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LiCoO₂ faces challenges at high voltages due to structural instability and poor thermal/hydrolytic performance of traditional lithium salts. Here, authors show stable LiCoO₂ batteries at 4.7 V using covalent fluorine-rich lithium salt, exhibiting good heat and water tolerance.

Aqueous-hydrotrope hybrid liquid electrolyte solutions enable overcoming the electrochemical stability window and operational temperature limits of aqueous electrolyte solutions in secondary zinc-based batteries, also improving the battery performance.

Catalysts enhance electrode reactions in static batteries but are inadequate for aqueous flow batteries. Here, authors develop carbon quantum dot catalytic electrolytes that function both in electrolyte and at-interface to improve reaction kinetics and low-temperature adaptability in Zn-Br systems.

Gong et al. report an all-perovskite photovoltaic-powered battery using ethyl viologen diiodide and its derivative to modify the perovskite solar cell and the battery cathode, enabling an overall energy conversion efficiency of 18.54%. The flexible version powers a wearable glucose monitor for 24 h.

Surface plasmon and phonon polaritons are useful for sub-diffraction limit waveguiding of light, but phonon polaritons are advantageous in the mid-infrared. Xu et al.show that one-dimensional boron nitride nanotubes can support propagating phonon polaritons, making them a suitable platform for further study.

Aqueous zinc-iodine flow batteries show potential in large-scale storage but face water imbalance-induced instability. Here, authors develop a tailored ionic-molecular sieve membrane that selectively intercepts hydrated ions, enabling stable high-capacity long cycling with low projected costs.

Research on electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia in acidic conditions has been less extensive than that conducted in alkaline conditions. Here, the authors report a hybrid of iron phthalocyanine and TiO₂ catalyst with improved efficiency toward acidic nitrate reduction and its application in Zn-nitrate batteries and high-voltage pollutes-based fuel cell.

Challenges of zinc electrodes imped their progress in energy storage. Here, authors propose a parts-per-million scale electrolyte additive, phosphonoglycolic acid, enabling Zn stripping/stripping for nearly a year in coin cells, and exhibiting high durability in pouch cells and redox flow batteries.

Functional perovskites are promising energy storage materials but have received little attention. Here, authors report a tellurium iodide perovskite as a conversion-type material enabling eleven-electron redox in chloride containing aqueous electrolytes for zinc batteries.

Aqueous batteries with multivalent-ion storage chemistry offer higher theoretical capacity than monovalent-ion. Here, authors report divalent copper intercalation into vanadium disulfide with additional copper redox that provides higher capacity than intercalation transition metal redox alone.

Zn batteries suffer from low voltage due to the high redox potential of the Zn anode and the low potential of traditional cathodes. Here, the authors develop a polymer hetero-electrolyte, which allows separated Zn and Li reversibility and achieves a 2.4 V-Zn battery based on the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode.

The development of porous membranes that could work under high power density brings promise but a challenge with polyiodide cross-over for aqueous Zn-I flow batteries. Here, the authors develop a colloidal starch-based catholyte to inhibit cross-over that endows reversible flow cell performance.

Aqueous copper-based batteries suffer from low voltage due to the high copper negative electrode potential. Here, utilizing the coordination of chloride with copper ions, authors lower copper’s redox potential by 0.3 V, resulting in a high-voltage aqueous copper-chlorine battery.

Long-lasting zinc metal electrodes are crucial in developing commercial zinc-based batteries. Here, the authors investigate the different morphology evolution between the stripping and plating process and propose electrochemical protocols to prolong the lifespan of zinc anodes.

The performances of rechargeable batteries are detrimentally affected by low temperatures (e.g., < 0 °C). Here, the authors report a few-layer Bi2Se3 material capable of improving battery cycling performances when operational temperatures are shifted from +25 °C to −20 °C.

Development of negative electrode active materials alternative to Ca metal is essential for the progress of Ca-ion battery technology. Here, the authors disclose the proton-assisted Ca-ion storage behavior of a pentacenetetrone organic crystal reporting high-power cell performances.

Here the authors present two cryo-EM structures of the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6714 (Syn) type I-B Cascade, revealing the molecular mechanisms that underlie RNA-directed Cascade assembly, target DNA recognition and local conformational changes of the effector complex upon R-loop formation.

Improving zinc–air batteries is challenging due to kinetics and limited electrochemical reversibility, partly attributed to sluggish four-electron redox chemistry. Now, substantial strides are noted with two-electron redox chemistry and catalysts, resulting in unprecedentedly stable zinc–air batteries with 61% energy efficiencies.

Excess water in hydrogel-based zinc ion batteries causes side reactions, but reduced water content results in low conductivities. Here, authors develop a lean-water hydrogel based on molecular lubrication mechanism for fast ion transportation, extended stability, and reversible Zinc plating/stripping.

The negative electrode reversibility limits the lifespan of Zn metal batteries. Here, authors report an aqueous electrolyte with a reverse micelle structure that improves the reversibility of the Zn metal anode enabling the production of an ampere-hour-level pouch cell with five months lifetime.

Cl-redox reactions cannot be fully exploited in batteries because of the Cl2 gas evolution. Here, reversible high-energy interhalogen reactions are demonstrated by using a iodine-based cathode in combination with a Zn anode and a Cl-containing aqueous electrolyte solution.

Aqueous iron batteries are safe and cost-effective candidates for large-scale energy storage. However, their long-term cycling stability is inadequate. Here, the authors propose a crosslinked polyaniline-based positive electrode for high-power aqueous iron batteries with electrochromic properties.

While Zinc anodes are thermodynamically unstable in aqueous solutions, the protons (H+) from the water favor the cathodes of Zinc batteries. Here, the authors address this contradiction by designing an asymmetric electrolyte composed of an inorganic solid-state electrolyte and a hydrogel electrolyte.

Materials for wearable energy storage devices should be mechanically durable. Here, the authors report a supercapacitor composed of polyacrylic acid dual cross-linked by hydrogen bonding and vinyl hybrid silica nanoparticles which is self-healable and retains performance when stretched up to 600%.

The interactions between water molecules, electrode materials and anions are essential yet challenging for aqueous dual ion batteries. Here, the authors demonstrate the voltage manipulation of dual ion batteries through matching intercalation energy and solvation energy of different anions.

Thanks to a stable fluorinated interphase formed on top of a Zn metal anode, a Zn metal battery shows 99.9% Coulombic efficiency and record-high Zn utilization.

Three-dimensional graphene offers an ideal sheet-to-sheet connectivity of assembled graphenes, but often suffers from poor electrochemical performance. Wang et al. present a sugar-blowing technique to prepare a 3D graphene, which overcomes such problems and shows potential in supercapacitor applications.

Secondary alkaline Zn-based batteries are limited in terms of cycle life. Here, the authors report a nanoporous Zn electrode that stabilizes the electrochemical transition between Zn and ZnO and improves the cycling performance of rechargeable alkaline zinc-based batteries.

Chalcogen-driven static conversion batteries based on multielectron transfer are promising for efficient high-energy storage applications because of their high capacity and high voltage output. This Review comprehensively discusses current chalcogen-based batteries, with emphasis on the issues and performance improvements of those involving positive-valence conversion of chalcogens.

Substantial progress in halide chemicals and redox mechanisms has spawned a boom in halogen-powered static conversion batteries. This Review tracks the natural benefits and intricate redox behaviour of halogen conversion chemistry, highlighting its pivotal role in electrochemical energy storage.

Anion effects can be well tuned to effectively improve their electrochemical performances in many aspects. This Review highlights the considerable effects of anions on surface and interface chemistry, mass transfer kinetics and solvation sheath structure across various energy storage devices.

Dramatic innovations in surface and bulk chemistry enable MXenes to flourish in electrochemical applications. This Review analyses the recorded footprints of MXene components for energy storage, with particular attention paid to a coherent understanding of the fundamental relationship between MXene components and their qualified roles from a nuanced chemical perspective.

This Review discusses non-metallic charge carriers for aqueous batteries, investigating fundamental mechanisms of charge storage and electrode interactions, as well as battery design and performance.

Noncovalent functionalization of multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) was achieved through water-soluble synthetic polymers wrapping. This led to the excellent disentanglement and dispersion of BNNTs in an aqueous phase. Various spectroscopic techniques revealed that π-π stacking interactions played the key role for the polymer-functionalization of BNNT. To show a prospective application of polymer-functionalized BNNTs in surface engineering fields, the disentangled BNNTs were used as the raw/starting materials for the creation of superhydrophobic surfaces.

Mechanical stability of flexible batteries is the guarantee for delivering stable performance. The interacting external and inner forces determine it.

Aqueous zinc batteries are of great interest thanks to their intrinsic safety, potentially low cost, and eco-friendliness, but undesirable chemical reactions on both the anode and cathode sides significantly shorten their cycling life. Here, the authors discuss recent advancements in asymmetric electrolytes that show significant promise in suppressing side reactions at both the anode and cathode while maintaining electrochemical performance.