Direct production of low-oxygen-concentration titanium from molten titanium.

Titanium (Ti) is an attractive material, abundant in nature and possessing superior mechanical and chemical properties. However, its widespread use is significantly hampered by the strong affinity between titanium and oxygen (O), resulting in elevated manufacturing costs during the refining, melting, and casting processes. The current work introduces a high-throughput technique that effectively reduces the oxygen content in molten titanium to a level suitable for structural material applications (1000 mass ppm, equivalent to 0.

Electrochemical Behavior of Telluride Ions (Te) in Molten LiCl-LiTe Solution at 650 °C.

The electrochemical behavior of Te ions was investigated in the LiCl-LiTe binary on glassy carbon electrodes at 650 °C as a means to understand the fundamental thermodynamic and mass transport properties of Te ions. Cyclic voltammetry and constant-potential electrolysis confirmed an electrochemically reversible, two-electron soluble-insoluble reaction of Te/Te(l). The formal potential for the Te/Te(l) reaction was determined to be 1.

Calcium-based multi-element chemistry for grid-scale electrochemical energy storage.

Calcium is an attractive material for the negative electrode in a rechargeable battery due to its low electronegativity (high cell voltage), double valence, earth abundance and low cost; however, the use of calcium has historically eluded researchers due to its high melting temperature, high reactivity and unfavorably high solubility in molten salts. Here we demonstrate a long-cycle-life calcium-metal-based rechargeable battery for grid-scale energy storage. By deploying a multi-cation binary electrolyte in concert with an alloyed negative electrode, calcium solubility in the electrolyte is suppressed and operating temperature is reduced.

Lithium-antimony-lead liquid metal battery for grid-level energy storage.

The ability to store energy on the electric grid would greatly improve its efficiency and reliability while enabling the integration of intermittent renewable energy technologies (such as wind and solar) into baseload supply. Batteries have long been considered strong candidate solutions owing to their small spatial footprint, mechanical simplicity and flexibility in siting. However, the barrier to widespread adoption of batteries is their high cost.