Researchers find hidden in-between materials that could improve batteries and solar fuels

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Chemists at the University of Warwick and the University of Birmingham found that materials which briefly form during heating can have useful properties of their own. The team captured a new form of bismuth vanadate, a compound studied for solar hydrogen production, with a different atomic structure and a larger band gap than any known version.

The work treats intermediate phases, short-lived states that standard methods miss, as targets rather than stepping stones. A second hidden material stored large amounts of lithium, pointing to battery applications. The findings appeared in Nature Communications on October 9, 2026.

Why it matters

If these fleeting phases can be stabilized at scale, researchers gain a new route to solar fuel and battery materials beyond conventional synthesis.

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Key Indicators

β-BiVO₄

New bismuth vanadate polymorph

Kinetically stabilized form with significantly larger band gap than known BiVO₄ structures.

Hidden phase with high lithium storage

Another intermediate material stored large amounts of lithium, suggesting battery applications.

Detection techniques combined

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis revealed the phases.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Sebastian Pike

Lead researcher, School of Chemistry, University of Warwick

Led the study and co-authored the Nature Communications paper

Dominik Kubicki

Collaborator, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham

Co-authored the study; contributed to interpreting the materials' properties

Alexandria E. Hands

First author of the study

Lead author on the Nature Communications paper

Organizations Involved

University of Warwick

Research university

Lead institution for the study; designed the precursor molecules and ran the characterization

UK research university whose School of Chemistry led the discovery of the hidden intermediate phases.

University of Birmingham

Research university

Collaborating institution; contributed to analysis of material properties

UK research university whose School of Chemistry co-authored the study.

Nature Communications

Peer-reviewed scientific journal

Published the study on October 9, 2026

Open-access journal published the paper describing the hidden intermediate phases.

Timeline

1 event Latest: 3 days ago

October 2026
Hidden intermediate phases reported in Nature Communications
Latest Publication

Warwick and Birmingham chemists publish discovery of β-BiVO₄ and a lithium-storing phase formed during heating of single-source precursors.
3 days ago

Scenarios

β-BiVO₄ demonstrates efficiency gain in solar water splitting

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The research team and the solar fuels community following bismuth vanadate research

Follow-up studies test β-BiVO₄ in photoelectrochemical water splitting cells. If the larger band gap preserves enough energy to split water while still absorbing visible light, it could match or beat the efficiency of standard BiVO₄, which has been a leading photoanode material for hydrogen production.

Lithium-storing intermediate enters battery prototype testing

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: Battery materials researchers and the study authors

The hidden phase that stored large amounts of lithium gets studied as an electrode material. Researchers would need to stabilize it in bulk quantities and demonstrate cycling performance in a working cell. This would require moving from the crucible to a repeatable synthesis.

Precursor-tracking method expands to new material systems

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Materials scientists assessing the method's generality

Other groups adopt the single-source precursor approach to hunt for hidden phases in different chemical systems. The study's authors note only a few precursors were examined; if the method generalizes, it could become a standard tool for discovering metastable materials across catalysis, electronics, and energy storage.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2009–2023

Perovskite solar cells (2009–2023)

In 2009, Tsutomu Miyasaka used a perovskite crystal, a specific atomic arrangement of a common mineral structure, in a solar cell that reached 3.8% efficiency. The structure turned out to absorb light remarkably well, and researchers worldwide began refining it.

Then

Efficiency climbed quickly through the 2010s as labs adjusted the crystal chemistry.

Now

By 2023, perovskite cells exceeded 25% efficiency in laboratories, rivaling silicon, and became one of the largest fields in solar research.

Why this matters now

Shows that a material's atomic arrangement can define its light-absorbing performance, the same principle behind β-BiVO₄'s new structure changing how it interacts with sunlight.

2004

Graphene isolation (2004)

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov isolated single-layer graphite, called graphene, by peeling layers from graphite with adhesive tape at the University of Manchester. Bulk graphite had been known for centuries, but the single atomic layer showed extraordinary electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties.

Then

Graphene attracted massive research attention and demonstrated properties far beyond those of bulk graphite.

Now

Geim and Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, and the work spawned the entire field of two-dimensional materials.

Why this matters now

A hidden form of a known material with dramatically different properties parallels the discovery of β-BiVO₄, an overlooked structural variant with a different band gap and light response.