EES Blog

Following the success of Peer Review Week in September 2016 (dedicated to reviewer recognition) during which we published a list of our top reviewers, we are delighted to announce that we will continue to recognise the contribution that our reviewers make to the journal by announcing our Outstanding Reviewers each year.

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Energy & Environmental Science in 2016, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

We would also like to thank the Energy & Environmental Science board and the Energy community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé.  You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

We are delighted to announce that Dr Wolfgang Tress been selected by the EES Editorial Board as the winner of the 2016 “Energy & Environmental Science Readers’ Choice Lectureship” for his 2015 article, “Understanding the rate-dependent J–V hysteresis, slow time component, and aging in CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite solar cells: the role of a compensated electric field”.

The Lectureship is awarded annually to one outstanding young scientist (within 10 years of receiving their PhD) who has published in the journal. The winner is selected by the EES Editorial Board from a shortlist of authors of the most-read articles from each issue of EES in the previous year.

Wolfgang Tress is currently working as a scientist at LPI, EPFL in Switzerland, with general interests in developing and studying novel photovoltaic concepts and technologies. His research focuses on the device physics of perovskite solar cells; most recently, investigating recombination and hysteresis phenomena in this emerging material system. Previously, he was analyzing and modeling performance limiting processes in organic solar cells.

Dr Tress will give his award lecture at the upcoming International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV 17) meeting taking place in Lausanne, Switzerland from 21-24 May 2017. Register now to join us – the abstract submission deadline for oral presentations is the 8th February 2017.

Read Dr Tress’ Lectureship-winning research:

Understanding the rate-dependent J–V hysteresis, slow time component, and aging in CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite solar cells: the role of a compensated electric field
W. Tress, N. Marinova, T. Moehl, S. M. Zakeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin and M. Grätzel
Energy Environ. Sci., 2015, 8, 995-1004. DOI: 10.1039/C4EE03664F

In celebration of Peer Review Week, with the theme of Recognition for Review – we would like to highlight the top 10 reviewers for Energy & Environmental Science in 2016. They have been selected by the editor for their significant contribution to the journal.

Top 10 reviewers for Energy & Environmental Science
Dr Andrea Listorti, Universita del Salento
Dr Sheng S. Zhang, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Professor Jaephil Cho, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Dr Seth Darling, Argonne National Laboratory
Dr Chengdu Liang, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Professor David Mitlin, University of Alberta
Dr Zhenhai Wen, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dr Kanzunori Takada, National Institute for Materials
Dr Falk Harnisch, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig
Dr Eva L. Unger, Lund University

We would like to say a massive thank you to these reviewers as well as the Energy & Environmental Science board and all of the community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

Harnessing sunlight to produce fuel from CO2

Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to solar fuels such as methane or methanol may be a promising route to sustainably meet our energy needs. Yet many existing photocatalysts suffer from poor product selectivity and efficiency, caused in part by the competing hydrogen evolution reaction that can occur in the presence of water.

Jinlong Gong and colleagues at Tianjin University, China, highlight recent strategies used to improve the adsorption and activation of CO₂ at the catalyst surface – an important and under-researched step in this process – and discuss conditions influencing the reaction pathways leading to the photoreduction products. They also review how chemisorption of the molecule can be enhanced by tailoring properties such as catalyst surface area, surface defects and noble metal co-catalysts, and how factors such as electrolyte pH and CO₂ absorption mode can influence product distribution.

Want to know more? Read this review article online, which is free to access until 6 May 2016:

“CO₂ photo-reduction: insights into CO₂ activation and reaction on surfaces of photocatalysts” by X. Chang et al., DOI: 10.1039/C6EE00383D