Dinitrile compound containing ethylene oxide moiety with enhanced solubility of lithium salts as electrolyte solvent for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries

A dinitrile compound containing ethylene oxide moiety (4,7-dioxa-1,10-decanedinitrile, NEON) is synthesized as an electrolyte solvent for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. The introduction of ethylene oxide moiety into the conventional aprotic aliphatic dinitrile compounds improves the solubility of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆) used commercially in the lithium-ion battery industry. The electrochemical performances of the NEON-based electrolyte (0.8 M LiPF₆?+?0.2 M lithium oxalyldifluoroborate in NEON:EC:DEC, v:v:v?=?1:1:1) are evaluated in graphite/Li, LiCoO₂/Li, and LiCoO₂/graphite cells. Half-cell tests show that the electrolyte exhibits significantly improved compatibility with graphite by the addition of vinylene carbonate and lithium oxalyldifluoroborate and excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 97 % after 50 cycles at a cutoff voltage of 4.4 V in LiCoO₂/Li cell. A comparative experiment in LiCoO₂/graphite full cells shows that the electrolyte (NEON:EC:DEC, v:v:v?=?1:1:1) exhibits improved cycling stability at 4.4 V compared with the electrolyte without NEON (EC:DEC, v:v?=?1:1), demonstrating that NEON has a great potential as an electrolyte solvent for the high-voltage application in lithium-ion batteries.     

Exact inversion of a compound conical Radon transform and a novel nuclear imaging principleInversion exacte d'une transformation conique de Radon composée et nouveau principe d'imagerie nucléaire

A new integral transform arising from a theory of imaging based on Compton scattering is introduced and the explicit expression for its inverse is established. Its properties serve as foundation to a new nuclear emission imaging principle. To cite this article: M.K. Nguyen, T.T. Truong, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 335 (2002) 213–217.     

The influence of polytetrafluorethylene reduction on the capacity loss of the carbon anode for lithium ion batteries

To date, the lithium ion battery has become the focus of secondary battery studies. A considerable capacity loss during the first lithiation of its carbon electrode is a severe drawback of this kind of battery. It has been suggested frequently that the capacity loss was caused by the decomposition of the electrolyte on the surface of the carbon electrode. However, the contribution of binder reduction to this capacity loss has never been considered until now. This paper deals with the binder polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) reduction and finds that it plays an important part in the capacity loss. It is found that (1) the capacity loss increased with increasing PTFE binder content, (2) the X-ray diffraction peaks corresponding to the PTFE, binder became weaker, while more of the lithium was consumed by the carbon electrode, and disappeared when the consumed amount of lithium exceeded the theoretical value of 1070 mAh per gram of PTFE and (3) the height of the high voltage plateau of the electrochemical titration curves was just a function of storage time, and the length of the plateau was a function of the PTFE content.     

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) — an advanced state for technical applications

The conventional thin-film deposition equipment of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been modified for the preparation of individual thin solid films and nanometer-layer stacks of uniform thickness across 100-mm substrates. The planar target configuration was replaced by a cylindrical one and the target motion regime has been improved to provide precise spatial control of the plasma plume orientation. During thin-film deposition, substrate translation is preferred instead of the usual rotation technique. With this arrangement the emission characteristic of the plasma source can be computer controlled and the desired coating can be tailored via a stepper-motor-driven manipulator for the desired layer thickness profile across an extended substrate. Thus, for example, a homogeneous film thickness is obtained even for lower target/substrate distances, and an appropriate deposition rate can be maintained. In a second version, this cylinder geometry principle of plasma plume control by target surface morphology is extended to a spatial solution. The hemispherical target surface becomes the basic element for inside-wall coating of tubes or even of more complex hollow bodies. First applications of the equipment are explained and compared with typical results of the conventional technique.     

A bifurcation-based decohesion model for simulating the transition from localization to decohesion with the MPM

Based on recent experimental observations on the formation of localization before delamination, a bifurcation-based decohesion approach is proposed in this paper to simulate the transition from localization to decohesion involved in the delamination process of compressed films. The onset and orientation of discontinuous failure are identified from the discontinuous bifurcation analysis. A discrete constitutive model is then formulated based on the bifurcation analysis to predict the evolution of material failure as decohesion or separation of continuum. The Material Point Method, that does not employ fixed mesh-connectivity, is developed as a robust spatial discretization method to accommodate the multi-scale discontinuities involved in the film delamination. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach, a parametric study is conducted to explore the effects of aspect ratio and failure mode on the evolution of failure patterns under different boundary conditions, which provides a better understanding on the physics behind the film delamination process.Received: January 16, 2003; revised: August 11, 2003     

Multiple melting and crystallization of nylon‐66/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Nylon‐66 nanocomposites were prepared by melt‐compounding nylon‐66 with organically modified montmorillonite (MMT). The organic MMT layers were exfoliated in a nylon‐66 matrix as confirmed by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy. The presence of MMT layers increased the crystallization temperature of nylon‐66 because of the heterogeneous nucleation of MMT. Multiple melting behavior was observed in the nylon‐66/MMT nanocomposites, and the MMT layers induced the formation of form II spherulites of nylon‐66. The crystallite sizes L₁₀₀ and L₀₁₀ of nylon‐66, determined by WAXD, decreased with an increasing MMT content. High‐temperature WAXD was performed to determine the Brill transition in the nylon‐66/MMT nanocomposites. Polarized optical microscopy demonstrated that the dimension of nylon‐66 spherulites decreased because of the effect of the MMT layers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2861–2869, 2003     

Synthesis and supramolecular self‐assembly of thermosensitive amphiphilic star copolymers based on a hyperbranched polyether core

A novel amphiphilic thermosensitive star copolymer with a hydrophobic hyperbranched poly (3‐ethyl‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)oxetane) (HBPO) core and many hydrophilic poly(2‐(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) arms was synthesized and used as the precursor for the aqueous solution self‐assembly. All the copolymers directly aggregated into core–shell unimolecular micelles (around 10 nm) and size‐controllable large multimolecular micelles (around 100 nm) in water at room temperature, according to pyrene probe fluorescence spectrometry and ¹H NMR, TEM, and DLS measurements. The star copolymers also underwent sharp, thermosensitive phase transitions at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), which were proved to be originated from the secondary aggregation of the large micelles driven by increasing hydrophobic interaction due to the dehydration of PDMAEMA shells on heating. A quantitative variable temperature NMR analysis method was designed by using potassium hydrogen phthalate as an external standard and displayed great potential to evaluate the LCST transition at the molecular level. The drug loading and temperature‐dependent release properties of HBPO‐star‐PDMAEMA micelles were also investigated by using indomethacin as a model drug. The indomethacin‐loaded micelles displayed a rapid drug release at a temperature around LCST. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 668–681, 2008     

Significant improvements to the Ford-Johnson algorithm for sorting

For almost twenty years, the Ford-Johnson algorithm for sortingt items using comparisons was believed to be optimal. Recently, Manacher was able to show that the Ford-Johnson algorithm is not optimal for certain ranges of values oft. In this paper, we present some new algorithms which achieve much stronger results compared to Manacher's algorithms.