Volume 8 Issue 9, September 2023

In lithium metal batteries, the organic-rich solid electrolyte interphase that forms on the lithium metal electrode in carbonate electrolytes is unable to passivate the electrode surface against lithium corrosion. Now, a lithium salt is designed with a self-cleaning ability to remove organic components from the interphase, which leads to high performance with carbonate electrolytes.

Despite advances in batteries, certain applications call for alternative energy storage technologies with very fast charge/discharge capabilities. Now, a configurational entropy index is proposed for deterministic design of relaxor ferroelectric materials with not only high power but also high energy density.

Understanding drivers of home energy efficiency efforts is important for slowing climate change and managing energy costs. A study now combines open-ended survey questions with natural language processing to find that renovations are typically motivated by factors like comfort and environmental concerns, and that energy efficiency investments are often delayed until renovations are needed.

Solar-driven oxidative coupling of methane is a promising approach to synthesize important C₂₊ products, yet poor efficiency limits its application. Now, a TiO₂ membrane loaded with Au nanoclusters, which act as hole acceptors and catalytic centres, achieves high yield and selectivity in C₂₊ production.

The addition of a guest component can improve the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells. Spectroscopic experiments, combined with quantum chemistry simulations, conducted on a series of ternary organic solar cells provide a guide to further improving the open-circuit voltage, and hence the power conversion efficiency, of these solar cells.

Substantial gaps exist between laboratory innovations and practical applications of Si-based batteries. Here the authors survey critical factors that hinder the development of practical Si-based anodes and propose testing protocols to evaluate laboratory innovations.

An intensive effort in the development of Li-metal batteries is well underway. Here the authors design a Li salt with an asymmetric molecular structure that distinctly contrasts with conventional salts, enabling high-performance Li-metal batteries with carbonate electrolytes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Intensive efforts are under way to develop Li metal batteries with ether electrolytes, but their performance fails to meet practical requirements. Here the authors develop an ether-based electrolyte for Li metal batteries that substantially improves battery cyclability, especially at low temperatures.

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.