Realizing Complete Solid-Solution Reaction to Achieve Temperature Independent LiFePO_(4) for High Rate and Low Temperature Li-Ion Batteries

The lithium iron phosphate battery(LiFePO4 or LFP)does not satisfactorily deliver the necessary high rates and low temperatures due to its low Li+diffusivity,which greatly limits its applications.The solid-solution reaction,compared with the traditional two-phase transition,needs less energy,and the lithium ion diffusivity is also higher,which makes breaking the barrier of LFP possible.However,the solid-solution reaction in LFP can only occur at high rates due to the lattice stress caused by the bulk elastic modulus.Herein,pomegranate-like LFP@C nanoclusters with ultrafine LFP@C subunits(8 nm)(PNCsLFP)were synthesized.Using in situ X-ray diffraction,we confirmed that PNCsLFP can achieve complete solid-solution reaction at the relatively low rate of 0.1C which breaks the limitation of low lithium ion diffusivity of the traditional LFP and frees the lithium ion diffusivity from temperature constraints,leading to almost the same lithium ion diffusivities at room temperature,0,−20,and−40℃.The complete solid-solution reaction at all rates breaks the shackles of limited lithium ion diffusivity on LFP and offers a promising solution for next-generation lithium ion batteries with high rate and low temperature applications.

Genomic insights into the genetic basis of cotton breeding in China

The excellent Upland cotton(Gossypium hirsutum)cultivars developed since 1949 have made a huge contribution to cotton production in China,the world's largest producer and consumer of cotton.However,the genetic and genomic basis for the improvements of these cotton cultivars remains largely unclear.In this study,we selected 16 Upland cotton cultivars with important historical status in Chinese cotton breeding and constructed a multiparent,advanced generation,intercross(MAGiC)population comprising 920 recombinant inbred lines.A genome-wide association study using the MAGIC population identified 54 genomic loci associated with lint yield and fiber quality.Of them,25(46.30%)pleiotropic genomic loci cause simultaneous changes of lint yield and/or fiber quality traits,revealing complex trade-offs and linkage drags in Upland cotton agronomic traits.Deep sequencing data of 11 introduced ancestor cultivars and publicly available resequencing datasets of 839 cultivars developed in China during the past 70 years were integrated to explore the historical distribution and origin of the elite or selected alleles.Interestingly,85%oftheseelitealleles were selectedandfixed fromdifferent Americanancestors,consistentwithcotton breeding practices in China.However,seven elite alleles of native origin that are responsible for Fusarium wilt resistance,early maturing,good-quality fiber,and other characteristics were not found in American an-cestors but have greatly contributed to Chinese cotton breeding and wide cultivation.Taken together,these results provide a genetic basis for further improving cotton cultivars and reveal that the genetic composition of Chinese cotton cultivars is narrow and mainly derived from early introduced American varieties.

Plasma-activated ethanol solution and it's decontamination effect

Ethanol solution as a disinfectant has been widely used in various fields.However,it has a significant bactericidal capability only when the volume fraction of ethanol is around 70%-75%.For such high concentration of ethanol solution,it has an irritating smell.When it is used for applications such as wound disinfection,it causes a stinging sensation.Low concentrations of ethanol solution are less irritating,but it is also less effective at killing bacteria.In this study,an idea for producing a green,efficient and less irritating disinfectant is proposed.It is based on a plasma-activated low-concentration ethanol solution(PAES).It is found that the plasma-activated 10% volume fraction of ethanol solution can kill more than seven orders of magnitude of Escherichia coli,while the untreated 10% volume fraction of ethanol solution has no bactericidal effect.Besides,the PAES's activity remains unchanged after being stored at -20℃ for three days.Further investigation shows that new compositions including peracetic acid,peroxynitrite,hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid are detected in the PAES,which together are playing the main role of the excellent and prolonged bactericidal effect.