Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02133-3
Joohyeon Noh, Kisuk Kang
{"title":"A hidden leak in solids","authors":"Joohyeon Noh, Kisuk Kang","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02133-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-026-02133-3","url":null,"abstract":"Solid electrolytes have long been treated as materials that block electronic conduction while enabling fast lithium-ion transport. Two studies now show that residual electronic conductivity can drive self-discharge in solid-state batteries at open circuit, particularly in thin practical cells, and identify the limits needed to ensure long shelf life.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 9","pages":"1233-1234"},"PeriodicalIF":70.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148933813","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}
Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02086-7
Marco Ricci, Tao Wang, Remo Proietti Zaccaria
{"title":"Halogen-assisted sulfur oxidation","authors":"Marco Ricci, Tao Wang, Remo Proietti Zaccaria","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02086-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-026-02086-7","url":null,"abstract":"Lithium-sulfur batteries have long been limited by lower operating voltage and shorter lifetime compared to traditional lithium-ion technologies. Now, system-level engineering enables the conversion of sulfur to disulfur dichloride, accessing the S+1 oxidation state, thereby delivering higher voltage and improved cycling stability.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 9","pages":"1231-1232"},"PeriodicalIF":70.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149007536","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}
Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02120-8
Nan Zhang, Jinyi Zhang, Weiran Zhang, Zeyi Wang, Chang-Xin Zhao, Ai-Min Li, Yijie Liu, Kangxuan Xia, Cal Mesirow, Yuxin Yang, Brett L. Lucht, Enyuan Hu, Xiulei Ji, De-en Jiang, Jijian Xu, Chunsheng Wang
{"title":"Lithium–disulfur dichloride batteries","authors":"Nan Zhang, Jinyi Zhang, Weiran Zhang, Zeyi Wang, Chang-Xin Zhao, Ai-Min Li, Yijie Liu, Kangxuan Xia, Cal Mesirow, Yuxin Yang, Brett L. Lucht, Enyuan Hu, Xiulei Ji, De-en Jiang, Jijian Xu, Chunsheng Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02120-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-026-02120-8","url":null,"abstract":"Rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries offer a promising route to high-energy storage using abundant sulfur, but their energy density is constrained by low operating voltage, sluggish redox kinetics and polysulfide shuttling. Raising sulfur to higher oxidation states could increase cell voltage, yet reversible high-valence sulfur chemistry in lithium batteries remains difficult because chloride species bind Li+ and halogen-mediated reactions consume electrolyte. Here we show that a free-chloride-rich ionic liquid electrolyte enables a Li||S2Cl2 chemistry that addresses these limitations by reversibly converting Li2S to S2Cl2 through a three-electron sulfur redox process. The electrolyte functions as an ionic mediator with only a minor capacity contribution. This chemistry increases the average operating voltage from 2.05 to 2.54 V at 25 °C and 0.2C, raises sulfur-specific capacity by 58% and delivers an electrode-level specific energy above 1,700 Wh kg−1 with cycling over 100 cycles. Rechargeable Li–S batteries offer high energy density but are limited by low voltage, sluggish kinetics and polysulfide shuttling. Here the authors report a chlorine-mediated Li||S2Cl2 chemistry enabling reversible three-electron sulfur redox with increased voltage and capacity.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 9","pages":"1297-1306"},"PeriodicalIF":70.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148993836","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}
Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02127-1
Tomoya Nakamura,Minh Anh Truong,Atsushi Wakamiya
{"title":"Ironing out the wrinkles","authors":"Tomoya Nakamura,Minh Anh Truong,Atsushi Wakamiya","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02127-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02127-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148933811","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}
Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-08DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02142-2
{"title":"Quasi-ballistic ion transport boosts evaporation-driven electricity generation","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02142-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-026-02142-2","url":null,"abstract":"Evaporation-driven electricity generation can utilize the abundant thermal energy in the atmosphere, but is limited by ion scattering in the energy-harvesting material. Machine learning has now enabled the design of vertical microrod generators that achieve quasi-ballistic ion transport, boosting the power density and power conversion efficiency.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 10","pages":"1398-1399"},"PeriodicalIF":70.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149222830","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}
Nature EnergyPub Date : 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02113-7
Yurou Celine Xiao, Siyu Sonia Sun, Rui Kai Miao, Kai Han, Paul-Emmanuel Just, Paul J. Corbett, David Sinton
{"title":"Industrializing reactive capture of CO2","authors":"Yurou Celine Xiao, Siyu Sonia Sun, Rui Kai Miao, Kai Han, Paul-Emmanuel Just, Paul J. Corbett, David Sinton","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02113-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-026-02113-7","url":null,"abstract":"Electrified CO2 capture and conversion technologies support the energy transition by producing low-carbon chemicals and fuels, but near-term deployment depends on integration with current energy infrastructure. Reactive capture of CO2 (RCC) feeds CO2-rich liquids directly into an electrolyser, bypassing thermal regeneration and simplifying process integration. RCC has a greater tolerance to industrial impurities and can generate high-purity gaseous outputs, enabling a fully electrified chemical synthesis process that is suited to industrial CO2 feedstocks, but current RCC electrolysers are less developed than their gas-fed counterparts. In this Perspective we argue that RCC could become viable for early industrial adoption—ahead of other electrified routes and at present levels of selectivity and voltage—if stability and scale barriers are addressed. Progress will depend on engineering solvent-tolerant cathodes, formulating electrolysis-compatible capture fluids and advancing bipolar membrane efficiency, scalability and durability. We evaluate the performance targets necessary for RCC to become cost-competitive with alternative conversion technologies. Reactive capture of CO2 integrates capture and conversion, bypassing regeneration and potentially simplifying upstream–downstream process integration, but its deployment readiness is unclear. In this Perspective the authors argue that reactive capture of CO2 could be industrially viable at present levels of selectivity and voltage if stability and scale barriers are addressed.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 10","pages":"1402-1411"},"PeriodicalIF":70.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149222829","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}
{"title":"Heat-driven elastocaloric cooling with shape memory films","authors":"Yi-Ting Hsiau, Shuichi Miyazaki, Manfred Kohl, Jingyuan Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41560-026-02122-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02122-6","url":null,"abstract":"Efficient thermal management is critical for next-generation energy systems. Elastocaloric cooling with shape memory alloy (SMA) films offers rapid heat transfer, high specific cooling capacity and simple solid–solid heat exchange, but current devices rely on bulky, electrically powered actuators that limit scalability and efficiency. Here we demonstrate a thermally powered shape memory actuator that drives elastocaloric cooling in tailored SMA films, establishing a heat-driven cooling system that can use waste heat or solar thermal energy with reduced electricity demand. Our prototype achieves a temperature span of 12.9 K at the refrigerant film level and 4.0 K at the device level under Joule-heated actuation at 86 °C. When driven by an external heat source, the system maintains a device-level temperature span of 2.2 K, confirming the feasibility of heat-driven elastocaloric cooling. These results mark a step towards electricity-minimized elastocaloric cooling technologies that transform heat into useful cooling.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148853522","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}