Nonaqueous potassium-ion full-cells:Mapping the progress and identifying missing puzzle pieces

This review addresses the growing interest for potassium-ion full-cells(KIFCs)in view of the transition from potassium-ion half-cells(KIHCs)toward commercial K-ion batteries(KIBs).It focuses on the key parameters of KIFCs such as the electrode/electrolyte interfaces challenge,major barriers,and recent advancements in KIFCs.The strategies for enhancing KIFC performance,including interfaces co ntrol,electrolyte optimization,electrodes capacity ratio,electrode material screening and electrode design,are discussed.The review highlights the need to evaluate KIBs in full-cell configurations as half-cell results are strongly impacted by the K metal reactivity.It also emphasizes the importance of understanding solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)formation in KIFCs and explores promising nonaqueous as well as quasiand all-solid-state electrolytes options.This review thus paves the way for practical,cost-effective,and scalable KIBs as energy storage systems by offering insights and guidance for future research.

Strategies to achieve effective nitrogen activation

Ammonia serves as a crucial chemical raw material and hydrogen energy carrier.Aqueous electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR),powered by renewable energy,has attracted tremendous interest during the past few years.Although some achievements have been revealed in aqueous NRR,significant challenges have also been identified.The activity and selectivity are fundamentally limited by nitrogen activation and competitive hydrogen evolution.This review focuses on the hurdles of nitrogen activation and delves into complementary strategies,including materials design and system optimization(reactor,electrolyte,and mediator).Then,it introduces advanced interdisciplinary technologies that have recently emerged for nitrogen activation using high-energy physics such as plasma and triboelectrification.With a better understanding of the corresponding reaction mechanisms in the coming years,these technologies have the potential to be extended in further applications.This review provides further insight into the reaction mechanisms of selectivity and stability of different reaction systems.We then recommend a rigorous and detailed protocol for investigating NRR performance and also highlight several potential research directions in this exciting field,coupling with advanced interdisciplinary applications,in situ/operando characterizations,and theoretical calculations.

Electrochemical Study of the Corrosion Inhibitory Capacity of Calcined Attapulgite in Reinforced Concrete Medium

The durability of reinforced concrete structures is greatly influenced by the corrosion of the reinforcement. In addition to air pollution related to the repair of corroded structures, chloride ions are the main factors of corrosion of reinforced concrete structures. This study aims to valorize a clay inhibitor against reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete. This clay (Attapulgite) was incorporated into reinforced concretes at different percentages of substitution of calcined attapulgite (0%, 5% and 10%) to cement in the formulation. The corrosion inhibitory power of attapulgite is evaluated in reinforced concretes subjected to the action of chloride ions at different intervals in the NaCl solution (1 day, 21 days and 45 days) by electrochemical methods (zero current chronopotentiometry, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). This study showed that in the presence of chloride ions, the composition based on 10% attapulgite has an appreciable inhibitory effect with an average inhibitory efficiency of 82%.

Effect of Thermal Cycles on Creep Behavior of Bituminous Binder in Hot Regions

This research is devoted to the study of creep behavior of asphalt binder in hot region.This binder was subjected to thermal cycles due to the variation of temperature from day to night.These cycles produce a heating-cooling phenomenon.To evaluate the effect of climate change in laboratory,the DSR(dynamic shear rheometer)was used,and the results found with the nine samples were compared.These thermal cycles led to aging and therefore hardening of the binder.Thus,a rheological model was proposed that can represent the curves obtained experimentally,where it is able to describe the creep behavior of binders tested.A new model is proposed that correlates well with the experimental curves,which is called A+2 K.

Statistical Study of the Geoeffectivity of Halo Coronal Mass Ejections Associated with X-Class Flares during Solar Cycles 23 and 24

By analysing a long series of data (1996-2019), we show that solar cycle 23 was more marked by violent solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) compared to solar cycle 24. In particular, the halo coronal mass ejections associated with X-class flares appear to be among the most energetic events in solar activity given the size of the flares, the speed of the CMEs and the intense geomagnetic storms they produce. Out of eighty-six (86) X-class halo CMEs, thirty-seven (37) or 43% are highly geoeffective;twenty-four (24) or approximately 28% are moderately geoeffective and twenty-five (25) or 29% are not geoeffective. Over the two solar cycles (1996 to 2019), 71% of storms were geoeffective and 29% were not. For solar cycle 23, about 78% of storms were geoeffective, while for solar cycle 24, about 56% were geoeffective. For the statistical study based on speed, 85 halo CMEs associated with X-class flares were selected because the CME of 6 December 2006 has no recorded speed value. For both solar cycles, 75.29% of the halo CMEs associated with X-class flares have a speed greater than 1000 km/s. The study showed that 42.18% of halo (X) CMEs with speeds above 1000 km/s could cause intense geomagnetic disturbances. These results show the contribution (in terms of speed) of each class of halo (X) CMEs to the perturbation of the Earth’s magnetic field. Coronal mass ejections then become one of the key indicators of solar activity, especially as they affect the Earth.

Multivariate Approach to Characterizing Soil Quality of Gabonese’s Ferralitic Soils

Assessing soil quality is essential for crop management and soil temporal changes. The present study aims to evaluate soil quality in the Ferralitic soils context countrywide. This assessment was done using multivariate soil quality indice (SQI) models, such as additive quality index (AQI), weighted quality indexes (WQIadd and WQIcom) and Nemoro quality index (NQI), applied to two approaches of indicator selection: total data set (TDS) and minimum data set (MDS). Physical and chemical soil indicators were extracted from the ORSTOM’s reports resulting from a sampling campaign in different provinces of Gabon. The TDS approach shows soil quality status according to eleven soil indicators extracted from the analysis of 1,059 samples from arable soil layer (0 - 30 cm depth). The results indicated that 87% of all provinces presented a very low soil quality (Q5) whatever the model. Among soil indicators, exchangeable K+ and Mg2+, bulk density and C/N ratio were retained in MDS, using principal component analysis (PCA). In the MDS approach, 50 to 63% of provinces had low soil quality grades with AQI, WQIadd and NQI, whereas the total was observed with WQIcom. Only 25% of provinces had medium soil quality grades with AQI and NQI models, while 12.5% (NQI) and 25% (AQI) presented high quality grades. Robust statistical analyses confirmed the accuracy and validation (0.80 r P ≤ 0.016) of AQI, WQIadd and NQI into the TDS and MDS approaches. The same sensitivity index value (1.53) was obtained with AQI and WQIadd. However, WQIadd was chosen as the best SQI model, according to its high linear regression value (R2 = 0.82) between TDS and MDS. This study has important implications in decision-making on monitoring, evaluation and sustainable management of Gabonese soils in a pedoclimatic context unfavorable to plant growth.

High-throughput calculation-based rational design of Fe-doped MoS_(2) nanosheets for electrocatalytic p H-universal overall water splitting

Electrocatalytic water splitting is crucial for H2generation via hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)but subject to the sluggish dynamics of oxygen evolution reaction(OER).In this work,single Fe atomdoped MoS_(2)nanosheets(SFe-DMNs)were prepared based on the high-throughput density functional theory(DFT)calculation screening.Due to the synergistic effect between Fe atom and MoS_(2)and optimized intermediate binding energy,the SFe-DMNs could deliver outstanding activity for both HER and OER.When assembled into a two-electrode electrolytic cell,the SFe-DMNs could achieve the current density of 50 mA cm^(-2)at a low cell voltage of 1.55 V under neutral condition.These results not only confirmed the effectiveness of high-throughput screening,but also revealed the excellent activity and thus the potential applications in fuel cells of SFe-DMNs.

Construction of MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure on two-dimensional MoS_(2) surface to regulate the reaction pathways for high-performance Li-O_(2) batteries

The inherent catalytic anisotropy of two-dimensional(2D) materials has limited the enhancement of LiO_(2) batteries(LOBs) performance due to the significantly different adsorption energies on 2D and edge surfaces.Tuning the adsorption strength in 2D materials to the reaction intermediates is essential for achieving high-performance LOBs.Herein,a MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure is designed as a cathode catalyst by adjusting the adsorption behavior at the surface.Different from the toroidal-like discharge products on the MoS_(2) cathode,the MnS/MoS_(2) surface displays an improved adsorption energy to reaction species,thereby promoting the growth of the film-like discharge products.MnS can disturb the layer growth of MoS_(2),in which the stack edge plane features a strong interaction with the intermediates and limits the growth of the discharge products.Experimental and theoretical results confirm that the MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure possesses improved electron transfer kinetics at the interface and plays an important role in the adsorption process for reaction species,which finally affects the morphology of Li_2O_(2),In consequence,the MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure exhibits a high specific capacity of 11696.0 mA h g^(-1) and good cycle stability over 1800 h with a fixed specific capacity of 600 mA h g^(-1) at current density of100 mA g^(-1) This work provides a novel interfacial engineering strategy to enhance the performance of LOBs by tuning the adsorption properties of 2D materials.

Optimisation of Thermal Comfort of Building in a Hot and Dry Tropical Climate: A Comparative Approach between Compressed Earth/Concrete Block Envelopes

Compressed earth blocks (CEB) are an alternative to cement blocks in the construction of wall masonry. However, the optimal architectural construction methods for adequate thermal comfort for occupants in hot and arid environments are not mastered. This article evaluates the influence of architectural and constructive modes of buildings made of CEB walls and concrete block walls, to optimize and compare their thermal comfort in the hot and dry tropical climate of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Two identical pilot buildings whose envelopes are made of CEB and concrete blocks were monitored for this study. The thermal models of the pilot buildings were implemented in the SketchUp software using an extension of EnergyPlus. The models were empirically validated after calibration against measured thermal data from the buildings. The models were used to do a parametric analysis for optimization of the thermal performances by simulating plaster coatings on the exterior of walls, airtight openings and natural ventilation depending on external weather conditions. The results show that the CEB building displays 7016 hours of discomfort, equivalent to 80.1% of the time, and the concrete building displays 6948 hours of discomfort, equivalent to 79.3% of the time. The optimization by modifications reduced the discomfort to 2918 and 3125 hours respectively;i.e. equivalent to only 33.3% for the CEB building and 35.7% for the concrete building. More study should evaluate thermal optimizations in buildings in real time of usage such as residential buildings commonly used by the local middle class. The use of CEB as a construction material and passive means of improving thermal comfort is a suitable ecological and economical option to replace cementitious material.

Hexavalent Chromium Cr (VI) Removal from Water by Mango Kernel Powder

Metal trace elements (MTE) are among the most harmful micropollutants of natural waters. Eliminating them helps improve the quality and safety of drinking water and protect human health. In this work, we used mango kernel powder (MKP) as bioadsorbent material for removal of Cr (VI) from water. Uv-visible spectroscopy was used to monitor and quantify Cr (VI) during processing using the Beer-Lambert formula. Some parameters such as pH, mango powder, mass and contact time were optimized to determine adsorption capacity and chromium removal rate. Adsorption kinetics, equilibrium, isotherms and thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG˚, ΔH˚, and ΔS˚, as well as FTIR were studied to better understand the Cr (VI) removal process by MKP. The adsorption capacity reached 94.87 mg/g, for an optimal contact time of 30 min at 298 K. The obtained results are in accordance with a pseudo-second order Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. Finally FTIR was used to monitor the evolution of absorption bands, while Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to evaluate surface properties and morphology of the adsorbent.

Investigation of the Fermentation Mode of Rice Husk for the Stabilization of Earth Plaster

Despite its low resistance to humidity, adobe remains the most widely used material for housing construction, particularly in developing countries. The present study aims to assess different modes of use of fermented RH and to evaluate their influence on the behavior of raw earth for application in plaster. The influences of two types of RH are evaluated: granular rice husk (RHg) and powdered RH (RHp). The clay mainly consists of clay (40%), silt (22%), and sand (38.4%), with a small proportion of gravel (0.24%). Its liquidity limit is 40% and the plasticity index is 26.5%. The mixtures were designed using earth and each of the two rice husks at the volumetric content of 10%, 15% and 20% of the total volume mixed with water 36.5%, 38.5% and 40.3% and fermented for three weeks. Each fermented mixture was added to the soil to form the paste, and 40 × 40 × 160 mm3 test speciments were made for characterization. The results generally show an improvement in the physico-mechanical properties and water resistance of the mortars containing fermented RH, with an optimal content between 10% and 15%. The powdered RH improved the performance of the mortar better than granular RH.

National Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Inventories under Different Mangrove Forest Types in Gabon

Gabonese’s estuary is an important coastal mangrove setting and soil plays a key role in mangrove carbon storage in mangrove forests. However, the spatial variation in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage remain unclear. To address this gap, determining the SOC spatial variation in Gabonese’s estuarine is essential for better understanding the global carbon cycle. The present study compared soil organic carbon between northern and southern sites in different mangrove forest, Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia germinans. The results showed that the mean SOC stocks at 1 m depth were 256.28 ± 127.29 MgC ha−1. Among the different regions, SOC in northern zone was significantly (p p < 0.001). The deeper layers contained higher SOC stocks (254.62 ± 128.09 MgC ha−1) than upper layers (55.42 ± 25.37 MgC ha−1). The study highlights that low deforestation rate have led to less CO2 (705.3 Mg CO2e ha−1 - 922.62 Mg CO2e ha−1) emissions than most sediment carbon-rich mangroves in the world. These results highlight the influence of soil texture and mangrove forest types on the mangrove SOC stocks. The first national comparison of soil organic carbon stocks between mangroves and upland tropical forests indicated SOC stocks were two times more in mangroves soils (51.21 ± 45.00 MgC ha−1) than primary (20.33 ± 12.7 MgC ha−1), savanna and cropland (21.71 ± 15.10 MgC ha−1). We find that mangroves in this study emit lower dioxide-carbon equivalent emissions. This study highlights the importance of national inventories of soil organic carbon and can be used as a baseline on the role of mangroves in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation but the variation in SOC stocks indicates the need for further national data.

Influence of Heavy Fuel Oil on the Thermo-Physical and Erodibility Properties of Earthen Materials

This study focuses on the use of heavy fuel oil in construction material in Burkina Faso. Its mixture with silty or clayey soil is used as a coating to reinforce the walls of raw earth constructions which are very sensitive to water. The interest of this study is to determine erodibility, water content, while highlighting the influence of the porosity accessible by water on thermal diffusion in construction material containing heavy fuel oil. The heavy fuel oil was mixed with a silty-clayey soil, in different proportions, and water to make bricks samples on which tests were carried out. At the end of the experimental tests, it appears that the water content increases gradually, but not significantly with the addition of heavy fuel oil, which causes a slight increase in the speed of heat propagation through the material with reduced porosity, particularly those containing higher quantities of heavy fuel oil. Conversely, we note a good performance of heavy fuel oil in terms of water resistance properties such as porosity accessible by water and erodibility. This allows us to conclude that the mixture of heavy fuel oil and silty-clayey soil used as a coating material could greatly reduce water infiltration into the walls of housing constructions with raw earthen materials.

Evaluation of Water Losses by Evaporation in the Nakanbe Basin

A numerical approach to heat and mass transfer in a large water reservoir is presented. This water reservoir is likened to a parallelepiped reservoir whose vertical and lower walls are adiabatic and impermeable. The equations that govern natural convection in water are solved by the finite volume method and Thomas’salgorithm. The adequacy between the velocity and pressure fields is ensured by the SIMPLE algorithm. We are going to evaluate the water losses by evaporation from three dams in the Nakanbé basin in Burkina Faso for a period of thirty years, that is to say from January 1, 1991, to March 15, 2020. The three dams have a rate of evaporation greater than 40% of the volume of water stored. Indeed the rate of evaporation in each dam increases with the water filling rate in the reservoir: we have observed the following results for each dam in the Nakanbé basin;for the date of 02/27/1988 to 03/13/2020., the Loumbila dam received a total volume of stored water of 22.02 Mm3 and 10.57 Mm3 as the total volume of water evaporated at the same date. At the Ouaga dam (2 + 3), it stored a water volume of 4.06 Mm3 and evaporated 2.03 Mm3 of its storage volume from 01/01/1988 to 05/07/2016. Finally, with regard to the Bagré dam, it stored 745.16 Mm3 of water and 365.13 Mm3 as the volume of water evaporated from 01/01/1993 to 03/31/2020.

Ion emission from warm dense matter produced by irradiation with a soft x-ray free-electron laser

We report on an experiment performed at the FLASH2 free-electron laser(FEL)aimed at producing warm dense matter via soft x-ray isochoric heating.In the experiment,we focus on study of the ions emitted during the soft x-ray ablation process using time-of-flight electron multipliers and a shifted Maxwell–Boltzmann velocity distribution model.We find that most emitted ions are thermal,but that some impurities chemisorbed on the target surface,such as protons,are accelerated by the electrostatic field created in the plasma by escaped electrons.The morphology of the complex crater structure indicates the presence of several ion groups with varying temperatures.We find that the ion sound velocity is controlled by the ion temperature and show how the ion yield depends on the FEL radiation attenuation length in different materials.

Impact of W alloying on microstructure, mechanical property and corrosion resistance of face-centered cubic high entropy alloys: A review

Face-centered cubic (f.c.c.) high entropy alloys (HEAs) are attracting more and more attention owing to their excellent strength and ductility synergy, irradiation resistance, etc. However, the yield strength of f.c.c. HEAs is generally low, significantly limiting their practical applications. Recently, the alloying of W has been evidenced to be able to remarkably improve the mechanical properties of f.c.c. HEAs and is becoming a hot topic in the community of HEAs. To date, when W is introduced, multiple strengthening mechanisms, including solid-solution strengthening, precipitation strengthening (μphase,σphase, and b.c.c. phase), and grain-refinement strengthening, have been discovered to be activated or enhanced. Apart from mechanical properties, the addition of W improves corrosion resistance as W helps to form a dense WO_(3) film on the alloy surface. Until now, despite the extensive studies in the literature, there is no available review paper focusing on the W doping of the f.c.c. HEAs. In that context, the effects of W doping on f.c.c. HEAs were reviewed in this work from three aspects, i.e., microstructure,mechanical property, and corrosion resistance. We expect this work can advance the application of the W alloying strategy in the f.c.c. HEAs.

Material manufacturing from atomic layer

Atomic scale engineering of materials and interfaces has become increasingly important in material manufacturing.Atomic layer deposition(ALD)is a technology that can offer many unique properties to achieve atomic-scale material manufacturing controllability.Herein,we discuss this ALD technology for its applications,attributes,technology status and challenges.We envision that the ALD technology will continue making significant contributions to various industries and technologies in the coming years.

A super wear-resistant coating for Mg alloys achieved by plasma electrolytic oxidation and discontinuous deposition

Magnesium alloys are lightweight materials with great potential,and plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)is effective surface treatment for necessary improvement of corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys.However,the∼14µm thick and rough PEO protection layer has inferior wear resistance,which limits magnesium alloys as sliding or reciprocating parts,where magnesium alloys have special advantages by their inherent damping and denoising properties and attractive light-weighting.Here a novel super wear-resistant coating for magnesium alloys was achieved,via the discontinuous sealing(DCS)of a 1.3µm thick polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)polymer layer with an initial area fraction(A_(f))of 70%on the necessary PEO protection layer by selective spraying,and the wear resistance was exceptionally enhanced by∼5500 times in comparison with the base PEO coating.The initial surface roughness(Sa)under PEO+DCS(1.54µm)was imperfectly 59%higher than that under PEO and conventional continuous sealing(CS).Interestingly,DCS was surprisingly 20 times superior for enhancing wear resistance in contrast to CS.DCS induced nano-cracks that splitted DCS layer into multilayer nano-blocks,and DCS also provided extra space for the movement of nano-blocks,which resulted in rolling friction and nano lubrication.Further,DCS promoted mixed wear of the PTFE polymer layer and the PEO coating,and the PTFE layer(HV:6 Kg·mm^(−2),A_(f):92.2%)and the PEO coating(HV:310 Kg·mm^(−2),A_(f):7.8%)served as the soft matrix and the hard point,respectively.Moreover,the dynamic decrease of Sa by 29%during wear also contributed to the super wear resistance.The strategy of depositing a low-frictional discontinuous layer on a rough and hard layer or matrix also opens a window for achieving super wear-resistant coatings in other materials.

Study of the Temperature-Programmed Desorption of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) on Zeolites X Modified with Bivalent Cations

Study of physisorbed and chemisorbed carbon dioxide (CO2) species was carried out on the NaX zeolite modified by cationic exchanges with bivalent cations (Ca2+ and Ba2+) by temperature-programmed desorption of CO2 (CO2-TPD). Others results were obtained by infrared to complete the study. The results of this research showed, in the physisorption region (213 - 473 K), that the cationic exchanges on NaX zeolite with bivalent cations increase slightly the interactions of CO2 molecule with adsorbents and/or cationic site. Indeed, the desorption energies of physisorbed CO2 obtained on the reference zeolite NaX (13.5 kJ·mol-1) are lower than that of exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX (15.77 and 15.17 kJ·mol-1 respectively). In the chemisorbed CO2 region (573 - 873 K), the desorption energies related to desorbed species (bidentate carbonates: CO32-) on the exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX are about 81 kJ·mol-1, higher than the desorbed species (bicarbonates: HCO32-) on the reference R-NaX (62 kJ·mol-1). In addition, the exchanged E-BaX zeolite develops the secondary adsorption sites corresponding to bicarbonates species with desorption energies of 35 kJ·mol-1 lower to desorption energies of bicarbonates noted on the reference zeolite NaX.

Effect of Defects at the Buffer Layer CdS/Absorber CIGS Interface on CIGS Solar Cell Performance

This scientific paper presents a study investigating the effects of defects at the CdS/CIGS and CdS/SDL interfaces on the performance of CIGS solar cells. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of defects at the interface between the CdS buffer layer and the CIGS absorber, as well as the surface defect layer (SDL), on CIGS solar cell performance. The study explores three key aspects: the impact of the conduction band offset (CBO) at the CdS/CIGS interface, the effects of interface defects and defect density on performance, and the combined influence of CBO and defect density at the CdS/ SDL and SDL/CIGS interfaces. For interface defects not exceeding 1013 cm-2, we obtained a good efficiency of 22.9% when -0.1 eV analyzing the quality of CdS/SDL and SDL/CIGS junctions, it appears that defects at the SDL/CIGS interface have very little impact on the performances of the CIGS solar cell. By optimizing the electrical parameters of the CdS/SDL interface defects, we achieved a conversion efficiency of 23.1% when -0.05 eV < CBO < 0.05 eV.