Ironing Controllable Lithium into Lithiotropic Carbon Fiber Fabric: A Novel Li-Metal Anode with Improved Cyclability and Dendrite Suppression

Lithium metal as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is attracting more attention because of the high gravimetric/volumetric energy density and low electrochemical potential. However, the irreversible Li plating/striping can reduce the cycling capability and very possibly introduce dendrite growth, thus leading to a series of issues such as infinite volume change, low Coulombic efficiency, and uncontrollable solid electrolyte interphase. Here, we report a novel, single-side Li-infused carbon fiber fabric (LiCFF) with a controllable, minimized Li loading, which shows a highly reversible plating/stripping with an extremely low overpotential of less than 30 mV (Li foil: >1.0 V over 50 cycles) upon >3000 cycles (6000 and 2000 h) at 1 and 3 mA/cm2 in symmetric cells, respectively. With a high areal capacity up to 10 mA h/cm2 and a high current density of 10 mA/cm2, the cell still shows a minimum overpotential of 150–175 mV after 250 cycles (500 h). Full-cell batteries using the LiCFF as “all-in-one” anodes without the additional slurry-making process and nickel–manganese–cobalt oxide (NMC) as cathodes exhibit an improved capacity retention when compared with Li foil: 32% at 0.5 C and 119% at 1.0 C capacity improved after 100 cycles. In parallel, the mossy/dendritic Li on the LiCFF was largely suppressed, which was confirmed using in situ observations of Li plating/striping in a capillary cell. The excellent electronic conductivity of the carbon fabric leads to small contact/transfer resistances of 3.4/3.8 Ω (Li foil: 4.1/44.4 Ω), enabling a drastically lowered energy barrier for Li nucleation/growth. Thus, a uniform current distribution results in forming a homogeneous Li layer instead of forming dendrites. The current LiCFF as the anode with controllable Li (n/p ratio), improved cycling stability, mitigated dendrite formation, and flexibility displays promising applications in versatile Li-metal batteries such as Li–NMC, Li–S, and Li–O2

Ironing Controllable Lithium into Lithiotropic Carbon Fiber Fabric: A Novel Li-Metal Anode with Improved Cyclability and Dendrite Suppression

Lithium metal as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is attracting more attention because of the high gravimetric/volumetric energy density and low electrochemical potential. However, the irreversible Li plating/striping can reduce the cycling capability and very possibly introduce dendrite growth, thus leading to a series of issues such as infinite volume change, low Coulombic efficiency, and uncontrollable solid electrolyte interphase. Here, we report a novel, single-side Li-infused carbon fiber fabric (LiCFF) with a controllable, minimized Li loading, which shows a highly reversible plating/stripping with an extremely low overpotential of less than 30 mV (Li foil: >1.0 V over 50 cycles) upon >3000 cycles (6000 and 2000 h) at 1 and 3 mA/cm2 in symmetric cells, respectively. With a high areal capacity up to 10 mA h/cm2 and a high current density of 10 mA/cm2, the cell still shows a minimum overpotential of 150–175 mV after 250 cycles (500 h). Full-cell batteries using the LiCFF as “all-in-one” anodes without the additional slurry-making process and nickel–manganese–cobalt oxide (NMC) as cathodes exhibit an improved capacity retention when compared with Li foil: 32% at 0.5 C and 119% at 1.0 C capacity improved after 100 cycles. In parallel, the mossy/dendritic Li on the LiCFF was largely suppressed, which was confirmed using in situ observations of Li plating/striping in a capillary cell. The excellent electronic conductivity of the carbon fabric leads to small contact/transfer resistances of 3.4/3.8 Ω (Li foil: 4.1/44.4 Ω), enabling a drastically lowered energy barrier for Li nucleation/growth. Thus, a uniform current distribution results in forming a homogeneous Li layer instead of forming dendrites. The current LiCFF as the anode with controllable Li (n/p ratio), improved cycling stability, mitigated dendrite formation, and flexibility displays promising applications in versatile Li-metal batteries such as Li–NMC, Li–S, and Li–O2

Double-Net Enclosed Sulfur Composite as a New Cathode in Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Tremendous attempts have been tried on confinements of lithium polysulfides to kinetically slow down the “shuttling effect” in lithium sulfur batteries. Nonetheless, to avoid the thermodynamic loss of sulfides, a stronger physical/chemical bonding displays a more effective way to mitigate the sulfur “flow away” process. In this article, we created a double-net matrix, which is composed of activated carbon (AC) embedded by a mesoporous silicon oxide cap. The oxide cap not only “traps” the sulfide molecules but also chemically bonds the molecules to delay the dissolution, resulting in high-capacity retention and improved rate performance. The capacity as high as 980 mAh/g at 0.2 C of the battery using the double-net enclosed sulfur composite as cathode was retained after 300 cycles. A high-capacity retention of 780 mAh/g after 1000 cycles with a Coulombic efficiency of >99.5% was also achieved. In parallel, a wide range of sulfur ratios up to ∼73% in the composite led to a high loading of active material, thus enabling a high energy density. The battery showed high-capacity retention after 300 cycles with the sulfur loadings of 4 and 5 mg/cm2, respectively. The improved capability of cycling, rate, and Coulombic efficiency of Li–S battery using industry available both AC and sulfur pave the pathway in mass production as a high-energy-storage system

Ironing Controllable Lithium into Lithiotropic Carbon Fiber Fabric: A Novel Li-Metal Anode with Improved Cyclability and Dendrite Suppression

Lithium metal as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is attracting more attention because of the high gravimetric/volumetric energy density and low electrochemical potential. However, the irreversible Li plating/striping can reduce the cycling capability and very possibly introduce dendrite growth, thus leading to a series of issues such as infinite volume change, low Coulombic efficiency, and uncontrollable solid electrolyte interphase. Here, we report a novel, single-side Li-infused carbon fiber fabric (LiCFF) with a controllable, minimized Li loading, which shows a highly reversible plating/stripping with an extremely low overpotential of less than 30 mV (Li foil: >1.0 V over 50 cycles) upon >3000 cycles (6000 and 2000 h) at 1 and 3 mA/cm2 in symmetric cells, respectively. With a high areal capacity up to 10 mA h/cm2 and a high current density of 10 mA/cm2, the cell still shows a minimum overpotential of 150–175 mV after 250 cycles (500 h). Full-cell batteries using the LiCFF as “all-in-one” anodes without the additional slurry-making process and nickel–manganese–cobalt oxide (NMC) as cathodes exhibit an improved capacity retention when compared with Li foil: 32% at 0.5 C and 119% at 1.0 C capacity improved after 100 cycles. In parallel, the mossy/dendritic Li on the LiCFF was largely suppressed, which was confirmed using in situ observations of Li plating/striping in a capillary cell. The excellent electronic conductivity of the carbon fabric leads to small contact/transfer resistances of 3.4/3.8 Ω (Li foil: 4.1/44.4 Ω), enabling a drastically lowered energy barrier for Li nucleation/growth. Thus, a uniform current distribution results in forming a homogeneous Li layer instead of forming dendrites. The current LiCFF as the anode with controllable Li (n/p ratio), improved cycling stability, mitigated dendrite formation, and flexibility displays promising applications in versatile Li-metal batteries such as Li–NMC, Li–S, and Li–O2

Largely Improved Battery Performance Using a Microsized Silicon Skeleton Caged by Polypyrrole as Anode

Various architectures with nanostructured silicon have demonstrated promising battery performance while posing a challenge in industrial production. The current ratio of silicon in graphite as anode is less than 5 wt %, which greatly limits the battery energy density. In this article, we report a scalable synthesis of a large silicon cage composite (micrometers) that is composed of a silicon skeleton and an ultrathin (via a facile wet-chemical method. The industry available, microsized AlSi alloy was used as precursor. The hollow skeleton configuration provides sufficient space to accommodate the drastic volume expansion/shrinkage upon charging/discharging, while the conductive polymer serves as a protective layer and fast channel for Li+/e– transport. The battery with the microsilicon (μ-Si) cage as anode displays an excellent capacity retention upon long cycling at high charge/discharge rates and high material loadings. At 0.2 C, a specific capacity of ∼1660 mAh/g with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of ∼99.8% and 99.4% was achieved after 500 cycles at 3 mg/cm2 loading and 400 cycles at 4.4 mg/cm2 loading, respectively. At 1.0 C, a capacity as high as 1149 mAh/g was retained after 500 cycles with such high silicon loading. The areal capacity of as high as 6.4 mAh/cm2 with 4.4 mg/cm2 loading was obtained, which ensures a high battery energy density in powering large devices such as electric vehicles

Facile Synthesis of Transparent Mesostructured Composites and Corresponding Crack-free Mesoporous Carbon/Silica Monoliths

Transparent ordered mesostructured resin-silica composite monoliths with uniform rectangular shape which fully copies the inner-shape of vessels and size (5 × 3 × 0.3 cm3) are prepared via a facile approach of evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) without adding any protecting agent by using triblock copolymer Pluronic F127 as a template. Ordered mesoporous carbon-silica composite monoliths can be obtained in a wide range of silica content (34–82 wt %) after calcination in N2. Monolithic shape can be maintained with shrinkage (∼20%) in sizes. Furthermore, each component of the composites can be easily removed after the simple post treatments. After etching silica, mesoporous carbon monoliths retain the same in shape and sizes, but show much larger pore volume (∼2.65 cm3/g) and higher surface area (∼1800 m2/g) than the carbon–silica composites. Besides, mesoporous silica monoliths with large pore size (∼14.6 nm) show an integral and uniform shape after air combustion. The obtained mesoporous carbon monoliths show high capacitance (186 F/g) and high cycling stability (8% capacitance loss after 1000 cycles), exhibiting an excellent potential in capacitor applications

Ordered Mesoporous Platinum@Graphitic Carbon Embedded Nanophase as a Highly Active, Stable, and Methanol-Tolerant Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalyst

Highly ordered mesoporous platinum@graphitic carbon (Pt@GC) composites with well-graphitized carbon frameworks and uniformly dispersed Pt nanoparticles embedded within the carbon pore walls have been rationally designed and synthesized. In this facile method, ordered mesoporous silica impregnated with a variable amount of Pt precursor is adopted as the hard template, followed by carbon deposition through a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process with methane as a carbon precursor. During the CVD process, in situ reduction of Pt precursor, deposition of carbon, and graphitization can be integrated into a single step. The mesostructure, porosity and Pt content in the final mesoporous Pt@GC composites can be conveniently adjusted over a wide range by controlling the initial loading amount of Pt precursor and the CVD temperature and duration. The integration of high surface area, regular mesopores, graphitic nature of the carbon walls as well as highly dispersed and spatially embedded Pt nanoparticles in the mesoporous Pt@GC composites make them excellent as highly active, extremely stable, and methanol-tolerant electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A systematic study by comparing the ORR performance among several carbon supported Pt electrocatalysts suggests the overwhelmingly better performance of the mesoporous Pt@GC composites. The structural, textural, and framework properties of the mesoporous Pt@GC composites are extensively studied and strongly related to their excellent ORR performance. These materials are highly promising for fuel cell applications and the synthesis method is quite applicable for constructing mesoporous graphitized carbon materials with various embedded nanophases

Data_Sheet_1_Comparative genomics of Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus, including the description of four novel species: Myxococcus guangdongensis sp. nov., Myxococcus qinghaiensis sp. nov., Myxococcus dinghuensis sp. nov., and Pyxidicoccus xibeiensis sp. nov..pdf

Myxobacteria are recognized for fascinating social behaviors and producing diverse extracellular active substances. Isolating novel myxobacteria is of great interest in the exploitation of new antibiotics and extracellular enzymes. Herein, four novel strains were isolated from Dinghu Mountain Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong province, and Qinghai virgin forest soils, Qinghai province, China. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and genomic sequences indicated that the four strains belong to the genera Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus, sharing the highly similarities of 16S rRNA gene with the genera Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus (99.3–99.6%, respectively). The four strains had average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of 82.8–94.5%, digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values of 22.2–56.6%, average amino acid identity (AAI) values of 75.8–79.1% and percentage of conserved protein (POCP) values of 66.4–74.9% to members of the genera Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus. Based on phylogenetic analyses, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and comparative genomic analyses, we propose four novel species of the genera Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus and further supported the two genera above represented the same genus. Description of the four novel species is Myxococcus guangdongensis sp. nov. (K38C18041901T = GDMCC 1.2320T = JCM 39260T), Myxococcus qinghaiensis sp. nov. (QH3KD-4-1T = GDMCC 1.2316T = JCM 39262T), Myxococcus dinghuensis sp. nov. (K15C18031901T = GDMCC 1.2319T = JCM 39259T), and Pyxidicoccus xibeiensis sp. nov. (QH1ED-7-1T = GDMCC 1.2315T = JCM 39261T), respectively. Furthermore, comparative genomics of all 15 species of the genera Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus revealed extensive genetic diversity. Core genomes enriched more genes associated with housekeeping functional classes while accessory genomes enriched more genes related to environmental interactions, indicating the former is relatively indispensable compared to signaling pathway genes. The 15 species of Myxococcus and Pyxidicoccus also exhibited great gene diversity of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters (BGCs), especially related to glycosyl transferases (GT2 and GT4), glycoside hydrolases (GH13 and GH23), non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), and Type I polyketide synthase (PKS)/NRPS hybrids.</p

Additional file 1: of Effects of ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block on cervical vascular blood flow: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials). Completed SPIRIT 2013 checklist of recommended items to address in a clinical trial protocol and related documents. (DOC 123 kb