High energy density in ultra-thick and flexible electrodes enabled by designed conductive agent/binder composite

Thick electrodes can increase incorporation of active electrode materials by diminishing the proportion of inactive constituents,improving the overall energy density of batteries.However,thick electrodes fabricated using the conventional slurry casting approach frequently exhibit an exacerbated accumulation of carbon additives and binders on their surfaces,invariably leading to compromised electrochemical properties.In this study,we introduce a designed conductive agent/binder composite synthesized from carbon nanotube and polytetrafluoroethylene.This agent/binder composite facilitates production of dry-process-prepared ultra-thick electrodes endowed with a three-dimensional and uniformly distributed percolative architecture,ensuring superior electronic conductivity and remarkable mechanical resilience.Using this approach,ultra-thick LiCoO_(2)(LCO) electrodes demonstrated superior cycling performance and rate capabilities,registering an impressive loading capacity of up to 101.4 mg/cm^(2),signifying a 242% increase in battery energy density.In another analytical endeavor,time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy was used to clarify the distribution of cathode electrolyte interphase(CEI) in cycled LCO electrodes.The results provide unprecedented evidence explaining the intricate correlation between CEI generation and carbon distribution,highlighting the intrinsic advantages of the proposed dry-process approach in fine-tu ning the CEI,with excellent cycling performance in batteries equipped with ultra-thick electrodes.

Field performance of alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation on tomato crop growth, yield, water use efficiency, quality and profitability

Sustainable irrigation method is now essential for adaptation and adoption in the areas where water resources are limited. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to test the performance of alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation(AWDFI) on crop growth, yield, water use efficiency(WUE), fruit quality and profitability analysis of tomato. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with six treatments replicated thrice during the dry seasons of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. Irrigation water was applied through three ways of furrow: AWDFI, fixed wetting and drying furrow irrigation(FWDFI) and traditional(every) furrow irrigation(TFI). Each irrigation method was divided into two levels: irrigation up to 100 and 80% field capacity(FC). Results showed that plant biomass(dry matter) and marketable fruit yield of tomato did not differ significantly between the treatments of AWDFI and TFI, but significant difference was observed in AWDFI and in TFI compared to FWDFI at same irrigation level. AWDFI saved irrigation water by 35 to 38% for the irrigation levels up to 80 and 100% FC, compared to the TFI, respectively. AWDFI improved WUE by around 37 to 40% compared to TFI when irrigated with 100 and 80% FC, respectively. Fruit quality(total soluble solids and pulp) was found greater in AWDFI than in TFI. Net return from AWDFI technique was found nearly similar compared to TFI and more than FWDFI. The benefit cost ratio was viewed higher in AWDFI than in TFI and FWDFI by 2.8, 8.7 and 11, 10.4% when irrigation water was applied up to 100 and 80% FC, respectively. Unit production cost was obtained lower in AWDFI compared to TFI and FWDFI. However, AWDFI is a useful water-saving furrow irrigation technique which may resolve as an alternative choice compared with TFI in the areas where available water and supply methods are limited to irrigation.

Bacterial Cellulose-Silver Antibacterial Composites：Effects of Drying Processes of Bacterial Cellulose

A type of antibacterial bacterial cellulose(BC) film was prepared for potential uses as wound dressing.In order to obtain a high antibacterial effect,some forms of BC films,including the wet and dried ones were utilized as the template to in situ synthesize silver nanoparticles(AgNPs).The effects of drying methods including freeze-drying,heat drying and air drying,on the microstructures and physical properties of BC,as well as the silver contents and the antibacterial performances of the BC/AgNPs composites were investigated.It was found that the AgNPs impregnated on the dried BC films were inclined to achieve a faster silver releasing rate than the wet one,which was suitable for acute traumas treatment.

Green and Effective Ammonium Carbonate-assisted Process for Drying Hemicellulose Obtained through Alkali Extraction of Bleached Bamboo Kraft Pulp

Hemicellulose has a wide range of applications,including that as an emulsifier for the food industry and raw material for the synthesis of bioethanol/biochemicals and biodegradable films.Hemicellulose is usually present as a spent liquor,such as the prehydrolysis liquor of the prehydrolysis kraft dissolving pulp production process and the alkali extraction liquor of the cold caustic extraction of pulp fibers.Due to its dilute nature,hemicellulose needs to be dried for practical utilization,and this is challenging.In this study,cellulose and hemicellulose in a bleached bamboo kraft pulp were separated using an alkali extraction process.Hemicellulose obtained from the extraction liquor was dried by an ammonium carbonate-assisted drying process.The effects of drying time and drying temperature were determined.Structure of the hemicellulose obtained by the ammonium carbonate-assisted drying process was similar to that of original hemicellulose,as revealed by detailed Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction analyses.The novel drying method was more energy efficient and required a shorter drying time than the conventional freeze drying method,and the excellent solubility in alkaline solutions favored the chemical modification of hemicellulose.The dried hemicellulose can be used as a renewable raw material for the preparation of hydrogels and other substances such as bioethanol/biochemicals and biodegradable films.

Extraction and Drying Technique of Bawei Shangke Huoxue Tablets

[Objectives]To optimize the water extraction process of Bawei Shangke Huoxue tablets and determine the best drying method of the extract.[Methods]The orthogonal test method was used to select the optimal water extraction process,with the content of total flavonoids and the yield of dry extract as the test indicators,and the soaking time,the amount of water added,the extraction time and the extraction times as the main test factors.The water content of spray powder was taken as the evaluation indicator,the inlet air temperature,the density of liquid phase and the outlet air temperature were selected as the factors,and the spray drying process of water-extracted concentrated liquid was optimized by orthogonal test.[Results]The optimal water extraction process was no immersion,water decoction and extraction twice,adding 10 times of water each time,extraction for 1h,in which the amount of water added was the main factor.The liquid density of spray dried extract powder is 1.05-1.08(60℃),the inlet air temperature is 180℃,the outlet air temperature is 80℃is the most suitable,and the liquid density is the main factor.[Conclusions]The extraction and drying technology of Bawei Huangke Huoxue tablet is feasible,scientific and reasonable,and can be used for industrial production.

Effect of Different Drying Processes on Active Ingredients of Rheum officinale Baill.

[Objectives]To determine the drying process of different functional rhubarbs.[Methods]The contents of tannins,bianthrone,free anthraquinones and combined anthraquinones in medicinal rhubarb were determined by HPLC.The results were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance.[Results]Under different drying conditions,the contents of tannins,bianthrone,free anthraquinones and combined anthraquinones in medicinal rhubarb were significantly different.Taking the tannins content as the index,the optimum drying condition of the rhizome is 1 cm thick,dried at 60℃,the root is cut 1 cm thick,and dried at 30℃;the bianthrone content is used as an indicator,the rhizome is optimally dried.The condition is to cut 1 cm thick,dry at 60℃,the root is cut to 5 cm thick,and dried at 40℃;the free anthraquinones content is used as an index,and the optimum drying condition of the rhizome is 3 cm thick and dried at 50℃.The root is cut to a thickness of 3 cm and dried at 30℃.The combine anthraquinones content is used as an indicator.The optimum drying conditions for the rhizome are 5 cm thick,dried at 40℃,and the root is cut to 5 cm thick and dried at 70℃.[Conclusions]Different functional components of rhubarb have different directional processing methods.The drying process can reduce the drying temperature or increase the thickness of the slice,and the directional processing of the diarrhea-type rhubarb can be processed.The drying process can be carried out by increasing the drying temperature or reducing the thickness of the slice directed processing of heat-clearing and purging-fire rhubarb.

Intensification of the Banana Drying Processes by Using EFL Electromagnetic Waves

Drying of the banana in the hot water has a negative impact on the quality of the product and drying effect. The purposes of this study are increasing the drying rate, using the relatively low temperature to improve the quality (40℃, 50℃ and 60℃) and investigate the use of electromagnetic waves to increase the drying speed. Therefore, experiments are performed using 5 kHz,10 kHz and 15 kHz low frequency electromagnetic waves in the air velocity values of 0.5 m/s, 1 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 2 m/s and 40℃, 50℃, 60℃ centigrade degrees of air blast in a special compartment. Mathematical model of the drying process has been created as using the electrical circuits methods and experimental results. As a result, a simple equation describing the drying process has been obtained. Nonlinear expression of the diffusion coefficient for a different situation in this equation has been identified for the first time. The obtained theoretical results and experimental results have been provided a good agreement. This study is considered to be useful for all studies in the drying area.

Microstructure formation mechanism of catalyst layer and its effect on fuel cell performance:Effect of dispersion medium composition

The design of the catalyst layer(CL)offers a feasible way to realize the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).An in-depth understanding of catalyst inks is critical to achieving the optimal CL structure and cell performance.In this work,the effects of the solvent evaporation process during ink drying on the formation of the CL microstructure are particularly considered to reveal the structure-property correlations among the catalyst ink,drying process,CL microstructure and fuel cell performance.An increase in the alcohol content of the catalyst ink increases the amount of free ionomers while allowing the ionomer backbone to be more stretched in the dispersion medium.The higher alcohol content contributes to rapid solvent evaporation and thus inhibits the formation of coffee rings;as a result,a more developed ionomer network with a denser pore structure is obtained.Therefore,the alcohol-rich electrode exhibits better proton conduction capability,but higher oxygen transport resistance.For complex fuel cell operating conditions,a catalyst ink formulation with 50 wt%alcohol content is preferred due to its proper ionomer and pore size distribution,providing satisfactory fuel cell performance.

Dry-regulated hydrogels with anisotropic mechanical performance and ionic conductivity

Nature consists of various soft tissues with well-ordered hierarchical anisotropic structures, which play essential roles in biological systems to exhibit particular functions. Mimicking bio-tissues, synthetic hydrogels with anisotropic structures have received considerable attention in recent years. However, existing approaches to fabricate anisotropic hydrogels often require complicated procedures, which are timeconsuming and labor-demanding. Inspired by the dry-induced crystallization phenomenon, we report a simple yet effective prestretching-drying-swelling method to afford anisotropic crystalline polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels. Owing to the distinct anisotropic microstructure, the hydrogels demonstrate excellent mechanical properties with noticeable directional distinction. It is revealed that both the enhancing of pre-orientation strain and the extending of heating time make the hydrogels with better mechanical properties and more remarkable anisotropicity. Owing to the anisotropically aligned structure, the hydrogels exhibit remarkably differential ionic conductivity: the difference between the parallel and vertical conductivity of the same sample can reach as high as 6.6 times, making the materials possible candidates as nano-conductive materials. We anticipate that this simple yet effective approach may become highly useful for fabricating oriented hydrogels and endow the materials with more promising application prospects in the future.

Real-time monitoring system for quality monitoring of jujube slice during drying process

The real-time monitoring and prediction system for quality attributes of jujube slices during the drying process was designed to solve the problem of destructive and inconvenient of the traditional quality detection method and realize quality online monitoring.Firstly,machine vision and automatic weighing were employed to monitor the color and moisture content changes of jujube slices in real-time.Secondly,correlation models between color parameter(a^(*)value)and nutritional quality attributes(vitamin C,reducing sugar)were established to predict vitamin C and reducing sugar content of jujube slices during the drying process.Finally,the upper computer monitoring software was integrated and designed based on LABVIEW virtual instrument,and the real-time monitoring system was tested and validated.Results showed that:the changing trends of color(L^(*),a^(*),and b^(*)values)monitored by the system were basically the same as the results detected by color difference meter,and the average errors of L^(*),a^(*),and b^(*)values were 0.93,0.52,and 0.73,respectively.The average relative error of moisture content between the system monitoring and manual static detection was 0.18%.The average error of vitamin C and reducing sugar content between the system prediction and manual detection were 50 mg/100 g in dry basis and 0.71g/100 g in dry basis,respectively.The current work can provide a useful reference for real-time monitoring of quality attributes of fruits and vegetables during the drying process.

Effects of drying process on total phenolics,antioxidant activity and flavonoid contents of common Mediterranean herbs

Four different fresh and dried herb species(sage,thyme,mint and lemonbalm)were evaluated to study the effect of drying process on the total phenolics,antioxidant activity,flavonoid contents and color properties.Fresh mint had the highest contents of total phenolics(335.4 mg GAE/100 g),whereas lower levels were respectively found in sage(316.4 mg GAE/100 g)followed by lemonbalm(303.2 mg GAE/100 g)and thyme(299.2 mg GAE/100 g).Dry processing significantly decreased the phytochemical contents of all investigated herbs.Compare to air drying,total phenolics,antioxidant activity and flavonoids content in herbs decreased apparently by oven dried.Fresh mint had the highest antioxidant activity(87.46%)and flavonoids content(298.51 mg CE/100 g),while the fresh sage,thyme and lemonbalm were found to have antioxidant activity values of 86.81%,86.56% and 85.26%,respectively.Results showed that air drying herbs contained more total phenolics,antioxidant activity,and flavonoids than oven drying herbs.

Impact of fabrication methods on binder distribution and charge transport in composite cathodes of all-solid-state batteries

The manufacturing process of all-solid-state batteries necessitates the use of polymer binders.However,these binders,being ionic insulators by nature,can adversely affect charge transport within composite cathodes,thereby impacting the rate performance of the batteries.In this work,we aim to investigate the impact of fabrication methods,specifically the solvent-free dry process versus the slurry-cast wet process,on binder distribution and charge transport in composite cathodes of solid-state batteries.In the dry process,the binder forms a fibrous network,while the wet process results in binder coverage on the surface of cathode active materials.The difference in microstructure leads to a notable 20-fold increase in ionic conductivity in the dry-processed cathode.Consequently,the cells processed via the dry method exhibit higher capacity retention of 89%and 83%at C/3 and C/2 rates,respectively,in comparison to 68%and 58%for the wet-processed cells at the same rate.These findings provide valuable insights into the influence of fabrication methods on binder distribution and charge transport,contributing to a better understanding of the binder’s role in manufacturing of all-solid-state batteries.