Insight into the capacity degradation and structural evolution of single-crystal Ni-rich cathodes

Single-crystal Ni-rich cathodes are a promising candidate for high-energy lithium-ion batteries due to their higher structural and cycling stability than polycrystalline materials.However,the phase evolution and capacity degradation of these single-crystal cathodes during continuous lithation/delithation cycling remains unclear.Understanding the mapping relationship between the macroscopic electrochemical properties and the material physicochemical properties is crucial.Here,we investigate the correlation between the physical-chemical characteristics,phase transition,and capacity decay using capacity differential curve feature identification and in-situ X-ray spectroscopic imaging.We systematically clarify the dominant mechanism of phase evolution in aging cycling.Appropriately high cut-off voltages can mitigate the slow kinetic and electrochemical properties of single-crystal cathodes.We also find that second-order differential capacity discharge characteristic curves can be used to identify the crystal structure disorder of Ni-rich cathodes.These findings constitute a step forward in elucidating the correlation between the electrochemical extrinsic properties and the physicochemical intrinsic properties and provide new perspectives for failure analysis of layered electrode materials.

Microemulsion synthesis of ZnMn2O4/Mn3O4 sub-microrods for Li-ion batteries and their conversion reaction mechanism

The hierarchical ZnMn2O4/Mn3O4 composite sub-microrods were synthesized via a water-in-oil microemulsion method followed by calcination.The ZnMn2O4/Mn3O4 electrode displays an intriguing capacity increasing from 440 to 910 mA·h/g at 500 mA/g during 550 consecutive discharge/charge cycles,and delivers an ultrahigh capacity of 1276 mA·h/g at 100 mA/g,which is much greater than the theoretical capacity of either ZnMn2O4 or Mn3O4 electrode.To investigate the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon,cyclic voltammetry and differential capacity analysis were applied,both of which reveal the emergence and the growth of new reversible redox reactions upon charge/discharge cycling.The new reversible conversions are probably the results of an activation process of the electrode material during the cycling process,leading to the climbing charge storage.However,the capacity exceeding the theoretical value indicates that there are still other factors contributing to the increasing capacity.

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of dual doped spinels LiNi_xAl_yMn_(2-x-y)O_4 via facile novel chelated sol–gel method as possible cathode material for lithium rechargeable batteries

LiMnOand LiNiAlyMnO（x= 0.50;y = 0.05-0.50） powders have been synthesized via facile solgel method using Behenic acid as active cheiating agent.The synthesized samples are subjected to physical characterizations such as thermo gravimetric analysis（TG/DTA）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）,field-emission scanning electron microscopy（FESEM）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and electrochemical studies viz.,galvanostatic cycling properties,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS） and differential capacity curves（dQ/dE）.Finger print XRD patterns of LiMnOand LiNiAlMnOfortify the high degree of crystallinity with better phase purity.FESEM images of the undoped pristine spinel illustrate uniform spherical grains surface morphology with an average particle size of 0.5 μm while Ni doped particles depict the spherical grains growth（50nm） with ice-cube surface morphology.TEM images of the spinel LiMnOshows the uniform spherical morphology with particle size of（100 nm） while low level of Al-doping spinel（LiNio.5Alo.05Mn1.45O4） displaying cloudy particles with agglomerated particles of（50nm）.The LiMnOsamples calcined at 850℃ deliver the discharge capacity of 130 mAh/g in the first cycle corresponds to 94%coiumbic efficiency with capacity fade of 1.5 mAh/g/cycle over the investigated 10 cycles.Among all four dopant compositions investigated,LiNiAlMnOdelivers the maximum discharge capacity of 126 mAh/g during the first cycle and shows the stable cycling performance with low capacity fade of 1 mAh/g/cycle（capacity retention of 92%） over the investigated 10 cycles.Electrochemical impedance studies of spinel LiMnOand LiNiAlMnOdepict the high and low real polarization of 1562 and 1100 Ω.

Sol-Gel Synthesis Using Novel Chelating Agent and Electrochemical Characterization of Binary Doped LiMn2O4 Spinel as Cathode Material for Lithium Rechargeable Batteries

LiMn2O4 and LiCuxCryMn2-x-yO4 (x = 0.50;y = 0.05 - 0.50) powders have been synthesized via sol-gel method for the first time using Myristic acid as chelating agent. The synthesized samples have been taken to physical and electrochemical characterization such as thermo gravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical characterization viz., electrochemical galvanostatic cycling studies, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential capacity curves (dQ/dE). XRD patterns of LiMn2O4 and LiCuxCryMn2-x-yO4 confirm high degree of crystallinity with good phase purity. FESEM image of undoped pristine spinel lucidly depicts cauliflower morphology with good agglomerated particle size of 50 nm while 0.5-Cu doped samples depict the pebbles morphology. TEM images of the spinel LiMn2O4 and LiCu0.5Cr0.05Mn1.45O4 authenticate that all the synthesized particles via sol-gel method are nano-sized (100 nm) with spherical surface and cloudy particles morphology. The LiMn2O4 samples calcined at 850℃ deliver the high discharge capacity of 130 mA·h/g with cathodic efficiency of 88% corresponds to 94% columbic efficiency in the first cycle. Among all four compositions studied, LiCu0.5Cr0.05Mn1.45O4 delivers 124 mA·h/g during the first cycle and shows stable performance with a low capacity fade of 1.1 mA·h/g cycle over the investigated 10 cycles.

Strategies for treating oesophageal diseases with stem cells

There is a wide range of oesophageal diseases,the most general of which are inflammation,injury and tumours,and treatment methods are constantly being developed and updated.With an increasingly comprehensive understanding of stem cells and their characteristics of multilineage differentiation,self-renewal and homing as well as the combination of stem cells with regenerative medicine,tissue engineering and gene therapy,stem cells are playing an important role in the treatment of a variety of diseases.Mesenchymal stem cells have many advantages and are most commonly applied;however,most of these applications have been in experimental studies,with few related clinical trials for comparison.Therefore,the methods,positive significance and limitations of stem cells in the treatment of oesophageal diseases remain incompletely understood.Thus,the purpose of this paper is to review the current literature and summarize the efficacy of stem cells in the treatment of oesophageal diseases,including oesophageal ulceration,acute radiation-induced oesophageal injury,corrosive oesophageal injury,oesophageal stricture formation after endoscopic submucosal dissection and oesophageal reconstruction,as well as gene therapy for oesophageal cancer.