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Aerosol surface composition plays a critical role in atmospheric chemistry but remains poorly characterized, especially for inorganic systems lacking organic surfactants. While bulk composition is typically measured, key interfacial processes, including heterogeneous reactions, water uptake, and cloud activation, occur at the surface. Here, we present the first depth-resolved, in-flight X-ray phot
Adaptive reuse of buildings, repurposing existing structures for new functions, is gaining attention for its potential in sustainable development and optimisation of building materials usage. This practice is particularly relevant in the building sector, where space heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems represent a significant portion of project costs, embodied energy, greenhou
The traditional approaches rely solely on temperature measures to assess heat-related health risks; but there is a growing trend towards using bio-meteorological indices for a more comprehensive evaluation. However, the adoption of bio-meteorological indices in developing countries is considerably limited. Therefore, this study compares bio-meteorological index, the maximum Universal Thermal Clima
Overdischarge poses severe challenges to the structural integrity and electrochemical performance of layered LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2 (NCM) cathodes in lithium-ion batteries, yet the underlying degradation mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. Through a combined experimental and theoretical approach, this study systematically investigates how overdischarge destabilizes NCM cathodes with varying tr
Layered lithium-rich transition metal oxides are promising cathode candidates for high-energy-density lithium batteries due to the redox contributions from transition metal cations and oxygen anions. However, their practical application is hindered by gradual capacity fading and voltage decay. Although oxygen loss and phase transformation are recognized as primary factors, the structural deteriora
Rechargeable magnesium batteries are promising for future energy storage. However, among other challenges, their practical application is hindered by low coulombic efficiencies of magnesium plating and stripping. Fundamental processes such as the formation, structure, and stability of passivation layers and the influence of different electrolyte components on them are still not fully understood. I
Anode-free zinc batteries offer reduced weight and simplified production compared to traditional zinc metal batteries, but challenges such as dendrite formation and parasitic reactions limit their efficiency and cycle life. In this study, we present an effective strategy to form a zincophilic interphase in situ via indium co-deposition during cycling, using InCl3 as an electrolyte additive. Zinc p
Aqueous lithium-ion batteries (ALIBs) are promising for large-scale energy storage systems because of the cost-effective, intrinsically safe, and environmentally friendly properties of aqueous electrolytes. Practical application is however impeded by interfacial side-reactions and the narrow electrochemical stability window (ESW) of aqueous electrolytes. Even though higher electrolyte salt concent
Aqueous zinc-bromine (Zn-Br2) batteries feature operational safety and high-energy and high-power densities, but suffer from polybromide dissolution in the cathode and the low reversibility of Zn metal in the anode. Here, we demonstrate that these challenges can be simultaneously tackled by using a fully exploited imidazolium bromide (MPIBr). An in-depth analysis demonstrates that MPIBr enhances b
The binder plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and enhancing the conductivity of the electrode, although it accounts for a small weight fraction in the entire electrode. However, the conventional binder used in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries fails to effectively tackle the challenges posed by the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides, as well as the issues of poor conductivity and
Rechargeable magnesium batteries could provide future energy storage systems with high energy density. One remaining challenge is the development of electrolytes compatible with the negative Mg electrode, enabling uniform plating and stripping with high Coulombic efficiencies. Often improvements are hindered by a lack of fundamental understanding of processes occurring during cycling, as well as t
The practical application of aqueous rechargeable batteries faces several challenges due to the limited stability window of electrolytes and parasitic side reactions, such as corrosion, passivation, gas evolution, and co-intercalations. The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed at the electrode/electrolyte interface plays a critical role in determining interfacial properties and battery perfor
Battery cell assembly and testing in conventional battery research is acknowledged to be heavily time-consuming and often suffers from large cell-to-cell variations. Manual battery cell assembly and electrolyte formulations are prone to introducing errors which confound optimization strategies and upscaling. Herein we present ODACell, an automated electrolyte formulation and battery assembly setup
The urgent need for improving the energy density of aqueous lithium ion batteries (ALIBs) can be addressed by the implementation of advanced electrode materials and electrolytes. The utilization of layered oxide cathodes, particularly Li[NixCoyMnz]O2 (NCM) materials, is an effective strategy, as they can offer high specific capacities in an appropriate voltage range. However, due to the strong eff
Li-rich layered oxides are considered as one of the most promising cathode materials for secondary lithium batteries due to their high specific capacities, but the issue of continuous voltage decay during cycling hinders their market entry. Increasing the Ni content in Li-rich materials is assumed to be an effective way to address this issue and attracts recent research interests. However, a high
Ethylene carbonate (EC) is the archetype solvent in Li-ion batteries. Still, questions remain regarding the numerous possible reaction pathways of EC. Although the reaction pathway involving direct EC reduction and SEI formation is most commonly discussed, EC ring-opening is often observed, but seldomly addressed, especially with respect to SEI formation. By applying Online Electrochemical Mass Sp
Although the two active redox centers in Li-rich cathodes, including the anionic and cationic contributions, can enable Li-ion batteries to achieve outstanding specific energy, their behaviors at different current densities have not been clarified. Here, we provide a comparative study of transition metals (TMs) and oxygen redox activities by directly accessing their oxidation states in Li-rich mat
Aqueous rechargeable batteries are appealing alternatives for large-scale energy storage. Reversible cycling of high-energy aqueous batteries has been showcased using highly concentrated aqueous electrolytes, which lead to a significantly suppressed water activity and formation of a stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). However, the high salt concentration inevitably raises the cost and compr
Recent progress in “water-in-salt” electrolytes (WiSEs) and “hybrid aqueous/non-aqueous electrolytes (HANEs)” made broader choices of active material in aqueous Li-ion batteries (ALIBs), because of their compared to standard aqueous electrolytes expanded electrochemical stability windows (ESWs). Exploring high energy density ALIBs is a consequently meaningful research topic. However, the formation
Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs) have been recognized as attractive energy storage devices because of their intrinsic superiorities, e. g., high safety, low material cost and environmental benignity. However, challenges such as dendrite formation on the surface of zinc (Zn) anode, poor reversibility of Zn plating/stripping and short circuit of the cell, having detrimental impact on cycle
