Accurate estimation of Li/Ni mixing degree of lithium nickel oxide cathode materials

Li/Ni mixing negatively influences the discharge capacity of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode materials.However,accurately measuring the Li/Ni mixing degree is difficult due to the preferred orientation of labbased XRD measurements using Bragg–Brentano geometry.Here,we find that employing spherical harmonics in Rietveld refinement to eliminate the preferred orientation can significantly decrease the measurement error of the Li/Ni mixing ratio.The Li/Ni mixing ratio obtained from Rietveld refinement with spherical harmonics shows a strong correlation with discharge capacity,which means the electrochemical capacity of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode can be estimated by the Li/Ni mixing degree.Our findings provide a simple and accurate method to estimate the Li/Ni mixing degree,which is valuable to the structural analysis and screening of the synthesis conditions of lithium nickel oxide and high-nickel ternary cathode materials.

Rural sustainable development:A case study of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China

Sustainable development is the central theme of modern global development.With the arrival of the urban era,the vulnerability and instability of rural areas have significantly increased,and rural sustainable development faces serious challenges.To address these issues,the study took the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China under the National Sustainable Development Agenda as a case,combined with economic,social and land use data during 2016-2020,and applied Granger causality test method to explore the theoretical and practical pathways of“innovation-driven rural sustainable development”.The results showed that rural sustainable development and economic sustainability displayed a trend of synergistic change,with“explosive”growth from 2018 to 2020.The social sustainability steadily increased from 2016 to 2020.Ecological and spatial sustainability continuously declined during the study period.Moreover,the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone displayed rapid growth during 2016-2020.Although the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone has rapidly improved,it has a weak driving effect on rural sustainable development and economic sustainability.There are two primary challenges that must be overcome to ensure the rural sustainable development of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone.The first challenge is the imbalance among the multi-dimensional relationships in the process of rural sustainable development,and the second challenge is the weakening of rural innovation capacity to drive rural sustainable development.To overcome these challenges,this study proposed a systematic pathway for rural sustainable development in the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone from multidimensions,such as policy actions,technologies,projects,and institutional guarantees,and formed a universal and representative“Zaozhuang model”.This study expands the theoretical foundation of rural sustainable development and provides theoretical and practical support for innovation-driven rural sustainable development.

Numerical Study on Hydraulic Characteristics and Discharge Capacity of Modified Piano Key Weir with Various Inlet/Outlet Width Ratio

A modified piano key weir with a rounded nose and a parapet wall (MPKW) can improve the discharge capacity significantly compared to a standard piano key weir. However, the optimum of the inlet/outlet width ratio (Wi/Wo) on the discharge efficiency of MPKW is still not investigated numerically. The present work utilized the numerical modeling to investigate and analyze the effects of the inlet/outlet key width ratios on the hydraulic characteristics and discharge capacity of the MPKW. To validate the numerical model with the experimental data, the results indicate that the average relative error is 2.96%, which confirms that the numerical model is fairly well to predictthe specifications of flow over on the MPKW. Numerical simulation results indicated that the discharge capacity of the MPKW can be improved up to 8.5% by optimizing the Wi/Wo ratio ranging from 1.53 to 1.67 even if the other parameters of the MPKW keep unchanged. A big Wi/Wo ratio generally leads to an increase in discharge capacity at low heads and a little effect on the discharge efficiency at high heads. The discharge efficiency of the inlet and outlet crests increases up to 9.6% for high heads, while discharge efficiency of the lateral crest decreases up to 23.5% compared with the reference model. The findings of the study revealed that the intrinsic influencing mechanism of the Wi/Wo ratio on the discharge performance of MPKWs.

Effect of Al substitution on phase evolution in synthesized Mg_(2)Cu nanoparticles

The effect of Mg replacement with Al on the discharge capacity of Mg_(2)Cu powder mixture was investigated.The mixture of nano-crystalline powder was prepared via mechanical alloying(MA)technique with a high energy planetary ball mill.In addition,different moles of Al(0.05,0.1,0.15,0.2,and 0.3 M)were substituted to Mg_(2)Cu powder.X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)were used to analyze changes in structure,morphology,and grain size.The obtained powder was utilized as an anode in a nickel-metal hydride battery(Ni-MH).In the specimens with 0.05 M Al content,the orthorhombic structure of Mg_(2)Cu is emerged after 5 h milling.The results reveal that more than 0.1 M Al substitution leads to an appearance of MgCu_(2) peaks.Al substi-tution does not affect microstructure uniformity;however,it causes a decrease in crystalline size and lattice parameters.The selected area diffraction(SAD)pattern elucidates that the electrode with the Mg_(1.9)Al_(0.1)Cu chemical composition and 20 h milling has the maximum discharge capacity.

Capacity fading of spinel LiMn_2O_4 during cycling at elevated temperature

A normal spinel LiMn_2O_4 as cathode material for lithium-ion cells wascycled galvanostatically (0.2 C) at 55 deg C. To determine the contribution of each voltage plateauto the total capacity fading of the cathode upon repeated cycling, the capacities in each plateauwere separated by differentiation of voltage vs. capacity. The results how that the capacity fadingin the upper voltage plateau is more rapidly than that in the lower during discharging, while incharging process, it fades slower than that in the lower voltage range. The increased capacity shiftand aggravated self-discharge/electrolyte oxidation during discharging contribute to a high fadingrate in the upper step. Capacity shift also takes place during charging process, which againenhancing the fading rate of the lower voltage plateau. An increase in capacity shift, as a resultof an increase in polarization of the cell, plays a major role in determining the fading rate ineach voltage plateau, further reflecting the thickening of the passivation layer on the activeparticles, and the accumulation of electrolyte decomposition. The relative capacity loss formodified spinels is well correlated with the relative increase in the polarization of thehalf-cells, confirming the above causes for capacity fade of this kind of cathode material.

Influence of Four Factors on Discharge Capacity and Self-Discharge Rate of Iron Electrode

Ni-Fe rechargeable batteries possess the advantages of long cycle life, high theoretical specific energy, abundant raw material, low price and environmental friendship. It has a wide applied perspective. The advantages, disadvantages and preparation methods of iron electrodes were summarized. The influence of four factors on discharge capacity and self-discharge rate of iron electrode were discussed by means of orthogonal experiments, galvanostatic charges and discharges. The influences of graphite on the discharge capacity and self-discharge rate of iron electrode were the most remarkable, the most unapparent influences on the discharge capacity and self-discharge rate were HPMC (hydroxy propoxy methoxy cellulose) and sodium sulphide, respectively. The aim of the present research was to study the effects of graphite, HPMC and iron powder added in the electrodes, sodium sulphide added in the electrolytes on the discharge capacity and self-discharge rate of iron electrodes. The largest discharge capacity of the iron electrodes was 488.5 mAh/g-Fe at 66.4 mA/g-Fe in the first ten cycles, and the average self-discharge rate was 0.367% per hour.

A New Perspective on the 5 V Discharge Capacity of Li/Al Doped Manganese Spinels

A series of manganese spinels LiMn2-yMeyO4 （Me = Li, A1, Mg） were prepared and examined by XRD and electrochemical methods. The spinels doped with Li or high content of A1 can exhibit discharge capacity in the 5 V region, but spinels doped with Mg do not exhibit any 5 V discharge capacity. It is also observed that the 5 V discharge capacity of Li/A1 doped spinels will be greatly suppressed once calcinated at temperatures above 900 ℃ in preparation. It is suggested that the 5 V discharge capacity of Li/A1 doped spinels may be originated from the special chemical/structural characteristics of spinel phases containing Li or high content of A1 prepared at temperatures below 900 ℃.

Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on Regulation and Storage Capacity of Poyang Lake

The regulation and storage capacity of Poyang Lake is infl uenced by the fl ow from the main stream of the Yangtze River and the fi ve rivers in the Poyang Lake basin.After the operation of the Three Gorges Dam(TGD),hydrological changes in the main stream of the Yangtze River impact water exchange between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake.Based on the analysis of measured data and factors infl uencing outfl ow at Hukou station,a new empirical formula describing outfl ow at Hukou station and critical water level for lake storage capacity is established.The change in monthly storage capacity of Poyang Lake before and after the construction of the TGD is analyzed quantitatively.The results show that the fl ows from the main stream of the Yangtze River and the fi ve rivers in the Poyang Lake basin affect outfl ow and water storage capacity by changing the water level difference between Xingzi and Hukou stations and by changing the water level at Hukou station.But the Yangtze River and the fi ve rivers in the Poyang Lake basin differ in process and degree.If the water level at Hukou station remains consistent,when the fl ow from the fi ver rivers increases by 1,000 m3/s,the outfl ow at Hukou station increases by 304 m3/s.When the fl ow from the main stream of the Yangtze River increases by 1,000 m3/s,the outfl ow at Hukou station decreases by 724 m3/s.In addition,the operation of the TGD affects the water storage capacity of Poyang Lake.The water volume of Poyang Lake decreases by 49.4%in September,but increases by 47.7%in May.

Influence of heat treatment on electrochemical properties of Ti_(1.4)V_(0.6)Ni alloy electrode containing icosahedral quasicrystalline phase

The structures and electrochemical properties of the Ti1.4V0.6Ni ribbon before and after heat treatment are investigated systematically. The structure of the sample is characterized by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Electrochemical properties including the discharge capacity, the cyclic stability and the high-rate discharge ability are tested. X-ray powder diffraction analysis shows that after heat treatment at 590 °C for 30 min, all samples mainly consist of the icosahedral quasicrystal phase (I-phase), Ti2Ni phase (FCC), V-based solid solution phase (BCC) and C14 Laves phase (hexagonal). Electrochemical measurements show that the maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrode after heat treatment is 330.9 mA?h/g under the conditions that the discharge current density is 30 mA/g and the temperature is 30 °C. The result indicates that the cyclic stability and the high-rate discharge ability are all improved. In addition, the electrochemical kinetics of the alloy electrode is also studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D).

Research on cathode material of Li-ion battery by yttrium doping

Modification of LiFePO4, LiMn2O4 and Li1＋xV3O8 by doping yttrium was investigated. The influences of doping Y on structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of cathode materials were investigated systematically. The results indicated that the mechanisms of Y doping in three cathode materials were different, so the influences on the material performance were different. The crystal structure of the three materials was not changed by Y doping. However, the crystal parameters were influenced. The crystal parameters of LiMn2O4 became smaller, and the interlayer distance of （100） crystal plane of Li1-xV3O8 was lengthened after Y doping. The grain size of Y-doped LiFePO4 became smaller and grain morphology became more regular than that of undoped LiFePO4. It indicated that Y doping had no influence on crystal particle and morphology of LiMn2O4. The morphology of Li1＋xV3O8 became irregular and its size became larger with the increase of Y. For LiFePOaand Li1＋xV3O8, both the initial discharge capacities and the cyclic performance were improved by Y doping. For LiMn2O4, the cyclic performance became better and the initial discharge capacities declined with increasing Y doping.

Study on High Rate Discharge Performance and Mechanism of AB_5 Type Hydrogen Storage Alloys

The effects of surface treatment, particle size distribution,rare earth composition and B additive on the high rate discharge performance of hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. It is found that the activity, discharge capacity and high rate dischargeability of the alloys are improved after physical and chemical modification as a result of the increase of the surface area and formation of the electrocatalysis layers, which increase both the electrochemical reaction rate on the alloy surface and H diffusion rate in the alloy bulk. It is also found that both the over-coarse and over-fine particle size increase the contact resistance of the electrode, resulting in a decrease of discharge capacity, deterioration of high rate dischargeability and lower discharge plateau. In another word, a suitable particle size distribution can enhance the alloy activity, discharge capacity and high rate dischargeability. In addition, the high rate dischargeability is enhanced by increasing La content and decreasing Ce content of the alloy composition because of enlargement of the unit cell volume and the improvement of the surface activity. Moreover, B additive resultes in the formation of the second phase, and makes the alloys easier pulverization, which greatly improves the activity, discharge capacity and high rate dischargeability.

Effects of Doped Elements on Electrochemical Performance of Ni(OH)_2 Materials

High energy ball milling （HEBM） method was applied to synthesize Ni （OH）2 with different doped elements sub-stitution for Ni^2＋. The morphology, structure and electrochemical behavior of prepared powders were studied. The re-suits reveal that all the synthesized Ni（OH）2 particles were in sub-micron sizes and greatly agglomerated. Co-, Mg-,Fe- or Mn-doped Ni （OH） 2 was of β-phase with 0.400-0.500 nm crystal interlayer distance, while A1- and Zn-doped products displayed a-phase with larger crystal interlayer spaces. The electrochemical mechanisms of synthe-sized Ni（OH）2 electrodes were discussed by EIS spectra. The specific capacity of Co-doped Ni （OH）2 is 245 mA·h · g^-1, i. e. , 60 mA· h · g^-1 higher than that of Al-doped electrode, which has the highest discharging plat-form of a mid-voltage of 1.30 V.

Effect of Fe_2P in LiFePO_4/Fe_2P composite on electrochemical properties synthesized by MA and control of heat condition

In order to control the size and distribution of the high conductive Fe2P in LiFePO4/Fe2P composite, two different cooling rates (Fast: 15 ℃·min-1, Slow: 2 ℃·min-1) were employed after mechanical alloying. The discharge capacity of the fast cooled was 83 mAh·g-1 and the slow cooled 121 mAh·g-1. The particle size of the synthesized powder was examined by transmission electron microscopy and distribution of Fe2P was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, two-step heat treatment was carried out for better distribution of Fe2P. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement reveal that LiFePO4/Fe2P composite consists of 95.77% LiFePO4 and 4.33% of Fe2P.

Electrochemical hydrogen storage performance of as-cast and as-spun RE-Mg-Ni-Co-Al-based alloys applied to Ni/MH battery

The La-Mg-Ni-Co-Al-based AB2-type La0.8-xCe0.2YxMgNi3.4Co0.4Al0.1(x=0,0.05,0.1,0.15,0.2)alloys were prepared via melt spinning.The analyses of the X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)proved that the experimental alloys contain the main phase LaMgNi4 and the second phase LaNi5.Increasing Y content and spinning rate lead to grain refinement and obvious change of the phase abundance without changing phase composition.Y substitution for La and melt spinning make the life-span of the alloys improved remarkably,which is attributed to the improvement of anti-oxidation,anti-pulverization and anti-corrosion abilities.In addition,the discharge capacity visibly decreases with increasing the Y content,while it firstly increases and then decreases with increasing spinning rate.The electrochemical kinetics increases to the optimum performance and then reduces with increasing spinning rate.Moreover,all the alloys achieve to the highest discharge capacities just at the initial cycle without activation.

Effects of spinning rate on structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of RE-Mg-Ni-Mn-based AB_2-type alloys

La was partially substituted by Ce with the aim of improving the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances ofLa1–xCexMgNi3.5Mn0.5 (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) alloys, and melt spinning technology was adopted to fabricate the alloys. Theidentification of XRD and SEM reveals that the experimental alloys consist of a major phase LaMgNi4 and a secondary phase LaNi5.The growth of spinning rate results in that the lattice constants and cell volume increase and the grains are markedly refined. Theelectrochemical measurement shows that the as-cast and spun alloys can obtain the maximum discharge capacities just at the firstcycle without any activation needed. With the increase of spinning rate, the discharge capacities of the alloys first increase and thendecline, whereas their cycle stabilities always grow. Moreover, the electrochemical kinetic performances of the alloys first increaseand then decrease with spinning rate growing.

Hydrogen storage behavior of nanocrystalline and amorphous La-Mg-Ni-based LaMg_(12)-type alloys synthesized by mechanical milling

Nanocrystalline and amorphous LaMg11Ni+x%Ni(x=100,200,mass fraction)alloys were synthesized by mechanicalmilling.The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the as-milled alloys were tested by an automatic galvanostatic system.The gaseous hydrogen absorption and desorption properties were investigated by Sievert’s apparatus and differential scanningcalorimeter(DSC)connected with a H2detector.The results indicated that increasing Ni content significantly improves the gaseousand electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the as-milled alloys.The gaseous hydrogen absorption capacities andabsorption rates of the as-milled alloys have the maximum values with the variation of the milling time.But the hydrogen desorptionkinetics of the alloys always increases with the extending of milling time.In addition,the electrochemical discharge capacity andhigh rate discharge(HRD)ability of the as-milled alloys both increase first and then decrease with milling time prolonging.

Electrolytic Preparation,Structure Characterization and Electro-chemical Performance of NiOOH

NiOOH was prepared by one-step electrolysis of spherical Ni（OH）2 and the effects of electrolysis parameters were examined. The highly pure NiOOH was obtained after electrolysis at a current density of 60mA.g^-1 and 30℃ with anodic potential controlled in the range of 1.73-1.85V （vs. Zn/ZnO） for 360min. The NiOOH samriles were characterized bv X-ray oowder diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscope （SEM） analysis.Resuits indicate that the electrolysis product is spherical NiOOH doped with graphite. Charge and discharge tests show that the prepared NiOOH offers a discharge capacity of over 270mAh·g^-1 at current density of 30mA·g^-1 and can be directly used as cathode material of alkaline Zn/NiOOH batteries. Galvanostatic charge/discharge and cyclic voltammetry （CV） tests reveal good cycling reversibility, of the NiOOH electrode.

Experimental study on discharge coefficient of a gear-shaped weir

This study focused on hydraulic characteristics around a gear-shaped weir in a straight channel. Systematic experiments were carried out for weirs with two different gear heights and eight groups of geometrical parameters. The impacts of various geometrical parameters of gear-shaped weirs on the discharge capacity were investigated. The following conclusions are drawn from the experimental study:(1) The discharge coefficient(m_c) was influenced by the size of the gear: at a constant discharge, the weir with larger values of a/b(a is the width of the gear, and b is the width between the two neighboring gears) and a/c(c is the height of the gear) had a smaller value of m_c. The discharge capacity of the gear-shaped weir was influenced by the water depth in the weir.(2) For type C1 with a gear height of 0.01 m, when the discharge was less than 60m^3/h and H_1=P < 1.0(H_1 is the water depth at the low weir crest, and P is the weir height), m_c significantly increased with the discharge and H_1=P; with further increases of the discharge and H_1=P, m_cshowed insignificant decreases and fluctuated within small ranges. For type C2 with a gear height of 0.02 m, when the discharge was less than 60m^3/h and H_1=P < 1.0, m_csignificantly increased with the discharge and H_1=P; when the discharge was larger than 60m^3/h and H_1=P > 1.0, m_c slowly decreased with the increases of the discharge and H_1=P for a=b 1.0 and a=c 1.0, and slowly increased with the discharge and H_1=P for a=b > 1.0 and a=c > 1.0.(3) A formula of m_cfor gear-shaped weirs was established based on the principle of weir flow, with consideration of the water depth in the weir, the weir height and width, and the height of the gear.

High Temperature Performances of Spherical Nickel Hydroxide with Additive Y_2O_3

The effect Of Y2O3 as additive to the positive electrode on the high-temperature performances of the Ni-MH batteries was studied. The specific capacities of the positive electrode in Ni-MH battery at higher temperatures are much lower than usual. In order to improve high-temperature performances, charge/discharge curves of the Ni(OH)(2) electrodes with different amounts Of Y2O3 it different temperatures were studied. It is found that the specific capacities of the spherical Ni (OH)(2) with Y2O3 as additive are much higher than those of the regular at higher temperatures. The specific capacity of Ni (OH)(2) containing 1% Y2O3 at 0.2C C/D rate is 35% higher than that of the regular. The specific capacity of Ni (OH)(2) containing 0.2% Y2O3 at 1C C/D rate is 15% higher than that of the regular. Mechanism Of Y2O3 improving high temperature performances of Ni(OH)(2) electrode was also discussed in detail.

Yield of H_2O_2 in Gas-Liquid Phase with Pulsed DBD

Electric discharge in water can generate a large number of oxidants such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. In this paper, a non-thermal plasma processing system was established by means of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in gas-liquid phase. The electrodes of discharge reactor were staggered. The yield of H2O2 was enhanced after discharge. The effects of discharge time, discharge voltage, frequency, initial pH value, and feed gas were investigated. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide and ozone was measured after discharge. The experimental results were fully analyzed. The chemical reaction equations in water were given as much as possible. At last, the water containing Rhodamine B was tested in this system. The degradation rate came to 94.22% in 30 min.