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Lithium-ion batteries are essential for portable technology and are now poised to disrupt a century of combustion-based transportation. The electrification revolution could eliminate our reliance o...

The reclamation of geogenic As-contaminated excavated soils as construction additives can reduce the post-disposal impact on the ecosystem and space. Although retaining soil characteristics while reducing contaminant load is a challenging task, washing remediation with biodegradable surfactants or chelators is a promising alternative to non-biodegradable counterparts. In this study, newly synthesized biodegradable surfactants (SDG: sodium N-dodecanoyl-glycinate, SDBA: sodium N-dodecanoyl-β-alaninate, SDGBH: sodium N-dodecanoyl-α,γ-glutamyl-bis-hydroxyprolinate, SDT: sodium N-dodecanoyl-taurinate, and DCPC: N-dodecyl-3-carbamoyl-pyridinium-chloride) and biodegradable chelators (EDDS: ethylenediamine N,N'-disuccinic acid, GLDA: L-glutamate-N, N'-diacetic acid, and HIDS: 3-hydroxy-2,2'-imino disuccinic acid) are evaluated for the remediation of As-contaminated soil. The operating variables, such as washing duration, solution pH, and surfactant or chelator concentration, are optimized for maximum As extraction. SDT shows the highest As-extraction efficiency irrespective of solution pH and surfactant variants, while HIDS is the superior chelator under acidic or alkaline conditions. A binary blend of SDT and HIDS is evaluated for As extraction under varying operating conditions. The SDT-HIDS binary blend demonstrates 6.9 and 1.6-times higher As-extraction rates than the SDT and HIDS-only washing, respectively, under acidic conditions. The proposed approach with a binary blend of a biodegradable surfactant and chelator is a green solution for recycling As-contaminated excavated soils for geotechnical applications.

トマトの土壌病害を回避するための新しい接ぎ木栽培を開発することを目指して，ペピーノ‘Gold No. 1’を台木にした接ぎ木トマトの生育および果実品質を2年間（実験1；2016，実験2；2017）調査した。トマトの品種は‘桃太郎ファイト’として，自根トマトのMF区，無処理のペピーノを台木としたMF/P区，内径4 mmのワッシャーでリング処理したペピーノを台木に用いたMF/WRP区を設けた。MF/P台区およびMF/WRP区について，接ぎ木直後の生長は抑制されたものの，栽培終了時の茎長および最上部の展開葉位におけるMF区との差は認められなかった。また，接ぎ木区においては茎葉新鮮重の増大が認められ，MF/WRP区では根新鮮重の減少によってT/R比が大きくなった。なお接ぎ木部は台負け現象を呈し，リング処理直上部の茎径は顕著に肥大した。接ぎ木区では低段果房の着果率，正常果実数および収量の減少が認められた。MF/WRP区においては，1果重も減少した。糖度について，MF/P区では無処理区の97～114%となったが，有意な上昇は実験1の第1果房のみであった。その一方で，MF/WRP区での糖度は無処理区の111～127%と著しく上昇した。本研究の結論として，ペピーノを台木とした接ぎ木トマトは順調に生育し，問題なく正常果を収穫することが可能であった。さらに，リング処理を施したペピーノを台木にすれば，糖度が高い果実を収穫出来ることが明らかとなった。そのため，ペピーノはトマト栽培において青枯病および萎凋病を回避できる新しい台木としての実用化が期待できる。今後は，ペピーノを台木とした接ぎ木トマトを実際の生産現場において栽培検証する必要がある。, Prevention of soilborne diseases is an important objective for commercial tomato production. In this study, scions from tomato plants ‘Momotaro Fight’ (MF), were grafted on rootstocks of the pepino ‘Gold No. 1’. Plant growth and fruit quality were monitored with the aim of developing a new grafting technique for avoiding soilborne diseases in tomato over 2 years (Experiment 1 ; 2016, Experiment 2 ; 2017). The test plots included an MF plot (non-grafted, self-rooted MF), an MF/P plot (MF grafted on an untreated pepino rootstock), and an MF/WRP plot (MF grafted on a pepino rootstock treated with a 4 mm inner diameter washer ring). Although growth suppression was observed immediately after grafting in the MF/P and MF/WRP plots, there were no significant differences in stem length or the position of the uppermost unfolded leaf at the end of the experiment compared to the MF plot. An increase in shoot fresh weight was observed in the grafted plots, as well as a greater shoot (leaves and stem) fresh weight to root fresh weight ratio (T-R ratio) in the MF/WRP plot resulting from a reduction in root fresh weight. Undergrowth of the rootstock was observed at the graft union, and the stem immediately above the washer ring was markedly enlarged. In the grafted plots, a reduced degree of fruit set in the lower trusses, a reduced number of marketable fruits, and a reduced yield were observed. In the MF/WRP plot, the average fruit weight was also reduced. The soluble solids content of fruit in the MF/P plot was 97 to 114% of those in the MF plot, although a significant increase was observed only in the first truss in Experiment 1, 2016. In contrast, the soluble solids content of fruit in the MF/WRP plot was 111 to 127% of that in the MF plot, indicating a marked increase. In conclusion, tomato plants grafted on pepino rootstock successfully grew and produced marketable fruits. At the same time, tomato plants grafted on washer ring-treated pepino rootstock produced fruit having an increased soluble solids content. With its resistance to bacterial wilt and fusarium wilt diseases, pepino is a promising choice of rootstock for commercial tomato cultivation. Further testing under conditions similar to those in commercial production sites is required.

Curling is a sport in which players deliver a cylindrical granite stone on an ice sheet in a curling hall toward a circular target located 28.35 m away. The stone gradually moves laterally, or curls, as it slides on ice. Although several papers have been published to propose a mechanism of the curling phenomenon for the last 100 years, no established theory exists on the subject, because detailed measurements on a pebbled ice surface and a curling stone sliding on ice and detailed theoretical model calculations have yet to be available. Here we show using our precise experimental data that the curl distance is primarily determined by the surface roughness and the surface area of the running band on the bottom of a stone and that the ice surface condition has smaller effects on the curl distance. We also propose a possible mechanism affecting the curling phenomena of a curing stone based on our results. We expect that our findings will form the basis of future curling theories and model calculations regarding the curling phenomenon of curling stones. Using the relation between the curl distance and the surface roughness of the running band in this study, the curl distance of a stone sliding on ice in every curling hall can be adjusted to an appropriate value by changing the surface roughness of the running band on the bottom of a stone.

Electrochemical properties of TiNb 2 O 7 (TNO) electrodes during lithium storage have been studied in order to develop an alternative anode with high-capacity, fast-charging, and long-life to Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO) in lithium-ion batteries. High-density TNO (HD-TNO) composite electrode consisting of micro-size spherical TNO secondary particles coated with carbon exhibited high-rate capability, long cycle-life, and a high volumetric capacity of more than twice that of LTO composite anodes. Large-size lithium-ion batteries using the HD-TNO anode and a LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 (NCM) cathode with a capacity of 49 A h were fabricated for automotive applications, and were found to have a high energy density of 350 W h L −1 , a high input-power density of 10 kW L −1 for 10 s at 50% state of charge (SOC), and fast-charging from 0% to 90% SOC in less than 6 min. The capacity retention at 7000 cycles was 86% by full charge-discharge cycling at 1C rate. Cycle life was predicted to be 14000 cycles at 80% capacity retention. It was demonstrated that the TNO/NCM batteries have high energy-density, fast-charging, and long cycle-life for automotive applications such as electric vehicles with long driving ranges by fast-charging.

Lithium storage in hydrothermally synthesized TiNb2O7 (H-TNO) nanoparticles has been investigated by electrochemical and structural analysis and compared with that in solid-state synthesized TiNb2O7 (S-TNO) particles. The H-TNO was characterized to be highly crystallized primary particles having a single-crystal-like structure with a uniform face orientation. Cyclic voltammogram and charge-discharge potential characteristics of the H-TNO showed that additional lithium storage occurred for x > 4.0 in LixTiNb2O7 between 0.9 and 0.75 vs. Li/Li+. The H-TNO used as the anodes for lithium-ion batteries had highly reversible capacities of 341 mAh g−1 and 1480 mAh cm−3, performance superior to that in the case of S-TNO. Ex-situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis exhibited simultaneous changes in the charge compensation in Ti and Nb with an increase of Li+ ion amounts in H-TNO for x > 4.0. Apparent chemical diffusion coefficient (Dapp) values of lithium in the H-TNO for x > 3.5 were one order of magnitude larger than those in the S-TNO from the results of galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) analysis. The additional lithium storage in H-TNO was attributed to the enhancement of lithium diffusivity in the highly crystallized primary particles with the short lithium diffusion length. The H-TNO exhibited high capacity, high-rate charge capability, and long-cycle-life performance.

A combination of a Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) anode and 4 V-class cathodes has been electrochemically studied with a view to its adoption for 12 V-class bipolar batteries. Five series-connected LTO/LiMn0.85Fe0.1Mg0.05PO4 (LMFP) cells harmonized well with a useable voltage range of 12 V lead-acid batteries, which is suitable for low-voltage system applications. The LMFP cathode had excellent cycle life performance during high-temperature cycling at 60°C and over-discharge cycling tests. In the case of the LTO/Al and the LMFP/Al electrode using an Al current collector in a hybrid solid electrolyte consisting of a cubic garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 and a gel polymer, lithium insertion and extraction occurred smoothly without irreversible reactions in the potential range of 1 to 4.5 V vs. Li/Li+. The thin hybrid solid electrolyte with thickness of a few micrometer exhibited not only high-rate discharge but also a low self-discharge for practical use. It was demonstrated that the fabricated 12 V-class bipolar LTO/LMFP battery with a capacity of 102 mAh had the average discharge voltage of 12.5 V, the energy density of 90 Wh kg−1, and the output power density of 1500 W kg−1 for 10 s. The 12 V-class bipolar LTO/LMFP battery is expected to be suitable for low-voltage systems.

Electrochemical and structural properties of Li-rich layered Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 cathode materials have been investigated by measurements of rate capability, chemical diffusion coefficient of Li+, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction. Faster initial charging enhanced the rate capability and the chemical diffusion of Li+ in solid. In the X-ray and the neutron diffraction patterns, the peaks related to the distance of interlayer, such as (003) and (108) in the rhombohedral R 3 ¯ m notation, broadened upon charging. Furthermore, increasing the initial charging rate decreased this broadening of the peaks. These results indicate that structural stabilization plays an important role in diffusion of Li+ in Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2, and leads to the high rate capability.

Electrochemical properties of micro-size spherical TiO2(B) secondary particles have been investigated in order to develop TiO2(B) anodes for lithium-ion batteries with high-power and long-life performance. The spherical TiO2(B) electrodes with a small amount of a carbon conductor additive had a high electrode density of 2.2 g cm−3 and a volumetric reversible capacity of 475 mAh cm−3 comparable to that of graphite electrodes. Compared with nano-size needle-like TiO2(B) electrodes, the spherical TiO2(B) electrodes exhibited higher-rate discharge capability and longer-cycle life performance. The impedance of the TiO2(B)/electrolyte interface model indicated that the charge transfer resistance Rc and the passivating film resistance Rf of the spherical TiO2(B) were much smaller than those of the needle-like one. The high-rate discharge and the long-cycle performance of the spherical TiO2(B) electrode are attributed to the superior electronic connective property and Rc and Rf values smaller than those of the needle-like one. Lithium-ion cells using the spherical TiO2(B) anodes and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode with a capacity of 2.8 Ah exhibited a high energy density of 100 Wh kg−1, a high output power density of 1800 W kg−1 for 10 s pulse, and a long cycle life of more than 3000 cycles.

Tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed in the world, and green tea has become a popular beverage in Western as well as Asian countries. A novel pretreatment method for a commercial bioluminescence assay to detect bacteria in green tea was developed and evaluated in this study. Pretreatment buffers with pH levels ranging from 6.0 to 9.0 were selected from MES (morpholineethanesulfonic acid), HEPES (N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid), or Tricine buffers. To evaluate the effect of pretreatment and the performance of the assay, serially diluted cultures of Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus were tested. The improved methods, which consisted of a pretreatment of the sample in alkaline buffer, significantly decreased the background bioluminescence intensity of green tea samples when compared with the conventional method. Pretreatment with alkaline buffers with pH levels ranging from 8.0 to 9.0 increased the bioluminescence intensities of cultures of E. cloacae and S. aureus. Strong log-linear relationships between the bioluminescence intensities and plate counts emerged for the tested strains. Furthermore, the microbial detection limit was 15 CFU in 500 ml of bottled green tea after an 8-h incubation at 35°C and an assay time of 1 h. The results showed that contaminated samples could be detected within 1 h of operation using our improved bioluminescence assay. This method could be used to test for contamination during the manufacturing process as well as for statistical sampling for quality control.

Many curious white spots of 1–10 cm diameter were found on wet snow (~10 mm thick) on the morning of 1 November 2009 in Kitami and Oketo in Hokkaido, Japan. At first glance, the white spots appeared to be made of spherically gathered snow; however, they had actually been formed by the scattering of sunlight over wet snow. Thin air bubbles enclosed in the wet snow caused a diffuse reflection of sunlight and formed the white spots. We refer to this phenomenon as white spotted wet snow. Although this type of snow has been briefly described previously, the formation process, meteorological conditions that lead to its formation, its vertical structure and the horizontal distribution of the white spots are unknown. Our study addresses these issues. In addition, three independent methods (a nearest-neighbour method, Voronoi diagram and two-dimensional correlation function) demonstrate that the white spots are not randomly distributed but tend to be surrounded by six other spots.

BackgroundA 95% CI, 1.824-63.14; P = 0.009) was significantly associated with recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test demonstrated that C-reactive protein (>0.3/≤0.3, mg/dL) was also significantly associated with RFS (P Conclusion C-reactive protein is significantly associated with recurrence of GC in patients with PAC using S-1 after curative surgery.

Development of lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications such as electric vehicles (EVs) has been focused on enhancement of energy density, power, safety, and life. In particular, all-solid-state batteries have been extensively studied in order to respond to these demands. However, the solid electrolytes such as sulfide or oxide materials have important subjects for practical uses. Sulfide solid electrolytes have low chemical stability in air and low mechanical strength for thin separator. Oxide solid electrolytes have low ionic conductivity and large resistance at interfaces between active material and solid electrolyte. We proposed a thin hybrid electrolyte system instead of solid electrolytes [1]. The thin hybrid electrolyte consisting of lithium-ion conducting solid particles of a cubic garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZ) and a gel polymer electrolyte exhibits smaller activation energy for ionic conductivity than a gel polymer electrolyte without LLZ. The fabricated cells using the hybrid electrolyte show high-rate charge-discharge performance [1, 2]. We have also investigated electrochemical properties of other hybrid electrolytes consisting of NASICON-type Li-Al-Ti-P-O (LATP) particles wetted with liquid electrolytes of LiPF6-PC/DEC. Figure 1 shows fast-charge performance of 1 Ah TiNb2O7/LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cells using the hybrid and the liquid electrolyte at 10 C rate. The charge performance of the cell using the hybrid electrolyte was significantly superior to that of the cell using the liquid electrolyte, which indicates the existence of LATP particles contributing to enhancement of migration of lithium ions in the hybrid electrolyte. Figure 2 shows high-rate discharge properties of the cells using the hybrid and the liquid electrolytes containing different LiPF6 concentration. The voltage decline of the cells using the hybrid electrolytes were more gradual than that of the cell using the liquid electrolytes with LiPF6 concentration of 0.5 M and 1 M. The difference between hybrid electrolytes and liquid electrolytes was clearly observed in the cell with LiPF6 concentration of 0.5 M. In the case of a high LiPF6 concentration of 2 M, the voltage decline of the cells using the hybrid and the liquid electrolytes showed almost no difference. Electrochemical kinetics on the discharge were more effectively enhanced by the existence of LATP particles wetted with the liquid electrolyte containing smaller amount of LiPF6. From these results, we considered that lithium-ionic conducting solid particles in hybrid electrolyte have effects to enhance lithium-ion conductivity by promoting lithium-ion migration on the surface of the solid particles and the amount of lithium-ions for charge transfer on the electrodes. However the detail of this mechanism for effects has not been cleared yet. In order to understand the phenomenon, it is determined that properties of lithium-ion conducting and electrochemical performances of hybrid electrolytes with different ratio of solid particles and liquid electrolyte and so on. In this presentation, we will discuss the role of lithium-ion conducting solid particles in hybrid electrolytes. References [1] K. Yoshima, Y. Harada and N. Takami, J. Power Sources, 302,283-290(2016). [2] N. Takami, K. Yoshima and Y. Harada, J. Electrochem. Soc., 164,A6254(2017). Figure 1

TiO 2 (B) particles as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries were synthesized from three kinds of layered alkali titanates Na 2 Ti 3 O 7 , K 2 Ti 4 O 9 and Cs 2 Ti 5 O 11 via H + ion-exchange followed by heating under several conditions in order to clarify the effect of synthesis conditions on crystal formation and electrochemical properties. Phase formation and crystal structure were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Reducing of residual alkali cations in the intermediates with ion-exchanging for 2 weeks led to relative high crystallinity which is suitable for smooth migration of lithium ions and has low reactivity with a practical electrolyte. The primitive cell volume of TiO 2 (B) increased with decreasing heat-treatment temperature of the intermediates. A primitive cell volume of 0.300 nm 3 in TiO 2 (B) structure, which was successfully obtained from the precursor K 2 Ti 4 O 9 by heating the intermediate at 350 °C for 2 h, causes an expanding of the lithium pathways and storage sites and had a high reversible capacity of 253.1 mA h g −1 close to that of TiO 2 (B) nanopaticles. This TiO 2 (B) also showed good cycle performance with the reversible capacity after 200 cycles remaining 95% of the initial capacity, using a practical electrolyte such as LiPF 6 in a solution of ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate. Consequently, synthesis conditions of H + ion-exchange time and heat-treatment temperature should be carefully optimized to obtain the large reversible capacity and stable cycle performance of TiO 2 (B) synthesized from the layered alkali titanates via the H + ion-exchange process.

A simple structure for achieving a low mutual coupling between two inverted-F antennas is presented. The low coupling between the antennas is obtained by using two slits on the ground plane. As a result, the interval between the antennas can be shorter than ‚=8. Furthermore, this technique can be combined with other techniques. This is good for designing small handsets which allow shorter intervals between antennas. In this paper, the authors present a slitted ground structure and consider the mechanism of the structure where a mutual coupling of i35dB can be achieved using the slitted ground plane.

Because soy milk is nutrient rich and nearly neutral in pH, it favors the growth of microbial contaminants. To ensure that soy milk meets food-safety standards, it must be pasteurized and have its sterility confirmed. ATP bioluminescence assay has become a widely accepted means of detecting food microorganisms. However, the high background bioluminescence intensity of soy milk has rendered it unsuitable for ATP analysis. Here, we tested the efficacy of an improved pre-treated bioluminescence assay on soy milk. By comparing background bioluminescence intensities obtained by the conventional and improved methods, we demonstrated that our method significantly reduces soy milk background bioluminescence. The dose-response curve of the assay was tested with serial dilutions of Bacillus sp. culture. An extremely strong log-linear relation between the bioluminescence intensity relative light units and colony formation units CFU/ml emerged for the tested strain. The detection limit of the assay was estimated as 5.2×10(3) CFU/ml from the dose-response curve and an imposed signal limit was three times the background level. The results showed that contaminated samples could be easily detected within 24 h using our improved bioluminescence assay.

The market for tea drinks as healthy beverages has been steadily expanding, and ready-to-drink beverages in polyethylene terephthalate bottles have been popular. To more rapidly and accurately test tea beverages bottled in polyethylene terephthalate for microbial contamination, a newly developed filtration device and a washing method with a commercial bioluminescence assay were combined to detect low numbers of bacterial spores, fungal conidia, and ascospores. Washing buffers were formulated with nonionic detergents from the Tween series. Commercially available tea beverages were used to evaluate the filtration capacity of the filtration device, the effect of washing buffers, and the performance of the assay. The assay was tested with serially diluted suspensions of colonies of two bacterial strains, spores of three Bacillus strains, conidia of five fungal strains, and ascospores of four fungal strains. The filtration device enabled filtration of a large sample volume (100 to 500 ml), and the washing buffer significantly decreased the background bioluminescence intensity of tea samples when compared with the no-washing method. Low numbers (1 to 10 CFU/100 ml) of the tested strains of bacteria were detected within 8 to 18 h of cultivation, and fungi were detected within 24 to 48 h. Furthermore, a whole bottle (500 ml) of mixed tea was filtered through the filtration device and microbes were detected. This method could be used for quality control of bottled beverages without preincubation.

Recently, optical pulses propagating through a tapered fiber (TF) immersed in heavy water (D2O) or photonic crystal fi ber (PCF) of a special design were reported to yield a broad and fl at supercontinuum (SC) spectrum because the fi ber dispersion characteristics are of low dispersion around 1000 nm. This study was undertaken to investigate spectral intensities and phase distributions of SC pulses generated in low-dispersion fi bers. Results show that highly nonlinear PCF with group velocity dispersion (GVD) distributions having an extremum value and zero dispersion around 1000 nm is useful at short fiber length for applications in which the phase distribution is a concern.

Introduction For improving operational life and safety of lithium-ion battery, 1.5 V vs. Li/Li+ materials such as spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) have been extensively studied as good alternatives to graphite as the anode material. Several kinds of isostructural materials such as Li2AB6O14 (A=M(II), B=M(IV)) have been investigated as a titanium based anode [1-2]. These compounds have a three-dimensional framework of edge and corner shared BO6 octahedra and lithium can be inserted to the tetrahedral vacancy-site. A reversible capacity of approximately 150 mAh/g was obtained in Li2+x SrTi6O14 [2], which is close to the LTO capacity. Although, the charge-discharge curve of this material shows a step-like plateau, the crystal structural change during the charge-discharge process has not been explained in detail. In this work, a new family of Li2(Sr1 -x Na x )Ti6- x Nb x O14 (0≤x≤1) was prepared, and the crystal structure at different state of charge and the electrochemical performance were investigated. Experimental Li2(Sr1 -x Na x )Ti6- x Nb x O14 (0≤x≤1) were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method. A mixture of stoichiometric quantities of raw materials such as Li2CO3, Na2CO3, SrCO3, Nb2O5 and TiO2 was heated initially at 650℃ for 2 hours, then sintered at 1100℃ for 48 hours with an intermittent grinding. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Electrodes of these compounds were prepared as follows; a mixed slurry of the product powder, conductive agent, binder and solvent, was coated on a sheet of Al foil using a doctor blade and then dried at 80℃ under vacuum condition for 12 hours. Electrochemical performance was investigated using a three-electrode glass beaker cell which was assembled using the prepared electrode and a lithium metal as a counter and a reference electrode. The structural changes of the compound during lithium insertion process were characterized using ex-situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) at BL19B2 beam line in the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation research facility and ex-situ neutron powder diffraction (NPD) at iMATERIA in the Japan proton accelerator research complex. Results and Discussion The charge-discharge curves of Li2(Sr1 -x Na x )Ti6- x Nb x O14 (x=0 and 0.75) electrodes are shown in Figure 1. The reversible capacity was improved by the substitution of Na and Nb in the potential range between 1.0 V and 2.0 V vs. Li/Li+. Moreover, the step-like plateau was shown in x=0, which was flattened with increasing substitution amount. A maximum capacity of 133.4 mAh/g was obtained at x=0.75. The reversible capacity for x=0 was restricted to 106.8 mAh/g in this potential range, while approximately 150 mAh/g has been reported at a lower potential range such as 0.5 V-2.0 V vs. Li/Li+ owing to an existence of the step-like plateau [2]. Therefore, we consider that the improvement of the reversible capacity is mainly attributed to the lifted-up redox potential area below 1.2 V to around 1.4 V vs. Li/Li+ as shown in Figure 1, namely this results in an enhancement of effective capacity in this potential range. Then, the crystal structure parameters for x=0 and 0.75 were investigated by XRD and NPD measurements to clarify differences among the lithium host sites in the structure. Table 1 shows proposed lithium host sites for Li2(Sr1 -x Na x )Ti6- x Nb x O14 and bond valence sum (BVS) obtained by the Rietveld analysis using neutron diffraction patterns for x=0 and 0.75. The BVS values of 4a and 8c were close to 1.0 for x=0, implying that 4a and 8c sites are mainly used as a lithium host site, and 4b site was getting closer to 1.0 for x=0.75. This result suggests that an effective lithium host site can be added by the substitution. From these findings, we believe that the step-like plateau was flattened due to structural modification on lithium host sites in Li2(Sr1 -x Na x )Ti6- x Nb x O14. The detail of electrochemical performance and structural analysis will be discussed in our presentation. References I. Koseva, J.-P. Chaminade, P. Gravereau, S. Pechev, P. Peshev, J. Etourneau, J. Alloys and Compounds, 389, 47 (2005). I. Beharouak, K. Amine, Electrochemistry Communications, 5, 435 (2003). Figure 1

Microvoltammograms of a single particle of Li4/3Ti5/3O4 (LTO) spinel were interpreted using a core shell model in the spinel/rock-salt two-phase transition process. Lithium insertion into the particle was controlled by the diffusion in Li7/3Ti5/3O4 rock-salt structure out-layer. Lithium extraction from the particle was significantly affected by the charge transfer on the LTO spinel out-layer rather than by the diffusion of lithium ions. The discharge speed during the internal short circuit abuse test connecting with the LTO anode was three orders of magnitude slower than that with graphite anode. At the internal short circuit point, transformation to the low electron-conductive LTO spinel phase will work to suppress the rapid extension of internal short circuit reaction. It was demonstrated that the 2-volt class lithium-ion battery system using the LTO anode exhibited excellent high-power and quick-charging with outstanding safety characteristics by using the LTO anode.

Introduction Lithium-ion batteries using Li4Ti5O12 anode realize excellent performance of power, fast-charge, life, and safety [1]. However, the theoretical capacity of LTO is low (175 mAh/g) compared to that of graphite anode. We have been developing TiNb2O7 (TNO) as high-capacity anode material in order to replace the LTO anode [2]. The theoretical capacity of TNO is 387.6 mAh/g according to 5 Li insertion per formula unit, regarding electron transfer about Nb5+/Nb3+, Ti4+/Ti3+redox couples. Only a few researchers have reported on a large storage of more than 4 Li insertion (310 mAh/g). Hence, we report the lithium storage mechanism and electrode performance of hydrothermally synthesized TNO particles with the large storage of more than 4 Li insertion. Experimental TNO particle samples were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Niobium (V) chloride was dissolved in ethanol, and become mixed with Titanium (IV) oxysulfate dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid. Ammonia solution was slowly dropped to mixed solution with stirring until pH values were changed to 8. The mixture was transferred to autoclave, and gave a thermal treatment for 5 hours at 160℃. After that, the mixture was washed with deionized water and was frozen and dried in vacuum. The precursor samples were heated from 700℃ to 1000℃ for 30min, and furnace cooled. To compare with electrode performance of TNO, we also prepared TNO particle sample by solid state reaction using conventional method. Electrochemical properties were carried out using a three-electrode cell with synthesized TNO anodes as working electrodes, and Li foils as reference and counter electrodes. The structural changes of TNO particles as lithium insertion proceeded were characterized using ex-situ XRD, and XAFS measurements at the BL16B2 beam line in the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation research facility. Results and discussion Fig.1 shows charge (Li insertion) - discharge (Li extraction) curves of TNO electrodes at the first cycle. The TNO particles prepared by solid state reaction had a reversible capacity of 306 mAh/g, which was correspond to 3.95 of Li insertion amount per formula unit. On the other hand, hydrothermally synthesized TNO particles heated at 1000℃ had a large reversible capacity of 341 mAh/g (4.40 of Li/ formula unit) by the increase in capacity below 1.0 V (vs.Li+/Li). The reversible capacity per volume calculated using the true density of TNO was 1481 mAh/cm3, which is twice higher than that of graphite anode. Fig.2 shows the dQ/dV-V plots at the first discharge curves. The hydrothermally synthesized TNO anode had an additional peak around 1.0 V (vs. Li+/Li), which was significantly different from solid state reaction particles. Primary particle size (ca.100 nm) of hydrothermally synthesized TNO was much smaller than that (ca. 1 μm) of TNO synthesized by solid state reaction as shown in Fig.3. We consider that a short diffusion length of lithium ions, a large surface area, and highly crystallization of thermally synthesized TNO particle would make it possible to insert into a storage site of lithium ions above 4.0 per formula unit. We will give a description about the Li insertion and extraction mechanism of TNO at below 1.0 V (vs. Li+/Li) by using electrochemical analysis, ex-situ XRD, and XAFS measurements. References [1] N. Takami, H. Inagaki, Y. Harada, Y. Fujita, K. Hoshina, J. Electrochem. Soc. 156, A128, 156 (2009). [2] Y. Harada, N. Takami, H. Inagaki, Y. Yoshida, JP Patent No 5230713 filed on Oct. 29, 2010. Figure 1

Described is the solvent effect for the chemoselective hydrogenation of alkenes having a benzyloxy group (Bn-O-) using a hydrogenation system employing atomic hydrogen permeating through a Pd sheet electrode.