Themed collection Research advancing UN SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

We review the recent literature on spectroscopic/electrochemical operando methods as they are increasingly being applied to understand lithium–sulfur batteries.

Glycosaminoglycans have quietly transitioned from biomaterials to advanced functional materials for energy devices and flexible electronics. Gathered here are 45 years of research highlighting both fundamental studies and recent advances and trends.

At 250 °C, using an electrochemical setup with a Ru catalyst, Pd alloy H₂-permeable membrane cathode, NaOH–KOH molten salt electrolyte, and Ni anode, NH₃ was synthesized from H₂O and N₂ with 30 mA cm⁻² current density of and 25% current efficiency.

Nanocrystalline high-entropy CoNiFeCrMnO_x thin films were prepared by dip-coating and annealing at 400 °C, showing stable oxygen evolution with overpotentials of 258 mV VS. RHE at 10 mA cm⁻² over 10 hours in alkaline media.

This study introduces AutoDrop, an automated method for producing durable, efficient BiOI/TiO₂ photoelectrodes, achieving a fine tuning of the band gap of BiOI, and doubling performance with an ultrathin TiO₂ layer protection.

Nitrogen-doped zeolite-templated carbons are synthesized from chitin and propylene as carbon and nitrogen sources and their EDLC performances are evaluated in an organic electrolyte.

Cobalt corroles modified with aminoalkyl chains show increased catalytic performance for bifunctional water splitting at pH 14 when immobilized.

Aluminum, a safe and energy-dense circular fuel, can be cost-competitive with ammonia and cheaper than liquefied hydrogen.

By introducing a guest acceptor, which possesses a similar structure to the host acceptor, as a third component into the active layer, the device achieves an improved PCE of 16.63%. This improvement can be attributed to the good compatibility between Y-TNF and Y-TN.

Engineering interfacial materials for use between the active layer and the electrodes in organic and perovskite solar cells is one of the most effective ways to increase device efficiency.

This study investigated the performance of metal-doped HZSM-5 catalysts in the conversion of low alcohols to hydrocarbons (LATH).

3D printed LiCoO₂ cathodes for lithium-ion batteries were obtained via vat photopolimerization additive manufacturing. The best electrochemical performance was obtained after performing thermal post-processing.

Electrochemical flow cell demonstrates near-100% chemisorbing selectivity in separating propylene–propane gas mixtures, paving the way towards a sustainable olefin purifying process.

Machine learning on perovskite photovoltaics reveals the relative importance of material and process information, while data degeneracy limits prediction accuracy.

Plasmonic metal nanoparticle integrated mesoporous TiO₂ nanocomposites (Ag/TiO₂, Cu/TiO₂ and Ag–Cu/TiO₂), prepared by a simple chemical reduction method, have been demonstrated to show superior activity in thin-film form for solar H₂ generation.

Phosphotungstic acid (H₃PW₁₂O₄₀) can function as a surface solid electrolyte for porous WO₃ photoanode in gas-phase photoelectrochemical reactions such as water vapour splitting and methane conversion in the absence of liquid electrolytes.

Using microscopy and spectroscopy to assess ultrathin nanowire structure.

This study reports a comprehensive analysis of the operation of a biogas methanation system with a total 240 kW SNG output.

Next step forward towards green steel! A pilot plant integrated into a steel mill has been operated successfully and shows promising results. This novel, retrofitted process for steel production has the potential to cut global CO₂ emissions by 0.5%!