Solubility of metal-boron-hydrogen compounds.

Boron-hydrogen compounds are of increasing importance as electrolytes in solid state batteries, for hydrogen storage and possibly as high temperature super conductors. Solvent based methods are of increasing importance to obtain pure products, for purification of materials and also for the synthesis of novel compounds. In this context, the solubility information of several classes of metal-boron-hydrogen compounds such as borohydrides, -decahydridodecaborates, -dodecahydridododecaborates, - and -hydridoborates in typical solvents is vital.

Optimising thermochemical energy storage: a comprehensive analysis of CaCO composites with CaSiO, CaTiO, and CaZrO.

With the increasing amount of renewable energy produced, many governments and industries are pushing for the installation of battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions. Thermal batteries are systems that store heat made from various energy sources, and can be used to produce electricity upon demand. These systems are easily scalable and can be installed in cities, homes and remote locations.

Ionic conduction in ammonia functionalised -dodecaborates MBHNH (M = Li and Na).

Metal hydroborates and their derivatives have been receiving attention as potential solid-state ion conductors for battery applications owing to their impressive electrochemical and mechanical characteristics. However, to date only a fraction of these compounds has been investigated as solid-state electrolytes. Here, MBHNH (M = Li and Na) hydroborates are synthesized and investigated as electrolyte materials for all-solid-state batteries.

Alkali metal alkoxyborate ester salts; a contemporary look at old compounds.

Research into the use of sodium tetraalkoxyborate salts for different chemical applications including synthetic catalysis, hydrogen storage, or battery applications has been investigated, however, understanding of the structural, thermal and electrochemical properties of these salts has been lacking since the 1950s and 1960s. A review of the synthesis, as well as a thorough characterization using H NMR, B NMR, C{H} NMR, FTIR, XRD, XRD, DSC-TGA, RGA-MS, TPPA, and EIS has newly identified polymorphic phase changes for Na[B(OMe)], K[B(OMe)], Li[B(OMe)], Na[B(OEt)], Na[B(OBu)], and Na[B(OBu)]. The crystal structure of K[B(OMe)] was also solved in 41/ ( = 22.

Producing Alkali Metal Hydrides from Hydroxides.

In this study, a novel method for producing different alkali metal hydrides (NaH, KH, RbH, and CsH) from their corresponding metal hydroxides (NaOH, KOH, RbOH, and CsOH) is presented. For the production of NaH from NaOH, a variety of metallic reducing agents (Mg, Al, Si, CaH, Cr, Mn, and Sr) were investigated. The reactions took place in an autoclave reactor with paraffin oil at 250 °C and 14 bar of H pressure.

Establishing ZIF-8 as a reference material for hydrogen cryoadsorption: An interlaboratory study.

Hydrogen storage by cryoadsorption on porous materials has the advantages of low material cost, safety, fast kinetics, and high cyclic stability. The further development of this technology requires reliable data on the H uptake of the adsorbents, however, even for activated carbons the values between different laboratories show sometimes large discrepancies. So far no reference material for hydrogen cryoadsorption is available.

Stannaborates: tuning the ion conductivity of dodecaborate salts with tin substitution.

Metal substituted dodecaborate anions can be coupled with alkali metal cations to have great potential as solid-state ion conductors for battery applications. A tin atom can replace a B-H unit within an unsubstituted dodecaborate cage to produce a stable, polar divalent anion. The chemical and structural change in forming a stannaborate results in a modified crystal structure of respective group 1 metal salts, and as a result, improves the material's ion conductivity.

Role of π-Radical Localization on Thermally Stable Cross-Links Between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

The thermal stability of cross-links between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is critical for understanding the formation of soot pollutants, graphite, and carbon blacks. Recently, a variety of different π-radicals have been directly imaged and suggested to enable thermally stable bonding; however, a systematic study of reactivity has been lacking. In this work, we use density functional theory to study the reactivity of PAH π-radicals.

Thermochemical energy storage in barium carbonate enhanced by iron(III) oxide.

Renewable energy requires cost effective and reliable storage to compete with fossil fuels. This study introduces a new reactive carbonate composite (RCC) where FeO is used to thermodynamically destabilise BaCO and reduce its decomposition temperature from 1400 °C to 850 °C, which is more suitable for thermal energy storage applications. FeO is consumed on heating to form BaFeO, which is a stable Fe source for promoting reversible CO reactions.

Divalent -monocarborane solvates for solid-state ionic conductors.

Li-ion batteries have held the dominant position in battery research for the last 30+ years. However, due to inadequate resources and the cost of necessary elements (, lithium ore) in addition to safety issues concerning the components and construction, it has become more important to look at alternative technologies. Multivalent metal batteries with solid-state electrolytes are a potential option for future battery applications.

NaBH and Na(BH)(BH) as potential solid-state electrolytes for Na-ion batteries.

Solid-state sodium batteries have attracted great attention owing to their improved safety, high energy density, large abundance and low cost of sodium compared to the current Li-ion batteries. Sodium-boranes have been studied as potential solid-state electrolytes and the search for new materials is necessary for future battery applications. Here, a facile and cost-effective solution-based synthesis of NaBH and Na(BH)(BH) is demonstrated.

Synthesis of -CBH Salts Using Common Laboratory Reagents.

Lithium and sodium salts of the -carbadodecaborate anion [CBH] have been shown to form stable solid-state electrolytes with excellent ionic conductivity for all-solid-state batteries (ASSB). However, potential commercial application is currently hindered by the difficult, low-yielding, and expensive synthetic pathways. We report a novel and cost-effective method to synthesize the [CBH] anion in a 40% yield from [BH], which can be synthesized using common laboratory reagents.

Sources of systematic error in DCE-MRI estimation of low-level blood-brain barrier leakage.

Purpose: Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) -MRI with Patlak model analysis is increasingly used to quantify low-level blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage in studies of pathophysiology. We aimed to investigate systematic errors due to physiological, experimental, and modeling factors influencing quantification of the permeability-surface area product PS and blood plasma volume v , and to propose modifications to reduce the errors so that subtle differences in BBB permeability can be accurately measured.

Methods: Simulations were performed to predict the effects of potential sources of systematic error on conventional PS and v quantification: restricted BBB water exchange, reduced cerebral blood flow, arterial input function (AIF) delay and error.

A Position Statement on the Utility of Interval Imaging in Standard of Care Brain Tumour Management: Defining the Evidence Gap and Opportunities for Future Research.

Objectiv E: To summarise current evidence for the utility of interval imaging in monitoring disease in adult brain tumours, and to develop a position for future evidence gathering while incorporating the application of data science and health economics.

Methods: Experts in 'interval imaging' (imaging at pre-planned time-points to assess tumour status); data science; health economics, trial management of adult brain tumours, and patient representatives convened in London, UK. The current evidence on the use of interval imaging for monitoring brain tumours was reviewed.

Thermal properties of thermochemical heat storage materials.

The thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and heat capacity of materials are all vital properties in the determination of the efficiency of a thermal system. However, the thermal transport properties of heat storage materials are not consistent across previous studies, and are strongly dependent on the sample composition and measurement method. A comprehensive analysis of thermal transport properties using a consistent preparation and measurement method is lacking.

Decomposition pathway of KAlH altered by the addition of AlS.

Altering the decomposition pathway of potassium alanate, KAlH4, with aluminium sulfide, Al2S3, presents a new opportunity to release all of the hydrogen, increase the volumetric hydrogen capacity and avoid complications associated with the formation of KH and molten K. Decomposition of 6KAlH4-Al2S3 during heating under dynamic vacuum began at 185 °C, 65 °C lower than for pure KAlH4, and released 71% of the theoretical hydrogen content below 300 °C via several unknown compounds. The major hydrogen release event, centred at 276 °C, was associated with two new compounds indexed with monoclinic (a = 10.

Molten metal closo-borate solvates.

Solvated lithium closo-dodecaborate, Li2B12H12 with tetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile, show unexpected melting below 150 °C. This feature has been explored to melt-infiltrate Li2B12H12 in a nanoporous SiO2 scaffold. The ionic conductivity of Li2B12H12·xACN reaches 0.

Interrogation of the Effect of Polymorphism of a Metal-Organic Framework Host on the Structure of Embedded Pd Guest Nanoparticles.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are very promising host materials for nanoscale guest materials. However, some MOFs such as MIL-53 are known to undergo phase transitions which can complicate the guest particle size control. In this study, Pd nanoparticles embedded in Al-MIL-53 were synthesised via (a) electrodeposition and (b) gas-phase reduction.

Thermodynamics and performance of the Mg-H-F system for thermochemical energy storage applications.

Magnesium hydride (MgH) is a hydrogen storage material that operates at temperatures above 300 °C. Unfortunately, magnesium sintering occurs above 420 °C, inhibiting its application as a thermal energy storage material. In this study, the substitution of fluorine for hydrogen in MgH to form a range of Mg(HF) (x = 1, 0.

Vinculin forms a directionally asymmetric catch bond with F-actin.

Vinculin is an actin-binding protein thought to reinforce cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions. However, how mechanical load affects the vinculin-F-actin bond is unclear. Using a single-molecule optical trap assay, we found that vinculin forms a force-dependent catch bond with F-actin through its tail domain, but with lifetimes that depend strongly on the direction of the applied force.

Correction of inter-scan motion artifacts in quantitative R1 mapping by accounting for receive coil sensitivity effects.

Purpose: Inter-scan motion causes differential receive field modulation between scans, leading to errors when they are combined to quantify MRI parameters. We present a robust and efficient method that accounts for inter-scan motion by removing this modulation before parameter quantification.

Theory And Methods: Five participants moved between two high-resolution structural scans acquired with different flip angles.

Structural and kinetic investigation of the hydride composite Ca(BH4)2 + MgH2 system doped with NbF5 for solid-state hydrogen storage.

Designing safe, compact and high capacity hydrogen storage systems is the key step towards introducing a pollutant free hydrogen technology into a broad field of applications. Due to the chemical bonds of hydrogen-metal atoms, metal hydrides provide high energy density in safe hydrogen storage media. Reactive hydride composites (RHCs) are a promising class of high capacity solid state hydrogen storage systems.

A force balance can explain local and global cell movements during early zebrafish development.

Embryonic morphogenesis takes place via a series of dramatic collective cell movements. The mechanisms that coordinate these intricate structural transformations across an entire organism are not well understood. In this study, we used gentle mechanical deformation of developing zebrafish embryos to probe the role of physical forces in generating long-range intercellular coordination during epiboly, the process in which the blastoderm spreads over the yolk cell.

Hydrogen Storage Materials for Mobile and Stationary Applications: Current State of the Art.

One of the limitations to the widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is its storage in a safe and compact form. Herein, recent developments in effective high-capacity hydrogen storage materials are reviewed, with a special emphasis on light compounds, including those based on organic porous structures, boron, nitrogen, and aluminum. These elements and their related compounds hold the promise of high, reversible, and practical hydrogen storage capacity for mobile applications, including vehicles and portable power equipment, but also for the large scale and distributed storage of energy for stationary applications.