Aqueous organic redox flow battery: From molecular engineering to process intensification
June 2026
Aqueous flow batteries feature intrinsic safety and flexibility, and thus have attracted increasing attention as promising long-duration energy storage technologies. Aqueous organic redox flow batteries...
From molecular interactions to interphase stability: Solvation structure–property relationships in sodium metal battery electrolytes
June 2026
Sodium metal batteries (SMBs) have attracted considerable attention owing to the abundance and low cost of sodium resources, together with the high theoretical specific capacity and low electrochemical...
Challenges of two-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells operating under globally varying spectral conditions
June 2026
Two-terminal (2 T) perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells demonstrate significantly higher power conversion efficiencies compared to single-junction perovskite or silicon solar cells. However, their...
High-performance MnO2-based cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries: Challenges, strategies, and perspectives
December 2025
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have been identified as ideal candidates for large-scale energy storage due to their high safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. Due to its high theoretical...
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation technologies: Materials, optimization strategies, applications, and research progress
March 2026
The rapid intensification of human activities in recent years has led to a substantial increase in global water consumption, exacerbating the pressure on limited freshwater resources. In response, the...
Practical direct recycling of lithium-ion batteries via the state of recoverability
September 2026
Direct recycling has been widely regarded as the most sustainable route for spent lithium-ion battery recycling, owing to its ability to preserve the structural and compositional integrity of cathode...
Nickel–iron batteries: Overcoming traditional barriers and ushering in a new era of energy storage
June 2026
Amidst the global shift toward clean energy systems, nickel–iron (Ni–Fe) batteries have re-emerged as compelling candidates for long-duration and grid-scale energy storage, owing to their superb cycling...
NMR for liquid battery electrolytes: Structure, motion, and heterogeneity
June 2026
Liquid electrolytes play a central role in batteries because they set the local states from which interfacial chemistry begins. They are often described through formulation labels such as solvent class,...
Transformative discovery of rare-earth functional materials for energy and electronics via machine learning
June 2026
Rare-earth elements, with their unique 4 f electronic configurations, impart exceptional optical, magnetic, catalytic, and hydrogen storage properties to functional materials, making them indispensable...
Na4Fe3(PO4)2(P2O7) cathodes for sodium-ion batteries: Modification strategies and practical prospects
Available online 27 August 2026
Owing to the availability and low cost of sodium, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are regarded as an attractive substitute for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for large-scale energy storage. Non-toxic, cost-effective...
Orbital hybridization as a design paradigm for next-generation battery materials
September 2026
The rational design of high-performance secondary batteries hinges on mastering the electronic structure of their components, a domain decisively governed by orbital hybridization. As a fundamental...
Engineering robust MOFs: Fundamental design paradigms, advanced synthetic strategies, and emerging technological frontiers
December 2025
As an emerging category of porous materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) demonstrate significant potential for applications such as chemical detection, gas adsorption, molecular separation, and...
Challenges and strategies for integrated system design towards practical H2O2 electrosynthesis
June 2026
Electrochemical synthesis of H2O2 via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) presents a transformative opportunity for decentralized, on-demand production of this essential chemical, providing...
Correlating volume expansion and cycle life in anode-free lithium-metal pouch cells
September 2026
Persistent swelling and rapid capacity decay remain coupled challenges in anode-free lithium-metal batteries (AF-LMBs). Here, we use operando swelling monitoring to examine the relation between mechanical...
A carboxylate ester cosolvent strategy for wide-temperature sodium-ion batteries
September 2026
Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as a promising alternative for next-generation energy storage, yet their low-temperature performance remains limited, primarily due to the high viscosity, sluggish...
Innovations in membrane electrode assembly design and manufacture for PEMWE and PEMFC: A review on catalyst layers, diffusion layers, and fabrication methods
September 2026
Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) serve as the core equipment for the “production-utilization” closed loop of hydrogen energy. The...
Magnetic field-assisted hydrogen evolution reaction: Mechanisms, field engineering, and catalyst design
September 2026
The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for green hydrogen production, yet conventional approaches are hindered by noble metal dependency, mass transport limitations, and inefficient...
Polymer electrodes in solid-state metal-ion batteries: An in-depth review on recent advances, challenges, and future prospects
March 2026
The pursuit of next-generation rechargeable batteries that are lightweight, intrinsically safe, sustainable, and mechanically flexible has accelerated interest in all organic solid-state battery concepts...
Releasing lattice stress during Na+ (de)intercalation in layered oxides through c-axis dimension tailoring
June 2026
Layered transition-metal oxides are promising positive electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries owing to their high capacity, low toxicity, and scalability. However, the stress concentration caused...
Trilogy design of cross-linked polyether electrolytes for high-voltage and wide-temperature lithium metal batteries
March 2026
In situ fabricated polyether electrolytes have been considered to be particularly promising for (quasi) solid-state Li-metal batteries (LMBs) owing to their excellent interfacial contact and fully compatible...
Vacuum-deposited self-assembled monolayers: A scalable paradigm in perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells
Available online 20 August 2026
Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have shown great promise in state-of-the-art perovskite single-junction and perovskite–silicon tandem photovoltaics (PVs). Yet, their widespread industrial adoption...
Bioinspired hierarchical dual-gate ion regulation across electrolyte transport regimes for lithium–sulfur batteries
June 2026
Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries promise high theoretical energy density but are still hindered by slow polysulfide conversion, shuttle effects, and unstable solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs), issues...
Low N/P ratio design in rechargeable batteries
September 2026
Rechargeable batteries (RBs) are ubiquitous, and the demand for them is projected to surge in the coming years. However, next-generation RBs necessitate simultaneous improvements in energy density,...
Regulating interfacial chemistry of hard carbon anodes by in situ coupling strategy for high-rate sodium-ion batteries
December 2025
Hard carbon (HC) has garnered attention as a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), however, it suffers from low specific capacity and rate capability. Herein, an in situ interfacial...
Layered Fe–N–C catalysts with axially coordinated single-atom sites induced by molten salts for oxygen reduction reaction
June 2026
Iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon (Fe–N–C) catalysts with atomically dispersed Fe-Nx sites have shown great potential to replace Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. In this work, a...