New research published in Joule from the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), Argonne National Laboratory and Thermo Fisher Scientific discovered that the very act of microscoping damages both lithium and sodium battery samples more severely than previously thought, highlighting a need for a standard framework for how labs image these important materials. The research shows how both transferring samples to electron microscopes and the microscopes themselves can damage reactive samples. The research also overturns a longstanding assumption in battery research, showing that samples of pure lithium do not need to be preserved at cryogenic temperatures to be imaged. 

A new accounting of nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin reveals a significant decline in recent decades, suggesting positive momentum for water quality goals in local watersheds and the Gulf. Surprisingly, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign-led study doesn’t credit the change to reduced fertilizer application, but instead to cleaner air and more efficient nitrogen uptake by modern corn hybrids. 

The application of electromagnetic technology is becoming increasingly widespread, constantly expanding the scope of people's lives. However, the promotion and application of these electromagnetic products will also generate a large amount of electromagnetic waves (EMW), causing serious electromagnetic pollution. The design and preparation of high-performance EMW absorption materials is crucial, and composite materials with multiphase non-uniform interfaces are an ideal research object.

Prof. Zhongfang Li’s team (Shandong University of Technology) provides linking metalloporphyrins into fully conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with sp² bonds to be fully conjugated COFs.

A breakthrough in battery technology has been made with the development of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-Li₂CO₃ nanofiber network. This new material, developed through electrospinning, serves as a host for stable lithium metal plating and stripping, enabling a lithium metal anode for a battery. By integrating lithium carbonate into the nanofiber structure, researchers have created a more uniform lithium deposition, reducing dendrite formation and enhancing battery performance.