A Water-in-Salt Electrolyte for Room-Temperature Fluoride-Ion Batteries Based on a Hydrophobic–Hydrophilic Salt

Realizing room-temperature, efficient, and reversible fluoride-ion redox is critical to commercializing the fluoride-ion battery, a promising post-lithium-ion battery technology. However, this is challenging due to the absence of usable electrolytes, which usually suffer from insufficient ionic conductivity and poor (electro)chemical stability. Herein we report a water-in-salt (WIS) electrolyte based on the tetramethylammonium fluoride salt, an organic salt consisting of hydrophobic cations and hydrophilic anions. The new WIS electrolyte exhibits an electrochemical stability window of 2.47 V (2.08–4.55 V vs Li+/Li) with a room-temperature ionic conductivity of 30.6 mS/cm and a fluoride-ion transference number of 0.479, enabling reversible (de)fluoridation redox of lead and copper fluoride electrodes. The relationship between the salt property, the solvation structure, and the ionic transport behavior is jointly revealed by computational simulations and spectroscopic analysis

Dual Passivation of Cathode and Anode through Electrode–Electrolyte Interface Engineering Enables Long-Lifespan Li Metal–SPAN Batteries

The reliability and durability of lithium metal (Li0)–sulfur batteries are largely limited by the undesired Li0 plating-stripping irreversibility and the detrimental polysulfide dissolution, yet approaches that can simultaneously address the above anodic and cathodic problems are scarce. Herein, we report the stable operation of a Li0-SPAN (sulfurized polyacrylonitrile) battery via an anode–cathode dual-passivation approach. By combination of a fluorinated localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE) and a Li3N-forming additive (TMS-N3), robust and highly conductive electrode passivation layers are formed in situ on the surface of both the Li0 anode and the SPAN cathode. The resulting highly reversible, dendrite-free, and high-density Li0 plating morphology enables a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.4%. Advanced tender energy X-ray spectroscopy also reveals the eliminated Li2S formation and minimized polysulfide dissolution in SPAN cathodes, leading to a high capacity of 580 mAh/gSPAN and stable cycling with negligible capacity decay (0.7%) for 800 cycles. This electrode–electrolyte interphase engineering strategy has tackled the major limitations of Li–S batteries in both ether- and carbonate-based electrolyte systems and under a wide temperature range from −10 to +50 °C, thus providing insightful guidelines for the rational design of highly durable and high-energy-density Li0-S batteries

Supplementary Figures 1-2 from HDL of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Elevates the Capability of Promoting Breast Cancer Metastasis

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EC SR-BI expression is reduced by diabetic HDL. A)

<p>HUVECs were treated with PBS, N-HDL or D-HDL for 12 hours. Real-time PCR experiment shows that the gene expression of SR-BI, and the ratio of SR-BI/GAPDH (mean ± SEM) is shown, n = 6 each, ***, <i>p</i><0.001 by one-way ANOVA. <b>B)</b> HUVECs were treated with PBS, N-HDL or D-HDL for 24 hours. Representative western blot shows that D-HDL down-regulated the expression of SR-BI. <b>C)</b> The density of the SR-BI bands was normalized to the density of the β-actin band. The ratio of SR-BI/β-actin (mean ± SEM) is shown, <i>p</i><0.01 by student’s t-test. <b>D)</b> HUVECs were treated with N-HDL or D-HDL for 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 minutes, 3, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours, and SR-BI expression was shown. <b>E)</b> HUVECs were treated with N-HDL or D-HDL for 24 hours, and ABCG1 expression was shown. <b>F)</b> HUVECs were treated with N-HDL or D-HDL for 8 or 24 hours. SR-BI levels on the cell surface were shown as percentage of control, mean ± SEM, *, P<0.05 by one-way ANOVA. <b>G)</b> HUVECs were treated with with media alone (C, control), N-HDL, G-HDL, and Ox-HDL at an apoA-I concentration of 100 µg/ml for 24 hours, and western blotting assay was performed. <b>H)</b> The density of the SR-BI bands was normalized to the β-actin band (***, <i>p</i><0.001 by a Student’s t test).</p

Localized Hydrophobicity in Aqueous Zinc Electrolytes Improves Zinc Metal Reversibility

The rechargeability of aqueous zinc metal batteries is plagued by parasitic reactions of the zinc metal anode and detrimental morphologies such as dendritic or dead zinc. To improve the zinc metal reversibility, hereby we report a new solution structure of aqueous electrolyte with hydroxyl-ion scavengers and hydrophobicity localized in solvent clusters. We show that although hydrophobicity sounds counterintuitive for an aqueous system, hydrophilic pockets may be encapsulated inside a hydrophobic outer layer, and a hydrophobic anode–electrolyte interface can be generated through the addition of a cation-philic, strongly anion-phobic, and OH–-reactive diluent. The localized hydrophobicity enables less active water and less absorbed water on the Zn anode surface, which suppresses the parasitic water reduction; while the hydroxyl-ion-scavenging functionality further minimizes undesired passivation layer formation, thus leading to superior reversibility (an average Zn plating/stripping efficiency of 99.72% for 1000 cycles) and lifetime (80.6% capacity retention after 5000 cycles) of zinc batteries

Diabetic HDL is much less efficient in promoting EC migration. A)

<p>Scratched HUVEC monolayers were treated with media alone (C, control), N-HDL (N), or D-HDL (D) for 24 hours, and migration into the wound was photographed (100× objective lens). <b>B)</b> N-HDL or D-HDL (n = 10 each) was added to each well and transwell migration was evaluated after 8 hours. <b>C)</b> Quantification migration in the wound healing assay (n = 3, mean ± SEM; ***, <i>p</i><0.001 by ANOVA and Bonferroni’s Multiple Comparison Test). <b>D)</b> Cell migration based upon an 8 hour incubation in the transwell migration assay (n = 10, mean ± SEM, ns, <i>p</i>>0.05 and ***, <i>p</i><0.001 by ANOVA and Bonferroni’s Multiple Comparison Test) was shown. <b>E)</b> Scratched HUVEC monolayers were treated with N-HDL (N), or D-HDL (D) for 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours, and the migration into the wound was photographed (100× objective lens). <b>F)</b> The migration in wound healing assay was quantified (n = 3, mean ± SEM; ***, <i>p</i><0.001 by ANOVA and Bonferroni’s Multiple Comparison Test). <b>G)</b> Transwell migration assay was applied to HUVECs treated with media alone (C, control), N-HDL, G-HDL, or Ox-HDL at an apoA-I concentration of 100 µg/ml for 8 hours (mean ± SEM, **, <i>p</i><0.01 and ***, <i>p</i><0.001 by ANOVA test and Bonferroni’s Multiple Comparison Test).</p

Localized Hydrophobicity in Aqueous Zinc Electrolytes Improves Zinc Metal Reversibility

The rechargeability of aqueous zinc metal batteries is plagued by parasitic reactions of the zinc metal anode and detrimental morphologies such as dendritic or dead zinc. To improve the zinc metal reversibility, hereby we report a new solution structure of aqueous electrolyte with hydroxyl-ion scavengers and hydrophobicity localized in solvent clusters. We show that although hydrophobicity sounds counterintuitive for an aqueous system, hydrophilic pockets may be encapsulated inside a hydrophobic outer layer, and a hydrophobic anode–electrolyte interface can be generated through the addition of a cation-philic, strongly anion-phobic, and OH–-reactive diluent. The localized hydrophobicity enables less active water and less absorbed water on the Zn anode surface, which suppresses the parasitic water reduction; while the hydroxyl-ion-scavenging functionality further minimizes undesired passivation layer formation, thus leading to superior reversibility (an average Zn plating/stripping efficiency of 99.72% for 1000 cycles) and lifetime (80.6% capacity retention after 5000 cycles) of zinc batteries

Akt phosphorylation induced by HDL. A)

<p>HUVECs were treated without (control) or with the addition of N-HDL or D-HDL for 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 minutes, 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours. Expression levels of phospho-Akt (Ser473) and Akt1/2 were analyzed by western blotting. <b>B)</b> HUVECs were treated with N-HDL or D-HDL (n = 3 each) for 20 minutes or 24 hours. Expression levels of phospho-Akt (Ser473), Akt1/2, and β-actin were analyzed by western blotting. <b>C)</b> The density of the phospho-Akt bands at 20 minutes was normalized to the β-actin band (ns, <i>p</i>>0.05). <b>D)</b> The density of the phospho-Akt bands at 24 hours was normalized to the β-actin band (**, <i>p</i><0.01 by a student’s t test). <b>E)</b> The density of the phospho-Akt bands at 20 minutes was normalized to the Akt1/2 band (ns, p>0.05). <b>F)</b> The density of the phospho-Akt bands at 24 hours was normalized to the Akt1/2 band (*, p<0.05 by a student’s t test). <b>G)</b> MAECs from SR-BI (+/+) or SR-BI (−/−) mice were treated without (control) or with N-HDL or D-HDL for 24 hours, and expression levels of phospho-Akt (Ser473), Akt1/2, and β-actin were analyzed by western blotting. <b>H)</b> The density of the phospho-Akt bands of MAECs from SR-BI (+/+) or SR-BI (−/−) mice was normalized to the Akt1/2 band (*, p<0.05 and **, p<0.01 by a student’s t test).</p

Polypropylene Carbonate-Based Adaptive Buffer Layer for Stable Interfaces of Solid Polymer Lithium Metal Batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have the potential to enhance the safety and energy density of lithium batteries. However, poor interfacial contact between the lithium metal anode and SPE leads to high interfacial resistance and low specific capacity of the battery. In this work, we present a novel strategy to improve this solid–solid interface problem and maintain good interfacial contact during battery cycling by introducing an adaptive buffer layer (ABL) between the Li metal anode and SPE. The ABL consists of low molecular-weight polypropylene carbonate , poly­(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and lithium salt. Rheological experiments indicate that ABL is viscoelastic and that it flows with a higher viscosity compared to PEO-only SPE. ABL also has higher ionic conductivity than PEO-only SPE. In the presence of ABL, the interface resistance of the Li/ABL/SPE/LiFePO4 battery only increased 20% after 150 cycles, whereas that of the battery without ABL increased by 117%. In addition, because ABL makes a good solid–solid interface contact between the Li metal anode and SPE, the battery with ABL delivered an initial discharge specific capacity of >110 mA·h/g, which is nearly twice that of the battery without ABL, which is 60 mA·h/g. Moreover, ABL is able to maintain electrode–electrolyte interfacial contact during battery cycling, which stabilizes the battery Coulombic efficiency

Localized Hydrophobicity in Aqueous Zinc Electrolytes Improves Zinc Metal Reversibility

The rechargeability of aqueous zinc metal batteries is plagued by parasitic reactions of the zinc metal anode and detrimental morphologies such as dendritic or dead zinc. To improve the zinc metal reversibility, hereby we report a new solution structure of aqueous electrolyte with hydroxyl-ion scavengers and hydrophobicity localized in solvent clusters. We show that although hydrophobicity sounds counterintuitive for an aqueous system, hydrophilic pockets may be encapsulated inside a hydrophobic outer layer, and a hydrophobic anode–electrolyte interface can be generated through the addition of a cation-philic, strongly anion-phobic, and OH–-reactive diluent. The localized hydrophobicity enables less active water and less absorbed water on the Zn anode surface, which suppresses the parasitic water reduction; while the hydroxyl-ion-scavenging functionality further minimizes undesired passivation layer formation, thus leading to superior reversibility (an average Zn plating/stripping efficiency of 99.72% for 1000 cycles) and lifetime (80.6% capacity retention after 5000 cycles) of zinc batteries