With the rapidly growing demand for high-energy-density batteries in electric vehicles (EVs), high-nickel cathodes and their supporting binders have become increasingly important, with stricter performance requirements. However, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), the conventional binder for high-nickel cathodes, is showing clear limitations, and the emergence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) regulations underscores the urgent need for alternatives. Consequently, fluorine-free binders are receiving significant attention as viable substitutes. Recent studies have highlighted their potential by enhancing electrochemical performance through improved mechanical integrity, reinforced interfacial stability, and better dispersion of electrode components. Nevertheless, comprehensive and systematic evaluations that simultaneously address energy density, electrochemical performance, and processability remain insufficient for the practical replacement of PVDF. This review examines current PVDF-based strategies for improving binders in high-nickel cathodes and provides an updated overview of fluorine-free binder approaches as promising alternatives. In addition, we emphasize the need for systematic, process-specific feasibility studies to advance fluorine-free binders capable of supporting high-nickel cathodes. This contribution aims to guide the rational design of next-generation, PFAS-free binder systems that satisfy both industrial performance demands and emerging regulatory requirements.

The efficiency of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells is inherently constrained by energy losses, which originate from surface defect-mediated recombination in wide-bandgap (WBG) mixed-halide perovskites. While ammonium-based passivation layers can mitigate this to some extent, their weak hydrogen bonding often degrades under operational stress. In this article, we propose a novel in situ reconstructed cohesive multihalide blocking layer, fabricated via a simple n-butylammonium chloride (BACl) post-treatment process. The incorporation of Cl ions induces the formation of a trihalide-based surface phase, which exhibits substantially higher lattice cohesive energy compared to conventional I/Br-mixed perovskites. Meanwhile, BA cations are stably immobilized through strong ionic interactions, effectively passivating cationic vacancies and reducing nonradiative recombination losses. The resulting semi-transparent WBG (1.67 eV) perovskite solar cell achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.53% and a high bifaciality factor of 91.60%, retaining 92.2% of its initial PCE after 1000 h of continuous illumination. When integrated with a planar TOPCon silicon bottom cell, the two-terminal tandem device achieves an remarkable open-circuit voltage of 1.925 V and a PCE of 30.41% (active area = 1 cm), ranking among the highest efficiencies reported for planar silicon-based tandem photovoltaic devices.

Mechanochemistry has gained momentum in organic synthesis. Often, shaker ball mills are used. The geometry of their vessels leads to different action modes, some with high and some with low energy input. These motions interchange chaotically, and new vessels with alternative geometries revealing defined action modes shall lead to a deeper understanding of mechanochemical systems and allow improvements. We designed twenty new jar geometries and 3D printed such vessels using an UV-resin-based printer and a translucent polymer. For analyzing the energy-rich impacts in these new geometries, a setup with triboluminescence in connection with high-speed footage was introduced. In this manner, the number of hits with enough energy to emit a light reflex was determined. To further investigate the efficiency of the new geometries, time measurements of light decays were conducted. Several vessels showed great improvements in hit counts as well as in milling time reduction until total light decay, confirming the importance of newly designed mechanochemical vessels with tailor-made geometries enhancing the milling efficiency of mechanochemical systems.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have shown great development potential in large-scale energy storage applications due to their advantages, such as abundant reserves,uniform distribution, low cost, and superior low-temperature performance. Of the various emerging carbon anode materials used in SIBs, biomass-based hard carbon (HC) is of particular interest due to its low cost, widespread availability, and excellent performance. However, there are problems with biomass-based HC materials, such as low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), low specific capacity, and poor rate performance. These issues make it difficult to meet current commercial demands. This article systematically reviews the structure and sodium storage mechanism of biomass-based HC materials, as well as the fine design of biomass-based HC anode materials, including structural engineering, interface engineering, and electrolyte engineering. It analyzes and summarizes the research progress on improving the ICE, specific capacity, and rate performance of biomass-based HC anode materials for SIBs. This review is expected to provide fundamental understanding and in-depth insights for the development of biomass-based HC anode materials for high-energy sodium storage.

We report a new polymer donor, PBDTTz, featuring a simple benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-thiazole backbone for organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Introduction of thiazole units induces intramolecular N···S interactions that lock the backbone conformation, yielding a rigid and coplanar structure. This design not only enhances intermolecular π-π interactions but also balances crystallinity with miscibility. As a result, PBDTTz exhibited a deeper highest occupied molecular orbital energy level, stronger π-π stacking, and improved blend morphology with the nonfullerene acceptor L8-BO, significantly outperforming its thiophene analog PBDTT in OPV performance. Optimized cells achieved a power conversion efficiency of 15.3%, which is quite high considering its simple chemical structure. These results highlight thiazole incorporation as an effective strategy to simultaneously control backbone rigidity, crystallinity, and miscibility, providing a straightforward route to high-performance polymer donors for OPVs.

This study examines performance characteristics of (warm-)plasma-based NH cracking using a detailed plasma chemical kinetics model across a wide range of gas temperatures (T = 1000-6000 K) and electron temperatures (T = 0-3.5 eV, i.e., 0-40,000 K). NH conversion increases with both temperatures, but the T-dependence flattens near full conversion. Pure thermal cracking reaches full conversion at 2300 K and 10 ms, while plasma achieves full conversion at T > 2.75 eV for all T, even the lowest T values investigated. At T < 2700 K, high T dramatically reduces the time for full conversion, for example, from thousands of years (thermal) to milliseconds (plasma) at T = 1100 K, while differences vanish at T > 2700 K. Product composition follows thermal equilibrium, showing negligible T influence. Importantly, we also suggest strategies for performance improvement. The best energy cost for typical warm plasmas with continuous power is predicted to be 197 kJ/mol-NH at 2500 K, where thermal pathways dominate. Reducing vibrational energy losses suggests potential improvement at T ≈1500 K, predicting an energy cost of 157 kJ/mol-NH, for so-called "plasma-initialized" thermal cracking. Further reduction in energy cost should be feasible via heat recovery. Overall, our model shows that plasma cracking offers rapid NH conversion with reasonable energy cost.

Layered oxide NaFeMnNiO (FMN) has emerged as a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, its practical application is hindered by unsatisfactory reversible capacity and structural degradation during cycling. In this work, a precisely controlled quenching approach is demonstrated that substantially enhances the electrochemical performance of FMN. Systematic investigation reveals that FMN subjected to rapid quenching at 65°C·min exhibits remarkable improvements, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 141 mAh·g and maintaining 73.3% capacity retention after 100 cycles, outperforming the naturally cooled sample. The enhanced performance is attributed to the quenching-induced oxygen vacancies promoting pseudocapacitive sodium storage, the optimized interlayer sodium content facilitating ion transport, and the stabilized transition metal valence states suppressing Jahn-Teller distortions. These findings provide fundamental insights into structure-property relationships in quenched cathode materials and establish a facile yet effective strategy for developing high-performance SIB electrodes.

Developing energy-efficient strategies for converting biomass-derived platform chemicals remains critical for sustainable chemistry. Efficient conversion of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to high-value 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) remains challenging due to energy-intensive processes and poor selectivity. Here, we developed a novel Mn-doped bimetallic UiO-66(Zr/Hf)-NH piezoelectric photocatalyst via solvothermal synthesis. The optimal 3Mn/UZH0.5 catalyst (Zr/Hf = 1:1, 3.10 wt% Mn) achieves 81.3% HMF conversion and 68.9% DFF yield with 84.8% selectivity within 2 h, delivering high productivity (1377.8 μmol g h) under mild conditions, while maintaining >75% selectivity over 5 cycles. Mechanistic studies reveal that ultrasound-induced piezoelectric fields suppress electron-hole recombination, while Mn/Mn redox cycling and dominant reactive oxygen species (·O and O) enable selective HMF oxidation. This work establishes a green catalytic platform using simultaneous solar/mechanical energy for biomass upgrading, advancing circular bioeconomy goals.

Plastic waste accumulation presents an environmental and human health crisis. With current recycling technologies recovering only ∼9% of plastics globally, there is an urgent need for sustainable solutions. While enzymatic strategies for polyethylene terephthalate degradation have made significant progress, analogous approaches for other plastics, like nylon, remain underdeveloped. In particular, the persistence of cyclic nylon oligomers has received limited attention, with only one distinct enzyme (NylA) reported decades ago, exhibiting poor catalytic performance. To address this critical gap, using genome mining, novel amidases were identified with enhanced activity and thermal stability. Herein, we report the discovery and characterization of a lactam hydrolase from Thermopolyspora flexuosa, the first thermostable NylA orthologue (T = 72°C ± 0.3°C). Biochemical analyses reveal that TflNylA hydrolyzes a range of lactams, including cyclic nylon byproducts, with particularly high specificity and turnover for laurolactam. Substrate scope analysis and structural modeling revealed key molecular features governing enzyme-substrate compatibility, explaining the preferential activity of TflNylA. Co-incubation of TflNylA and TvgC with nylon film increased nylon dimer production, underscoring the potential of enzyme synergy for enhanced plastic degradation. This thermostable NylA variant provides an ideal starting point for enzyme engineering efforts to develop robust catalysts for nylon waste remediation.

The depolymerization of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) with a highly active zinc catalyst was investigated. The methanolysis of PBS in solution was optimised by varying temperature, catalyst loading, and methanol equivalents, giving a maximum conversion of 98% after 48 h with a dimethyl succinate yield of 62%. Solvent-free methanolysis of PBS and PBAT was shown to reach high conversion after 1 h, although increased temperature was required (100-130°C). When the catalyst was embedded into thin films of PBS and PBAT, a significant loss of mass and a reduction in molecular weight was observed after incubation at 50°C in methanol, comparing favorably with samples of pure polymer. Some increase in degradation activity was also observed in deionized water. This work demonstrates the application of common chemical recycling techniques to increasingly relevant bio-derived polyesters as well as the potential for embedded zinc catalysts to promote degradation.

Increasing use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) urges for efficient recycling strategies for their components. Direct recycling methods for cathode materials, based on repairing the structure of the degraded cathode particles without destroying the bulk phase, are promising energy-saving alternatives to traditional metallurgy processes that involve several steps and use large volumes of chemicals causing secondary pollution. Herein, we report a novel and scalable method for the direct electrochemical recycling of spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) powder in a flow cell via redox mediation. In this method, pellets of spent LFP powder (S-LFP) placed in a tank are directly reduced and relithiated by a redox mediator dissolved in a Li-containing aqueous electrolyte, pumped from an electrochemical cell stack to the relithiation tank. Redox mediators transport charge to the S-LFP pellets from the electrochemical cell, where LiFe(CN) is oxidized and Li ions are supplied from a LiFe(CN)-containing counter compartment through an ion-selective membrane. The consumption of the regenerating redox mediator solution is minimal via a closed-loop electrochemical regeneration reaction. Successful S-LFP regeneration using two redox mediators, with different energy demand processes, is confirmed by structural and electrochemical characterization.

Ternary bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs) hold great promise for enhancing photovoltaic performance, yet the influence of the third component's molecular geometry remains underexplored. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of benzene-cored nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) with V-, Y-, and X-shaped configurations-B2D-DFIC, B3D-DFIC, and B4D-DFIC-via an atom-economical direct CH arylation strategy. These NFAs exhibit complementary absorption and cascaded energy levels with the PM6:Y6 host system, enabling optimized morphology and enhanced exciton dissociation. Notably, the highly symmetric X-shaped B4D-DFIC promotes face-on molecular packing and forms a well-interpenetrated fibrous network, leading to a remarkable increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 15.42% to 16.65%, along with improved charge carrier balance (μ/μ = 0.92) and reduced recombination. Our work establishes a clear geometry-performance relationship, demonstrating that enhanced molecular symmetry (V → Y → X) systematically improves device performance through optimized molecular ordering and charge transport pathways.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers a sustainable method for hydrogen production, but is limited by slow oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics and the low economic value of oxygen (O). Alternative anodic oxidation reactions have been developed to replace OER, enhancing energy efficiency and producing valuable products. This review analyzes recent advancements in photoanodes for the selective oxidation of urea, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides under solarlight into valuable chemicals,such as nitrogen (N), carbon dioxide (CO), and nirtates, by utilizing alternative oxidation pathways alongside the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This review focuses on the mechanistic pathways of oxidation, highlighting strategies to tackle challenges such as incomplete oxidation and nitrate buildup through optimized catalyst design, nanostructuring, and interfacial engineering. Key systems include nickel phosphide (NiP)-sensitized titanium dioxide (TiO) nanotubes, silicon (Si) photoanodes with Ni-based cocatalysts, and amorphous Ni-Mo-O layers, all showing better charge separation, lower overpotentials, and strong long-term stability. Additionally, PEC NO oxidation provides a low-temperature, selective approach for transforming trace NO pollutants into nitrates suitable for fertilizer, supported by reactor-scale innovations in gas-phase PEC systems. This review examines catalyst stability, selectivity, and device design, suggesting future directionsfor scalable, durable, and affordable PEC systems that promote clean energy and environmental sustainability.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CORR) represents a promising approach for the sustainable production of value-added chemicals from CO. However, maintaining long-term operational stability under industrially relevant high current densities remains a major challenge, primarily due to electrolyte flooding and the salt formation including carbonate and bicarbonate species, which severely compromise the performance of gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs). In this article, we present an advanced gas diffusion layer (GDL) design incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into porous carbon-based microporous layers. The resulting architecture facilitates the formation of a continuous, hydrophobic CNT-polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) network via preferential PTFE alignment along the CNT surfaces. This hydrophobic CNT-PTFE network effectively mitigates electrolyte flooding while maintaining efficient gas transport pathways. As a result, the CNT-reinforced GDE demonstrated substantially enhanced CORR performance, sustaining a CO Faradaic efficiency above 80% for 150 h at a current density of 400 mA cm. In contrast, conventional carbon-based GDEs exhibited rapid performance decay within 10 h under same conditions. These findings highlight that microstructural engineering of the GDL, via the formation of a hydrophobic CNT-PTFE network, provides a robust and scalable strategy for enhancing flooding resistance and operational durability in CORR systems.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are attractive for large-scale energy storage but are limited by dendrite growth and side reactions at the Zn anode. In this work, we design a functional coating strategy using Zn-Schiff base complexes to overcome these issues. The complexes, featuring abundant coordination sites and ionic conductivity, modulate Zn transport and promote desolvation, ensuring uniform deposition. Three complexes-Zn-salen, Zn-salpn, and Zn-salbn-were developed, among which Zn-salbn exhibited the best performance. Symmetric Zn||Zn cells with Zn-salbn@Zn anodes cycled stably for 2310 h at 1 mA cm/1 mAh cm with a low overpotential of 31.9 mV, while delivering a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.7%. In full cells, pairing Zn-salbn@Zn with VO enabled 83.1% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g. This work not only demonstrates the effective protection of Zn metal anodes by Schiff base complexes, but also provides new insights into the application of interfacial chelation strategies in next generation high performance energy storage technologies.

The thermal stability of inorganic cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI) is often considered superior to the organic-inorganic variants. However, few reports have demonstrated device thermal stability. The incorporation of dimethylammonium iodide (DMAI) appears to improve the phase stability of CsPbI-based devices, but little information on its thermal stability is known. Herein, we propose the need to go beyond chemical stability and consider the high-temperature phase stability of these inorganic perovskites, where high temperatures induce the conversion of the perovskite to nonperovskite phase. We also put forth the viewpoint that for devices, this high-temperature phase instability essentially equates to thermal instability of the entire CsPbI-based solar cell. Next, we show that the DMAI-doped CsPbI films also undergo a slower but similar conversion, attributable to the loss of the DMA cation and the reduced iodide vacancies. We then show that encapsulation helps to slow down DMA release, which slows down the high-temperature phase conversion of DMAI-doped CsPbI films, unlike the case for control films where the effect is negligible. Finally, we show that even with encapsulation, the DMA cation induces photodegradation that worsens the high-temperature phase instability, therefore underscoring the need for additional additives alongside DMAI, or a replacement of DMAI additive.

Temperature-modulated electrocatalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) or 4-hydroxyvaleric acid (HVA) was investigated over CuNi and CuNiRu catalysts electrodeposited onto vertically aligned graphene nanowalls. Systematic potential (-1.6 to -2.0 V vs. Ag|AgCl) and temperature (5°C-50°C) studies revealed a clear product switch: at 5°C all catalysts showed > 95% selectivity to HVA, whereas at 50°C GVL dominated. Among the compositional configurations, trimetallic CuNiRu (50 mC cm) achieved the highest performance, affording 96.6% LA conversion, 92.4% GVL yield, and 98.5% selectivity at 50°C with minimal Ru loading. The synergy between Ru sites (promoting hydrogen activation and lactonization) and the high-roughness nanowall scaffold suppressed H evolution, minimized metal leaching (<1%), and delivered stable operation under ambient pressure. The system maintained performance over multiple cycles and preserved selectivity even under concentrated LA solutions, confirming architectural robustness. Faradaic efficiencies up to 89%, low energy consumption (~0.12  kWh  mol), and energy storage efficiencies > 70% underscore the viability of this system for direct electricity-to-fuel conversion. These temperature-potential insights establish a tuneable platform where low-temperature operation yields HVA, whereas moderate temperatures (50°C) enable near-quantitative GVL production.

Stabilizing lithium-metal anodes requires cooptimization of the current-collector surface architecture and the deposition protocol. In this study, morphology-controlled Cu-based scaffolds were integrated with symmetric, rest-free pulse-current strategies. Three Cu nanostructures-nanoneedles (NN), 3D hierarchical nanowires (HN), and pinecone-like nanostructures (PLN)-were fabricated by linear sweep voltammetry; CuO-rich HN afforded the most uniform Li nucleation. Pulse durations of 100 ms, 500 ms, and 1 s were then screened; 500 ms was identified as the optimal condition, offering the best compromise between deposition uniformity and interfacial stability. Finally, three protocols were compared at 500 ms: plating/stripping (P-S), plating/rest (P-R), and plating/rest/stripping/rest (P-R-S-R). The rest-free P-S protocol delivered superior durability by leveraging rapid flux reversal for dynamic surface smoothing and helping to preserve the solid-electrolyte interphases. With HN + P-S(500 ms), symmetric cells cycled >1000 h and Li‖Cu half-cells maintained CE ≥90% for >120 cycles, outperforming the other conditions. These results show that eliminating rest periods and rapidly alternating plating and stripping-combined with a lithiophilic 3D host-provides a simple, effective route to durable lithium-metal anodes.

1,3-Butadiene (BD), a symmetric C diene, is a primary precursor for numerous synthetic rubbers and is sourced largely from the naphtha cracking process. Sustainable BD production from renewable biomass is indispensable for preserving the environment through the circular economy. Ethanol-to-BD (ETB) has particularly witnessed a resurgence in recent years, following two different routes: one-step conversion and two-step process via acetaldehyde. The present review article critically examines the current state-of-the-art research progress of the ETB processes, in terms of historical perspective, reaction mechanism, kinetics, thermodynamics, multifunctional heterogeneous catalysts, reaction parameters, and economic-environmental impact analysis. The ETB processes encompass a complex sequence of reactions on different catalytic sites, including dehydrogenation, carbon-carbon coupling, and dehydration. However, the catalyst with the proper balance between acidic, basic, redox, and metal functionalities (e.g., metal/metal oxide-modified MgO-SiO and Zn-Zr mixed oxide), which are uniformly distributed and cooperative, remains a critical challenge in these processes. Despite notable advancements in understanding molecular mechanisms, the design of catalysts for high BD selectivity and process scalability remains the key obstacle to commercial success. The comprehensive summary of ETB process developments provides a foundation for researchers and industry practitioners to advance research and optimize the critical parameters for sustainable BD production.

This study reports the synthesis of iron-doped zinc oxide nanocomposites (ZnO-FeO) via two distinct methods, hydrothermal (HT) and wet impregnation (WI), for photocatalytic CO2 reduction under both visible light (VLI) and ultraviolet irradiation (UVI) light irradiation. The (HT) approach yielded a doped solid solution, whereas the (WI) method produced a heterosystem with well-defined interfaces. The ZnO-FeO heterosystem demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving 99.99% selectivity for CO production with yields of 0.15 µmol g min (UVI) and 0.03 µmol g min (VLI). In comparison, the hydrothermally synthesized catalyst produced CO at yields of 0.042 µmol g min (UVI) and 0.006 µmol gmin (VLI) with 94% selectivity. These results correspond to an approximately sevenfold enhancement for the WI-synthesized catalyst and a twofold improvement for the (HT) synthesized material relative to pristine ZnO. Combined surface analysis and DFT calculations showed that iron incorporation generates interfacial impurity states that facilitate a unique charge-transfer pathway, enhancing CO photoreduction. DRIFTS confirmed formate and carbonyl species as key intermediates in the reaction mechanism.

Lignin, a naturally abundant biopolymer, possesses intrinsic ultraviolet (UV) shielding capabilities, making it a promising candidate for sustainable functional materials. However, conventional lignin isolation methods often lead to dark-colored products due to structural condensation and chromophore formation, limiting its applicability in optical and esthetic applications. In this study, we introduce a novel fractionation strategy utilizing a system composed of thiolactic acid and choline chloride to selectively extract lignin from wood biomass. This environmentally benign process yields a light-colored lignin with exceptional whiteness (>90%) and high recovery efficiency (70%). The preservation of lignin's bright appearance is attributed to its submicron-scale morphology and chemical stabilization via thiolactic acid modification, which suppresses chromophore formation. Remarkably, the resulting white lignin demonstrates high visible light reflectance and significantly reduced solar heat gain compared to conventional kraft lignin. Furthermore, its strong UV absorption and high emissivity in the atmospheric transparency window position it as a compelling bio-derived material for passive radiative cooling applications. This work highlights a sustainable pathway for valorizing lignin into high-performance, multifunctional materials aligned with green chemistry principles.