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Electrochemical carbon capture is a promising way to electrify CO2 emissions mitigation, but capacities are often low due to poor solubility of the redox-active organic molecules at the heart of the process. Here the authors report a high-capacity and high-stability electrochemical CO2 capture system based on a phenazine derivative they have developed.
Market-based measures are being discussed at the International Maritime Organization as a means to decarbonize shipping. This study estimates the required level of carbon pricing to close the conventional and alternative marine bunker fuels price gap.
Few non-copper catalysts have been observed to produce appreciable amounts of propane—a useful fuel—by electrochemical reduction of CO2. New research shows that ionomer-coated imidazolium-functionalized Mo3P nanoparticles produce propane with high activity and selectivity.
Hardware and non-hardware features affect the cost of technologies but evolve in different ways over time. Klemun et al. build a model to account for such evolution and analyse the case of photovoltaics.
Photocatalytically activating methane produces molecules that can be further transformed into fuels and chemicals, but methane’s inert nature makes this challenging. Here Li et al. use a rapid sputtering approach to fabricate a Au/TiO2 photocatalyst with high performance for oxidative coupling of methane.
Reducing critical materials such as indium and silver is of high importance for photovoltaics. Yu et al. demonstrate a certified 25.94% efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cell replacing part of indium-based electrodes with undoped tin oxide and using copper for contacts.
Extreme weather conditions threaten electricity infrastructure. A new study finds that lower-income communities in California have fewer power distribution lines undergrounded and more vulnerable overhead lines and poles in their neighbourhoods.
Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) are a promising grid-scale energy storage technology, but the development of high-performance catholytes has been challenging. Here the researchers reveal redox-active species based on dimers of (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl that demonstrate high cycling stability, power and volumetric capacity in AORFBs.
Local zoning ordinances may impact wind and solar development in the United States. A new study finds that setbacks could reduce resource potential by up to 87% for wind and 38% for solar.
The fabrication of perovskite heterojunctions is challenging. Mali et al. develop a heterojunction with two different crystalline phases of CsPbI3, achieving 21.5% and 18.4% efficiencies on small-area solar cells and 18 cm2 solar modules, respectively.
Extreme weather events can have catastrophic impacts on physical systems such as power and water infrastructure. This study offers an approach to testing interventions to reduce the vulnerability of such systems to weather events and applies it to the case of Hurricane Maria to assess service-level and social outcomes.
The performance of ternary organic solar cells is limited by voltage losses. Using the detailed balance principle, Wang et al. show how the third component of the blend affects the open-circuit voltage and delineate molecular design rules.
Energy demand patterns will shift under climate change, but so will generated electricity, particularly as the wind and solar power supply increases. Here the authors model the impacts of climate change on future supply–demand match, highlighting the importance of changes in climate variability.
The energy transition in China may lead to increased heating bills. A new study finds that cleaner alternatives to address gaps in heating may disproportionately increase residential heating costs, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas.
Energy efficiency investments in homes are critical for the energy transition, but the barriers to households making such investments are poorly understood. Wekhof and Houde show how natural language processing can be used to extract insights into the barriers and preferences obtained from narratives elicited from homeowners.
Emissions impacts of equitable energy demand reduction approaches are not well understood. A new study finds that capping energy use among top-quintile consumers in Europe achieves considerable emissions reductions.
Manganese-rich NASICON-type compounds are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries, but they suffer from severe voltage hysteresis. Here the authors uncover the root cause of voltage hysteresis in Na3MnTi(PO4)3 and demonstrate a doping strategy to mitigate the issue.
Dielectric capacitors based on relaxor ferroelectrics are a promising energy storage technology, and an efficient design of relaxors is useful to enhance the storage performance. Here the authors quantitatively evaluate the local compositional inhomogeneity of relaxors via a configurational entropy index and realize overall high performance in a Bi4Ti3O12-based device.
Electrolyte engineering has proven an effective approach to enhance the performance of lithium metal batteries. Here the authors propose a strategy by using multiple solvents in weakly solvating electrolytes—dubbed as high-entropy electrolytes—to improve the ionic conductivity while maintaining electrochemical stability, leading to high-performance batteries.
To prevent charge losses and degradation at the buried interface of inverted methylammonium-free perovskite solar cells, Li et al. form a 2D/3D perovskite structure using 2-aminoindan hydrochloride as an additive.