Nature Energy最新文献

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-27 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01788-8

James Gallagher

{"title":"Na and Ti share roles","authors":"James Gallagher","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01788-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01788-8","url":null,"abstract":"Synthesizing ammonia electrochemically from N2 could help to decarbonize production of this important chemical and potential energy carrier. In recent years, a Li-mediated process has been shown to be effective for ammonia synthesis. In this approach, it is generally believed that when a voltage is applied, Li(I) is reduced to Li metal at the cathode, reacting with N2 to form nitrides; the nitrides react with a proton source in the electrolyte, making ammonia and Li(I) salts, which, in principle, allows the process to start again. A downside of this approach is that Li — being the species that is electrochemically reduced and that binds and reduces N2 — must play multiple roles, making optimization challenging. Now, Karthish Manthiram and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology report a cascade system comprising two different metals — Na and Ti — which share the required roles to electrochemically produce ammonia.The team use an electrolyte comprising a Na(I) salt, naphthalene and Ti(IV) tetraisopropoxide in an ethereal solvent. The researchers propose that, in the key electrochemical step, Na metal plates out on the cathode before reacting with naphthalene to form Na(I) naphthalenide, which then reduces the Ti(IV) species to Ti(II). This Ti(II) species is thought to act as the site for N2 binding and reduction to ammonia. Manthiram and colleagues report reaction rates up to 475 nmol cm–2 s–1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 24%, which are competitive with other, Li-based, systems. In addition to the increased scope for optimization due to the separation of roles across different components, the approach also has the benefit of not relying on Li, which is in increasing demand.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Contamination control 污染控制

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-27 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01789-7

Giulia Tregnago

{"title":"Contamination control","authors":"Giulia Tregnago","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01789-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01789-7","url":null,"abstract":"The tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) silicon solar cell is a technology that is gaining traction in the photovoltaic industry due to high performance and competitive manufacturing costs. Yet given the relatively recent development of the technology, its reliability under operational conditions is not yet fully understood. In particular, TOPCon solar cells have been reported to be susceptible to contaminants originating from manufacturing or environmental stress. For example, sodium, which diffuses from the glass substrate, has been shown to degrade the front metal contact. In an academic–industry collaboration, Hongbo Tong, Xinyuan Wu, Zhenguo Li, Bram Hoex and colleagues across China and Australia demonstrate that the device’s rear side is also vulnerable to sodium corrosion and diffusion into the silicon layer.To simulate contamination, the researchers spray a solution containing sodium salts at the front and at the back of TOPCon solar cells under accelerated testing conditions, that is 85 °C and 85% relative humidity. While degradation is observed on both sides, elemental changes and chemical reactions at the surface are more pronounced on the rear side, as it lacks the robust chemical passivation layers present on the front side. The reactions lead to the formation of defects and the diffusion of sodium ions into the solar cell.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Ambient pressure storage of high-density methane in nanoporous carbon coated with graphene 石墨烯包覆纳米孔碳中高密度甲烷的环境压力储存

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-23 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01783-z

Shuwen Wang, Fernando Vallejos-Burgos, Ayumi Furuse, Hayato Otsuka, Miu Nagae, Yuma Kawamata, Tomonori Ohba, Hirofumi Kanoh, Koki Urita, Hiroo Notohara, Isamu Moriguchi, Hideki Tanaka, Juan P. Marco-Lozar, Joaquín Silvestre-Albero, Takuya Hayashi, Katsumi Kaneko

{"title":"Ambient pressure storage of high-density methane in nanoporous carbon coated with graphene","authors":"Shuwen Wang, Fernando Vallejos-Burgos, Ayumi Furuse, Hayato Otsuka, Miu Nagae, Yuma Kawamata, Tomonori Ohba, Hirofumi Kanoh, Koki Urita, Hiroo Notohara, Isamu Moriguchi, Hideki Tanaka, Juan P. Marco-Lozar, Joaquín Silvestre-Albero, Takuya Hayashi, Katsumi Kaneko","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01783-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01783-z","url":null,"abstract":"Storage and transportation of methane (CH4) remains challenging as it cannot be liquefied at ambient temperature and instead must be stored as compressed gas at high pressures (approximately 25 MPa). Alternatively, it can be stored within nanoporous materials at moderate pressures (for example, 3.5 MPa) but this ‘adsorbed natural gas’ approach can suffer from substantial desorption with only minor temperature increases. Both methods therefore necessitate additional safety measures. Here we report graphene-coated porous carbon materials that can be charged with CH4 at high pressure and retain it at ambient pressure and temperature (below 318 K), thereby enhancing storage safety. Our data suggest that graphene serves as a thermally controllable lock that obstructs or activates pores to trap or release CH4, enabling a pressure-equivalent loading of 19.9 MPa at 298 K, and release upon heating to 473 K. The resulting reversible CH4 volumetric capacity reaches 142 v/v, exceeding that of various adsorbed natural gas materials at 3.5 MPa and 298 K when considering container space utilization.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144122764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Author Correction: US industrial policy may reduce electric vehicle battery supply chain vulnerabilities and influence technology choice 作者更正：美国产业政策可能减少电动汽车电池供应链的脆弱性并影响技术选择

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-19 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01799-5

Anthony L. Cheng, Erica R. H. Fuchs, Jeremy J. Michalek

引用次数: 0

Stabilizing lithium-metal electrodes with polymer coatings 聚合物涂层稳定锂金属电极

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-14 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01767-z

Zhuojun Huang, Hao Lyu, Louisa C. Greenburg, Yi Cui, Zhenan Bao

引用次数: 0

Small-battery calorimetry for enhanced safety 小电池量热法，提高安全性

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-12 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01776-y

Palani Balaya

引用次数: 0

Gender equality in Africa’s energy transition 非洲能源转型中的性别平等

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-09 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01774-0

Silvana Lakeman

引用次数: 0

Analysis and research at the supranational level 超国家层面的分析和研究

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-09 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01769-x

Silvana Lakeman

引用次数: 0

Aromatic amines boost electrolysis 芳香胺促进电解

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-04-30 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01765-1

Sumit Bawari, Stephan N. Steinmann

引用次数: 0

Scaling and heating will drive low-temperature CO2 electrolysers to operate at higher temperatures 结垢和加热将驱动低温二氧化碳电解槽在更高的温度下运行

IF 56.7 1区材料科学

Nature Energy Pub Date : 2025-04-28 DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01745-5

Henri M. Pelzer, Nikita Kolobov, David A. Vermaas, Thomas Burdyny

{"title":"Scaling and heating will drive low-temperature CO2 electrolysers to operate at higher temperatures","authors":"Henri M. Pelzer, Nikita Kolobov, David A. Vermaas, Thomas Burdyny","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01745-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01745-5","url":null,"abstract":"Low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis (CO2E) provides a one-step means of converting CO2 into carbon-based fuels using electrical inputs at temperatures below 100 °C. Over the past decade, an abundance of work has been carried out at ambient temperature, and high CO2E rates and product selectivities have been achieved. With scaling of CO2E technologies underway, greater discourse surrounding heat management and the viable operating temperatures of larger systems is important. In this Perspective we argue that, owing to the energy inefficiency of electrolysers, heat generation in CO2E stacks will favour operating temperatures of between 40 and 70 °C, far from the ambient temperatures used so far. Such elevated temperatures put further pressure on catalyst and membrane stability and on the stack design. On the other hand, elevated temperatures could alleviate challenges in salt precipitation, water management and high cell voltages, aiding the technology. We reflect on these aspects and discuss the opportunities for waste heat valorization to increase the economic feasibility of the process.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0