Tuning the Solvent Alkyl Chain to Tailor Electrolyte Solvation for Stable Li-Metal Batteries

1,2-Dimethoxyethane (DME) has been considered as the most promising electrolyte solvent for Li-metal batteries (LMBs). However, challenges arise from insufficient Li Coulombic efficiency (CE) and poor anodic stability associated with DME-based electrolytes. Here, we proposed a rational molecular design methodology to tailor electrolyte solvation for stable LMBs, where shortening the middle alkyl chain of the solvent could reduce the chelation ability, while increasing the terminal alkyl chain of the solvent could increase the steric hindrance, affording a diethoxymethane (DEM) solvent with ultra-weak solvation ability. When serving as a single solvent for electrolyte, a peculiar solvation structure dominated by contact ion pairs (CIPs) and aggregates (AGGs) was achieved even at a regular salt concentration of 1 m, which gives rise to anion-derived interfacial chemistry. This illustrates an unprecedentedly high Li||Cu CE of 99.1% for a single-salt single-solvent (non-fluorinated) electrolyte at ∼1 m. Moreover, this 1 m DEM-based electrolyte also remarkably suppresses the anodic dissolution of Al current collectors and significantly improves the cycling performance of high-voltage cathodes. This work opens up new frontiers in engineering electrolytes toward stable LMBs with high energy densities

Allelic association of <i>IL13</i> SNPs with chronic and late-stage <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum infection</i>.

<p>Allelic association of <i>IL13</i> SNPs with chronic and late-stage <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum infection</i>.</p

Relative luciferase activity of plasmid construct of PGL4.17-rs1800925T and PGL4.17-rs1800925C in 293FT, QSG-7701 and HL-7702 cell lines.

<p>(A) Complementary base sequence of target DNA in plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925C. (B) Complementary base sequence of target DNA in plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925T constructed by overlap PCR. (C) Relative luciferase activity of plasmid construct of PGL4.17-rs1800925T and PGL4.17-rs1800925C in 293FT, QSG-7701 and HL-7702 cell lines. (Rs1800925C indicates plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925C and rs1800925T indicates plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925T).</p

IL-13 protein was determined by IHC and western blot.

<p>(A) Representative images of normal liver tissues and <i>S</i>.<i>japonicum</i>-induced fibrotic liver tissues (Images were captured at 100x and 400x with scale bar of 100 μm). (B) Comparison of scores of ST2 staining intensity betwee <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i>-induced fibrotic liver tissues and normal liver tissues. (C) IL-13 protein was detected in liver tissue lysates by western blots.</p

General characteristics of <i>IL13</i> SNPs in Chines study samples.

<p>* From hg19.</p><p>General characteristics of <i>IL13</i> SNPs in Chines study samples.</p

An IL-13 Promoter Polymorphism Associated with Liver Fibrosis in Patients with <i>Schistosoma japonicum</i>

<div><p>The aim of this study was to determine whether two polymorphisms in the gene encoding <i>IL13</i> previously associated with <i>Schistosoma hematobium</i> (<i>S</i>. <i>hematobium</i>) and <i>S</i>. <i>mansoni</i> infection are associated with <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i> infection. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1800925 (IL13/-1112C>T) and rs20541 (IL13R130Q) were genotyped in 947 unrelated individuals (307 chronically infected, 339 late-stage with liver fibrosis, 301 uninfected controls) from a schistosomiasis-endemic area of Hubei province in China. Regression models were used to evaluate allelic and haplotypic associations with chronic and late-stage schistosomiasis adjusted for non-genetic covariates. Expression of IL-13 was measured in <i>S</i>. <i>japonicun</i>-infected liver fibrosis tissue and normal liver tissue from uninfected controls by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The role of rs1800925 in IL-13 transcription was further determined by Luciferase report assay using the recombinant PGL4.17-rs180092 plasmid. We found SNP rs1800925T was associated with late-stage schistosomiasis caused by <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i> but not chronic schistosomiasis (OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.02–1.91, p = 0.03) and uninfected controls (OR = 1.49, 95%CI = 1.03–2.13, p = 0.03). Moreover, the haplotype rs1800925T-rs20541C increased the risk of disease progression to late-stage schistosomiasis (OR = 1.46, p = 0.035), whereas haplotype rs1800925C-rs20541A showed a protective role against development of late-stage schistosomiasis (F = 0.188, OR = 0.61, p = 0.002). Furthermore, <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i>-induced fibrotic liver tissue had higher IL13 expression than normal liver tissue. Plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925T showed a stronger relative luciferase activity than Plasmid PGL4.17-rs1800925C in 293FT, QSG-7701 and HL-7702 cell lines. In conclusion, the functional <i>IL13</i> polymorphism, rs1800925T, previously associated with risk of schistosomiasis, also contributes to risk of late-stage schistosomiasis caused by <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i>.</p></div

Haplotypic association of <i>IL13</i> SNPs with chronic and late-stage <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i> infection.

<p>F1, frequency of controls; F2, frequency of chronic cases; F3, frequency of late-stage cases.</p><p>Haplotypic association of <i>IL13</i> SNPs with chronic and late-stage <i>S</i>. <i>japonicum</i> infection.</p