Migration of Mn cations in delithiated lithium manganese oxides.

Li2MnO3 is an integrated component in lithium-manganese-rich nickel manganese cobalt oxides, and the conversion of Li2MnO3 to a spinel-like structure after electrochemical activation has been associated with the continuous potential decay of the material. Delithiated Li2MnO3 and delithiated LiMn2O4 were used as model materials to investigate the mechanism of forming the spinel-like structure. An in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction technique was used to trace the structural change of materials at elevated temperatures, a procedure to mimic the structural transformation during the normal cycling of batteries.

Probing thermally induced decomposition of delithiated Li(1.2-x)Ni(0.15)Mn(0.55)Co(0.1)O2 by in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction.

Safety of lithium-ion batteries has been a major barrier to large-scale applications. For better understanding the failure mechanism of battery materials under thermal abuse, the decomposition of a delithiated high energy cathode material, Li1.2-xNi0.

New class of nonaqueous electrolytes for long-life and safe lithium-ion batteries.

Long-life and safe lithium-ion batteries have been long pursued to enable electrification of the transportation system and for grid applications. However, the poor safety characteristics of lithium-ion batteries have been the major bottleneck for the widespread deployment of this promising technology. Here, we report a novel nonaqueous Li(2)B(12)F(12-x)H(x) electrolyte, using lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate as an electrolyte additive, that has superior performance to the conventional LiPF(6)-based electrolyte with regard to cycle life and safety, including tolerance to both overcharge and thermal abuse.

Direct synthesis of bimetallic Pd3Ag nanoalloys from bulk Pd3Ag alloy.

We report a transformative, all inorganic synthesis method of preparing supported bimetallic Pd(3)Ag alloy nanoparticles. The method involves breaking down bulk Pd(3)Ag alloy into the nanoparticles in liquid lithium, converting metallic Li to LiOH, and transferring Pd(3)Ag nanoparticles/LiOH mixture onto non-water-soluble supports, followed by leaching off the LiOH with water under ambient conditions. The size of the resulting Pd(3)Ag nanoparticles was found narrowly distributed around 2.

Tunability of band gaps in metal-organic frameworks.

The tunability of the band gaps in Zn-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been experimentally demonstrated via two different approaches: changing the cluster size of the secondary building unit (SBU) or alternating the conjugation of the organic linker.

Regulation of Ku gene promoters in Arabidopsis by hormones and stress.

The Ku70/Ku80 heterodimer plays a crucial role in non-homologous end-joining during DNA repair, and is also involved in multiple cellular processes such as telomere maintenance, transcription, and apoptosis. In this study, we investigate the regulation of AtKu genes in higher plants. Promoters of the AtKu70 and AtKu80 were isolated from Arabidopsis and their activities characterised using GUS reporter constructs.