Volume 8 Issue 4, April 2023

Lithium metal batteries potentially offer high energy densities but suffer from critical problems such as uncontrolled lithium deposition, particularly under fast charging. Now, an efficient strategy is reported to enable highly reversible deposition through the growth of faceted single-crystalline lithium on a lithiophobic substrate.

Oxygen redox provides an opportunity to realize the high-energy potential of battery cathodes, but the formation of molecular O₂ from the oxidation of oxide ions significantly reduces the cycling stability. Now, the nature of electron-holes on oxide ions is reported, providing insights into realizing a truly reversible oxygen–redox cathode.

Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis is a green approach to produce this widely-used chemical and potential energy carrier, yet performance is often poor. A porphyrin-based photocatalyst is now shown to produce hydrogen peroxide by an unusual mechanism involving both photoexcited electrons and holes with promising efficiency.

Glass panes have been used in windows since the times of ancient Rome, but they exhibit poor thermal insulation. Aerogels made from silanized cellulose nanofibres are better thermal insulators and more transparent than glass, offering an approach to developing window products to reduce the loss of building heating and cooling energy.

Laboratory innovations in energy research do not necessarily transfer into commercial success due to scale-up and other related issues. Here the authors review scientific challenges in realizing large-scale battery active materials manufacturing and cell processing, trying to address the important gap from battery basic research.

Controlling the nucleation and growth is essential for enabling long-life Li-metal batteries. Here the authors report the growth of faceted single-crystalline Li seeds on a lithiophobic Fe/LiF composite substrate that enables dense Li deposition under fast-charging conditions.

The mechanism of oxygen redox in high-energy transition metal oxide cathodes is elusive. Here the authors illustrate the nature of the electron-hole states on oxide ions, offering insights for realizing reversible, high-voltage cathodes.

Photocatalytic synthesis of H₂O₂ is an attractive route to this important chemical and potential energy carrier, but improvements in performance and operation without sacrificial agents are needed. Here the authors report a porphyrin-based photocatalyst with promising performance for H₂O₂ production from only H₂O and O₂.

Inorganic perovskite solar cells suffer from charge carrier losses. Chu et al. treat the perovskite surface with caesium fluoride, forming a wider-bandgap perovskite that increases the carrier lifetime and hole extraction efficiency.

Windows are one of the least energy efficient parts of the building envelope because of poor thermal insulation. Abraham et al. develop a cellulose-based aerogel as a thermal barrier for windows that retains their optical properties.

Understanding the impact of future climate variations and urban densification is key to planning renewable energy integration. By developing a multi-scale spatio-temporal modelling framework, Perera et al. reveal changes in wind speed and temperature across European cities.

Russia has faced sanctions on its fossil energy exports since invading Ukraine, yet its nuclear industry has largely been overlooked. To explore Russia’s potential for influence through this sector, Szulecki and Overland analyse Russian nuclear power supplier Rosatom’s global project portfolio and the dependencies of countries on it.