Insights into the role of silicon and graphite in the electrochemical performance of silicon/graphite blended electrodes with a multi-material porous electrode model

Silicon/graphite blended electrodes are promising candidates to replace graphite in lithium ion batteries, benefiting from the high capacity of silicon and the good structural stability of carbon. Models have proven essential to understand and optimise batteries with new materials. However, most previous models treat silicon/graphite blends as a single “lumped” material, offering limited understanding of the behaviors of the individual materials and thus limited design capability. Here, we present a multi-material model for silicon/graphite electrodes with detailed descriptions of the contributions of the individual active materials. The model shows that silicon introduces voltage hysteresis to silicon/graphite electrodes and consequently a “plateau shift” during delithiation of the electrodes. There will also be competition between the silicon and graphite lithiation reactions depending on silicon/graphite ratio. A dimensionless competing factor is derived to quantify the competition between the two active materials. This is demonstrated to be a useful indicator for active operating regions for each material and we demonstrate how it can be used to design cycling protocols for mitigating electrode degradation. The multi-material electrode model can be readily implemented into full-cell models and coupled with other physics to guide further development of lithium ion batteries with silicon-based electrodes

Review—meta-review of fire safety of lithium-ion batteries: industry challenges and research contributions

The Lithium-ion battery (LIB) is an important technology for the present and future of energy storage, transport, and consumer electronics. However, many LIB types display a tendency to ignite or release gases. Although statistically rare, LIB fires pose hazards which are significantly different to other fire hazards in terms of initiation route, rate of spread, duration, toxicity, and suppression. For the first time, this paper collects and analyses the safety challenges faced by LIB industries across sectors, and compares them to the research contributions found in all the review papers in the field. The comparison identifies knowledge gaps and opportunities going forward. Industry and research efforts agree on the importance of understanding thermal runaway at the component and cell scales, and on the importance of developing prevention technologies. But much less research attention has been given to safety at the module and pack scales, or to other fire protection layers, such as compartmentation, detection or suppression. In order to close the gaps found and accelerate the arrival of new LIB safety solutions, we recommend closer collaborations between the battery and fire safety communities, which, supported by the major industries, could drive improvements, integration and harmonization of LIB safety across sectors

Lithium-ion battery fast charging: A review

In the recent years, lithium-ion batteries have become the battery technology of choice for portable devices, electric vehicles and grid storage. While increasing numbers of car manufacturers are introducing electrified models into their offering, range anxiety and the length of time required to recharge the batteries are still a common concern. The high currents needed to accelerate the charging process have been known to reduce energy efficiency and cause accelerated capacity and power fade. Fast charging is a multiscale problem, therefore insights from atomic to system level are required to understand and improve fast charging performance. The present paper reviews the literature on the physical phenomena that limit battery charging speeds, the degradation mechanisms that commonly result from charging at high currents, and the approaches that have been proposed to address these issues. Special attention is paid to low temperature charging. Alternative fast charging protocols are presented and critically assessed. Safety implications are explored, including the potential influence of fast charging on thermal runaway characteristics. Finally, knowledge gaps are identified and recommendations are made for the direction of future research. The need to develop reliable in operando methods to detect lithium plating and mechanical degradation is highlighted. Robust model-based charging optimisation strategies are identified as key to enabling fast charging in all conditions. Thermal management strategies to both cool batteries during charging and preheat them in cold weather are acknowledged as critical, with a particular focus on techniques capable of achieving high speeds and good temperature homogeneities

2021 roadmap on lithium sulfur batteries

Batteries that extend performance beyond the intrinsic limits of Li-ion batteries are among the most important developments required to continue the revolution promised by electrochemical devices. Of these next-generation batteries, lithium sulfur (Li–S) chemistry is among the most commercially mature, with cells offering a substantial increase in gravimetric energy density, reduced costs and improved safety prospects. However, there remain outstanding issues to advance the commercial prospects of the technology and benefit from the economies of scale felt by Li-ion cells, including improving both the rate performance and longevity of cells. To address these challenges, the Faraday Institution, the UK's independent institute for electrochemical energy storage science and technology, launched the Lithium Sulfur Technology Accelerator (LiSTAR) programme in October 2019. This Roadmap, authored by researchers and partners of the LiSTAR programme, is intended to highlight the outstanding issues that must be addressed and provide an insight into the pathways towards solving them adopted by the LiSTAR consortium. In compiling this Roadmap we hope to aid the development of the wider Li–S research community, providing a guide for academia, industry, government and funding agencies in this important and rapidly developing research space

Molecular excitation in the Interstellar Medium: recent advances in collisional, radiative and chemical processes

We review the different excitation processes in the interstellar mediumComment: Accepted in Chem. Re

Unique DNA Repair Gene Variations and Potential Associations with the Primary Antibody Deficiency Syndromes IgAD and CVID

BACKGROUND: Despite considerable effort, the genetic factors responsible for >90% of the antibody deficiency syndromes IgAD and CVID remain elusive. To produce a functionally diverse antibody repertoire B lymphocytes undergo class switch recombination. This process is initiated by AID-catalyzed deamination of cytidine to uridine in switch region DNA. Subsequently, these residues are recognized by the uracil excision enzyme UNG2 or the mismatch repair proteins MutSalpha (MSH2/MSH6) and MutLalpha (PMS2/MLH1). Further processing by ubiquitous DNA repair factors is thought to introduce DNA breaks, ultimately leading to class switch recombination and expression of a different antibody isotype. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Defects in AID and UNG2 have been shown to result in the primary immunodeficiency hyper-IgM syndrome, leading us to hypothesize that additional, potentially more subtle, DNA repair gene variations may underlie the clinically related antibody deficiencies syndromes IgAD and CVID. In a survey of twenty-seven candidate DNA metabolism genes, markers in MSH2, RAD50, and RAD52 were associated with IgAD/CVID, prompting further investigation into these pathways. Resequencing identified four rare, non-synonymous alleles associated with IgAD/CVID, two in MLH1, one in RAD50, and one in NBS1. One IgAD patient carried heterozygous non-synonymous mutations in MLH1, MSH2, and NBS1. Functional studies revealed that one of the identified mutations, a premature RAD50 stop codon (Q372X), confers increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with a class switch recombination model in which AID-catalyzed uridines are processed by multiple DNA repair pathways. Genetic defects in these DNA repair pathways may contribute to IgAD and CVID

Protection from ultraviolet damage and photocarcinogenesis by vitamin d compounds

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. Exposure of skin cells to UV radiation results in DNA damage, which if inadequately repaired, may cause mutations. UV-induced DNA damage and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species also cause local and systemic suppression of the adaptive immune system. Together, these changes underpin the development of skin tumours. The hormone derived from vitamin D, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) and other related compounds, working via the vitamin D receptor and at least in part through endoplasmic reticulum protein 57 (ERp57), reduce cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and oxidative DNA damage in keratinocytes and other skin cell types after UV. Calcitriol and related compounds enhance DNA repair in keratinocytes, in part through decreased reactive oxygen species, increased p53 expression and/or activation, increased repair proteins and increased energy availability in the cell when calcitriol is present after UV exposure. There is mitochondrial damage in keratinocytes after UV. In the presence of calcitriol, but not vehicle, glycolysis is increased after UV, along with increased energy-conserving autophagy and changes consistent with enhanced mitophagy. Reduced DNA damage and reduced ROS/RNS should help reduce UV-induced immune suppression. Reduced UV immune suppression is observed after topical treatment with calcitriol and related compounds in hairless mice. These protective effects of calcitriol and related compounds presumably contribute to the observed reduction in skin tumour formation in mice after chronic exposure to UV followed by topical post-irradiation treatment with calcitriol and some, though not all, related compounds

Achieving Deep Cuts in the Carbon Intensity of U.S. Automobile Transportation by 2050: Complementary Roles for Electricity and Biofuels

Passenger cars in the United States (U.S.) rely primarily on petroleum-derived fuels and contribute the majority of U.S. transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Electricity and biofuels are two promising alternatives for reducing both the carbon intensity of automotive transportation and U.S. reliance on imported oil. However, as standalone solutions, the biofuels option is limited by land availability and the electricity option is limited by market adoption rates and technical challenges. This paper explores potential GHG emissions reductions attainable in the United States through 2050 with a county-level scenario analysis that combines ambitious plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) adoption rates with scale-up of cellulosic ethanol production. With PHEVs achieving a 58% share of the passenger car fleet by 2050, phasing out most corn ethanol and limiting cellulosic ethanol feedstocks to sustainably produced crop residues and dedicated crops, we project that the United States could supply the liquid fuels needed for the automobile fleet with an average blend of 80% ethanol (by volume) and 20% gasoline. If electricity for PHEV charging could be supplied by a combination of renewables and natural-gas combined-cycle power plants, the carbon intensity of automotive transport would be 79 g CO2e per vehicle-kilometer traveled, a 71% reduction relative to 2013

Who Said or What Said? Estimating Ideological Bias in Views Among Economists

There exists a long-standing debate about the influence of ideology in economics. Surprisingly, however, there is no concrete empirical evidence to examine this critical issue. Using an online randomized controlled experiment involving economists in 19 countries, we examine the effect of ideological bias on views among economists. Participants were asked to evaluate statements from prominent economists on different topics, while source attribution for each statement was randomized without participants’ knowledge. For each statement, participants either received a mainstream source, an ideologically different less-/non-mainstream source, or no source. We find that changing source attributions from mainstream to less-/non-mainstream, or removing them, significantly reduces economists’ reported agreement with statements. Using a model of Bayesian updating we examine two competing hypotheses as potential explanations for these results: unbiased Bayesian updating versus ideologically-biased Bayesian updating. While we find no evidence in support of unbiased updating, our results are consistent with biased Bayesian updating. More specifically, we find that changing/removing sources (1) has no impact on economists’ reported confidence with their evaluations; (2) similarly affects experts/non-experts in relevant areas; and (3) affects those at the far right of the political spectrum much more significantly than those at the far left. Finally, we find significant heterogeneity in our results by gender, country, PhD completion country, research area, and undergraduate major, with patterns consistent with the existence of ideological bias