bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intercalating Solid State Electrolyte Based Composite Electrode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Irshad Ahamed , Elizalde-Segovia Rodrigo , Jayathilake Buddhinie Srimali , Moy Derek , Plichta Edward J. , Hendrickson Mary A. , Narayanan S. R. 
Published: February 2020

There is a necessity for extending the cycle life and rate capability on lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Prevention of the polysulfide shuttle, suppression of the lithium dendrite formation, and construction of an efficient electrode architecture are the main challenges in advancing Li-S battery technology 1.
In the present work, we introduce an intercalating solid state electrolyte (ISSE) made of nanoparticles of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO). The ISSE is combined with the sulfur to form a composite electrode to enhance the cathode architecture suitable for supporting a high sulfur loading in Li-S electrodes. In addition, we present the improved performance of the ISSE composite cathode with our nonporous mixed conduction membrane (MCM) made of LCO and polymer electrolytes. The feasibility of this concept is shown the discharge and charge curves plot (Fig 1).
In our past studies MCM was found to be effective in suppressing the polysulfide shuttle and therefore provides high capacity retention and extension of the cycle life 2. The MCM layer can be fabricated as thin as 20 microns when prepared using a sacrificial aluminum substrate. We also demonstrate a technique to prepare crack-free sulfur electrodes with different types of carbons. The introduction of ISSE and the implementation on the crack free cathode side reduces or eliminates the necessity of a liquid electrolyte, allowing the diffusion of ions by taking advantage of the intercalation mechanism, this opens the possibility of extending the performance of Li-S to reasonable charge and discharge rates in a solid or hybrid solid-liquid electrolyte configuration.
References
(1) Fan, X.; Sun, W.; Meng, F.; Xing, A.; Liu, J. Green Energy Environ.
2018, 3 (1), 2–19.
(2) Moy, D.; Narayanan, S. R. J. Electrochem. Soc.
2017, 164 (4), A560–A566.

Figure 1
Nanocarbon Composites for Energy Storage Applications
Authors: Ci Lijie 
Published: February 2020

In my talk, I will introduce our recent work on energy storage nanocarbon composite materials. Several structural designs of graphene and nano silicon anode composites were prepared for high energy density lithium ion battery; We also produced double-shell of graphene and artificial solid state electrolytes, such as Li7P3S11(LPS), Li4SiO4, LiAlO2, encapsulated commercial Si nanoparticles structure for LIB anode with excellent cycling stability and superior rate capability. A simple ball milling method was found to be a suitable method to produce nano-sized LiMn2O4and nanocarbon (graphene, carbon nanotubes, or super P) composites for high performance hybrid supercapacitor application. I will also introduce our work using porous nanocarbons as Li host materials for Lithium metal battery application.
Ref:

Ai Q., Ci L., et al., Diamond and Related Materials 88, 60 (2018)

Chen L., Ci L., et al., Journal of Power Sources 392, 116 (2018)

Xu X., Ci L., et al., Electrochimica Acta 276, 325 (2018)

Hou G., Ci L., et al., Journal of Power Sources 386,77 (2018)

Ma X., Ci L., et al., Journal of Materials Chemistry A 6, 1574 (2018)

Ma X., Ci L., et al., Scientific Reports 7, 9642 (2017)

Zhai W., Ci L., et al., Nano Research 10, 4274 (2017)

Feng J., Ci L., et al., Journal of Power Sources 287, 177 (2015)
Surface Modifications on LiCoO2-Based Cathodes for High-Density Lithium-Ion Batteries with Long Cycle Life
Authors: Feng Zhenxing , Holstun Tucker 
Published: February 2020

Commercial rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) use LiCoO2(LCO) as the cathode, which shows relatively low energy capacity (~140 mAh/g) and suffers poor cycle life performance. To develop next-generation LIBs with high voltage, high capacity and long cycle life, surface modifications on cathodes have been applied. We start with thin layers of Li2SrSiO4(LSSO) synthesized from sol-gel method to coat on the LCO surfaces and to test the optimal conditions, namely thickness and annealing temperature, for LIB performances in both half-cell and full cell configurations. LSSO is predicted by theoretical calculation1as the best surface coating but our results show that LSSO alone cannot lead to improved performance at 4.5 V cut-off voltage but a combination of LSSO and Al2O3could yield the best protection and performance. Following a series of electrochemical tests, electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray characterizations, we provide some insights about mechanism in our surface modification.
[1] M. Aykol et al., Nature Communications, 7, 2016, 13779
Oxides of Manganese As Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts
Authors: Roy Indroneil , Wang Qi , Chakrapani Vidhya 
Published: February 2020

The electrolysis of water, or water splitting reaction is one of the cleanest ways of producing hydrogen and oxygen gas for fuel. Electrochemical devices employing these reactions include regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal-air batteries, which have the highest theoretical energy density. Considerable efforts have been dedicated towards improving the energy conversion efficiency of these devices. However, the single main obstacle for achieving this has been the lack of suitable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts that show simultaneous high activity for both oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions during charge/discharge cycles. The overpotential and slow kinetics of oxygen reactions are limiting parameters in the advancement of electrochemical storage devices. Taking inspiration from nature’s photosynthetic process that uses a Mn4O4Ca cluster in photosystem II to catalyze water splitting, we studied the efficiency of various phases of manganese oxide (MnOx) as electrocatalysts for OER and ORR process, including the role of defects on bifunctionality. Cyclic voltammetry was used to prove that Mn2O3 is a bifunctional catalyst by showing high activity for OER and ORR. Next, in-situ UV-Vis absorbance spectroscopy was conducted to track changes in the surface oxidation state as a result of occurring reactions. Finally, we use electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance to track ion intercalation into the material. Results from these studies were used to obtain a structure-defect-function correlation that can improve the design of electrocatalysts with bifunctional properties.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and National Science Foundation, CBET award (No: 1511733), for the partial financial support and Nicholas Smieszek for his assistance with the preparation of this manuscript. I.R, and Q.W also gratefully acknowledge the partial support of Howard P. Isermann fellowship provided by the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at RPI.
(Invited) Interactive Skin Display with Epidermal Stimuli Electrode
Authors: Park Cheolmin 
Published: February 2020

In addition to the demand for stimuli-responsive sensors that can detect various vital signals in epidermal skin, the development of electronic skin displays that quantitatively detect and visualize various epidermal stimuli such as the temperature, sweat gland activity, and conductance simultaneously are of significant interest for emerging human-interactive electronics used in health-monitoring [1,2]. First of all, shape-deformable and self-healing EL displays (SSELD) are presented. Light emitting materials are fabricated by adding a certain amount of a plasticizer to elastomer containing light-emitting phosphors to obtain a viscoelastic composite that undergoes facile shape-deformation and recovery. A capacitive SSELD exhibits frequency-dependent field-induced light emission under alternating current (AC). A SSELD self-recovers its EL within few minutes of electrical failure with more than 100 cycles of failure-recovery operation endurance. By combining with a shape-deformable ionic liquid, a novel fiber display which exhibits excellent shape-deformable and self-healing EL performance. Second, a novel interactive skin display with epidermal stimuli electrode (ISDEE) is demonstrated, allowing for the simultaneous sensing and display of multiple epidermal stimuli on a single device. It is based on a simple two-layer architecture on a topographically patterned elastomeric polymer composite with light-emitting inorganic phosphors, upon which two electrodes are placed with a certain parallel gap. The ISDEE is directly mounted on human skin, which by itself serves as a field-responsive floating electrode of the display operating under AC. The AC field exerted on the epidermal skin layer depends on the conductance of the skin, which can be modulated based on a variety of physiological skin factors, such as the temperature, sweat gland activity, and pressure. Conductance-dependent field-induced electroluminescence is achieved, giving rise to an on-hand sensing display platform where we can directly sense and visualize a variety of human information.
References:
[1] J. H. Lee, C. Park et al. Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 5391 (2016)
[2] E. H. Kim, C. Park et al. Nat. Comm. 8, 14964 (2017)
Multi-Responsive Hydrogel Based Flexible Sensors for Plants/Animals Metabolic Stress Analytics
Authors: Mugo Samuel , Alberkant Jonathan , Yu Nancy , Lu Weihao 
Published: February 2020

Versatile and non-invasive multiresponsive flexible sensor platforms developed in our research group will be demonstrated in this talk. The sensor platforms are fabricated by contact printing on a composite carbon nanotubes/polyaniline conductive flexible films, embedded with multi-responsive (redox, ionic strength, pH) molecularly imprinted responsive polymer hydrogels, highly selective biomimetric molecular receptors.
In this presentation, data highlighting the sensor platforms when applied for dosimetric and real-time monitoring of metabolic stress biomarkers in plants and animals will be discussed.
With standout customization and versatility, the flexible wearable sensors are interfaced to Bluetooth, which transmits data wirelessly to a mobile device, demonstrating their utility for autonomous deployment in health/wellness diagnostics and precision agriculture.
Solar Powered Monitoring System Development for Smart Farming and Internet of Thing Applications
Authors: Chung Wen-Yaw , Luo Reng-Hong , Chen Chien-Lin , Heythem Salhi , Chang Chieh-Feng , Po Chi-Chao 
Published: February 2020

This paper is mainly aimed to develop a solar powered hand-held monitoring system for real-time crop-growth multiple environment parameter sensing and ZigBee-based wireless data transmission for Internet of Thing (IoT) applications.
Regarding the problems of less man-power and difficult farm management in aging farmer population in many countries, in order to assist famers to monitor the status of plant growth and green-house condition in real time, this research focuses on the use of solar panels (5V/240mA 90mm2) and the buck converter IC to charge 18650 Lithium ion batteries used for hand-held monitoring system. The battery output will be coupled to a Low-Dropout (LDO) regulator, then generate a stable voltage to the CC2530 node. Solar panels will be integrated with the rechargeable batteries to yield more efficient power management. This paper proposes a LDO design for 18650 Lithium ion batteries. It will convert a supply voltage from 3.7V into 3.3V for driving the CC2530 and the sensors.
The proposed solar powered system successfully built a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for quality agriculture application by using the ZigBee technology standard and TI’s CC2530 chip. Commercially available sensors were utilized specifically for temperature, humidity, soil moisture, light, chlorophyll, and CO2 monitoring. With the consideration and advantages of low power, low cost and multi-node capabilities, we chose ZigBee-based wireless network to transmit data into the cloud system for further data processing and analysis. When the sensors and Zigbee transmission system are set up, the data obtained through the human machine interface on the host will be sent to the cloud database established by MySQL in XAMPP. The management and data storage of the cloud database are both processed under the phpMyAdmin system. In addition, we use another program in XAMPP - Apache HTTP Server to set up the php website. Finally, this database of the sensing information will be used for assessment and evaluation of the environmental condition, data log recording, risk management and decision making. These resources can feed back to farmer’s cell phones through a decision support system. The experimental design and field test were verified in Tai-Yuan Organic farm located in Tao-Yuan County, Taiwan. The system will have a potential to be deployed into an open-field or green-house based farm to improve the optimized crop cultivation and increase the harvest yield.

Figure 1
Electrodeposition of Co-W Coatings from Acidic-Citrate Solutions for Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Kwiecińska Anna Maria , Kolczyk Karolina , Skibinska Katarzyna , Kutyla Dawid , Zabinski Piotr , Kowalik Remigiusz 
Published: February 2020

The electrochemical deposition of cobalt binary alloys with transition metals has received recently much attention due to some characteristic properties and possible practical applications of the coatings. These alloys, besides useful mechanical properties, exhibit valuable features like high corrosion resistance and low overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction. Among many possible used alloy additives, tungsten seems to be the most promising to improve the catalytic and anti-corrosive properties of cobalt. Furthermore, the electrochemical method of coatings deposition features many advantages compare to other methods, even though the tungsten electrodeposition is very difficult due to its complex chemistry. It is still remains a challenge for many scientists to choose the optimal electrolyte composition and optimal parameters of the electrolysis process to obtain the cobalt alloy with the highest tungsten content.
The present work aims to deposit of thin layered active cobalt alloy cathodes for hydrogen evolution. Electrodeposition mechanism and kinetics of cobalt and tungsten from acidic – citrate solutions was studied by electrochemical methods. In the present investigation, the composition of the electrolyte, potential and current density were changed systematically in ranges within which they significantly affect on the composition and structure of the resulting Co – W alloy. The proper adjustment of the process of electrolysis has a crucial role on the composition and structure of the deposited films, which decide about their electrocatalytic properties. The presence of cobalt and tungsten were confirmed by X-ray spectrofluorometry and electron probe microanalysis. In order to determine the phase composition and the morphology, the obtained coatings were analysed with the use of x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Next the electrochemical properties of the coatings were examined in sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions.
This work was supported by the Polish National Centre of Science under grant UMO-2016/21/B/ST8/00431. The authors would like to acknowledge the COST MP1407 Action for networking.
Compositional and Microstructural Engineering of Transition Metal Phosphides for Improved Electrocatalytic Performance
Authors: Liu Lifeng , Xu Junyuan 
Published: February 2020

Water splitting has been proposed to be a promising approach to renewable energy storage through converting the off-peak solar or wind energy to hydrogen fuels. Presently, one of major challenges facing widespread deployment of water splitting devices is their high cost, which primarily results from the use of precious and scarce noble metal catalysts.
In this talk, I will present our recent efforts towards compositional and microstructural engineering of transition metal phosphide (TMP) electrocatalysts, with an aim to improve their electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). I will showcase two examples: 1) Trends in the OER activity of TMP nanoparticles [1]. We have investigated the alkaline OER electrolysis of a series of TMP catalysts and observed a notable trend in OER activity which follows the order of FeP < NiP < CoP < FeNiP < FeCoP < CoNiP < FeCoNiP. Our results show that the introduction of a secondary metal(s) to a mono-metallic TMP can remarkably boost the OER performance. This promotional effect can be ascribed to the enhanced oxidizing power of bi- and tri-metallic TMPs. 2) Hollow CoP octahedron (OCH) nanostructures with well-defined exposed crystal facets [2]. The hollow CoP OCH NPs were prepared by solution phase synthesis of CoO OCH precursors, followed by a post-phosphorization treatment and subsequent chemical etching process. They show excellent intrinsic electrocatalytic performance for the OER, substantially outperforming CoP nanospheres without any preferentially exposed facets and many other non-precious OER catalysts reported in the literature.

Acknowledgements

Financial support from the EU Horizon2020 project “CritCat” (grant no. 686053) and the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (IF/01595/2014) is acknowledged.

REFERENCES

J.Y. Xu, J. J. Li, D.H. Xiong, B.S. Zhang, Y.F. Liu, K.H. Wu, I. Amorim, W. Li, L.F. Liu, Chem. Sci. 9 (2018) 3470

J.Y. Xu, Y.F. Liu, J.J. Li, I. Amorim, B.S. Zhang, D.H. Xiong, N. Zhang, S.M. Thalluri, J.P. Sousa, L.F. Liu, J. Mater. Chem. A 6 (2018) 20646.
Iridium-Based Catalysts for Acidic Water Splitting: Oxygen Evolution and Dissolution Mechanisms
Authors: Cherevko Serhiy , Mayrhofer Karl , Kasian Olga , Geiger Simon 
Published: February 2020

Over the last half century, iridium is the state-of-the-art anode catalyst in acidic water splitting. Despite the fact that iridium is one of the rarest elements on the Earth, its relatively good activity and stability make it indispensable. In this situation, when viable alternative catalysts are absent and there is no time for identifying and testing new candidates, smart utilization of iridium in catalyst layers (CLs) becomes of a very high importance. Current approaches on the way of optimizing Ir usage by decreasing iridium loading include: (a) formation of highly porous IrOx CLs; (b) using Ir based catalysts like perovskites and mixed oxides; (c) using conducting supports. While enhancement of gravimetric Ir activity may indeed be achieved, each of these strategies may lead to deterioration in stability.
In this presentation I will show that improving Ir utilization going from rutile to more active catalysts like hydrous Ir oxides leads to a change in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) mechanism and subsequent increase in Ir dissolution. Based on our recent mechanistic studies, it will be shown that lattice oxygen participation in OER is the bottleneck in materials’ stability.1,2 The latter conclusion is also valid for Ir-based single and double perovskites.3 Finally, utilization of conductive supports will be presented as challenging, as most (all?) of such oxides are intrinsically unstable during acidic OER.4 In this situation an alternative solution must be suggested, as will be discussed during the presentation.
Literature:
1 Cherevko, S. et al.
J. Electroanal.
Chem.
774, 102-110, (2016).
2 Kasian, O. et al.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
57, 2488-2491, (2018).
3 Geiger, S. et al.
Nature Catalysis
1, 508-515, (2018).
4 Geiger, S. et al.
Scientific Reports
7, 4595, (2017).
Study the Activity of a Novel Ni-Based Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media
Authors: Ghahremani Raziyeh , Staser John A. 
Published: February 2020

Electrocatalytic water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen has a great potential to produce hydrogen as a carbon neutral source of energy. However, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) leads to an inefficient process prohibiting industrial application [1]. Therefore, highly efficient OER electrocatalysts are needed to reduce the energy barrier and enhance the efficiency of water electrolysis cell [2]. IrO2 and RuO2 are the most efficient electrocatalysts for OER, however their commercial industrial applications are limited due to their high cost and low earth abundance. To address this issue, several non-noble metal based OER electrocatalysts including transition metal oxide/hydroxides, perovskite, and molecular electrocatalysts have been developed [3]. Among them, Ni-based materials attract substantial attention owing to their low cost, high corrosion stability, and remarkable catalytic activity in alkaline media. The present work aims to evaluate and compare the electrochemical activity of a novel Ni-based electrocatalyst prepared from two different plating baths toward OER. Electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry (CV), quasi-steady state polarization (QSSP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronopotentiometry (CP) were carried out to study and compare the activity, charge transfer resistance and stability of different electrocatalysts developed in this study toward OER in alkaline media.

References

[1] X. Su, Q. Sun, J. Bai, Z. Wang, C. Zhao, Electrodeposition of porous MoO42--doped NiFe nanosheets for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reactions, Electrochimica Acta. 260 (2018) 477–482.
[2] X. Lu, C. Zhao, Electrodeposition of hierarchically structured three-dimensional nickel–iron electrodes for efficient oxygen evolution at high current densities, Nat. Commun. 6 (2015) 6616.
[3] M. Lee, H.-S. Oh, M.K. Cho, J.-P. Ahn, Y.J. Hwang, B.K. Min, Activation of a Ni electrocatalyst through spontaneous transformation of nickel sulfide to nickel hydroxide in an oxygen evolution reaction, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 233 (2018) 130–135.
Three-Dimensional CoS2-MoS2 Hetero-Nanosheets Architecture from Polyoxometalate for Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Lei Jie , Bizuneh Girum G. , Zheng Mingsen , Dong Quanfeng 
Published: February 2020

Electrolytic water splitting for hydrogen production, especially driven by renewable energy inputs such as wind and solar, stands out as a promising alternative technology for clean energy. By far, the state-of-the-art electrocatalysts for HER are platinum (Pt)-based catalysts. The wide practical applications are thus restricted due to their global scarcity and exorbitant cost. Increasing research attention has been attracted to the non-precious metal-based catalysts, such as transition metal sulfides, phosphides and oxides with promising good catalytic activity and durability for HER. Significantly, the transition metal sulfides electrocatalysts, such as MoS2, WS2, CoS2, Ni2S3, have presented superior HER performance which are attributable to the exposed edge active sites. To further enhance the catalytic activity, many strategies have been successfully developed to construct abundant active sites and increase electrical conductivity, such as doping heteroatom, constructing heterostructure with composite metal sulfides.
In the present study, three-dimensional CoS2-MoS2 hetero-nanosheet arrays grown on carbon cloth (CC) were successfully synthesized from an Anderson polyoxometalate (NH4)3[H6CoMo6O24] as the precursor. Benefiting from the heterostructure with abundant edge active sites, the composite exhibits superior activity with overpotentials of 177 mV for the HER at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 0.5 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte (Figure 1).

Figure 1