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A new architecture based on high-valence sulfur/sulfur tetrachloride cathode chemistry is described for manufacturing high-voltage anode-free sodium–sulfur batteries, demonstrating promise for applications in grid energy storage and wearable electronics.

The impact of atomic substitution in sodium-layered oxides and how substitutions affect the properties and performances of battery materials are discussed, with the aim of improving sodium-layered oxides and accelerating the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.

Sodium metal is of interest for high-energy-density batteries, but the lack of large-area ultrathin sodium metal foils hinders research. Here a metre-length, ultrathin (≤50 μm), mechanically strengthened sodium metal foil is fabricated by a roll-to-roll calendaring process with interfacial lubrication and functional modification.

Rechargeable Na/Cl₂ and Li/Cl₂ batteries are produced with a microporous carbon positive electrode, aluminium chloride in thionyl chloride as the electrolyte, and either sodium or lithium as the negative electrode.

Natural variation in the promoter of OsTPS8 contributes to differences in grain chalkiness and seed vigor between indica and japonica rice subspecies by altering trehalose-6-phosphate biosynthesis and α-amylase levels.

Membranes which extract lithium are critical to developing sustainable technologies. Here, the authors report a covalent organic framework featuring randomly oriented channels, separating lithium from a mixture of cations.

Atomic catalytic pairs enable multistep transformations, yet the roles of spatial arrangement and coordination symmetry in homonuclear pairs remain unclear. Here, the authors construct atomically dispersed homonuclear Pt₁–Pt₁ pairs with asymmetric Pt₁C₃–Pt₁O₁C₃ coordination on reduced graphene oxide, enabling efficient transfer hydrogenation of azobenzene.

Highly ionically conductive and flexible solid-state composite battery electrolytes are engineered by alternately stacking inorganic Li_xM_yPS₃ (M = Cd or Mn) nanosheets with lithium-containing organic polymers in a perpendicular orientation to the surface of the electrodes.

The mechanism of how different anion dopants influence the catalytic performance for sulfur species is currently lacking systematic theoretical studies. Here, an accurate p-p-s electronic coupling descriptor was proposed as a criterion to guide the design of anion-doped Li-S catalysts.

Conventional solid-state electrolyte design is limited by dopant–lattice compatibility. This work introduces solid dissociation, using halide van der Waals materials to dissolve salts and create amorphous conductors with high ionic conductivity and potential for use in devices.

Grain number per panicle (GNP) is a critical yield component trait of rice. Here, the authors clone a MAPKKK encoding gene GNP3 positively regulating grain yield and show its role in rice panicle development by interacting and destabilizing ethylene biosynthesis related enzyme SADENOSYLMETHIONINE SYNTHETASE 1.

It is challenging to achieve fast-charging, high-performance Na-ion batteries. This study discusses the origin of fast-charging Na-ion batteries with hard carbon anodes and demonstrates an ampere-hour-level, fast-charging, long-cycle-life cylindrical cell under nearly practical conditions.

Seasonal variation in K isotopes of rivers that drain the Chinese Loess Plateau indicates that riverine K isotopes can trace changes in silicate weathering intensity over time, offering a tool to track Earth’s climate–rock interactions.

Silicon negative electrodes in solid-state batteries exhibit poor reversibility. Here, the authors demonstrate surface halogenation engineering that suppresses irreversible lithium loss, achieving 94.3% initial Coulombic efficiency and 72% capacity retention over 500 cycles at 25°C.

Developing positive electrodes with high stability and rapid ion migration kinetics faces challenges for sodium ion batteries. Here, authors report a universal synthesis approach for layered transition-metal oxides by updating the conventional solid-state reaction with only dicyandiamide introduced.

The development of suitable anode materials for room-temperature sodium-ion batteries remains a challenging issue. Sun et al. show that the well-known zero-strain Li₄Ti₅O₁₂anode for lithium storage is capable of reversibly hosting sodium ions via a three-phase storage mechanism.

Rechargeable magnesium batteries suffer from poor mobility of Mg-ions, severely affecting the electrochemical performance. Here, authors demonstrate a strategy of co-intercalation of monovalent ions into the host lattice, which substantially improves Mg-ion mobility and battery performance.

This study uncovers genetic links between plant roots and their microbiome in Brassica napus, identifying microbe-associated loci and a beneficial bacterium, Sphingopyxis, that promotes nitrogen uptake.

Conventional battery electrodes exhibit high tortuosity, impeding ion transport. Here, authors report the use of a temporally shaped ultraviolet femtosecond laser to create an array of high-density through-holes, reducing tortuosity in thick electrodes with low material loss (> 1%) in up to 280 μm-thick LiFePO4 electrodes, improving gravimetric energy density and power capabilities.

The charge transport properties of organic semiconductors limit their low-dose X-ray imaging capability. Here, authors report 3D 4-methyl hydroxybenzoate for enhanced π-π stacking, achieving stable X-ray detection with detection limit of 4.22 nGy_air s⁻¹ and high-resolution imaging at 1.6 lp mm⁻¹.

Freestanding membranes of hexagonal oxides remain difficult to obtain. In this work, a water-soluble crystalline hexagonal BaAl₂O₄ is found to serve as a sacrificial layer for obtaining freestanding membranes with six-fold or three-fold symmetry.

FcγRIIb captures its ligand and targets it to lysosomal degradation following endocytosis. Here authors design bispecific-antibody-like molecules they call FcγRIIb-targeting chimeras or FcRTACs, to capture antigens with one arm and degrade them via an FcγRIIb-binding second arm to promote the clearance of pathological protein aggregates.

Rechargeable sodium-chlorine (Na-Cl₂) batteries hold promise for grid energy storage but face challenges of corrosive thionyl chloride (SOCl₂) electrolytes. Here, authors introduce a non-corrosive ester as an alternative, enabling Na-Cl₂ batteries with a wide temperature range from −40 to 80 °C.

Light-driven enzymatic catalysis has enabled important abiological transformations in vitro. Now a cellular ene-reductase photoenzyme is integrated with a de novo-designed olefin biosynthetic pathway for photoinduced hydroalkylation, hydroamination and hydrosulfonylation reactions within cells.

Layered oxide cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries often experience irreversible phase transitions and structural instability. Now researchers have developed a P2-type oxide containing earth-abundant elements, featuring an intergrowth phase structure that enables long-cycle, high-energy sodium-ion batteries.

Here the authors show a beta alumina nanowires/gel polymer composite electrolyte design. The dense and homogeneous solid-liquid hybrid sodium-ion transportation channels promote uniform sodium deposition and stripping and significantly improve the performance of a Na metal battery.

This study traces the origin of PYL-like proteins to bacterial symbionts, where their ABA-independent PP2C-binding ability first emerged and was subsequently maintained in land plants.

Low temperature is a major factor limiting productivity in rice. Here the authors show that theCTB4a gene confers cold tolerance to japonicavarieties adapted to cold habitats at the booting stage of development, and propose that CTB4a acts via an interaction with the beta subunit of ATP synthase.

The instability of conventional lithium salts poses a challenge for next-generation batteries. Here, the authors introduce LiDFTFB, a new salt that exhibits improved stability and enables high-energy batteries to retain 81.7% capacity after 650 cycles at 50°C.

Advancing high-performance rechargeable batteries requires a deep understanding of the complex relationships among material composition, structure and property. This Perspective highlights the emerging role of ionic potential, defined as the charge-to-radius ratio of an ion, in guiding the design and optimization of battery materials.

The dendrite growth of alkali metal anodes leads to charge/discharge cycling instability. Here, the authors show that electrochemical polishing can yield near-perfect anodes of three alkali metals by constructing smooth and thin solid-electrolyte interphase layers.

Lithium doping in spiro-OMeTAD negatively affects the long-term performance of perovskite solar cells. Qin and team map the degradation mechanism under repeated voltage cycling and how lithium-free dopants improve stability.

Na_V1.6 channel plays a critical role in neuronal excitability. Here, authors present human Na_V1.6 structures in apo and 4,9-anhydro-tetrodotoxin bound forms, which reveal molecular mechanisms of Na_V1.6 Na⁺ conductance and inhibition by the blocker.

Functional oxides with coexisting states of comparable energy typically exhibit extraordinary responses to external stimuli. Here, the authors demonstrate that coexisting phase structures provide large electric field-triggered volume change.

Here, authors use Cryo-FIB and Cryo-TEM to reveal the atomic structures of the sulfide electrolyte/Si electrode interfaces, showing that the continuous lithium-ion consumption during interfacial reaction rather than interface impedance leads to capacity fade and battery failure.

Neocortical epilepsy is resistant to current treatments. Zhao et al. report that optogenetic stimulation of astrocytes effectively attenuates seizures via driving Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase, indicating a potential treatment strategy for intractable epilepsy.

Subduction-driven warming and uplift are linked to the Cambrian Explosion, and Li-Os-Sr isotopes trace enhanced erosion of phosphorus-rich juvenile rocks that boosted productivity and oxygen levels to fuel animal diversification.

Solid-phase synthesis strategy is promising for fabricating desired complex metal nanoparticles on supports. Here, the authors synthesize CoFe@FeOx core-shell nanoparticles as the separator coatings via precise solid-phase method which effectively regulates polysulfides for lithium/ sodium-sulfur batteries.

The authors find that O-GalNAc transferase 2 (GALNT2) restricts viral infection, probably through the regulation of the proteolytic processing of viral glycoproteins via its O-linked glycosylation activity, impairing virus–cell fusion.

Tree ectomycorrhizal colonization in aridity regions is supported by microbial cooperation, where bacteria attach to fungal hyphae and reduce inhibitory soil metabolites, suggesting a microbiome-based strategy for tree restoration.

Lithium carbonate-promoted mixed rare earth oxides can be used as redox catalysts for OCM at 700 °C and achieve a single-pass C2+ yield up to 30.6%. The high activity is assigned to the peroxide and OH radicals induced by Pr⁴⁺ in the redox catalyst.

Rechargeable solid-state sodium-ion batteries hold great promise for safer and more energy-dense energy storage. Here, the authors show a new sodium-based halide, Na_3-xY_1-xZr_xCl₆, for sodium-all-solid-state batteries with enhanced ionic conductivity and long-term cycling stability.

Ion transport properties are critical to some emerging technologies. Here, the authors show the controllable 2D movement and redistribution of Li-ions in metal oxides such as WO₃ by a magnetic field. The success is based on a current-driving model which also works for other cations including H⁺, Na⁺, Zn²⁺ and Ca²⁺.

Efficient charge transfer in sulfur electrodes is a crucial challenge for sodium-sulfur batteries. Here, the authors developed a machine-learning-assisted approach to quickly identify effective single-atom catalysts that enhance selectivity for short-chain sodium polysulfides, leading to improved battery performance.

The development of high-performance positive electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries is crucial for energy storage. Here, authors synthesize a layered-columnar framework material with achieving high ionic conductivity and improved stability.

Li-rich layered oxide cathodes show high capacities in Li-ion batteries but suffer from structural degradation via O–O dimerization. Here, the authors present local-symmetry-tuned Li₂RuO₃ with oxygen redox involving a telescopic O–Ru–O configuration avoiding O₂ release, enhancing cycling stability.

Integrating semiconductor p-n junctions with magnetic materials yields van der Waals heterojunctions as an ideal low-power spintronic platform. Zhu et al. report an abnormal zero-bias spin voltage effect arising from non-equilibrium spin diffusion.

A cost-effective all-in-one halide cathode material with high energy density and exceptional cycling stability can be used to achieve energy-dense, durable cathodes for the next generation of all-solid-state batteries.

In an effort to deorphanize G-protein-coupled receptors, a photo-cross-linking platform was established to capture ligands from complex samples. Little-LEN was identified as a ligand for GPR50, which coordinately regulates body metabolism.