Lithium-Oxygen Batteries and Related Systems: Potential, Status, and Future.

The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires a drastic reduction in CO emissions across many sectors of the world economy. Batteries are vital to this endeavor, whether used in electric vehicles, to store renewable electricity, or in aviation.

Locating intercalants within lipid bilayers using fluorescence quenching by bromophospholipids and iodophospholipids.

In previous work, we have been able to determine the depth of intercalated molecules within the lipid bilayer using the solvent polarity sensitivity of three spectroscopic techniques: the C NMR chemical shift (δ); the fluorescence emission wavelength (λ), and the ESR β-H splitting constants (a). In the present paper, we use the quenching by a heavy atom (Br or I), situated at a known location along a phospholipid chain, as a probe of the location of a fluorescent moiety. We have synthesized various phospholipids with bromine (or iodine) atoms substituted at various locations along the lipid chain.

Shedding Light on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Mechanism in Ether-Based Electrolyte Solutions: A Study Using Operando UV-Vis Spectroscopy.

Using UV-vis spectroscopy in conjunction with various electrochemical techniques, we have developed a new effective operando methodology for investigating the oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) and their mechanisms in nonaqueous solutions. We can follow the in situ formation and presence of superoxide moieties during ORR as a function of solvent, cations, anions, and additives in the solution. Thus, using operando UV-vis spectroscopy, we found evidence for the formation of superoxide radical anions during oxygen reduction in LiTFSI/diglyme electrolyte solutions.

2,4-Dimethoxy-2,4-dimethylpentan-3-one: An Aprotic Solvent Designed for Stability in Li-O Cells.

In this study, we present a new aprotic solvent, 2,4-dimethoxy-2,4-dimethylpentan-3-one (DMDMP), which is designed to resist nucleophilic attack and hydrogen abstraction by reduced oxygen species. Li-O cells using DMDMP solutions were successfully cycled. By various analytical measurements, we showed that even after prolonged cycling only a negligible amount of DMDMP was degraded.

The importance of solvent selection in Li-O cells.

We have examined the effect of glyme selection on the cycling behavior of Li-O cells. We conclude that diglyme is the optimal solvent for prolonged cycling. We have also focused on the effect of electrolyte solution instability as compared to other cell components.