Unraveling the incompatibility mechanism of ethylene carbonate-based electrolytes in sodium metal anodes

Ethylene carbonate(EC)is widely used in lithium-ion batteries due to its optimal overall performance with satisfactory conductivity,relatively stable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI),and wide electrochemical window.EC is also the most widely used electrolyte solvent in sodium ion batteries.However,compared to lithium metal,sodium metal(Na)shows higher activity and reacts violently with EC-based electrolyte(NaPF_(6)as solute),which leads to the failure of sodium metal batteries(SMBs).Herein,we reveal the electrochemical instability mechanism of EC on sodium metal battery,and find that the com-bination of EC and NaPF_(6) is electrically reduced in sodium metal anode during charging,resulting in the reduction of the first coulombic efficiency,and the continuous consumption of electrolyte leads to the cell failure.To address the above issues,an additive modified linear carbonate-based electrolyte is provided as a substitute for EC based electrolytes.Specifically,ethyl methyl carbonate(EMC)and dimethyl carbon-ate(DMC)as solvents and fluoroethylene carbonate(FEC)as SEI-forming additive have been identified as the optimal solvent for NaFP_(6)based electrolyte and used in Na_(4)Fe_(3)(PO_(4))_(2)(P_(2)O_(7))/Na batteries.The batter-ies exhibit excellent capacity retention rate of about 80%over 1000 cycles at a cut-off voltage of 4.3 V.

Nitrogen forms and decomposition of organic carbon in the southern Bohai Sea core sediments

Study on form characteristics of nitrogen in marine sediments is the primary method to research its biogeochemical cycling and nitrogen form characteristics in core sediments can reflect the process and results of early diagenesis in a certain degree. In this paper, Sequential extraction process in natural grain size was used for studying the existent forms of nitrogen in five core sediments of the southern Bohai Sea for the first time. Nitrogen was divided into two parts - transferable and fixed based on whether it could be extracted by the reagent. Distributions and early diagenesis of transferable nitrogen forms in the southern Bohai Sea were researched integratedly. Results indicate that IEF - N and OSF-N are predominant forms in transferable part in the studied core sediments. Contents of different nitrogen forms vary differently with depth, and have different diagenesis process. Decomposition constant of organic nitrogen (ON) and OC are about 15.51 -× 10^(-3)a^(-3)and 4.79× 10^(-3)a^(-1) respectively, and the decomposition content of biogenic elements C, N, P, Si has the sequence N>P>CSi. OC/TN (simplified as C/N in the following) ratio is much lower than OC/ON, which indicates that sediment preserves plenty of inorganic nitrogen (IN) and/or fixed nitrogen, and the decrease of OC/ON ratio with depth is due to ON reservation in sediments. Generally, transferable nitrogen accounts for more proportion of TN in the surface layer than in the deep layer of core sediments, whereas, some stable forms of nitrogen can activate and become transferable under appropriate environment, which induces the proportion of transferable nitrogen in TN in the deep layer to be almost the same as that in the surface layer.

Changes of soil microbial communities during decomposition of straw residues under different land uses

Monitoring soil microbial communities can lead to better understanding of the transformation processes of organic carbon in soil. The present study investigated the changes of soil microbial communities during straw decomposition in three fields, i.e., cropland, peach orchard and vineyard. Straw decomposition was monitored for 360 d using a mesh-bag method. Soil microbial metabolic activity and functional diversity were measured using the Biolog-Eco system. In all three fields, dried straws with a smaller size decomposed faster than their fresh counterparts that had a larger size. Dried corn straw decomposed slower than dried soybean straw in the early and middle stages, while the reverse trend was found in the late stage. The cropland showed the highest increase in microbial metabolic activity during the straw decomposition, whereas the peach orchard showed the lowest. There was no significant change in the species dominance or evenness of soil microbial communities during the straw decomposition. However, the species richness fluctuated significantly, with the peach orchard showing the highest richness and the cropland the lowest. With different carbon sources, the peach orchard utilised carbon the most, followed by the cropland and the vineyard. In all three fields, carbon was utilized in following decreasing order： saccharides〉amino acids〉polymers〉polyamines〉carboxylic acids〉aromatic compounds. In terms of carbon-source utilization, soil microbial communities in the peach orchard were less stable than those in the cropland. The metabolic activity and species dominance of soil microbial communities were negatively correlated with the straw residual percentage. Refractory components were primarily accumulated in the late stages, thus slowing down the straw decomposition. The results showed that dried and crushed corn straw was better for application in long-term fields. The diversity of soil microbial communities was more stable in cropland than in orchards during the straw decomposition.

Decomposition Temperature of Cold Seep Carbonate and its Relationship with Delta Carbonate

Delta carbonate （Delta C, AC） method is a commonly- used surface geochemical exploration method for petroleum surveys. Delta C holds that light hydrocarbon gases leak into near-surface soils or sediments from underlying petroleum accumulations, then partly oxidized to CO2, resulting in a special carbonate precipitation, which is termed as Delta carbonate （△C）.

EFFECTS OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTO-TEMPERING AND DECOMPOSITION OF MARTENSITE FOR A LOW CARBON Si-Mn-V STEELS

The effect of rare earth metals(REM)on the characteristics of auto-tempering and decomposition of martensite for low-carbon and low-alloy steels(20SiMn2V and 20SiMn2VRE)was investigated using TEM,dilatometer and microhardness test.Results show that both ε.and θ carbides,during auto-tempering, may precipitate from the low-carbon martensite matrix at the same time in the 20SiMn2V steel,however,the precipitation of the ε-carbides can be inhibited by the REM contained in the 20SiMn2 VRE steel,resulting in change of the type of precipitated carbides and decrease of the extent of auto-tempering.The“in-situ”ob- servations show that the decomposition of martensite is also inhibited by the REM contained in the 20SiMn2 VRE steel during low temperature tempering.

Acid leaching decarbonization and following pressure oxidation of carbonic refractory gold ore

Carbonate decomposition of carbonic refractory gold ore and the following pressure oxidation were studied.In the carbonate decomposition procedure,the effects of liquid-to-solid ratio and reaction time on decomposition ratio of carbonate were investigated.The experimental result shows that the decomposition ratio of carbonate is 98.24%under the conditions of liquid-to-solid ratio of 5:1,Fe^(3+)concentration of 20 g/L,sulfuric acid concentration of 20 g/L,reaction temperature of 80 ℃ and reaction time of 2 h.Then,the slurry obtained from carbonate decomposition was put into the titanium autoclave for pressure oxidation leaching.Effects of liquid-to-solid ratio,temperature,time and oxygen partial pressure on sulfur oxidation ratio were studied during pressure oxidation.With the prolonged time,pyrite and arsenopyrite are oxidized to ferric subsulfate,hydrated ferric sulfate and jarosite,resulting in the increasing residue ratio.The residue ratio and the sulfur content in the residue can be decreased by ferric subsulfate dissolution.The oxidation ratio of the sulfur is 99.35% under the conditions of oxidation time of 4 h,temperature of 210 ℃,oxygen partial pressure of 0.8 MPa and stirring speed of 600 r/min.

Cementites decomposition of a pearlitic ductile cast iron during graphitization annealing heat treatment

Cementites decomposition of a pearlitic ductile cast iron during graphitization annealing heat treatment was investigated.Fractographies and microstructures of heat treated samples were observed using a scanning electron microscope and mechanical properties were measured by a universal tensile test machine.The results indicated that during isothermal annealing at 750°C,the tensile strength of pearlitic ductile cast iron was increased to a peak value at 0.5h,and decreased gradually thereafter but the elongation was enhanced with the increase of annealing time.Moreover,the diffusion coefficient of carbon atoms could be approximately calculated as 0.56μm2/s that could be regarded as the shortrange diffusion.As the holding time was short（0.5h）,diffusion of carbon atoms was incomplete and mainly occurred around the graphites where the morphology of cementites changed from fragmentized shape to granular shape.In addition,the ductile cast iron with tensile strength of 740MPa and elongation of 7% could be achieved after graphitization annealing heat treatment for 0.5h.Two principal factors should be taken into account.First,the decomposition of a small amount of cementites was beneficial for increasing the ductility up to elongation of 7%.Second,the diffusion of carbon atoms from cementites to graphites could improve the binding force between graphites and matrix,enhancing the tensile strength to 740 MPa.

Parameters Affecting Energy Consumption for Producing High Carbon Ferromanganese in a Closed Submerged Arc Furnace

The power consumption is considered to be the most important factor affecting the production cost of fer romanganese alloy. Different parameters affecting the energy consumption for industrial production of high carbon ferromanganese HCFeMn were investigated in a closed submerged arc furnace. The analysis of industrial data revealed that the most energy consumed factors were the direct reduction by solid carbon, Boudouard reaction, metal and slag formation, and decomposition of fluxing materials （limestone and dolomite）. To reduce the energy con- sumption and minimize the energy losses in the production process of HCFeMn, it was recommended to use Mn blend with minimum Mn to Fe ratio of 6 and lower SiO2 content or higher basicity. The added coke must be adjusted according to the material balance to prevent the over-coke and to minimize the highly endothermic ＂Boudouard reac tion＂. In addition, it was recommended to work at basic slags with the ratio of （CaO＋MgO） to Si（）2 equal to 1.0- 1.2 instead of much higher slag basicity. Furthermore, the mass losses had to be minimized through adjusting the handling and charging process and to take care of all metal produced.

Correlation of isothermal bainite transformation and austenite stability in quenching and partitioning steels

The possible decomposition of metastable austenite during the partitioning process in the high end quenching and partitioning （Q＆P） steels is somewhat neglected by most researchers. The effects of primary martensite and alloying elements including manganese, cobalt and aluminum on the isothermal decomposition of austenite during typical Q＆P process were studied by dilatometry. The transformation kinetics was studied systematically and resulting microstruc tures were discussed in details. The results suggested that the primary martensite decreased the incubation period of isothermal decomposition by accelerating the nucleation process owing to dislocations especially on phase and grain boundaries. This effect can be eliminated by a flash heating which recovered dislocations. Co addition significantly promoted the bainite transformation during partitioning while A1 and Mn suppressed the isothermal bainite transformation. The bainite transformation played an important role in carbon distribution during partitioning, and hence the amount and stability of austenite upon final quenching. The bainite transformation during partitioning is an important factor in optimizing the microstructure in Q＆P steels.