LiFAP-based PVdF–HFP microporous membranes by phase-inversion technique with Li/LiFePO4 cell

Polyvinylidenefluoride–hexafluoropropylene-based (PVdF–HFP-based) gel and composite microporous membranes (GPMs and CPMs) were prepared by phaseinversion technique in the presence 10 wt% of AlO(OH)n nanoparticles. The prepared membranes were gelled with 0.5-M LiPF3(CF2CF3)3 (lithium fluoroalkylphosphate, Li- FAP) in EC:DEC (1 : 1 v/v) and subjected to various characterizations; the AC impedance study shows that CPMs exhibit higher conductivity than GPMs. Mechanical stability measurements on these systems reveal that CPMs exhibit Young’s modulus higher than that of bare and GPMs and addition of nanoparticles drastically improves the elongation break was also noted. Transition of the host from α to β phase after the loading of nanosized filler was confirmed by XRD and Raman studies. Physico-chemical properties, like liquid uptake, porosity, surface area, and activation energy, of the membranes were calculated and results are summarized. Cycling performance of Li/CPM/LiFePO4 coin cell was fabricated and evaluated at C/10 rate and delivered a discharge capacity of 157 and 148 mAhg−1 respectively for first and tenth cycles

Performance characteristics of organic–inorganic composite electrodes in magnesium reserve batteries

Electrochemical characteristics of m-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) based composite cathode materials involving compounds such as AgCl, TiO2, HgO and CuCl have been investigated and (Mg AZ31 alloy anode) as an activated battery system using 2 M magnesium perchlorate aqueous electrolyte. The concentration of the composites has been optimized so as to obtain high electrochemical performance of Mg/m-DNB reserve batteries through constant current discharge studies. Mg/m-DNB cells containing 5-wt % of HgO when discharged at current density of 2.1 mA cm)2 delivered 5.3 Ah capacity corresponds to a columbic efficiency of 97% as compared to the cells without composite

Synthesis and electrochemical behaviour of tin oxide for use as anode in lithium rechargeable batteries

SnO2 was synthesized by precipitation from an aqueous solution of SnCl4 and NH4OH, followed by a heat treatment. The product was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR spectroscopy, DSC and TG. The XRD patterns suggest the formation of phase-pure cassiterite form of SnO2. SEM imaging indicates that the particles obtained are of sub-micron size with good morphology and size control (around 300 nm). Electrodes were fabricated by a slurry-coating procedure and the electrochemical performances of these electrodes were evaluated using galvanostatic cycling tests. The results suggest that the heat treated SnO2 samples deliver higher capacities when cycled between 1.0 and 0.1 V vs. Li+/Li and showed coulombic efficiencies of more than 98% in the tenth cycle

Comparative modeling of PON2 and analysis of its substrate binding interactions using computational methods

Paraoxonase (PON) constitutes a family of calcium-dependent mammalian enzymes comprising of PON1, PON2, and PON3. PON family shares ~60% sequence homology. These enzymes exhibit multiple activities like paraoxonase, arylesterase, and lactonase in a substrate dependent manner. Decreased PON activity has been reported in diseases like cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Even though, PON2 is the oldest member of the family, PON1 is the only member studied in silico. In this study, the structure of PON2 was modeled using MODELLER 9v7 and its interactions with relevant ligands and it's physiological substrate homocysteine thiolactone was performed using AutoDock 4.0. The results reveal that PON1 and PON2 share common ligand binding patterns for arylesterase and lactonase activity, whereas in case of paraoxon binding, the residues involved in the interactions were different. Interestingly, the substrate HCTL was found to have the lowest free energy of binding (ΔG) and highest affinity for PON2 than PON1