Preparation and characterization of carbon xerogel (CX) and CX–SiO composite as anode material for lithium-ion battery

Carbon xerogel (CX), a kind of novel carbon material with low-density and continuous nano-porous structure that can be controlled and tailored on nanometer scale, has been prepared through the sol–gel polycondensation of resorcinol (R) with formaldehyde (F) followed by drying at ambient pressure and carbonization in inert atmosphere, and CX–SiO composite has been synthesized by high energy mechanical ball-milling of the obtained CX and commercial SiO at room temperature and atmosphere. The characteristics of CX and CX–SiO as anode material for lithium-ion battery have been systematically investigated on basis of field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical and charge–discharge tests. The results showed that, CX–SiO is composed of active carbon, graphite, SiO and dispersed Si crystal while CX consists of active carbon and graphite, CX–SiO has smaller and much more uniform particles than CX. SiO can greatly improve discharge capacity of CX with an acceptable sacrifice of cycling stability, and the charge–discharge capacity of CX–SiO comes mainly from lithium insertion–extraction in Si–SiO in the sample.     

Nitrogen doped porous carbon as excellent dual anodes for Li- and Na-ion batteries

Biomass-derived carbon materials have obtained great attention due to their sustainability,easy availability,low cost and environmentally benign.In this work,bamboo leaves derived nitrogen doped hierarchically porous carbon have been efficiently synthesized via an annealing approach,followed by an etching process in HF solution.Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the unique porous structure,together with the inherent high nitrogen content,endow the as-derived carbon with excellent lithium/sodium storage performance.The porous carbon annealed at 700℃presents outstanding rate capability and remarkable long-term stability as anodes for both lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries.The optimized carbon delivers a high discharge capacity of 450 mAh/g after 500 cycles at the current density of 0.2 A/g for LIBs,and a discharge capacity of 180 mAh/g after 300 cycles at the current density of 0.1 A/g for SIBs.     

Feedback control optimization of nonlinear systems under random excitations

This paper uses stochastic averaging method to design an optimal feedback control for nonlinear stochastic systems. The method of stochastic averaging is used to reduce the dimension of the state space and to derive the Itô stochastic differential equation for the response amplitude process. Two approaches to optimization, namely, with the exact steady state probability density function of the amplitude process and the Rayleigh approximation are compared. The cost function is a steady state response measure. Numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the performance of the control both in transient and steady-state. The effect of the control on the system response and control performance is studied. The regions where the controls are conservative and unconservative are pointed out.     

STM spectroscopy of an organic superconductor

Electron tunneling spectroscopy of the organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)₂Cu(NCS)₂using low temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is reported. The tunneling differential conductance in the superconducting phase was obtained in theb–cplane of a single crystal, by varying the tip position on the sample surface. The differential conductance is reduced near zero bias voltage and enhanced at the gap edge, associated with the superconducting gap structure below[formula] K. The gap width differs slightly from sample to sample, while the overall functional shape of the conductance is sample-independent. The tunneling conductance is reduced to almost zero near zero bias voltage, while it is finite inside the gap edge. The curve obtained cannot be fit to the BCS density of states withs-wave pairing symmetry, even if the life-time broadening of one-electron levels is taken into account. Finite conductance inside the gap edge suggests anisotropy of the gap. However, the conductance curve obtained is not explained by a simpled-wave symmetry for Δ(k). The reduced conductance near zero bias voltage suggests a finite gap. An anisotropic model with a finite gap, in which Δ(k) varies depending on the direction ink-space, is examined. The tunneling conductance in the low-energy region is almost fit by the model with Δ_min = 2 meV and Δ_max = 6 meV. The finite conductance is explained by introducing a small effect of life time broadening. We conclude that the gap is anisotropic and is finite (at least Δ_min = 2 meV) on the entire Fermi surface.