Feed aggregator

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE02217G, PaperShengyu Tao, Ruohan Guo, Jaewoong Lee, Scott Moura, Lluc Canals Casals, Shida Jiang, Junzhe Shi, Stephen J Harris, Tongda Zhang, Chi-Yung Chung, Guangmin Zhou, Jinpeng Tian, Xuan Zhang
The reuse of second-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) retired from electric vehicles is critical for energy storage in underdeveloped regions, where power infrastructures is weak or absent. However, estimating the relative...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Challenges and opportunities in understanding the dynamic behaviour of engineering materials under complex loading paths

In the automotive and transportation sectors, engineering materials are frequently subjected to impulsive loading during collision events. Understanding their behaviour under such conditions is essential for designing safer, more impact-resilient structures. However, current research often overlooks critical factors, such as the combined influence of complex loading paths, strain rate, and environmental conditions.

This seminar will explore two key areas: (i) state-of-the-art experimental techniques for investigating the behaviour of lightweight materials under complex loading and environmental conditions; and (ii) the potential of controlling stress wave synchronisation and timing, alongside data-driven modelling approaches.

• Speaker: Antonio Pellegrino, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Bath
• Thursday 20 November 2025, 15:00-16:00
• Venue: Seminar Room West, Room A0.015, Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory.
• Series: Physics and Chemistry of Solids Group; organiser: Stephen Walley.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01457C, Paper Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.Xiang Ao, Linfeng Li, Yong Ding, Gyutae Nam, Bote Zhao, Chundong Wang, Meilin Liu
The development of robust and electrocatalytically active catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains a significant challenge in advancing electrochemical energy technologies. Here, we report a Fe-Cu dual-metal catalyst...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Nature Materials, Published online: 20 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02261-3

There has been substantial progress in observing and understanding nonlinear transport properties of non-centrosymmetric materials in recent years. This Review surveys the interplay between symmetry and nonlinear phenomena, and how nonlinear transport probes quantum properties of solids. The authors also highlight the potential applications of these nonlinear transport effects in fields such as spintronics, orbitronics and energy harvesting.

Nature Energy, Published online: 20 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01798-6

The potential for differentiated vehicle segment tariffs

Computational Electrochemistry in Atomic scale: A brief history, applications and current stage of its development

Theoretical frameworks have given a general guideline to electrochemists for understanding the multiscale nature of electrochemical reactions. The Nernst equation, Butler-Volmer equation, and Nernst-Planck equation are the major frameworks to understand thermodynamics, kinetics, and transport phenomena. However, these key theories are not efficient enough to figure out every detail with the development of rapid nanotechnologies, the enormously expanded material space, different cell configurations, and versatile reactions. Computational electrochemistry investigates electrochemical phenomena, including the interface, charge transfer, and mass transport. It can effectively address many intriguing questions with the help of different levels of theories and computational approaches. Atomic-scale computational chemistry has gained attention since Professor Nørskov successfully explained the ‘origin of overpotential’ at different oxide materials for oxygen evolution reactions. After this theory, a.k.a., d-band theory, the computational electrochemistry in atomic resolution has been widely developed by many theoretical electrochemistry groups worldwide. In this seminar, I will discuss the brief history of atomic-scale computational electrochemistry and its applications to electrocatalysis. A short summary of the current state of its development including utilisation of machine learning potential will also be covered. Finally, its potential application to understand wide range of phenomena in (photo)electrochemical system, next generation batteries, and catalysis will be discussed.

• Speaker: Dr. Seung-Jae Shin School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST
• Monday 14 July 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Unilever Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry.
• Series: Extra Theoretical Chemistry Seminars; organiser: Lisa Masters.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE02240A, PaperLuolei Shi, Xirui Liu, Yuqi Zhang, Yining Bao, Tianshu Ma, Linling Qin, Guoyang Cao, Changlei Wang, Chuanxiao Xiao, Xiaofeng Li, Zhenhai Yang
Grain boundaries (GBs), inherent in polycrystalline perovskite films and associated with numerous trap states, are widely regarded as non-radiative recombination centers that degrade the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs)....
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Nature Materials, Published online: 19 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02268-w

A universal, high-resolution printing technology for metal oxide thin-film transistors is still lacking. A plasmonic printing technology is reported to fabricate high-performance, solution-processed all-metal oxide thin-film electronics under room temperature and ambient conditions.

Gold films deposited on capillary-stabilized fluidic cushion of ionic-liquid-infused nanopillar arrays show enhanced stability under large strains (∼ 180%) by effective control, mediated through liquid bridges, of film cracking progress, combined with exceptional strain-responsive sensitivity of resistance change by the cracking mechanism, this strategy offers a fluid-mechanics-based approach for robust wearable devices and soft robotic systems operating under extreme mechanical deformation.

Abstract

Recent flexible electronics with conformal interfaces between devices and human bodies are prone to receive circuit failure caused by uncontrollable cracking during physiological movements. A structural engineering strategy is reported that utilizes capillary-stabilized liquid bridges to spontaneously mediate crack initiation, propagation, and coalescence for film reinforcement. Specifically, rigid nanowire array are decorated onto flexible polydimethylsiloxane substrates and the nanoscale gaps between the nanowires are filled with non-volatile ionic liquids to form well-regulated meniscus. Using metal films as a model, it is found that stretchability of an Au film deposited on this meniscus exceeds that of its flat counterpart (180 vs 30%). In-situ optical observations and fluid dynamics analyses show that liquid bridge forces mechanically hinder the propagating of crack fronts and simultaneously initiate new cracks in different locations, leading to dispersed small cracks at strains below 80%. This scattering of cracks prevents the concentrated propagation and merging of cracks into penetrating fractures, with effective electrical percolation of Au films even under a high strain of 160%, which contrasts sharply with the counterparts without liquids where penetrating cracks occur at a small strain of ≈10%. Results indicate fluid mechanics as a versatile approach to reprogram film cracking for high-performance electronics.

[001]-oriented Mo17O47/MoS2 core–shell nanowires exhibit remarkable superelasticity. Three-point bending tests confirm Young's modulus (103 GPa) matching DFT predictions. In situ scanning electron microscopy bending reveals 35% recoverable strain, unprecedented in inorganic nanowires. First-principles calculations attribute this superelasticity to reversible transitions between chemical bonding and van der Waals interactions, showing potential for flexible electronics.

Abstract

Inorganic materials are usually known with high modulus and brittleness. Here the finding of a [001]-oriented Mo17O47 nanowires (NWs) material is reported with a thin MoS2 shell that exhibits superelastic deformability superior to the reported inorganic NWs. Three-point bending tests reveal that the elastic modulus of Mo17O47 crystals in the [001] direction is 103 GPa, consistent with the density functional theory (DFT)-predicted results. Furthermore, in situ bending tests via scanning electron microscopy, accomplished with finite element simulations, demonstrate that the NWs can sustain bending strains up to 35% repeatedly without showing appreciable residual deformation. First-principles calculations reveal that this extraordinary superelasticity results from the smooth transformation between the chemical bonding and physical binding (van der Waals) in the [001] direction of Mo17O47 crystal. The remarkable superelasticity of Mo17O47 NWs may offer enormous potential in flexible electronics and photonic devices.

Mechano-activated partially disordered spinel LiMn2O4 is demonstrated with high Mn utilization and a specific energy over 800 Wh kg−1 at the cathode active material (CAM) level. Surface degradation, caused by the Jahn-Teller effect in baseline commercial carbonate electrolyte (Gen 2), intensifies Mn2+ dissolution and crosstalk at high potentials. Advanced electrolytes effectively mitigate these issues, thus minimizing Li-ion inventory loss.

Abstract

Mn-rich cathodes balance performance and sustainability but suffer from limited cyclability due to Mn dissolution and cathode-to-anode crosstalk. The Jahn-Teller (J-T) effect of Mn3+ is often linked to the above phenomena, such as in spinel LiMn2O4. However, in typical voltage ranges, significant Mn3+ only appears near the end of discharge, highlighting the need to reassess its role in driving Mn dissolution, structural degradation, and battery performance. Here, the spinel cathode's degree of disorder is tailored to expand the Mn redox range, enabling segmentation into J-T active and less active voltage ranges. Cycling at segmented voltage windows reveals surface degradation mechanisms with and without the major J-T effect. Despite a stronger J-T effect below 3.6 V vs. Li/Li+, Mn dissolution is less significant than above 3.6 V. Expanding the cycling window to 2.0–4.3 V causes severe degradation as the J-T active range induces a tetragonal phase and Mn2+-rich surface, driving Mn dissolution and consuming Li-ion inventory in full cells. Reducing electrolyte acidity minimizes Mn3+ disproportionation, enabling a stable dopant-free Mn-only cathode with a 250 mAh g−1 specific capacity. These findings demonstrate that full cells using Mn-rich cathodes have the potential to avoid the notorious crosstalk problem through electrolyte engineering.

Single-atom nano-islands (SANIs) are innovative confined-space single-atom systems composed of single atoms, nano-islands, and support. Due to their confined space, multiple active sites, interfacial interactions, and tunable coordination structure, SANIs catalysts exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity, stability, and selectivity. This review comprehensively analyzes recent advancements in SANIs catalysts, and the challenges and opportunities for their development in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, and accelerating their transformation to industrial applications are discussed.

Abstract

Single-atom catalysts (SACs), renowned for their maximized atomic utilization, tunable coordination environments, and unique electronic structures, are critical to energy conversion and storage. However, obstacles to their practical performance include atomic agglomeration (caused by high surface free energy) and active site passivation (due to overly strong metal–support chemical bonds). Single-atom nano-islands (SANIs) catalysts, characterized by confined spaces and innovative structural designs, have better electrocatalytic activity and stability. This review comprehensively analyzes recent advancements in SANIs catalysts, highlighting their contributions to catalytic activity, stability, structural optimization, and selectivity. We systematically summarize the design principles and strategies for SANIs electrocatalysts by focusing on material selection, metal–support interactions, and coordination structures. Finally, the challenges and opportunities associated with SANIs catalysts to promote their development in heterogeneous catalysis and accelerate their transition into industrial applications are discussed.

The polariton-enhanced Purcell (PEP) effect is demonstrated to enhance the stability of the deep blue phosphor-sensitized fluorescent (PSF) OLEDs by 3.1 X compared to PSF diodes lacking this effect. In addition, PSF-OLEDs exhibit reduced EQE roll-off and deep blue color emission. The PEP effect maximally extends PSF-OLED lifetimes in devices with the highest triplet-to-singlet energy transfer rates. This work suggests that the benefits of PEPs apply to all triplet-based OLEDs.

Abstract

The stability of efficient, deep blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) remains a major challenge in the field of organic electronics. Poor device stability originates from the high probability for destructive non-radiative triplet exciton annihilation events. Phosphor-sensitized fluorescence (PSF) is proposed to achieve an efficient, deep blue color by energy transfer from phosphors to fluorophores. Recently, the polariton-enhanced Purcell (PEP) effect is introduced to decrease the triplet radiative lifetime and density, resulting in an increase in blue phosphorescent OLED lifetime. Here, the PEP effect is introduced to enhance the stability of the PSF-OLEDs. It is shown that the PEP effect increases all radiative decay rates of the phosphors and fluorophores, leading to a reduction in the triplet annihilation events. Using a Pt-complex phosphor sensitizer and a so-called multi-resonance fluorescent emitter in a PEP cavity, a 3.1-fold lifetime increase is observed at a current density of J = 10 mA cm−2, reduced EQE roll-off and deep blue color with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinates of (0.13, 0.09). The PEP effect maximally extends PSF-OLED lifetimes in devices with the highest triplet-to-singlet energy transfer rates. Moreover, this work suggests that the benefits of PEPs apply to all triplet-based OLEDs.

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE04058A, Paper Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Maxwell Pisciotta, Hélène Pilorgé, Likhwa Ndlovu, Madeleine Siegel, Joe Huyett, Todd Bandhauer, Peter Psarras, Jennifer Wilcox
Geothermal energy has been utilized for centuries. This study presents a framework to assess how geothermal resources can power direct air capture (DAC) systems, optimizing for overall CO2 abatement.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01490E, PaperJihoon Oh, Joseph Frank, Randolph Leising, Heejin Kim, Jisub Kim, Minkwan Kim, Jang Wook Choi
Metallic lithium (Li) anodes represent a tantalizing frontier in high-capacity battery design, yet their potential has long been undermined by catastrophic dendrite formation. Here, we exploit the extremely high interfacial...
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

This study develops a muscle atrophy evaluation and rehabilitation system utilizing rare earth oxide-enhanced triboelectric sensors integrated with a multi-channel signal collector and machine learning algorithms, enabling precise assessment of ulnar nerve injury recovery. The system demonstrates high sensitivity, accuracy, and visualization capability, offering significant advances in grip strength rehabilitation monitoring and biomedical sensing applications.

Abstract

Ulnar nerve injuries often lead to muscle atrophy and reduced hand function, necessitating precise monitoring and effective rehabilitation strategies. Current grip strength measurement tools rely on rigid mechanical equipment, which is inconvenient and requires frequent calibration. To address this, a muscle atrophy evaluation and rehabilitation system (MUERS) is presented, featuring a highly sensitive rare earth oxide-enhanced triboelectric sensor (RETS). Utilizing the unique electrochemical properties of rare earth oxides, RETS demonstrates a linear voltage-force response in the range of 8–80 kPa, with a maximum linear error of 1.5%. Integrated with a multi-channel STM32 signal collector, RETS enables real-time grip strength monitoring across all five fingers. Combining sensor output with an SVM algorithm, the system achieves 98.61% accuracy in identifying finger grip strength injuries and classifies damage into three levels with an average accuracy of 96.67%. MUERS evaluates rehabilitation progress by scoring grip strength and providing feedback to clinicians. Over a four-week cycle, it consistently captures improvements in muscle recovery, aiding individualized rehabilitation plans. This system offers fine-grained assessment capabilities for diagnosing and monitoring nerve injury-induced muscle atrophy, paving the way for advanced biomedical sensing and personalized rehabilitation.

Microscopic-level anion & diluent chemistry strategy is proposed to develop an advanced Ca(ClO4)2/H2O-acetonitrile (AN) electrolyte that can operate at high voltage and low temperature. The weak interaction of H2O with ClO4 − guarantees strong intramolecular O─H bonds and resulting electrolyte stability. The AN serves as a solvation diluent capable of weakening electrostatic Ca2+-ClO4 − attraction, preventing salt precipitation, and finally yielding a high-performance supercapacitor.

Abstract

Aqueous supercapacitors, serving as safe and green high-power energy storage devices, hold significant potential in various applications. Exploring advanced electrolytes beyond traditional electrolytes is essential for achieving stable high-voltage and low-temperature operations. Herein, a hybrid electrolyte with a high electrochemical stability window (3.29 V) and sufficient ionic conductivity (1.5 mS cm−1 at −50 °C) is developed via hybridizing 8 m Ca(ClO4)2/H2O with acetonitrile (AN) diluent. The charged Ca2+ cations anchor the oxygen atoms in H2O molecules, preventing them from being hydrogen acceptors. Meanwhile, the ClO4 − anions weakly interact with hydrogen atoms, which ensures strong intramolecular O─H bonds in 8 m Ca(ClO4)2/H2O. The used AN can contribute to decreased salt dosage, without any compromise to electrochemical stability and safety. Furthermore, the AN with a higher donor number than ClO4 − can replace the ClO4 − in Ca2+ solvation sheaths, which reduces Ca2+−ClO4 − clusters, accordingly suppressing salt precipitation even at −50 °C. Resultantly, a symmetric supercapacitor assembled with 4.2 m Ca(ClO4)2/H2O-AN electrolyte presents high-voltage and temperature-adaptability features, with excellent rate capability and high long-term cycling stability from 25 to −50 °C at 2.3 V.

A bubble-raft-inspired nanofibrous network membrane for efficient and low-resistance air filtration is fabricated via electrospinning and phase separation. Benefiting from the single-layer polysulfone nanofibrous network (≈40 nm fiber diameter), the obtained membrane exhibits integrated structural features of small pore size, high porosity, and ultrathin thickness, which endows it with high filtration efficiency, low pressure drop, and high transparency.

Abstract

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a major global safety concern, significantly straining the ecological environment, human health, and economy. Filtration membranes, essential for PM removal, are challenging in achieving both high efficiency and low air resistance, resulting in a high pressure drop during efficient filtration. Herein, inspired by bubble rafts, an ultrathinnanofibrous network membrane is fabricated by transforming a liquid film of polysulfonesolution on electrospun fibrous scaffold into a single-layer network via nonsolvent-induced phase separation. Tailoring of the polysulfone concentration in the liquid film supported by the scaffold and of the phase separation process induced by flowing nonsolvent allows the construction of the single-layer network with interconnected nanofibers (diameter of ≈40 nm). Benefiting from the single-layer network, the membrane exhibits a small pore size (≈270 nm) at a high porosity of 90.3% and ultrathin thickness of ≈800 nm. Consequently, the membrane shows high efficiency (99.8% removal of PM0.3) at an ultralow pressure drop (<40 Pa). Moreover, the membrane exhibits high transparency (>83%) and allows the light breeze (wind speed of 3.2 m s−1) to pass through easily, enabling energy-efficient applications, such as window screens. This work provides new insights into designing membranes for efficient and low-resistance filtration and separation.

Reward-driven workflows enable fully unsupervised segmentation of atomically resolved STEM images, revealing phases and ferroic variants without any labels. By encoding domain-wall straightness and length as explicit rewards, the method automatically tunes clustering and variational-autoencoder hyperparameters. This physics-guided optimization yields robust, real-time mappings of polarization and structural domains for next-generation autonomous microscopy.

Abstract

Rapid progress in aberration corrected electron microscopy necessitates development of robust methods for the identification of phases, ferroic variants, and other pertinent aspects of materials structure from imaging data. While unsupervised methods for clustering and classification are widely used for these tasks, their performance can be sensitive to hyperparameter selection in the analysis workflow. In this study, the effects of descriptors and hyperparameters are explored on the capability of unsupervised ML methods to distill local structural information, exemplified by the discovery of polarization and lattice distortion in Sm − dopped BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films. It is demonstrated that a reward-driven approach can be used to optimize these key hyperparameters across the full workflow, where rewards are designed to reflect domain wall continuity and straightness, ensuring that the analysis aligns with the material's physical behavior. This approach allows the discovery of local descriptors that are best aligned with the specific physical behavior, providing insight into the fundamental physics of materials. The reward driven workflow is further extended to disentangle structural factors of variation via an optimized variational autoencoder (VAE). Finally, the importance of well-defined rewards is explored as a quantifiable measure of the success of the workflow.

The artesunate nanoplatform selectively targets ECM CAF, functioning as a GTPase inhibitor through disruption of intracellular serine homeostasis. This metabolic intervention effectively suppresses MAPK cascade activity, which consequently inhibits PTT-induced CAF to ECM CAF differentiation. By attenuating this phenotypic transition, the nanoplatform significantly reduces the formation of TRB structure, ultimately enhancing tumor sensitivity to PTT.

Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a pivotal role in inducing photothermal therapy (PTT) resistance of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but with unclear mechanism. Herein, aminoethyl anisamide-modified nano-biomimetic low-density lipoprotein (A-aLDL) is used to target deliver the PTT agent and artesunate (ARS) to both CAFs and cancer cells. Though CAFs are sensitive to PTT and notably transition to heat-resistant phenotype, the formed protective barrier is destroyed by ARS. Subsequently, the outstanding anti-tumor effects are achieved through PTT in multiple models with such kind of combination therapy. Interestingly, the mechanism is discovered that serine metabolism plays a major role in CAF resistance through spatially omics. ARS disrupts serine homeostasis, thereby attenuating the cascade activity of GTPases in MAPK pathway. Meanwhile, MAP2K7 is the most potential target for sensitizing PTT. By integrating ARS with PTT agents, the serine-MAPK axis in CAFs is successfully modulated, thereby overcoming PTT resistance in TNBC therapy.