Sairam Antharam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Leonard Franke, Zirui Wang, Nan Luo, Jan Feßler, Wenjie Xie, Uli Lemmer, Md Mofasser Mallick
{"title":"Milliwatt-scale 3D thermoelectric generators via additive screen printing","authors":"Sairam Antharam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Leonard Franke, Zirui Wang, Nan Luo, Jan Feßler, Wenjie Xie, Uli Lemmer, Md Mofasser Mallick","doi":"10.1039/d5ee01151e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee01151e","url":null,"abstract":"Electronic components driving digitalization, such as wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry 4.0 systems, consume a growing portion of the global primary energy, largely relying on lithium-ion batteries. To enable a sustainable alternative, we explore cost-effective, fully printed thermoelectric generators (TEGs), which can be an alternative to batteries in low-power electronics. We here report a promising additive screen-printing method to fabricate two printed 3D TEGs (print-TEG I and print-TEG II) with varying thermocouple counts and a 0.36 fill factor, overcoming high contact resistance and thickness limitations. The print-TEGs were prepared <em>via</em> layer-by-layer printing of electrodes, interlayers, and n- and p-type legs, with six different layouts. Printed Ag<small><sub>2</sub></small>Se as n-type legs and Bi<small><sub>0.5</sub></small>Sb<small><sub>1.5</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small> as p-type legs were used for TEG fabrication. The print-TEG II with 50 thermocouples generates a maximum power output <em>P</em><small><sub>max</sub></small> of 1.22 mW with an open circuit voltage, <em>V</em><small><sub>OC</sub></small> of 268 mV for Δ<em>T</em> = 43 K. The print-TEG shows a highest power density <em>P</em><small><sub>d</sub></small> of 67 μW cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> (>400 μW g<small><sup>−1</sup></small>) for a fully printed planar TEG. The results demonstrate the potential of print-TEGs as a steadfast power source, guaranteeing nonstop operation of low-power electronic devices.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566695","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":"One ultrasonic measurement for non-invasive and whole-life-cycle thermal diagnosis of lithium-ion batteries","authors":"Lingshi Zhang, Zhongbao Wei, Chunxia Liu, Hongwen He, Kailong Liu, Guangmin Zhou, Yunhui Huang, Zhichuan J. Xu","doi":"10.1039/d5ee01892g","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee01892g","url":null,"abstract":"Thermal characterization and diagnosis are critical for the whole-life-cycle safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, conventional techniques are time-delayed and discontinuous due to the sealed structure and intricate mechanisms of LIB. Herein we report an innovative non-invasive approach for whole-life-cycle thermal monitoring of LIBs. For the first time, our approach combines ultrasonic measurements and heat transfer analysis to diagnose the average temperature and heat capacity accurately, with an error of 2.81%. We furthermore link ultrasonic features to specific failure stages from early incubation to the onset of thermal runaway (TR), paving a new ultrasonic way to interpret the failure modes and early-warn the TR of LIB. Using the ultrasonic features, the TR warning can be 32.47 min ahead compared with commonly-used voltage clues. The ultrasound-enabled approaches are attractive to multiple stages in battery life, including the first- and second-life thermal stability evaluation, regular monitoring, failure analysis and end-of-life early warning.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566690","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}
Wenhe Zhang, Chengbing Wang, Lu Wang, Fan Wang, Puxin Tan, Jinchi Ma, Jingjing Jin, Zhongrong Geng, Hongyao Xie, Li-Dong Zhao
{"title":"All-day freshwater and power generation via integrated photothermal-enhanced thermoelectrics and evaporation cooling","authors":"Wenhe Zhang, Chengbing Wang, Lu Wang, Fan Wang, Puxin Tan, Jinchi Ma, Jingjing Jin, Zhongrong Geng, Hongyao Xie, Li-Dong Zhao","doi":"10.1039/d5ee02663f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee02663f","url":null,"abstract":"Solar-powered simultaneous electricity and freshwater production is a promising solution to address energy and water shortages. However, current technologies are limited by their reliance on sunlight and have yet to achieved both efficient electricity generation and effective water collection. Here, we develop an all-day continuous power and freshwater generator (ACPFG) that innovatively integrates thermoelectric and evaporative cooling technologies. During the day, sunlight is absorbed and converted into heat by a low-emissivity absorber, while passive water flow establishes a substantial thermal gradient across the system. At night, evaporative cooling lowers the temperature below ambient, creating an additional thermal gradient across the generator. This enables continuous operation day and night. Our system achieves an unprecedented peak power density of 1.837 W m–2 and a record-breaking freshwater collection rate of 0.986 kg m–2 h–1 under 1.0 sun irradiation. At night, it maintains an impressive open-circuit voltage of over 80 mV and a water collection rate of 0.0896 kg m–2 h–1, demonstrating its all-day production capabilities. Remarkably, the ACPFG can be readily scaled to power common electrical appliances. This work paves a practical zero-carbon pathway for sustainable water-electricity cogeneration in off-grid remote areas at any time.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566692","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":"Promoting Sulfur Redox Kinetics of Atomically Dispersed Fe-NC Electrocatalyst by Carbon Vacancy toward Robust Lithium-Sulfur Batteries","authors":"Jie Zhang, Dawei Yang, Canhuang Li, Qianhong Gong, Wei Bi, WEIHONG LAI, Shengjun Li, Yaojie Lei, Guangmin Zhou, Andreu Cabot, Guoxiu Wang","doi":"10.1039/d5ee00262a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee00262a","url":null,"abstract":"Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have become the key to overcoming the inherent limitations of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries for their exceptional catalytic activity, high selectivity, and strong affinity towards lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). The effectiveness of SACs is influenced by complex electronic structures. Accordingly, precise tuning of these surroundings is crucial to fully utilize SACs. In this work, we demonstrated that the performances of SACs in LiPSs redox reactions can be optimized by vacancy engineering. This strategy can retain the benefits of SACs as anchoring and electrocatalytic centers for LiPSs, while optimizing their electronic structures to promote rapid charge transfer and enhance LiPSs conversion efficiency. Specifically, iron-based SACs supported on nitrogen-doped carbon containing abundant carbon vacancies (Fe-SAs/N-Cv) were tested as a sulfur host in Li-S batteries. Density functional theory calculations indicate Fe-SAs/N-Cv effectively anchors LiPSs and reduces the decomposition energy barrier of Li2S. Thermodynamic analyses further elucidate that Fe-SAs/N-Cv can accelerate the LiPSs redox reactions. As a result, Fe-SAs/N-Cv hosts exhibit excellent rate performance and superior cycling stability. Furthermore, we demonstrated that with Fe-SAs/N-Cv can be applied in Li-S pouch cells to achievestable cyclability. This work showcases that the vacancy engineering strategy is effective to fine-tune the performance of SACs in Li-S batteries.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547339","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}
Patricia Mayer, Florian Joseph Baader, David Yang Shu, Ludger Leenders, Christian Zibunas, Stefano Moret, André Bardow
{"title":"Transition pathways to electrified chemical production within sector-coupled national energy systems","authors":"Patricia Mayer, Florian Joseph Baader, David Yang Shu, Ludger Leenders, Christian Zibunas, Stefano Moret, André Bardow","doi":"10.1039/d5ee01118c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee01118c","url":null,"abstract":"The chemical industry's transition to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is particularly challenging due to the carbon inherently contained in chemical products, eventually released to the environment. Fossil feedstock-based production can be replaced by electrified chemical production, combining carbon capture and utilization (CCU) with electrolysis-based hydrogen. However, electrified chemical production requires vast amounts of clean electricity, leading to competition in our sector-coupled energy systems. In this work, we investigate the pathway of the chemical industry towards electrified production within the context of a sector-coupled national energy system's transition to net-zero emissions. Our results show that the sectors for electricity, low-temperature heat, and mobility transition before the chemical industry due to the required build-up of renewables, and to the higher emissions abatement of heat pumps and battery electric vehicles. The chemical industry transitions last together with high-temperature heat, beginning with methanol, then ammonia, the olefins, and finally the aromatics. To achieve the net-zero target, the energy system relies on clean energy imports to cover 41% of its electricity needs, largely driven by the high energy requirements of a fully electrified chemical industry. Nonetheless, a partially electrified industry combined with dispatchable production alternatives provides flexibility to the energy system by enabling electrified production when renewable electricity is available. Hence, a partially electrified, diversified chemical industry can support the integration of intermittent renewables, serving as a valuable component in net-zero energy systems.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547340","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}
Junke Wang, Shuaifeng Hu, Zehua Chen, Zhongcheng Yuan, Pei Zhao, Akash Dasgupta, Fengning Yang, Jin Yao, MInh Anh Truong, Gunnar Kusch, Esther Hung, Nick R. M. Schipper, Laura Bellini, Guus J. W. Aalbers, Zonghao Liu, Rachel Oliver, Atsushi Wakamiya, Rene A J Janssen, Henry Snaith
{"title":"Exposing binding-favourable facets of perovskites for tandem solar cells","authors":"Junke Wang, Shuaifeng Hu, Zehua Chen, Zhongcheng Yuan, Pei Zhao, Akash Dasgupta, Fengning Yang, Jin Yao, MInh Anh Truong, Gunnar Kusch, Esther Hung, Nick R. M. Schipper, Laura Bellini, Guus J. W. Aalbers, Zonghao Liu, Rachel Oliver, Atsushi Wakamiya, Rene A J Janssen, Henry Snaith","doi":"10.1039/d5ee02462e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee02462e","url":null,"abstract":"Improved understanding of heterojunction interfaces has enabled multijunction photovoltaic devices to achieve power conversion efficiencies that exceed the detailed-balance limit for single-junctions. For wide-bandgap perovskites, however, the pronounced energy loss across the heterojunctions of the active and charge transport layers impedes multijunction devices from reaching their full efficiency potential. Here we find that for polycrystalline perovskite films with mixed-halide compositions, the crystal termination—a factor influencing the reactivity and density of surface sites—plays a crucial role in interfacial passivation for wide-bandgap perovskites. We demonstrate that by templating the growth of polycrystalline perovskite films toward a preferred (100) facet, we can reduce the density of deep-level trap states and enhance the binding of modification ligands. This leads to a much-improved heterojunction interface, resulting in open-circuit voltages of 1.38 V for 1.77-eV single-junction perovskite solar cells. In addition, monolithic all-perovskite double-junction solar cells achieve open-circuit voltage values of up to 2.22 V, with maximum power point tracking efficiencies reaching 28.6% and 27.7% at 0.25 and 1.0 cm<small><sup>2</sup></small> cell areas, respectively, along with improved operational and thermal stability at 85 °C. This work provides universally applicable insights into the crystalline facet-favourable surface modification of perovskite films, advancing their performance in optoelectronic applications.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"185 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144533801","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}
Kaier Shen, Xuhui Yao, Huimin Song, Weize Shi, Chenxi Zheng, Xufeng Hong, Yingjing Yan, Xu Liu, Lujun Zhu, Yun An, Tinglu Song, Muhammad Burhan Shafqat, Chenyan Ma, Lei Zheng, Peng Gao, Yakun Liu, Mohammadhosein Safari, Yunlong Zhao, Quanquan Pang
{"title":"All-solid-state batteries stabilized with electro-mechano-mediated phosphorus anodes","authors":"Kaier Shen, Xuhui Yao, Huimin Song, Weize Shi, Chenxi Zheng, Xufeng Hong, Yingjing Yan, Xu Liu, Lujun Zhu, Yun An, Tinglu Song, Muhammad Burhan Shafqat, Chenyan Ma, Lei Zheng, Peng Gao, Yakun Liu, Mohammadhosein Safari, Yunlong Zhao, Quanquan Pang","doi":"10.1039/d4ee05704j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ee05704j","url":null,"abstract":"Aggressive anodes like Li metal and silicon promise high-energy, all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) but are restricted by dendritic lithium growth. Ideally, anodes should inherently resist dendritic growth while offering high specific energy. Herein, we describe a class of resource-abundant and dendrite-resistant phosphorus anodes for high-areal-capacity, all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). This is achieved by leveraging phosphorus's well-balanced redox potential which thermodynamically mitigates lithium plating while offering high energy. Importantly, we present an electro-mechano-mediation strategy based on compositing engineering to simultaneously promote the charge transport and chemo-mechanical behavior of the phosphorus electrode. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated a P/Sb anode wherein the Sb/Li<small><sub><em>x</em></sub></small>Sb filler – mixed conducting, stiff, and low-volume-breathing – not only promotes percolated electron/ion transport (electro-mediation effect), but also constrains the volume changes of P/Li<small><sub>3</sub></small>P and suppresses crack formation in the electrode (mechano-mediation effect). Impressively, the anode delivers 340 mA h g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> at an extreme rate of 30C (90 mA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small>, 60 °C), and shows remarkable stability retaining 64.0% capacity after 10 000 cycles at 10C. Furthermore, full cells loaded with 53.5 mg cm<small><sub>LiCoO<small><sub>2</sub></small></sub></small><small><sup>−2</sup></small> deliver a high areal capacity of 6.4 mA h cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> at C/5 and retain 90.0% capacity over 800 cycles at C/2 (25 °C). Our work represents a unique perspective for exploiting high-capacity, dendrite-resistant anode materials which are resourcefully sustainable but have been historically deemed unsuitable for high-energy all-solid-state batteries.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144520927","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}
Le Zhang, Shuyu Bi, Xijun Liu, Qiangchao Sun, Tao Hu, Xionggang Lu, Hongwei Cheng
{"title":"Molecular engineering of D-glucuronamide additive directs (100)-oriented Zn deposition for ultra-stable zinc-ion batteries","authors":"Le Zhang, Shuyu Bi, Xijun Liu, Qiangchao Sun, Tao Hu, Xionggang Lu, Hongwei Cheng","doi":"10.1039/d5ee02101d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee02101d","url":null,"abstract":"The built-in safety attributes of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) position them as a viable alternative to conventional energy storage systems. However, their commercialization is seriously hindered by challenges including dendritic growth and water-mediated parasitic reactions. Here, an electrolyte additive <small>D</small>-glucuronamide (<small>D</small>-Glu) functionalized with hydroxyl, carbonyl, and amide groups and a 3D architecture is introduced to co-modulate the thermodynamics and kinetics of zinc plating/stripping synergistically. Experiment results and theoretical studies reveal that synergistic interplay between the hydrogen-bonding networks and high nucleophilicity of the <small>D</small>-Glu molecule facilitates the preferential displacement of water molecules within the Zn<small><sup>2+</sup></small> primary solvation shell, significantly reducing reactive water in the electrolyte and effectively suppressing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Additionally, the selective adsorption of functional groups on different crystal planes induces orientational growth of Zn(100) crystal planes to form dendrite-free depositions, meanwhile, the <small>D</small>-Glu molecule shields zinc surface defects <em>via</em> steric hindrance, creating a water-poor interfacial microenvironment to inhibit side-reaction. Benefitting from the advantages of functional groups and steric hindrance, the assembled Zn symmetric cell achieves a prolonged lifespan of over 4000 h at 1 mA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> with a low overpotential of 25 mV and an ultrahigh cumulative plating capacity (CPC) of 9.6 Ah cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> at 10 mA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small>. Furthermore, the full cell with an NH<small><sub>4</sub></small>V<small><sub>4</sub></small>O<small><sub>10</sub></small> (NVO) cathode retained a reversible capacity of 218 mAh g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> at 5 A g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> after 2000 cycles. Therefore, this work highlights the potential of molecular design in regulating the crystal orientation for high-performance next-generation AZIBs.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144520928","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}
Xiang Li, Kun Fan, Jingyi He, Siyuan Sun, Yinan Chai, Zhi-Min Dang, Xiangyang Liu
{"title":"All-organic siloxane strengthening polymer dielectric for high-temperature capacitive energy storage at harsh-environment electronics","authors":"Xiang Li, Kun Fan, Jingyi He, Siyuan Sun, Yinan Chai, Zhi-Min Dang, Xiangyang Liu","doi":"10.1039/d5ee01964h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee01964h","url":null,"abstract":"Dielectric polymer films often suffer from poor energy-storage level in harsh-environment electronic devices, circuits and systems. In this work, a molecular engineering strategy is described to synergistically achieve high mechanical strength (321 MPa), breakdown strength (726 MV/m) and energy density/efficiency (6.5 J/cm<small><sup>3</sup></small> at η=90%) at 150℃ in fabricated all-organic siloxane strengthening polyamide film, whose comprehensive performances present obvious preponderance in existed polymer dielectrics. It is demonstrated that the particular coexistence of strong hydrogen bond, large energy gap and siloxane unit specifically reducing interchain interactions in constraint space, rather than traditionally limitless reduction, synergistically strengthens energy-storage and mechanical performances. Meanwhile, once confronting harsher partial corona discharge in some particular application scenarios, the copolymerized siloxane unit can in-situ generate SiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>-like structure to effectively resist direct and persistent damage of corona discharge, thereby maintaining high energy-storage level. This work explores a valuable all-organic design route to synergistically strengthen the high-temperature energy storage performance, mechanical strength and partial corona discharge resistance ability of polymer dielectrics, which also presents large-scale production superiority of fabricating high-quality polymer dielectrics toward harsh-environment applications in electronics.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":32.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144520792","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}