Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Advanced protection strategy of lithium metal anodes

Tsinghua University Press

The development and challenges of LMBs. — image:
a, Development history of Li metal. b, The energy density of petrol and typical LIBs or LMBs. c, The challenges of Li metal batteries include dendrite growth and dead Li. d, The solving strategies of Li metal anodes for infinite volume changes and dendrite growth.
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Credit: Materials and Solidification, Tsinghua University Press

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs), with its unparalleled theoretical energy density (up to 950 Wh kg⁻¹), have long been hailed as the future of energy storage. However, persistent challenges—such as dendrite formation, unstable interfaces, and safety concerns—have hindered their commercialization. Researchers from Zhengzhou University present a roadmap to overcome these obstacles, offering transformative solutions for the next generation of LMBs.

The team published their work in Materials and Solidification on April 15, 2025.

Key Innovations and Strategies:

The study identifies six core strategies to stabilize lithium metal anodes (LMAs):

Electrolyte Formulation: Tailoring solvent and salt compositions to form stable, inorganic-rich SEI layers. For instance, fluorinated solvents and high-concentration LiFSI electrolytes enable 99.8% Coulombic efficiency and extended cycling under high-voltage conditions.

Artificial SEI: Engineered coatings like polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and dual-layer Prussian blue/rGO structures suppress dendrite growth and reduce electrolyte consumption, achieving 98.3% efficiency over 630 cycles.

Separator Regulation: Functional separators with graphene coatings or zwitterionic polymers homogenize Li⁺ flux and dissipate thermal hotspots, enabling stable operation at 3 mA cm⁻² for 4,500 hours.

Solid-State Electrolytes (SSEs): Quasi-solid and solid-state electrolytes eliminate flammability risks while maintaining ionic conductivity. Polymer-polymer composites and elastomeric SSEs demonstrate resilience under bending and thermal stress.

3D Host Frameworks: Porous scaffolds (e.g., MXene/rGO or lithiophilic carbon) buffer volume expansion and reduce local current density, achieving minimal capacity decay (0.1% per cycle) in high-rate applications.

Anode-Free Designs: By eliminating excess lithium, anode-free configurations paired with pulse-current protocols or lithophilic Ag-PCP coatings achieve 76% capacity retention after 100 cycles in pouch cells.

Impact and Future Directions:

The review underscores the importance of multi-dimensional protection systems, combining chemical, structural, and external field interventions to synchronize Li⁺ deposition. Advanced characterization techniques—such as synchrotron X-ray tomography and AI-driven molecular design—are poised to accelerate material discovery and optimize battery performance. With global demand for high-energy storage surging, this work provides a critical foundation for scalable, safe LMBs. By bridging laboratory innovations with industrial scalability, the strategies outlined here could revolutionize electric vehicles, renewable energy grids, and portable electronics, marking a pivotal step toward a sustainable energy future.

About Author:

Prof. Xinliang Li: doctoral degree from City University of Hong Kong in 2021. Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Physics, Zhengzhou University since 2023. Research areas focus on aqueous batteries, halogen-based batteries, organic batteries, wearable energy storage systems, 2D MXene materials, and electromagnetic wave absorption/shielding devices. With over 30 first-authored publications in leading journals such as Nat. Rev. Chem. (4), Joule (2), Matter (2), Sci. Adv., Adv. Mater., and Energy Environ. Sci., has accumulated >14,000 citations, as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and inclusion in Stanford’s Top 2% Global Scientists. He serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Materials and a Young Editorial Board Member for journals including Nano Res. Energy, eScience, and InfoMat. Additionally, he acts as a reviewer for over 20 international journals (e.g., Adv. Funct. Mater., ACS Nano) and an external grant evaluator for UAEU.

About Materials and Solidification

Materials and Solidification is a single-blind peer-reviewed, fully open access international journal published by Tsinghua University Press, with academic support provided by the State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University. The Journal aims to publish cutting-edge research results in solidification theory and solidification technologies for metal, semiconductor, organic, inorganic, and polymer materials in bulk or as thin films. It includes, but is not limited to, casting, welding, and additive manufacturing related to solidification processing, and is also involved in nonequilibrium solidification phenomena in multiphysical fields, such as electricity, ultrasonication, magnetism, and microgravity.

Journal

Materials and Solidification

DOI

10.26599/MAS.2025.9580010

Article Title

Advanced protection strategy of lithium metal anodes

Drones and genetics team up for drought smarter wheat

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

image:
Roy measuring wheat spectral reflectance
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Credit: Roy Sadeh, Ittai Herrmann, Prof. Zvi Peleg

A new study shows how using drones with advanced cameras, ones that detect both heat and light, can help scientists better measure how field-grown wheat plants cope with climate change. By flying these drones over hundreds of wheat varieties, researchers could estimate key traits like how efficiently the plants breathe through their leaves, how leafy they are, and how much chlorophyll they have. They then matched these traits to specific genes in the wheat, identifying genetic markers linked to better performance under normal and dry conditions. This approach makes it easier to find and develop wheat varieties that are more resilient to climate challenges, helping to secure future food security.

Link to photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/179SacD7-Zu9s8iTOPkHZVebIICjmAt5p?usp=drive_link

A new study led by researchers at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Hebrew University and the Volcani Institute changes the way scientists uncover the secrets of wheat resilience. By using drones equipped with advanced thermal and hyperspectral cameras, the team has found a faster, more precise method to identify wheat varieties that can thrive in hot and dry climates, an urgent priority in the face of global food insecurity and climate change.

The study, led by Ph.D. candidate Roy Sadeh under the supervision of Dr. Ittai Herrmann and Prof. Zvi Peleg from the Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture at the Hebrew University, recently published in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, used drone flights over wheat experiments located at the rain-out shelter at the Pheno-IL research & education facility for crop stress phenomics to collect detailed images capturing both heat emitted and light reflected from the plants. These images allowed researchers to estimate how well different wheat varieties manage water through their stomata, tiny pores on the leaves that regulate moisture and gas exchange. Traits like leaf area index and chlorophyll content were also tracked.

With the help of machine learning models, the research team analyzed this data across two growing seasons. They successfully linked these plant traits to specific regions in the wheat genome, identifying 16 genetic markers tied to better performance under optimal and drought conditions. These markers were further validated in a follow-up field trial.

“Until now, measuring stomatal conductance, the plant’s ability to regulate water—was slow and required manual tools,” said Roy Sadeh, first author of the study. “This drone-based approach offers a fast and powerful new way to identify drought-tolerant plants, without touching the plants.”

The findings offer a practical path forward for breeders seeking to develop high-performing, climate-resilient wheat. Integrating drone technology with genetic analysis could dramatically accelerate breeding, helping agriculture keep pace with global food demand and changing environmental conditions.

About the Study
The research involved 300 diverse wheat genotypes grown under optimal and drought conditions in a rain-out shelter facility. The team used support vector machine models to estimate plant traits based on drone-collected imagery, achieving a 28% improvement in accuracy for water-use estimation. The study represents the first time that UAV-based stomatal conductance measurements have been used to map genetic markers in wheat.

As climate change continues to strain global food systems, innovations like this offer a powerful way to future-proof agriculture. By combining cutting-edge technology with genetic insight, this research paves the way for faster development of wheat varieties that can withstand heat, drought, and other climate stresses—helping ensure food security for generations to come.

This research was supported by the Israeli Council for Higher Education (Project: Future Crops for Carbon Farming), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

The experiment at the rainout shelter

Credit

Roy Sadeh, Ittai Herrmann, Prof. Zvi Peleg

Journal

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

DOI

10.1016/j.compag.2025.110411

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

UAV-borne hyperspectral and thermal imagery integration empowers genetic dissection of wheat stomatal conductance

Leading doctors from India and Pakistan appeal for “brave first steps” towards peace

Persistent conflict and threats of a nuclear conflagration are major impediments to development, they argue

BMJ Group

As India and Pakistan once again step closer to an open conflict, leading pediatricians and healthcare professionals from across the border have come together to urge both countries to take “brave first steps” towards peace.

In The BMJ today, Zulfiqar Bhutta at The Aga Khan University in Karachi, Sanjay Nagral at the Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai, and other leading doctors from India and Pakistan warn that the risk of a cataclysmic nuclear exchange - by accident or design - is real and threatens the world.

“What is needed now is for enlightened sections of society from both sides of the border to reach out and lobby for sobriety and refocus on issues that matter to improve the living conditions of our people,” they write. “We understand that this is not easy and will not happen overnight. But there is no alternative in a region joined at the hip by common history, culture, and traditions.”

They discuss the challenges the two countries face in public health, social determinants, climate change, environmental issues, and enormous equity gaps in health and development.

Yet they point out that India and Pakistan spend between 2.4% and 2.8% of their GDP on defence ($80 and $39 per capita respectively), amounts that neither can afford. In contrast, expenditures on health range from 3.3 to 2.9% of respective GDP and a fifth of the population in both countries live in poverty.

“As professionals involved with healthcare, it is our responsibility to highlight the dangers of prolonged conflict and its hindrance of efforts to improve the daily lives of our people,” they write.

Using health diplomacy and other avenues for constructive engagement, they urge professional bodies, civic society representatives and academia in India and Pakistan to initiate this process and nudge towards a path of peace.

“Persistent tensions and insecurity only worsen the intergenerational cycle of poverty, illiteracy, poor living conditions, and human development,” they warn. “As pediatricians and healthcare professionals, we raise our collective voices against conflict and its consequences. We owe this to our people and future generations.”

[Ends]

Journal

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj.r1102

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Stepping back from the brink: time for reason and rapprochement between India and Pakistan

Article Publication Date

28-May-2025

COI Statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. ZAB and SN are co-chairs of The BMJ South Asia regional advisory board. The views submitted in this viewpoint represent the individual views of the authors and not their respective organizations.

Green hydrogen: MXene boosts the effectiveness of catalysts

By embedding catalytically active particles into the flaky structure of MXenes, a Team at HZB has significantly increased the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytical water splitting.

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

SEM2 — image:
The image on the left shows the flaky structure of the MXene sample under a scanning electron microscope. The image on the right shows the resulting composite material after cobalt and iron were incorporated into the MXene structure.
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Credit: HZB

MXenes are adept at hosting catalytically active particles. This property can be exploited to create more potent catalyst materials that significantly accelerate and enhance the oxygen evolution reaction, which is one of the bottlenecks in the production of green hydrogen via electrolysis using solar or wind power. A detailed study by an international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne shows the potential of these new materials for future large-scale applications. The study is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Green hydrogen is set to play an important role in the future energy system: it can be used for storing chemical energy, as a raw material for the chemical industry, and for producing climate-friendly fuels. Green hydrogen can be generated in a nearly climate-neutral manner if the energy used for electrolysis — the process of splitting water into its elements — comes from solar or wind power. However, special catalysts are needed to speed up the formation of hydrogen and oxygen at the two electrodes. In particular, the oxygen evolution reaction is sluggish and would require significantly more energy without effective catalysts. Currently, such catalysts are made from precious metals, which are rare and expensive. For green hydrogen to be produced in the required quantities at a reasonable price, catalysts made from readily available elements are needed.

Flaky structures

At HZB, a team led by Michelle Browne is developing sophisticated alternatives based on so-called MXenes. MXenes are flaky structures made of carbon and so-called transition metals. Catalytically active particles can adhere to the inner surfaces of MXenes, thereby enhancing their catalytic effect. A new study in the journal Advanced Functional Materials now shows that this idea works.

The study's first author, Can Kaplan, used different variants of a vanadium carbide MXene as the basis for his research. He took the opportunity to conduct research at the laboratory of the Swedish partners at Linköping University during his PhD, as part of an exchange programme during his PhD.

The role of vacancies

“There, we synthesised two MXene variants: pure V2CTx and V1.8CTx with 10% vanadium vacancies. These vanadium vacancies ensure that the internal surface area of this variant is significantly larger,” explains Can Kaplan.

Embedding CoFe into MXene

In Michelle Browne's HZB laboratory, Kaplan developed a multi-step chemical process to embed Co0.66Fe0.34 catalyst particles into the MXene. Images taken with a scanning electron microscope show that this was successful; the pure MXenes have a pastry-like structure, but this changed significantly due to the incorporation of the cobalt-iron particles.

Best efficiency: CoFe in the vanadium deficient MXene

The team then investigated the effect of the different catalyst samples in use during electrolysis: pure iron-cobalt, and mixed with one of the two MXene variants. The results were very clear: also pure iron-cobalt compound acts as a catalyst. However, when embedded in MXene, the catalytic effect increased significantly. And the efficiency is further enhanced when the iron-cobalt compound is embedded in MXene with numerous vacancies.

Using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the SOLEIL synchrotron source in France, the team was able to track changes in the oxidation numbers of cobalt and iron during the electrolytic reaction.

Promising path to a new class of catalysts

‘We tested these catalysts on both a laboratory scale and in a much larger electrolyser,’ emphasises Kaplan. ‘This makes our results really meaningful and interesting for industrial applications.’

‘Currently, the industry has not yet considered MXene as a carrier material for catalytically active particles on the radar,’ says Michelle Browne. ‘We are conducting basic research here, but with clear prospects: on applications. Our results have now provided initial insights into the complex interplay between the carrier structure, the embedding of catalytically active particles and catalytic activity.’ MXene is a promising candidate for the development of innovative, highly efficient and inexpensive catalysts, Michelle Browne concludes.

Journal

Advanced Functional Materials

DOI

10.1002/adfm.202503842

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Enhancing CoFe Catalysts with V2CTX MXene-Derived Materials for Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

Gaza disengagement revisited in light of October 7: Hidden multilateral dimensions of 2005 withdrawal revealed

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In the wake of the tragic events of October 7, 2023—when Hamas launched a deadly and unprecedented assault on southern Israel—scrutiny has intensified over the historical roots of Gaza’s political trajectory. Against this backdrop, a compelling new study by Professor Elie Podeh of the Hebrew University revisits Israel’s 2005 Gaza Disengagement Plan, challenging the widespread perception that the move was a strictly unilateral one.

In his article, titled “Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from Gaza: A Multilateral Move Under Unilateral Façade,” published in Middle Eastern Studies, Prof. Podeh reveals that the withdrawal—was the product of coordination between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, and the international Quartet.

Based on extensive archival research, including leaked diplomatic correspondence and firsthand interviews with Israeli and U.S. policymakers, the article demonstrates how key aspects of the disengagement were jointly developed. For instance, arrangements for border control, economic transition, and security cooperation were all negotiated behind the scenes, especially under the guidance of American envoys and Egyptian mediators. The involvement of James Wolfensohn, then special envoy of the Quartet, and the appointment of U.S. General William Ward to oversee security coordination, underscore the international stakes of the plan.

“The disengagement was presented as unilateral to serve Israeli domestic political aims and to minimize negotiations with a fragmented Palestinian leadership,” said Prof. Podeh. “Yet in reality, the move was a multilateral enterprise, shaped by regional and global stakeholders.”

The article also critiques the aftermath of the disengagement. Podeh attributes its failure to two parallel weaknesses: Israel’s decision not to use the withdrawal as a springboard for renewed peace negotiations, and the Palestinian Authority’s inability to assert effective control over Gaza, allowing Hamas and Islamic Jihad to fill the vacuum.

This dual failure, he argues, not only undermined the short-term viability of the disengagement but also planted the seeds of Gaza’s ongoing isolation and radicalization. Nearly two decades later, the implications of that strategy remain painfully relevant. The October 7 attacks shocked the region and underscored how the vacuum created by the disengagement has enabled Hamas’s dominance in Gaza—a dynamic that has endured, in part, due to the missteps of 2005.

Journal

Middle Eastern Studies

DOI

10.1080/00263206.2025.2473990

Method of Research

Case study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from Gaza: a multilateral move under unilateral facade

Compassion makes employees more resilient when employers behave badly

North Carolina State University

New research finds that the more compassionate people are, the better able they are to deal with broken promises in the workplace. Specifically, the study suggests that compassion makes employees tougher: more emotionally resilient, higher performing, and less likely to seek new work when they feel their employer has broken a promise to them.

“People often equate compassion with weakness or softness, but this work underscores the ways in which compassion actually makes people resilient – and how that can affect their behavior in the workplace,” says Tom Zagenczyk, co-author of a paper on the work and a professor of management in North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management.

At issue is a concept called psychological contract breach (PCB), which in this context refers to instances when an employee feels their employer has broken a promise. For example, the employee may not have gotten an expected raise or their employer’s mission may have changed in unexpected ways.

“There is already substantial research on what organizations and managers can do to maintain employee performance and reduce turnover when employees feel the employer hasn’t met agreed-upon obligations,” says Sara Krivacek, first author of the paper and an assistant professor of management at James Madison University.

“But there has been much less work done that focuses on the employees themselves,” Krivacek says. “We wanted to see how compassion may affect the way people cope with PCB in the workplace. Specifically, we wanted to look at two types of compassion: self-compassion, which is the extent to which people are kind and care for themselves; and other-compassion, the extent to which people are kind and caring toward other people.”

The researchers collected data for this study during the pandemic.

“This is significant because the lack of interaction with peers during the pandemic made it an opportune time to study the role an individual’s traits play in coping with PCB,” Zagenczyk says. “Typically, relationships with co-workers and supervisors help employees cope with PCBs on the job. Because people were working remotely, we were better able to determine the role that an individual’s personal characteristics play.”

For this study, the researchers conducted three surveys of English-speaking white-collar workers in the Netherlands at one-month intervals: 439 workers responded to the first survey; 382 of those workers completed the second survey; and 330 workers completed all three surveys.

The first survey was designed to determine the degree to which study participants experienced PCBs in the previous month. The second survey was designed to capture “violation feelings,” meaning negative feelings that employees had toward their employer – such as feelings of anger, betrayal or disappointment. The second survey also assessed each study participant’s levels of self-compassion and other-compassion. The third survey addressed issues such as intentions to leave the employer, job performance and emotional exhaustion.

“First off, the study tells us that violation feelings stemming from PCBs – anger, betrayal, etc. –are what drive negative outcomes like emotional exhaustion,” Krivacek says. “However, the study also tells us that compassion also plays a significant role in the extent to which people experience these negative outcomes – though the two types of compassion play very different roles.

“For example, we found that the higher an individual’s levels of self-compassion, the less emotionally exhausted they were – even when they were experiencing violation feelings after a PCB,” Krivacek says. “This suggests that self-compassion better equips individuals to deal with these negative emotions, which is important.”

“By the same token, employees with higher levels of other-compassion were less likely to consider leaving the job and reported higher levels of workplace performance,” Zagenczyk says. “This suggests that concerns about workplace colleagues make people less likely to slack off or quit, even when they feel their employer has acted badly.”

“In addition, while the results encourage employees to harness self- and other-compassion during challenging times at work, prior research suggests organizations can also foster this practice,” Krivacek says. “Specifically, self- and other-compassion are not just inherent traits; prior interventional work has shown that employees can develop and increase their own self- and other-compassion through training.

“Therefore, while organizations cannot realistically eliminate the degree to which employees experience PCB (that would be a broken promise in itself!), they can consider incorporating workshops and training programs that focus on fostering these practices,” Krivacek says. “Also, organizations prone to high levels of PCB may consider hiring job candidates with higher levels of compassion, if other factors such as knowledge, skills and abilities are relatively equivalent.”

The paper, “Softening the Blow: The Mitigating Effect of Compassion on the Negative Consequences of Psychological Contract Breach and Violation Feelings,” is published open access in the Journal of Business Ethics. The paper was co-authored by Yannick Griep, an associate professor at Samergo, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa; and by Kevin Cruz, an assistant professor of management at Georgia Southern University.

Journal

Journal of Business Ethics

DOI

10.1007/s10551-025-06031-8

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Softening the Blow: The Mitigating Effect of Compassion on the Negative Consequences of Psychological Contract Breach and Violation Feelings

Article Publication Date

24-May-2025