Green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality, enabling large-scale renewable energy integration. By potentially lowering hydrogen production costs to under $2/kg H2 by 2030, PEMWEs are poised to become central to the hydrogen economy. However, scalability from MW to GW levels presents significant challenges, particularly in catalytic overpotentials and transport resistances. This perspective outlines critical issues in catalytic overpotential, electron and proton transport resistance, and mass-transport limitations. We propose a comprehensive roadmap to advance PEMWE technology through improved catalyst designs, reduced transport resistances, and innovative manufacturing techniques, such as catalyst-coated substrates (CCSs). Achieving the ambitious target of 1.6 V at 3 A/cm2 with reduced catalyst loading will require breakthroughs in materials science, cell architecture, and scalable production processes. This analysis emphasizes collaborative efforts and technological innovations to achieve a sustainable hydrogen future.
{"title":"Roadmap toward next-generation proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers","authors":"Yahao Gao, Hao Yu, Wenhui Wang, Peng Chi, Shiwei Liu, Hongyu Rao, Chunlei Bian, Junjie Ge","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2026.102337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2026.102337","url":null,"abstract":"Green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality, enabling large-scale renewable energy integration. By potentially lowering hydrogen production costs to under $2/kg H<sub>2</sub> by 2030, PEMWEs are poised to become central to the hydrogen economy. However, scalability from MW to GW levels presents significant challenges, particularly in catalytic overpotentials and transport resistances. This perspective outlines critical issues in catalytic overpotential, electron and proton transport resistance, and mass-transport limitations. We propose a comprehensive roadmap to advance PEMWE technology through improved catalyst designs, reduced transport resistances, and innovative manufacturing techniques, such as catalyst-coated substrates (CCSs). Achieving the ambitious target of 1.6 V at 3 A/cm<sup>2</sup> with reduced catalyst loading will require breakthroughs in materials science, cell architecture, and scalable production processes. This analysis emphasizes collaborative efforts and technological innovations to achieve a sustainable hydrogen future.","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147380694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-04DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102316
Ruitian Sun, Pengshuai Wang, Xudong Wang, Zhizhong Ge, Xingmao Zhang, Xuxu Sun, Tinghao Tong, Lin Zhang, Fan Li, Hong Liu, Lei Liu, Weijun Liu, Yanjie Wen, Zhenhuang Su, Tao Wang, Xudong Yang
{"title":"Ambient-air fabrication of wide-band-gap perovskites via a dual-functional polymer for all-perovskite tandem solar modules","authors":"Ruitian Sun, Pengshuai Wang, Xudong Wang, Zhizhong Ge, Xingmao Zhang, Xuxu Sun, Tinghao Tong, Lin Zhang, Fan Li, Hong Liu, Lei Liu, Weijun Liu, Yanjie Wen, Zhenhuang Su, Tao Wang, Xudong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102316","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-04DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102315
Yi Pan, Xin Chen, Zeyu Zhang, Zeping Ou, Ke Zhao, Bo Zhang, Kun Chen, Nabonswende Aida Nadege Ouedraogo, Zhenhuang Su, Bingchen He, Cheuk Hin Ho, Shanshan Chen, Yujie Zheng, Tingming Jiang, Jianqiang Qin, Juan Du, Xingyu Gao, Rui Wang, Caterina Ducati, Qiang Liao, Kuan Sun
{"title":"Stabilizing perovskite solar cells via facet-selective molecular engineering","authors":"Yi Pan, Xin Chen, Zeyu Zhang, Zeping Ou, Ke Zhao, Bo Zhang, Kun Chen, Nabonswende Aida Nadege Ouedraogo, Zhenhuang Su, Bingchen He, Cheuk Hin Ho, Shanshan Chen, Yujie Zheng, Tingming Jiang, Jianqiang Qin, Juan Du, Xingyu Gao, Rui Wang, Caterina Ducati, Qiang Liao, Kuan Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102315","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-03DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102313
Dongcheng Jiang, Jiangkai Sun, Hao Wang, Zhongwei Ge, Yuang Fu, Jicheng Yi, Bo Cheng, Yuan Meng, Shufen Huang, Sai Ho Pun, Yu Chen, Xinxin Xia, Chengwang Niu, Tao He, Kun Gao, Xinhui Lu, Maojie Zhang, Xiaoyan Du, Feng Chen, Yanming Sun, Xiaotao Hao, He Yan, Hang Yin
{"title":"Revealing the influence of the dispersion property of charge transport on the stability of organic solar cells","authors":"Dongcheng Jiang, Jiangkai Sun, Hao Wang, Zhongwei Ge, Yuang Fu, Jicheng Yi, Bo Cheng, Yuan Meng, Shufen Huang, Sai Ho Pun, Yu Chen, Xinxin Xia, Chengwang Niu, Tao He, Kun Gao, Xinhui Lu, Maojie Zhang, Xiaoyan Du, Feng Chen, Yanming Sun, Xiaotao Hao, He Yan, Hang Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102313","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102313","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-03DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102314
Runmin Tao, Guoliang Wang, Zhihao Li, Nan Sun, Jueming Bing, Tik Lun Leung, Fraser J. Angus, Jianbo Tang, Chwenhaw Liao, Jianpeng Yi, Christopher Bailey, Li Liu, Yu Wang, Gaosheng Huang, Andreas Lambertz, Songyan Yin, Bin Gong, Alex-Anthony Cavallaro, Drew Evans, Matthew Griffith, Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Jianghui Zheng, Pablo Docampo, David R. McKenzie, Md Arafat Mahmud, Kaining Ding, Anita W.Y. Ho-Baillie
{"title":"pH modulation for self-assembly-monolayer-type hole transport layer for efficient and stable perovskite-silicon double-junction solar cells","authors":"Runmin Tao, Guoliang Wang, Zhihao Li, Nan Sun, Jueming Bing, Tik Lun Leung, Fraser J. Angus, Jianbo Tang, Chwenhaw Liao, Jianpeng Yi, Christopher Bailey, Li Liu, Yu Wang, Gaosheng Huang, Andreas Lambertz, Songyan Yin, Bin Gong, Alex-Anthony Cavallaro, Drew Evans, Matthew Griffith, Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Jianghui Zheng, Pablo Docampo, David R. McKenzie, Md Arafat Mahmud, Kaining Ding, Anita W.Y. Ho-Baillie","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102314","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102309
Maja Milosevic, An Phuc Dam, Mirjam Rogler, Andreas Hutzler, Thomas Böhm, Valentin Briega-Martos, Georgios Papakonstantinou, Michel Suermann, Simon Thiele, Kai Sundmacher, Serhiy Cherevko
A deep understanding and mitigation of Ir degradation are crucial for effectively reducing the currently used high catalyst loadings and deploying proton exchange membrane water electrolysis on a gigawatt scale. Here, we deconvolute the dynamics of Ir dissolution, transport, and deposition within an electrolyzer through a combined mass spectrometry-microscopy approach. The formation and consumption of cationic and anionic Ir species are empirically correlated with potential changes during idle periods, while mathematical modeling allows for the quantitative determination of the overall Ir loss. We found that the cationic species precipitate at the anode-membrane interface and, within a short time frame, limit the dissolved ions from accessing the cathode, while potential cycling leads to enhanced back-diffusion of the anionic species to the anode, thus partially entrapping the dissolved Ir. This work suggests that the design of thicker catalyst layers with lower Ir packing densities is an important key to an enhanced durability of electrolyzers.
{"title":"Experimental-modeling framework to unveil iridium degradation pathways during intermittent operation in PEMWE","authors":"Maja Milosevic, An Phuc Dam, Mirjam Rogler, Andreas Hutzler, Thomas Böhm, Valentin Briega-Martos, Georgios Papakonstantinou, Michel Suermann, Simon Thiele, Kai Sundmacher, Serhiy Cherevko","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102309","url":null,"abstract":"A deep understanding and mitigation of Ir degradation are crucial for effectively reducing the currently used high catalyst loadings and deploying proton exchange membrane water electrolysis on a gigawatt scale. Here, we deconvolute the dynamics of Ir dissolution, transport, and deposition within an electrolyzer through a combined mass spectrometry-microscopy approach. The formation and consumption of cationic and anionic Ir species are empirically correlated with potential changes during idle periods, while mathematical modeling allows for the quantitative determination of the overall Ir loss. We found that the cationic species precipitate at the anode-membrane interface and, within a short time frame, limit the dissolved ions from accessing the cathode, while potential cycling leads to enhanced back-diffusion of the anionic species to the anode, thus partially entrapping the dissolved Ir. This work suggests that the design of thicker catalyst layers with lower Ir packing densities is an important key to an enhanced durability of electrolyzers.","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147360777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102310
Francesco Vanin, Thomas Webb, Danpeng Gao, Katharine Welch, William D.J. Tremlett, Liangchen Qian, Chunlei Zhang, Ryan K. Brown, Andrew J.P. White, Nicola Gasparini, Li Bo, Zonglong Zhu, Saif A. Haque, Nicholas J. Long
Controlled doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for their application in optoelectronic devices. In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), breakthrough efficiencies have relied on doped Spiro-OMeTAD hole transport materials. However, the ubiquitous adoption of multicomponent lithium-based doping schemes, known for their hygroscopic, volatile, and temperamental nature, remains a major issue for n-i-p PSCs. Therefore, next-generation dopants must be re-engineered from first principles. Here, we report a class of tailored ferrocenium oxidants as high-performance, comprehensive Spiro-OMeTAD dopants. Tuning ferrocenium reduction potentials enables near-quantitative Spiro-OMeTAD⋅+ conversion, affording optimal electronic and energetic properties. The resulting ferrocenium-doped PSCs outperform conventional counterparts, achieving device and module efficiencies of 26.13% and 22.21%, respectively, with ultra-low dopant loadings. Devices show excellent operational stability, retaining 95% (unheated) and 87% (held at 65°C) of the initial efficiency after 1,000 h of continuous operation. Our results reveal the unrecognized potential of comprehensive doping paradigms in PSCs and beyond.
{"title":"Stable comprehensive dopants for efficient and scalable perovskite solar cells","authors":"Francesco Vanin, Thomas Webb, Danpeng Gao, Katharine Welch, William D.J. Tremlett, Liangchen Qian, Chunlei Zhang, Ryan K. Brown, Andrew J.P. White, Nicola Gasparini, Li Bo, Zonglong Zhu, Saif A. Haque, Nicholas J. Long","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102310","url":null,"abstract":"Controlled doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for their application in optoelectronic devices. In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), breakthrough efficiencies have relied on doped Spiro-OMeTAD hole transport materials. However, the ubiquitous adoption of multicomponent lithium-based doping schemes, known for their hygroscopic, volatile, and temperamental nature, remains a major issue for n-i-p PSCs. Therefore, next-generation dopants must be re-engineered from first principles. Here, we report a class of tailored ferrocenium oxidants as high-performance, comprehensive Spiro-OMeTAD dopants. Tuning ferrocenium reduction potentials enables near-quantitative Spiro-OMeTAD<sup>⋅+</sup> conversion, affording optimal electronic and energetic properties. The resulting ferrocenium-doped PSCs outperform conventional counterparts, achieving device and module efficiencies of 26.13% and 22.21%, respectively, with ultra-low dopant loadings. Devices show excellent operational stability, retaining 95% (unheated) and 87% (held at 65°C) of the initial efficiency after 1,000 h of continuous operation. Our results reveal the unrecognized potential of comprehensive doping paradigms in PSCs and beyond.","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147329960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102312
Guanjun Ji, Haocheng Ji, Junxiong Wang, Junfeng Li, Nengzhan Zheng, Jiaxiang Zhao, Yanfei Zhu, Song Liu, Jie Tang, Zheng Liang, Hui-Ming Cheng, Guangmin Zhou
Direct recycling of cathode materials is critical for achieving sustainable battery ecosystems. The key challenge lies in replenishing lithium deficiencies to enable structural reconstruction to their original states. However, phase separation in degraded LiFePO4 (LFP) materials causes structural heterogeneity, hindering lithium replenishment during solid-state regeneration. Here, we report solid-solution phase engineering to regenerate degraded LFP by breaking the conventional two-phase transition. This strategy alters anisotropic charge distribution and lattice strain in phase-separated LFP, lowering the energy barrier of Li+ ion diffusion. A subsequent single-phase lithiation pathway facilitates homogeneous structural evolution for heterogeneous particles, enabling universal regeneration of LFP from various sources. The regenerated LFP shows ultrahigh-rate capability (93 mAh g−1 at 20 C) and scalability in a 1 Ah pouch cell with 82.2% capacity retention over 1,000 cycles. Our findings reveal the key importance of phase-transition pathways, demonstrating universal and scalable regeneration of electrode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.
阴极材料的直接回收是实现可持续电池生态系统的关键。关键的挑战在于补充锂的不足，使结构重建到原始状态。然而，降解LiFePO4 （LFP）材料的相分离导致结构非均质性，阻碍了锂在固态再生过程中的补充。在这里，我们报告了通过打破传统的两相转变来再生降解LFP的固溶相工程。该策略改变了相分离LFP的各向异性电荷分布和晶格应变，降低了Li+离子扩散的能垒。随后的单相锂化途径促进了非均质颗粒的均匀结构演化，使LFP能够从各种来源普遍再生。再生的LFP具有超高倍率（20℃下93 mAh g−1）和可扩展性，在1 Ah袋电池中具有82.2%的循环容量保持率。我们的研究结果揭示了相变途径的关键重要性，展示了废锂离子电池电极材料的通用和可扩展再生。
{"title":"Solid-solution phase engineering enables ultrahigh-rate LiFePO4 regeneration from spent batteries","authors":"Guanjun Ji, Haocheng Ji, Junxiong Wang, Junfeng Li, Nengzhan Zheng, Jiaxiang Zhao, Yanfei Zhu, Song Liu, Jie Tang, Zheng Liang, Hui-Ming Cheng, Guangmin Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102312","url":null,"abstract":"Direct recycling of cathode materials is critical for achieving sustainable battery ecosystems. The key challenge lies in replenishing lithium deficiencies to enable structural reconstruction to their original states. However, phase separation in degraded LiFePO<sub>4</sub> (LFP) materials causes structural heterogeneity, hindering lithium replenishment during solid-state regeneration. Here, we report solid-solution phase engineering to regenerate degraded LFP by breaking the conventional two-phase transition. This strategy alters anisotropic charge distribution and lattice strain in phase-separated LFP, lowering the energy barrier of Li<sup>+</sup> ion diffusion. A subsequent single-phase lithiation pathway facilitates homogeneous structural evolution for heterogeneous particles, enabling universal regeneration of LFP from various sources. The regenerated LFP shows ultrahigh-rate capability (93 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at 20 C) and scalability in a 1 Ah pouch cell with 82.2% capacity retention over 1,000 cycles. Our findings reveal the key importance of phase-transition pathways, demonstrating universal and scalable regeneration of electrode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147329951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2025.102311
Shuang Bai, Zhao Liu, Diyi Cheng, Bingyu Lu, Nestor J. Zaluzec, Ganesh Raghavendran, Shen Wang, Thomas S. Marchese, Brandon van Leer, Letian Li, Lin Jiang, Adam Stokes, Joseph P. Cline, Rachel Osmundsen, Minda Chen, Paul Barends, Alexander Bright, Minghao Zhang, Ying Shirley Meng
Reliable characterization of alkali metals and their solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) is essential for advancing high-energy batteries but remains difficult due to their extreme reactivity and beam sensitivity. This work redefines the experimental limits for high-resolution imaging of lithium and sodium metals. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, we show that atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of lithium metal is achievable at room temperature using inert-gas sample transfer, with electron dose rates above 103 e⁄Å2⋅s causing no structural damage. SEI phases such as Li2CO3 and Na2CO3 remain highly beam-sensitive and require cryogenic TEM and strict dose control. We further demonstrate that plasma-focused ion beam (plasma-FIB) milling enables artifact-free lithium lamella preparation at ambient conditions, unlike conventional Ga+ FIB. Systematic evaluation of environmental, electron, and ion-beam effects also reveals inconsistencies arising from non-standardized cryogenic workflows. This framework provides a reproducible, damage-minimized pathway for imaging reactive metals and interfaces in next-generation batteries.
碱金属及其固体电解质界面（SEIs）的可靠表征对于推进高能电池至关重要，但由于其极端的反应性和光束灵敏度，仍然很困难。这项工作重新定义了锂和钠金属高分辨率成像的实验限制。与普遍的假设相反，我们证明了在室温下使用惰性气体样品转移可以实现金属锂的原子分辨率透射电子显微镜（TEM），电子剂量率高于103 e / Å2⋅s不会造成结构损伤。像Li2CO3和Na2CO3这样的SEI相仍然是高度光束敏感的，需要低温透射电镜和严格的剂量控制。我们进一步证明，与传统的Ga+ FIB不同，等离子体聚焦离子束（plasma-FIB）铣削可以在环境条件下制备无伪影的锂片。对环境、电子和离子束效应的系统评估也揭示了由非标准化低温工作流程引起的不一致性。该框架为下一代电池中的活性金属和界面成像提供了一种可重复的、损伤最小化的途径。
{"title":"Guidelines for correlative imaging and analysis of reactive alkali metal battery materials","authors":"Shuang Bai, Zhao Liu, Diyi Cheng, Bingyu Lu, Nestor J. Zaluzec, Ganesh Raghavendran, Shen Wang, Thomas S. Marchese, Brandon van Leer, Letian Li, Lin Jiang, Adam Stokes, Joseph P. Cline, Rachel Osmundsen, Minda Chen, Paul Barends, Alexander Bright, Minghao Zhang, Ying Shirley Meng","doi":"10.1016/j.joule.2025.102311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102311","url":null,"abstract":"Reliable characterization of alkali metals and their solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) is essential for advancing high-energy batteries but remains difficult due to their extreme reactivity and beam sensitivity. This work redefines the experimental limits for high-resolution imaging of lithium and sodium metals. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, we show that atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of lithium metal is achievable at room temperature using inert-gas sample transfer, with electron dose rates above 10<ce:sup loc=\"post\">3</ce:sup> e⁄Å<ce:sup loc=\"post\">2</ce:sup>⋅s causing no structural damage. SEI phases such as Li<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>CO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">3</ce:inf> and Na<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>CO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">3</ce:inf> remain highly beam-sensitive and require cryogenic TEM and strict dose control. We further demonstrate that plasma-focused ion beam (plasma-FIB) milling enables artifact-free lithium lamella preparation at ambient conditions, unlike conventional Ga<ce:sup loc=\"post\">+</ce:sup> FIB. Systematic evaluation of environmental, electron, and ion-beam effects also reveals inconsistencies arising from non-standardized cryogenic workflows. This framework provides a reproducible, damage-minimized pathway for imaging reactive metals and interfaces in next-generation batteries.","PeriodicalId":343,"journal":{"name":"Joule","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147360780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：