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The production of higher alcohols is very valuable because of their high volumetric energy density. Now, Sargent, Sinton and co-workers report the design of copper nanoparticles with tailored nanocavities that promote n-propanol formation by the coupling of C2 and C1 intermediates inside the cavity.

Sperm motion near surfaces plays a key role in fertilization, but a description of how this motion differs from bulk swimming is lacking. Here, Nosrati et al.visualize sperm swimming within 1 μm of a glass surface and describe a ‘slither’ swimming mode which differs from bulk helical swimming, and increases the velocity of human sperm.

Electroreduction of CO on copper is notable for enabling C–C coupling, but a fundamental understanding of what drives product selectivity is lacking. Here a series of well-defined copper nanocrystals with tunable shape and size are used to control product selectivity, with strain identified as a major factor in n-propanol formation.

Producing valuable hydrocarbons electrochemically from carbon monoxide (CO) is an energy-efficient pathway, but reliance on costly pure CO as a feedstock limits its economic viability. This article shows that abundant CO-rich syngas can be directly used to synthesize ethylene.

Paired electrosynthesis is an efficient green process that minimizes resource and energy consumption as well as waste generation. The authors demonstrate an electrolysis system that pairs CO₂ reduction to CO at the cathode with allyl alcohol oxidation to acrolein at the anode.

The upgrade of carbon monoxide to higher alcohols offers a route to renewable fuels. Now, Sinton, Sargent and co-workers report a highly fragmented, copper-based catalyst with engineered interfaces between the (111) and (100) facets that promote the coupling of C₁ and C₂ species, leading to enhanced production of n-propanol.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ over copper can be made highly selective by ‘tuning’ the copper surface with adsorbed organic molecules to stabilize intermediates for carbon-based fuels such as ethylene

The electro-oxidative synthesis of valued chemicals offers to enhance the overall efficiency and economic viability of renewable electrosynthesis systems. Here, the authors use dopant-tuned catalysts to promote the electrosynthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO and methanol via oxidative carbonylation.

This work introduces a passive method for capturing CO₂ directly in the solid form using a carbonate crystallizer. This system harnesses wind-driven evaporation to enable rapid CO₂ capture and carbonate crystallization. This method provides a simplified and scalable alternative to conventional air contactors, which require substantial capital investments.

Reactive capture bypasses CO₂ regeneration, enabling efficient CO production but with low Faradaic efficiency. The authors report a Ni–N₃ molecular catalyst that resists amino acid adsorption and promotes efficient CO production in amino-acid systems.

The discovery of efficient heat transfer fluids is limited by slow, manual-intensive measurement methods. Here, the authors design a microfluidic device that rapidly and accurately measures thermal conductivity using identical resistive heaters in symmetric microchannels, requiring only ~5 μL of sample in under 10 seconds.

Electrochemical CO reduction to multi-carbon products offers a carbon-negative approach to produce chemicals, but the intricate reaction pathways lead to a broad spectrum of products. Now it has been shown that alkali cations alter the mechanistic pathways that govern the reaction selectivity involved in the formation of hydrocarbons versus oxygenates.

Many emerging opportunities exist for microfluidics in male infertility diagnosis and treatment, and promising microfluidic approaches are under investigation for addressing male infertility. In this Review, the authors describe and discuss these approaches for sperm analysis and selection.

Proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers rely on iridium to catalyse their anodic reaction, and while ruthenium is a less costly alternative due to its similar activity, it is not as stable. Now, a hierarchical machine-learning catalyst discovery workflow, termed mixed acceleration, is put forward to predict catalyst synthesis, activity and stability, and identify promising RuO_x-based water oxidation catalysts.

Electrochemical CO_x reduction to multi-carbon products is hindered by low energy efficiency, in part due to sluggish ion transport across charge-selective membranes used in electrolysers. Here the authors use a porous, non-charge-selective separator that enhances ion transport and improves performance for CO electrolysis.

The electrocatalytic upgrading of CO₂/CO provides a promising route to produce carbon-neutral alcohols but suffers from product loss to crossover and dilution. Here, the authors report on a CO reduction electrolyzer that recovers over 85% of alcohol without dilution, which is then scaled to 800 cm².

Reactive capture—integrating CO₂ capture and electrochemical valorization—improves energy efficiency by eliminating gas-phase CO₂ desorption. Here, authors design a redox-active polymeric network to boost the direct conversion of captured CO₂ to multicarbon products with CO₂-free gas product stream.

Electrochemical CO/CO₂ reduction to multicarbon species represents an exciting approach to synthesize valuable products, but controllably linking three or more carbons remains a challenge. Now the pathway towards C–C coupling beyond two carbons has been shown using a probe reactant strategy to afford a 53% the selectivity towards C₃₊ oxygenates.

Electrosynthesis of n-propanol from CO has been limited by poor selectivity and low product concentration. Here a Sn–Cu catalyst/carbon/ionomer heterojunction is prepared where the adjacent atomic active sites favour the coupling of C₁ and C₂ intermediates to C₃ product with 47% Faradaic efficiency and the reversal of electro-osmotic drag concentrates the product to 30 wt%.

A carrier-resolved photo-Hall technique is developed to extract properties of both majority and minority carriers simultaneously and determine the critical parameters of semiconductor materials under light illumination.

Tandem electrocatalysts are developed for acidic CO₂ electroreduction. The catalyst contains planar-copper for CO₂ reduction to CO, and a dual-copper-active-site layer for CO reduction to C₂₊ products. An ethanol Faradaic efficiency of 46% and a C₂₊ Faradaic efficiency of 91% are achieved in acidic electrolyte at 150 mA cm⁻².

Conventional alkaline and neutral CO₂-to-CH₄ systems suffer carbon loss, and recovering the lost carbon requires input energy exceeding the heating value of CH₄. Here, the authors report a chelating strategy to obtain Cu-N/O single sites decorated Cu clusters, which enables energy- and carbon-efficient CH₄ electroproduction in an acidic system.

Ethanol electrosynthesis from CO reduction is achieved using an oxygen-affinity-engineered copper alloy catalyst. Unlike conventional CO dimerization pathways, which yield diverse products, this catalyst selectively promotes the CO–CH_x coupling route, enabling selective ethanol production.

The electrosynthesis of CO via integrated capture and conversion of dilute CO₂ suffers from low energy efficiency. Here, the authors report an amino acid salt-based system that employs a single-atom catalyst and operates at an elevated temperature and pressure, which enables efficient CO production.

Acidic CO₂ electroreduction is carbon efficient but suffers from low energy efficiency and selectivity. Here an interfacial cation matrix is developed to enrich alkali cations and increase the local pH at a Cu–Ag catalyst surface, improving efficiency. A 45% CO₂-to-ethanol Faradaic efficiency and 15% energy efficiency for ethanol production are achieved.

While the high concentration of CO₂ in flue gas makes it an attractive feedstock for electrocatalytic production of useful molecules, SO₂ contaminants can poison catalysts. Here the authors report a polymer/catalyst/ionomer heterojunction design with hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains that improves the SO₂ tolerance of a Cu catalyst.

CO electroreduction is a promising carbonate-free approach to produce ethylene, but suffers from limited selectivity and low energy efficiency. By modifying copper with a strong electron acceptor, 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane, the water dissociation step is accelerated, leading to excellent ethylene selectivity and full-cell energy efficiency in CO electroreduction.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) electroreduction is a sustainable way to reduce the carbon footprint of producing carbon-based chemicals. This work analyses voltage distributions within CO₂ electrolysers, identifies the sources of inefficiencies and highlights opportunities for system optimization.

This work regulates solid/liquid/gas triple-phase interface, facilitating site-selective protonation in carbon monoxide electroreduction. It achieves increased energy-efficiency in acetate production and contributes to the understanding of selectively controlling the electrosynthesis of a single product.

Copper electrocatalysts enable carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide reduction but suffer from low production rates. Here, the authors promote in situ growth of Cu(100) during electrolysis, enabling efficient and stable electrosynthesis of multicarbon products at industrially-relevant current densities

CO₂ electroreduction in acidic electrolytes avoids carbon loss but entails the issue of salt formation arising from the addition of metal cations, thereby limiting operational stability. Now copper is decorated with immobilized cationic ionomers, achieving stable CO₂ reduction towards multi-carbon products in metal cation-free acidic electrolytes.

Electrochemical CO₂ and CO reduction to multicarbon products is a promising low-carbon pathway, but industrial deployment requires catalyst and electrode manufacturing far beyond laboratory scales. This Perspective evaluates scalable catalyst–electrode integration and outlines a workflow from nanoparticle synthesis to roll-to-roll coating for gigawatt-scale electrolysis.

The carbon and energy efficiencies of current CO₂/CO electrolysis systems are limited. Here the authors show that these metrics can be improved by controlling ion flows in the vicinity of a copper catalyst by the application of a covalent organic framework.

Electrosynthesis of multicarbon products from CO₂ is restricted by the proton-rich conditions in strong acids leading to unfavourable hydrogen evolution. Now a heterogeneous catalyst adlayer composed of covalent organic framework nanoparticles and cation-exchange ionomers is reported to regulate the local pH, suppressing H₂ generation and promoting multicarbon formation.

Electroreduction of pressurized CO₂ to chemicals has great potential but remains underexplored. Here, the authors show that increased CO₂ coverage under high pressures alters product selectivity. Guided by the results, a proton-resistant Cu/polypyrrole electrode is designed for enhanced CO₂ conversion.

Electrochemical engineering offers a route to renewably powered CO₂ capture. Now, fluorescence spectroscopy diagnostics provides a means to probe the fundamental mechanisms within these otherwise opaque systems.

Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to methane can store intermittent renewable electricity in a staple of global energy. Here, the authors develop a moderator strategy to maintain the catalyst in a low coordination state, thereby enabling stable and selective electrochemical methanation.

CO₂-to-ethylene conversion using renewable electricity provides a sustainable route to produce valuable chemicals. Here, the authors report high ethylene activity of 215 mA cm⁻² and selectivity of 65% made possible by silica clusters in copper.

In the electrified conversion of CO2 to multicarbon products, CO2 crossover to the O2-rich anodic stream adds a further, energy-intensive, chemical separation step. Here, the authors demonstrate a strategy that eliminates the separation requirement.

In the carbon dioxide (CO₂) to multicarbon electrolysis, the crossover CO₂ to the oxygen-rich anodic gas stream add a further energy-intensive chemical separation step. Here, the authors demonstrate a bipolar membrane-based electrolyzer design that eliminates the crossover CO2.

The photocatalytic reforming of plastics into value-added chemicals offers a promising strategy to address environmental challenges while providing significant energy benefits. Here, the authors develop modified carbon nitride with enhanced visible light absorption, effectively anchoring under-coordinated IrN₂O₂ sites to catalyze the oxidation of persistent plastic derivatives.