Researchers demonstrated a method to switch vanadium electrodes from one-electron insertion to four-electron conversion in aqueous batteries, according to reporting in Nature Materials. The finding addresses a persistent operational challenge in multi-electron battery chemistry.
Aqueous batteries require transferring multiple electrons per transition metal to make efficient use of active materials. Multi-electron transfers typically trigger conversion reactions that prove difficult to manage during operation. The demonstrated approach changes vanadium from a single-electron insertion pathway into a four-electron conversion reaction.
Stefan A. Freunberger of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, located in Klosterneuburg, authored the peer-reviewed work. Freunberger confirmed that the study involves no competing financial or personal interests.
Nature Materials published the version of record online on August 26, 2026, under DOI 10.1038/s41563-026-02714-3, assigning it to pages 1482 to 1483 of volume 25 in the September 2026 issue. The publication cites prior transition metal studies by Jin et al. in 2026, Gungor et al. in 2024, Kim et al. in 2023, Choi and Aurbach in 2016, Oumellal et al. in 2008, and Poizot et al. in 2000.
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