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Despite significant advancements in fundamental understanding and technical applications, much remains to be explored to fully harness solar energy for addressing water, energy, and resource challenges. We asked experts in the field to share their insights on opportunities and challenges in pushing solar technology to better serve society's increasing demands for water and achieve sustainability in water-related domains.

Having transformed our way of life, rechargeable batteries are poised for exponential growth over the coming decade, notably due to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. An international expert panel proposes a combination of vision, innovation and practice for feasible pathways toward sustainable batteries.

Vapour-phase methods are promising for nanomaterial synthesis but the vaporization of different precursors for the synthesis of a broad nanomaterial space is challenging. Here electrified vapour deposition generates ultrahigh-temperature, high-flux atomic vapour at atmospheric pressure to rapidly vaporize diverse precursors, enabling the synthesis of multi-elemental nanomaterials with uniform compositions and tunable structures.

A pore-modulated pyrolysis reactor that enables catalyst-free and energy-efficient upcycling of plastic waste is demonstrated. The graded-pore structure imposes molecular-weight-dependent transport barriers, establishing a gating effect that enhances product selectivity and yields aviation fuel precursor (C₈–C₁₈) with high efficiency.

Recent studies have shown that the electronic properties of two-dimensional bismuth chalcogenides can be modified by chemical intercalation. Here, Yao et al. demonstrate that the optical transmission in bismuth chacogenide nanoplates can be tuned by intercalation of copper atoms.

Materials popular for insulation and noise reduction are typically derived from petroleum or minerals or have other environmental costs. This study reports a scalable material for thermal insulation and noise reduction derived from treated wood.

Cellulose crystals can be engineered at the molecular level, creating porous structures consisting of aligned, functionalized nanochannels. This approach enables the development of advanced materials with directional ion transport and antimicrobial properties for applications such as thermoelectric devices, solid-state batteries and long-lasting antimicrobial textiles.

Electrothermal synthesis of commodity chemicals has received notable interest as renewable electricity becomes more available and environmental challenges are increasingly recognized. This Perspective discusses critical engineering advances, unaddressed challenges and potential directions for the electrothermal synthesis of commodity chemicals toward its broader implementation for future chemical manufacturing.

Low-cost catalysts for oxygen reduction, such as Fe–N–C materials, often suffer from poor stability in fuel cells due to the generation of oxidizing radical species. Here the authors locate Ta–TiO_x additives in the vicinity of Fe–N–C catalysts and show that they can successfully scavenge radicals, improving durability.

Metal nanoparticle-decorated carbon supports are vital for many applications, ranging from energy storage and catalysis to filtration and environmental remedies. Here, using real-time electron microscopy of a single carbon nanofiber during Joule heating, the authors report atomistic mechanisms responsible for nucleation and stabilization of nanoparticles on amorphous carbon supports.

Silicon nanotubes surrounded by silicon oxide shells can maintain high discharge capacities for 6,000 cycles.

A simple procedure allows for the fabrication of highly conducting and highly flexible nanostructured electrodes.

By coordinating copper ions with the oxygen-containing groups of cellulose nanofibrils, the molecular spacing in the nanofibrils is increased, allowing fast transport of lithium ions and offering hopes for solid-state batteries.

In this work, authors propose a flash Joule heating-based process for meat preservation, enabled by the formation of a thin, microbe-inactivated, and dehydrated layer on the surface. The method is energetically efficient and shown to significantly extend the food shelf life while maintaining food freshness.

A plasma set-up consisting of a pair of carbon-fibre-tip-enhanced electrodes enables the generation of a uniform, ultra-high temperature and stable plasma (up to 8,000  K) at atmospheric pressure using a combination of vertically oriented long and short carbon fibres.

An integrated workflow that uses robotics and machine learning to discover all-natural plastic substitutes with programmable properties is presented.

Atomic electron tomography is used to determine the 3D atomic positions and chemical species of medium- and high-entropy alloy nanoparticles and quantitatively characterize the local lattice distortion, strain tensor, twin boundaries, dislocation cores and chemical short-range order.

Generating electricity by low-grade thermal harvesting requires a low-cost technology. Here, by chemically treating wood, aligned cellulose molecular chains form that confine sodium ions in the sub-nanometre channels and enhance selective diffusion, generating differential thermal voltage of 24 mV K^–1.

A depolymerization method is described that uses electrified spatiotemporal heating to selectively generate monomers from the commodity plastics polypropylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate), allowing control over the pyrolysis of plastic waste and reducing the formation of side products.

Lithium mining is both energy and land intensive. The use of a 3D porous natural cellulose fibre structure enables an interfacial crystallization method for the selective extraction of lithium from both brine and seawater that can be a significant alternative to mining.

At the molecular level, biological activities involve the transport of ions in a system. Here the authors demonstrate an ‘electron battery’ by inverting the configuration of a traditional Li-ion battery to generate an ionic current to interact with a biosystem for potential biomedical applications.

Nanoparticles of non-noble metals are useful for many applications but can be prone to sintering or surface oxidation. Here, the authors use a rapid heating-cooling approach to synthesize uniformly distributed nanoparticles in a reduced graphene oxide matrix, and test them as switchable energetic materials.

Graphene-based materials have potential as transparent electrodes, but still fall short of desired performance goals. Here, Bao et al.report that upon intercalation of lithium into few-layer graphene, desired sheet resistance and optical transmittance may be achieved.

A wide range of zero-dimensional powders can be converted into versatile, high-performance one-dimensional micro-/nanofibres by using two-dimensional cellulose sheets as a mediator, preserving the particles’ nanostructural features and acting as building blocks for complex geometric shapes to satisfy application requirements.

An antiviral and antibacterial cotton textile based on a fundamentally different principle of incorporating copper ions into the cotton structure at the atomic level is fabricated with excellent air/water retainability and superior mechanical stability.

Multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) 3D printing is challenging due to the tradeoff between achieving high-temperature and sufficient heating zone. Here, the authors report an ultrahigh-temperature melt printing method that can achieve rapid melting and uniform elemental mixing for MPEA fabrication.

A Cu²⁺-crosslinked chitosan material with unique 1 nm hexagonal nanochannels is synthesized and applied as a high-performance and alkaline-stable hydroxide exchange membrane.

Synthetic fibres derive from petrochemicals that are not renewable and cannot be recycled. Here, the authors show a top-down synthetic strategy that allows for the production of high-performance natural macrofibres from bamboo.

By using a programmable electric current to allow rapid pulsed heating and quenching, a non-equilibrium, continuous synthesis technique shows improved performance in thermochemical reactions, as well as lower energy costs.

There is growing interest in the development of biodegradable plastics from renewable resources. Here the authors report an in situ process involving only green chemicals to deconstruct natural wood, forming lignocellulosic bioplastics that are mechanically strong, stable against water and sustainable.

A method that achieves atomic-resolution tomographic imaging of an amorphous solid enables detailed quantitative characterization of the short- and medium-range order of the three-dimensional atomic arrangement.

Alloys are important materials for catalysis but are usually limited by miscibility gaps present in their phase diagrams. Here the authors break this limitation by developing high-entropy alloy catalysts made of five earth-abundant elements and demonstrate great catalytic enhancements for ammonia decomposition.

Transparent wood composites are promising engineered materials for green energy-efficient building. Here, authors demonstrate novel aesthetic wood with integrated functions of optical transparency, UV-blocking, thermal insulation, and mechanical strength for this sustainable application.

A repeated on–off high-temperature shockwave is shown to be a generalizable way of efficiently synthesizing and stabilizing single atoms at high temperatures.

Thin films of several microns in thickness are ubiquitously used in packaging, electronics, and acoustic sensors. Here the authors demonstrate an ultrathin wood film with an aligned and laminal structure and acoustic properties which allows application of the film as diaphragm for an audio speaker.

Multi-element oxide catalysts can feature superior properties compared with their single-element analogues but obtaining such complex structures remains a challenge. Here, a method is reported to access single-phase denary nanoparticles as stable and efficient catalysts for the combustion of methane.

The Carnot efficiency and the power output of thermoelectric power generation increase with temperature but current thermoelectrics are characterized up to 1,500 K. Here, Li et al. develop reduced graphene oxide films that can convert heat up to 3,000 K with high power factors, opening the door for novel applications.

Garnet-type electrolytes are attractive for lithium metal batteries due to their high ionic conductivity. A strategy to decrease interfacial impedance between a lithium metal anode and garnet electrolyte is found promising for all-solid-state batteries.

A process is described for the transformation of bulk wood into a low-cost, strong, tough, lightweight structural material, by the partial removal of lignin and hemicellulose followed by hot-pressing to densify the natural wood.

The commercialization of electronic textile (e-textile) products requires balanced sustainability considerations. Here the authors propose an e-textile design framework involving repair, recycle, replacement and reduction that can unify environmental friendliness, market viability, supply-chain resilience and user experience quality.