Unlocking the potential of weberite-type metal fluorides in electrochemical energy storage

Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are a front-runner among the alternative battery technologies suggested for substituting the state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The specific energy of Na-ion batteries is significantly lower than that of LIBs, which is mainly due to the lower operating potentials and higher molecular weight of sodium insertion cathode materials. To compete with the high energy density of LIBs, high voltage cathode materials are required for NIBs. Here we report a theoretical investigation on weberite-type sodium metal fluorides (SMFs), a new class of high voltage and high energy density materials which are so far unexplored as cathode materials for NIBs. The weberite structure type is highly favorable for sodium-containing transition metal fluorides, with a large variety of transition metal combinations (M, M’) adopting the corresponding Na2MM’F7 structure. A series of known and hypothetical compounds with weberite-type structure were computationally investigated to evaluate their potential as cathode materials for NIBs. Weberite-type SMFs show two-dimensional pathways for Na+ diffusion with surprisingly low activation barriers. The high energy density combined with low diffusion barriers for Na+ makes this type of compounds promising candidates for cathode materials in NIBs

Enhancement of the electrochemical properties of Li1Mn2O4 through chemical substitution

The link between room temperature (RT) cycling failure for Li1Mn2O4-type spinels and elevated temperature (ET) failure of Li1.05Mn1.95O4 materials was investigated by physical and electrochemical characterization. Failure for both ET and RT cycling occurred at the end of discharge. Substantial evidence suggesting a link based on the cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion was found. Based on this knowledge, LiAlxMn2-xO4-δFZ materials were fabricated. These novel compounds were found to offer much improved capacity and ET performance than present generation materials. Three hundred cycles at 55°C resulted in 15% capacity loss. Storage in charged and discharged state for 4 days at 70°C revealed less than 1.6% irreversible capacity loss. © 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved

Stability of anterior vertebral body screws after kyphoplasty augmentation : An experimental study to compare anterior vertebral body screw fixation in soft and cured kyphoplasty cement

The goal of this cadaver study was to compare the stability of anterior vertebral body screws after implantation in soft or cured kyphoplasty cement. Anterior vertebral body screws were inserted in a total of 30 thoracolumbar vertebrae of ten different human specimens: ten screws were implanted in non-augmented vertebrae (group 1), ten screws were placed in soft cement (group 2), and ten screws were placed in cured cement (group 3). The screws were then tested for biomechanical axial pullout resistance. Mean axial pullout strength was 192 N (range: 10-430 N) in group 1, 364 N (range: 65-875 N) in group 2, and 271 N (range: 35-625 N) in group 3. The paired Student's t-test demonstrated a significant difference between pullout strength of groups 1 and 2 (p= 0.0475). No significant difference was seen between pullout strength of groups 1 and 3 (p= 0.2646) and between groups 2 and 3 (p= 0.3863). We achieved a 1.9 times higher pullout strength with kyphoplasty augmentation of osteoporotic vertebrae compared with the pullout strength of non-augmented vertebrae. Implantation of anterior vertebral body screws in cured cement is a satisfactory method. With this method we found a 1.4 times higher pullout strength than non-augmented vertebrae