Emerging technologies for sustainability

Heavy rare earth elements are critical for modern technological applications, including renewable energy technologies, but their extraction can have disastrous environmental impacts. Employing electrokinetic mining techniques can increase recovery efficiency while reducing harmful environmental consequences.

Effective recycling of worn-out perovskite photovoltaic modules could improve their energy and environmental sustainability. The authors perform holistic life cycle assessments of selected solar cell architectures and provide guidelines for their future design.

Recovering precious resources from waste is essential to implement a circular economy, but the available methods carry environmental costs. In this Article, a greener photocatalytic process is shown to recover up to seven precious metals from waste successfully, offering the potential for wide application.

The production of lithium requires the purification of lithium chloride, which is expensive and unsustainable. A new method allows the production of high-purity electrolytic lithium from low-purity lithium chloride using solid-state electrolyte, with substantial reductions in costs and environmental impacts.

Photoreforming is a sunlight-driven technology that can simultaneously reclaim the value in waste and contribute to renewable hydrogen production. This Review examines the advantages and challenges and identifies ways forward.

Waste plastic can be converted into a potential fuel source using a new nano-scale catalyst. This catalyst has well-defined and uniform surface openings, so it needs only one step to convert low-density polyethylene into a gasoline-type product.

Renewable electricity-powered CO₂ electroreduction offers a sustainable route to transform the chemical industry. Here the authors overview four CO₂ electrolysis pathways that could be immune from carbonate formation, a major technological barrier.

Urea is one the most-used synthetic nitrogen fertilizers that have been key to feeding a growing population. However, its production is energy intensive. Here, the authors show an electrocatalytic approach that allows for selective urea synthesis from nitrate and carbon dioxide at ambient conditions.

The electroreduction of CO₂ provides a sustainable pathway to value-added fuels and chemicals. Here the authors show a cascade reaction that yields methylamine from CO₂ and nitrate. With detailed insight into the multistep catalytic process, the current findings further push the boundaries of this technology.

The photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ to fuels could contribute to a carbon-neutral energy cycle, but it works only when sunlight is available. Here the authors propose a persistent photocatalyst system that prolongs solar fuel production and discuss emerging trends and design strategies.

The renewable polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF) has potential to replace the fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate, but the energy-intensive production hinders wider adoption. This study shows that PEF from industrial CO₂ emissions and non-food biomass can save 40.5% emissions and energy use.

CO₂ mineralization and utilization via alkaline solid wastes shows promise for both stabilizing solid waste and tackling climate change, but evidence of its actual CO₂ reduction potential is scant. This study estimates that CO₂ mineralization and utilization could lead to a 12.5% global reduction of CO₂ emissions.

Wood is one of the most renewable materials with applications in construction and other industries. The authors show a process that gives low-value wood and biomass residuals a new life by transforming them into materials with mechanical properties comparable to metals and other structural elements.

The hazardous life cycle of synthetic materials is driving sustainable materials with biogenic building blocks to play a larger role. This Perspective identifies the main challenges and suggests the way forward by focusing on food packaging.

Synthetic fibres derive from petrochemicals that are not renewable and cannot be recycled. Here, the authors show a top-down synthetic strategy that allows for the production of high-performance natural macrofibres from bamboo.

There is growing interest in the development of biodegradable plastics from renewable resources. Here the authors report an in situ process involving only green chemicals to deconstruct natural wood, forming lignocellulosic bioplastics that are mechanically strong, stable against water and sustainable.

Fungi-derived material can substitute for leather. This Review synthesizes information on this process and its environmental and ethical benefits.

Biomass pyrolysis for renewable energy and chemicals offers sustainability advantages but is expensive. This study shows a route to improve both the sustainability and economic viability of biomass pyrolysis by using pyrolytic gases and waste heat to fabricate high-quality carbon nanomaterials.

Synthetic detergents are environmentally damaging and eco-friendly alternatives would help reduce environmental impacts. This study shows a more sustainable detergent, based on cellulose nanospheres obtained from agricultural waste corncob, with strong cleaning performance and low toxicity.

Wet biowaste from food processing and animal manure can be converted into biocrude oil using HTL. In this study, the authors combined distillation and esterification to upgrade biocrude into diesel blendstock and performed engine tests using it.

Having transformed our way of life, rechargeable batteries are poised for exponential growth over the coming decade, notably due to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. An international expert panel proposes a combination of vision, innovation and practice for feasible pathways toward sustainable batteries.

Today’s energy systems rely on rechargeable batteries but the growing demand raises environmental concerns. As more data become available, sensing can play a key role in advancing utilization strategies for new and used lithium-ion devices. This Review discusses how optical sensors can help to improve the sustainability of batteries.

Aqueous Zn batteries offer safety, but the Zn anodes are vulnerable to dendrite failure and side reaction. Here the authors show a low-cost electrolyte that involves hydrate salt and organic solvent but proves inflammable. The Zn battery cell delivers excellent performance even at a low temperature of −30 °C.

Favoured cathodes for batteries should include abundant and redox-active elements, such as manganese. Here the authors report a Na_0.6Li_0.2Mn_0.8O₂ cathode design featuring a unique layer stacking sequence that provides topological protection to oxygen redox to overcome the performance fading.

Aqueous potassium-ion batteries have emerged as a more sustainable technology to complement lithium-ion counterparts. Ge et al. engineer the surface of a potassium manganese hexacyanoferrate cathode material, achieving unprecedented electrochemical performance in full K-ion cells.

The presence and leaching of toxic lead in perovskite solar cells form a major environmental concern. Here the authors embed low-cost lead-absorbing resins into the perovskite layers, which reduces the lead leakage to the level of safety without compromising the device performance.