Erratum to: Pyrometallurgical recycling of end -of-life lithium-ion batteries

Erratum to:International Journal of Minerals,Metallurgy and Materials Volume 31,Number 7,July 2024,Page 1554 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-024-2907-7 In this article,affiliation 1 has been erroneously given as Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Seoul 03722,Korea.

Upcycling plastic wastes into value-added products via electrocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis

Plastic,renowned for its versatility,durability,and cost-effectiveness,is indispensable in modern society.Nevertheless,the annual production of nearly 400 million tons of plastic,coupled with a recycling rate of only 9%,has led to a monumental environmental crisis.Plastic recycling has emerged as a vital response to this crisis,offering sustainable solutions to mitigate its environmental impact.Among these recycling efforts,plastic upcycling has garnered attention,which elevates discarded plastics into higher-value products.Here,electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic treatments stand at the forefront of advanced plastic upcycling.Electrocatalytic or photoelectrocatalytic treatments involve chemical reactions that facilitate electron transfer through the electrode/electrolyte interface,driven by electrical or solar energy,respectively.These methods enable precise control of chemical reactions,harnessing potential,current density,or light to yield valuable chemical products.This review explores recent progress in plastic upcycling through electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic pathways,offering promising solutions to the plastic waste crisis and advancing sustainability in the plastics industry.

Revealing the influence of in-situ formed LiCl on garnet/Li interface for dendrite-free solid-state batteries

Inadequate interfacial contact between lithium and solid-state electrolytes(SSEs)leads to elevated impedance and the growth of lithium dendrites,presenting significant obstacles to the practical viability of solid-state batteries(SSBs).To ameliorate interfacial contact,optimizing the surface treatment of SSEs has been widely adopted.However,the formation of LiCl through acid treatment,an equally crucial factor impacting SSB performance,has received limited attention,leaving its underlying mechanism unclear.Our study aims to shed light on SSE characteristics following LiCl formation and the removal of Li_(2)CO_(3) through acid treatment.We seek to establish quantifiable links between SSE surface structure and SSB performance,focusing on interfacial resistance,current distribution,critical current density(CCD),and lithium deposition.The formation of LiCl,occurring as Li_(2)CO_(3) is removed through acid treatment,effectively mitigates lithium dendrite formation on SSE surfaces.This action inhibits electron injection and reduces the diffusion rate of Li atoms.Simultaneously,acid treatment transforms the SSE surface into a lithiophilic state by eliminating surface Li_(2)CO_(3).Consequently,the interfacial resistance between lithium and SSEs substantially decreases from 487.67 to 35.99Ωcm^(2) at 25°C.This leads to a notably high CCD of 1.3 mA cm^(-2) and a significantly extended cycle life of 1,000 h.Furthermore,in full SSBs incorporating LiCoO_(2)cathodes and acid-treated garnet SSEs,we observe exceptional cyclability and rate capability.Our findings highlight that acid treatment not only establishes a fundamental relationship between SSE surfaces and battery performance but also offers an effective strategy for addressing interfacial challenges in SSBs.

Pyrometallurgical recycling of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries

The global importance of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)has been increasingly underscored with the advancement of high-performance energy storage technologies.However,the end-of-life of these batteries poses significant challenges from environmental,economic,and resource management perspectives.This review paper focuses on the pyrometallurgy-based recycling process of lithium-ion batteries,exploring the fundamental understanding of this process and the importance of its optimization.Centering on the high energy consumption and emission gas issues of the pyrometallurgical recycling process,we systematically analyzed the capital-intensive nature of this process and the resulting technological characteristics.Furthermore,we conducted an in-depth discussion on the future research directions to overcome the existing technological barriers and limitations.This review will provide valuable insights for researchers and industry stakeholders in the battery recycling field.

Extraction of intersecting palm-vein and palmprint features for cancellable identity verification

A novel method based on the cross-modality intersecting features of the palm-vein and the palmprint is proposed for identity verification.Capitalising on the unique geometrical relationship between the two biometric modalities,the cross-modality intersecting points provides a stable set of features for identity verification.To facilitate flexibility in template changes,a template transformation is proposed.While maintaining non-invertibility,the template transformation allows transformation sizes beyond that offered by the con-ventional means.Extensive experiments using three public palm databases are conducted to verify the effectiveness the proposed system for identity recognition.

Guest Editorial:Special issue on advances in representation learning for computer vision

Deep learning has been a catalyst for a transformative revo-lution in machine learning and computer vision in the past decade.Within these research domains,methods grounded in deep learning have exhibited exceptional performance across a spectrum of tasks.The success of deep learning methods can be attributed to their capability to derive potent representations from data,integral for a myriad of downstream applications.These representations encapsulate the intrinsic structure,fea-tures,or latent variables characterising the underlying statistics of visual data.Despite these achievements,the challenge per-sists in effectively conducting representation learning of visual data with deep models,particularly when confronted with vast and noisy datasets.This special issue is a dedicated platform for researchers worldwide to disseminate their latest,high-quality articles,aiming to enhance readers'comprehension of the principles,limitations,and diverse applications of repre-sentation learning in computer vision.

Direct 4D printing of functionally graded hydrogel networks for biodegradable,untethered,and multimorphic soft robots

Recent advances in functionally graded additive manufacturing(FGAM)technology have enabled the seamless hybridization of multiple functionalities in a single structure.Soft robotics can become one of the largest beneficiaries of these advances,through the design of a facile four-dimensional(4D)FGAM process that can grant an intelligent stimuli-responsive mechanical functionality to the printed objects.Herein,we present a simple binder jetting approach for the 4D printing of functionally graded porous multi-materials(FGMM)by introducing rationally designed graded multiphase feeder beds.Compositionally graded cross-linking agents gradually form stable porous network structures within aqueous polymer particles,enabling programmable hygroscopic deformation without complex mechanical designs.Furthermore,a systematic bed design incorporating additional functional agents enables a multi-stimuli-responsive and untethered soft robot with stark stimulus selectivity.The biodegradability of the proposed 4D-printed soft robot further ensures the sustainability of our approach,with immediate degradation rates of 96.6%within 72 h.The proposed 4D printing concept for FGMMs can create new opportunities for intelligent and sustainable additive manufacturing in soft robotics.

Fine-tuning electronic structure of N-doped graphitic carbon-supported Co-and Fe-incorporated Mo_(2)C to achieve ultrahigh electrochemical water oxidation activity

Mo_(2)C is an excellent electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).However,Mo_(2)C is a poor electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Herein,two different elements,namely Co and Fe,are incorporated in Mo_(2)C that,therefore,has a finely tuned electronic structure,which is not achievable by incorporation of any one of the metals.Consequently,the resulting electrocatalyst Co_(0.8)Fe_(0.2)-Mo_(2)C-80 displayed excellent OER catalytic performance,which is evidenced by a low overpotential of 214.0(and 246.5)mV to attain a current density of 10(and 50)mA cm^(-2),an ultralow Tafel slope of 38.4 mV dec^(-1),and longterm stability in alkaline medium.Theoretical data demonstrates that Co_(0.8)Fe_(0.2)-Mo_(2)C-80 requires the lowest overpotential(1.00 V)for OER and Co centers to be the active sites.The ultrahigh catalytic performance of the electrocatalyst is attributed to the excellent intrinsic catalytic activity due to high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area,large electrochemically active surface area,small Tafel slope,and low chargetransfer resistance.

Analysis of China’s Sports Diplomacy Path from the Perspective of Soft Power

“When a country prospers,sports thrive.”Building a strong sports country is an important connotation of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.Actively engaging in sports diplomacy from the perspective of soft power can expand a country’s international influence,promote friendly cooperation between nations,and enhance the overall image of the country.This article analyzes the concepts of soft power and sports diplomacy and explores the path of China’s sports diplomacy from four aspects:promoting diverse subjects,expanding propaganda channels,optimizing underlying design,and actively participating in competitions.

Functionally graded structure of a nitride-strengthened Mg_(2)Si-based hybrid composite

The ex-situ incorporation of the secondary SiC reinforcement,along with the in-situ incorporation of the tertiary and quaternary Mg_(3)N_(2) and Si_(3)N_(4) phases,in the primary matrix of Mg_(2)Si is employed in order to provide ultimate wear resistance based on the laser-irradiation-induced inclusion of N_(2) gas during laser powder bed fusion.This is substantialized based on both the thermal diffusion-and chemical reactionbased metallurgy of the Mg_(2)Si–SiC/nitride hybrid composite.This study also proposes a functional platform for systematically modulating a functionally graded structure and modeling build-direction-dependent architectonics during additive manufacturing.This strategy enables the development of a compositional gradient from the center to the edge of each melt pool of the Mg_(2)Si–SiC/nitride hybrid composite.Consequently,the coefficient of friction of the hybrid composite exhibits a 309.3%decrease to–1.67 compared to–0.54 for the conventional nonreinforced Mg_(2)Si structure,while the tensile strength exhibits a 171.3%increase to 831.5 MPa compared to 485.3 MPa for the conventional structure.This outstanding mechanical behavior is due to the(1)the complementary and synergistic reinforcement effects of the SiC and nitride compounds,each of which possesses an intrinsically high hardness,and(2)the strong adhesion of these compounds to the Mg_(2)Si matrix despite their small sizes and low concentrations.

Nitrile Electrolyte Strategy for 4.9 V-Class Lithium-Metal Batteries Operating in Flame

Challenges facing high-voltage/high-capacity cathodes,in addition to the longstanding problems pertinent to lithium(Li)-metal anodes,should be addressed to develop high-energy-density Li-metal batteries.This issue mostly stems from interfacial instability between electrodes and electrolytes.Conventional carbonate-or ether-based liquid electrolytes suffer from not only volatility and flammability but also limited electrochemical stability window.Here,we report a nitrile electrolyte strategy based on concentrated nitrile electrolytes(CNEs)with co-additives.The CNE consists of high-concentration lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide(LiFSI)in a solvent mixture of succinonitrile(SN)/acetonitrile(AN).The SN/AN solvent mixture is designed to ensure high oxidation stability along with thermal stability,which are prerequisites for high-voltage Li-metal cells.The CNE exhibits interfacial stability with Li metals due to the coordinated solvation structure.Lithium nitrate(LiNO_(3))and indium fluoride(InF_(3))are incorporated in the CNE as synergistic co-additives to further stabilize solid-electrolyte interphase(SEI)on Li metals.The resulting electrolyte(CNE+LiNO_(3)/InF_(3))enables stable cycling performance in Li||LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)and 4.9 V-class Li||LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_(4)cells.Notably,the Li||LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_(4)cell maintains its electrochemical activity at high temperature(100℃)and even in flame without fire or explosion.

Optimally arranged TiO_(2)@MoS_(2) heterostructures with effectively induced built-in electric field for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

To overcome the serious technological issues affecting lithium-sulfur(Li-S) batteries,such as sluggish sulfur redox kinetics and the detrimental shuttle effect,heterostructure engineering has been investigated as a strategy to effectively capture soluble lithium polysulfide intermediates and promote their conversion reaction by integrating highly polar metal oxides with catalytically active metals sulfides.However,to fully exploit the outstanding properties of heterostructure-based composites,their detailed structure and interfacial contacts should be designed rationally.Herein,optimally arranged TiO_(2)and MoS_(2)-based heterostructures(TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)) are fabricated on carbon cloth as a multifunctional interlayer to efficiently trap polysulfide intermediates and accelerate their redox kinetics.Owing to the synergistic effects between TiO_(2)and MoS_(2)and the uniform heterointerface distribution that induces the ideally oriented built-in electric field,Li-S batteries with TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)interlayers exhibit high rate capability(601 mA h g^(-1)at 5 C),good cycling stability(capacity-fade rate of 0.067% per cycle over 500 cycles at2 C),and satisfactory areal capacity(5.2 mA h cm^(-2)) under an increased sulfur loading of 5.2 mg cm^(-2).Moreover,by comparing with a MoS_(2)@TiO_(2)interlayer composed of reversely arranged heterostructures,the effect of the built-in electric field’s direction on the electrocatalytic reactions of polysulfide intermediates is thoroughly investigated for the first time.The superior electrocatalytic activities of the rationally arranged TiO_(2)@MoS_(2)interlayer demonstrate the importance of optimizing the built-in electric field of heterostructures for producing high-performance Li-S batteries.

Unassisted overall water splitting with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of over 10% by coupled lead halide perovskite photoelectrodes

Hydrogen is a promising future sustainable fuel candidate with boundless opportunities.Research into photoelectrochemical(PEC)water splitting based on a lead halide perovskite(LHP)has progressed significantly with the aim of more efficient solar hydrogen production.Herein,we unite a well-known photo-absorbing LHP with cost-effective water-splitting catalysts,and we introduce two types of monolithic LHP-based PEC devices that act as a photocathode and a photoanode for the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction,leading to efficient unbiased overall water splitting.Through the integration of these two monolithic LHP-based photoelectrodes,an unbiased solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 10.64%and a photocurrent density of 8.65 mA cm^(−2) are achieved.

Tailored BiVO_(4)/In_(2)O_(3)nanostructures with boosted charge separation ability toward unassisted water splitting

The development of new heterostructures with high photoactivity is a breakthrough for the limitation of solar-driven water splitting.Here,we first introduce indium oxide(In_(2)O_(3))nanorods(NRs)as a novel electron transport layer for bismuth vanadate(BiVO_(4))with a short charge diffusion length.In_(2)O_(3)NRs reinforce the electron transport and hole blocking of BiVO_(4),surpassing the state-of-the-art photoelectrochemical performances of BiVO_(4)-based photoanodes.Also,a tannin-nickel-iron complex(TANF)is used as an oxygen evolution catalyst to speed up the reaction kinetics.The final TANF/BiVO_(4)/In_(2)O_(3)NR photoanode generates photocurrent densities of 7.1 mAcm^(−2) in sulfite oxidation and 4.2 mA cm^(−2) in water oxidation at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode.Furthermore,the“artificial leaf,”which is a tandem cell with a perovskite/silicon solar cell,shows a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 6.2%for unbiased solar water splitting.We reveal significant advances in the photoactivity of TANF/BiVO_(4)/In_(2)O_(3)NRs from the tailored nanostructure and band structure for charge dynamics.

Novel Criteria on Finite-Time Stability of Impulsive Stochastic Nonlinear Systems

Dear Editor,This letter considers the finite-time stability(FTS)problem of generalized impulsive stochastic nonlinear systems(ISNS).By employing the stochastic Lyapunov and impulsive control approach,some novel criteria on FTS are presented,where both situations of stabilizing and destabilizing impulses are considered.Furthermore,new impulse-dependent estimation strategies of stochastic settling time(SST)are proposed.

Regional Economic Development Trend Prediction Method Based on Digital Twins and Time Series Network

At present,the interpretation of regional economic development(RED)has changed from a simple evaluation of economic growth to a focus on economic growth and the optimization of economic structure,the improvement of economic relations,and the change of institutional innovation.This article uses the RED trend as the research object and constructs the RED index to conduct the theoretical analysis.Then this paper uses the attention mechanism based on digital twins and the time series network model to verify the actual data.Finally,the regional economy is predicted according to the theoretical model.The specific research work mainly includes the following aspects:1)This paper introduced the development status of research on time series networks and economic forecasting at home and abroad.2)This paper introduces the basic principles and structures of long and short-term memory(LSTM)and convolutional neural network(CNN),constructs an improved CNN-LSTM model combined with the attention mechanism,and then constructs a regional economic prediction index system.3)The best parameters of the model are selected through experiments,and the trained model is used for simulation experiment prediction.The results show that the CNN-LSTM model based on the attentionmechanism proposed in this paper has high accuracy in predicting regional economies.

Efficient solar fuel production enabled by an iodide oxidation reaction on atomic layer deposited MoS_(2)

Oxygen evolution reaction(OER)as a half-anodic reaction of water splitting hinders the overall reaction efficiency owing to its thermodynamic and kinetic limitations.Iodide oxidation reaction(IOR)with low thermodynamic barrier and rapid reaction kinetics is a promising alternative to the OER.Herein,we present a molybdenum disulfide(MoS_(2))electrocatalyst for a high-efficiency and remarkably durable anode enabling IOR.MoS_(2)nanosheets deposited on a porous carbon paper via atomic layer deposition show an IOR current density of 10 mA cm^(–2)at an anodic potential of 0.63 V with respect to the reversible hydrogen electrode owing to the porous substrate as well as the intrinsic iodide oxidation capability of MoS_(2)as confirmed by theoretical calculations.The lower positive potential applied to the MoS_(2)-based heterostructure during IOR electrocatalysis prevents deterioration of the active sites on MoS_(2),resulting in exceptional durability of 200 h.Subsequently,we fabricate a two-electrode system comprising a MoS_(2)anode for IOR combined with a commercial Pt@C catalyst cathode for hydrogen evolution reaction.Moreover,the photovoltaic–electrochemical hydrogen production device comprising this electrolyzer and a single perovskite photovoltaic cell shows a record-high current density of 21 mA cm^(–2)at 1 sun under unbiased conditions.

High-Order Method with Moving Frames to Compute the Covariant Derivatives of Vectors on General 2D Curved Surfaces

The covariant derivative is a generalization of differentiating vectors.The Euclidean derivative is a special case of the covariant derivative in Euclidean space.The covariant derivative gathers broad attention,particularly when computing vector derivatives on curved surfaces and volumes in various applications.Covariant derivatives have been computed using the metric tensor from the analytically known curved axes.However,deriving the global axis for the domain has been mathematically and computationally challenging for an arbitrary two-dimensional(2D)surface.Consequently,computing the covariant derivative has been difficult or even impossible.A novel high-order numerical scheme is proposed for computing the covariant derivative on any 2D curved surface.A set of orthonormal vectors,known as moving frames,expand vectors to compute accurately covariant derivatives on 2D curved surfaces.The proposed scheme does not require the construction of curved axes for the metric tensor or the Christoffel symbols.The connectivity given by the Christoffel symbols is equivalently provided by the attitude matrix of orthonormal moving frames.Consequently,the proposed scheme can be extended to the general 2D curved surface.As an application,the Helmholtz‐Hodge decomposition is considered for a realistic atrium and a bunny.

Al-Biruni Earth Radius(BER)Metaheuristic Search Optimization Algorithm

Metaheuristic optimization algorithms present an effective method for solving several optimization problems from various types of applications and fields.Several metaheuristics and evolutionary optimization algorithms have been emerged recently in the literature and gained widespread attention,such as particle swarm optimization(PSO),whale optimization algorithm(WOA),grey wolf optimization algorithm(GWO),genetic algorithm(GA),and gravitational search algorithm(GSA).According to the literature,no one metaheuristic optimization algorithm can handle all present optimization problems.Hence novel optimization methodologies are still needed.The Al-Biruni earth radius(BER)search optimization algorithm is proposed in this paper.The proposed algorithm was motivated by the behavior of swarm members in achieving their global goals.The search space around local solutions to be explored is determined by Al-Biruni earth radius calculation method.A comparative analysis with existing state-of-the-art optimization algorithms corroborated the findings of BER’s validation and testing against seven mathematical optimization problems.The results show that BER can both explore and avoid local optima.BER has also been tested on an engineering design optimization problem.The results reveal that,in terms of performance and capability,BER outperforms the performance of state-of-the-art metaheuristic optimization algorithms.

Dissolution of TiO_(2) and TiN inclusions in CaO–SiO_(2)–B_(2)O_(3)-based fluorine-free mold flux

Mold flux serves the crucial metallurgical function of absorbing inclusions, directly impacting the smoothness of the casting process as well as the cast slab quality. In this study, the dissolution behavior and mechanism of Ti O_(2)and Ti N inclusions in molten Ca O–Si O_(2)–B_(2)O_(3)-based fluorine-free mold flux were explored by in situ single hot thermocouple technology combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The results showed that Ti O_(2) inclusions are effectively dissolved by the molten slag within 76 s, during which the original octahedral [Ti O_(6)]^(8-)structures are destroyed and convert to the networker tetrahedral [Ti O_(4)]^(4-)structures. However, the dissolution rate is much lower for Ti N inclusions than for Ti O_(2)inclusions. This can be attributed to the fact that the Ti N particles need to be oxidized and then dissolved in the molten slag to form tetrahedral [Ti O4]4-and octahedral [Ti O_(6)]^(8-)structures during the Ti N inclusion dissolution process, which is accompanied by the generation of a large amount of N_(2)gas. Moreover, Ca Ti O_(3)crystals tend to nucleate and grow on bubble surfaces with sufficient octahedral [Ti O_(6)]^(8-)structures and Ca^(2+)ions, eventually resulting in the molten slag being in a solid–liquid mixed state.