Muon studies of Li+ diffusion in LiFePO4 nanoparticles of different polymorphs

The lithium diffusion in nanostructured olivine LiFePO4 has been investigated for the first time using muon spectroscopy (μSR). A microwave-assisted approach has been employed for nanoparticle preparation, where the choice of solvent is shown to play an important role in determining particle morphology and crystal chemistry. Two phases have been obtained: Pnma LiFePO4 and the high pressure Cmcm phase. The Li+ diffusion behaviour is strikingly different in both phases, with DLi of 6.25 × 10−10 cm2 s−1 obtained for Pnma LiFePO4 in good agreement with measurements of bulk materials. In contrast, Li+ diffusion is impeded with the addition of the high pressure Cmcm phase, with a lower DLi of 3.96 × 10−10 cm2 s−1 noted. We have demonstrated an efficient microwave route to nanoparticle synthesis of positive electrode materials and we have also shown μSR measurements to be a powerful probe of Li+ diffusion behaviour in nanoparticles

Mechanistic insights of Li+ diffusion within doped LiFePO4 from Muon Spectroscopy

The Li+ ion diffusion characteristics of V- and Nb-doped LiFePO4 were examined with respect to undoped LiFePO4 using muon spectroscopy (µSR) as a local probe. As little difference in diffusion coefficient between the pure and doped samples was observed, offering DLi values in the range 1.8–2.3 × 10−10 cm2 s−1, this implied the improvement in electrochemical performance observed within doped LiFePO4 was not a result of increased local Li+ diffusion. This unexpected observation was made possible with the µSR technique, which can measure Li+ self-diffusion within LiFePO4, and therefore negated the effect of the LiFePO4 two-phase delithiation mechanism, which has previously prevented accurate Li+ diffusion comparison between the doped and undoped materials. Therefore, the authors suggest that µSR is an excellent technique for analysing materials on a local scale to elucidate the effects of dopants on solid-state diffusion behaviour

Global-scale human impact on delta morphology has led to net land area gain

River deltas rank among the most economically and ecologically valuable environments on Earth. Even in the absence of sea-level rise, deltas are increasingly vulnerable to coastal hazards as declining sediment supply and climate change alter their sediment budget, affecting delta morphology and possibly leading to erosion1–3. However, the relationship between deltaic sediment budgets, oceanographic forces of waves and tides, and delta morphology has remained poorly quantified. Here we show how the morphology of about 11,000 coastal deltas worldwide, ranging from small bayhead deltas to mega-deltas, has been affected by river damming and deforestation. We introduce a model that shows that present-day delta morphology varies across a continuum between wave (about 80 per cent), tide (around 10 per cent) and river (about 10 per cent) dominance, but that most large deltas are tide- and river-dominated. Over the past 30 years, despite sea-level rise, deltas globally have experienced a net land gain of 54 ± 12 square kilometres per year (2 standard deviations), with the largest 1 per cent of deltas being responsible for 30 per cent of all net land area gains. Humans are a considerable driver of these net land gains—25 per cent of delta growth can be attributed to deforestation-induced increases in fluvial sediment supply. Yet for nearly 1,000 deltas, river damming4 has resulted in a severe (more than 50 per cent) reduction in anthropogenic sediment flux, forcing a collective loss of 12 ± 3.5 square kilometres per year (2 standard deviations) of deltaic land. Not all deltas lose land in response to river damming: deltas transitioning towards tide dominance are currently gaining land, probably through channel infilling. With expected accelerated sea-level rise5, however, recent land gains are unlikely to be sustained throughout the twenty-first century. Understanding the redistribution of sediments by waves and tides will be critical for successfully predicting human-driven change to deltas, both locally and globally.</p

Lower Triassic bryozoan beds from Ellesmere Island, High Arctic, Canada

In the Sverdrup Basin (Canadian Arctic), the Lower Triassic Blind Fiord Formation, comprising siltstone and shale, overlies various Middle to Late Permian (post-Wordian) sedimentary units. This formation is subdivided into three members: the Confederation Point, Smith Creek and Svartfjeld members of, respectively, Griesbachian-Dienerian, Smithian-Spathian and Spathian ages. Lower Triassic bryozoan beds are known from many sections of Ellesmere Island, but have never been studied in detail. During the Early Triassic biotic recovery interval, immediately following the Permian/Triassic extinction event, only one new bryozoan genus evolved in the Boreal region: Arcticopora. The first lower Triassic bryozoan bed appears in the upper part of the Confederation Point Member, and is dated as late Dienerian. Succeeding bryozoan levels occur in the upper Smith Creek Member, and are late Smithian-early Spathian in age. Bryozoan beds occupy a similar stratigraphic position in Spitsbergen. There, they occur scattered in silt to coarse sandstone beds, but also in bryozoan-dominated packstone beds resembling the packstone units in the uppermost part of the Confederation Point Member of Ellesmere Island. Previously, bryozoan-rich beds of Triassic age have not been reported, and the present work fills an important time gap in the bryozoan carbonate databas

Doses reduzidas de herbicidas de pós-emergência para controle de papua em soja Reduced rates of post-emergence herbicides for alexandergrass control in soybean

Em 1992/93 foram conduzidos dois experimentos a campo em Eldorado do Sul, RS, objetivando avaliar os herbicidas haloxyfop e sethoxydim no controle de papuã (Brachiaria plantaginea) em doses mais reduzidas que as usuais. Haloxyfop foi testado nas doses de 120, 90, 60, 30 e 30 + 30 g/ha. Sethoxydim foi avaliado nas doses de 184, 138, 92, 46 e 46 + 46 g/ha. Os herbicidas foram aspergidos 7 e 14 dias após semeadura da soja nos experimentos 1 e 2 quando as plantas de papuã encontravam-se com 1 a 2 folhas e com 3 a 4 folhas, respectivamente. As doses plenas foram aspergidas 2 semanas mais tarde que as doses reduzidas. Foi possível obter nível aceitável de controle de papuã em alguns tratamentos, em função do produto, da época e do método de aplicação. Aplicações seqüenciais de doses reduzidas de haloxyfop (30 + 30 g/ha) alcançaram controle de 72 e 95%, médias dos experimentos 1 e 2, respectivamente. No experimento 1, níveis de produtivídade de soja equivalentes ao do tratamento capinado só foram obtidos com doses plenas de haloxyfop e sethoxydim. No experimento 2, produtividades equivalentes à do capinado foram alcançadas nas doses plenas dos dois herbicidas e ainda com haloxyfop a 90 g/ha e a 30 + 30 g/ha. A pesquisa evidencia a necessidade do papuã ser totalmente eliminado para ser atingido rendimento máximo de soja.<br>Two trials were conducted under field conditions during the 1992/93 growing season in Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil, in order to evaluate haloxyfop and sethoxydim herbicides for Alexandergrass (Brachiaria plantaginea) control using rates lower than the usual. Haloxyfop rates tested were 120, 90, 60, 30, and 30 + 30 g/ha. Sethoxydim was evaluated under rates of 184, 138, 92, 46, and 46 + 46 g/ha. Herbicides were sprayed 7 and 14 days after soybean seeding date for experiments 1 and 2, when Alexandergrass plants presented 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 leaves, respectively. Herbicide full rates were applied 2 weeks after the reduced ones. It was possible to attain acceptable level of Alexandergrass control only with a few treatments, these being a function of the compound used, and also of time and method of application. Sequencial applications of reduced rates of haloxyfop (30 + 30 g/ha) achieved control levels of 72 and 95%, as averages for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. For experiment 1, soybean yield levels equivalent to hand hoeing were attained only by the full rates of haloxyfop and sethoxydim. In experiment 2, yields equivalent to the hoeing treatment were achíeved by full rates of both products and also by haloxyfop at 90 g/ha and sequencial applications of 30 + 30 g/ha. The research also attest the necessity of complete elimination of Alexandergrass infestation in order to get maximum soybean yield