Silicon lithium-ion battery anode with enhanced performance： Multiple effects of silver nanoparticles

Silicon has been regarded as one of the most promising next generation lithium-ion battery anode. How- ever, the poor cyclic stability of the Si based anode has severely limited its practical applications, which is even worse with high mass loading density （〉1 mg cm^-2 ）. A new concept has been developed to enhance the electrochemical performance of the Si nanoparticle anode. Silver nanoparticles are composited with the silicon nanoparticles in a facile way for the first time. It is found that the mechanical properties of the Si electrode have been significantly improved by the incorporation of the silver nanoparticles, leading to enhanced cyclic performance. With the Si/Ag mass ratio of 4：1, the reversible specific discharge capacity is retained as l 156 mA h g^-1 after 100 cycles at 200 mAg^-1, which is more than three times higher than that of the bare silicon （318 mA h g^-1 ）. The rate performance has been effectively improved as well due to excellent electron conductivity of the silver nanoparticles.

Expression and functional characterization of odorant-binding protein genes in the endoparasitic wasp Cotesia vestalis

Odorant-binding proteins(OBPs)are crucial in insect's olfactory perception,which participate in the initial step of odorant molecules transporting from the external environment to olfactory receptor neurons.To better understand the roles for OBPs in olfactory perception in Cotesia vestalis,a solitary larval endoparasitoid of diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella,we have comprehensively screened the genome of C.vestalis,and obtained 20 CvesOBPs,including 18 classic OBPs and two minus-C OBPs.Motif-pattern analysis indicates that the motifs of C.vestalis OBPs are highly conserved in Hymenoptera.The results of tissue expression analysis show that five OBPs(CvesOBP1/11/12/14/16)are highly expressed in male antennae,whereas six other OBP genes(CvesOBP7/8/13/17/18/19)are significantly transcriptionally enriched in female antennae.The results of RNA interference experiments for three most highly expressed OBP genes(CvesOBP17/18/19)in female antennae demonstrate that they are likely involved in parasitic processes of female wasps,as the wasps take a longer time to target the hosts when they are knoc ked down.

Scalable Synthesis of Hierarchical Antimony/Carbon Micro-/Nanohybrid Lithium/Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes Based on Dimethacrylate Monomer

A facile scalable synthesis of hierarchical Sb/C micro-/nanohybrid has been addressed in this work, which possesses the advantages of both micrometer and nanometer scale structures as lithium-ion battery anode. Difunctional methacrylate monomers are used as solvent and carbon source as well. Liquid precursor of antimony（III） n-butoxide is dissolved in the resin monomer solution, and further incorporated into the cross-linking polymer network via photo polymerization. Through calcination in argon/hydrogen atmosphere, antimony nanoparticles are in situ formed by carbothermal reduction, and homogeneously embedded in the in situ formed micrometer sized carbon matrix. The morphology, structure, crys- tallinity, spatial dispersion, composition, and electrochemical performance of the Sb/C micro-/nanohybrid are systemati- cally investigated. The cyclic and rate performance of the Sb/C micro-/nanohybrid anode have been effectively improved compared to the pure carbon anode. A reversible capacity of 362 mAh g-1 is achieved with a reasonable mass loading density after 300 cycles at 66 mA g-1, corresponding to capacity retention of 79%. With reducing mass loading density, the reversible capacity reaches 793 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles. Moreover, the electrochemical performance of Sb/C micro-/nanohybrid as sodium-ion battery anode is also investigated in this study.

The study of dry biological valve crosslinked with a combination of carbodiimide and polyphenol

The glutaraldehyde crosslinked pericardium has been used in bioprosthetic valves for about 50 years.However,problems such as glutaraldehyde residue and calcification still exist in current commercial products.Non-glutar aldehyde crosslinked dry valve is an important strategy to solve those problems.In this study,a non-glutaraldehyde crosslinked dry biological valve material was obtained by the combined crosslinking of carbodimide(EDC)and polyphenol.The results showed that the comprehensive properties of EDC and curcumin crosslinked pericardium were superior to glutaraldehyde crosslinked pericardium,including unfolding property,anti-calcification,cytotoxicity,anticoagulant properties,mechanical properties,enzyme degradation resistance and thermal shrinkage temperature.EDC and curcumin crosslinked dry pericardium could flatten after being folded at 40℃ for 3 days while glutaraldehyde crosslinked pericardium could not.The calcification of pericardium treated with EDC and curcumin was 1.21±0.36 mg/g in rats after 60 days'subdermal implantation,much lower than that of glutaraldehyde treated control group(22.06±3.17 mg/g).