Heat pump

Read our September issue

This issue features research on heat pumps and energy insecurity, nuclear fusion design, CO2 capture, and more.

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    • The development of kesterite photovoltaic modules has long been hindered by low efficiencies and poor reproducibility. Researchers have now developed a solution-processing approach to achieve uniform and phase-pure kesterite films, enabling the fabrication of large-area modules with 10.1% efficiency.

      • Stela Canulescu
      News & Views
    • Integrating CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion may lower energy consumption relative to the separated processes, but scale-up is limited by low carbon conversion and energy-intensive solvent regeneration. Now, research shows that piperazine, alongside a Ni single-atom catalyst, allows effective, stable CO2 capture, and conversion to CO in a low-energy process.

      • Federico Dattila
      News & Views
    • High-voltage solid-state sodium batteries often fail at the cathode–electrolyte interface due to side reactions. An isotropic metal–organic framework epilayer that conformally coats the cathode particles helps prevent side reactions, enabling stable cycling at an unusually high cutoff voltage of 4.2 V (vs Na/Na+), exceeding the typical ~3.9 V (vs Na/Na+) limit for polyethylene oxide-based sodium cells.

      • Shengjun Xu
      • Francesco Ciucci
      News & Views
    • In perovskite solar cells, the conventional n–i–p structure employing spiro-MeOTAD as a p-type hole transport layer suffers from poor thermal stability. Now, a non-volatile solid-state additive, 4-(N-carbazolyl)pyridine, is introduced to improve the thermal stability of spiro-MeOTAD and enable solar cells to perform more reliably under harsh conditions.

      • Hui-Seon Kim
      News & Views
    • Voltage instability of battery materials has hindered the realization of high-voltage all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). Now, 5 V-class ASSBs are enabled by a fluoride-based shielding layer, LiCl–4Li2TiF6, that combines high oxidative stability and Li+ conductivity. Applied to high-voltage cathodes, the shielding layer mitigates interfacial degradation and enables stable cycling at >5 V, including under high-capacity conditions.

      Research Briefing

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