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Batteries are the most abundant form of electrochemical energy storage. Lithium and sodium ion batteries account for a significant portion of the battery market, but high-performance electrochemically active materials still need to be discovered and optimized for these technologies. Recently, tin(II) oxide (SnO) has emerged as a highly-promising battery electrode. In this work, we present a facile synthesis method to produce SnO nanoparticles whose size and shape can be tailored by changing the solvent nature. We study the complex relationship between wet chemistry synthesis conditions and resulting nanoparticle morphology. Furthermore, high-level electronic structure theory, including dispersion corrections to account for van der Waals forces, are employed to augment our understanding of the underlying chemical mechanisms. The electronic vacuum alignment and surface energies are determined, allowing the prediction of the thermodynamically-favoured crystal shape (Wulff construction) and surface-weighted work function. Finally, the synthesized nanomaterials were tested as Li-ion battery anodes, demonstrating significantly enhanced electrochemical performance for morphologies obtained from specific synthesis conditions. Open-access publication in npj 2D Mater & Appl here.

Nowadays in India the renewable energy sources are continuum growing to accommodate the current demands of energy. Therefore, for an effective use of this energy, a careful and critical analysis is required. As per literature review, India was reported having a massive potential as superpower source in terms of wind energy In the present research, an effort has been carried out to explore various decision making approaches such as TOPSIS, VIKOR, and Fuzzy analysis, to subsequently rank various Indian states with respect to their wind energy potential. In this perspective, potentiality indices have been found on the justification of five significant factors that influence the effective use of wind energy and then a classification has been proposed. It was found that the wind power density is the most significant parameter while the technical expertise has been found as the least significant among identified parameters. The results presented here indicates that among all alternative states of India, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra have the maximum potential to tap the wind energy potential. This study will act as a guide for various government agencies to re-evaluate and re-formulate their energy policies as well as will help various investors (under the ‘Make in India’ campaign) orientated to do business here, to take a well informed decision. The present study also provides a way to make strong policies, in the area of high wind energy potential, in order to maximize the use of renewable source of energy which allows to tackle the societal need and poverty.

In the light of the COP27 Climate Change Conference, the concept of the circular economy has come to the fore with promotion of reuse and recycling of appliances and materials from electronics to clothes. This concept has not been widely taken up by healthcare systems. In this perspective article, we discuss the idea of the circular economy and how, by extension, the concept of "circular medicine" with optimised hospital and medical clinic waste recycling might be promoted in the context of better stewardship of resources in healthcare management.

Small band gap molecular semiconductors are of interest for the development of transparent electronics. Here we report two near-infrared (NIR), n-type small molecule semiconductors, based upon an acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) approach. We show that the inclusion of molecular spacers between the strong-electron-accepting end group, 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4,5,6-tricarbonitrile, and the donor core affords semiconductors with very low band gaps down to 1 eV. Both materials were synthesized by a one-pot, 6-fold nucleophilic displacement of a fluorinated precursor by cyanide. Significant differences in solid-state ordering and charge carrier mobility are observed depending on the nature of the spacer, with a thiophene spacer resulting in solution processed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) exhibiting excellent electron mobility up to 1.1 cm2 V-1 s-1. The use of silver nanowires as the gate electrode enables the fabrication of a semitransparent OFET device with an average visible transmission of 71% in the optical spectrum. ; The authors thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (EP/L016702/1 and EP/T028513/1), Global Research Laboratory Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF-2017K1A1A2013153), the Royal Society, and the Wolfson Foundation (Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship) for funding. M.I.N., M.H., and T.D.A. acknowledge funding from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Award Nos. OSR-2018-CARF/CCF-3079 and OSR-2020-CRG8-4095. F.E. thanks EPSRC for support via a Doctoral Prize Fellowship.

Thermally integrated pumped-thermal electricity storage (TI-PTES) offers the opportunity to store electricity as thermal exergy at a large scale, and existing studies are primarily focused on TI-PTES systems based on high-temperature thermal energy storage. This paper presents a thermo-economic analysis of a “cold TI-PTES” system which converts electricity into cold energy using a vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) unit and stores it at sub-ambient temperatures during the charging process, and generates electricity by using an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) working between the sub-ambient temperature and an external low-grade heat source during the discharging process. The effects of key parameters, i.e., mass flowrate and temperature of the storage medium, ORC evaporation temperature, component efficiencies, and pinch-point temperature differences, on the system performance are evaluated based on a whole-system thermo-economic model. The results reveal that the roundtrip efficiency and levelized cost of storage (LCOS) of the system increases while the electrical energy storage capacity decreases as the temperatures of the two cold storage tanks approach each other. When the temperature of the cold storage tank 1 rises from 1 °C to 8 °C while the cold storage tank 2 remains as 13 °C, there is an increase of 25% and 20% in the roundtrip efficiency and LCOS respectively while the energy storage capacity decreases by 69%. A roundtrip efficiency of 0.74 and LCOS of 0.32 $/kWh are achieved with a heat source temperature of 85 °C, using a mass flowrate and temperature of the cold storage medium of 50 kg/s and 1 °C. Furthermore, any change in cold storage medium mass flowrate changes both electrical energy storage capacity and power output by the same proportions. With a continuous high-flowrate external heat source, the LCOS can be as low as 0.17 $/kWh. By providing sufficient heat from an external heat source, the proposed system possesses a high potential for medium-to-large scale energy storage with a unique hybrid ...

<p>To understand how global warming can be kept well-below 2°C and even 1.5°C, climate policy uses scenarios that describe how society could transform in order to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Such scenario are typically created with integrated assessment models that include a representation of the economy, and the energy, land-use, and industrial system. However, current climate change scenarios have a key weakness in that they typically focus on reaching specific climate goals in 2100 only. <br><br>This choice results in risky pathways that delay action and seemingly inevitably rely on large quantities of carbon-dioxide removal after mid-century. Here we propose a framework that more closely reflects the intentions of the UN Paris Agreement. It focusses on reaching a peak in global warming with either stabilisation or reversal thereafter. This approach provides a critical extension of the widely used Shared Socioecononomic Pathways (SSP) framework and reveals a more diverse picture: an inevitable transition period of aggressive near-term climate action to reach carbon neutrality can be followed by a variety of long-term states. It allows policymakers to explicitly consider near-term climate strategies in the context of intergenerational equity and long-term sustainability.</p>

Significant uncertainty surrounds the future development of electricity systems, primarily in terms of size, location and type of new renewable generation to be connected. In this paper we assess the potential for flexible network technologies, such as phase-shifting transformers, and non-network solutions, such as energy storage and demand-side management, to constitute valuable interim measures within a long-term planning strategy. The benefit of such flexible assets lies not only in the transmission services provided but also in the way they can facilitate and de-risk subsequent decisions by deferring commitment to capital-intensive projects until more information on generation development becomes available. A novel stochastic formulation for transmission expansion planning is presented that includes consideration of investment in these flexible solutions. The proposed framework is demonstrated with a case study on the IEEE-RTS where flexible technologies are shown to constitute valuable investment options when facing uncertainties in future renewable generation development.