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Phase-forming conversion chemistry, like that observed in Li–S and Li–O₂ batteries, shows great promise, but these systems suffer some drawbacks, such as practically low cathode areal capacities and electrolyte decomposition. Now, high-energy conversion battery chemistry—based on nitrate/nitrite redox where one of the products is soluble—has been enabled by using nanoparticulate Ni/NiO electrocatalysts.

By inducing a transformation in a manganese-rich cation-disordered rocksalt, partially ordered spinels with nanomosaic domains of 3–7 nm in size can be obtained, which exhibit high energy density and rate capability at an average particle size of 3–5 µm.

Monitoring real-world battery degradation is crucial for the widespread application of batteries in different scenarios. Here, the authors report a simple non-embedded thermal-wave sensing technique that can quantitatively distinguish different battery degradation sources during operation.

Lithium-ion batteries are prone to unpredictable failure during fast charging, known as lithium plating. Now, innovative testing protocols can quickly quantify lithium plating and inform battery design strategies to mitigate it.

It is generally believed that fast Li-ion transport in batteries can only be achieved when the host material does not change much with the Li movement. Here the authors show that controlled and reversible changes in host structures upon cycling can actually be used to improve the battery kinetics.

The dependence on lithium-ion batteries leads to a pressing demand for advanced cathode materials. Here the authors report a new concept of layered-rocksalt intergrown structure that enables nearly zero-strain operation upon high-capacity cycling, offering tremendous opportunities to design new cathodes.

Rechargeable Li-ion batteries can show extensive oxygen loss from the cathode material under operating conditions. Here, the authors use high-throughput computational screening to guide the synthesis of a Tantalum-doped Li-excess cathode that significantly reduces oxygen loss.

Electrochemical routes for the production of hydrogen peroxide would reduce the waste inherent in the current anthraquinone process, and also make distributed and on-site production more feasible. Here, inexpensive reduced graphene oxide is proven to be a stable and selective catalyst for oxygen reduction at remarkably low overpotentials.

The deployment of Li–air batteries is hindered by severe parasitic reactions during battery cycling. Now, the reactive singlet oxygen intermediate is shown to substantially contribute to electrode and electrolyte degradation.

Encoded Library Technology (ELT) has streamlined the identification of chemical ligands for protein targets in drug discovery. Here, the authors optimize the ELT approach to screen multiple proteins in parallel and identify promising targets and antibacterial compounds forS. aureus, A. baumannii and M. tuberculosis.

Lithium-rich cathode materials in which manganese undergoes double redox could point the way for lithium-ion batteries to meet the capacity and energy density needs of portable electronics and electric vehicles.

High-entropy ceramics are solid solutions offering compositional flexibility and wide variety of applicability. High-entropy concepts are shown to lead to substantial performance improvement in cation-disordered rocksalt-type cathodes for Li-ion batteries.

The maximum attainable capacity of the Li–O₂ battery is limited by the passivation of its cathode by electronically insulating Li₂O₂. It is now shown that electrolyte additives, which activate solution-mediated growth of Li₂O₂, make it possible to circumvent this fundamental limitation, leading to design rules for additive selection.

There is an intensive search for high-performance cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. Here the authors report that oxyfluorides with partial spinel-like cation order, made from earth-abundant elements, display both exceptionally high energy and power.

A reversible oxygen redox process contributes extra capacity and understanding this behavior is of high importance. Here, aided by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, the authors reveal the distinctive anionic oxygen activity of battery electrodes with different transition metals.

The performance of lithium-excess cation-disordered oxides as cathode materials relies on the extent to which the oxygen loss during cycling is mitigated. Here, the authors show that incorporating fluorine is an effective strategy which substantially improves the cycling stability of such a material.

Lithium-metal batteries offer great energy density improvement over lithium-ion, but understanding their cyclability is a daunting task. Now, an analytical method is reported to quantify lithium in its electrochemically inactive and active forms, enabling insights about the anode reversibility throughout cycling.

Most electrochemical CO₂ reduction research has been confined to fundamental studies that attempt to understand how to overcome low selectivity and energy efficiency for valuable oxygenated products. Now, a modular, scalable system generates multi-carbon oxygenates with a potential solar-to-alcohol efficiency of more than 8%.

Sea-level rise threatens coastal mangroves, with global consequences for these important blue carbon sinks. Here the authors analyse four Holocene sediment cores from islands in Florida Bay and find that mangroves that comprised the South Florida coastline 4–3000 years ago rapidly transitioned to estuarine conditions, despite low rates of sea-level rise, and propose that their demise was driven by high climate variability.

Lithium–air batteries offer great promise for high-energy storage capability but also pose tremendous challenges for their realization. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding the fundamental science that governs lithium–air battery operation, focusing on the reactions at the oxygen electrode.