536 research outputs found
Atomic scale evolution of the surface chemistry in Li[Ni,Mn,Co]O2 cathode for Li-ion batteries stored in air
Layered LiMO2 (M = Ni, Co, Mn, and Al mixture) cathode materials used for Li-ion batteries are reputed to be highly reactive through their surface, where the chemistry changes rapidly when exposed to ambient air. However, conventional electron/spectroscopy-based techniques or thermogravimetric analysis fails to capture the underlying atom-scale chemistry of vulnerable Li species. To study the evolution of the surface composition at the atomic scale, here we use atom probe tomography and probed the surface species formed during exposure of a LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) cathode material to air. The compositional analysis evidences the formation of Li2CO3. Site specific examination from a cracked region of an NMC811 particle also suggests the predominant presence of Li2CO3. These insights will help to design improved protocols for cathode synthesis and cell assembly, as well as critical knowledge for cathode degradatio
In-situ metallic coating of atom probe specimen for enhanced yield, performance, and increased field-of-view
Atom probe tomography requires needle-shaped specimens with a diameter
typically below 100 nm, making them both very fragile and reactive, and defects
(notches at grain boundaries or precipitates) are known to affect the yield and
data quality. The use of a conformal coating directly on the sharpened specimen
has been proposed to increase yield and reduce background. However, to date,
these coatings have been applied ex-situ and mostly are not uniformly. Here, we
report on the controlled focused ion beam in-situ deposition of a thin metal
film on specimens immediately after specimen preparation. Different metallic
targets e.g. Cr were attached to a micromanipulator via a conventional lift-out
method and sputtered using the Ga or Xe ions. We showcase the many advantages
of coating specimens from metallic to non-metallic materials. We have
identified an increase in data quality and yield, an improvement of the mass
resolution, as well as an increase in the effective field-of-view enabling
visualization of the entire original specimen, including the complete surface
oxide layer. The ease of implementation of the approach makes it very
attractive for generalizing its use across a very wide range of atom probe
analyses
Nanoporous gold thin films as substrates to analyze liquids by cryo-atom probe tomography
Cryogenic atom probe tomography (cryo-APT) is being developed to enable
nanoscale compositional analyses of frozen liquids. Yet, the availability of
readily available substrates that allow for the fixation of liquids while
providing sufficient strength to their interface, is still an issue. Here we
propose the use of 1-2 microns thick binary alloy film of gold-silver (AuAg)
sputtered onto flat silicon, with sufficient adhesion without an additional
layer. Through chemical dealloying, we successfully fabricate a nanoporous
substrate, with open-pore structure, which is mounted on a microarray of Si
posts by lift out in the focused-ion beam, allowing for cryogenic fixation of
liquids. We present cryo-APT results obtained after cryogenic sharpening,
vacuum cryo-transfer and analysis of pure water on top and inside the
nanoporous film. We demonstrate that this new substrate has the requisite
characteristics for facilitating cryo-APT of frozen liquids, with a relatively
lower volume of precious metals. This complete workflow represents an improved
approach for frozen liquid analysis, from preparation of the films to the
successful fixation of the liquid in the porous network, to cryo-atom probe
tomography
Apparatus for a Search for T-violating Muon Polarization in Stopped-Kaon Decays
The detector built at KEK to search for T-violating transverse muon
polarization in K+ --> pi0 mu+ nu (Kmu3) decay of stopped kaons is described.
Sensitivity to the transverse polarization component is obtained from
reconstruction of the decay plane by tracking the mu+ through a toroidal
spectrometer and detecting the pi0 in a segmented CsI(Tl) photon calorimeter.
The muon polarization was obtained from the decay positron asymmetry of muons
stopped in a polarimeter. The detector included features which minimized
systematic errors while maintaining high acceptance.Comment: 56 pages, 30 figures, submitted to NI
Living biointerfaces based on non-pathogenic bacteria to direct cell differentiation
Genetically modified Lactococcus lactis, non-pathogenic bacteria expressing the FNIII7-10 fibronectin fragment as a protein membrane have been used to create a living biointerface between synthetic materials and mammalian cells. This FNIII7-10 fragment comprises the RGD and PHSRN sequences of fibronectin to bind α5β1 integrins and triggers signalling for cell adhesion, spreading and differentiation. We used L. lactis strain to colonize material surfaces and produce stable biofilms presenting the FNIII7-10 fragment readily available to cells. Biofilm density is easily tunable and remains stable for several days. Murine C2C12 myoblasts seeded over mature biofilms undergo bipolar alignment and form differentiated myotubes, a process triggered by the FNIII7-10 fragment. This biointerface based on living bacteria can be further modified to express any desired biochemical signal, establishing a new paradigm in biomaterial surface functionalisation for biomedical applications
Charged particle densities from Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=130 GeV
We present charged particle densities as a function of pseudorapidity and
collision centrality for the 197Au+197Au reaction at sqrt{s_{NN}}=130 GeV. An
integral charged particle multiplicity of 3860+/-300 is found for the 5% most
central events within the pseudorapidity range -4.7 <= eta <= 4.7. At
mid-rapidity an enhancement in the particle yields per participant nucleon pair
is observed for central events. Near to the beam rapidity, a scaling of the
particle yields consistent with the ``limiting fragmentation'' picture is
observed. Our results are compared to other recent experimental and theoretical
discussions of charged particle densities in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion
collisions.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Phys. Lett.
Preparing for disaster: a comparative analysis of education for critical infrastructure collapse
This article explores policy approaches to educating populations for potential critical infrastructure collapse in five different countries: the UK, the US, Germany, Japan and New Zealand. ‘Critical infrastructure’ is not always easy to define, and indeed is defined slightly differently across countries – it includes entities vital to life, such as utilities (water, energy), transportation systems and communications, and may also include social and cultural infrastructure. The article is a mapping exercise of different approaches to critical infrastructure protection and preparedness education by the five countries. The exercise facilitates a comparison of the countries and enables us to identify distinctive characteristics of each country’s approach. We argue that contrary to what most scholars of security have argued, these national approaches diverge greatly, suggesting that they are shaped more by internal politics and culture than by global approaches
Measurement of the lepton charge asymmetry in W-boson decays produced in p-pbar collisions
We describe a measurement of the charge asymmetry of leptons from W boson
decays in the rapidity range 0 enu, munu events from
110+/-7 pb^{-1}of data collected by the CDF detector during 1992-95. The
asymmetry data constrain the ratio of d and u quark momentum distributions in
the proton over the x range of 0.006 to 0.34 at Q2 \approx M_W^2. The asymmetry
predictions that use parton distribution functions obtained from previously
published CDF data in the central rapidity region (0.0<|y_l|<1.1) do not agree
with the new data in the large rapidity region (|y_l|>1.1).Comment: 13 pages, 3 tables, 1 figur
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