Tungsten oxide/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes composite catalysts for enhanced redox kinetics in lithium-sulfur batteries

The sluggish redox kinetics of polysulfides in lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are a significant obstacle to their widespread adoption as energy storage devices.However,recent studies have shown that tungsten oxide(WO_(3))can facilitate the conversion kinetics of polysulfides in Li-S batteries.Herein,we fabricated host materials for sulfur using nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes(N-CNTs)and WO_(3).We used low-cost components and simple procedures to overcome the poor electrical conductivity that is a disadvantage of metal oxides.The composites of WO_(3) and N-CNTs(WO_(3)/N-CNTs)create a stable framework structure,fast ion diffusion channels,and a 3D electron transport network during electrochemical reaction processes.As a result,the WO_(3)/N-CNT-Li2S6 cathode demonstrates high initial capacity(1162 mA·h·g^(-1) at 0.5℃),excellent rate performance(618 mA·h·g^(-1) at 5.5℃),and a low capacity decay rate(0.093%up to 600 cycles at 2℃).This work presents a novel approach for preparing tungsten oxide/carbon composite catalysts that facilitate the redox kinetics of polysulfide conversion.

Robust digital receiver for EPC sensor network

A robust digital receiver based on a matched filter （MF） is proposed for the radio frequency identification （RFID） reader system to enhance the reliability of signal processing in the electronic product code （EPC） sensor network （ESN）. The performance of the proposed receiver is investigated by examining the anti-collision algorithm in the EPC global Class1 Generation2 protocol. The validity and usefulness are demonstrated by both computer simulations and experiments. Based on the verification results, comparing with the conventional zero crossing detector （ZCD） based receiver, the proposed receiver is very robust against strong amplitude distortions and considerable frequency deviations happening on the backscattered signal from a passive tag.

A regional GNSS-VTEC model over Nigeria using neural networks： A novel approach

A neural network model of the Global Navigation Satellite System - vertical total electron content （GNSS-VTEC） over Nigeria is developed. A new approach that has been utilized in this work is the consideration of the International Reference Ionosphere＇s （IRI＇s） critical plasma frequency （foF2） parameter as an additional neuron for the network＇s input layer. The work also explores the effects of using various other input layer neurons like distur- bance storm time （DST） and sunspot number. All available GNSS data from the Nigerian Permanent GNSS Network （NIGNET） were used, and these cover the period from 2011 to 2015, for 14 stations. Asides increasing the learning accuracy of the networks, the inclusion of the IRI＇s foF2 parameter as an input neuron is ideal for making the networks to learn long-term solar cycle variations. This is important especially for regions, like in this work, where the GNSS data is available for less than the period of a solar cycle. The neural network model developed in this work has been tested for time-varying and spatial per- formances. The latest 10% of the GNSS observations from each of the stations were used to test the forecasting ability of the networks, while data from 2 of the stations were entirely used for spatial performance testing. The results show that root-mean-squared-errors were generally less than 8.5 TEC units for all modes of testing performed using the optimal network. When compared to other models, the model developed in this work was observed to reduce the prediction errors to about half those of the NeQuick and the IRI model.

CNTs@S composite as cathode for all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries with ultralong cycle life

The main challenges in development of traditional liquid lithium-sulfur batteries are the shuttle effect at the cathode caused by the polysulfide and the safety concern at the Li metal anode arose from the dendrite formation.All-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries have been proposed to solve the shuttle effect and prevent short circuits.However,solid-solid contacts between the electrodes and the electrolyte increase the interface resistance and stress/strain,which could result in the limited electrochemical performances.In this work,the cathode of all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries is prepared by depositing sulfur on the surface of the carbon nanotubes(CNTs@S)and further mixing with Li10GeP2S12 electrolyte and acetylene black agents.At 60℃,CNTs@S electrode exhibits superior electrochemical performance,delivering the reversible discharge capacities of 1193.3,959.5,813.1,569.6 and 395.5 mAhg^-1 at the rate of 0.1,0.5,1,2 and 5 C,respectively.Moreover,the CNTs@S is able to demonstrate superior high-rate capability of 660.3 mAhg^-1 and cycling stability of 400 cycles at a high rate of 1.0 C.Such uniform distribution of the CNTs,S and Li10GeP2S12 electrolyte increase the electronic and ionic conductivity between the cathode and the electrolyte hence improves the rate performance and capacity retention.

XPS and Raman studies of electron irradiated sodium silicate glass

The microstructure modifications of sodium silicate glass induced by 1.2-MeV electron irradiation are studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Depth profile analyses are also performed on the irradiated glass at 109 Gy. A sodium-depleted layer with a thickness of a few tens of nanometers and the corresponding increase of network polymerization on the top surface are observed after electron bombardment, while the polymerization in the subsurface region has a negligible variation with the irradiation dose. Moreover, the formation of molecular oxygen after electron irradiation is evidenced, which is mainly aggregated in the first two-micron-thick irradiated glass surface. These modifications are correlated to the network relaxation process as a consequence of the diffusion and desorption of sodium species during electron irradiation.

Security and Privacy Issues in Electronic Health Network

Electronic health network （EHN） is an information system providing functions involved in e-health. In this paper, we devise mechanisms covering three important security and privacy issues of EHN including trust management, privacy preserving, and data sharing. First, we propose an authenticated key agreement scheme based on hierarchical identity-based signature （HIBS）. We abstract a hierarchical architecture from the social network architecture of EHN. To support large-scale scenarios, we introduce a virtual signature generation phase into traditional HIBS, thus our scheme will be efficient even the depth is quite big. Second, we propose a fast data searching scheme based on symmetric searchable encryption （SSE）. To improve the searching efficiency, we introduce a two-level cache structure into the traditional SSE. Third, we propose an access control scheme based on hierarchical identity- based encryption （HIBE）. To make it a fine-grained scheme, we organize the data owner＇s file in hierarchy and introduce a virtual key generation phase to traditional HIBE. Also, the scheme can provide delegation and revocation functions easily, Besides, our schemes guarantee known-key secrecy, forward secrecy, and antidirection secrecy and possess the resistance capability to collude-attack. Evaluation results show that our scheme indeed achieves the security and efficiency.