13 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY 2026 EMERGING TECHNOLOGY BETTER BATTERIES OUT OF RUST Materials scientists at Saarland University, Germany, are working to develop environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries that contain substances such as nickel and cobalt. By introducing finely dispersed iron oxide into tiny hollow carbon spheres developed at the University of Salzburg, the Saarland team achieved some promising results—higher storage capacities using materials that are both readily available and less environmentally damaging. Known as carbon spherogels, these new materials are nanometer-sized units around 250 nm in diameter that offer a large surface area and high electrochemical capacity. “The challenge for us is to use chemical synthesis to fill the cavity inside these spheres with suitable metal oxides,” says researcher Stefanie Arnold. After a set of initial experiments with titanium dioxide, the team decided to try iron oxide. Using a scalable synthesis method based on iron lactate, the Salzburg team was able to integrate different quantities of iron into the carbon framework of the hollow spheres, producing robust porous networks with evenly distributed iron nanoparticles. Yet more research is needed before this mechanism can be used on an industrial scale. The activation process needs to be faster so that batteries can reach their maximum storage capacity sooner. In addition, the iron oxide-filled carbon spherogels are currently used as the battery anode but a suitable cathode still needs to be developed to obtain a complete cell. The new material will also be tested for sodium-ion batteries. www.uni-saarland.de. MAGNESIUM-AIR BATTERY USES METAL-FREE CATHODE Researchers at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, are making improvements to magnesium-air (Mg-O2) rechargeable batteries, which consist of a carbon-based cathode, a magnesium-metal anode, and a magnesium chloride-containing electrolyte. This battery design uses atmospheric oxygen as the active material at the cathode and enables construction of highcapacity batteries at low cost. EMEREGNEINRG YTETCRHENDOSLOGY Although the theoretical performance of magnesium-air batteries is almost identical to that of lithium-air batteries, the presence of chloride ions can induce internal chlorination, leading to reduced performance. The research team is conducting a new study that introduces a nitrogendoped porous graphene cathode with strong resistance to chloride attack. They fabricated an all-solid-state Mg-O2 battery using commercially available magnesium metal as the anode and a polymer gel infused with magnesium chloride as the solid electrolyte. The resulting battery exhibited performance better than that of systems employing platinum-based cathodes. This was attributed to the excellent chloride resistance, high catalytic activity, and porous architecture of the graphene cathode, which efficiently accommodates discharge products and enhances mass transport. The team believes the new design could expand applications for rechargeable batteries, mitigate material supply risks, and serve as an alternative to lithium-based rechargeable battery systems. www.tsukuba.ac.jp. Microstructures of nanoporous graphene samples. Courtesy of Chem. Eng. J., 2026, doi.org/10.1016/ j.cej.2026.174076. Materials scientist Stefanie Arnold aims to find environmentally friendly alternatives for energy storage with the help of hollow carbon spheres. Courtesy of Oliver Dietze/Universität des Saarlandes. BRIEF The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tenn., and Kairos Power, Alameda, Calif., entered a $27 million strategic partnership to accelerate the technology needed to deploy a new generation of advanced nuclear reactors. ORNL will provide expertise and access to specialized facilities to evaluate various aspects of Kairos’ fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor design. ornl.gov.
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