4-Fluorobenzyl cyanide, a sterically-hindered solvent expediting interfacial kinetics in lithium-ion batteries.

The electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is plagued by sluggish interfacial kinetics. Fortunately, the Li solvation structure bridges the bulk electrolyte and interfacial chemistry, providing a pathway for promoting electrochemical kinetics in LIBs. Herein, we improve the interfacial kinetics by tuning the Li coordination chemistry based on solvent molecular engineering.

Two-Dimensional Electrolyte Design: Broadening the Horizons of Functional Electrolytes in Lithium Batteries.

ConspectusSince their commercialization in the 1990s, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been increasingly used in applications such as portable electronics, electric vehicles, and large-scale energy storage. The increasing use of LIBs in modern society has necessitated superior-performance LIB development, including electrochemical reversibility, interfacial stability, efficient kinetics, environmental adaptability, and intrinsic safety, which is difficult to simultaneously achieve in commercialized electrolytes. Current electrolyte systems contain a solution with Li salts (e.

Direct lithium extraction from spent batteries for efficient lithium recycling.

The flourishing expansion of the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) market has led to a surge in the demand for lithium resources. Developing efficient recycling technologies for imminent large-scale retired LIBs can significantly facilitate the sustainable utilization of lithium resources. Here, we successfully extract active lithium from spent LIBs through a simple, efficient, and low-energy-consumption chemical leaching process at room temperature, using a solution comprised of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ether solvents.

1,3,5-Trifluorobenzene, an electrolyte additive with high thermal stability and superior film-forming properties for lithium-ion batteries.

The introduction of 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene (FB) as an additive for lithium-ion battery electrolytes can produce a LiF-rich solid electrolyte interface (SEI). Meanwhile, FB has superior thermal stability compared with traditional fluorinated additives and is less likely to produce hydrogen fluoride to damage the cathode.

Revealing Surfactant Effect of Trifluoromethylbenzene in Medium-Concentrated PC Electrolyte for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Despite wide-temperature tolerance and high-voltage compatibility, employing propylene carbonate (PC) as electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is hampered by solvent co-intercalation and graphite exfoliation due to incompetent solvent-derived solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein, trifluoromethylbenzene (PhCF ), featuring both specific adsorption and anion attraction, is utilized to regulate the interfacial behaviors and construct anion-induced SEI at low Li salts' concentration (<1 m). The adsorbed PhCF , showing surfactant effect on graphite surface, induces preferential accumulation and facilitated decomposition of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide anions (FSI ) based on the adsorption-attraction-reduction mechanism.

Passivating Lithiated Graphite via Targeted Repair of SEI to Inhibit Exothermic Reactions in Early-Stage of Thermal Runaway for Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The self-exothermic in early stage of thermal runaway (TR) is blasting-fuse for Li-ion battery safety issues. The exothermic reaction between lithiated graphite (LiC ) and electrolyte accounts for onset of this behavior. However, preventing the deleterious reaction still encounters hurdles.

Facile Replacement Reaction Enables Nano-Ag-Decorated Three-Dimensional Cu Foam as High-Rate Lithium Metal Anode.

In developing advanced lithium (Li) metal batteries with high-energy density, excellent cycle stability, and high-rate capability, it is imperative to resolve dendrite growth and volume expansion during repeated Li plating/stripping. 3D hosts featuring lithiophilic sites are expected to realize both spatial control and dendrite inhibition over Li nucleation. Herein, this work prepares silver (Ag) nanoparticle-decorated 3D copper (Cu) foam via a facile replacement reaction.

Highly Crystallized Prussian Blue with Enhanced Kinetics for Highly Efficient Sodium Storage.

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) featuring large interstitial voids and rigid structures are broadly recognized as promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the conventionally prepared PBAs inevitably suffer from inferior crystallinity and lattice defects, leading to low specific capacity, poor rate capability, and unsatisfied long-term stability. As the Na migration within PBAs is directly dependent on the periodic lattice arrangement, it is of essential significance to improve the crystallinity of PBAs and hence ensure long-range lattice periodicity.

Facile formation of tetragonal-NbO microspheres for high-rate and stable lithium storage with high areal capacity.

Niobium pentoxide (NbO) has attracted great attention as an anode for lithium-ion battery, which is attributed to the high-rate and good stability performances. In this work, TT-, T-, M-, and H-NbO microspheres were synthesized by a facile one-step thermal oxidation method. Ion and electron transport properties of NbO with different phases were investigated by both electrochemical analyses and density functional theoretical calculations.

Activation of Sodium Storage Sites in Prussian Blue Analogues via Surface Etching.

Sodium-ion battery technologies are known to suffer from kinetic problems associated with the solid-state diffusion of Na in intercalation electrodes, which results in suppressed specific capacity and degraded rate performance. Here, a controllable selective etching approach is developed for the synthesis of Prussian blue analogue (PBA) with enhanced sodium storage activity. On the basis of time-dependent experiments, a defect-induced morphological evolution mechanism from nanocube to nanoflower structure is proposed.

CuIn(S,Se)(2) thin films prepared from a novel thioacetic acid-based solution and their photovoltaic application.

Low-cost and high-yield preparation of CuInSe2 films is the bottleneck for promising CuInSe2-based thin film solar cells. Here, we developed a simple, safe and cost-effective method using thioacetic acid to fabricate the absorber films of CuIn(S,Se)2 (CISSe). Dissolution of Cu2O and In(OH)3 in thioacetic acid was attributed to the strong coordination ability of S.

Observation of an intermediate band in Sn-doped chalcopyrites with wide-spectrum solar response.

Nanostrcutured particles and polycrystalline thin films of Sn-doped chalcopyrite are synthesized by newly-developed methods. Surprisingly, Sn doping introduces a narrow partially filled intermediate band (IB) located ~1.7 eV (CuGaS(2)) and ~0.

Phase-controlled synthesis of cobalt sulfides for lithium ion batteries.

The polyhedral CoS(2) with a narrow size distribution was synthesized by a facile solid-state assembly process in a sealed silica tube. The flux of potassium halide (KX; X = Cl, Br, I) plays a crucial role in the formation of polyhedrons and the size distribution. The S(2)(2-) groups in CoS(2) can be controllably withdrawn during heat treatment in air.

Formulation and characterization of a ten-peptide single-vial vaccine, EP-2101, designed to induce cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses for cancer immunotherapy.

Effective vaccines that mediate clinical responses in cancer patients may require generation of broadly specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) directed against multiple epitopes and tumor-associated antigens (TAA). Pursuant to this goal we developed a synthetic peptide vaccine, EP-2101, composed of 10 synthetic peptide epitopes and formulated in Montanide ISA 51 adjuvant. Nine of the HLA-A*0201-restricted CTL epitopes were derived from five well-characterized TAA.

A decaepitope polypeptide primes for multiple CD8+ IFN-gamma and Th lymphocyte responses: evaluation of multiepitope polypeptides as a mode for vaccine delivery.

Proteins are generally regarded as ineffective immunogens for CTL responses. We synthesized a 100-mer decaepitope polypeptide and tested its capacity to induce multiple CD8(+) IFN-gamma and Th lymphocyte (HTL) responses in HLA transgenic mice. Following a single immunization in the absence of adjuvant, significant IFN-gamma in vitro recall responses were detected for all epitopes included in the construct (six A2.