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ReportTrask A, Hanna R, Rhodes A, 2022,
The future of home heating: The roles of heat pumps and hydrogen
, The Future of Home Heating: The Roles of Heat Pumps and HydrogenIn this Briefing Paper, the prospectsfor the future of home heating areanalysed with specific reference toheat pumps and hydrogen heating.The report is based on extensiveliterature surrounding the topic ofdecarbonisation of the heat sectorin the UK and will discuss thevarious advantages, challenges, andtechnicalities surrounding the twotechnologies. The evidence gatheredand discussed culminates in a set ofrecommendations that prioritise keyareas that require addressing overthe course of the next decade.
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Journal articleKonstantinoudis G, Cameletti M, Gómez-Rubio V, et al., 2022,
Regional excess mortality during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in five European countries
, Nature Communications, Vol: 13, Pages: 1-11, ISSN: 2041-1723The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on excess mortality from all causes in 2020 varied across and within European countries. Using data for 2015-2019, we applied Bayesian spatio-temporal models to quantify the expected weekly deaths at the regional level had the pandemic not occurred in England, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. With around 30%, Madrid, Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon (Spain) and Lombardia (Italy) were the regions with the highest excess mortality. In England, Greece and Switzerland, the regions most affected were Outer London and the West Midlands (England), Eastern, Western and Central Macedonia (Greece), and Ticino (Switzerland), with 15-20% excess mortality in 2020. Our study highlights the importance of the large transportation hubs for establishing community transmission in thefirst stages of the pandemic. Here, we show that acting promptly to limit transmission around these hubs is essential to prevent spread to other regions and countries.
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Journal articleVonrueti N, Rao R, Giordano L, et al., 2022,
Implications of Nonelectrochemical Reaction Steps on the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Oxygen Dimer Formation on Perovskite Oxide and Oxynitride Surfaces
, ACS CATALYSIS, Vol: 12, Pages: 1433-1442, ISSN: 2155-5435 -
Working paperKonstantinoudis G, Gómez-Rubio V, Cameletti M, et al., 2022,
A framework for estimating and visualising excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
, Publisher: arXivCOVID-19 related deaths underestimate the pandemic burden on mortality because they suffer from completeness and accuracy issues. Excess mortality is a popular alternative, as it compares observed with expected deaths based on the assumption that the pandemic did not occur. Expected deaths had the pandemic not occurred depend on population trends, temperature, and spatio-temporal patterns. In addition to this, high geographical resolution is required to examine within country trends and the effectiveness of the different public health policies. In this tutorial, we propose a framework using R to estimate and visualise excess mortality at high geographical resolution. We show a case study estimating excess deaths during 2020 in Italy. The proposed framework is fast to implement and allows combining different models and presenting the results in any age, sex, spatial and temporal aggregation desired. This makes it particularly powerful and appealing for online monitoring of the pandemic burden and timely policy making.
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Journal articleZhou Z, Liu L, Liu X, et al., 2022,
Direct combustion of wet/dry solution-impregnated cigarette butts for nano-FeOx synthesis: Effects of combustion conditions and NO reduction ability
, Colloids and Interface Science Communications, Vol: 46Cigarette butts (CBs) were used to synthesize nano-FeOx following a facile and rapid route. This method involves the impregnation of a nitrate solution with CBs and the adsorption of the precursors on the CBs. The wet or dried impregnated CBs were burned under the smoldering or flaming combustion mode to obtain nano-FeOx. This method differs from the cellulose-assisted combustion method as pure organic fuels are not used during the process. Excess energy is required for the sustenance of the combustion of impregnated CB, while the method of combustion of activated cellulose papers is self-sustaining. The physical and chemical characteristics of the nano-FeOx particles were determined under the combustion modes and whether they were dried or not. Flaming combustion of dry-impregnated CB could prepare nano-FeOx with good crystallization, while smoldering of wet-impregnated CB led to good low-temperature redox activities.
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Journal articleRai U, Oluleye G, Hawkes A, 2022,
An optimisation model to determine the capacity of a distributed energy resource to contract with a balancing services aggregator
, Applied Energy, Vol: 306, Pages: 1-22, ISSN: 0306-2619Electricity systems require a real-time balance between generation and demand for electricity. In the past, changing the output of larger generators has been the primary means of achieving this balance, but more recently, smaller distributed energy resources (DERs) are becoming a contributor. As electricity generation becomes more intermittent due to the uptake of renewables, the task of balancing the electricity system is becoming more challenging. As such, there will be a greater need for DERs for grid balancing in future. DERs may be delivered via aggregators for this purpose, where several individual resources are grouped to be traded in contracts with a System Operator (SO). This paper presents a novel framework for DERs aggregators to determine by optimisation the capacity of a generating unit to contract with the SO, using mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP). Results show the site revenue increases between 6.2% and 29.8% compared to the heuristic approach previously employed. Sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the impact of temporal resolution of demand characterisation on results, showing that increased resolution improves accuracy significantly, and reduces the estimate of capacity that the site should contract with the aggregator.
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Journal articleMurguía Burton ZF, Cao XE, 2022,
Navigating mental health challenges in graduate school.
, Nat Rev Mater, Vol: 7, Pages: 421-423, ISSN: 2058-8437Many graduate students experience mental health struggles that lead them to question their place in academia. Two scientists who experienced extreme lows in graduate school reflect on what helped them during their low points, and suggest strategies for everyone to contribute to mentally healthier workplaces in academia.
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Journal articleKatayama Y, Kubota R, Rao RR, et al., 2021,
Direct Observation of Surface-Bound Intermediates During Methanol Oxidation on Platinum Under Alkaline Conditions
, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, Vol: 125, Pages: 26321-26331, ISSN: 1932-7447- Cite
- Citations: 16
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Journal articleCao XE, 2021,
Running a Muddy Road Lit by Burning Straw.
, Anal Chem, Vol: 93, Pages: 15803-15804 -
Journal articleHeydari S, Konstantinoudis G, Behsoodi AW, 2021,
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on bike-sharing demand and hire time: Evidence from Santander Cycles in London
, PLOS ONE, Vol: 16, ISSN: 1932-6203- Author Web Link
- Cite
- Citations: 42
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Journal articleCorby S, Rao R, Steier L, et al., 2021,
The kinetics of metal oxide photoanodesfrom charge generation to catalysis
, Nature Reviews Materials, Vol: 6, Pages: 1136-1155, ISSN: 2058-8437Generating charge carriers with lifetimes long enough to drive catalysis is a critical aspect for both photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic systems and a key determinant of their efficiency. This review addresses the charge carrier dynamics underlying the performance of metal oxides as photoanodes and their ability to drive photoelectrochemical water oxidation, alongside wider comparison with metal oxide function in photocatalytic and electrocatalytic systems. We start by highlighting the disparity between the ps–ns lifetimes of electron and holes photoexcited in bulk metal oxides versus the ms –s timescale of water oxidation catalysis. We go onto review recent literature of the dominant kinetic processes determining photoanode performance, namely charge generation, polaron formation and charge trapping, bulk and surface recombination, charge separation and extraction, and finally the kinetics of water oxidation catalysis. With each topic, we review current understanding and note areas of remaining uncertainty or controversy. We discuss the potential for material selection and examine approaches such as doping, nanostructuring, junction formation and/or co-catalyst deposition to enhance performance. Critically, we examine how such performance enhancements can be understood from analyses of carrier dynamics and propose design guidelines for further material or device optimisation.
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Journal articleBozal-Ginesta C, Rao RR, Mesa CA, et al., 2021,
Redox-state kinetics in water-oxidation IrOx electrocatalysts measured by operando spectroelectrochemistry
, ACS Catalysis, Vol: 11, Pages: 15013-15025, ISSN: 2155-5435Hydrous iridium oxides (IrOx) are the best oxygen evolution electrocatalysts available for operation in acidic environments. In this study, we employ time-resolved operando spectroelectrochemistry to investigate the redox-state kinetics of IrOx electrocatalyst films for both water and hydrogen peroxide oxidation. Three different redox species involving Ir3+, Ir3.x+, Ir4+, and Ir4.y+ are identified spectroscopically, and their concentrations are quantified as a function of applied potential. The generation of Ir4.y+ states is found to be the potential-determining step for catalytic water oxidation, while H2O2 oxidation is observed to be driven by the generation of Ir4+ states. The reaction kinetics for water oxidation, determined from the optical signal decays at open circuit, accelerates from ∼20 to <0.5 s with increasing applied potential above 1.3 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode [i.e., turnover frequencies (TOFs) per active Ir state increasing from 0.05 to 2 s–1]. In contrast, the reaction kinetics for H2O2 is found to be almost independent of the applied potential (increasing from 0.1 to 0.3 s–1 over a wider potential window), indicative of a first-order reaction mechanism. These spectroelectrochemical data quantify the increase of both the density of active Ir4.y+ states and the TOFs of these states with applied positive potential, resulting in the observed sharp turn on of catalytic water oxidation current. We reconcile these data with the broader literature while providing a unique kinetic insight into IrOx electrocatalytic reaction mechanisms, indicating a first-order reaction mechanism for H2O2 oxidation driven by Ir4+ states and a higher-order reaction mechanism involving the cooperative interaction of multiple Ir4.y+ states for water oxidation.
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Journal articleStevenson S, Collins A, Jennings N, et al., 2021,
A hybrid approach to identifying and assessing interactions between climate action (SDG13) policies and a range of SDGs in a UK context (vol 2, 43, 2021)
, DISCOVER SUSTAINABILITY, Vol: 2 -
Journal articleWang S, Toumi R, 2021,
Recent tropical cyclone changes inferred from ocean surface temperature cold wakes
, Scientific Reports, Vol: 11, ISSN: 2045-2322It has been challenging to detect trends of tropical cyclone (TC) properties due to temporal heterogeneities and short duration of the direct observations. TCs impact the ocean surface temperature by creating cold wakes as a “fingerprint”. Here we infer changes of the lifetime maximum intensity (LMI), size and integrated kinetic energy from the cold wakes for the period 1982–2019. We find a globally enhanced local cold wake amplitude 3 days after the LMI of − 0.12 ± 0.04 °C per decade whereas the cold wake size does not show any significant change. Multivariate regression models based on the observed ocean cooling, the TC translation speed and the ocean mixed layer depth are applied to infer LMI and TC size. The inferred annual mean global LMI has increased by 1.0 ± 0.7 m s−1 per decade. This inferred trend is between that found for two directly observed data sets. However, the TC size and the TC destructive potential measured by the integrated kinetic energy, have not altered significantly. This analysis provides new independent and indirect evidence of recent TC LMI increases, but a stable size and integrated kinetic energy.
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Journal articleElvis Cao X, Hong T, Hong S, et al., 2021,
Engineering waveguide surface by gradient etching for uniform light scattering in photocatalytic applications
, Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, Vol: 8In photoreactors, non-uniform light distribution leads to regions either with an overabundance of light or insufficient light irradiation. The integration of light-guiding elements such as waveguides into photocatalytic reactors has been an emerging approach to improve light delivery. However, traditional waveguides with constant surface properties experience an exponential decay in scattering light intensity under side irradiation. This reduces the light propagation length and hinders the scale-up potential. In this work, we derive the relationship between attenuation coefficients with etching time, determine the correlation between etching time and waveguide location for uniform scattering, and experimentally validate different light scattering profiles by engineering the surface roughness distribution of waveguides. We apply a dimensionless number, the coefficient of variation, to characterize the relative light distribution uniformity for gradient-etched, uniform-etched, and unmodified waveguides. Scattering light uniformity via gradient etching is more than 13 times higher than that for uniform-etching. In addition, the light distribution for gradient etching exhibits improved uniformity than other approaches, such as tip coating, physical carving, and engineered pillars. We then evaluate the effect of different light scattering profiles on photocatalytic activities in a photodegradation test for methylene blue, with non-etched, uniform-etched, and gradient-etched waveguides serving as internal light-guiding elements. Gradient-etched waveguides show ∼4 times improvement in photodegradation activity over uniform-etched designs and ∼8 times over non-etched configurations. This result underscores gradient etching for waveguides as a viable approach for precision light delivery to increase the light distribution uniformity, thus enhancing reaction rates for photocatalytic reactors.
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Journal articleCrisan D, Holm DD, Street OD, 2021,
Wave-current interaction on a free surface
, STUDIES IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS, Vol: 147, Pages: 1277-1338, ISSN: 0022-2526- Cite
- Citations: 1
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Journal articleBrondizio ES, Lemos MC, Guan D, et al., 2021,
Global Environmental Change: 30 years of interdisciplinary research on the human and policy dimensions of environmental change
, Global Environmental Change, Vol: 71, Pages: 1-2, ISSN: 0959-3780 -
Journal articleBerrang-Ford L, Siders AR, Lesnikowski A, et al., 2021,
A systematic global stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change
, NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, Vol: 11, Pages: 989-+, ISSN: 1758-678X- Cite
- Citations: 357
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Journal articleThomas A, Theokritoff E, 2021,
Debt-for-climate swaps for small islands
, NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, Vol: 11, Pages: 889-891, ISSN: 1758-678X -
Journal articleCallaghan M, Schleussner C-F, Nath S, et al., 2021,
Machine-learning-based evidence and attribution mapping of 100,000 climate impact studies
, NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, Vol: 11, Pages: 966-+, ISSN: 1758-678X -
Journal articleHuang B, Rao RR, You S, et al., 2021,
Cation- and pH-Dependent Hydrogen Evolution and Oxidation Reaction Kinetics
, JACS AU, Vol: 1, Pages: 1674-1687- Cite
- Citations: 237
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ReportPearce D, Pearce A, Gambhir A, et al., 2021,
Research pathways for net-zero transport
The future is uncertain and there are many different pathways ahead for technology and society. Some, but not all, ofthese pathways will deliver the required amount of decarbonisation to comply with the Paris Agreement. Whilst wecannot know for certain which of these pathways will be chosen, research allows us both to identify the patterns andtrends that can help shape the pathways, and ultimately our future, and to develop the technologies and approachesthat can assist decarbonisation
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Journal articleDucimetiere Y-M, Gallaire F, Lefauve A, et al., 2021,
Effects of spanwise confinement on stratified shear instabilities
, PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, Vol: 6, ISSN: 2469-990X- Cite
- Citations: 8
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ReportChastin S, Jennings N, Toney J, et al., 2021,
Co-benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation actions
, Co-Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Actions -
ReportTrask A, Wills K, Green T, et al., 2021,
Impacts of COVID-19 on the Energy System
, Impacts of COVID-19 on the Energy SystemThis Briefing Paper explores the impactthe COVID-19 pandemic had on the UK’senergy sector over the course of thefirst government-mandated nationallockdown that began on 23 March 2020.Research from several aspects of theIntegrated Development of Low-carbonEnergy Systems (IDLES) programme atImperial College London is presented inone overarching paper. The main aim isto determine what lessons can be learntfrom that lockdown period, given theunique set of challenges it presented inour daily lives and the changes it broughtabout in energy demand, supply, anduse. Valuable insights are gained intohow working-from-home policies,electric vehicles, and low-carbon gridscan be implemented, incentivised, andmanaged effectively.
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Journal articleStevenson S, Collins A, Jennings N, et al., 2021,
A hybrid approach to identifying and assessing interactions between climate action (SDG13) policies and a range of SDGs in a UK context
, Discover Sustainability, Vol: 2, ISSN: 2662-9984In 2015 the United Nations drafted the Paris Agreement and established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all nations. A question of increasing relevance is the extent to which the pursuit of climate action (SDG 13) interacts both positively and negatively with other SDGs. We tackle this question through a two-pronged approach: a novel, automated keyword search to identify linkages between SDGs and UK climate-relevant policies; and a detailed expert survey to evaluate these linkages through specific examples. We consider a particular subset of SDGs relating to health, economic growth, affordable and clean energy and sustainable cities and communities. Overall, we find that of the 89 UK climate-relevant policies assessed, most are particularly interlinked with the delivery of SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and that certain UK policies, like the Industrial Strategy and 25-Year Environment Plan, interlink with a wide range of SDGs. Focusing on these climate-relevant policies is therefore likely to deliver a wide range of synergies across SDGs 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 7, 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 11, 14 (Life Below Water) and 15 (Life on Land). The expert survey demonstrates that in addition to the range of mostly synergistic interlinkages identified in the keyword search, there are also important potential trade-offs to consider. Our analysis provides an important new toolkit for the research and policy communities to consider interactions between SDGs, which can be employed across a range of national and international contexts.
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Journal articleWang S, Toumi R, Ye Q, et al., 2021,
Is the tropical cyclone surge in Shanghai more sensitive to landfall location or intensity change?
, Atmospheric Science Letters, Vol: 22, ISSN: 1530-261XIt has been shown that the proportion of intense tropical cyclones (TCs) has been increasing together with a poleward migration of TC track. However, their relative importance to TC surge at landfall remains unknown. Here we examine the sensitivity of TC surge in Shanghai to landfall location and intensity with a new dynamical modelling framework. We find a surge sensitivity of 0.8 m (°N)−1 to landfall location, and 0.1 m (m s−1)−1 to wind speed in Shanghai during landfall. The landfall location and intensity are comparably important to surge variation. However, based on a plausible range of reported trends of TC poleward migration and intensity, the potential surge hazard due to poleward migration is estimated to be about three times larger than that by intensity change. The long-term surge risk in Shanghai is therefore substantially more sensitive to changes of TC track and landfall location than intensity. This may also be true elsewhere and in the future.
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Journal articleKe Q, Yin J, Bricker JD, et al., 2021,
An integrated framework of coastal flood modelling under the failures of sea dikes: a case study in Shanghai
, Natural Hazards, Vol: 109, Pages: 671-703, ISSN: 0921-030XClimate change leads to sea level rise worldwide, as well as increases in the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones (TCs). Storm surge induced by TC’s, together with spring tides, threatens to cause failure of flood defenses, resulting in massive flooding in low-lying coastal areas. However, limited research has been done on the combined effects of the increasing intensity of TCs and sea level rise on the characteristics of coastal flooding due to the failure of sea dikes. This paper investigates the spatial variation of coastal flooding due to the failure of sea dikes subject to past and future TC climatology and sea level rise, via a case study of a low-lying deltaic city- Shanghai, China. Using a hydrodynamic model and a spectral wave model, storm tide and wave parameters were calculated as input for an empirical model of overtopping discharge rate. The results show that the change of storm climatology together with relative sea level rise (RSLR) largely exacerbates the coastal hazard for Shanghai in the future, in which RSLR is likely to have a larger effect than the TC climatology change on future coastal flooding in Shanghai. In addition, the coastal flood hazard will increase to a large extent in terms of the flood water volume for each corresponding given return period. The approach developed in this paper can also be utilized to investigate future flood risk for other low-lying coastal regions.
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Journal articlePhillipson LM, Toumi R, 2021,
A physical interpretation of recent tropical cyclone post‐landfall decay
, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol: 48, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 0094-8276The decay of landfalling tropical cyclones is important to the damage caused. We examine a simple physically based decay model of maximum surface winds driven by frictional turbulent drag and a modification accounting for partial to complete land roughness. The model fits an algebraic decay with a parameter determined by the ratio of the surface drag coefficient to the effective vortex depth. This parameter has been decreasing from 1980 to 2018. There is also a global mean increase of wind speed 24 h after landfall of +1.13 m/s per decade. We cannot exclude the possibility that this trend is driven by the initial wind speed increase, but it is most likely due to a slowing of the decay. This weaker decay amounts to an additional 7 h of gale force winds for a typical Category 1 at landfall.
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Journal articleCao XE, Kim J, Mehta S, et al., 2021,
Two-Color Duplex Platform for Point-of-Care Differential Detection of Malaria and Typhoid Fever.
, Anal Chem, Vol: 93, Pages: 12175-12180Malaria and typhoid fever are two febrile illnesses prevalent in the tropics that often present overlapping symptoms. In this work, we demonstrate an optical reader-based diagnostics platform for rapid codetection and quantification of two antigen targets: lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for typhoid fever and plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) for malaria infections. We report a limit of detection (LoD) of 5 ng/mL for LPS and 10 ng/mL for pLDH in a spiked serum test. We also validated the duplex test's performance of differentiating malaria infection, typhoid fever infection, and coinfection by testing clinical samples in human serum. Our platform provides the potential for further multiplexing by encoding different color codes to various detection targets. The rapid result (∼15 min), low cost (∼$2), and minimal volume requirement for human serum clinical samples (4 μL) of our diagnostic platform offer great potential for deployment in resource-limited settings to help distinguish common causes for acute febrile illnesses at the point-of-need.
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