Hydrogen storage material, electrochemically active material, electrochemical cell and electronic equipment

The invention relates to a hydrogen storage material comprising an alloy of magnesium. The invention further relates to an electrochemically active material and an electrochemical cell provided with at least one electrode comprising such a hydrogen storage material. Also, the invention relates to electronic equipment comprising such an electrochemical cell

Hydrogen storage material, electrochemically active material, electrochemical cell and electronic equipment

The invention relates to a hydrogen storage material comprising an alloy of magnesium. The invention further relates to an electrochemically active material and an electrochemical cell provided with at least one electrode comprising such a hydrogen storage material. Also, the invention relates to electronic equipment comprising such an electrochemical cell

Fluorite transition metal hydride induced destabilization of the MgH2 system in MgH2/TMH2 multilayers (TM=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Y, Zr, Nb, La, Hf)

The structural changes in MgH2 induced by contact with fluorite transition metal hydrides (TMH2, TM=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Y, Zr, Nb, La, Hf) have been studied using density-functional theory calculations. Models of MgH2(rutile)/TiH2(fluorite) and MgH2(fluorite)/TiH2(fluorite) multilayers with different Mg:TM ratios have been designed. With a fixed thickness of the TMH2 layer, structure transformation of MgH2 from rutile to fluorite occurs with a decrease in thickness of the MgH2 layer. The hydrogen desorption energy from the fluorite MgH2 layer in the multilayers is significantly lower than that of the bulk rutile MgH2. The structural deformation of the MgH2 layer due to the strain induced by TMH2 is found to be responsible for the destabilization of the Mg-H bond: the more structural deformation, the more destabilization of the Mg-H. Our results provide an important insight for the development of new hydrogen-storage materials with desirable thermodynamic properties

Political and cultural impacts of growing inequalities

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Wet-Chemical Synthesis of 3D Stacked Thin Film Metal-Oxides for All-Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries.

By ultrasonic spray deposition of precursors, conformal deposition on 3D surfaces of tungsten oxide (WO₃) negative electrode and amorphous lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLT) solid-electrolyte has been achieved as well as an all-solid-state half-cell. Electrochemical activity was achieved of the WO₃ layers, annealed at temperatures of 500 °C. Galvanostatic measurements show a volumetric capacity (415 mAh·cm-3) of the deposited electrode material. In addition, electrochemical activity was shown for half-cells, created by coating WO₃ with LLT as the solid-state electrolyte. The electron blocking properties of the LLT solid-electrolyte was shown by ferrocene reduction. 3D depositions were done on various micro-sized Si template structures, showing fully covering coatings of both WO₃ and LLT. Finally, the thermal budget required for WO₃ layer deposition was minimized, which enabled attaining active WO₃ on 3D TiN/Si micro-cylinders. A 2.6-fold capacity increase for the 3D-structured WO₃ was shown, with the same current density per coated area

Addressing policy challenges for more sustainable local-global food chains : policy frameworks and possible food ‘futures’

© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The article considers how policy can address the local–global within a wider commitment to food sustainability and draws on research conducted for the EU-funded GLAMUR project (Global and local food assessment: a multidimensional performance-based approach). Case study data identifies four key policy challenges for policymakers. Addressing these challenges in order to make links between current (and future) more sustainable food policy involves three phases. The first identifies processes of engagement in three spheres (public policy, the market and civil society); the second identifies points of engagement offered by existing policy initiatives at global, EU, national and sub-national policy levels; and the third builds scenarios as possible “food futures”, used to illustrate how the project’s findings could impact on the “bigger policy picture” along the local–global continuum. Connections are made between the policy frameworks, as processes and points of engagement for food policy, and the food “futures”. It is suggested that the findings can help support policymakers as they consider the effects and value of using multi-criteria interventions.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Future scenarios to inspire innovation

In recent years and accelerated by the economic and financial crisis, complex global issues have moved to the forefront of policy making. These grand challenges require policy makers to address a variety of interrelated issues, which are built upon yet uncoordinated and dispersed bodies of knowledge. Due to the social dynamics of innovation, new socio-technical subsystems are emerging, however there is lack of exploitation of innovative solutions. In this paper we argue that issues of how knowledge is represented can have a part in this lack of exploitation. For example, when drivers of change are not only multiple but also mutable, it is not sensible to extrapolate the future from data and relationships of the past. This paper investigates ways in which futures thinking can be used as a tool for inspiring actions and structures that address the grand challenges. By analysing several scenario cases, elements of good practice and principles on how to strengthen innovation systems through future scenarios are identified. This is needed because innovation itself needs to be oriented along more sustainable pathways enabling transformations of socio-technical systems

Home media and science performance:A cross-national study

This study examines the effects of media resources in the parental home on the science performance of 15-year-old students. It employs data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) containing information on 345,967 respondents from 53 countries. Results show that media assets in the family home are indeed meaningful for children’s science performance, as a beneficial resource but also as a disadvantage. A positive reading climate in the parental home and the availability of computers benefits science performance. However, a television-rich home seems to hinder children’s school success. Furthermore, results indicate that, compared to less developed countries, in more modernized societies parental reading investments are even more beneficial to their children’s science performance, whereas a television-rich parental home is even more disadvantageous