Reviews & Analysis

Solar cells based on solution-processed colloidal quantum dots are promising alternatives to conventional devices. This Review discusses recent advances and outstanding challenges for the field of quantum dot solar cells towards their commercialization.

Micrometre-sized silicon particles are attractive negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries but are prone to mechanical failure during electrochemical cycling. Now, graphene cages grown conformally around the micro-silicon particles are shown to improve their cycling stability.

Improving the design of catalytic materials for clean energy production requires a better understanding of their electronic properties, which remains experimentally challenging. Researchers now quantify the number of electrons transferred from metal nanoparticles to an oxide support as a function of particle size.

Combined water and power models are important to predict how changes in one resource will impact the other. A new global assessment of hydropower and thermoelectric power plants predicts future vulnerabilities arising from climate-change-induced water constraints and tests possible adaptation options.

Renewable energy technologies are enabling many changes to our electricity systems. This Perspective argues that social, economic and technological factors are rapidly driving the global energy policy discourse towards more flexible, renewable-based systems.

High-performance polymer solar cells are normally processed with halogenated solvents, which are toxic and hazardous. Now, high power-conversion efficiency in bulk-heterojunction devices is achieved by using a non-toxic hydrocarbon solvent through an environmentally friendly processing route.

Ontario, Canada, has seen a number of policy measures introduced since 2009 to increase wind energy production. This Perspective explores the impacts and implications of those policies on wind energy disputes in terms of health, financial benefit, community engagement and the landscape.

Ensuring safety during operation is a major issue in the development of lithium-ion batteries. Coating the electrode current collector with thermoresponsive polymer composites is now shown to rapidly shut the battery down when it overheats, and to quickly resume its function when normal operating conditions return.

The open-circuit voltage is one of the parameters determining the efficiency of solar cells in converting solar radiation to electricity. Reducing the structural disorder in fullerene electron-transport layers is now shown to significantly improve the open-circuit voltage of perovskite solar cells.

Household energy conservation can help to significantly lower energy consumption. Visual cues provided by thermal imaging of heat loss in buildings are now shown to increase energy conserving behaviours and implementations among homeowners more effectively than just performing carbon footprint audits.

The sustainable production of hydrogen is key to the delivery of clean energy in a hydrogen economy; however, lower-cost alternatives to platinum electrocatalysts are needed. Now, isolated, earth-abundant cobalt atoms dispersed over nitrogen-doped graphene are shown to efficiently electrolyse water to generate hydrogen.

The performance of solid-oxide fuel cells and electrolyser cells is largely governed by the electrochemical interface. The authors review the evolution of the interface under operation, highlighting approaches to control and improve interfacial architectures and cell performance.

Carbon capture and storage is considered an important element to meet our climate mitigation targets. This Perspective explores the history of the first wave of projects and what challenges must be faced if widespread deployment is to be successful.