Orbital coupling effect enables low-chloride concentration electrolyte for four-electron redox in aqueous zinc | |iodine batteries - Nature

image: A schematic illustrates how FeSn-DSACs use p-d orbital hybridization and a locally negatively charged interface to accelerate ORR while limiting Cl−-induced poisoning of Fe active sites in alkaline seawater. SZABs are attractive for marine energy supply because they are safe, potentially high in energy density and can use abundant seawater as the electrolyte. Yet seawater also brings a problem. At the air cathode, the ORR is slow, and Cl− in seawater can adsorb on Fe active sites, blocking the reaction and accelerating catalyst corrosion.

We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply. AbstractAssessing land use pressure is fundamental to understanding regional sustainability. This study constructs a comprehensive Land Use Pressure Index (L) using remote sensing and socio-economic data from 2000 to 2019 across three dimensions—carbon effects, ecological risks, and landscape stability—with weights objectively determined by the entropy weight method. An Urbanization Composite Index (U) is also developed across demographic, economic, spatial, and social dimensions. We further introduce a local-tele coupling coordination framework incorporating an Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) spatial weight matrix to capture inter-city spillover effects, extending traditional coupling analysis to include both local and tele-coupling interactions.

With support from U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Texas-based company Element3 has launched the first domestic lithium mining project in 50 years. This achievement is likely to have a big impact, turning the United States from a net importer of lithium to a country well on the path to greater energy independence, national security, and economic strength. The milestone, in February 2026, came less than a year after DOE launched the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility, or METALLIC, in April 2025. The facility builds on DOE demonstration testbeds to speed technologies that strengthen the nation's supply chain of minerals critical to the technology, transportation, and defense industries. It provides experts and tools to de-risk development of these critical minerals technologies.

Diffuse laser cooling (DLC) provides a compact, robust, and scalable approach to generating cold-atom ensembles, offering significant potential for ground-based and spaceborne microwave atomic clocks. However, the performance of DLC systems remains limited by the weak atom-light interaction arising from their relatively low atomic density. This limitation is characterized by the optical density (OD), which quantifies the effective interaction strength between the atomic ensemble and the probe light and strongly influences the achievable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Although quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) DLC extends the probe interaction length and improves atomic utilization, increasing the local atomic density within the interrogation region remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate a magnetically enhanced quasi-1D DLC system that simultaneously maintains the extended interaction length and increases the atomic density through a two-dimensional magnetic-field gradient.