in metal substituted Li₂RuO₃ positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries.

Quantitative relationship between the protective factor (δ) and PCE of stacked structures of OSC with a record PCE of 17.52% is proposed to understand the mechanism and provide a guideline for solvent choices of eco-friendly solvent protection method.

Based on the increased residual lithium compounds of the degraded cathode, a green water-based strategy is designed for achieving closed-loop recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries.

Low-temperature direct ammonia fuel cells (DAFCs) can use carbon-neutral ammonia as a fuel, which has attracted increasing attention recently due to ammonia's low source-to-tank energy cost, easy transport and storage, and wide availability.

Polyeutectic electrolyte, as a new class of electrolytes, was proposed for various high-energy storage systems.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from aircraft cause air quality degradation and climate change. Use of ultra-low sulfur fuel along with post-combustion emissions control results in a net benefit of 304 USD per metric tonne of jet fuel burned.

An inter-halogen strategy is proposed to activate and stabilize the unrealized I⁰/I⁺ redox in aqueous Zn ion batteries.

Lithium activated SnS–graphene nanocomposite membrane is employed as an artificial Li-based SEI layer, allowing cyclability of record-thin 100 μm Na metal foils.

The whiskers/dendrites-growth phenomenon observed on metal anode-surfaces in batteries is shown to have a thermodynamic origin taking its root from negative surface tensions associated with a symmetry breaking of the crystal shape.

Differences in the intermolecular interactions of small molecule acceptors with different chlorine substitution positions affect their molecular packing and photovoltaic properties.

Understanding and predicting the effect of reactor operating conditions on electrochemical water splitting is essential to optimize sustainable hydrogen production using excess renewable electricity and to adapt it for commercial use.

The optimized ternary organic solar cells achieve a PCE of 17.53% by synergizing two well-matched polymer donors.

In real-time measurements, CO dimerization occurred concurrently with CO adsorption (∼5 s), while proton-coupled reduction toward *CHO has slower kinetics (∼30 s).

Operando synchrotron XRD and in situ ptycho-tomography of single NMC811 particle revealed the correlation between lattice strain and degradation.

Combined experimental and theoretical investigations show that deviations of Sand's time scaling exponent reveal the geometry of the ionic conduction pathway.

Tailored dopant strategies are proposed to optimise the energy density of BiFeO₃–SrTiO₃, which can be adapted for other high polarisability oxide-based systems.

A one-step synthesis has been developed to fabricate layered double hydroxide microcapsules via a Ce-doping strategy in metal–organic frameworks.

A high performance, binder-free flexible silicon electrode with high Si content up to 92% is developed for lithium ion batteries with a novel cellulose-based topological microscroll structure.

A hydrated ionomer catalyst support layer, capable of slowing oxygen transport, enables the generation of multi-carbon products from pressurized, oxygen-containing, dilute carbon dioxide feedstocks.

Superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles remarkably enhance the room-temperature thermoelectric and cooling performance of BiSbTe alloys.

We elucidate the multi-redox charge-transfer kinetics across a photocatalyst/(co-catalyst)/water interface and reveal the dynamic interplay between local energetics and kinetics.

A 3D-printed multilayer copolymer rugby ball-structured energy harvester is prepared, and a high peak output power of 16.4 mW cm⁻² is obtained.