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To mitigate the serious problem of Cd-contaminated paddy soil, we investigated the remediation potential of combining in-situ immobilization with a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar. A three-season field experiment compared the soil pH, available Cd and absorption of Cd by three rice cultivars with different Cd accumulation abilities grown in Cd-contaminated paddy soil amended with lime (L), slag (S), and bagasse (B) alone or in combination. The three amendments applied alone and in combination significantly increased soil pH, reduced available Cd and absorption of Cd by rice with no effect on grain yield. Among these, the LS and LSB treatments reduced the brown rice Cd content by 38.3–69.1% and 58.3–70.9%, respectively, during the three seasons. Combined with planting of a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar (Xiang Zaoxian 32) resulted in a Cd content in brown rice that met the contaminant limit (≤0.2 mg kg −1 ). However, the grain yield of the low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar was approximately 30% lower than the other two rice cultivars. Applying LS or LSB as amendments combined with planting a low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivar is recommended for the remediation of Cd-contaminated paddy soil. The selection and breeding of low-Cd-accumulation rice cultivars with high grain production requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the preparation and characterization of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathodes containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different types of functionalization, including acid treatment, amino functionalization and silanization. Among these MWCNTs, the silane-functionalized CNTs give rise to significant reduction in inner electronic resistance and improvements in both capacity retention and rate capability of the nanocomposite cathodes. This finding is attributed to the synergy to form 3D spatial conductive networks among the active NCM panicles by the well-dispersed MWCNTs and carbon black. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of temperature on the formation of graphite/LiCoO2 batteries were studied using various electrocheinical techniques, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry, and battery performance testing: Results showed that the coulombic efficiency of the first charge and discharge for batteries at 25°C was higher than that at 50°C. The batteries with different formation temperatures of 25 and 50°C exhibited very similar cycling performance at 25°C. The EIS of batteries at 25°C was composed of two overlapped semicircles at high to medium frequency and a slope line at low frequency, while the EIS of batteries at 50°C was composed of an inductive loop at very high frequency followed by two overlapped semicircles at high to medium frequency and a slope line at low frequency. The bulk resistance (Rct) of batteries at 50°C was much larger than that at 25°C. The resistance of solid electrolyte interface (RSEI) and charge-transfer resistance (Rb) of batteries at 50°C, which were subjected to 50 cycles at 50°C, were increased greatly, and the cycle performance of batteries became obviously worse with the increase in formation temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]