bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Financial Incentives and Nurse Coaching to Enhance Diabetes Outcomes (FINANCE-DM): a trial protocol
Authors: Egede Leonard E , Walker Rebekah , Williams Joni S , Knapp Rebecca , Dismuke Clara Elizabeth , Davidson Tatiana , Campbell Jennifer A
Published: December 2020

Introduction

Given the burden of diabetes in ethnic minorities and emerging data on the efficacy of financial incentives in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), it is critical to examine the efficacy of financial incentives across and within racial/ethnic groups.

Methods and analysis

This trial is an ongoing 5-year, randomised clinical trial designed to test the efficacy of a Financial Incentives And Nurse Coaching to Enhance Diabetes Outcomes (FINANCE-DM) intervention composed of (1) nurse education, (2) home telemonitoring and (3) structured financial incentives; compared with an active control group (nurse education and home telemonitoring alone). The study also will evaluate whether intervention effects are sustained 6 months after the financial incentives are withdrawn (ie, 18 months post-randomisation) and whether the intervention is differentially efficacious across racial/ethnic groups. Participants will include 450 adults with a clinical diagnosis of T2DM and HbA1c of 8% or higher who self-identify as White, African American or Hispanic. Participants will be randomised to one of two groups: the FINANCE intervention or Active Control. The location and setting of this study include primary care clinics at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee, WI and community partner sites affiliated with the Center for Advancing Population Science at MCW.

Ethics and dissemination

This trial was approved by IRB at MCW under PRO00033788.

Trial registration number

Registration for this trial on the United States National Institute of Health Clinical Trials Registry can be found under ID: NCT04203173 and online (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04203173?id=NCT04203173&draw=2&rank=1).
Acupuncture for menstrual migraine: a systematic review
Authors: Yang Mingxiao , Du Ting , Long Hulin , Sun Mingsheng , Liang Fanrong , Lao Lixing
Published: December 2020

Background and objective

In clinical practice, the evidence of acupuncture used as a treatment for migraine without aura is employed interchangeably to guide treatment for menstrual migraine. However, its effect and safety are not substantiated. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture on the frequency and pain intensity of menstrual migraine.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and other two Chinese databases from their inception to 1 May 2019. This study included randomised controlled trials of women with menstrual migraine receiving acupuncture or a valid control. Two reviewers independently completed study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment. We combined data with a fixed-effect model in RevMan. Clinical outcomes included migraine frequency and duration, headache intensity, and adverse events.

Results

Thirteen studies with 826 subjects were included, 9 of which had data suitable for meta-analyses. Current evidence showed that acupuncture was not superior to sham acupuncture in reducing monthly migraine frequency and duration, average headache intensity, and analgesic use at completion of treatment or follow-up. Pooled data demonstrated a significant improvement in mean headache intensity in the acupuncture group compared with drugs. However, all studies were underpowered and associated with moderate to high risk of bias. No serious adverse event was related to acupuncture treatment.

Conclusions

There is no convincing evidence to support the use of acupuncture in treating menstrual migraine. Acupuncture cannot yet be recommended to patients with menstrual migraine until more solid evidence is produced.

Trial registration number

CRD42019119337.
Palliative care pain control: inpatient consultation versus corounding models compared
Authors: Ng Chang Zhi , Cheung Yin Bun , Koh Audrey Rui Xuan , Teo Han Rou , Mok Natalie Kah Mun , Yang Grace Meijuan
Published: December 2020

Background

Compared with the current inpatient consultation model, a novel corounding model of care whereby palliative specialists round with oncology teams, increases healthcare collaboration and may improve quality of care for inpatients. Whether this translates to better pain control for patients is unexplored.

Objective

To determine whether the corounding model provides better pain control compared with the consultation model for cancer inpatients.

Methods

Cancer patients with moderate or severe pain severity during the admission were included in this observational study. Pain severity was determined using electronic records. Improvement to mild or no pain by day 3 of identification of moderate or severe pain was defined as good pain control and proportion of admissions achieving this was compared between models.

Results

A total of 142 and 128 admissions admitted under the consult and corounding model, respectively, had moderate or severe pain. The proportion of patients that achieved good pain control was 77.3% (99/128) and 71.8% (102/142) in the corounding and consult model, respectively. The difference in proportion of admissions achieving good pain control was significantly higher in the corounding model after adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics (unadjusted OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 0.77 to 2.33; adjusted OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.19 to 4.26).

Discussion

The odds of achieving good pain control was significantly better in the corounding model. However, the mechanism behind this is unexplored. This study can serve as precedence for future studies evaluating the corounding model of care.
Harmful consequences of COVID-19 fear in patients with cancer
Authors: Sutcuoglu Osman , Yazici Ozan , Ozet Ahmet , Ozdemir Nuriye
Published: December 2020

The rapid spread of COVID-19 infection and its negative effects on human health caused a great change in oncology practice. Although oncologists respond quickly to this change, anxiety caused by pandemics in some patients prevented cancer treatment. Although patients know that delaying cancer treatment can be life-threatening, they are concerned about contacting the hospital because they are afraid of becoming infected with COVID-19. Here, we would like to present three patients with delayed admission to the hospital to draw attention to the harmful consequences of COVID-19 fear in the community. These patients with cancer-related anxiety may exaggerate protective attitudes during the pandemic process, leading to delayed oncological treatment and poor prognosis of the patient.
New understanding on the principle of earthquake
Authors: Lu Kunquan , Cao Zexian
Published: December 2020

Earthquake is a natural disaster that causes enormous losses to human society and its prediction is a major scientific challenge widely concerned by the society. However, the mechanism of earthquake is far from clear, and the mainstream view in the international seismology community is that earthquakes are unpredictable. Based on some new concepts and new knowledge developed in physics, this study scrutinizes the incubation and occurrence of earthquake from a novel perspective, and introduces a new understanding of earthquake principle. It is found that the view of earthquake unpredictability originates from the incorrect understanding of both earthquake principle and the self-organized criticality (SOC). That is to say, earthquake is consistent with the laws of SOC, which means it would be impossible to make a medium- or long-term prediction, yet the short-term prediction should still be possible. The preconditions for successful prediction include understanding correctly of earthquake principle, obtaining sufficient characteristic precursory information, and gathering relevant geological data. Traditional seismology is based on the solid continuum mechanics which holds the view that earthquakes are caused by brittle fracture of crustal rocks through the so-called “elastic rebound” mechanism. This point of view is seriously inconsistent with many field observations, cannot account for many seismic phenomena. It therefore cannot obtain and understand the earthquake precursory information correctly, and naturally reach the false conclusion that earthquake is unpredictable. Based on the simple fact that the crust is composed of rock blocks with fault gouges filling in between them, we treat the crust as a discrete system and understand the earthquake incubation process by means of granular physics. The new understanding gained is that the tectonic force propagates through force chains formed by the rock blocks, and the rock blocks move in the manner of stick-slip. Furthermore, by carefully analyzing how the strength of crustal rocks and the distributions of tectonic force vary with depth, we propose that the physical mechanism of earthquake is plastic sliding of rock and a jamming — unjamming transition of rock motion. Our novel theory on the earthquake principle and the earthquake processes can explain many seismological phenomena that could not be understood in terms of traditional seismology, such as the heat-flow paradox and the cause of deep-focus earthquake, etc. Based on this new understanding of earthquake principle, we put forward suggestions on how to obtain the earthquake precursory information correctly, so as to realize the goal of short-term prediction of earthquake.
Corneal damage effects induced by infrared optical parametric oscillator radiation at 3743 nm
Authors: Jiao Luguang , Wang Chao , Zhang Kaizeng , Wang Jiarui , Yang Zaifu
Published: December 2020

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the corneal damage effects induced by mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator (OPO) radiation. Experiments were performed to determine the corneal damage thresholds of New Zealand white rabbit at the wavelength of 3743[Formula: see text]nm for exposure durations of 0.1[Formula: see text]s, 1.0[Formula: see text]s and 10.0[Formula: see text]s. Through slit-lamp biomicroscope and histopathology, corneal injury characteristics were revealed. The damage thresholds were 3.73[Formula: see text]J/cm2, 7.91[Formula: see text]J/cm2 and 31.1[Formula: see text]J/cm2, respectively, for exposure durations of 0.1[Formula: see text]s, 1.0[Formula: see text]s and 10.0[Formula: see text]s. The damage data was correlated by an empirical equation: Radiant exposure at the [Formula: see text] duration,[Formula: see text] where the units of radiant exposure and exposure duration were J/cm2 and second. At near-threshold level, corneal injuries at 1 h post-exposure mainly involved the epithelium, and the epithelium damages repaired at 24-h post-exposure. There are sufficient safety margins between the damage thresholds and the maximum permitted exposures from current international laser safety standard IEC 60825-1.
Benchmarking as a Public Health Strategy for Creating Healthy Food Environments: An Evaluation of the INFORMAS Initiative (2012–2020)
Authors: Sacks Gary , Kwon Janelle , Vandevijvere Stefanie , Swinburn Boyd
Published: December 2020

Diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity are the leading contributors to poor health worldwide. Efforts to improve population diets need to focus on creating healthy food environments. INFORMAS, established in 2012, is an international network that monitors and benchmarks food environments and related policies. By 2020, INFORMAS was active in 58 countries; national government policies were the most frequent aspect benchmarked. INFORMAS has resulted in the development and widespread application of standardized methods for assessing the characteristics of food environments. The activities of INFORMAS have contributed substantially to capacity building, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and policy evaluation in relation to creating healthy food environments. Future efforts to benchmark food environments need to incorporate measurements related to environmental sustainability. For sustained impact, INFORMAS activities will need to be embedded within other existing monitoring initiatives. The most value will come from repeated assessments that help drive increased accountability for improving food environments.
How Light Passes Through Ordered Macroporous Photonic Crystals Immersed in Solvents
Authors: Lonergan Alex , Hu Changyu , O'Dwyer Colm
Published: December 2020

Understanding light transmission through 3D macroporous photonic crystals is essential for linking their optical characteristics to any application, particularly when immersed in solvents. We examined TiO2 and SnO2 IOs in a series of common solvents to fix existing issues in Bragg-Snell theory and the definition of the photonic crystal unit cell and pore infilling. Using a comprehensive angle-resolved light transmission study coupled to microscopy examination of the IO structure, we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that low fill factors are caused by porous material infilling all interstitial vacancies of the colloidal opal template, instead of complete filling of most interstitial voids. By also including an optical interference condition for inverse opals with a larger effective refractive index than their substrate, the optical data for macroporous photonic crystals are now consistent with microscopy measurements. This analysis provides an accurate correlation between the true response of a macroporous photonic crystal to tits primary properties including the index contrast with a solvent, infilled structure and the unit cell definition, and the directionality of the photonic band gap. As control in functional porous and ordered photonic materials has broadening to include biosensing and energy storage for example, a comprehensive and consistent description of how light passes through ordered macroporous photonic crystal structures is an important requirement.

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Review of the Safety of Aged Li-Ion Batteries As a Function of Aging Protocol and Abuse Method
Authors: Preger Yuliya , Torres-Castro Loraine , Langendorf Jill , Lamb Joshua , Chalamala Babu R.
Published: December 2020

High voltage and energy density have increased the use of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) in many applications, including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid-tied energy storage systems (ESS). However, with increasing energy density and installation size come heightened concerns about safety, including the risk of thermal runaway and serious fires. To understand the risks and outcomes of LiB failure, numerous studies have examined the response of fresh cells to mechanical, electrical, and thermal abuse. However, given the expected lifetime of LiBs, it is critical to consider the abuse response of aged cells. In this presentation, we review previous results on the abuse of aged cells to facilitate understanding of how aging conditions (such as temperature and cycle rate) and abuse methodology (including calorimetry, short circuit, and overcharge) impact key metrics of safety relative to fresh cells. In general, the conditions used to produce aged cells in these studies have involved extreme temperatures. Thus, we also share more recent calorimetry of cells aged to 80% capacity by relatively mild protocols to understand the abuse response of cells from more typical device operating conditions. These results facilitate a more data-informed risk assessment of aged energy storage systems and the development and adoption of appropriate failure mitigation strategies.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.
The Role of Hydrated Alumina Layer on the Incorporation of Electrolyte Species in Anodizing of Aluminum
Authors: Habazaki Hiroki , Takano Tatsuyuki , Kowalski Damian , Kitano Sho , Aoki Yoshitaka
Published: December 2020

Hydration treatment of aluminum is often used for corrosion protection of aluminum alloys and for the formation of dielectric alumina layer in aluminum electrolytic capacitors. Hydrated alumina layer is usually formed by immersing aluminum with and without a porous anodic alumina layer in hot water. The hydrated alumina layer plays an important role in enhancing the corrosion resistance and forming crystalline γ’-alumina in subsequent barrier-type anodic film growth by anodizing. However, the properties of the hydrated layer are not yet well understood. In this study, we examined the influence of anion incorporation properties into the barrier-type anodic alumina films through the hydrated alumina layer, which was formed in hot water.

High purity (99.99%) aluminum plate was used in this study. After electropolishing in a HClO4–ethanol mixed solution below 283 K, a hydrated alumina layer was formed by immersing the electropolished aluminum in hot water (95ºC) for 10 min. The resultant hydrated layer consists of two layers, comprising a flake-like outer porous layer and a relatively dense inner layer. The thickness of the hydrated layer was ~430 nm. Then the aluminum with the hydrated layer was anodized in boric acid and tungstate electrolytes to grow the barrier-type anodic films. When the boric acid electrolyte was used, boron species were incorporated into the outer part of the barrier-type anodic films through the hydrated alumina layer. In contrast, no incorporation of tungsten species into the barrier-type anodic film through the hydrated layer occurred in the tungstate electrolyte. Phosphate anions are known to be incorporated into the 70% of the film thickness in the anodic amorphous alumina film, but in the present study, phosphate anions were not incorporated into the barrier-type anodic films through the hydrated layer. It is likely from the GDOES elemental depth profile analysis suggests that the inner hydrated layer becomes a barrier for the incorporation of tungsten and phosphorus species. Thus, apparently, the inner hydrated alumina layer has cation-selective permeation properties so that anion incorporation is limited. In boric acid electrolyte, the acid dissociation is limited, and non-charged boric acid species can be penetrated through the hydrated layer.
Adhesive Property of Aluminum Oxide Formed By High Temperature Anodizing
Authors: Nakajima Daiki , Saito Sohei , Oya Yoshiyuki , Suzuki Shinobu
Published: December 2020

Aluminum and its alloys have been widely used various situations because of their light weight, specific strength, heat conductivity. Surface treatment can impart corrosion protection, hardness, coating film adhesion and others to aluminum. Anodizing is one of the most important surface finishing processes of aluminum. In recent years, technology to use multimaterials has been attracting attention to achieve the production of energy-efficient automobiles. In such activities, adhesive bonding is increasingly used in automobile manufacturing. However, the reliability and strength of the joint surface is very important to use adhesive bonding for vehicle such as car, aircraft and motorcycle. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of high adhesive aluminum surface via high temperature anodizing process.

High-purity aluminum specimens (99.99 wt%, 300 µm thick) were ultrasonically degreased in acetone for 10 min. These specimens were immersed in a oxalic acid solution (0.3 M), and then were anodized at a constant current density using a direct-current power supply. After anodizing, the specimens were quickly removed from the electrolyte solution and then washed with distilled water. The surface nanomorphology of the anodized specimens was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The adhesion property of anodized specimen was measured by tape peel test using 90 degree peel test machine.

Figure 1 shows the surface appearance of the specimens covered with a) typical anodic oxide formed by low-temperature anodizing and b) anodic oxide formed by high-temperature anodizing. Anodic oxide formed by high-temperature anodizing had an irregular shape numerous pores due to the chemical dissolution of anodic oxide. These photographs were taken after tape peel test. On the typical anodic oxide, the tape was easily peeled off and no adhesive remained on the surface. On the other hand, the tape adhesive remained on the irregular anodic oxide covered surface fabricated by high temperature anodizing and the strong tape peel strength was measured. High-temperature anodizing causes the intense chemical dissolution. Thus, the anodic oxide which had wide-pore outer layer and intricate inner layer was formed on the aluminum surface by high-temperature anodizing. Adhesive layer of tape might be able to penetrate such anodic oxide. Therefore, the strong peel strength by the anchoring effect was measured on the surface. Although the adhesive mechanism has not been clear in detail, this surface treatment technique has a potential for the fabrication of composite material which is consist of aluminum and another material．

Figure 1
(Invited) Anodic Growth of Oxide Nanotube Layers on Titanium Alloys
Authors: Tsuchiya Hiroaki , Fujimoto Shinji
Published: December 2020

Self-organized nanoporous and nanotubular oxide layers can be synthesized on a wide range of transition metals by anodization in fluoride-containing electrolytes. In particular, self-organized TiO2 nanotubular layers have attracted intense attention due to their diverse fields of applications. Anodization of titanium alloys also has been reported, in order to utilize self-organized oxide nanostructures to biomedical titanium alloys for improved biocompatibility and bone conductivity and also to introduce the other element than titanium into TiO2 nanotube matrix for enhanced performance in various applications. In this presentation, we show anodization of titanium alloys, focusing on composition and microstructure of the alloys.
Effect of Pre-Treatment of AZ91 Mg Alloy on PEO Film Formation
Authors: Kwon Duyoung , Moon Sungmo , Song Pung-Keun
Published: December 2020

This study investigated electrochemical behavior and morphological changes of AZ91 Mg alloy during pre-treatment in hydrofluoric acid solution and its effect on the PEO film formation behavior. The pre-treatment was conducted up to 20 min in 1 M HF solution at 25 ± 1 ℃ and the pre-treated AZ91 Mg alloy was anodically oxidized for the formation of PEO films at 100 mA/cm2 of 300 Hz AC in 0.1 M NaOH + 0.4 M Na2SiO3 solution. The electrochemical behavior of AZ91 Mg alloy during the pre-treatment was studied with immersion time using open-circuit potential (OCP) measurement and in-situ observation of gas bubble formation on the specimen. Surface morphologies of AZ91 Mg alloy after pre-treatment for various durations were examined by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and compositional analyses were performed using Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). PEO film morphologies and properties were analyzed by SEM, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and film thickness measurement. Vigorous generation of hydrogen bubbles were observed upon immersion and its generation rate decreased with immersion time, suggesting the formation of a protective thin film of MgF2 on AZ91 Mg alloy surface. It was also found that β-phase in AZ91 Mg alloy was dissolved during pre-treatment in 1 M HF solution, its dissolution rate significantly decreased after 3 min of immersion time. Growth rate of PEO films on AZ91 Mg alloy largely increased with increasing pre-treatment time and the number and size of defects in the PEO films were reduced by the pre-treatment, representing that more uniform PEO films can be formed on AZ91 Mg alloy by employing the HF pre-treatment process.
Compositional Variations in Nanotubes/Nanopores Formed on Fe(100), Fe(110) and Fe(111) Single Crystals
Authors: Kowalski Damian
Published: December 2020

Anodizing is a high voltage electrochemical conversion process that forms barrier-type oxide layers or self-organized nanoporous/nanotubular structures. So far, alumina-like nanopores and titania-like nanotubes could be successfully synthesized on many valve metals and alloys. Recently, anodizing become possible for base metals such as polycrystalline iron and its alloys. The challenge in anodizing of iron lies in the proper control of corrosion/passivity, which can be successfully realized in organic electrolytes containing small amount of water. 1-3 Anodic nanotubes and anodic nanopores may be formed on polycrystalline iron depending on electrochemical conditions adjusted in anodizing protocol (Fig. 1). The polycrystalline iron is typically composed of the grains having the size of 2-10 mm. The kinetics of metal oxidation as well as oxygen evolution reaction, which is typically observed upon iron anodizing, may depend on the iron facet exposed to the electrolyte. In order to evaluate the dependence of the crystallographic orientation on the formed anodic film structure we investigated anodizing process on iron single crystals, namely Fe(100), Fe(110) and Fe(111). The compositional differences for porous films formed on single crystals were analyzed by means of by high resolution electron microscopy EDS elemental mapping.

References:

H. Habazaki, Y. Konno, Y. Aoki, P. Skeldon and G. E. Thompson, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2010, 114, 18853-18859.

Y. Konno, E. Tsuji, P. Skeldon, G. E. Thompson and H. Habazaki, J. Solid State Electrochem., 2012, 16, 3887-3896.

K. Shahzad, D. Kowalski, C. Y. Zhu, Y. Aoki and H. Habazaki, ChemElectroChem, 2018, 5, 610-618.

Figure 1 Bright field TEM micrograph for FIB cross-section of anodic iron formed at 100V in ethylene glycol electrolyte containing 1.5M H2O and 0.1M NH4F.

Figure 1
Electrochemical Properties of High Nickel NMCA Materials
Authors: PEI BEN , Zhou Hui , Whittingham Stan
Published: December 2020

Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) with high nickel composition are considered as the most promising candidates for the next-generation cathode because of their high reversible capacities (180−250 mAh g−1), high voltage window, and reasonable rate capability. However, the highly reactive Ni4+ ions tend to cause unfavorable side reactions with the electrolyte, which leads to an electrochemical inactive NiO-type rock-salt phase associated with oxygen loss on the surface at the highly delithiated state, degrading the structure of materials. Furthermore, the dramatic lattice contraction in a rather short period after charging to high voltage (>4V) causes cracks along the grain boundaries, which damages the particle integrity, delivering a gradual fading of the reversible capacity and thermal stability during cycling.

Aluminum substitution is an effective strategy to stabilize the lattice structure and suppress oxygen release due to the Al-O bonds are stronger compared to other transition metal-oxygen bonds. To maximum the impact of the Al, a uniform substitution in the host structure is essential. Here we report an in-situ Al substitution strategy for NMC811, which leads to robust layered structures, reducing the phase transition and side reactions on the surface of high nickel NMC materials at the highly delithiated state. This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy, through the Advanced Battery Materials Research Program (Battery500 Consortium)
Unraveling Li-Ion Battery Degradation Modes with Inter-Electrode Thermal Gradients
Authors: Love Corey T. , Carter Rachel E. , Kingston Todd A. , Atkinson III Robert , Parmananda Mukul , Fear Conner , Mukherjee Partha P. , Dubarry Matthieu
Published: December 2020

Li-ion battery degradation and failure are most commonly attributed to SEI (solid electrolyte interphase) growth or metallic lithium plating. We have demonstrated the ability to induce metallic lithium plating after very few cycles (5-10) with a small inter-electrode thermal gradient, maintaining the cathode warmer than the anode,1 36 and 34°C respectively, and deemed this condition, –ΔT. In order to identify the importance of thermal gradient directionality, a +ΔT condition was tested which reliably delivers steady degradation after very few cycles (~10) but without evidence of metallic plating. Notably, isothermal cells held at the thermal average shared by both ΔT conditions (35°C) shows no degradation in the 20 cycle test. Utilizing careful dQ/dV analysis in accordance with the work of Dubarry et al.2, we identify artificial mismatch of the electrodes induced by their thermal offset. When this mismatch is present over several cycles, undesirable degradation of the colder electrode begins to dominate without change in current or cutoff potentials. For the +ΔT this induces a slippage-type failure caused by cathode underperformance and leading to SEI growth, as explained by Dahn and team.3 For the –ΔT, the underperformance of the anode induces plating, as previously demonstrated. The ability to decouple these failure modes presents a promising route for developing accelerated aging strategies and cautions the importance of spatial uniformity in thermal management strategies, especially with slightly elevated temperatures.

Carter, R.; Love, C. T., Modulation of Lithium Plating in Li-Ion Batteries with External Thermal Gradient. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
2018,
10 (31), 26328-26334.

Dubarry, M.; Truchot, C.; Liaw, B. Y., Synthesize battery degradation modes via a diagnostic and prognostic model. Journal of Power Sources
2012,
219, 204-216.

Smith, A.; Burns, J.; Xiong, D.; Dahn, J., Interpreting High Precision Coulometry Results on Li-ion Cells. Journal of The Electrochemical Society
2011,
158, A1136-A1142.
High-Performance Cobalt-Free Nickel-Rich Layered Li[Ni0.9Mn0.1]O2 Cathode Materials
Authors: Aishova Assylzat , Nam Gyeong Won , Sun Yang-Kook
Published: December 2020

With growing demands for low-cost, large-format lithium-ion batteries mainly for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage system (ESS), escalating price and unsustainable supply of cobalt have become increasingly acute.1 Moreover, owing to the toxic nature and an increasing concern for child labor used in ore mining, significant research is being devoted to decrease the share or completely removing cobalt from the current cathode families, particularly in high-capacity Ni-rich layered cathodes which have sufficiently high potential for commercialization.2-5

This study involves a systematic investigation on the Ni-rich Li[Ni0.9Co0.1-xMnx]O2 (x = 0, 0.05, and 0.1) layered cathodes by variation of the Mn to Co content. Remarkably, Co-free Li[Ni0.9Mn0.1]O2 (NM90) exhibits outstanding mechanical and microstructural stability resulted in excellent cycling performance, which outperformed its Co-containing Li[Ni0.9Co0.1]O2 and Li[Ni0.9Co0.05Mn0.05]O2 counterparts. Alongside observations of high voltage and high-temperature stability, Co-free NM90 demonstrate substantially higher capacity retention, increasing the attractiveness of this material for practical application.

To elucidate the impact of the Mn content in Ni-rich cathodes, the characterization techniques such as in-situ XRD, TEM and micro-compression analysis as well as electrochemical measurements have conducted and provided valuable information regarding the intrinsic properties of individual cathode components and their effects on electrochemical performance of the cathode materials.

References

Y.-K. Sun, D. J. Lee, Y. J. Lee, Z. Chen and S.-T. Myung, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces
2013, 5, 11434.

U.‐H. Kim, D.‐W. Jun, K.‐J. Park, Q. Zhang, P. Kaghazchi, D. Aurbach, D. T. Major, G. Goobes, M. Dixit, N. Leifer, C. M. Wang, P. Yan, D. Ahn, K.‐H. Kim, C. S. Yoon and Y.‐K. Sun, Energy Environ. Sci.
2018, 11, 1271.

K.-J. Park, M.-J. Choi, F. Maglia, S.-J. Kim, K.-H. Kim, C. S. Yoon and Y.-K. Sun, Adv. Energy Mater.
2018, 8, 1703612.

U.‐H. Kim, H.‐H. Ryu, J.‐H. Kim, R. Mücke, P. Kaghazchi, C. S. Yoon and Y.‐K. Sun, Adv. Energy Mater.
2019, 9, 1803902.

U.‐H. Kim, L.-Y. Kuo, P. Kaghazchi, C.S. Yoon and Y.-K. Sun, ACS Energy Lett.
2019, 4, 576.
(Invited) Probing the Ultrafast Molecular Transport Kinetics in Microscopic/Second Scale
Authors: Wen Bohua , Deng Zhi , Tsai Ping-chun , Lebens-Higgins Zachary , Piper Louis F.J. , Ong Shyue Ping , Chiang Yet-Ming
Published: December 2020

Today, the electrical power supplies pose increasingly stringent requirements on battery package, for example, ultrafast vehicles charging algorithms and high current power supplies. To enable the optimal combination of energy and power capability, it is essential to understand kinetic barriers at all applicable length scales and time scales. On the length scale, we developed single electrode particles of ~25 µm size of a few nAh and adopted it to zoom in the transport of the molecules within the solid|liquid interface, excluding the complicated factors from typical composite electrode microstructures. The particle level electrodynamic measurements conducted in varied electrolyte compositions, reveal the anion group effects in charge transport, which leads to a significantly higher materials utilization during fast charge/discharge in both the single-particle measurements and on macroscopic composite electrodes. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations identify the preferred solvation structures of the liquid electrolytes, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations of their binding energies reveal the origin of the anion group effect. The anion dependence and the solvation lead to the fast kinetics at the interface. On the time scale, we probed the ultrafast transport algorithm with high-frequency modulation. A modulated DC pulse charging and discharging with high-frequency waveforms (up to ~ MHz) are performed to investigate the interfacial transport. This study reveals a possible mechanism by which ion transport kinetics in a lithium-ion battery are responsive to megahertz frequency excitation. Such algorithms are aiming to improve active material utilization as well as cycle life dramatically.

This work was supported as part of the NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award # DESC0012583.
A Dilatometric Study of Graphite Electrodes during Cycling with X-Ray Computed Tomography
Authors: Michael Harry , Brett Dan , Shearing Paul R.
Published: December 2020

Since the 1970s, electrochemical dilatometry (ECD) has been used to investigate the dilation of layered host materials due to the intercalation of guest ions, atoms or molecules , but to date has not been extensively applied to Li-ion batteries (LiBs) [1][2]. Understanding how commonly adopted anodes dilate and degrade in LiBs using ECD can be of critical value in improving the battery. Cathode materials also undergo volume changes during cycling, the extent of which is dependent on their stoichiometry and structure. However, the influence of cathode material dilation and contraction on battery performance, and overall cell dilation is often neglected [3].

Graphite is the mostly widely used commercial anode material in LiBs because of its high coulombic efficiency and cycling performance. However, prolonged cycling of LiBs has a deleterious effect on the graphite electrode’s durability. The present study uses correlative ECD to reveal the thickness changes of the electrode during cycling, alongside X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT). X-ray CT provides additional visual corroborative evidence of the morphological changes that occur during cycling and explains changes in dilatometric measurements. X-ray CT is also used to acquire images of cycled and uncycled graphite electrodes for simulations exploring how continuous dilation and contraction impact electrode porosity and tortuosity.

To date, there is no research to our knowledge combining in-situ ECD with X-ray CT and image-based modelling. In this presentation, the structural changes that graphite undergoes during dilation and contraction will be explored, and the consequences that continuous dilation and contraction has on morphological properties, namely porosity and tortuosity will be explained.

References:

Sauerteig, D., Ivanov, S., Reinshagen, H. & Bund, A. Reversible and irreversible dilation of lithium-ion battery electrodes investigated by in-situ dilatometry. J. Power Sources
342, 939–946 (2017).

Winter, M., Wrodnigg, G. H., Besenhard, J. O., Biberacher, W. & Novák, P. Dilatometric Investigations of Graphite Electrodes in Nonaqueous Lithium Battery Electrolytes. J. Electrochem. Soc.
147, 2427 (2000).

Persson, J. V, Danzer, M. A., Bauer, M., Wachtler, M. & St, H. Understanding the dilation and dilation relaxation behavior of. 317, 93–102 (2016).

Figure 1
Three-Dimensional Imaging and Interface Analysis of Battery Materials Via Plasma FIB-SEM
Authors: Zhang Minghao , Liu Zhao , Shojaee S. Ali , Winiarski Bartlomiej , Doux Jean-Marie , Lemmens Herman , Meng Shirley Shirley
Published: December 2020

In the past decades, the rapid growth of electric vehicles and consumer electronics market leads battery technology to attract significant attention. In order to further advance battery technology, in-depth understanding on the electrode and interface structure of battery materials are essential. Focused ion beam – scanning electron microscope is an analytical method combines ion beam for materials processing and electron column for imaging. It enables both 2D interface analysis and 3D imaging capability as well as multimodal information collection, which is an effective analytical approach for battery structure analysis.

To date, conventional Ga+ FIB-SEM has been widely employed for battery materials development including interface/interphase characterization, 3D quantification and simulation analysis. However, Ga+ FIB materials removal efficiency limits its capability to access representative area and volume in some battery materials systems, e.g. electrode with tens of micron particle size. In addition, the reactive property of Ga+ ion with alkali metals, e.g. Li metal, results in the complex experimental procedure to limit the Ga+
contamination during FIB-SEM characterization.

Recently, the emerging Plasma FIB-SEM (PFIB-SEM) technology has been developed with different ion source and high removal efficiency. It promises great potential for battery materials characterization, due to accessing representative 2D area and 3D volume via 40 times faster (than Ga+ system) milling rate as well as enabling Ga+ free sample preparation on advanced battery system with alkali metal electrode through non-reactive ion source (Xe+ and Ar+ ion). In this presentation, PFIB-SEM has been used to perform 2D interfacial structure analysis and 3D imaging on different battery systems. First, to evaluate the performance of plasma ions processing with Ga+ reactive battery system, lithium metal was selected for the study. Furthermore, the interfacial structure between Li-metal and sulfide based solid electrolyte in all solid-state battery system was investigated. In order to demonstrate the capability of accessing large representative 3D volume through PFIB-SEM, the microstructure of thick NMC 811 cathode (>100 µm field of view with > 70 µm thickness) was selected for 3D reconstruction and quantification. The microstructural characteristics extracted from representative 3D volume helps the understanding of correlation between electrode microstructural evolution and performance deterioration.

The success demonstration of PFIB-SEM opens up exciting opportunities for exploring both current and future generation advanced battery technologies, which is expected to become a critical analytical approach for battery development.
Ultrahigh Power and Energy Density in Partially Ordered Lithium-Ion Cathode Materials
Authors: Ji Huiwen , Cai Zijian , Wu Jinpeng , LIU Jue , Kwon Deok-Hwang , Urban Alexander , Ceder Gerbrand
Published: December 2020

Conventional Li-ion cathodes are stoichiometric intercalation materials (e.g., LiCoO2, NCM, LiMn2O4). We will present here our efforts to make high capacity, high rate materials based on the earth abundant Mn redox center by partially disordering a cation-excess spinel. In an ordered spinel, the two-phase reaction that occurs at low voltage (~2.7 V) is not only intrinsically slow, but also detrimental to the structural stability because of the large difference in lattice constant between the two end points (cubic and tetragonal phases)1. Recently, Li-excess cation disordered rock salt materials have shown remarkable cycling performance-large capacities and high energy densities2,3. We applied the Li-excess strategy to the spinel structure to synthesize metal-excess, Li-excess partially-disordered spinels. Disorder is induced to remove the two-phase region, and metal excess and Li-excess is used to create high mobility Li-ions and enablement of O-redox. Two partially disordered spinels with compositions between spinel and rocksalt stoichiometry are presented4: Li1.68Mn1.6O3.7F0.3 (LMOF03) and Li1.68Mn1.6O3.7F0.3 (LMOF06). A remarkably high specific energy density greater than 1,100 Wh kg–1 (and capacity >360 mA h g–1) can be achieved in LMOF03, with nearly half of the capacity coming from oxygen redox. On top of that, facilitated by the beneficial spinel-like cation order and the elimination of two-phase reactions, both LMOF03 and LMOF06 show a very high rate capability with a capacity larger than 100 mA h g-1 at 20 A g-1. Our strategy of combining Li-excess and cation over-stoichiometry in a spinel structure to enable high energy and power at the same time can also be applied to other materials.

1 Thackeray, M. M., David, W. I. F., Bruce, P. G. & Goodenough, J. B. Lithium insertion into manganese spinels. Materials Research Bulletin
18, 461-472 (1983).

2 Lee, J. et al. Reversible Mn 2+/Mn 4+ double redox in lithium-excess cathode materials. Nature
556, 185 (2018).

3 Lee, J. et al. Unlocking the potential of cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable lithium batteries. Science
343, 519-522 (2014).

4 Ji, H. et al. Ultrahigh power and energy density in partially ordered lithium-ion cathode materials. Nature Energy, doi:10.1038/s41560-020-0573-1 (2020).
(Invited) Coulombic Self-Ordering upon Charging a Large-Capacity Layered Cathode Material
Authors: Yamada Atsuo , Okubo Masashi , Delmas Claude
Published: December 2020

Lithium- and sodium-rich layered transition-metal oxides have recently been attracting sig- nificant interest because of their large capacity achieved by additional oxygen-redox reac- tions. However, layered transition-metal oxides exhibit structural degradation such as cation migration, layer exfoliation or cracks upon deep charge, which is a major obstacle to achieve higher energy-density batteries. Here we demonstrate a self-repairing phenomenon of stacking faults upon desodiation from an oxygen-redox layered oxide Na2RuO3, realizing much better reversibility of the electrode reaction. The phase transformations upon charging A2MO3 (A: alkali metal) can be dominated by three-dimensional Coulombic attractive interactions driven by the existence of ordered alkali-metal vacancies, leading to counter- intuitive self-repairing of stacking faults and progressive ordering upon charging. The coop- eratively ordered vacancy in lithium-/sodium-rich layered transition-metal oxides is shown to play an essential role, not only in generating the electro-active nonbonding 2p orbital of neighbouring oxygen but also in stabilizing the phase transformation for highly reversible oxygen-redox reactions.
(Invited) Novel Disordered Rocksalt Electrodes for Safe, Fast Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Liu Haodong , Zhu Zhuoying , Xin Huolin , Lu Jun , Liu Ping , Ong Shyue Ping
Published: December 2020

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with high energy density that can be safely charged and discharged at high rates are desired for electrified transportation and other applications. In this talk, I will report the discovery of novel disordered rocksalt oxides (DRSOs) electrodes with near-optimal intercalation potentials for safe, fast-charging batteries. In particular, we will demonstrate that the outstanding electrochemical performance of these DRSO electrodes can be attributed to a hitherto undiscovered redistributive lithium intercalation reaction with low energy barriers. Beyond the immediate practical applications, the discovery of this novel high-rate intercalation reaction opens a completely new space for the search of metal oxide electrodes for fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries.