A review of Ni-based layered oxides for rechargeable Li-ion batteries

The portable electronic market, vehicle electrification (electric vehicles or EVs) and grid electricity storage impose strict performance requirements on Li-ion batteries, the energy storage device of choice, for these demanding applications. Higher energy density than currently available is needed for these batteries, but a limited choice of materials for cathodes remains a bottleneck. Layered lithium metal oxides, particularly those with high Ni content, hold the greatest promise for high energy density Li-ion batteries because of their unique performance characteristics as well as for cost and availability considerations. In this article, we review Ni-based layered oxide materials as cathodes for high-energy Li-ion batteries. The scope of the review covers an extended chemical space, including traditional stoichiometric layered compounds and those containing two lithium ions per formula unit (with potentially even higher energy density), primarily from a materials design perspective. An in-depth understanding of the composition-structure-property map for each class of materials will be highlighted as well. The ultimate goal is to enable the discovery of new battery materials by integrating known wisdom with new principles of design, and unconventional experimental approaches (e.g., combinatorial chemistry)

Common variants conferring risk of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder, caused by both genetic and environmental factors and their interactions. Research on pathogenesis has traditionally focused on neurotransmitter systems in the brain, particularly those involving dopamine. Schizophrenia has been considered a separate disease for over a century, but in the absence of clear biological markers, diagnosis has historically been based on signs and symptoms. A fundamental message emerging from genome-wide association studies of copy number variations (CNVs) associated with the disease is that its genetic basis does not necessarily conform to classical nosological disease boundaries. Certain CNVs confer not only high relative risk of schizophrenia but also of other psychiatric disorders. The structural variations associated with schizophrenia can involve several genes and the phenotypic syndromes, or the 'genomic disorders', have not yet been characterized. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genome-wide association studies with the potential to implicate individual genes in complex diseases may reveal underlying biological pathways. Here we combined SNP data from several large genome-wide scans and followed up the most significant association signals. We found significant association with several markers spanning the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region on chromosome 6p21.3-22.1, a marker located upstream of the neurogranin gene (NRGN) on 11q24.2 and a marker in intron four of transcription factor 4 (TCF4) on 18q21.2. Our findings implicating the MHC region are consistent with an immune component to schizophrenia risk, whereas the association with NRGN and TCF4 points to perturbation of pathways involved in brain development, memory and cognition