Chemistry-Performance Relationships of Polymer Gel-Electrolytes for Mg−S and Li−S Batteries: Influence of Network Cation Solvation Capacity on Polymer-Polysulfide Interactions

Metal-sulfur batteries are a promising next-generation energy storage technology, offering high theoretical energy densities with low cost and good sustainability. An active area of research is the development of electrolytes that address unwanted migration of sulfur and intermediate species known as polysulfides during operation of metal-sulfur batteries, a phenomenon that leads to low energy efficiency and short life-spans. A particular class of electrolytes, gel polymer electrolytes, are especially attractive for their ability to repel polysulfides on the basis of structure, electrostatics, and other polymer properties. Herein, within the context of magnesium- and lithium-sulfur batteries, we investigate the impact of gel polymer electrolyte cation solvation capacity, a property related to network dielectric constant and chemistry, on sulfur/polysulfide-polymer interactions, an understudied property-performance relationship. Polymers with lower cation solvation capacity are found to permanently absorb less polysulfide active material, which increases sulfur utilization for Li−S batteries and significantly increases charge efficiency and life-span for Li−S and Mg−S batteries.     

N-Doped Carbon Nanofibers Encapsulating CoO@Co9S8 Nanoparticles: Preparation from S-Rich Co32 Coordination Cluster Precursors by Electrospinning and Application for Superior Li-ion Storage

Thiacalixarene-supported Co₃₂nanoclusters encapsulated in polyacrylonitrile nanofibers(Co₃₂@PAN-NFs) by electrospinning have been utilized as precursors to fabricate N-doped CoO@Co₉S₈ carbon nanofibers(CoO@Co₉S₈@CNFs) for superior Li-ion storage. The S-rich Co₃₂ clusters capped by organic sheets afforded the well dispersed cobalt oxide/sulfide nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofiber composites by direct calcination. The N-doped CoO@Co₉S₈@CNFs nanocomposites have been utilized as anode materials for lithium ion battery with the reversible capabilities being of 1051.8, 967.6, 894.7, 782.7, 669.5 and 525.4 mA·h/g at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 A/g, respectively. The CoO@Co₉S₈@CNFs also showed a relatively high stable capacity of 551.7 mA·h/g at the current density of 1 A/g after 200 cycles of rate experiments. The as-obtained N-doped CoO@Co₉S₈@CNFs nanocomposites exhibited superior reversible capacity, rate performance, Coulomb efficiency(74.5% vs. 63.9%) and cyclic stability comparing with the CoO@Co₉S₈@C derived from simple annealing of Co₃₂ templates.     

Experimental and mechanistic study of mudstone volumetric swelling at the bottom of salt cavern gas storage

Salt cavern gas storage is one of the vital strategic natural gas reserves and emergency peak shaving facilities all over the world. However, rock salt in China is primarily bedded salt, usually composed of many thin salt layers and interlayers (e.g., anhydrite, mudstone, and glauberite). During the water solution mining process of the cavern, the insoluble mudstones fall to the bottom and account for 1/3 up to 2/3 of the storage capacity. The bulk volume of the insoluble mudstones is almost twice its in-suit volume. It is of great urgency to investigate the swelling mechanisms of the bottom insoluble mudstones. Given this, we first analyzed the mineral composition of salt rock and insoluble mudstones by using XRD and SEM methods. Then, experimental studies were carried out considering both clay swelling and physical packing. At last, the zeta potential tests were conducted to reveal the swelling mechanisms of the bottom mudstones. Results show that the volumetric expansion of mudstones is made up of three parts: clay swelling, particle surface bound water volume, and pore space free water volume increase. Because the content of expansive clay in the bottom mudstones is less than 2%, and the high salinity brine in the cavern has excellent clay stability performance, clay swelling is not the main contributor to the volumetric expansion of the bottom mudstones. Measurement results show that the surface of the mudstones is negatively charged after hydration. Electrostatic repulsion can increase the spacing between small rock particles and creates approximately 47.6% of the pore space, which is the main factor in the volumetric expansion of mudstones. This study provides a theoretical basis for the mining solution and capacity enlargement during the construction of bedded salt cavern gas storage in China.     

Recent advances in electrochemistry of pyridinium-based electrophores: A structronic approach

The context of molecular structronics (from “molecular structure” and “electronics”) is that of molecular-level electrochemical storage of energy of sustainable origin (wind, solar). Due to its discontinuous availability, storage of this energy is a key issue. The targeted type of storage relies on implementing “electron reservoirs” within the structronic molecules by electrochemically forming dedicated chemical bonds according to non-catalytic processes. Reservoir bonds are therefore integral parts of the molecular backbone of structronic assemblies. When filled, electron reservoirs manifest themselves in the form of elongated covalent bonds that are to be cleaved for electron releasing (discharging) on demand. The scope of this short review is limited to pyridinium electrophores as particularly suited building blocks for the development of structronics.     

Electrochemical hydrogen storage in porous carbons with acidic electrolytes: Uncovering the potential

Electrochemical hydrogen storage in porous carbon materials is emerging as a cost-effective hydrogen storage and transport technology with competitive power and energy densities. The merits of electrochemical hydrogen storage using porous conductive carbon-based electrodes are reviewed. The employment of acidic electrolytes in such storage systems is compared with alkaline electrolytes. The recent innovations of a proton battery for smaller-scale electricity storage, and a proton flow reactor system for larger (grid)-scale storage and bulk export of hydrogen produced from renewable energy, are briefly described. It is argued that such systems, along with variants proposed by others, all of which rely on electrochemical hydrogen storage in porous carbons, can contribute to the search for energy storage technologies essential for the transition to a zero-emission global economy.     

Redox targeting of energy materials

The redox-mediated electrochemical–chemical process, when it involves the redox-targeting reaction with energy materials, has shown intriguing potential for various energy-related applications. This review starts with a brief discussion on the evolution of redox-targeting reactions for high-energy redox-flow batteries and the critical future studies for large-scale energy storage. Then, with spatially decoupled water electrolysis as an example, the merits of redox-targeting reaction by liberating the catalyst from electrode surface are highlighted, followed by an introduction of redox targeting–based thermal-to-electrical conversion. We have also featured various redox-targeting processes in other fields of study, such as electrochromic window, redox catalysis, and spent battery material recycling. Overall, this review attempts to demonstrate the incredible versatility and prospects of redox-targeting process for energy-related applications.     

A survey on genomic data by privacy-preserving techniques perspective

Nowadays, the purpose of human genomics is widely emerging in health-related problems and also to achieve time and cost-efficient healthcare. Due to advancement in genomics and its research, development in privacy concerns is needed regarding querying, accessing and, storage and computation of the genomic data. While the genomic data is widely accessible, the privacy issues may emerge due to the untrusted third party (adversaries/researchers), they may reveal the information or strategy plans regarding the genome data of an individual when it is requested for research purposes. To mitigate this problem many privacy-preserving techniques are used along with cryptographic methods are briefly discussed. Furthermore, efficiency and accuracy in a secure and private genomic data computation are needed to be researched in future.     

Sc,Ti,V修饰B/N掺杂单缺陷石墨烯的储氢研究

3d过渡金属修饰是改善石墨烯储氢性能的最有效途径, 但仍存在金属团聚和H₂解离导致难以脱附的问题. 提出了B/N掺杂单缺陷石墨烯(BMG/NMG)的策略来避免以上两个问题. 密度泛函理论计算结果表明, N掺杂可以使Sc, Ti, V与石墨烯的结合能提高3~4倍, B掺杂可以将Sc与石墨烯的结合能提高3倍. Sc/BMG和Sc/NMG吸附的第一个H₂不会解离. Sc/BMG中Sc吸附5个H₂, 平均氢分子结合能为-0.18～-0.43 eV, 并且可以通过在同侧锚定多个Sc原子形成Sc/C₃B₂五元环增加H₂吸附位点. Sc/NMG中每个Sc吸附6个H₂, 平均氢分子结合能为-0.17～-0.29 eV, 还可以通过在异侧修饰形成Sc/N₃/Sc单元进一步提高储氢能力. 研究结果将为设计基于3d过渡金属修饰碳材料的储氢材料提供理论基础.     

Adaptation of electrodes and printable gel polymer electrolytes for optimized fully organic batteries

Despite intensive scientific efforts on the development of organic batteries, their full potential is still not being realized. The individual components, such as electrode materials and electrolytes, are in most cases developed independently and are not adjusted to each other. In this context, we report on the performance optimization of a full-organic solid-state battery system by the mutual adaptation of the electrode materials and an ionic liquid (IL)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). The formulation of the latter was designed for a one-step manufacturing approach and can be applied directly to the electrode surface, where it is UV-cured to yield the GPE without further post-treatment steps. Herein, a special focus was placed on the applicability in industrial processes. A first significant capacity increase was achieved by the incorporation of the IL into the electrode composite. Furthermore, the GPE composition was adapted applying acrylate- and methacrylate-based monomers and combinations thereof with the premise of a fast curing step. Furthermore, the amount of IL was varied, and all combinations were evaluated for their final performance in cells. The latter variation revealed that a high ionic conductivity is not the only determining factor for a good cell performance. Next to a sufficient conductivity, the interaction between electrode and electrolyte plays a key role for the cell performance as it enhances the accessibility of the counter ions to the redox-active sites.     

添加叔丁醇钾对Mg(NH2)2-2LiH体系储氢性能的影响

叔丁醇钾(C_4H_9OK)的添加显著改善了Mg(NH_2)_2-2LiH体系的储氢性能。添加0.08 mol C_4H_9OK的Mg(NH_2)_2-2LiH-0.08C_4H_9OK样品表现出最佳储氢性能。该样品的起始放氢温度仅为70℃,较Mg(NH_2)_2-2LiH原始样品降低了60℃;130℃完全放氢后,该样品可在50℃开始吸氢,较原始样品降低了50℃。Mg(NH_2)_2-2LiH-0.08C_4H_9OK样品可在150℃的等温条件下50min内迅速放出质量分数3.82%的氢气,完全放氢后可在120℃的等温条件下50 min内快速吸收质量分数4.11%的氢气,表现出良好的吸放氢动力学性能。C_4H_9OK的添加降低了样品放氢反应的表观活化能和反应焓变,改善了放氢反应的动力学和热力学性能,从而降低了放氢反应温度。进一步的放氢反应机理研究发现,在180℃之前,C_4H_9OK对Mg(NH_2)_2-2LiH体系的放氢起催化改性作用;温度继续升高后,C_4H_9OK将会分解并参与放氢反应最终生成Li_3K(NH_2)_4。