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LiNiO2 (LNO) is one of the most promising cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Tungsten element in enhancing the stability of LNO has been researched extensively. However, the understanding of the specific doping process and existing form of W are still not perfect. This study proposes a lithium-induced grain boundary phase W doping mechanism. The results demonstrate that the introduced W atoms first react with the lithium source to generate a Li–W–O phase at the grain boundary of primary particles. With the increase of lithium ratio, W atoms gradually diffuse from the grain boundary phase to the interior layered structure to achieve W doping. The feasibility of grain boundary phase doping is verified by first principles calculation. Furthermore, it is found that the Li2WO4 grain boundary phase is an excellent lithium ion conductor, which can protect the cathode surface and improve the rate performance. The doped W can alleviate the harmful H2↔H3 phase transition, thereby inhibiting the generation of microcracks, and improving the electrochemical performance. Consequently, the 0.3 ​wt% W-doped sample provides a significant improved capacity retention of 88.5 ​% compared with the pristine LNO (80.7 ​%) after 100 cycles at 2.8–4.3 ​V under 1C.

Nickel-rich layered oxides LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2 (x ≥ 0.8) have been recognized as the preferred cathode materials to develop lithium-ion batteries with high energy density (>300 Wh kg−1). However, the poor cycling stability and rate capability stemming from intergranular cracks and sluggish kinetics hinder their commercialization. To address such issues, a multi-scale boron penetration strategy is designed and applied on the polycrystalline LiNi0.83Co0.11Mn0.06O2 particles that are pre-treated with pore construction. The lithium-ion conductive lithium borate in grain gaps functions as the grain binder that can bear the strain/stress from anisotropic contraction/expansion, and provides more pathways for lithium-ion diffusion. As a result, the intergranular cracks are ameliorated and the lithium-ion diffusion kinetics is improved. Moreover, the coating layer separates the sensitive cathode surface and electrolyte, helping to suppress the parasitic reactions and related gas evolution. In addition, the enhanced structural stability is acquired by strong B-O bonds with trace boron doping. As a result, the boron-modified sample with an optimized boron content of 0.5% (B5-NCM) exhibits a higher initial discharge capacity of 205.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1C (1C = 200 mA g−1) and improved capacity retention of 81.7% after 100 cycles at 1C. Furthermore, the rate performance is distinctly enhanced by high lithium-ion conductive LBO (175.6 mAh g−1 for B5-NCM and 154.6 mAh g−1 for B0-NCM at 5C).

Abstract Cu and Fe are the main impurity elements in the hydrometallurgical regeneration of spent lithium‐ion batteries. Hence, it is important to study the effect of Cu and Fe doping on the structures and electrochemical properties of cathode materials. In this study, a series of Cu‐ and/or Fe‐doped LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathode materials are synthesized by spray pyrolysis and high‐temperature solid‐state method. The inductively coupled plasma (ICP), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Rietveld refinement results reveal that Cu and Fe can incorporate into the crystal lattice and cation mixing is suppressed. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) results show that the relative ratio of Ni2+/Ni3+ on the surface is effectively decreased. Electrochemical results display that the electrochemical performances of Cu‐ and/or Fe‐doped samples are improved when the atomic ratio of Ni to Cu and Ni to Fe is greater than 79.0 and 399.0, respectively. The dQ/dV, GITT, EIS, XRD, and XPS studies indicate that the structure stability, Li+ diffusion coefficient, and charge transfer can be increased by appropriate Cu and/or Fe substitution. The results suggest that appropriate Cu and Fe can be doped into LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 as beneficial elements rather than removed as impurities.

Driving safety issues, such as drunk driving, have drawn a lot of attention since the advent of shared automobiles. We used an electronic nose (EN) detection device as an onboard system for shared automobiles to identify drunk driving. The sensors in the EN, however, can stray in cold winter temperatures. We suggested an independent component analysis (ICA) correction model to handle the data collected from the EN in order to lessen the impact of low temperature on the device. Additionally, it was contrasted with both the mixed temperature correction model and the single temperature model. As samples, alcohol mixed with concentrations of 0.1 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L were tested at (20 ± 2) °C, (−10 ± 2) °C, and (−20 ± 2) °C. The results showed that the ICA correction model outperformed the other models with an accuracy of 1, precision of 1, recall of 1, and specificity of 1. As a result, this model can be utilized to lessen the impact of low temperature on the EN’s ability to detect the presence of alcohol in the driver’s inhaled gas, strongly supporting its use in car-sharing drink driving. Other ENs that need to function in frigid conditions can also use this technique.

Summary: Low-cost, scalable energy storage is the key to continuing growth of renewable energy technologies. Here a battery with sedimentary slurry electrode (SSE) is proposed. Through the conversion of discrete particles between sedimentary and suspending types, it not only inherits the advantages of semi-solid flow cell but also exhibits high energy density and stable conductive network. Given an example, the zinc SSE (ZSSE) delivers a large discharge capacity of 479.2 mAh g−1 at 10 mA cm−2. More importantly, by renewal of the slurry per 20 cycles, it can run for 112 and 75 cycles before falling below 80% of designed capacity under 10 mA cm−2 (20% DODZn) and 25 mA cm−2 (25% DODZn), respectively. The lost capacity after cycles is able to recover after slurry renewal and the end-of-life SSE can be easily reused by re-formation. The concept of SSE brands a new way for electrochemical energy storage.

BACKGROUND:The effect of phase-change material blood containers on the quality of stored red blood cells (RBCs) transported in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau remains to be studied. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:RBCs stored in a phase-change material blood container were transported from Chengdu to Tibet and then back to Chengdu. The detection time points were the 1st day of fresh-collected RBCs (group 1), the 14th day of resting refrigerated storage (group 2), and the 14th day of plateau transportation under refrigerated storage in the container (group 3). RBC counts, hemoglobin (HGB) content, free hemoglobin (FHb) content, blood biochemical indexes, hemorheologic indexes and 2,3-DPG content were detected. RESULTS:Compared with group 2, RBC counts and HGB were decreased, and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), FHb and K+ content were increased in group 3. The glucose consumption and lactic acid production were significantly increased in groups 2 and 3. Compared with group 2, the 2,3-DPG content and whole blood viscosity were decreased in group 3. After resting refrigerated storage and plateau transportation, the RBC quality still met the national standard (GB18469-2012 whole blood and component blood quality requirements). CONCLUSION:The phase-change material blood container can be maintained at a constant temperature under plateau environmental conditions, ensuring that the quality of the stored RBCs is compliant with GB18469-2012 whole blood and component blood quality requirements.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used in biological studies as a cryoprotective agent for cells and tissues, and also for cryopreserved platelets (PLTs). However, few data on the toxic effects of DMSO following intravenous infusion of cryopreserved PLTs are available. The aim of this study was to explore dose‐related effects of DMSO on red blood cells (RBCs), PLTs and vascular endothelial cells in vitro. The results showed that DMSO treatments had significant effects on RBCs, affecting osmotic fragility and increasing hemolysis. Free hemoglobin (FHb) level of RBCs was 0.64 ± 0.19 g L−1 after incubation for 6 h with 0.6% DMSO, and these levels were elevated compared with controls (0.09 ± 0.05 g L−1). Aggregation of PLTs induced by adenosine diphosphate, thrombin (THR), and thrombin receptor activator peptide (TRAP) were inhibited by DMSO treatment because the THR generation capacity was reduced. The intensity of the cytosolic esterase‐induced fluorescence response from carboxy dimethyl fluorescein diacetate (CMFDA) in PLTs was decreased about 29% ± 0.04% after treatment with DMSO. DMSO also inhibited the proliferation of the vascular endothelial cell line EAhy926 cells by blocking the G1 phase. Apoptosis of EAhy926 cells with 0.6% DMSO stimulation was increased threefold compared to controls. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that DMSO was toxic to the hematologic system. This should be taken into account when assessing the infusion effects of cryopreserved PLTs or other blood products requiring DMSO as a vehicle, such as cryopreserved stem cells, in order to avoid adverse therapeutic effects.

Nickel-cobalt sulfides (NixCoyS4) are promising supercapacitor materials due to their high capacitance, while the sluggish kinetics in terms of charge transfer limits their energy density. To achieve both high energy and power density for the NixCoyS4–based supercapacitor, sulfur-doped reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is incorporated into NixCoyS4 by an in situ growth—ion exchange strategy to synthesize NixCoyS4/rGO composites. Profited from the synergetic effect between rGO and NixCoyS4, the Ni1.64Co2.40S4/rGO electrode delivers high specific capacitance of 1,089 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and remains 92.6% of its original capacitance at 20 A g−1 (1,008 F g−1). Asymmetric supercapacitors assembled with active carbon (AC) and Ni1.64Co2.40S4/rGO (Ni1.64Co2.40S4/rGO//AC) offer both high specific capacitance (265.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and superior rate capability at 50 A g−1 (recovering 63.6% of the capacitance determined at 1 A g−1). In addition, the assembled device exhibits a high capacitance retention of 92.6% after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g−1, which implies an excellent cyclic stability. Ragone plot reveals that the energy density of Ni1.64Co2.40S4/rGO//AC asymmetric supercapacitor do not vanish as it delivers 30.4 Wh kg−1 at 10 kW kg−1, demonstrating its promising application.

It has been hypothesized that the cytosolic esterase-induced fluorescence intensity (CEIFI) from carboxy dimethyl fluorescein diacetate (CMFDA) in platelets may related to platelet functions. In the present study, we measured the change of CEIFI in platelets during storage, and examined the correlations of CEIFI with the in vitro functionality of stored platelets, including the ADP-induced aggregation activity, hypotonic shock response, expression of CD62P as well as platelet apoptosis. The CEIFI of fresh platelets, when tested at 10 μM CMFDA, the mean fluorescence intensity index (MFI) was 305.9 ± 49.9 (N = 80). After 1-day storage, it was 203.8 ± 34.4, the CEIFI of the stored platelets started to decline significantly, and reduced to 112.7 ±27.7 after 7-day storage. The change in CEIFI is highly correlated to all four functional parameters measured, with the correlation coefficients being 0.9813, 0.9848, -0.9945 and -0.9847 for the ADP-induced aggregation activity, hypotonic shock response (HSR), expression of CD62P and platelet apoptosis respectively. The above results show that the CEIFI measurement of platelets represents well the viability and functional state of in vitro stored platelets. This may be used as a convenient new method for quality evaluation for stored platelets if this result can be further validated by the following clinical trials.

Materials with Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP) anionic configuration contain promising lithium-ion conductors. In the HCP anionic structure, when the non-lithium cations occupy the octahedral sites (the important diffusion channels for lithium ions), it is not known whether the nature of fast lithium-ion diffusion will be retained. This work systematically studied the lithium-ion diffusion properties of Li7NbO6 as well as its doped phases on the basis of first-principles calculations. The calculation results show that the lithium-ion conductivity of Li7NbO6 is 0.008 mS cm-1 at room temperature, while the doped phase Li55Nb7WO48 with W6+ doping at the Nb sites possesses a higher lithium-ion conductivity of 0.28 mS cm-1 at room temperature and an activation energy of 0.34 eV. The lithium-ion diffusion mechanism in Li7NbO6 and its doped phase involves concerted migration; besides, they are poor conductors of electrons regardless of whether doping is applied. In addition, W6+ doping increases the reduction limit of the electrochemical window due to its strong oxidizing property; therefore, an artificial SEI film needs to be applied to reduce interfacial decomposition. The discovery and characterization of the new fast lithium-ion conductor Li55Nb7WO48 provide theoretical guidance for the development of new solid electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]