Energy
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-026-00958-8 At a glance A battery electrolyte is more than a liquid that carries ions between two electrodes. Its composition changes the chemical potential of those ions, organizes solvents and anions around them, determines which species react at electrode surfaces and
Sustainbility
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77944-9 At a glance One-dimensional zeolites can steer methanol-to-hydrocarbons chemistry towards C₃–C₅ alkenes, but their narrow channels are vulnerable to blockage as coke accumulates. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich explored whether a second
Environment
Source: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.78520 At a glance An Adelaide University-led team placed isolated Ni–S₄ sites on CdS nanorods to photoreform poly(lactic acid), or PLA, into lactate and hydrogen. The single nickel atoms are coordinated by four sulfur atoms at the
Energy
Source: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c13687 At a glance A team at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics reports that trace CO₂ or H₂O in a propane feed can help assemble paired Rh–In sites during propane dehydrogenation. The oxidizing cofeeds are introduced into an otherwise reducing
Chemistry
Source: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77080-4 At a glance How large must a reaction network be to describe CO₂ hydrogenation on copper? A team led by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science calculated 152 elementary reactions using density functional theory, then combined machine learning with
Chemistry
Source: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c14417 At a glance A Westlake University team compared a series of ruthenium complexes bearing NMe₂, H and CF₃ substituents to examine how ligand electronics and a reversibly coordinating carboxylate shape ammonia oxidation. The complexes share the same broader coordination framework, allowing the
Chemistry
Source: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-026-02256-w At a glance Not all oxygen vacancies behave alike. In tetragonal zirconia, a team led by researchers at Nanjing University of Science and Technology compared two vacancy charge states known as F² and F¹ centres. Although both are created by
Chemistry
Source: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c13561 At a glance CO2 electroreduction depends not only on the electrode but also on how CO2 reaches it. Aaron Z. Hoagland and colleagues coupled a nanobubble generator to a tin-cathode H-cell and compared it with conventional macrobubbling. With an air-
Materials Science
Source: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.77319 At a glance Why do some wide-bandgap perovskite films emit more strongly than others? Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich prepared and characterized 569 samples using combinatorial vapor deposition, independently varying the cesium-to-lead and bromide-to-
Energy
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-026-02130-6 At a glance Seawater provides an abundant water source for green hydrogen production, but its direct use in an electrolyser introduces chloride chemistry, calcium and magnesium deposits, corrosion and membrane contamination. Desalinating seawater before electrolysis protects the electrolyser, although conventional
Chemistry
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77629-3 At a glance Polaritons are hybrid waves formed when light couples to collective excitations in matter. Their ability to confine electromagnetic energy far below the free-space wavelength makes them important to nanophotonics and possible on-chip optical systems. A
Chemistry
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77708-5 At a glance Fischer–Tropsch synthesis can turn syngas into liquid hydrocarbons and is an established route from feedstocks such as biomass to sustainable aviation fuel. The catalyst faces a linked challenge: raising carbon monoxide conversion does not necessarily place