Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

The current status of advanced water splitting pathways (using photoelectrochemical, biological and thermochemical platforms) toward viable technologies to produce renewable and sustainable hydrogen is assessed in a virtual international meeting.

From static to dynamic paradigm, operando active states governed by reconstruction enable rational precursor design and closed loop steering for steady state activity, durability, and improved HER performance.

Thermodynamic process cost is influenced by exergetic efficiency, CAPEX, and the cost of the exergy source.

High-throughput computational screening and machine learning accelerate the rational design of mixed metal compounds for diverse chemical looping applications, transforming materials discovery from trial-and-error to data-driven approaches.

Broad-range spectral management, spanning the 0.3–2.5 μm solar spectrum and the 8–13 μm atmospheric transmittance window, provides a pathway to net-zero energy greenhouses by integrating light, thermal, CO₂, and water regulation.

Air-to-ammonia via plasma-generated NO and NORR: engineered microenvironments, gas-fed interfaces, and techno-economic-constrained design rules link catalyst choice to stack architecture for scalable, distributed NH₃.

We are considering fundamental questions of how redox reactions take place and charge is conducted in redox solids. Redox properties of electrode materials can be explained by considering the Nernst equations for homogeneous or segregated materials.

This perspective explores the crucial yet underexplored topic of solvent effects in semiconductor photocatalysis, emphasizing both the challenges and the opportunities.

Despite tinted transmission, semi-transparent solar cells using the band selective method exhibit higher performance at similar transparency levels, with PCE (28% vs. 22%) and LUE (23% vs. 19%), thus higher power output in empirical city irradiance.

We propose a multi-scale analytics and modeling framework to fill the gap in integrating circular solar economy principles with ecosystem and climate commitments, enabling a holistic sustainability analysis of perovskite PVs.

Large-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and use is essential to achieving net-zero aviation by 2050.

The market share of low-cost battery chemistries, which offer little to no recycling profitability with current methods, is growing. Design for circularity could be the key to reducing costs and enhancing sustainability for these batteries.

Cointercalation reactions, of particular interest for emerging battery cell chemistries, are more effectively controlled when matching electrolyte formulation with nanoconfinement properties within the interlayer space of host materials.

While perovskite-based photovoltaics is progressing toward commercialization, it remains an open question which fabrication technology – solution-based, vapor-based, or combinations – will pave the way to faster economic breakthrough.

Carbon accounting without life cycle analysis (LCA) is possible by requiring one ton of sequestration for each extracted ton of carbon. A carbon takeback obligation eliminates the need to track carbon through the supply chain.

Biohybrid systems of synthetic materials and microorganisms can be obtained using a range of assembly strategies based on their interactions. This influences charge transfer between the components and their efficiency for solar fuels generation.

A roadmap that delineates the major hurdles and essential RD&D actions to enable large-scale DACCS deployment.

We examine drivers and benefits of adopting circular economy practices for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), a promising low-cost PV technology, identifying key challenges and reviewing research progress towards achieving a circular economy for PSCs.

Highly concentrated (water-in-salt) electrolytes possess peculiar ionic interactions, solvation structure, ion transport, capability to form an SEI, etc. This perspective discusses the role of the salt anion on such properties.

A multi-technique operando study reveals a three-stage sodium storage mechanism in hard carbon—surface adsorption, accumulation, and pore filling—while classical intercalation is found to be insignificant under practical conditions.

To introduce the potential for tuneability of the cathode in lithium mediated ammonia synthesis, we report a carbon cathode which produces ammonia at a Faradaic efficiency of 37%.

This work employs online gas chromatography and hydrogen oxidation current measurements for accurate quantification of the hydrogen crossover rates in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers operating at high differential pressure.

Dislocations were introduced into BaTiO₃ single crystals and become catalytically active centers.

Formulating and establishing design principles to improve low-temperature performance of battery electrolytes.

Demonstration of a new three-terminal semiconductor photoabsorber architecture for photoelectrochemical fuel production that enables protection of the semiconductor in the dark.

This work develops an energy-level-guided dual-additive electrolyte that enables cooperative SEI/CEI formation with improved interfacial uniformity and stability. Consequently, Mg||Mo₆S₈ full cells achieve a near-theoretical capacity.

We present a high-throughput computational screening for fast lithium-ion conductors to identify promising materials for application in all solid-state electrolytes.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is introduced as a low-cost optical technique to probe mechanisms in batteries in real time.

In the first, multi-institution study of its kind for flow batteries, several laboratories worldwide performed identical single-cell experiments. The findings show that procedural choices significantly alter commonly reported electrochemical metrics.

Soft oxyhalide electrolytes enable low hetero-electrolyte (H-E) resistance with garnet at low stack pressures for “reservoir-free” dual electrolyte batteries.

This study models the potential of synthetic crude oil, showing that by combining biomass, biogas, and air-captured CO₂ it could achieve net-zero refineries at about 80 USD per barrel, while utilising existing infrastructure.

An anion-decoupling strategy significantly accelerates Ca²⁺ transport and minimizes desolvation barriers. The resulting organic-rich SEI facilitates rapid Ca²⁺ diffusion and supports highly reversible Ca metal anodes.

Thermoelectric performance (zT) can be written directly as a function of thermopower and quality factor B, providing a simple route to thermoelectric optimization.

Modelling the fate of nitramine and nitrosamine from amine-based CO₂ capture reveals significant risks to surface and groundwater, emphasizing the need for coordinated regional management during CCS deployment.

We introduce a practical one-pot process for the full valorization of biodiesel byproducts via a photochemo-enzymatic domino approach in liquid|solid|liquid (L|S|L) photocatalysis.

We developed PTFF, a bio-based encapsulation polymeric material that is compatible with existing hot-pressing processes, is non-destructive to perovskites, and is closed-loop recyclable.

By creating plasma channels through nonlinear interference of multiple femtosecond laser filaments, this configuration directly ruptures molecular bonds, disintegrating materials into fragments while preserving molecular signature characteristics.

Based on the machine learning-selected solvent, we successfully suppressed the fast crystallization of antisolvent-free perovskites fabricated at high ambient temperature and widened the temperature processing window.

Operando micro-CT and lattice Boltzmann simulations uncover how 3D pore architectures control bubble evolution during water electrolysis, establishing structural design rules for high-performance alkaline water electrolysis.

Finely modulating the Cs : Pb ratio of the top 1 nm of CsPbI₃ leads to strong surface dipoles that alter the work function by more than 2 eV, increasing the power conversion efficiency from ∼10% to ∼20% and critically affecting stability.

A modular and parametrized online tool (HTWOL) harmonizes the LCA of H₂ supply chains. It demonstrates that current studies underestimate the environmental impacts of so-called green H₂, whose relevance is limited to hard-to-electrify applications.

Based on co-evaporated wide-bandgap perovskites, ∼1% PbCl₂ vapor additive is added to suppress phase segregation and ionic losses, leading to record-stable perovskite–organic tandem cell compared to other kinds of perovskite-based thin-film tandems.

In response to the lack of standardized space testing, this work establishes an accelerated thermal shock protocol to rigorously evaluate the stability of space-compatible perovskite solar cells.

EBSD reveals that alloying interlayers dictate Li microstructure in solid-state batteries. Au and Ag induce smaller grains, while Bi promotes larger grains. This demonstrates that interlayers offer the possibility of lithium microstructure control.

A dual-molecule reciprocal doping strategy combined with cooperative molecular assembly forms a charge transport network, enabling a champion efficiency of 20.72% in ternary organic solar cells.

This work provides a globally harmonized (prospective) techno-economic assessment of 21 low-carbon fuels under different scenarios up to 2050, considering country- and technology-specific costs of capital.

We demonstrate a Na₂CO₃ looping process for ambient and point-source CO₂ capture and mineralization that produces two cementitious products at low energy demand and cost.

Capturing greenhouse gases (GHGs) while generating electricity offers a new paradigm for climate mitigation.

Rate-adaptive, mechanistic-aware model converts high C-rate features into low-rate equivalents and corrects aging-induced mismatches via residual learning, enabling rapid, interpretable health diagnostics and early cycle-life prediction.

Coupling cement with methanol production links CCUS with green hydrogen by using captured CO₂ and electrolytic O₂. The integrated design remains cost-competitive across diverse regional renewable conditions.

Dry thick anodes suffer from a large initial irreversible capacity and non-uniform SEI layer. The prelithiation method here is compatible with a full-dry manufacturing process and increases initial coulombic efficiency with uniform activation.

A design principle that predicts compositions with an optimal Fermi level for activating a TiO₂ coating layer.

d–p orbital hybridization at the Mo₂C catalyst interface reconstructs the interfacial electronic structure, enhancing sulfur intermediate adsorption and charge transfer to enable an efficient quasi-solid-state sulfur conversion pathway.

A novel pathway to Br₃⁻/Br⁺ redox is initially reported with a non-corrosive molecular mediator. It lowers the kinetic barrier inherent to conventional interhalogen formation, enabling fast and stable Br₃⁻/Br⁺ redox and superior battery performance.

Asymmetric small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) strategic engineering controls H-aggregation, realizing high-efficiency OSCs with 20% PCE.

The rate-determining step of proton-coupled oxygen reduction is identified by correlating intrinsic cathode thermodynamics and kinetics with a generalized microkinetic model.

High-density ruthenium oxide sub-nanoclusters induce electric double layer overlapping, enhancing intermediate coverage and boosting acidic OER performance (142 mV@10 mA cm⁻² for over 6300 h).

Engineered g-C₃N₄ nanosheets with 3 wt% Pt enable selective, stable conversion of biomass-derived HMF into valuable DFF and FFCA, with H₂ co-production at 75.52 ± 0.46 µmol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ sustained for 10 days.

An “ether–nitrile mediated DHCE” strategy breaks the 4.5 V barrier, achieving dendrite-free Li anodes and prolonged battery cycle life.

Deprotonation-driven molecular interfaces (2PACz-K) enable robust hole-selective layers for efficient perovskite/organic tandem solar cells and transparent, metal-free tandem photocathodes.

A scalable transparent radiative cooling film for vehicles can reduce the cooling load by 20% and cut annual carbon emission by 25.4 megatons of CO₂, equivalent to removing over 5 million gasoline cars from the road.

Lattice chemistry damping via radial disorder gradients regulates oxygen activity and strain in Li-rich. The cooperative surface-bulk damping stabilizes redox and mitigates voltage decay, enabling 81.3% retention after 800th with 0.64 mV/cycle decay.

A conjugated bipolar quinone–amine polymer synthesized via continuous-flow organic electrosynthesis facilitates efficient Al³⁺/H⁺/ClO₄⁻ co-storage, ensuring high capacity and remarkable cycling stability for aqueous aluminum ion batteries.

All-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) face critical challenges in practical applications due to excessive stack pressure requirements and interfacial degradation.

An electron-resonance principle was introduced to direct the interfacial anion reduction process. Electron resonance energy and minimum value of exchange repulsion energy are defined to select the proper diluent.

Magnetoelectric coupling in Co-doped MoS₂ anodes induces spin-polarized surface capacitance and formation of a NaF-rich SEI, enabling fast Na⁺ storage and unveiling the dynamic interplay between spin physics and electrochemical kinetics.

Ectoine spontaneously forms dual charge centers in water, enabling polyiodide anchoring, tuning Zn²⁺ solvation, and promoting stepwise iodide conversion. Consequently, the Zn–I₂ pouch cell retains 80% capacity after 1060 cycles at ∼65% ZUR.

An orbital engineering-activated intrinsic conduction strategy is developed based on single-atom Fe doping. It induces orbital hybridization between Fe and O atoms, leading to higher rate performance and enhanced cycling stability.

A discontinuous coordination structure is identified as key to the improvement in Li⁺ transport in polymer electrolytes with denser coordination-sites.

A bipolar membrane generates ultrahigh pH (∼15) locally, achieving 93% selectivity for liquid products (ethanol/ethylene = 70 : 1) with 12× less crossover and long-term stability, advancing scalable electrosynthesis of carbon-neutral fuels.