Publications – Energy Materials

New paper published in Water Research on terminology and metrics for electrosorption of trace organic compounds

vpresser — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:13:23 +0000

New paper published in Water Research in collaboration with Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Navid Saeidi & Anett Georgi). Electrosorption is an emerging approach for removing and concentrating trace organic contaminants from water, including PFAS and pharmaceuticals, by combining conductive adsorbents with electrical control. This Making Waves article argues that such systems should not simply borrow terminology and performance metrics from capacitive deionization, because trace-organic removal is often governed by adsorption affinity, selectivity, pore accessibility, and controlled release rather than charge-storage capacity. We propose a clearer terminology and reporting framework centered on metrics such as adsorption coefficients, breakthrough behavior, recovery, and enrichment to support better comparison between studies and accelerate the rational design of electrosorption technologies for water treatment.

New paper published on nitrate reduction in Advanced Functional Materials

vpresser — Mon, 18 May 2026 08:00:41 +0000

In a new collaborative paper in Advanced Functional Materials, we report an exfoliation-induced electrochemical reconstruction strategy that transforms CuCoAl layered double hydroxides into an amorphous/crystalline heterostructure for efficient nitrate reduction to ammonia. The reconstructed catalyst combines metallic Cu, crystalline Co(OH)₂, and amorphous CoOOH, enabling high ammonia selectivity, excellent Faradaic efficiency, and strong cycling stability. Beyond catalyst design, the study also demonstrates a Zn-NO₂^– battery concept that links nitrate removal, ammonia production, and energy storage in one system.

New paper published on Li-ion extraction from battery shredder solutions for recycling in ChemSusChem

vpresser — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:18:51 +0000

New paper published on electrochemical Li-ion extraction in the context of lithium-ion battery recycling in ChemSusChem. In this collaborative work with Fachhochschule Münster, we demonstrate an electrochemical route to recover lithium ions directly from real battery recycling process water generated during the wet shredding of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Using an LFP-based selective desalination cell, the process produced a lithium-rich recovery solution with 96% purity, an average lithium uptake of 41 mg/g, and a low energy demand of only 1.10 kWh/kg. This study highlights electrochemical lithium recovery as a promising, lower-energy, and less chemically intensive pathway toward more circular battery recycling.

New paper published in Battery Energy on intraparticle effects on lithium-sulfur battery performance

vpresser — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:23:47 +0000

New collaborative paper published in Battery Energy on “Intraparticular inhomogeneity limits capacity in lithium sulfur batteries with carbonate electrolyte”. This work shows that the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries with carbonate electrolytes is strongly governed by how the cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) forms inside nanoporous carbon host particles during the first discharge. Using cryogenic electron microscopy together with electrochemical analysis, we found that the CEI is not a uniform surface film but develops heterogeneously into the particle, leaving larger particles with inactive interior regions and therefore lower sulfur utilization. The results show that reducing carbon particle size improves capacity and rate performance, while also providing clear design guidelines for more efficient solid-state Li-S cathodes. Collaborative work with the groups of Christian Prehal and Alen Vizintin.

New paper published in Battery Energy on mixed transition metal oxalates for lithium-ion batteries

vpresser — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

In our work, we have developed a new multi-phase transition metal oxalate anode material for lithium-ion batteries by combining five transition metals in a simple co-precipitation process, creating a structure that improves both charge transport and structural stability during cycling. The best-performing composition, TMOx-2, showed strong long-term performance, retaining 827 mAh/g after 400 cycles at 100 mA/g and 498 mAh/g after 400 cycles at 500 mA/g. The study highlights how multi-phase design can enhance lithium storage performance without relying on complex synthesis routes, offering a promising strategy for next-generation high-performance battery materials.

New paper published in Polymer Chemistry on cellulose-based membranes

vpresser — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

New paper published in Polymer Chemistry on cellulose-based membranes. The collaborative work demonstrates how tailored linear and star-shaped block copolymers can be assembled around cellulose fibers to create hierarchical porous structures, which can then be chemically modified to adjust surface polarity, wettability, and water permeance. This approach opens a versatile route toward functional, cellulose-based porous materials for future membrane, filtration, and separation applications.

New paper published in Advanced Functional Materials on flexible bimetallic phosphonate crystals for supercapacitor application

vpresser — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000

New collaborative paper spearheaded by Gündog Yücesan published in Advanced Functional Materials (and featured on the back cover). In this work, we introduce flexible bimetallic phosphonate crystals as a new class of energy-storage materials that combine mechanical flexibility with remarkable chemical stability and electrochemical activity. The material remains structurally stable across a broad pH range and delivers specific capacitances of around 140 F/g under mildly acidic and alkaline conditions, making it an attractive and more sustainable alternative to conventional supercapacitor electrodes.

New paper on Fe-loaded carbon spherogels for high-performance lithium-ion batteries published in Chemistry of Materials (and featured on the cover)

vpresser — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 07:00:00 +0000

New paper published in Chemistry of Materials. This constitutes collaborative work between the Universität Salzburg (Michael Elsaesser, Saeid Borhani, Gregor Zickler), the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald) e.V. (Antje Quade), and us (Stefanie Arnold, Le Thao). Congratulations to Stefanie Arnold for her debut as last-and-corresponding author!

The work has now been featured on the cover of the journal. Our paper reports a scalable synthesis of iron-loaded carbon spherogels with tunable iron content, where uniformly distributed iron nanoparticles are embedded in a porous, conductive carbon framework to create lithium-ion battery electrodes with high capacity and strong cycling stability. It shows that these materials can reach capacities up to 1190 mAh/g with Coulombic efficiencies above 99% over 300 cycles, and that the best performance comes from balancing iron redox activity with the structural stability of the carbon host rather than simply maximizing iron loading. Our work matters because it positions iron-loaded carbon spherogels as a more sustainable, cobalt-free and nickel-free route to high-performance conversion-type battery electrodes, addressing a central materials challenge in next-generation energy storage.

New paper published and featured on the cover of Energy Advances on MBene aerogel batteries and capacitors

vpresser — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 07:00:00 +0000

New paper published in Energy Advances. Our collaborative work with the group of Michael Naguib reports the synthesis of a delaminated 2D molybdenum boride MBene aerogel, Mo_4/3B₂T_x, and shows that it works very well as an anode material for lithium-ion storage because it combines accessible active sites, fast charge storage, and strong structural stability. The material delivered about 260 mAh/g after 500 cycles at a current of 2 A/g, and it reached an energy density of about 363 Wh/kg at 100 mA/g, which makes it promising for lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion capacitors. DFT calculations support the experiments by showing that lithium prefers energetically favorable hexagonal Mo sites and moves with a relatively low diffusion barrier, helping explain the strong rate performance and long cycling stability.

New paper published in Desalination on capacitive deionization studied with operando X-ray transmission

vpresser — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 07:00:00 +0000

New paper published in Desalination on position-resolved ion concentration from operando X-ray transmission. This collaborative work introduces position-resolved operando synchrotron X-ray transmission to directly map local ion concentration changes inside a working capacitive deionization (CDI) cell – separating contributions from the flow channel electrolyte and the two nanoporous electrodes. Using a CsCl model electrolyte, we show how flow rate creates strong spatial gradients along the channel and how ionophobic ultramicropores (< ~0.7 nm) can dominate performance by promoting counter-ion adsorption and higher charge efficiency. Authors: Max V. Rauscher, Richard Kohns, Malina Seyffertitz, Sebastian Stock, Sylvio Haas, Christian Prehal, Nicola Hüsing, Oskar Paris.