Nondestructive Analysis of Commercial Batteries.

Electrochemical batteries play a crucial role for powering portable electronics, electric vehicles, large-scale electric grids, and future electric aircraft. However, key performance metrics such as energy density, charging speed, lifespan, and safety raise significant consumer concerns. Enhancing battery performance hinges on a deep understanding of their operational and degradation mechanisms, from material composition and electrode structure to large-scale pack integration, necessitating advanced characterization methods.

Effects of catholyte aging on high-nickel NMC cathodes in sulfide all-solid-state batteries.

Sulfide solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) in all-solid-state batteries (SSBs) are recognized for their high ionic conductivity and inherent safety. The LiNiMnCoO (NMC811) cathode offers a high thermodynamic potential of approximately 3.8 V Li/Li and a theoretical specific capacity of 200 mA h g.

Solvent-mediated oxide hydrogenation in layered cathodes.

Self-discharge and chemically induced mechanical effects degrade calendar and cycle life in intercalation-based electrochromic and electrochemical energy storage devices. In rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, self-discharge in cathodes causes voltage and capacity loss over time. The prevailing self-discharge model centers on the diffusion of lithium ions from the electrolyte into the cathode.

Critical Contribution of Imbalanced Charge Loss to Performance Deterioration of Si-Based Lithium-Ion Cells during Calendar Aging.

Increasing the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, and thereby reducing costs, is a major target for industry and academic research. One of the best opportunities is to replace the traditional graphite anode with a high-capacity anode material, such as silicon. However, Si-based lithium-ion batteries have been widely reported to suffer from a limited calendar life for automobile applications.

Investigating links between Internet literacy, Internet use, and Internet addiction among Chinese youth and adolescents in the digital age.

Introduction: In current digital era, adolescents' Internet use has increased exponentially, with the Internet playing a more and more important role in their education and entertainment. However, due to the ongoing cognitive, emotion, and social development processes, youth and adolescents are more vulnerable to Internet addiction. Attention has been paid to the increased use of Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of Internet literacy in prevention and intervention of Internet addiction.

Whole-Voltage-Range Solid-Solution Reaction in Layered Oxide Cathode of Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Layered manganese-based oxides (LMOs) are promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their versatile structures. However, the Jahn-Teller effect of Mn induces severe distortion of MnO octahedra, and the resultant low symmetry is responsible for the gliding of MnO layers and then inferior multiple-phase transitions upon Na extraction/insertion. Here, hexagonal P2-Na Li Mn Ti O is synthesized through the incorporation of Li and Ti into the distorted orthorhombic P'2-Na MnO to function as a phase-transition-free oxide cathode.

IL-6 promotes pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells and regulates cardiac differentiation in a development-dependent manner.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6), an important component of cardiac microenvironment, favors cardiac repair by improving cardiomyocyte regeneration in different models. This study aimed to investigate the effects of IL-6 on stemness maintenances and cardiac differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The mESCs were treated with IL-6 for two days, and then subjected to CCK-8 essay for proliferation analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to evaluate the mRNA expression of genes related to stemness and germinal layers differentiation.

[Effect of on Bacterial Stress Response and Intracellular Infection and Immunity].

Objective: To investigate the effect of ( ) on bacterial stress response and intracellular infection and immunity.

Methods: The target gene amplified from H37Rv genome was cloned to the vector and then transferred to ( ) to construct a recombinant strain. Stress response experiment and Raw264.

Chasing protons in lithium-ion batteries.

Parasitic reactions between delithiated cathode materials and non-aqueous electrolytes have been a major barrier that limits the upper cutoff potential of cathode materials. It is of great importance to suppress such parasitic reactions to unleash the high-energy-density potential of high voltage cathode materials. Although major effort has been made to identify the chemical composition of the cathode electrolyte interface using various cutting edge characterization tools, the chemical nature of parasitic reactions remains a puzzle.

Native lattice strain induced structural earthquake in sodium layered oxide cathodes.

High-voltage operation is essential for the energy and power densities of battery cathode materials, but its stabilization remains a universal challenge. To date, the degradation origin has been mostly attributed to cycling-initiated structural deformation while the effect of native crystallographic defects induced during the sophisticated synthesis process has been significantly overlooked. Here, using in situ synchrotron X-ray probes and advanced transmission electron microscopy to probe the solid-state synthesis and charge/discharge process of sodium layered oxide cathodes, we reveal that quenching-induced native lattice strain plays an overwhelming role in the catastrophic capacity degradation of sodium layered cathodes, which runs counter to conventional perception-phase transition and cathode interfacial reactions.

Suppressing electrolyte-lithium metal reactivity via Li-desolvation in uniform nano-porous separator.

Lithium reactivity with electrolytes leads to their continuous consumption and dendrite growth, which constitute major obstacles to harnessing the tremendous energy of lithium-metal anode in a reversible manner. Considerable attention has been focused on inhibiting dendrite via interface and electrolyte engineering, while admitting electrolyte-lithium metal reactivity as a thermodynamic inevitability. Here, we report the effective suppression of such reactivity through a nano-porous separator.

Editorial for focus on nanophase materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries and beyond.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have revolutionized our society in many respects, and we are expecting even more favorable changes in our lifestyles with newer battery technologies. In pursuing such eligible batteries, nanophase materials play some important roles in LIBs and beyond technologies. Stimulated by their beneficial effects of nanophase materials, we initiated this Focus.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT6 modulates host innate immunity by downregulating miR-222-3p target PTEN.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and it is instant to discover novel anti-TB drugs due to the rapidly growing drug-resistance TB. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) secreted effector ESAT6 plays a critical role in modulation miRNAs to regulate host defense mechanisms during Mtb infection, it can be a possible target for new tuberculosis drugs. The non-tuberculous mycobacteria Mycobacterium smegmatis (M.

Role of Lithium Doping in P2-NaNiMnO for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

P2-structured NaNiMnO (PNNMO) is a promising Na-ion battery cathode material, but its rapid capacity decay during cycling remains a hurdle. Li doping in layered transition-metal oxide (TMO) cathode materials is known to enhance their electrochemical properties. Nevertheless, the influence of Li at different locations in the structure has not been investigated.

In situ observation of thermal-driven degradation and safety concerns of lithiated graphite anode.

Graphite, a robust host for reversible lithium storage, enabled the first commercially viable lithium-ion batteries. However, the thermal degradation pathway and the safety hazards of lithiated graphite remain elusive. Here, solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) decomposition, lithium leaching, and gas release of the lithiated graphite anode during heating were examined by in situ synchrotron X-ray techniques and in situ mass spectroscopy.

Improvement of the immunogenicity of ESAT-6 via fusion with the dodecameric protein dodecin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease that creates a heavy medical burden worldwide. The only approved vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), cannot fully protect adolescents and adults from TB. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an effective new vaccine.

Compensatory effects of mutations outside the rifampicin resistance-determining region.

has been observed to develop resistance to the frontline anti-tuberculosis drug rifampicin, primarily through mutations in the rifampicin resistance-determining region (RRDR) of . While these mutations have been determined to confer a fitness cost, compensatory mutations in and that may enhance the fitness of resistant strains have been demonstrated. Recent genomic studies identified several non-RRDR mutations that co-occurred with RRDR mutations in clinical isolates without mutations and may confer fitness compensation.

Kinetic Limitations in Single-Crystal High-Nickel Cathodes.

High-nickel cathodes attract immense interest for use in lithium-ion batteries to boost Li-storage capacity while reducing cost. For overcoming the intergranular-cracking issue in polycrystals, single-crystals are considered an appealing alternative, but aggravating concerns on compromising the ionic transport and kinetic properties. We report here a quantitative assessment of redox reaction in single-crystal LiNi Mn Co O using operando hard X-ray microscopy/spectroscopy, revealing a strong dependence of redox kinetics on the state of charge (SOC).

Probing the Thermal-Driven Structural and Chemical Degradation of Ni-Rich Layered Cathodes by Co/Mn Exchange.

The intrinsic poor thermal stability of layered LiNiCoMnO (NCM) cathodes and the exothermic side reactions triggered by the associated oxygen release are the main safety threats for their large-scale implantation. In the NCM family, it is widely accepted that Ni is the stability troublemaker, while Mn has long been considered as a structure stabilizer, whereas the role of Co remains elusive. Here, via Co/Mn exchange in a Ni-rich LiNiCoMnO cathode, we demonstrate that the chemical and structural stability of the deep delithiated NCM cathodes are significantly dominated by Co rather than the widely reported Mn.

Cardiac fibroblast paracrine factors modulate mouse embryonic stem cells.

The study aims to investigate the effects of cardiac fibroblast (CF) paracrine factors on murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Conditioned mediums from either neonatal cardiac fibroblasts (ConM-NCF) or adult cardiac fibroblasts (ConM-ACF) were diluted by 1:50 and 1:5, respectively, to investigate whether these conditioned mediums impact murine ESCs distinctly with RT-real time PCR techniques, cell proliferation essay, ELISA and by counting percentage of beating embryoid bodies (EBs) during ESCs differentiation. The data showed that the paracrine ability of CFs changed dramatically during development, in which interleukin 6 (IL6) increased with maturation.

[Preliminary Study on the Secretory Performance of Hypoxic Response Protein 1 (2626)].

Objective: To verify the secretory ability of the hypoxic response protein 1 (HRP1) encoded by (Mtb) 2626.

Methods: The target gene attached with His tag was amplified from the genome of Mtb standard virulence strain H37Rv. The recombinant plasmid contained the above amplified product was constructed and electroporated into (Ms) (MC 155) to construct a recombinant strain.

A polymeric composite protective layer for stable Li metal anodes.

Lithium (Li) metal is a promising anode for high-performance secondary lithium batteries with high energy density due to its highest theoretical specific capacity and lowest electrochemical potential among anode materials. However, the dendritic growth and detrimental reactions with electrolyte during Li plating raise safety concerns and lead to premature failure. Herein, we report that a homogeneous nanocomposite protective layer, prepared by uniformly dispersing AlPO nanoparticles into the vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene matrix, can effectively prevent dendrite growth and lead to superior cycling performance due to synergistic influence of homogeneous Li plating and electronic insulation of polymeric layer.

A Facile Approach to High Precision Detection of Cell-to-Cell Variation for Li-ion Batteries.

Over the past decade, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that homogeneity in electrochemical performance of lithium-ion cells plays a major role in determining the life and safety of lithium-ion battery modules or packs. Generally, the homogeneity of a battery pack is evaluated by characterizing the cells individually in terms of capacity, mass, impedance. Particularly, high quality electrochemical data heavily relies on the availability of high precision current source to minimize the discrepancy induced by the channel-to-channel variation.

Tuning Oxygen Redox Reaction through the Inductive Effect with Proton Insertion in Li-Rich Oxides.

As a parent compound of Li-rich electrodes, LiMnO exhibits high capacity during the initial charge; however, it suffers notoriously low Coulombic efficiency due to oxygen and surface activities. Here, we successfully optimize the oxygen activities toward reversible oxygen redox reactions by intentionally introducing protons into lithium octahedral vacancies in the LiMnO system with its original structural integrity maintained. Combining structural probes, theoretical calculations, and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering results, a moderate coupling between the introduced protons and lattice oxygen at the oxidized state is revealed, which stabilizes the oxygen activities during charging.