Progress and perspective of the cathode/electrolyte interface construction in all-solid-state lithium batteries

Security risks of flammability and explosion represent major problems with the use of conventional lithium rechargeable batteries using a liquid electrolyte.The application of solid-state electrolytes could effectively help to avoid these safety concerns.However,integrating the solid-state electrolytes into the all-solid-state lithium batteries is still a huge challenge mainly due to the high interfacial resistance present in the entire battery,especially at the interface between the cathode and the solid-state electrolyte pellet and the interfaces inside the cathode.Herein,recent progress made from investigations of cathode/solid-state electrolyte interfacial behaviors including the contact problem,the interlayer diffusion issue,the space-charge layer effect,and electrochemical compatibility is presented according to the classification of oxide-,sulfide-,and polymer-based solid-state electrolytes.We also propose strategies for the construction of ideal next-generation cathode/solid-state electrolyte interfaces with high room-temperature ionic conductivity,stable interfacial contact during long cycling,free formation of the space-charge region,and good compatibility with high-voltage cathodes.

A Silicon Monoxide Lithium-Ion Battery Anode with Ultrahigh Areal Capacity

Silicon monoxide(SiO)is an attractive anode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries for its ultra-high theoretical capacity of 2680 mAh g−1.The studies to date have been limited to electrodes with a rela-tively low mass loading(<3.5 mg cm^(−2)),which has seriously restricted the areal capacity and its potential in practical devices.Maximizing areal capacity with such high-capacity materials is critical for capitalizing their potential in practi-cal technologies.Herein,we report a monolithic three-dimensional(3D)large-sheet holey gra-phene framework/SiO(LHGF/SiO)composite for high-mass-loading electrode.By specifically using large-sheet holey graphene building blocks,we construct LHGF with super-elasticity and exceptional mechanical robustness,which is essential for accommodating the large volume change of SiO and ensuring the structure integrity even at ultrahigh mass loading.Additionally,the 3D porous graphene network structure in LHGF ensures excellent electron and ion transport.By systematically tailoring microstructure design,we show the LHGF/SiO anode with a mass loading of 44 mg cm^(−2)delivers a high areal capacity of 35.4 mAh cm^(−2)at a current of 8.8 mA cm^(−2)and retains a capacity of 10.6 mAh cm^(−2)at 17.6 mA cm^(−2),greatly exceeding those of the state-of-the-art commercial or research devices.Furthermore,we show an LHGF/SiO anode with an ultra-high mass loading of 94 mg cm^(−2)delivers an unprecedented areal capacity up to 140.8 mAh cm^(−2).The achievement of such high areal capacities marks a critical step toward realizing the full potential of high-capacity alloy-type electrode materials in practical lithium-ion batteries.

Pencil-beam scanning catheter for intracoronary optical coherence tomography

Current gradient-index(GRIN)lens based proximal-driven intracoronary optical coherence tomography(ICOCT)probes consist of a spacer and a GRIN lens with large gradient constant.This design provides great flexibility to control beam profiles,but the spacer length should be well controlled to obtain desired beam profiles and thus it sets an obstacle in mass catheter fabrication.Besides,although GRIN lens with large gradient constant can provide tight focus spot,it has short depth of focus and fast-expanded beam which leads to poor lateral resolution for deep tissue.In this paper,a type of spacer-removed probe is demonstrated with a small gradient constant GRIN lens.This design simplifies the fabrica-tion process and is suitable for mass production.The output beam of the catheter is a narrow nearly collimated light beam,referred to as pencil beam here.The full width at half maximum beam size varies from 35.1μm to 75.3μm in air over 3-mm range.Probe design principles are elaborated with probe/catheter fabrication and performance test.The in vivo imaging of the catheter was verified by a clinical ICOCT system.Those results prove that this novel pencil-beam scanning catheter is potentially a good choice for ICOCT systems.

Changes of composition and antibiotic resistance of fecal coliform bacteria in municipal wastewater treatment plant

The dynamics of the composition and antibiotic resistance of the fecal coliform bacteria(FCB)in a typical wastewater treatment plant(WWTP)were investigated concerning the seasonal changes.Results showed that WWTP could remove the FCB concentration by 3∼5 logs within the effluent of 10^(4)∼10^(5)CFU/L,but the antibiotic resistant rate of FCB species increased significantly after WWTP.The dominant FCB changed from Escherichia coli in the influent(∼73.0%)to Klebsiella pneumoniae in the effluent(∼53.3%)after WWTP,where the Escherichia coli was removed the most,while Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most persistent.The secondary tank removed the most of FCB(by 3∼4 logs)compared to other processes,but increased all the concerned antibiotic resistant rate.The potential super bugs of FCB community showing resistance to all the target antibiotics were selected in the biological treatment unit of WWTP.The FCB showed the highest multiple antibiotic resistance(92.9%)in total which even increased to 100%in the effluent.Klebsiella has the highest antibiotic resistant rate in FCB,with a multiple antibiotic resistance rate of 98.4%.These indicated that the Klebsiella pneumoniae not just Escherichia coli should be specially emphasized after WWTP concerning the health risk associated with FCB community.

UV-LED/P25-based photocatalysis for effective degradation of isothiazolone biocide

In this work,LED-based photocatalysis using mixed rutile and anatase phase TiO_(2)(P25)as the photocatalyst could effectively remove 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one(CMIT)and methylisothiazolone(MIT)simultaneously,with removal efficiencies above 80%within 20 min.The photocatalytic degradation of both CMIT and MIT could be modeled using a pseudo-first-order rate equation.The photocatalytic degradation rates of CMIT and MIT under LED280 illumination were higher than under LED310 or LED360 illumination.At concentrations below 100 mg/L,the degradation rate of CMIT and MIT under LED illumination significantly increased with increasing catalyst dosage.Additionally,the effects of the chloride ion concentration,alkalinity and dissolved organic matter on the photocatalytic degradation reaction were also investigated.The·OH free radicals were determined to play the primary role in the photocatalytic degradation reaction,with a degradation contribution of>95%.The photocatalytic degradation of CMIT and MIT mainly occurred via oxidation,hydrolysis,and chain growth reactions.Finally,the possible photocatalytic degradation pathways of CMIT and MIT over LED/P25 are proposed.

An isolation strategy to anchor atomic Ni or Co cocatalysts on TiO_(2)(A)for photocatalytic hydrogen production

TiO_(2) has been considered as an ideal photocatalyst for water splitting.However,narrow light absorbance,low charge separation efficiency,and rare surface active sites lead to the low photocatalytic efficiency of TiO_(2).Although extensive research attempted to improve the situation,there is still lack of method for constructing high active and noble-metal-free TiO_(2) photocatalyst for H_(2) evolution reactions(HER).In this work,we loaded single atomic(SA)Ni(or Co)on the surface of anatase TiO_(2)(TiO_(2)(A))nanosheets by an isolation strategy.Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and ethylene glycol(EDTA-EG)compounds were used to chelate metal ions in solution and form carbon quantum dots in the following thermal treatment to isolate the metal ions on surface of TiO_(2)(A).The prepared Ni SA/TiO_(2)(A)catalyst owned a“skin wrapped body”structure with in-situ formed twodimensional(2D)heterojunction facilitating the fast electron transfer.As a result,the Ni SA/TiO_(2)(A)catalyst showed a high H_(2) evolution rate of 2,900μmol·g−1·h−1.This work provides an isolation strategy for constructing promising single-atom metal catalyst for photocatalysis and beyond.

Application of silica-alumina as hydrothermally stable supports for Pt catalysts for acid-assisted soot oxidation

In this work,silica-alumina mixed oxides with different SiO_(2)contents(5%and 30%)were adopted as acidic supports for platinum catalysts for soot oxidation.The obtained catalysts were hydrothermally aged in 10%H_(2)0/air at 750℃for 20 h.The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),N_(2)adsorption,inductively coupled plasma(ICP),CO chemisorption,NH3temperature-programmed desorption(TPD),infrared(IR)spectroscopy of CO adsorption,temperature-programmed oxidation(TPO)of NO,and TPD of NO_(x).The surface acidity of catalyst was positive correlated with the content of SiO_(2),which kept platinum in metallic and partially oxidized states in an oxidizing atmosphere.Compared with sulfation treatment on the alumina support,the application of SiO_(2)-Al_(2)O_(3)mixed oxides does not result in the coverage of Pt active sites and the prepared catalysts exhibit excellent activity for NO oxidation.They promote NOxpreferential adsorption on soot and decomposition of surface oxygenated compounds(SOCs)as the sulfated Pt/Al_(2)O_(3)catalyst does.