Lithium metal batteries (LMBs), that use pure lithium (Li) for their negative electrodes, are attracting significant attention due to their extremely high theoretical capacity. However, their practical applications are limited by low cycling stability and safety issues, arising from dendrite formation, electrolyte breakdown and uneven solid-electrolyte interface formation.

As countries invest in green hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industry, transportation, and energy systems, researchers are seeking faster ways to accelerate the development of hydrogen technologies. Solid oxide electrolysis cells are among the most efficient systems for producing green hydrogen from steam, but identifying their optimal operating conditions requires thousands of computationally intensive simulations, slowing innovation and increasing development costs.

Since we cannot look into the interiors of stars and planets, we rely on lab experiments to replicate the physical processes that occur there. Led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an international research team has now produced the first experimental verification of a theoretically predicted flow state that is deemed characteristic of the interiors of rapidly rotating celestial bodies. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) also participated in the study, which has been published in Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/pc8y-j7g8). The results provide a robust experimental basis for testing theoretical models of the processes that occur inside these celestial bodies.

The use of fossil fuels alters both the concentration and the carbon isotope composition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Since surface water exchanges carbon dioxide with the atmosphere, this also alters the isotopic composition of the carbon dissolved in the ocean. In a study, a team from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen has now determined how deep this so-called Suess effect has already penetrated into the North Atlantic.

The next time you freshen up the paint on your house or apply cosmetic glitter, you might give a quick nod to the butterflies flapping in a nearby garden. Taking inspiration from structures on butterfly wings responsible for their vibrant colors, researchers are now devising more durable and adjustable colors that are also safer for human health and the environment. The researchers will present their results at ACS Fall 2026.

Researchers led by Jani C. Ingram measured the levels of heavy metals in well water on tribal lands in a community partnership with the Navajo Nation. After compiling their water quality data, the researchers and tribal leaders developed best practices for distributing educational resources about safe drinking water to residents on Navajo reservations. The researchers will present their results at ACS Fall 2026.

In its CZS Nexus program, the Carl Zeiss Foundation has awarded grants to two young scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The researchers will each receive EUR 1.5 million to establish their own interdisciplinary working groups at KIT. Dr. Laura Marie Helleckes investigates how biotechnology processes can be transferred from the laboratory to industrial production. Dr. Bianca Schacherl uses modern X-ray techniques to gain new insights for cancer treatment by analyzing radioactive materials in biological samples.

A research team led by Prof. MENG Guowen and Prof. CHEN Bin from the Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a high-entropy antiperovskite electrode (InN(NiCoFeCrV)₃) supported by nickel foam for efficient anion-exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis, improving the efficiency and durability of hydrogen production.

A research team at The University of Tokyo has succeeded in an atomic-scale double-slit experiment that treats neighboring atoms as “two slits,” and demonstrated that it is possible to read out the vibration of atoms from the fringe pattern formed by electrons. Applying this method to research and development of semiconductor materials may make it possible to investigate, at the atomic level, regions where heat accumulates or flows inefficiently.