Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

In Spain, biomethane is emerging as one of the great keys, not only for the transformation of the energy mix in the short term, but also to advance towards the decarbonisation of the economy.

Analysis of properties and data – both known and missing – related to materials selection, life cycle assessment, and end-of-life reuse and recycling options for device components to achieve a sustainable design of dye-sensitized solar cells.

The principal driving force for charge carrier separation in a PEC cell is given by the QFL gradients. Upon illumination the E-field is reduced by the amount of photovoltage delivered. Selective contacts are thus decisive for device performance.

Natural gas based hydrogen production with carbon capture and storage is referred to as blue hydrogen.

Food waste is a global problem, causing significant environmental harm and resulting in substantial economic losses globally.

In this perspective, the recent trends in graphene supercapacitor research are shown, from the use of pseudocapacitor elements to enhance the performance of large-area electrodes, to its miniaturization driven by versatile fabrication techniques.

Core–shell transition metal oxide nanoparticles as efficent material for water electrolysis.

The content of methylammonium dominates the photostability of tin–lead perovskite solar cells.

A new instrument for gas analysis in artificial photosynthesis reactions is presented. The device uses rotational Raman spectroscopy to analyse multiple gases (H₂, O₂, N₂, CO, CO₂) simultaneously, non-invasively and with short analysis times (15 s).

An aged Ru complex has been successfully employed for the photochemical monoreduction of NAD⁺ achieving mediator-free NADH formation with the only aid of L-cysteine and visible light.

This communication shows how green hydrogen's climate footprint and performance against alternatives depends on electricity source and accounting choices.

Direct, fast and sensitive isotopic ammonia detection is key to accessing reliable NRR experiments and accelerate catalyst screening. We develop a GC-MS method to detect NH₃ down to 1 ppm in the gas phase, in real-time and without external manipulation.

A unique photocatalyst that consists of a molecular Co(III) species and wide-bandgap AgCl is presented. Even without a physical connection between the two components, the Co(III)/AgCl photocatalyst showed water oxidation activity under visible light.

Nickel oxyhydroxide electrocatalysts are highly active for water oxidation and swell when electrochemically activated. In this thickness dependence study, we find only the upper surface (<5 nm) is active during water oxidation catalysis.

Revealing the optimal parameters responsible for a dramatic in operando reduction of the overpotential in a 2D metal chalcogenide electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Control over selectivity towards HCOO⁻ rather than H₂ is acquired by using elevated pressure of hydrogen during CO₂ electrolysis.

Interface engineering enables a practical multifunctional advantage in a structural battery.

Achieving high current densities without thermal performance degradation at high temperatures is one of the main challenges for enhancing the competitiveness of photo-electrochemical energy storage systems.

Renewable MCCI bio-blendstocks with advantageous properties co-optimized with engines and a ducted fuel injection could reduce engine-out emissions leading to reduced total cost of vehicle ownership and a potential to penetrate the market at scale.

Two routes, as well as their combination, are examined for overcoming recombination in a dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell for water oxidation catalysis.

A low-cost bimetallic bifunctional 5–5 wt% FeNi/H-Beta-300 catalyst was investigated in solventless hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived model compounds isoeugenol or dihydroeugenol in batch and continuous modes.

Glucose electrochemical oxidation toward gluconic and glucaric acids over innovative NiO/Ni 3D foam, a mechanism investigation.

A correlation between the evolution of the KF content in the SEI and the evolution of cycling performance of the non-aqueous potassium-ion hybrid supercapacitor (KIC).

A remarkable more than 3 times improvement in the power factor has been achieved in a porous thermoelectric oxide in the presence of an electrolyte containing a redox molecule.

Antisolvent engineering with the octylammonium salt OABr improves the quality of the perovskite film and suppresses nonradiative losses by 43.6%, resulting in high performance and stable inverted perovskite solar cells.

The interactions in the co-pyrolysis of biomass from Salicornia bigelovii (SB) with heavy fuel oil (HFO) were studied through an investigation of the yields, kinetics, and the quality of bio-oil and biochar produced.

HRTEM image of Cu0.4SbTe thin film showing the presence of amorphous CuSbTe and crystallite of Sb₂Te₃, the Cu0.4SbTe is grown on flexible Nylon fiber which provides output voltage of 18.4 mV at a temperature gradient of 30 K.

A novel approach combining microfluidics with 2-D modeling validates the proposed microbial growth model for underground hydrogen storage and concludes space-limited growth and microbial gradients on the pore scale.

Optimizing the organosolv process parameters towards establishing a novel biorefinery concept based on marginally used halophyte biomass.

At present, low long-term stability is the main limitation for organic solar cells. The origin of the degradation of high-efficiency non-fullerene solar cells by impedance spectroscopy and its degradation mechanisms has been investigated.

Valorizing industrial side streams that are currently burnt to a low value is important to make biorefining more sustainable.

A dinuclear cobalt complex with a doubly N-confused hexaphyrin, Co₂DNCH, showed high catalytic activity for electrochemical hydrogen reduction due to the wide π-conjugated system of DNCH.

Organic chromophores displaying TADF emission were coupled to a Mn(I)-complex as the catalyst and investigated as photosensitizers for CO₂ reduction. Upon 470 nm LED excitation, TON_CO+HCOOH > 650 and a Φ_CO+HCOOH = 22.8% were obtained.

Hybrid yeast strain co-produces isobutanol and ethanol at high yields. Reducing hydrolysis enzyme loading and enhancing xylose conversion greatly impact the economic potential of the biorefinery.

A mild acid hydrolysis process is developed for upgrading of the anhydrosugars of bio-oil heavy ends into bio-ethanol with high compatibility with downstream separation and fermentation of sugars in a pyrolysis based biorefinery.

Photoelectrocatalysis offers the opportunity to close the carbon loop and convert captured CO₂ back into useful fuels and feedstocks, mitigating against anthropogenic climate change.

Different proton-relay groups in hexadentate polypyridyl cobalt complexes induce distinct efficiencies and mechanisms in photo- and electrochemical H₂ generation.

Lactic acid is produced from bread waste using microbial fermentation under acid-neutral and low-pH scenarios. Though the acid-neutral scenario is economically better, the primary economic barriers are huge capital investment and utility consumption.

The aim of this study is to characterize the behavior of sulfur and chlorine during the pyrolysis of biomasses (agricultural residues) and waste components (cardboard, wool, and PVC), selected for their different compositions and ash contents.

Potassium modified acid–base bifunctionalized MgAl-SBA-15 for mild aldol condensation of furfural and acetone to high-quality jet-fuel range or chemical intermediates.

A unique life cycle assessment highlights the potential of photovoltaics to limit the global warming potential of hydrogen imports, using Germany's domestic supply as a reference.

Transparent electrocatalysts were developed by a facile solution-based method. The highly transparent iron-incorporated nickel hydroxide (FeNi-10) oxygen evolution electrode exhibited low overpotential compared to the benchmark electrocatalyst.

Intensity of photocurrent during water oxidation in BiVO₄ is predominantly limited by charge transfer resistance (R_ct), rather than semiconductor bulk resistance (R_bulk). Mo doping of BiVO₄ can slightly reduce R_bulk but obviously decreases R_ct.

A high performance Na-ion capacitor has been assembled by using S-doped carbon sponges and highly porous carbon sponges produced from biomass-derived products by using sustainable salt-templating approaches.

Prediction of fuel properties of the jet boiling range product after hydrotreating biomass-derived catalytic fast pyrolysis oil enables research, development, and adoption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) via pyrolytic conversion.

A gas diffusion electrode based on a Mn complex gives good selectivity for CO production from CO₂ at both near neutral pH in a flow cell configuration and when in contact with the acidic cation exchange layer of a bipolar membrane.

The impact of plasma processing technology as an electric conversion of fuels in the oil and gas industry is demonstrated with significant GHG emission reduction while producing fuels of high quality.

Photovoltaic (PV) installation rate is growing globally, therefore (PV) waste mass presents an environmental challenge.

Effect of nickel functionalities on the electrochemical efficiency of hydrogen peroxide production.

A novel green TENG with modified CNF as the electronegative tribolayer was prepared and can be used as a self-powered power module for wearable electronics.

Biomasses can be used as sacrificial agents. The presence of hemicelluloses and polar groups significantly enhances the H₂ production rate.

In this work mechanocatalytic partial depolymerization is used to obtain glycans from lignocellulosic feedstocks, e.g. beet pulp. Thereby the yield of the glycans is increased, and can be increased further with a suitable pre-treatment.

We quantify the absolute environmental sustainability of DME-fuelled heavy-duty (HD) trucks, and compare it against the current diesel counterpart, finding that renewable DME can promote an absolute environmentally sustainable HD truck sector.

Sustained H₂ photoproduction by green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is achieved under pulse-illumination superimposed on continuous low background light. Pulse-illuminated algae act as biocatalysts producing H₂via direct water biophotolysis.

Solar-driven methane dry reforming via a ceria-based thermochemical redox cycle in a concentrating solar tower to produce solar syngas with a solar-to-fuel energy efficiency of 27%.

Exploring (i) the practicality of the European ecodesign framework to address hydrogen-related products, and (ii) the relevance, under eco-efficiency and criticality aspects, of ecodesign measures aligned with projected key performance indicators.

We report a push–pull BODIPY-based dye functionalised with an electronegative SF₅ group at the meso position for applications in photocathodes in tandem dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Optimization of energy management in hybrid SOFC-based DC microgrid considering high efficiency and operating safety as external load power rises, has superiority of time response, output efficiency, thermal response and avoiding fuel exhaustion.

We investigate where, how, and when investments in hydrogen infrastructure is cost optimal for the Californian market. Impacts of establishing hydrogen hubs is analyzed together with the influence of sector coupling and renewable hydrogen policies.

Boosting the hydrogen evolution reaction in an alkaline environment by enhancing the activity of Pd nanoparticles exploiting the unique redox activity of ZrO₂.

Ultrasonication during the chemical bath deposition of SnO₂ produces films with better homogeneity for electron-transport layers in perovskite solar cells.

The optimum layer thickness of Ag-Mn_xO_y/C and PdNiBi/C electrodes for use in alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells at a high power density of 120 mW cm⁻² and its influence on resistance were determined.

In this work we present the development and optimization of a graphene-embedded Sn-based material and an activated carbon/lithium iron phosphate composite for a high-performing hybrid lithium-ion capacitor (LIC).

Triple-mesoscopic solar cells can be fully prepared by simple printing methods. We have demonstrated the use of Ag₃BiI₆ as an absorber material to fabricate functioning cells.

Highly transparent Bi₄Ti₃O1₂ (BiTO) thin-film photocathodes were fabricated for the ferroelectric-assisted photo-electrochemical (PEC) reduction of CO₂, showing the potential of effectively exploiting the ferroelectric properties of BiTO to boost its PEC performance.

How to combine multi-criteria decision analysis into sustainability assessment with the integration of stakeholders for weighting factor determination, and how to assess hydrogen mobility.

Levulinic acid derivatives, such as alkyl levulinates, are suitable starting reactants for the production of fuel components, namely γ-valerolactone (GVL), alkyl valerates, pentanol, and pentylvalerate (PV).

Sunlight-driven dimerization of conjugated dienes obtained from renewable sources to produce crudes for diesel-fuel and lubricant oil applications.

Underlining chemical pathways of artificial humic substance formation in pH-programmed hydrothermal treatment of waste biomass aiming CO₂ sequestration and soil improvement for sustainable and efficient agricultural processes.

Phosphorus-containing catalyst supports synthesized by coating and pyrolysis of phosphonium ionic liquids lead to improved fuel cell properties.