Frontispiece: Stainless Steel-Like Passivation Inspires Persistent Silicon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Passivation of stainless steel by additives forming mass-transport blocking layers is widely practiced, where Cr element is added into bulk Fe−C forming the Cr₂O₃-rich protective layer. Here we extend the long-practiced passivation concept to Si anodes for lithium-ion batteries, incorporating the passivator of LiF/Li₂CO₃ into bulk Si. The passivation mechanism is studied by various ex situ characterizations, redox peak contour maps, thickness evolution tests, and finite element simulations. The results demonstrate that the passivation can enhance the (de)lithiation of Li-Si alloys, induce the formation of F-rich solid electrolyte interphase, stabilize the Si/LiF/Li₂CO₃ composite, and mitigate the volume change of Si anodes upon cycling. The 3D passivated Si anode can fully retain a high capacity of 3701 mAh g⁻¹ after 1500 cycles and tolerate high rates up to 50C. This work provides insight into how to construct durable Si anodes through effective passivation.     

Rhodium-complex-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation: transformation of precatalysts into active species

The use of diolefin-containing rhodium precatalysts leads to induction periods in asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral olefins. Consequently, the reaction rate increases in the beginning. The induction period is caused by the fact that some of the catalyst is blocked by the diolefin and thus not available for hydrogenation of the prochiral olefin. Therefore, the maximum reaction rate cannot be reached initially. Due to the relatively slow hydrogenation of cyclooctadiene (cod) the share of active catalysts increases at first, and this leads to typical induction periods. The aim of this work is to quantify the hydrogenation of the diolefins cyclooctadiene (cod) and norborna-2,5-diene (nbd) for cationic complexes of the type [Rh(ligand)(diolefin)]BF(4) for the ligands Binap (1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-diylbis(phenylphosphine)), Me-Duphos (1,2-bis(2,5-dimethylphospholano)benzene, and Catasium in the solvents methanol, THF, and propylene carbonate. Furthermore, an approach is presented to determine the desired rate constant and the resulting respective pre-hydrogenation time from stoichiometric hydrogenations of the diolefin complexes via UV/Vis spectroscopy. This method is especially useful for very slow diolefin hydrogenations (e.g., cod hydrogenation with the ligands Me-Duphos, Et-Duphos (1,2-bis(2,5-diethylphospholano)benzene), and dppe (1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane).     

Dielectrophoresis: Developments and applications from 2010 to 2020

The 20th century has seen tremendous innovation of dielectrophoresis (DEP) technologies, with applications being developed in areas ranging from industrial processing to micro- and nanoscale biotechnology. From 2010 to present day, there have been 981 publications about DEP. Of over 2600 DEP patents held by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 106 were filed in 2019 alone. This review focuses on DEP-based technologies and application developments between 2010 and 2020, with an aim to highlight the progress and to identify potential areas for future research. A major trend over the last 10 years has been the use of DEP techniques for biological and clinical applications. It has been used in various forms on a diverse array of biologically derived molecules and particles to manipulate and study them including proteins, exosomes, bacteria, yeast, stem cells, cancer cells, and blood cells. DEP has also been used to manipulate nano- and micron-sized particles in order to fabricate different structures. The next 10 years are likely to see the increase in DEP-related patent applications begin to result in a greater level of technology commercialization. Also during this time, innovations in DEP technology will likely be leveraged to continue the existing trend to further biological and medical-focused applications as well as applications in microfabrication. As a tool leveraged by engineering and imaginative scientific design, DEP offers unique capabilities to manipulate small particles in precise ways that can help solve problems and enable scientific inquiry that cannot be addressed using conventional methods.     

Biomaterials based on low cytotoxic vinyl esters for bone replacement application

In recent days, additive manufacturing technologies (AMT) based on photopolymerization have also found application in tissue engineering. Although acrylates and methacrylates have excellent photoreactivity and afford photopolymers with good mechanical properties, their cytotoxicity and degradation products disqualify them from medical use. Within this work, (meth)acrylate‐based monomers were replaced by vinyl esters with exceptional low cytotoxicity. The main focus of this paper lies on the determination of the photoreactivity and investigations concerning mechanical properties and degradation behavior of the new materials. Tested monomers provide sufficient photoreactivity for processing by AMT. Mechanical properties similar to natural bone could be obtained by adding suitable fillers like hydroxylapatite (HA). The right ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers allows the tuning of the degradation behavior. Finally, with the optimum formulation, cellular 3D structures were built using digital light processing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.     

On-line glucose monitoring by using microdialysis sampling and amperometric detection based on ‘wired’ glucose oxidase in carbon paste

In-vitro on-line glucose monitoring is described, based on microdialysis sampling and amperometric detection operated in a flow-injection system. Samples were injected into a two-electrode microcell containing an Ag/AgCl quasi-reference electrode and a glucose enzyme electrode as the working electrode, operated at + 0.15 Vvs. Ag/AgCl. The enzyme electrode is constructed by mixing the wired glucose oxidase into carbon paste. {Poly[1-vinylimidazole osmium(4,4-dimethylbipyridine)₂Cl)]}^+/2+ was used to wire the enzyme. The non-coated electrodes, cross-linked with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether, responded linearly to glucose concentrations up to 60 mM, and were characterized by a sensitivity of 0.23 A mM^–1 cm^–2, when operated in flow injection mode and of 5.4 AmM ^–1 cm^–2 in steady-state conditions. This sensitivity of the resulting enzyme electrode was 50% lower than that of similarly prepared but non-cross-linked electrodes. However, the cross-linked electrodes showed superior operational and storage stabilities, which were further improved by coating the electrodes with a negatively charged Eastman AQ film. An in-house designed microdialysis probe, equipped with a polysulphone cylindrical dialysis membrane, yielded a relative recovery of 50–60% at a perfusion rate of 2.5 l/min^–1 in a well stirred glucose solution. The on-line set up effectively rejected common interferences such as ascorbic acid and 4-acetaminophen when present at their physiological concentrations.     

Vacuum‐UV Irradiation‐Based Formation of Methyl‐Si‐O‐Si Networks from Poly(1,1‐Dimethylsilazane‐co‐1‐methylsilazane)

The vacuum‐UV (VUV)‐induced conversion of commercially available poly(1,1‐dimethylsilazane‐co‐1‐methylsilazane) into methyl‐Si‐O‐Si networks was studied using UV sources at wavelengths around 172, 185, and 222 nm, respectively. Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF‐SIMS), X‐ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements, as well as kinetic investigations, were carried out to elucidate the degradation process. First‐order kinetics were found for the photolytically induced decomposition of the Si? NH‐Si network, the subsequent formation of the methyl‐Si‐O‐Si network and the concomitant degradation of the Si? CH₃ bond, which were additionally independent of the photon energy above a threshold of about 5.5 eV (225 nm). The kinetics of these processes were, however, dependent on the dose actually absorbed by the layer and, in the case of Si‐O‐Si formation, additionally on the oxygen concentration. The release of ammonia and methane accompanied the conversion process. Quantum‐chemical calculations on methyl substituted cyclotetrasilazanes as model compounds substantiate the suggested reaction scheme. Layers <100 nm in thickness based on mixtures of poly(1,1‐dimethylsilazane‐co‐1‐methylsilazane) and perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) were coated onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foils by a continuous roll to roll process and cured by VUV irradiation by using wavelengths <200 nm and investigated for their O₂ and water vapor‐barrier properties. It was found that the resulting layers displayed oxygen and water vapor transmission rates (OTR and WVTR, respectively) of <1 cm³ m^?2 d^?1 bar^?1 and <4 g m^?2 d^?1, respectively.     

Systematic investigations of the photocatalytic alkyne-nitrile heterotrimerisation to pyridine

The photocatalytic heterocyclotrimerisation of ethyne and nitrile initiated by cobalt(I) complexes was studied. General mechanistic features as proposed for the ‘dark’ reaction were found to apply as well under photolytic conditions albeit with modifications. The results suggest that the irradiated light accelerates that stage of reaction, leading to the organometallic species which is believed to be the common intermediate for the formation of pyridine and benzene. The rate of pyridine production is linear dependent from nitrile concentration. Benzene formation may be minimised by keeping the ethyne concentration low. An alternative mechanism, based on the initial coordination of nitrile at cobalt is not confirmed. A novel gas buret system was used, which allowed automatic feed of ethyne under isobaric conditions and to monitor all reactants simultaneously on-line.