Enhanced cyclability of sulfur cathodes in lithium-sulfur batteries with Na-alginate as a binder

Na-alginate as a binder in an aqueous solvent has been applied in the preparation of sulfur cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries.Their electrochemical performances have been investigated by a charge-discharge cycle test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).The EIS tests indicated that the alginate sulfur cathode had lower resistance and better kinetic characteristics than those of the poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) sulfur cathode using PVDF as a binder in a N-methy-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent.The charge-discharge tests showed that the discharge capacity and the capacity retention rate of Na-alginate sulfur cathode were 508 mAh·g-1and 65.4% at the 50th cycle with a current density of 335 mA·g-1.Compared with PVDF sulfur cathode,the alginate sulfur cathode showed a remarkably better cycle performance.These results show that the alginate binder has promising potential for lithium-sulfur battery applications.     

The Al3+ Sensitivity of Chitosan-Silk Fibroin Complex Membrane on Swelling and Its Application on Chemical Valve for the Separation of Isopropanol-Water Mixture

Abstract

A novel natural biopolymer complex membrane, namely, a crosslinked chitosan-silk fibroin complex membrane (semi-IPN membrane) was prepared. The complex membranes manifested a good ion sensitivity when swelled in AlCl₃ aqueous solutions with different concentrations. According to its different swelling values with different Al³⁺ concentrations, the complex membrane could act as a chemical valve to control the flux of isopropanol-water mixture when separated by pervaporation. The pervaporation results indicated that the flux also showed an ion sensitivity when the Al³⁺ content in the feed was changed. In the meantime, the ion sensitivity of the flux expressed the same tendency as that of the swelling ratio. In addition, the flux of isopropanol-water mixture was significantly improved while the high selectivity was maintained when suitable amount of AlCl₃ was added to the feed.     

Pyrone Diels–Alder Routes to Indolines and Hydroindolines: Syntheses of Gracilamine,Mesembrine, and Δ7‐Mesembrenone

Although the Diels–Alder reaction has long been utilized for the preparation of numerous heterocycles, opportunities to extend its power remain. Herein, we detail a simple, modular, and robust approach that combines various amines regioselectively with 4,6‐dichloropyrone to create substrates which, under appropriate conditions, can directly deliver varied indolines and hydroindolines through [4+2] cycloadditions with substitution patterns difficult to access otherwise. As an initial demonstration of the power of the strategy, several different natural products have been obtained either formally or by direct total synthesis, with efforts toward one of these—the complex amaryllidaceae alkaloid gracilamine—affording the shortest route to date in terms of linear step count.     

Application of flammability limit criteria on non-ASTM standard equipment

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Accurate data of flammability limits for flammable gases and vapors are needed to prevent fires and explosions. The flammability limit, which is the...     

Open‐cage fullerenes as tailor‐made container for a single water molecule

Water is the most important liquid on earth. Clusters of water have been investigated extensively in an effort to understand the bulk property of water. But the behavior of single water molecule without H‐bond has been rarely studied. Open‐cage [60]fullerenes have been shown to trap a single water molecule selectively over molecules with comparable size and act as the smallest “water bottle”. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heinz‐type inequality and bi‐Lipschitz continuity for quasiconformal mappings satisfying inhomogeneous biharmonic equations

Let be the class of all sense‐preserving homeomorphic self‐mappings of . The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we obtain Heinz‐type inequality for (K,K′)‐quasiconformal mappings satisfying inhomogeneous biharmonic equation Δ(Δω) = g in unit disk with associated boundary value conditions and . Second, we establish biLipschitz continuity for (K,K′)‐quasiconformal mappings satisfying aforementioned inhomogeneous biharmonic equation when and are small enough.     

Robustly topological mixing of Kan's map

In 1994, I. Kan constructed a smooth map on the annulus admitting two physical measures, whose basins are intermingled. In this paper, we prove that Kan's map is $C^2$ robustly topologically mixing.     

Solution-Based,Anion-Doping of Li4Ti5O12 Nanoflowers for Lithium-Ion Battery Applications

Solution-based, anionic doping represents a convenient strategy with which to improve upon the conductivity of candidate anode materials such as Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO). As such, novel synthetic hydrothermally-inspired protocols have primarily been devised herein, aimed at the large-scale production of unique halogen-doped, micron-scale, three-dimensional, hierarchical LTO flower-like motifs. Although fluorine (F) doping has been explored, the use of chlorine (Cl) dopants is the primary focus here. Several experimental variables, such as dopant amount, lithium hydroxide concentration, and titanium butoxide purity, were probed and perfected. Furthermore, the Cl doping process did not damage the intrinsic LTO morphology. The analysis, based on interpreting a compilation of SEM, XRD, XPS, and TEM-EDS results, was used to determine an optimized dopant concentration of Cl. Electrochemical tests demonstrated an increased capacity via cycling of 12 % for a Cl-doped sample as compared with pristine LTO. Moreover, the Cl-doped LTO sample described in this study exhibited the highest discharge capacity yet reported at an observed rate of 2C for this material at 143mAh g⁻¹. Overall, these data suggest that the Cl dopant likely enhances not only the ion transport capabilities, but also the overall electrical conductivity of our as-prepared structures. To help explain these favorable findings, theoretical DFT calculations were used to postulate that the electronic conductivity and Li diffusion were likely improved by the presence of increased Ti³⁺ ion concentration coupled with widening of the Li migration channel.