A practical perspective on the potential of rechargeable Mg batteries

Emerging energy storage systems based on abundant and cost-effective materials are key to overcome the global energy and climate crisis of the 21st century. Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries (RMB), based on Earth-abundant magnesium, can provide a cheap and environmentally responsible alternative to the benchmark Li-ion technology, especially for large energy storage applications. Currently, RMB technology is the subject of intense research efforts at laboratory scale. However, these emerging approaches must be placed in a real-world perspective to ensure that they satisfy key technological requirements. In an attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory advancements and industrial development demands, herein, we report the first non-aqueous multilayer RMB pouch cell prototypes and propose a roadmap for a new advanced RMB chemistry. Through this work, we aim to show the great unrealized potential of RMBs.This work was funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the FET Proactive call with grant agreement no 824066 via the “E-MAGIC” project

A practical perspective on the potential of rechargeable Mg batteries

Emerging energy storage systems based on abundant and cost-effective materials are key to overcome the global energy and climate crisis of the 21st century. Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries (RMB), based on Earth-abundant magnesium, can provide a cheap and environmentally responsible alternative to the benchmark Li-ion technology, especially for large energy storage applications. Currently, RMB technology is the subject of intense research efforts at laboratory scale. However, these emerging approaches must be placed in a real-world perspective to ensure that they satisfy key technological requirements. In an attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory advancements and industrial development demands, herein, we report the first non-aqueous multilayer RMB pouch cell prototypes and propose a roadmap for a new advanced RMB chemistry. Through this work, we aim to show the great unrealized potential of RMBs

Basal mitophagy is widespread in Drosophila but minimally affected by loss of Pink1 or parkin

The Parkinson’s disease factors PINK1 and parkin are strongly implicated in stress-induced mitophagy in vitro, but little is known about their impact on basal mitophagy in vivo. We generated transgenic Drosophila melanogaster expressing fluorescent mitophagy reporters to evaluate the impact of Pink1/parkin mutations on basal mitophagy under physiological conditions. We find that mitophagy is readily detectable and abundant in many tissues, including Parkinson’s disease–relevant dopaminergic neurons. However, we did not detect mitolysosomes in flight muscle. Surprisingly, in Pink1 or parkin null flies, we did not observe any substantial impact on basal mitophagy. Because these flies exhibit locomotor defects and dopaminergic neuron loss, our findings raise questions about current assumptions of the pathogenic mechanism associated with the PINK1/parkin pathway. Our findings provide evidence that Pink1 and parkin are not essential for bulk basal mitophagy in Drosophila. They also emphasize that mechanisms underpinning basal mitophagy remain largely obscure

Recent development in the field of ceramics solid-state electrolytes: I—oxide ceramic solid-state electrolytes

Many elements in the periodic table form ionic compounds; the crystal lattices of such compounds contain cations and anions, which are arranged in the way that these cations and anions form two interpenetrated sub-lattices (cation and anion sub-lattices). Up to now, a number of ionic compounds are known, in which cations or anions are fairly mobile within the corresponding sub-lattice; these compounds are termed as “solid-state electrolytes”. Many solid-state electrolytes with such moveable cations and moveable anions are known to date. Following the footsteps of the established Li-ion battery technology, an interest in the Li+-conducting solid-state electrolytes appears, and all-solid-state lithium battery has started its journey to accompany the reigning counterpart. The valence and ionic radius of ions, the crystal structure, and intrinsic defects of the material are the prime properties of the solid-state electrolytes, which determine the ion mobility in the crystal framework. There are a number of solid-state electrolyte structures that demonstrate high Li+-mobility and high Li+ conductivity (Li+ superconductors) in the range of 10−2 to 10−3 S/cm at room temperature, which is comparable to the ionic conductivity of 1 M LiPF6 (~ 10−2 S/cm), but the conductivity can dwindle highly by up to 5–6 orders of magnitude within the different materials that belonged to the same crystal structure family. Moreover, the surface or interface properties are also crucial factors in tailoring the ionic conductivity of practical polycrystalline solid electrolytes. The interfacial properties and compatibility with electrode materials have a high impact on the performance of electrochemical cells with solid electrolytes. Although the potential window of many solid electrolytes is high enough, there are solid electrolytes which are unstable at low operating potentials while others are not stable towards the cathodes; these features result in the appearance of non-conductive interface layers resulting in a low interfacial charge–transfer kinetics. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in the field of Li-ion conducting electrolytes from the points of their fundamental properties. The latest achievements in the fields of cell design and improvements of (solid-state electrolytes)/(various anodes) and (solid-state electrolytes)/(various cathodes) compatibilities are considered as well

MgSc 2 Se 4 Solid Electrolyte for Rechargeable Mg Batteries: An Electric Field‐Assisted All‐Solid‐State Synthesis

Magnesium scandium chalcogenide spinels are an important class of materials in Mg anode-based batteries for energy storage applications. The applications of these intriguing materials are not limited to the energy storage, but the use of these materials may also be useful in solar cells, owing to the material optical bandgap. So far, all reported synthetic routes for these spinels involve high-temperature furnace treatment. Herein, a process which involves a facile electric field-assisted synthesis of MgSc2Se4 is reported on, yielding after a very short thermal treatment, a material possessing a low room-temperature electronic conductivity of ≈10−11 S cm−1, and a room-temperature Mg-ion conductivity of 1.78 × 10−5 S cm−1. The crucial role of extra selenium on the material electronic conductivity is discussed and explained in detail