Energy · Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Researchers increased the production of hydroxyl radicals in an electrochemical wastewater-treatment system by adding iron ions that changed the hydrogen-bond structure of water near the electrode. The system maintained about 95% contaminant removal during 500 hours of flow operation and was estimated to cost 44.3% less than conventional boron-doped diamond electrodes.
Researchers report a redesigned water-based electrolyte for zinc batteries that achieved an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.12% over 800 cycles. The electrolyte also supported a 1.0-Ah zinc pouch cell for 70 cycles with negligible capacity decay.
Researchers developed a magnesium-cobalt catalyst that changes its electronic structure as it purifies water. In tests, the system broke down persistent organic pollutants efficiently and remained effective through more than 30 regeneration cycles while resisting cobalt leaching.
A study in Nano-Micro Letters finds that isomalt, a sugar-derived additive, improved the operation of alkaline zinc–iron flow batteries. Batteries using the additive cycled for over 500 cycles at 20 mA cm⁻² and reached 87.5% energy efficiency in full-cell tests.
Researchers used nitrogen and carbon dioxide plasma to modify copper oxide nanostructures on a copper mesh. At −1.2 volts, the catalyst produced carbon-based products including acetic acid, ethanol and propanol, with more than 70% faradaic efficiency for products containing two or more carbon atoms.
Researchers developed an iron-based cathode for protonic ceramic fuel cells that reached a peak power density of 2.2 W/cm² at 700 °C. The cell also operated stably for more than 400 hours, according to the study.
Researchers have introduced a curated database containing more than 30,000 entries on solid-state hydrogen-storage materials, drawn from over 4,000 experimental literature sources. The database includes storage capacity and key heat- and disorder-related properties, giving researchers a way to compare materials under different operating conditions.
A new manganese-based flow-battery design reached a specific capacity of 156.2 ampere-hours per litre of catholyte, a 409% increase over reported manganese sulfate electrolytes. The battery also operated stably at a current density 30 times higher than that reported for manganese-based semi-solid flow batteries.
Researchers report a nickel-iron catalyst that sustained water electrolysis for more than 3,400 hours at an industrial current density. The reported hydrogen production cost was $2.28 per kilogram, below the European Commission’s 2030 target.
A manganese dioxide cathode containing isolated, high-spin cobalt atoms helped an aqueous zinc–manganese battery deliver 658 mAh per gram and run for more than 15,000 cycles. The researchers say the cobalt enabled reversible three-electron storage and helped convert deposited manganese compounds back into active material without added acid or a redox mediator.
A bioinspired magnetic catalyst steered oxygen reduction toward either hydrogen peroxide or water, depending on the structure of its magnetic iron oxide component. The single-domain design reached 63.9% hydrogen peroxide selectivity, while the multi-domain design favored the four-electron route to water.
