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This study addresses the persistent challenge of polysulfide dissolution in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries by introducing magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles as a novel additive. MgO was integrated with sulfur using a scalable process involving solid-state melt diffusion treatment followed by planetary ball milling. XRD measurements confirmed that sulfur (S8) retains its orthorhombic crystalline structure (space group F d d d ) following the MgO incorporation, with minimal peak shifts indicating slight lattice distortion, while the increased peak intensity suggests enhanced crystallinity due to MgO acting as a nucleation site. Additionally, Raman spectroscopy demonstrated sulfur's characteristic vibrational modes consistent with group theory (point group D 2 h ) and highlighted multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT′s) D, G, and 2D bands, with a low ID/IG ratio (0.47), which indicated low defects and high crystallinity in the prepared cathode. The S–MgO composite cathode exhibited superior electrochemical behavior, with an initial discharge capacity (950 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C), significantly improved compared to pristine sulfur's. The presence of MgO effectively mitigated the polysulfide shuttle effect by trapping polysulfides, leading to enhanced stability over 400 cycles and the consistent coulombic efficiency of over 99.5%. After 400 cycles, EDS and SEM analyses confirmed the structural integrity of the electrode, with only minor fractures and slight sulfur content loss. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy further confirmed the enhanced performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal oxides are considered to be highly promising anode materials for high-energy lithium-ion batteries. While carbon matrices have demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing the electrical conductivity and accommodating the volume expansion of transition metal oxide-based anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), achieving an optimized utilization ratio remains a challenging obstacle. In this investigation, we have devised a straightforward synthesis approach to fabricate CuO nano powder integrated with carbon matrix. We found that with the use of a sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) based binder and fluoroethylene carbonate additives, this anode exhibits enhanced performance compared to acrylonitrile multi-copolymer binder (LA133) based electrodes. CuO@CMC electrodes reveal a notable capacity ~1100 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 following 170 cycles, and exhibit prolonged cycling stability, with a capacity of 450 mA h g−1 at current density 300 mA g−1 over 500 cycles. Furthermore, they demonstrated outstanding rate performance and reduced charge transfer resistance. This study offers a viable approach for fabricating electrode materials for next-generation, high energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) - an important, self-pollinated food legume, however due to limited genomic and genetic resources the genetic improvement could not be achieved as compare to other major legumes. Our work aims at finding novel microsatellite markers and their use for the construction of a linkage map from 157 individuals of F9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of horsegram. The determinate growth habit and plant height are important traits for its suitability for different cropping systems. The genotypic data were generated by screening 2 395 molecular markers, of which 600 (25.05 %) polymorphic markers were selected. Two-hundred eighty-seven markers were mapped on ten linkage groups (LGs) at a log of odds (LOD) of 3.5 straddling 796.76 cM with 2.78 cM of marker density. For the identification of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs), the phenotypic data recorded on the RILs for the plant height and growth habit were analysed using the statistical tools JoinMap® and Windows QTL cartographer, based on the composite interval mapping (CIM) technique. Across the ten linkage groups, we detected four QTLs (LOD ≥ 2.5) for four traits. All the traits were major QTLs as indicated by the percentage of phenotypic variance (PVE) (≥ 10%) that ranged from 13.5% to 40.3%, therefore, this is very important information which can be used in marker-assisted selection (MAS). The present genomic information generated in this orphan crop, thus, provides the base for genetic improvements by devising molecular breeding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]