In situ crosslinking of polyoxometalate-polymer nanocomposites for robust high-temperature proton exchange membranes

The most practical high-temperature proton exchange membranes(PEMs) are phosphoric acid(PA)-doped polymer electrolytes. However, due to the plasticizing effect of PA, it is a challenge to address the trade-off between the proton conductivity and the mechanical performance of these materials. Here,we report an effective strategy to fabricate robust high-temperature PEMs based on the in situ electrostatic crosslinking of polyoxometalates and polymers. A comb copolymer poly(ether-ether-ketone)-grafted-poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)(PGE) with transformable side chains was synthesized and complexed with H_(3)PW_(12)O_(40)(PW) by electrostatic self-assembly, forming PGE/PW nanocomposite membranes with bicontinuous nanostructures. After a subsequent PA-treatment of these membranes, high-temperature PEMs of PGE/PW/PA ternary nanocomposites were obtained, in which the in situ electrostatic crosslinking effect between PW and PGE side chains was generated in the hydrophilic domains of the bicontinuous structures. The microphase separation structure and the electrostatic crosslinking feature endow the PGE/PW/PA membranes with excellent anhydrous proton conductive ability while retaining high mechanical performance. The membranes show a high proton conductivity of 42.5 m S/cm at 150 ℃ and a high tensile strength of 13 MPa. Our strategy can pave a new route based on electrostatic control to design nanostructured polymer electrolytes.

Nano silica aerogel-induced formation of an organic/alloy biphasic interfacial layer enables construction of stable high-energy lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal batteries represent promising candidates for high-energy-density batteries, however, many challenges must still be overcome,e.g., interface instability and dendrite growth. In this work, nano silica aerogel was employed to generate a hybrid film with high lithium ion conductivity(0.6 mS cm^(-1)at room temperature) via an in situ crosslinking reaction. TOF-SIMS profile analysis has revealed conversion mechanism of hybrid film to Li–Si alloy/Li F biphasic interface layer, suggesting that the Li–Si alloy and Li F-rich interface layer promoted rapid Li+transport and shielded the Li anodes from corrosive reactions with electrolyte-derived products. When coupled with nickel-cobalt-manganese-based cathodes, the batteries achieve outstanding capacity retention over 1000 cycles at 1 C. Additionally the developed film coated on Li enabled high coulombic efficiency(99.5%) after long-term cycling when coupled with S cathodes. Overall, the results presented herein confirm an effective strategy for the development of high-energy batteries.

Rational Design of Robust and Universal Aqueous Binders to Enable Highly Stable Cyclability of High-Capacity Conversion and Alloy-Type Anodes

The development of high-performance binders is a simple but effective approach to address the rapid capacity decay of high-capacity anodes caused by large volume change upon lithiation/delithiation.Herein,we demonstrate a unique organic/inorganic hybrid binder system that enables an efficient in situ crosslinking of aqueous binders(e.g.,sodium alginate(SA)and carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC))by reacting with an inorganic crosslinker(sodium metaborate hydrate(SMH))upon vacuum drying.The resultant 3D interconnected networks endow the binders with strong adhesion and outstanding self-healing capability,which effectively improve the electrode integrity by preventing fracturing and exfoliation during cycling and facilitate Li^(+)ion transfer.SiO anodes fabricated from the commercial microsized powders with the SA/0.2SMH binder maintain 1470 mAh g^(-1)of specific capacity at 100 mA g^(-1)after 200 cycles,which is 5 times higher than that fabricated with SA binder alone(293 mAh g^(-1)).Nearly,no capacity loss was observed over 500 cycles when limiting discharge capacity at 1500 mAh g^(-1).The new binders also dramatically improved the performance of Fe_(2)O_(3),Fe_(3)O_(4),NiO,and Si electrodes,indicating the excellent applicability.This finding represents a novel strategy in developing high-performance aqueous binders and improves the prospect of using high-capacity anode materials in Li-ion batteries.

Human eye ocular component analysis for refractive state and refractive surgery

AIM： To analyze the clinical factors influencing the human vision corrections via the changing of ocular components of human eye in various applications; and to analyze refractive state via a new effective axial length.METHODS： An effective eye model was introduced by the ocular components of human eye including refractive indexes, surface radius（r1, r2, R1, R2） and thickness（t, T） of the cornea and lens, the anterior chamber depth（S1） and the vitreous length（S2）. Gaussian optics was used to calculate the change rate of refractive error per unit amount of ocular components of a human eye（the rate function M）. A new criterion of myopia was presented via an effective axial length.RESULTS： For typical corneal and lens power of 42 and 21.9 diopters, the rate function Mj（j=1 to 6） were calculated for a 1% change of r1, r2, R1, R2, t, T（in diopters） M1=＋0.485, M2=-0.063, M3=＋0.053, M4=＋0.091, M5=＋0.012, and M6=-0.021 diopters. For 1.0 mm increase of S1 and S2, the rate functions were M7=＋1.35, and M8=-2.67 diopter/mm, respectively. These rate functions were used to analyze the clinical outcomes in various applications including laser in situ keratomileusis surgery, corneal cross linking procedure, femtosecond laser surgery and scleral ablation for accommodation.CONCLUSION： Using Gaussian optics, analytic formulas are presented for the change of refractive power due to various ocular parameter changes. These formulas provide useful clinical guidance in refractive surgery and other related procedures.