review emerging trends in the design of electrolytes for lithium and post lithium batteries

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Cathode Active Material Recycling from Spent Lithium Batteries: A Green (Circular) Approach Based on Deep Eutectic Solvents

The transition to a circular economy vision must handle the increasing request of metals required to satisfy the battery industry; this can be obtained by recycling and feeding back secondary raw materials recovered through proper waste management. Here, a novel and green proof-of-concept was developed, based on deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to fully and easily recover valuable metals from various cathode active materials, including LiMn2O4, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, and LiNi0.8Co0.2O2. DES composed of choline chloride and lactic acid could leach Li, Mn, Co, and Ni, achieving efficiency of 100 % under much milder conditions with respect to the previous literature. For the first time, to our best knowledge, a two-step approach was reported in the case of LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 for selective recovery of Li, Co, and Ni with high yield and purity. Furthermore, other cathode components, namely aluminum current collector and binder, were found to be not dissolved by the proposed DES, thus making a simple separation from the active material possible. Finally, this strategy was designed to easily regenerate and reuse the leaching solvents for more than one extraction, thus further boosting process sustainability

Optical properties of Ge-oxygen defect center embedded in silica films

The photo-luminescence features of Ge-oxygen defect centers in a 100nm thick Ge-doped silica film on a pure silica substrate were investigated by looking at the emission spectra and time decay detected under synchrotron radiation excitation in the 10-300 K temperature range. This center exhibits two luminescence bands centered at 4.3eV and 3.2eV associated with its de-excitation from singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) states, respectively, that are linked by an intersystem crossing process. The comparison with results obtained from a bulk Ge-doped silica sample evidences that the efficiency of the intersystem crossing rate depends on the properties of the matrix embedding the Ge-oxygen defect centers, being more effective in the film than in the bulk counterpart.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, in press on J. Non cryst. solids (2007

Designing a double-coated cathode with high entropy oxides by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis for highly stable Li–S batteries

Nowadays, Li-S batteries are considered as one of the most promising alternatives to Li-ion technology in the near future, thanks to their high specific capacity and their significantly lower environmental impact and production costs. Consequently, many efforts have been directed to tackle with the inherent issues that affect Li-S batteries. One of the main problems is the so-called shuttle effect, which basically entails the unwanted migration of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) from the cathode to the anode side, causing the degradation of the cell. Here, we report an effective strategy to restrain the shuttle effect and increase the kinetics at the cathode of the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery. A functional layer including high entropy oxides (HEO) coated onto the sulfur cathode allows to exploit the HEOs capability as promoter catalysts for the conversion of LiPSs. Pure HEO powders are synthesized by fast, highly efficient microwave irradiation, followed by heat treatment at 930 degrees C. The formation of highly crystalline HEO is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The LiPSs adsorption capability of HEO is evaluated by UV-vis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The effect of the HEO-coated sulfur cathode on the electrochemical performance of the Li-S battery is studied by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge. The cell with double-coated cathode delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1173 mAh/g at C/10 with 45% capacity retention over 500 cycles at C/5, approaching similar to 99% coulombic efficiency.[GRAPHICS]

Altered dynamics of visual contextual interactions in Parkinson\u27s disease.

Over the last decades, psychophysical and electrophysiological studies in patients and animal models of Parkinson\u27s disease (PD), have consistently revealed a number of visual abnormalities. In particular, specific alterations of contrast sensitivity curves, electroretinogram (ERG), and visual-evoked potentials (VEP), have been attributed to dopaminergic retinal depletion. However, fundamental mechanisms of cortical visual processing, such as normalization or gain control computations, have not yet been examined in PD patients. Here, we measured electrophysiological indices of gain control in both space (surround suppression) and time (sensory adaptation) in PD patients based on steady-state VEP (ssVEP). Compared with controls, patients exhibited a significantly higher initial ssVEP amplitude that quickly decayed over time, and greater relative suppression of ssVEP amplitude as a function of surrounding stimulus contrast. Meanwhile, EEG frequency spectra were broadly elevated in patients relative to controls. Thus, contrary to what might be expected given the reduced contrast sensitivity often reported in PD, visual neural responses are not weaker; rather, they are initially larger but undergo an exaggerated degree of spatial and temporal gain control and are embedded within a greater background noise level. These differences may reflect cortical mechanisms that compensate for dysfunctional center-surround interactions at the retinal level

Art therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Abstract Objective To explore the potential rehabilitative effect of art therapy and its underlying mechanisms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods Observational study of eighteen patients with PD, followed in a prospective, open-label, exploratory trial. Before and after twenty sessions of art therapy, PD patients were assessed with the UPDRS, Pegboard Test, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale and PROMIS-Self-Efficacy, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), Benton Visual Recognition Test (BVRT), Navon Test, Visual Search, and Stop Signal Task. Eye movements were recorded during the BVRT. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was also performed to assess functional connectivity (FC) changes within the dorsal attention (DAN), executive control (ECN), fronto-occipital (FOC), salience (SAL), primary and secondary visual (V1, V2) brain networks. We also tested fourteen age-matched healthy controls at baseline. Results At baseline, PD patients showed abnormal visual-cognitive functions and eye movements. Analyses of rs-fMRI showed increased functional connectivity within DAN and ECN in patients compared to controls. Following art therapy, performance improved on Navon test, eye tracking, and UPDRS scores. Rs-fMRI analysis revealed significantly increased FC levels in brain regions within V1 and V2 networks. Interpretation Art therapy improves overall visual-cognitive skills and visual exploration strategies as well as general motor function in patients with PD. The changes in brain connectivity highlight a functional reorganization of visual networks

Social cognition and idiopathic isolated cervical dystonia

For a long time, cervical dystonia (CD) has been characterised only by disturbances in motor functioning. Despite accumulating evidence for symptomatology in various non-motor domains, to date no study has investigated social cognition in CD. The aim of this study was to compare performance of CD patients and healthy controls in neurocognitive and socio-cognitive domain. Twenty-five non-depressed patients with CD and 26 healthy controls underwent neuropsychological testing. This involved assessment of cognitive status (general intellect, verbal memory, and executive function), and socio-cognitive functions using a Theory of mind task and self-report on empathy and emotion regulation. In comparison to controls, CD patients displayed significantly decreased cognitive abilities, particularly in executive function and verbal memory tasks. Difficulties in inferring mental states on both cognitive and affective levels were also observed. The largest discrepancies were detected in understanding intentionality in others. Poorer performance in cognitive and socio-cognitive tasks was unrelated to severity of the disease. This is the first evidence of compromised socio-cognitive functions in CD patients, highlighting this domain as another facet of non-motor symptoms of this disease. Future studies should advance our understanding of the extent, nature, and time course of these deficits in other aspects of social cognition in this patient population

Are movement disorders and sensorimotor injuries pathologic synergies? When normal multi-joint movement synergies become pathologic

The intact nervous system has an exquisite ability to modulate the activity of multiple muscles acting at one or more joints to produce an enormous range of actions. Seemingly simple tasks, such as reaching for an object or walking, in fact rely on very complex spatial and temporal patterns of muscle activations. Neurological disorders such as stroke and focal dystonia affect the ability to coordinate multi-joint movements. This article reviews the state of the art of research of muscle synergies in the intact and damaged nervous system, their implications for recovery and rehabilitation, and proposes avenues for research aimed at restoring the nervous system’s ability to control movement

Protonation-Induced Microphase Separation in Thin Films of a Polyelectrolyte-Hydrophilic Diblock Copolymer

Block copolymers composed of poly(oligo ethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) and poly(2-vinylpyridine) are disordered in the neat state but can be induced to order by protonation of the P2VP block, demonstrating a tunable and responsive method for triggering assembly in thin films. Comparison of protonation with the addition of salts shows that microphase separation is due to selective protonation of the P2VP block. Increasing acid incorporation and increasing 2-vinylpyridine content for P2VP minority copolymers both promote increasingly phase-separated morphologies, consistent with protonation increasing the effective strength of segregation between the two blocks. The self-assembled nanostructures formed after casting from acidic solutions may be tuned based on the amount and type of acid incorporation as well as the annealing treatment applied after casting, where both aqueous and polar organic solvents are shown to be effective. Therefore, POEGMA-b-P2VP is a novel ion-containing block copolymer whose morphologies can be facilely tuned during casting and processing by controlling its exposure to acid.United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Basic Energy Sciences (Award DE-SC0001088)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMMI-1246740