Joule最新文献

{"title":"Enriched asymmetric π electrons confining single-site Pt for acidic hydrogen evolution","authors":"Mingxia Xu ,&nbsp;Yiran Kang ,&nbsp;Leilei Wang ,&nbsp;Yunlong Zhang ,&nbsp;Guang Jiang ,&nbsp;Yafeng Cai ,&nbsp;Yunchuan Tu ,&nbsp;Qiao Zhao ,&nbsp;Jun Chi ,&nbsp;Wei Song ,&nbsp;Hongmei Yu ,&nbsp;Jingting Hu ,&nbsp;Wei Liu ,&nbsp;Rui Huang ,&nbsp;Liang Yu ,&nbsp;Junling Lu ,&nbsp;Xinhe Bao ,&nbsp;Dehui Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101968","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101968","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Achieving both high activity and durability with minimal Pt loading is critical for acidic hydrogen evolution in large-scale proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), in which precise regulation of Pt-support interaction is the key yet remains a great challenge. Here, we report that by confining single-site Pt with enriched asymmetric π electrons on a monolayer graphene encapsulating CoNi nanoalloy, a highly active and durable Pt site is constructed, which delivers an unprecedented mass activity. Assembled PEMWE using this catalyst achieves a record-high current density of 4.0 A cm⁻² at 2.02 V with the lowest-ever-reported Pt loading of 1.2 μg_Pt cm⁻² and exhibits an excellent durability of 1,000 h at 2 A cm⁻². Comprehensive investigations reveal that CoNi-graphene 3<em>d</em>-2<em>p</em> orbital overlapping combined with CoNi-to-carbon electron transfer, perturbs the conjugation effect and orbital symmetry of graphene π electrons, leading to reinforced Pt–graphene bonding and electron enrichment on Pt, which enhances both catalytic stability and activity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101968"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153972","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":"Converting low-grade heat into mechanical energy using a natural rubber elastocaloric device","authors":"Gael Sebald ,&nbsp;Giulia Lombardi ,&nbsp;Gildas Coativy ,&nbsp;Atsuki Komiya","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work leverages the thermomechanical properties of natural rubber, an abundant, low-cost, and renewable material, for low-grade heat energy harvesting. Natural rubber tubes exhibited temperature-induced stress variations of 10 kPa.K⁻¹ when pre-elongated to 5 times their original length, for a temperature range of 20°C to 60°C. A prototype elastocaloric device was evaluated using a fluid to cyclically transfer heat from a hot heat exchanger to the natural rubber and then to a cold heat exchanger. Constitutive equations and simulations were used to assess the energy conversion capability. Finally, thermodynamic energy cycles were experimentally tested with temperature variations of 35 K and elongations of 4.5–5.5 times the original length, converting heat-to-mechanical work at 4 J per cycle, corresponding to 150 mJ.cm⁻³. The proposed design is scalable with a larger quantity of natural rubber, and after adding an electromagnetic system, low-grade heat energy may be converted into electricity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 102012"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144568800","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":"Passing on the torch","authors":"Philip Earis","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102050","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102050","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 102050"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634281","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":"Do spin-triplet excitons have to be a terminal loss pathway in organic solar cells?","authors":"Alexander James Gillett","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a recent issue of <em>ACS Energy Letters</em>, Shadabroo et al. propose a pathway to overcome losses via spin-triplet excitons in organic solar cells. This result is placed into the broader context of the field and potential avenues for future work are suggested.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 102008"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144631546","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":"Little to lose: The case for a robust European green hydrogen strategy","authors":"Koen van Greevenbroek ,&nbsp;Johannes Schmidt ,&nbsp;Marianne Zeyringer ,&nbsp;Alexander Horsch","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101974","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101974","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The EU targets 10 Mt of green hydrogen production by 2030 but has not committed to targets for 2040. Green hydrogen competes with carbon capture and storage, biomass, and imports as well as direct electrification in reaching emissions reductions; earlier studies have demonstrated the great uncertainty in future cost-optimal development of green hydrogen. In spite of this, we show that Europe risks little by setting green hydrogen production targets at around 25 Mt by 2040. Employing an extensive scenario analysis combined with novel near-optimal techniques, we find that this target results in systems that are within 10% of cost-optimal in all considered scenarios with current-day biomass availability and baseline transportation electrification. Setting concrete targets is important in order to resolve significant uncertainty that hampers investments. Targeting green hydrogen reduces the dependence on carbon capture and storage and green fuel imports, making for a more robust European climate strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101974"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144260553","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":"High-flux and stable thin-film evaporation from fiber membranes with interconnected pores","authors":"Tianshi Feng ,&nbsp;Yu Pei ,&nbsp;Haowen Zhang ,&nbsp;Brooklyn Asai ,&nbsp;Gaoweiang Dong ,&nbsp;Atharva Joshi ,&nbsp;Abhishek Saha ,&nbsp;Shengqiang Cai ,&nbsp;Renkun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101975","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101975","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Capillary-driven thin-film evaporation in nanoporous membranes has emerged as a promising thermal management strategy for high-power electronic devices, owing to its high theoretical critical heat flux (CHF) enabled by the extensive evaporating areas within the nanopores. In this study, we investigate fiber membranes with three-dimensional interconnected open pores as efficient evaporators. Unlike traditional membranes with isolated pores, these open structures facilitate rapid and uniform liquid transport through multiple pathways, effectively reducing clogging and ensuring consistent wetting across the surface. Capillary-driven evaporation achieved a maximum CHF of over 800 W cm⁻² on a relatively large heating area of approximately 0.5 cm², attributed to the larger effective thin-film evaporation areas provided by the open-pore structures. Moreover, the fiber membranes demonstrated long-term stability. These findings suggest that 3D fiber membrane evaporators are highly promising for advanced thermal management, offering efficient, stable cooling solutions to meet the demands of modern electronic systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101975"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144278771","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":"Lithium enrichment threatens to curb fusion deployment","authors":"Samuel H. Ward ,&nbsp;Richard J. Pearson ,&nbsp;Thomas Scott ,&nbsp;Niek J. Lopes Cardozo","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101997","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101997","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Samuel Ward has close to a decade of experience across the commercialization stack of nuclear fusion, from plasma physics research and engineering to policy and strategy. He aims to help fusion generate value, not just power. He spent his time as a postdoctoral researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology researching fusion technoeconomics, previously working on plasma physics at CCFE and ITER for his PhD at the University of York. He holds an MPhys from the University of Manchester and currently performs market, technoeconomic, and strategic analysis for firms in the nuclear fusion space.</div><div>Richard J. Pearson is chief innovator and co-founder of Kyoto Fusioneering and visiting senior research associate at the University of Bristol. Holding a PhD in fusion engineering and innovation (Open University) and an MSc in nuclear engineering (Imperial College London), he aligns industrial practice with academic inquiry, translating complex fusion concepts into bankable, policy-aligned technologies through rigorous systems thinking, including specifically on the topic of fuel supply for fusion. Richard is the author of 15+ publications on technology roadmapping, tritium supply, and deep-tech commercialization and also serves as field editor for commercialization at the <em>Journal of Fusion Energy</em>.</div><div>Thomas Scott is a professor of materials at the University of Bristol, holding a 5-year RAEng chair in actinide materials. He has published over 60 academic papers and holds 3 patents, having co-founded Imitec and Arkenlight. He is the academic lead for the Sellafield UK Centre of Expertise for Uranium and Reactive Metals, having developed two novel radiation detection techniques. His research interests are in aging, corrosion, and characterization of radioactive materials in engineered and environmental systems.</div><div>Niek Lopes Cardozo is professor emeritus of science and technology of nuclear fusion at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, where he initiated the dedicated, interdisciplinary MSc program on fusion energy. Before focusing on education, he directed the Dutch fusion research program and served on many European scientific and managerial fusion committees. In parallel with his work as a researcher and educator, he has been active in science policy on the national level. In recent years, his research has focused on the socio- and techno-economics of the energy transition and the potential role of fusion energy therein.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101997"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144219162","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":"A polymer membrane with integrated microphase separation and intrinsic microporosity for aqueous organic redox flow batteries","authors":"Guang-Hui He ,&nbsp;Lu Li ,&nbsp;Hua Xu ,&nbsp;Yunlong Ji ,&nbsp;Pan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101976","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101976","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aqueous organic redox flow battery (AORFB) is a promising electrochemical technology for large-scale and long-duration energy storage, requiring highly conductive and selective ion-exchange membranes. Traditional porous and microphase-separated membranes often present a tradeoff between high ion conductivity and low crossover of active species, remaining a persistent research challenge. Here, we propose a key design strategy that integrates size-confined microphase separation and intrinsic microporosity within a solution-processable Tröger’s base (TB) framework. By introducing a delayed implementation of a three-armed branch linker and a semi-rigid polymer backbone in a sequential synthesis, the resulting branched TB membrane <strong><em>b</em>-DPM-N3</strong>, demonstrates both high conductivity and selectivity (as low as 10⁻¹² cm²/s permeability of various active materials) and showcases its efficiency in AORFBs with record power density and up to 42% energy efficiency under 300 mA/cm² current density. This design concept offers broad potential for membrane applications in electrochemical devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101976"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144260551","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":"Low-value pollutants to high-value chemicals: Ambient electrooxidation of NO to HNO3","authors":"Shariful Kibria Nabil ,&nbsp;Tareq Al-Attas ,&nbsp;Md Golam Kibria","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102048","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a recent <em>Nature Catalysis</em> paper, Xia et al. introduce a novel electrochemical approach for converting nitric oxide (NO), an atmospheric pollutant, into useful nitric acid (HNO₃) under ambient conditions using functionalized carbon catalyst. This method bypasses energy-intensive incumbent processes such as Ostwald, offering a modular, economic, and low-emission route to nitrogen valorization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 102048"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144634282","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":"Exciton fission enhanced silicon solar cell","authors":"Narumi Nagaya ,&nbsp;Kangmin Lee ,&nbsp;Collin F. Perkinson ,&nbsp;Aaron Li ,&nbsp;Youri Lee ,&nbsp;Xinjue Zhong ,&nbsp;Sujin Lee ,&nbsp;Leah P. Weisburn ,&nbsp;Janet Z. Wang ,&nbsp;Tomi K. Baikie ,&nbsp;Moungi G. Bawendi ,&nbsp;Troy Van Voorhis ,&nbsp;William A. Tisdale ,&nbsp;Antoine Kahn ,&nbsp;Kwanyong Seo ,&nbsp;Marc A. Baldo","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.101965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While silicon solar cells dominate global photovoltaic energy production, their continued improvement is hindered by the single-junction limit. One potential solution is to use molecular singlet exciton fission to generate two electrons from each absorbed high-energy photon. We demonstrate that the long-standing challenge of coupling molecular excited states to silicon solar cells can be overcome using sequential charge transfer. Combining zinc phthalocyanine, aluminum oxide, and a shallow junction crystalline silicon microwire solar cell, the peak charge generation efficiency per photon absorbed in tetracene is (138% ± 6%), comfortably surpassing the quantum efficiency limit for conventional silicon solar cells and establishing a new, scalable approach to low-cost, high-efficiency photovoltaics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"9 7","pages":"Article 101965"},"PeriodicalIF":38.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144114329","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}