batterydata/paper-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Organic–inorganic hybrid electrolytes based on poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (D2000) complexed with LiClO4 via the co-condensation of an epoxy trialkoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane have been prepared and plasticized by a solution of ethylene carbonate (EC)/propylene carbonate (PC) mixture (1:1 by weight). The cross-linked hybrid network shows no solvent exudation and retains a large amount of plasticizer over 70wt.% in stable state. The in situ built in silica network provides the hybrid electrolytes with good mechanical properties. The ionic conductivity of the dry hybrid electrolyte films was enhanced by two orders of magnitude via plasticization, reaching a maximum conductivity value of 4.0×10−3 S/cm at 30°C. Variable temperature 7Li–{1H} magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR demonstrated that the Li+ cations can be complexed by the polymer network as well as by the plasticizing solvents, but not with the incorporated silica network. Furthermore, the 7Li chemical shift change indicated a progressive change in the lithium coordination from lithium-polymer to lithium-solvent with increasing temperatures. The role of the solvents and the mobility of the lithium ions were investigated by pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) NMR measurements to elucidate the behavior of the ionic conductivity.
The use of electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies have been advocated as an efficient way to reduce the intermittency of renewable energy sources in smart grids. However, operating on V2G sessions in a cost-effective way is not a trivial task for EVs. The formation of coalitions among EVs has been proposed to tackle this problem.
Single/dual-atom and cluster metal catalysts, with much higher atom-utilization efficiency, remarkable performance, good recyclability and unique properties, have emerged as a new frontier in energy-related catalysis. In recent years, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated great potential for the targeted creation of single/dual-atom and cluster catalysts, featuring the distinctive advantages of high metal loadings, porous structures and tailorable catalytic sites. In this review, we discuss the key roles and the critical issues of single/dual-atom and cluster catalysts, and the great opportunities furnished by MOFs for the construction strategy. The accessible characterization techniques for single/dual-atom and cluster catalysts will be showcased. Furthermore, we highlight recent advances in the construction and energy applications of MOF-based single/dual-atom and cluster catalysts by taking advantage of structural features of MOFs. Current issues, promising ideas and future prospects for MOF-based single/dual-atom and cluster catalysts are given.
The high resolution distribution of plankton and particles along a transect extending from the coast and across the shelf southwest of Iceland was studied in relation to hydrographic features and chlorophyll a fluorescence in late May 2010–2013 with a Video Plankton Recorder. The different groups of plankton and particles showed distinctive distributional pattern. Decaying organic matter (marine snow) was a very significant component of the system. Calanus finmarchicus stayed generally shallower than egg carrying Pseudocalanus spp. Diel variability in depth distribution of C. finmarchicus was not evident. Ctenophores, jellies and fish larvae were most abundant above ~50m depth. Ctenophores were relatively abundant across the whole transect, while jellies and fish larvae were mainly seen on the landward half of the transect. The data on distribution of copepods (mainly C. finmarchicus) were combined with the results of a numerical circulation model (CODE), thus obtaining an estimate of fluxes of copepods in the area. The results show that C. finmarchicus may be transported by currents both eastwards and westwards along the south coast, while retention on the bank is also possible. Based on the results of the synthesis of the distributional data and the CODE model, it is hypothesized that the populations off the south coast are at least partly self-sustained in the region.
As motor-supplied braking torque is applied to the wheels in an entirely different way to hydraulic friction braking systems and it is usually only connected to one axle complicated effects such as wheel slip and locking, vehicle body bounce and braking distance variation will inevitability impact on the performance and safety of braking. The potential for braking energy recovery in typical driving cycles is presented to show its benefit in this study. A general predictive model is designed to analysis the economic and dynamic performance of blended braking systems, satisfying the relevant regulations/laws and critical limitations. Braking strategies for different purposes are proposed to achieve a balance between braking performance, driving comfort and energy recovery rate. Special measures are taken to avoid any effects of motor failure. All strategies are analyzed in detail for various braking events. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as ABS and EBD, are properly integrated to work with the regenerative braking system (RBS) harmoniously. Different switching plans during braking are discussed. The braking energy recovery rates and brake force distribution details for different driving cycles are simulated. Results for two of the cycles in an ‘Eco’ mode are measured on a drive train test rig and found to agree with the simulated results to within approximately 10%. Reliable conclusions can thus be gained on the economic benefit and dynamic braking performance. The strategies proposed in this paper are shown to not only achieve comfortable and safe braking during all driving conditions, but also to significantly reduce cost in both the short and long term.
Functional microporous conducting carbon with a high surface area of about 1230 m2 g−1 is synthesized by single-step pyrolysis of dead plant leaves (dry waste, ground powder) without any activation and studied for supercapacitor application. We suggest that the activation is provided by the natural constituents in the leaves composed of soft organics and metals. Although the detailed study performed and reported here is on dead Neem leaves (Azadirachta indica), the process is clearly generic and applicable to most forms of dead leaves. Indeed we have examined the case of dead Ashoka leaves as well. The comparison between the Neem and Ashoka leaves brings out the importance of the constitution and composition of the bio-source in the nature of carbon formed and its properties. We also discuss and compare the cases of pyrolysis of green leaves as well as un-ground dead leaves with that of ground dead leaf powder studied in full detail. The concurrent high conductivity and microporosity realized in our carbonaceous materials are key to the high energy supercapacitor application. Indeed, our synthesized functional carbon exhibits a very high specific capacitance of 400 F g−1 and an energy density of 55 W h kg−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in aqueous 1 M H2SO4. The areal capacitance value of the carbon derived from dead (Neem) plant leaves (CDDPL) is also significantly high (32 μF cm−2). In an organic electrolyte the material shows a specific capacitance of 88 F g−1 at a current density of 2 A g−1.
Recently, various sulfur anchoring materials have been implied to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery. Herein, we introduced graphene-like g-C3N4 nanosheets (GCN), a sheet-like material with high nitrogen (N) content of 56wt % and high specific surface area of 209.8m2 g−1, as a host to anchor lithium polysulfides. The composite with 70.4wt % sulfur loading exhibited an initial reversible capacity of 1250mAhg−1 at 0.05C and a discharge capacity of 578.0mAhg−1 at 0.5C over 750 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performances can be attributed to the abundant N atoms in the GCN, which have the ability to anchor lithium polysulfides. Meanwhile, the high surface area of the GCN prevent sulfur, Li2S2 and Li2S from agglomerating. The result demonstrates that the GCN with abundant N atoms and high specific surface area could improve the electrochemical performance of Li-S battery effectively.
The origins and evolution of higher cognitive functions, including complex forms of learning, attention and executive functions, are unknown. A potential mechanism driving the evolution of vertebrate cognition early in the vertebrate lineage (550 million years ago) was genome duplication and subsequent diversification of postsynaptic genes. Here we report, to our knowledge, the first genetic analysis of a vertebrate gene family in cognitive functions measured using computerized touchscreens. Comparison of mice carrying mutations in each of the four Dlg paralogs showed that simple associative learning required Dlg4, whereas Dlg2 and Dlg3 diversified to have opposing functions in complex cognitive processes. Exploiting the translational utility of touchscreens in humans and mice, testing Dlg2 mutations in both species showed that Dlg2's role in complex learning, cognitive flexibility and attention has been highly conserved over 100 million years. Dlg-family mutations underlie psychiatric disorders, suggesting that genome evolution expanded the complexity of vertebrate cognition at the cost of susceptibility to mental illness.
Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) containing boron and nitrogen are prepared from polyacrylonitrile and boron trioxide (B2O3) by using simple electrospinning. The B2O3 introduction into a PAN solution causes a porous structure with stabilized [O]BN functional groups to develop in the processes of stabilization and carbonization. The pore structure and the functional groups such as B atoms and [O]BN introduce synergistic effects by not only increasing the power density but also the energy density, as shown by the results. The energy storage capabilities of the electrode prepared from 20wt% B2O3 added to the PAN solution are as follows: a capacitance of 184.0Fg−1 and an energy density of 18.7–25.2Whkg−1 in the respective power density range of 400–10,000Wkg−1 in 6M KOH electrolyte. Hence, these CNFs exhibit a very promising potential as electrode materials for electrical double-layer capacitors due to their unique microstructure and proper proportion of heteroatoms.
Among various carbon materials, nitrogen doped single walled carbon nanohorns (N-SWCNHs) have a unique structure of clustered conical cages (2–5 nm in diameter and 40–50 nm in length) arranged in dahlia, bud and seed-like configurations. Each conical cage has five pentagons at their tips which act as potential reactive site with their own distinct chemistry. We exploited these reactive sites of N-SWCNHs by preferentially growing germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) onto their conical tips using oleylamine as a mild reducing agent. Therefore, Ge decorated N-SWCNHs (Ge@N-SWCNHs) composite was used, for the first time, as active anode material for lithium ion batteries providing high and stable capacity of 1285 mAh/g at 0.1C after 100 cycles. Our results show that preferential growth of Ge Nanocrystals (NCs) on the tips of N-SWCNHs not only allows high utilization of active material but prevents the aggregation of Ge NCs after multiple cycling. Finally, we highlight the potential role of N-SWCNHs as cheap and industrially scalable conductive host for next generation lithium ion batteries.
Controllable synthesis of mesoporous conductive metal phosphide nanowire arrays is critical for developing highly-active electrodes of alkaline batteries. Herein we develop a simple combined strategy for rational synthesis of mesoporous Co2P nanowire arrays by hydrothermal-phosphorization method. Free-standing mesoporous Co2P nanowires consisting of interconnected nanoparticles of 10–20 nm grow vertically to the substrate forming arrays. High electrical conductivity and large porosity are obtained in the arrays architecture. When characterized as the cathode of high-rate alkaline batteries, the designed Co2P nanowire arrays are proven with good electrochemical performance with a large capacity (133 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1), stable cycling life with a capacity retention of almost 100% after 5000 cycles at 10 A g−1 owing to the mesoporous nanowire structure with short ion/electron transport path. Our synthetic approach can be useful for construction of other porous metal phosphide arrays for energy storage and conversion.
SiO is regarded as one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries due to its high energy density and low cost. However, practical applications of SiO are seriously limited by its low initial Coulombic efficiency. Herein, we report an affordable manufacturing method to synthesize carbon-coated CSiOMgSiO3 Si composites with a secondary superparticle structure and an outstanding initial Coulombic efficiency. The in situ evolution of the MgSiO3 phase through the reaction between MgO and SiO2 contributes to the improved initial Coulombic efficiency. The formation of MgSiO3 consumes the deleterious SiO2 phase within SiO, and MgSiO3 acts as an electrochemically inactive phase that can effectively buffer volume variations of active materials. These attributes and the unique mesoporous superparticle structure lead to a markedly improved electrochemical performance. The resultant CSiOMgSiO3 Si anode exhibits an initial Coulombic efficiency of 78.3%, which, to our knowledge, is the highest value ever reported for SiO-based anodes without prelithiation. This work offers a new strategy for addressing the intrinsic low initial Coulombic efficiency of SiO, paving the way toward the mass production of SiO-based anodes for real applications.
A novel composite of hierarchically porous carbon (HPC) supported PDMcT–PANI (HPC/PDMcT–PANI) was synthesized through an in situ oxidative polymerization. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectra showed that a partial amount of PDMcT was parasitized inside of pores of HPC and some other amount of PDMcT formed interpenetrated fibrous electron donor–acceptor PDMcT–PANI adduct with PANI and distributed onto surface of HPC in HPC/PDMcT–PANI composite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the interconnected nanoporous structure of HPC and formation of PDMcT–PANI adduct significantly influenced the crystal growth and orientation of PDMcT. As confirmed by the cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests, the incorporation of HPC and PANI had significantly improved the electrochemical performance of PDMcT. It was found that the initial discharge capacity of HPC/PDMcT–PANI composite reached 310mAhg−1 and its specific capacity remained 150mAhg−1 after 20 cycles. Moreover, the HPC/PDMcT–PANI composite also showed higher specific capacity and better cycling stability than that of its two binary composites [PDMcT–PANI (291mAhg−1) or HPC/PDMcT (253mAhg−1)].
The morphology of ultrafine particles (UFPs; diameter<100nm) collected on and near major Los Angeles freeways in April 2006 is reported. Samples were size selected with a differential mobility analyzer, collected by a nanometer aerosol sampler, and analyzed using a transmission electron microscope. Typical observed morphologies included aggregates, spheres, irregularly shaped particles, and particles with multiple inclusions. For freeway aerosols with 50nm electrical mobility diameter, most (>90%) electron-opaque particles were surrounded by an electron-transparent material. This suggests that much of these particles were heterogeneously internally mixed. The fraction of UFPs in a given morphology class collected on and at increasing downwind distance from the I-405 freeway was compared. The fraction of aggregates measured 90m downwind of I-405 was significantly less than the fraction measured on the freeway (p-value<0.01). Because aggregates are a primary aerosol (directly emitted), this may indicate that secondary aerosol (formed in the atmosphere) becomes more prevalent with increasing distance from the freeway. The fraction of particles with multiple inclusions measured 90m downwind of I-405 was significantly greater than the fraction measured on the freeway (p-value<0.01). The increase in the number of particles with multiple inclusions with increasing distance from the freeway suggests that dilution does not prevent particles from colliding and merging which may alter the particle size distribution.
A systematic study to reveal the relationship between the surface oxygen-containing functionalities of sub-10-nm GNRs and their electrochemical properties for lithium-ion batteries has been presented. Sub-10-nm GNRs with controlled oxygen-containing groups were synthesized by a green and scalable intercalation-assisted unzipping SWCNTs. Detailed materials characterizations including TEM, XRD, Raman and XPS indicate that KNO3 could be an effective intercalation agent to facilitate the SWCNT unzipping by reducing the strong Van der Waals force attraction of bundled SWCNT. The levels of surface functionalities of sub-10-nm GNR were tuned by carefully controlling the KMnO4 concentration during the unzipping process. The electrochemical analysis suggests that the as-produced sub-10-nm GNR with 31.4 atomic percent (atom %) oxygen-containing functional groups showed the highest capacity of 490.4mAhg−1 after 100 cycles. This work proposed that sub-10-nm GNRs with appropriate oxygen-functional groups can be a promising electrode material for high performance lithium-ion batteries.
The use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as an effective clinical therapy for a number of neurological disorders has been greatly hindered by the lack of understanding of the mechanisms which underlie the observed clinical improvement in patients. This problem is confounded by the difficulty of investigating the neuronal effects of DBS in situ, and the impossibility of measuring the induced current in vivo. In our recent computational work using a quasi-static finite element (FEM) model we have quantitatively shown that the properties of the depth electrode–brain interface (EBI) have a significant effect on the electric field induced in the brain volume surrounding the DBS electrode. In the present work, we explore the influence of the reactivity of the EBI on the crossing electric current using the Fourier-FEM approach to allow the investigation of waveform attenuation in the time domain. Results showed that the EBI affected the waveform shaping differently at different post-implantation stages, and that this in turn had implications on induced current distribution across the EBI. Furthermore, we investigated whether hypothetical waveforms, which were shown to have potential usefulness for neural stimulation but are not yet applied clinically, would have any advantage over the currently used square pulse. In conclusion, the influence of reactivity of the EBI on the crossing stimulation current in therapeutic DBS is significant, and affects the predictive estimation of current distribution around the implanted DBS electrode in the human brain.
In recent years, modifying cathode materials' surfaces become a popular pursuit. This paper reveals a novel spinel LiMn2O4 in situ coated with graphene-like membrane prepared using liquid-polyacrylonitrile (LPAN) as the carbon source. The structure and electrochemical performance of graphene-like membrane-coated spinel LiMn2O4 are investigated systematically. The membrane has a typical graphene-like layer carbon structure that can be applied the LiMn2O4 particles' surfaces in situ without affecting their crystal structure. Moreover, the graphene-like membrane helps to increase the particle size. The electrochemical performance reveals that coating the graphene-like membrane in situ significantly improves the discharge capacity and cycling stability of the spinel LiMn2O4. In particular, the spinel LiMn2O4 coated with a calcined 20 wt% LPAN graphene-like membrane in situ reached 131.1 mAh g−1 at room temperature, and up to 96% capacity is retained after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. The cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectra analyses indicate that the graphene-like membrane does not influence the insertion or desertion of Li+. The improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the decreased manganese dissolution in the electrolyte and the smaller charge transfer resistance generated by the graphene-like membrane coating.
Alpha-MnO2 is an attractive cathode candidate for sodium-ion batteries attributed to its unique one-dimensional 2 × 2 tunnels for facile sodium-ion diffusion, in addition to its incomparable cost advantage. In particular, α-MnO2 shows superior rate capability with silver stabilizing ions at the center of tunnels that improve electrical conductivity. In this work, we directly compare structural transformation of silver-containing α-MnO2 nanorods (Ag1.22Mn8O16-x or L-Ag-HOL and Ag1.66Mn8O16-y or H–Ag-HOL), containing higher and lower concentrations of oxygen vacancies respectively, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The elaborate comparative and statistical TEM studies eliminate concerns regarding generalization errors and facilitate rational structural development of nanorods with improved functionality. It is found that sodium ions favorably diffuse through the area where oxygen vacancies are concentrated, and the samples with more silver ions and fewer oxygen vacancies (H–Ag-HOL) show more significant structural deformation with more inhomogeneous sodiation. The difference in functional electrochemistry coupled with the observed difference in inter- and intra-nanorod inhomogeneous structural evolution emphasizes the significance of the uniform electrical conductivity of the electrode. This work helps to improve the α-MnO2 electrode material for sodium-ion batteries as well as suggesting the importance of delicate statistical approaches for TEM investigations.
An expanded receptor model was applied to identify and apportion the PM2.5 sources that were common to three different environments (personal, indoor: inside school, and outdoor: outside school) resulting in exposure to asthmatic children who attended a school in Denver, CO for children with moderate to severe asthma. Four resolved external sources and three internal sources were resolved from the PM2.5 data for three different environments. Secondary nitrate and motor vehicle emissions were the two largest external sources in this study. Cooking was the largest internal source. A significant influence of indoor smoking on daily personal exposures to particles was observed for those houses in which smokers reside and the environmental tobacco smoke contribution correlated with urinary cotinine levels in these urban schoolchildren. The influence of the high traffic flow outside the school on the indoor air quality was also observed. The identification and apportionment of these sources will support a subsequent investigation of the potency of air pollution sources on asthma severity in children and provide a better understanding of potential mechanisms of asthma exacerbation.
A specialized instrument for assessing the cognition of patients with severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is needed in China.