Working toward fluoride batteries: Owing to the low atomic weight of fluorine, rechargeable fluoride-based batteries could offer very high energy density. However, current batteries need to operate at high temperatures that are required for the molten salt electrolytes. Davis et al. push toward batteries that can operate at room temperature, through two advances. One is the development of a room-temperature liquid electrolyte based on a stable tetraalkylammonium salt–fluorinated ether combination. The second is a copper–lanthanum trifluoride core-shell cathode material that demonstrates reversible partial fluorination and defluorination reactions. Science , this issue p. 1144

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent key molecular building blocks leading to carbonaceous nanoparticles identified in combustion systems and extraterrestrial environments. However, the understanding of their formation and growth in these high temperature environments has remained elusive. We present a mechanism through laboratory experiments and computations revealing how the prototype PAH—naphthalene—can be efficiently formed via a rapid 1-indenyl radical—methyl radical reaction. This versatile route converts five- to six-membered rings and provides a detailed view of high temperature mass growth processes that can eventually lead to graphene-type PAHs and two-dimensional nanostructures providing a radical new view about the transformations of carbon in our universe.