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.     

Poly(exTTF): A Novel Redox‐Active Polymer as Active Material for Li‐Organic Batteries

The first polymer bearing exTTF units intended for the use in electrical charge storage is presented. The polymer undergoes a redox reaction involving two electrons at −0.20 V vs Fc/Fc⁺ and is applied as active cathode material in a Li‐organic battery. The received coin cells feature a theoretical capacity of 132 mAh g⁻¹, a cell potential of 3.5 V, and a lifetime exceeding more than 250 cycles.

     

“Virtual effects of excited quarks as probes of a possible new hardonic mass scale”

The effects of $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ excited quarks are considered as probes of a possible new hadronic mass-scale Λ. A specific model is developed which describes virtual $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ quarks of mass of O(Λ). Induced effects, which are corrections to the standard SU(2) × U(1) electroweak model, include right-handed charged currents and flavor changing neutral currents. A model-independent classification of all SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) invariant quark operators of dimension six or less is also presented. Ambiguities in converting this analysis and existing experiments to a definitive lower-bound for Λ are discussed. It is found, depending on the strength of certain Higgs couplings and the underlying global flavor symmetries in the absence of Higgs couplings, that a lower bound as small as Λ > 500 GeV or as large as Λ > 100 TeV is possible.     

Mild Generation of o-Quinone Methides. Synthesis of (-)-Hexahydrocannabinol and Dihydrocannabidiol

(-)-Hexahydrocannabinol 7 was synthesized enantioselectively under mild conditions through the ortho quinone methide mediated cyclization of the adduct of R-(+)-citronellal and the bisethoxyethyl ether of olivetol. The conditions enabled the ene product, 1, 2-dihydrocannabidiol 6, to be isolated as well.     

Deep inelastic scattering as a probe of new hadronic mass scales

We present the general form for deep-inelastic cross sections obtained from all SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) invariant operators of dimension six or less. The operators of dimension six generate corrections to the predictions of the standard model, which serve as a probe of a possible new mass-scale Λ and other new physics.     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of novel redox‐active polymers with anthraquinone moieties by Pd‐catalyzed cyclopolymerization of dienes

Redox‐active polymers enhanced the focus of attention in the field of battery research in recent years. Anthraquinone is one of the most generic redox‐active functional compounds for battery applications, because the quinonide structure undergoes a redox reaction involving two electrons and features stable electrochemical behavior. Although various redox‐active polymers have been developed, the polymer backbone is mostly based on linear alkyl chains [e.g., poly(methacrylate)s, poly(ether)s]. Polymers featuring ring structures in the backbone are limited due to the restricted availability of suitable polymerization techniques [e.g., poly(norbornene)s by ROMP]. The cyclopolymerization of dienes with pendant redox‐active anthraquinone moieties by Pd catalysis represents a novel approach to synthesize redox‐active polymers featuring cyclic structures in the backbone. Electrochemical investigations, in particular cyclic voltammetry, of these new diene monomer, polymers and the corresponding polymer supported carbon paper composites were conducted in different organic electrolytes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2184–2190     

Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Reactive Oxoammonium Cations

This study presents the first liquid chromatography method for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of highly reactive oxoammonium cations based on a simple derivatization reaction. Rapid 1,2-electrophilic addition reactions with olefins were used to transform these reactive species into analyzable derivates. Three model substances were chosen to represent each of the main application fields of oxoammonium cations and to demonstrate the versatility of the method. The measuring protocol was validated according to the ICH and USP guidelines. The method revealed an excellent linearity (R²?=?0.9980–0.9990) with a low limit of detection (0.16–0.14 mmol L^?1) and a low limit of quantification (0.55–0.43 mmol L^?1). The protocol was finally used to determine the oxoammonium cations in the presence of their corresponding radical, showing a robustness against impurity concentration of up to approx. 30%.