Sustainable Energy & Fuels最新文献

{"title":"Unveiling the recent progress in anion exchange membranes and their composites for fuel cells and water electrolyzer applications","authors":"Valerie Giscard Seyep Nguepgang and Singaram Vengatesan","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01486G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01486G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have emerged as pivotal components in fuel cell and water electrolyzer technologies, offering a cost-effective alternative to proton exchange membranes due to their operation under alkaline conditions. This review comprehensively analyzes the latest advancements in AEMs and their composite materials, focusing on their structural modifications, ionic conductivity, chemical stability, and performance enhancements. The development of novel polymer backbones, incorporation of nanofillers, and crosslinking strategies have significantly improved the mechanical robustness and ionic transport properties of AEMs, addressing long-standing challenges such as membrane degradation and conductivity limitations. Furthermore, the role of functionalized polymers, predominantly those with quaternary ammonium (QA) groups, in optimizing AEMs' physicochemical properties is discussed. Materials science innovations are explored, highlighting recent breakthroughs in enhancing fuel cell efficiency and electrolyzer durability. This review strives to bridge the gap between fundamental science and industrial application, paving the way for the next generation of high-performance electrochemical energy devices. The challenges and opportunities in the field are critically analyzed, offering strategic directions for future research and technological development in AEM-based energy systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 8","pages":" 1906-1946"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147727279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimized voltage and current matching in a mechanically stacked bifacial III–V/Si tandem solar module via spectral albedo illumination and energy yield simulation","authors":"Rafi Ur Rahman, Alamgeer, Hasnain Yousuf, Muhammad Quddamah Khokhar, Maha Nur Aida, Shahzada Qamar Hussain, Sangheon Park and Junsin Yi","doi":"10.1039/D5SE00603A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE00603A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Overcoming the efficiency limits of single-junction silicon photovoltaics, this study presents a high-efficiency mechanically stacked III–V/PERC tandem solar module designed for scalability. The architecture integrates a III–V multijunction top cell with a bifacial PERC silicon bottom cell, achieving precise voltage matching through series connection and current matching <em>via</em> rear-side albedo illumination. Under one-sun front and optimized 0.4-sun rear illumination, the tandem device achieved a record efficiency of 36.07%, with a short-circuit current density of 15.16 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> and a fill factor of 83.19%. System-level simulations (PVsyst) for a 500 kW installation validated these experimental results, predicting an annual energy yield of 721 MWh. This significantly outperforms standalone PERC (675 MWh) and III–V (658 MWh) systems, exhibiting a superior specific energy yield of 1442 kWh per kWp per year. By demonstrating improved performance over previous tandem designs through flexible mechanical stacking and bifacial light utilization, these findings establish a commercially viable pathway for deploying high-efficiency tandem modules in real-world, high-albedo applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 6","pages":" 1523-1534"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Humidity-driven energy harvesting systems: mechanisms, materials, challenges, and future directions","authors":"Soheil Malekghasemi and Serdar Abaci","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01325A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01325A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The continuous advancement in low-power electronics, wearable devices, and autonomous sensing platforms has increased the demand for energy harvesting technologies capable of extracting power from ambient energy sources. Among these sources, atmospheric humidity has recently emerged as a promising source for micro-scale power generation, as ambient moisture gradients can drive ion transport in hygroscopic materials to produce electrical output for low-power electronics and self-powered sensors. Recently, the systems like moisture-enabled electric generators (MEGs), hygroelectric converters, and evaporation-induced energy harvesters have shown the capability to transform water vapor or humidity gradients into usable electrical energy, utilizing environmentally friendly materials and <em>via</em> passive operation. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental mechanisms, materials, and device architectures that define humidity-driven energy harvesting technologies. Current methods are categorized according to their operational principles, such as ionic diffusion, surface charge modulation, and evaporation-driven flow. Key material systems, including carbon-based films, hydrogels, metal oxides, and bio-inspired composites, are examined for their performance, durability, and scalability. The discussion also includes the integration of these harvesting systems with energy storage components as a means to achieve fully autonomous and self-sufficient power platforms. This review focuses on applications in wearable technology, environmental monitoring, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to emphasize the potential impact of humidity-powered systems in practical situations. Finally, the current limitations in power output, environmental sensitivity, and fabrication complexity are critically examined, and future research directions are suggested. This review aims to summarize emerging knowledge in this field and promote the advancement of next-generation humidity-enabled energy technologies for decentralized and sustainable energies.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 6","pages":" 1382-1407"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/se/d5se01325a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: From biofuels to e-fuels: an assessment of techno-economic and environmental performance","authors":"Etienne de Chambost, Louis Merceron and Guillaume Boissonnet","doi":"10.1039/D6SE90013E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SE90013E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Correction for ‘From biofuels to e-fuels: an assessment of techno-economic and environmental performance’ by Etienne de Chambost <em>et al.</em>, <em>Sustainable Energy Fuels</em>, 2026, <strong>10</strong>, 905–919, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE00786K.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 5","pages":" 1371-1371"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/se/d6se90013e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147323770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic effect of Ce–Mg promoted Ni catalysts on 3D structured open cell foams for CO2 hydrogenation to methane","authors":"Neha Choudhary and Patrick Da Costa","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01653C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01653C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The macroporous 3D architecture of the open-cell foams enables superior heat and mass transfer, exceptional thermal conductivity, rapid heat dissipation, and minimal diffusion resistance, ensuring structural stability under the highly exothermic methanation conditions. Herein, this work investigates and compares the performance of ZrO<small>₂</small>-based 3D structured foams for thermocatalytic conversion of CO<small>₂</small> to methane with excellent selectivity. The foams were coated using the solution combustion method, where initially 40 wt% Ce and (5–15 wt%) Mg were coated, and a further 30 wt% nickel was utilized for coating. The catalyst was characterized <em>via</em> PXRD, SEM, H<small>₂</small>-TPR, and CO<small>₂</small>-TPD, and FE-SEM, EDX analysis confirmed the presence of Ce, Mg, Ni, and O. The catalyst showed 78% conversion with ∼99% selectivity at 300 °C, whereas foams without using Mg promoter showed only 17% conversion with 90% selectivity towards methane. This result confirmed the synergistic effect between the Ce–Mg for the CO<small>₂</small> methanation reaction and can be linked with the basicity of the Ni/Ce–Mg catalyst. Overall, this work contributes to CO<small>₂</small> valorization and methane production with excellent selectivity and an easy synthesis process.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 6","pages":" 1441-1452"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Progress in anode engineering for rechargeable zinc-ion batteries: strategies for dendrite suppression and host architectures","authors":"Kotturu V. V. Chandra Mouli, Nandarapu Purushotham Reddy, Tholkappiyan Ramachandran, Yedluri Anil Kumar, Avijit Ghosh, Kwun Nam Hui, Laxman Singh and Arjun Maity","doi":"10.1039/D6SE00099A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SE00099A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising energy storage systems for large-scale and stationary applications due to their intrinsic safety, low cost, environmental friendliness, and the natural abundance of zinc metal. However, their practical development is severely hindered by the poor electrochemical reversibility and structural instability of zinc metal anodes during repeated plating and stripping. In aqueous electrolytes, zinc anodes suffer from dendritic growth, hydrogen evolution, corrosion, surface passivation, and the formation of electrochemically inactive dead zinc, resulting in rapid capacity decay and low coulombic efficiency. These failure mechanisms originate from nonuniform zinc nucleation, anisotropic crystal growth, heterogeneous electric field and current density distributions, Zn<small>²⁺</small> solvation–desolvation behavior, and unstable zinc–electrolyte interfacial chemistry. This review critically summarizes recent advances in understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing zinc anode behavior in aqueous ZIBs, with an emphasis on the origin of morphological instability and dendrite formation. Based on these insights, state-of-the-art anode engineering strategies are comprehensively reviewed, including electrolyte and solvation-structure engineering, functional electrolyte additives, artificial solid–electrolyte interphase construction, separator design, surface chemistry modulation, and host-structure engineering using porous carbon frameworks, metallic scaffolds, and zincophilic composite architectures. Finally, key challenges related to long-term cycling stability, high-areal-capacity operation, lean electrolyte conditions, and practical scalability are discussed to provide guidance for the rational design of dendrite-free and highly reversible zinc metal anodes.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 7","pages":" 1579-1610"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147579101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A porphyrin polyethylenimine polymer as an effective photosensitiser for hydrogen evolution","authors":"Patrick Loftus, Leila Tabrizi, Michael P. Brandon and Mary T. Pryce","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01588J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01588J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is a promising approach to generate hydrogen gas for use as a green alternative to fossil fuels which have contributed to climate change. Simple metal oxide semiconductors have been studied extensively in photocatalysis, however these systems are limited by their broad band gap energy. Herein, the synthesis of and photophysical characterisation of a zinc tetraphenyl porphyrin appended branched polyethylenimine polymer (PEI-ZnTPP) is reported. The photophysical porperties of the PEI-ZnTPP polymer are similar to porphyrins in the literature, with an absorption profile that extends into the visible region of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum, and a long lived triplet excited state lifetime of 197 µs. These visible light absorption properties were exploited using the polymeric nature of the PEI-ZnTPP to prepare PEI-ZnTPP/TiO<small>₂</small>/Pt<small>⁰</small> nanocomposites which displayed a photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 34 675 µmol g<small>⁻¹</small> h<small>⁻¹</small> thus out-performing other photosensitising polymers coated onto TiO<small>₂</small> in the literature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the nanocomposites indicated all components required for photocatalysis remained in the system following irradiation and were still available to act as PHE components, however slight degration of the coatings occurred. Using electrochemical analysis, a Rehm–Weller type thermodynamic analysis was performed for the nanocomposites indicating favourable electron transfer from the PEI-ZnTPP polymer to the TiO<small>₂</small> and the Pt<small>⁰</small> co-catalyst, helping to further rationalise the impressive PHE rate observed for the nanocomposites.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 6","pages":" 1408-1418"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/se/d5se01588j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dual-layer perovskite architectures for improved all-inorganic photovoltaic performance","authors":"Adam K. Kadhim, Haitham T. Hussein, Adi M. Abdul Hussien, Ali K. Al-Mousoi, Vishal Sorathiya and Mustafa Kareem","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01570G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01570G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This study employs a one-dimensional solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS-1D) to investigate all-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) featuring single and bilayer absorbers, along with various electron transport layers (ETLs). We compared two devices, including a cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI<small>₃</small>) single absorber and CsPbI<small>₃</small>/cesium lead tribromide (CsPbBr<small>₃</small>) dual absorber. The bilayer absorber increases short-circuit current density (<em>J</em><small>_SC</small>), open-circuit voltage (<em>V</em><small>_OC</small>), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 19.48 mA cm<small>⁻²</small>, 1.17 V, 79.4%, and 18.1%, respectively. This is because the energy bands are better aligned, the built-in potential is stronger, and the light absorption is higher. The optimization of absorber layer thickness reveals that 300 nm is optimum for CsPbI<small>₃</small> and 700 nm thickness is the best for CsPbBr<small>₃</small>. Higher defect densities make all metrics degrade by increasing non-radiative recombination. Moreover, multiple ETLs were applied to further enhance and compare the photovoltaic (PV) performance of dual PSCs. Among all, strontium titanate (SrTiO<small>₃</small>) showed the highest PCE of 23.09% with a <em>J</em><small>_SC</small> of 19.45 mA cm<small>⁻²</small>, a <em>V</em><small>_OC</small> of 1.36 V, and a FF of 87.06%. The obtained results confirm that the bilayer of CsPbI<small>₃</small> and CsPbBr<small>₃</small> synergistically enhances light absorption, band alignment, and carrier dynamics in PSCs.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 5","pages":" 1361-1370"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147323769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MgO/CuO modified stainless steel mesh cathode for enhanced CO2 reduction to biomethane in a microbial electrosynthesis system","authors":"Simran Kaur Dhillon, Tae Hyun Chung and Bipro Ranjan Dhar","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01460C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01460C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The microbial electrosynthesis system (MES) offers an attractive platform for effective cathodic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO<small>₂</small>) to biomethane (CH<small>₄</small>). However, achieving high productivity and energy efficiency remains challenging, often due to sluggish hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) kinetics at the cathode. Here, we showed an efficient CO<small>₂</small> reduction reaction with a stainless steel mesh cathode electrodeposited with magnesium oxide (MgO) and copper oxide (CuO); MgO/CuO-SSM. The electrodes are coupled with an enriched anaerobic culture to facilitate the bioproduction of CH<small>₄</small> from CO<small>₂</small>. Material characterization confirmed the successful deposition of MgO and CuO on SSM, while electrochemical analysis revealed superior catalytic performance of the composite electrode compared to bare SSM. Furthermore, optimizing the applied cathode potential from −1 V to −0.9 V <em>vs.</em> Ag/AgCl/KCl (sat'd) for modified SSM improved the methane production while increasing the electrical energy efficiency. At −0.9 V <em>vs.</em> Ag/AgCl/KCl (sat'd), MgO/CuO-SSM recorded an energy efficiency of 21.6% (103.8 ± 3.8 L(CH<small>₄</small>) m<small>⁻³</small>(catholyte replaced) d<small>⁻¹</small>), surpassing that of bare SSM (14.7%, 117.5 ± 3.6 L(CH<small>₄</small>) m<small>⁻³</small>(catholyte replaced) d<small>⁻¹</small>) operated at −1 V <em>vs.</em> Ag/AgCl/KCl (sat'd). Overall, our work introduces a promising and facile electrode modification strategy that enhances MES performance, enabling CO<small>₂</small> reduction to CH<small>₄</small> at reduced energy demand towards practical carbon neutrality applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 7","pages":" 1705-1718"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/se/d5se01460c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147579109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic interface engineering in Bi2O3–In2O3@CuO nanowires for highly selective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formate","authors":"Rongtao Xiao, Ling Ma, Zhe Piao, Ya Zhang and Honggui Wang","doi":"10.1039/D5SE01291K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SE01291K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Converting carbon dioxide and water into high-value chemicals using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power is an effective strategy to simultaneously address the depletion of fossil energy and promote low-carbon emissions and alleviate the greenhouse effect. The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO<small>₂</small>RR) involves a multi-proton-coupled electron transfer process comprising multiple steps, including CO<small>₂</small> adsorption, activation and hydrogenation. Although significant progress has been made in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO<small>₂</small> to formate, achieving formate production that combines sustained high activity, selectivity and stability still faces severe challenges. This study developed a high-performance electrocatalyst, Bi<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small>–In<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small>@CuO, which was obtained by <em>in situ</em> growth of core–shell nanowire structures on Cu foam. In this structure, Cu nanowires acted as the core, and the outer layer was the bismuth–indium metal oxide shell. The obtained catalyst exhibited excellent performance in the CO<small>₂</small>RR, with a current density reaching 28.4 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> and a Faraday efficiency of formate as high as 88.7%.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 7","pages":" 1695-1704"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147579108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}