In Situ Investigations of Simultaneous Two-Layer Slot Die Coating of Component-Graded Anodes for Improved High-Energy Li-Ion Batteries

The use of thicker electrodes can contribute to a reduction in cell costs. However, the properties of the electrode must be kept in view to be able to meet the performance requirements. Herein, the possibility of simultaneous multilayer slot die coating is investigated to improve the electrode properties of medium- and high-capacity anodes. The stable coating window of the two-layer slot die coating process is investigated to produce property-graded multilayer electrodes. Electrodes with different styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) gradients are investigated with regard to adhesive force and electrochemical performance. An increase in the adhesive force of up to 43.5% and an increase in the discharge capacity is observed

High-Speed Coating of Primer Layer for Li-Ion Battery Electrodes by Using Slot-Die Coating

A reduction of the inactive components can increase the energy density and reduce production cost of Li‐ion batteries. But an effective reduction of the binder amount also negatively affects the adhesion of the electrode. Herein, slot‐die coating of a primer layer for Li‐ion anodes is investigated. It is shown that the use of a primer layer with only 0.3 g m$^{-2}$ can increase the adhesive force by the factor of 5 as well as the cell performance for anodes with low binder content. The process limits for a stable, defect‐free primer coating are investigated at coating speeds of up to 550 m min$^{-1}$. The limits coincide both for a setup without vacuum box and with vacuum box with theory‐based equations. By using a vacuum box, the minimum wet film thickness can be reduced by half

A novel slurry concept for the fabrication of Lithium-Ion battery electrodes with beneficial properties

A novel slurry concept for the fabrication of Li-ion battery electrodes focusing on water based formulations is presented. Taking advantage of capillary forces inferred by adding a small fraction of a second fluid immiscible with the bulk continuous phase the low shear viscosity can be varied in a wide range without conventional polymeric rheology control agents disturbing the electric properties of the dry electrode. The new slurries provide superior storage stability and excellent shape accuracy of the final dry film. This reduces waste cut-off at the edges and increases the density of active ingredients, thus improving cost-efficiency. The viscosity at high shear rates remains unaffected, thus the slurries can be processed and coated using established equipment and process parameters. Adhesion to the conductor foil and electrochemical properties of the electrode layers and corresponding cells are similar to those made from conventional slurries

Highly efficient polymer solar cells cast from non-halogenated xylene/anisaldehyde solution

Several high performance polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction photo-active layers, deposited from the non-halogenated solvents o-xylene or anisole in combination with the eco-compatible additive p-anisaldehyde, are investigated. The respective solar cells yield excellent power conversion efficiencies up to 9.5%, outperforming reference devices deposited from the commonly used halogenated chlorobenzene/1,8-diiodooctane solvent/additive combination. The impact of the processing solvent on the bulk-heterojunction properties is exemplified on solar cells comprising benzodithiophene-thienothiophene co-polymers and functionalized fullerenes (PTB7:PC71BM). The additive p-anisaldehyde improves film formation, enhances polymer order, reduces fullerene agglomeration and shows high volatility, thereby positively affecting layer deposition, improving charge carrier extraction and reducing drying time, the latter being crucial for future large area roll-to-roll device fabrication. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015

Fragment-derived inhibitors of human N-myristoyltransferase block capsid assembly and replication of the common cold virus

Rhinoviruses (RVs) are the pathogens most often responsible for the common cold, and are a frequent cause of exacerbations in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis. Here we report the discovery of IMP-1088, a picomolar dual inhibitor of the human N-myristoyltransferases NMT1 and NMT2, and use it to demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of host-cell N-myristoylation rapidly and completely prevents rhinoviral replication without inducing cytotoxicity. The identification of cooperative binding between weak-binding fragments led to rapid inhibitor optimization through fragment reconstruction, structure-guided fragment linking and conformational control over linker geometry. We show that inhibition of the co-translational myristoylation of a specific virus-encoded protein (VP0) by IMP-1088 potently blocks a key step in viral capsid assembly, to deliver a low nanomolar antiviral activity against multiple RV strains, poliovirus and foot and-mouth disease virus, and protection of cells against virus-induced killing, highlighting the potential of host myristoylation as a drug target in picornaviral infections

Drying of solvent-borne coatings with pre-loaded drying gas

To investigate the effect of a methanol pre-loaded gas phase on the drying of toluene-poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) solutions, the solvent concentration profiles in thin coatings were measured by means of Inverse-Micro-Raman-Spectroscopy (IMRS). Without pre-loading, the toluene-PVAc solution shows a “diffusion controlled skinning" effect, which leads to a strongly extended drying time. In contact with a methanol pre-loaded gas phase, methanol diffuses into the coating accelerating the evaporation of toluene according to the level of pre-loading. After a certain toluene content is obtained, the residual methanol can be removed easily due to its higher vapor pressure and its better diffusion characteristics in PVAc compared to toluene (no skin formation). The presented measurements demonstrate the possibility to reduce the overall drying time of skin-forming coatings by pre-loading the gas phase with a suitable additional solvent, which is more volatile and has better diffusion characteristics in the polymer than the “trapped" solvent