Electro-chemo-mechanics of anode-free solid-state batteries.

Anode-free solid-state batteries contain no active material at the negative electrode in the as-manufactured state, yielding high energy densities for use in long-range electric vehicles. The mechanisms governing charge-discharge cycling of anode-free batteries are largely controlled by electro-chemo-mechanical phenomena at solid-solid interfaces, and there are important mechanistic differences when compared with conventional lithium-excess batteries. This Perspective provides an overview of the factors governing lithium nucleation, growth, stripping and cycling in anode-free solid-state batteries, including mechanical deformation of lithium, the chemical and mechanical properties of the current collector, microstructural effects, and stripping dynamics.

In Situ Scanning Electron Microscopy Crack Characterization and Resistance Evolution in Cyclically-Strained Ag Nanoflake-Based Inks.

The reliability of nanocomposite conductive inks under cyclic loading is the key to designing robust flexible electronics. Although resistance increases with cycling and models exist, the exact degradation mechanism is not well understood and is critical for developing inks. This study links cracking behavior to changes in electrical resistance by performing in situ cyclic stretch experiments in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with synchronized resistance measurements.

A transcriptome atlas of zygotic and somatic embryogenesis in Norway spruce.

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a powerful model system for studying embryo development and an important method for scaling up availability of elite and climate-adapted genetic material of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst). However, there are several steps during the development of the somatic embryo (Sem) that are suboptimal compared to zygotic embryo (Zem) development.

Acousto-optic-based time domain electric field sensor for magnetic resonance imaging applications.

An acousto-optic (AO)-based electric field sensor is presented for time domain measurement under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A fully MR-compatible sensor is designed and fabricated using a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating mechanically coupled to a piezoelectric transducer. Mechanical resonance of the piezoelectric transducer is matched to the operating frequencies of commonly used MRI systems to increase the sensitivity of the sensor.

Portable through-metal ultrasonic power transfer using a dry-coupled detachable transmitter.

Ultrasonic waves can be used to transfer power and data efficiently through metallic enclosures when feedthroughs are not practical due to structural or electromagnetic shielding considerations. Previous implementations of ultrasonic power transfer (UPT) used a piezoelectric transducer permanently bonded to the metal for efficient ultrasonic coupling. For portable operation, it is essential to have a detachable transmitter (charger) that is only attached to the enclosure while transferring power.

Material strengths of shear-induced platelet aggregation clots and coagulation clots.

Arterial occlusion by thrombosis is the immediate cause of some strokes, heart attacks, and peripheral artery disease. Most prior studies assume that coagulation creates the thrombus. However, a contradiction arises as whole blood (WB) clots from coagulation are too weak to stop arterial blood pressures (> 150 mmHg).

Crystallographic Texture Evolution in 3D Printed Polyethylene Reactor Blends.

In this work, crystallographic texture evolution in 3D printed trimodal polyethylene (PE) blends and high-density PE (HDPE) benchmark material were investigated to quantify the resulting material anisotropy, and the results were compared to materials made from conventional injection molded (IM) samples. Trimodal PE reactor blends consisting of HDPE, ultrahigh molecular weight PE (UHMWPE), and HDPE_wax have been used for 3D printing and injection molding. Changes in the preferred orientation and distribution of crystallites, i.

A Computational Evaluation of Minimum Feature Size in Projection Two-Photon Lithography for Rapid Sub-100 nm Additive Manufacturing.

Two-photon lithography (TPL) is a laser-based additive manufacturing technique that enables the printing of arbitrarily complex cm-scale polymeric 3D structures with sub-micron features. Although various approaches have been investigated to enable the printing of fine features in TPL, it is still challenging to achieve rapid sub-100 nm 3D printing. A key limitation is that the physical phenomena that govern the theoretical and practical limits of the minimum feature size are not well known.

Switchable tribology of ferroelectrics.

Switchable tribological properties of ferroelectrics offer an alternative route to visualize and control ferroelectric domains. Here, we observe the switchable friction and wear behavior of ferroelectrics using a nanoscale scanning probe-down domains have lower friction coefficients and show slower wear rates than up domains and can be used as smart masks. This asymmetry is enabled by flexoelectrically coupled polarization in the up and down domains under a sufficiently high contact force.

A biologically validated mathematical model for decoding epithelial apical, basolateral, and paracellular electrical properties.

Epithelial tissues form selective barriers to ions, nutrients, waste products, and infectious agents throughout the body. Damage to these barriers is associated with conditions such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and age-related macular degeneration. Conventional electrophysiology measurements like transepithelial resistance can quantify epithelial tissue maturity and barrier integrity but are limited in differentiating between apical, basolateral, and paracellular transport pathways.

Scalable Printing of Metal Nanostructures through Superluminescent Light Projection.

Direct printing of metallic nanostructures is highly desirable but current techniques cannot achieve nanoscale resolutions or are too expensive and slow. Photoreduction of solvated metal ions into metallic nanoparticles is an attractive strategy because it is faster than deposition-based techniques. However, it is still limited by the resolution versus cost tradeoff because sub-diffraction printing of nanostructures requires high-intensity light from expensive femtosecond lasers.

In Vitro Propagation of the Blueberry 'Blue Suede™' ( hybrid) in Semi-Solid Medium and Temporary Immersion Bioreactors.

The production of blueberries for fresh and processed consumption is increasing globally and has more than doubled in the last decade. Blueberry is grown commercially across a variety of climates in over 30 countries. The major classes of plants utilized for the planting and breeding of new cultivars are highbush, lowbush, half-high, Rabbiteye, and Southern highbush.

Ultrasonic testing of the biomechanical properties of donation blood.

Donated blood is routinely preserved for about six weeks. After that, a considerable amount of unused blood is discarded for safety. We carried out sequential measurements of the ultrasonic parameters (Velocity of propagation of ultrasound, its attenuation, and relative nonlinearity coefficient B/A) for red blood cells (RBCs) bags in their physiological preserving conditions in the blood bank, in a given experimental setup, to investigate the gradual deteriorations in the biomechanical properties of RBCs.

Effect of the Electric Double Layer (EDL) in Multicomponent Electrolyte Reduction and Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) Formation in Lithium Batteries.

Electrolytes, consisting of salts, solvents, and additives, must form a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) to ensure the performance and durability of lithium(Li)-ion batteries. However, the electric double layer (EDL) structure near charged surfaces is still unsolved, despite its importance in dictating the species being reduced for SEI formation near a negative electrode. In this work, a newly developed model was used to illustrate the effect of EDL on SEI formation in two essential electrolytes, the carbonate-based electrolyte for Li-ion batteries and the ether-based electrolyte for batteries with Li-metal anodes.

Optimizing transcranial ultrasound delivery at large incident angles by leveraging cranial leaky guided wave dispersion.

We investigate the role of leaky guided waves in transcranial ultrasound transmission in temporal and parietal bones at large incidence angles. Our numerical and experimental results show that the dispersion characteristics of the fundamental leaky guided wave mode with longitudinal polarization can be leveraged to estimate the critical angle above which efficient shear mode conversion takes place, and below which major transmission drops can be expected. Simulations that employ a numerical propagator matrix and a Semi-Analytical approach establish the transcranial dispersion characteristics and transmission coefficients at different incident angles.

Compact portable sources of high-LET radiation: Validation and potential application for galactic cosmic radiation countermeasure discovery.

Implementation of a systematic program for galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) countermeasure discovery will require convenient access to ground-based space radiation analogs. The current gold standard approach for GCR simulation is to use a particle accelerator for sequential irradiation with ion beams representing different GCR components. This has limitations, particularly for studies of non-acute responses, strategies that require robotic instrumentation, or implementation of complex in vitro models that are emerging as alternatives to animal experimentation.

Ferrielectricity in the Archetypal Antiferroelectric, PbZrO.

Antiferroelectric materials, where the transition between antipolar and polar phase is controlled by external electric fields, offer exceptional energy storage capacity with high efficiencies, giant electrocaloric effect, and superb electromechanical response. PbZrO is the first discovered and the archetypal antiferroelectric material. Nonetheless, substantial challenges in processing phase pure PbZrO have limited studies of the undoped composition, hindering understanding of the phase transitions in this material or unraveling the controversial origins of a low-field ferroelectric phase observed in lead zirconate thin films.

Flapping dynamics of an inverted flag behind a cylinder.

The inverted flag configuration is inspired by biological structures (e.g. leaves on a tree branch), showing rich dynamics associated with instabilities at lower flow speeds than the regular flag configuration.

Extending the low-temperature operation of sodium metal batteries combining linear and cyclic ether-based electrolyte solutions.

Nonaqueous sodium-based batteries are ideal candidates for the next generation of electrochemical energy storage devices. However, despite the promising performance at ambient temperature, their low-temperature (e.g.

Local Epitaxial Templating Effects in Ferroelectric and Antiferroelectric ZrO.

Nanoscale polycrystalline thin-film heterostructures are central to microelectronics, for example, metals used as interconnects and high-K oxides used in dynamic random-access memories (DRAMs). The polycrystalline microstructure and overall functional response therein are often dominated by the underlying substrate or layer, which, however, is poorly understood due to the difficulty of characterizing microstructural correlations at a statistically meaningful scale. Here, an automated, high-throughput method, based on the nanobeam electron diffraction technique, is introduced to investigate orientational relations and correlations between crystallinity of materials in polycrystalline heterostructures over a length scale of microns, containing several hundred individual grains.

Ultrasonic testing of thick and thin Inconel 625 alloys manufactured by laser powder bed fusion.

Additive manufacturing of alloys enables low-volume production of functional metallic components with complex geometries. Ultrasonic testing can ensure the quality of these components and detect typical defects generated during laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). However, it is difficult to find a single ultrasonic inspection technique that can detect defects in the large variety of geometries generated using LPBF.

Near-wall velocities of particles suspended in shear flow and a streamwise electric field.

Particles with a diameter of ∼0.5 µm in a dilute (volume fractions φ  < 4 × 10 ) suspension assemble into highly elongated structures called "bands" under certain conditions in combined Poiseuille and electroosmotic flows in opposite directions through microchannels at particle-based Reynolds numbers Re  < < 1. The particles are first concentrated near, then form "bands" within ∼6 µm of, the channel wall.

Sodium-Iodate Injection Can Replicate Retinal Degenerative Disease Stages in Pigmented Mice and Rats: Non-Invasive Follow-Up Using OCT and ERG.

Purpose: The lack of suitable animal models for (dry) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has hampered therapeutic research into the disease, so far. In this study, pigmented rats and mice were systematically injected with various doses of sodium iodate (SI). After injection, the retinal structure and visual function were non-invasively characterized over time to obtain in-depth data on the suitability of these models for studying experimental therapies for retinal degenerative diseases, such as dry AMD.