Li Nuclei Research Articles

Elastic scattering of 6Li from different target nuclei using continuum discretized coupled channels

In this study, the elastic scattering angular distributions (ADs) for the weakly stable 6Li nucleus from [Formula: see text]Ca, [Formula: see text]Ni and [Formula: see text]Zr targets are theoretically studied at various energies. The ADs for the following systems are considered: The [Formula: see text] system in the energy range of 32–240[Formula: see text]MeV; the [Formula: see text] system in the energy range of 9.9–210[Formula: see text]MeV; and the [Formula: see text] system in the energy range of 29.93–240[Formula: see text]MeV. The sophisticated continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC) method is used to reanalyze the considered data. Reasonable agreements between the data considered and the theoretical calculations within the CDCC method are obtained. Values for the reaction cross-sections of the several systems under consideration are extracted, and they are compared to those previously reported ones.

Bound and Resonant States of the $${}^{{9}}$$Li Nucleus with Daejeon16 Nucleon–Nucleon Interaction

Bound and Resonant States of the $${}^{{9}}$$Li Nucleus with Daejeon16 Nucleon–Nucleon Interaction

Phenomenological and microscopic analysis for the 7Li + 12C system

We report the results of an analysis of the 7Li + 12C elastic scattering angular distributions measured at energies between 5.8 and 350 MeV. The analysis is based on various nuclear potentials and approaches. The objective of this study is to analyze the cluster character of the weakly bound 7Li nucleus in order to verify the associated breakup effects on the elastic scattering data and to examine the consistency of the acquired results across the various potentials used. The analysis shows the impact of strong coupling to the breakup channel. The fully microscopic continuum discretized coupled channel (CDCC) method is employed efficiently to elucidate the data under consideration.

Effect of the Solvate Environment of Lithium Cations on the Resistance of the Polymer Electrolyte/Electrode Interface in a Solid-State Lithium Battery.

The effect of the composition of liquid electrolytes in the bulk and at the interface with the LiFePO4 cathode on the operation of a solid-state lithium battery with a nanocomposite polymer gel electrolyte based on polyethylene glycol diacrylate and SiO2 was studied. The self-diffusion coefficients on the 7Li, 1H, and 19F nuclei in electrolytes based on LiBF4 and LiTFSI salts in solvents (gamma-butyrolactone, dioxolane, dimethoxyethane) were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with a magnetic field gradient. Four compositions of the complex electrolyte system were studied by high-resolution NMR. The experimentally obtained 1H chemical shifts are compared with those theoretically calculated by quantum chemical modeling. This made it possible to suggest the solvate shell compositions that facilitate the rapid transfer of the Li+ cation at the nanocomposite electrolyte/LiFePO4 interface and ensure the stable operation of a solid-state lithium battery.

In situ formation of a lithiophilic surface on 3D current collectors to regulate lithium nucleation and growth for dendrite-free lithium metal anodes

As the most promising anode material for lithium batteries, lithium metal faces rigorous challenges such as uncontrollable Li dendrite growth and safety risks, which hinder its practical applications. Herein, a uniform indium layer-decorated Ni foam is constructed as a three-dimensional current collector by electroplating to understand the effects of different substrates on the Li deposition morphology and electrochemical performance and to explore the mechanism for Li dendrite growth. The results indicate that an In3Li13 alloy layer is formed by an alloying reaction, which provides abundant nucleation sites for uniform Li deposition. Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that Li ions tend to deposit on the In3Li13 substrate rather than the Li nucleus, while they prefer to plate onto Li particles rather than onto the Ni substrate. Benefiting from the strong interaction, the In3Li13 substrate shows dispersed Li deposition behavior with a grain-like shape, which is different from the severe dendrite formation of bare Ni substrate. As a result, the In3Li13@NF electrode delivers an enhanced Coulombic efficiency of 97.4% for 300 cycles even under a severe cycling condition of 2 mA cm−2, and the Li-In3Li13@NF anode presents increased cycling stability in symmetric cells. Impressively, the Li-In3Li13@NF//LiFePO4 full cell delivers a remarkable capacity retention of 82.8% for 1000 cycles at 2 C. This work not only sheds light on the growth mechanism for Li dendrites but also provides a new strategy to develop high-energy density lithium metal batteries.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: Clinical Application and Research Progress.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary modality that is used to treat a variety of malignancies, using neutrons to irradiate boron-10 (10B) nuclei that have entered tumor cells to produce highly linear energy transfer (LET) alpha particles and recoil 7Li nuclei (10B [n, α] 7Li). Therefore, the most important part in BNCT is to selectively deliver a large number of 10B to tumor cells and only a small amount to normal tissue. So far, BNCT has been used in more than 2000 cases worldwide, and the efficacy of BNCT in the treatment of head and neck cancer, malignant meningioma, melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma has been confirmed. We collected and collated clinical studies of second-generation boron delivery agents. The combination of different drugs, the mode of administration, and the combination of multiple treatments have an important impact on patient survival. We summarized the critical issues that must be addressed, with the hope that the next generation of boron delivery agents will overcome these challenges.

Achieving Enhanced Mobility of Ions in Ionic Liquid-Based Gel Polymer Electrolytes By Incorporating Inorganic Nanofibers for Li-Ion Battery

Polymer electrolytes have received much attention in Li-ion battery research because of their unique properties, such as, high ionic conductivity, high mechanical strength including good electrode-electrolyte contact. A major research has been focused on improving the conductivity while retaining the mechanical stability of polymer electrolytes. In this context, ionic liquid-based gel polymer electrolytes are an excellent candidate. A detailed NMR investigation of PMMA-ILs gels electrolytes probing the structure and dynamics of ions was recently reported.[1] The presence of ILs in polymer matrix not only improves the conductivity but also enhances the self-healing capability. In another study, self-healing capability that reduces the dendrite formation at the interface has been discovered, for example, in PVDF-HFP-ILs electrolyte.[2] In this regard, this work reports the possible ways to enhance the ionic conductivity of such polymer electrolyte further by adding Al2O3 nanofibers. A series of PVDF-HFP-ILs with 1M LiTFSI in EMIMTFSI at different ratios of Al2O3nanofibers were prepared through solution cast technique. The dynamics of ions confined within polymer-Al2O3 matrix was explored through Impedence and PFG NMR spectroscopy. The amorphocity and the distribution of Al2O3 nanofibers are studied through XRD and SEM-EDX analyses. Lastly, the local structure of ions and their interaction with polymer and Al2O3 nanofibers were established through a detailed solid-state NMR analyses detecting 1H, 27Al, 13C, 19F, 7Li nuclei including 2D 13C{1H} HETCOR experiments. A reasonable enhancement in terms of ionic conductivity was observed with the addition of Al2O3 nanofibers, which improves the conducting pathways within the polymer network.[1] M. N. Garaga, N. Jayakody, C. C. Fraenza, B. Itin, and S. Greenbaum, Journal of Molecular Liquids 329, 115454 (2021).[2] T. Chen, W. Kong, Z. Zhang, L. Wang, Y. Hu, G. Zhu, R. Chen, L. Ma, W. Yan, Y. Wang, J. Liu, and Z. Jin, Nano Energy 54, 17 (2018).

Comprehensive Analysis of the Neutrino Process in Core-collapsing Supernovae

We investigate the neutrino flavor change effects due to neutrino self-interaction and shock wave propagation, as well as the matter effects on the neutrino process in core-collapsing supernovae (CCSNe). For the hydrodynamics, we use two models: a simple thermal bomb model and a specified hydrodynamics model for SN1987A. For the presupernova model, we take an updated model, adjusted to explain SN1987A, which employs recent developments in the (n, γ) reaction rates for nuclei near the stability line (A ∼ 100). As for the neutrino luminosity, we adopt two different models: equivalent neutrino luminosity and nonequivalent luminosity models. The latter is taken from a synthetic analysis of CCSN simulation data, which quantitatively presented the results obtained by various neutrino transport models. Relevant neutrino-induced reaction rates are calculated using a shell model for light nuclei and a quasiparticle random phase approximation model for heavy nuclei. For each model, we present abundances of the light nuclei (7Li, 7Be, 11B, and 11C) and the heavy nuclei (92Nb, 98Tc, 138La, and 180Ta) produced by the neutrino process. The light nuclei abundances turn out to be sensitive to the Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein (MSW) region around O-Ne-Mg layer while the heavy nuclei are mainly produced prior to the MSW region. Through detailed analyses, we find that neutrino self-interaction becomes a key ingredient, in addition to the MSW effect, for understanding the neutrino process and the relevant nuclear abundances. The normal mass hierarchy is shown to be more compatible with the meteorite data. The main nuclear reactions for each nucleus are also investigated in detail.

Time-Dependent Description of Reactions with Weakly Bound 11Li and 11Be Nuclei

Time-Dependent Description of Reactions with Weakly Bound 11Li and 11Be Nuclei

Damping of Mott oscillations as a guide for planning a 6Li +6 Li scattering experiment

Mott oscillations are a quantum oscillation pattern observed in angular distributions of identical particle scatterings. When both incident and target particles are bosons (integer spin), there are energies at which Mott oscillations are damped around 90° in the center-of-mass frame, a phenomenon called Transverse Isotropy (TI). Different optical potentials predict different TI energies, so TI energy measurements can provide insight into nucleus-nucleus interaction. Data on angular distributions for identical scattering of 6Li nuclei (s = 1) is available in the literature but at very limited values of energies and angular range. We have analyzed some of these angular distributions with the Fresco code, considering Woods-Saxon potentials in the calculations, and have emphasized the importance of conducting an experiment of our own.

Nuclear fusion catalyzed by doubly charged scalars: Implications for energy production

A number of popular extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics predict the existence of doubly charged scalar particles $X^{\pm\pm}$. Such particles may be long-lived or even stable. If exist, $X^{--}$ could form atomic bound states with light nuclei and catalyze their fusion by essentially eliminating the Coulomb barrier between them. Such an $X$-catalyzed fusion ($X$CF) process does not require high temperatures or pressure and may have important applications for energy production. A similar process of muon-catalyzed fusion ($\mu$CF) has been shown not to be a viable source of energy because of the sticking of negative muons to helium nuclei produced in the fusion of hydrogen isotopes, which stops the catalytic process. We analyze $X$CF in deuterium environments and show that the $X$-particles can only stick to $^6$Li nuclei, which are produced in the third-stage reactions downstream in the catalytic cycle. The corresponding sticking probability is very low, and, before getting bound to $^6$Li, each $X$-particle can catalyze $\sim 3.5\cdot 10^{9}$ fusion cycles, producing $\sim 7\cdot 10^{4}$ TeV of energy. We also discuss the ways of reactivating the $X$-particles from the Coulomb-bound (${\rm ^6Li}X$) states, which would allow re-using them in $X$CF reactions.

Reaction rate of radiative n6Li capture in the temperature range from 0.01 to 10 T9

We consider the rate of radiative n6Li capture reaction in the temperature range from 0.01 to 10 T9 within the framework of the modified potential cluster model with forbidden states. The total cross sections are calculated for capture to the ground, and the first excited states of the 7Li nucleus in the n6Li channel in the energy range from 10 meV to 5 MeV. Analytical expressions approximate the total cross-section at low energies and the reaction rate over the entire considered temperature range.

Effect of 9 Li internal structure on 9 Li + 70 Zn fusion reaction

The fusion cross-section of 9 Li + 70 Zn system is analyzed for different cluster models and various density distributions of the 9 Li nucleus by using the optical model at energies near and below Coulomb barrier. To make a comprehensive analysis and show the effect of neutron rich 9 Li nucleus, our study consists of two parts. First, we obtain five different density distribution of the 9 Li nucleus. As a second part, we evaluate some cluster models of 9 Li which consist of 4 He + 3 H + n + n, 6 He + 3 H, 7 Li + n + n and 8 Li + n. The microscopic nucleon-nucleon double folding potential for real and imaginary parts is applied. It is seen that the results obtained with this study are in better agreement with the experimental data than previous works, especially at low energies. Finally, we acquire the RB and VB parameters for all the densities and cluster cases of the 9 Li + 70 Zn fusion reaction.

(Invited) Temperature Effects on Li Nucleation at Cu/Lipon Interfaces

This study reports the effect of temperature on Li nucleation at the Cu/lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) interface.1 Galvanostatic Li plating is performed on LiPON glass electrolytes at different temperatures ranging from 25 to 100 °C. At any temperature, the negative voltage peak appears, indicating Li nucleation, immediately after starting Li plating. The nucleation overpotential and nucleation number density decrease with increasing temperature. This is because the diffusivity of Li adatoms/ions along the Cu/LiPON interface increases with temperature, resulting in an increase in the amount of Li atoms incorporated into a single Li nucleus. The critical nucleation area also extends with increasing temperature. It is found that the activation energy for the interfacial diffusion of Li adatoms/ions along the Cu/LiPON interface is 51 kJ mol–1 (0.53 eV), which is close to the activation energy for Li+ conduction in LiPON. Reference M. Motoyama, M. Hirota, T. Yamamoto, and Y. Iriyama, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 12, 38045–38053 (2020). Figure 1

Measuring the Nucleation Overpotential in Lithium Metal Batteries: Never Forget the Counter Electrode!

The nucleation overpotential has been used by many researchers as an indicator of the energy required to form the Li nuclei during plating. Typically, a two-electrode system is used to measure the nucleation overpotential; this method, however, fails to show the contribution of working and counter electrodes separately. In this study, we have used a three-electrode configuration (three-dimensional nickel foam as working electrode, lithium foil as both reference and counter electrode) to deconvolute the potential associated with each electrode during the galvanostatic Li electrodeposition to obtain a clear picture of nucleation overpotential. The results indicate that, in such a system, the main source of overpotential is the sudden drop in the potential of the counter electrode, which can be attributed to the extraction of Li from the surface of lithium metal. Moreover, unlike the first half-cycle, the nuclear overpotential is dominated by the working electrode in the second half-discharge cycle, which should account for a true nucleation overpotential of the system. This finding may aid in clarifying the origins of the experimental polarization and preventing researchers from misinterpreting it in terms of nucleation overpotential.

SCATTERING PHASE SHIFTS OF LITHIUM ISOTOPES

Scattering phase shifts on negative and positive parity states of 5Li, 6Li and 7Li nuclei are calculated applying two-body a+p, a+d and a+t systems and the complex scaling method. 6Li and 7Li are stable nuclei and their ground and low-lying excited states are considered in this work. In this study, we calculated scattering phase shifts of the negative parity J^pi=3/2-, and 1/2+ states for p-wave 5Li, J^pi=7/2-, 5/2-, 3/-2 and 1/2− states for p- and f-waves of 7Li and the positive parity J^pi=1+, 2+, 3+ states for s- and d-waves of 6Li.

Lithium electrodeposition for energy storage: filling the gap between theory and experiment

Lithium (Li) metal has been considered a promising anode material for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries, but its utilization is impeded by the nonuniform electrodeposition during the charging process which leads to poor cycling life and safety concerns. Thus, understanding the electrodeposition mechanism of Li-metal anode is of great importance to develop practical engineering strategies for rechargeable Li-metal batteries. The electrodeposition of Li is controlled by both thermodynamic and kinetic factors, such as the solvation free energy of Li-ions, the Li nucleation, the surface diffusion of Li atom, and the strength of the interaction between Li-ion and the electrolyte anion. The scale of the whole process from the Li-ion reduction to the growth of a Li nucleus goes from sub-nanometer up to a few micrometers, which poses an outstanding challenge to both experiments and simulation. In this perspective, we discuss the top-down, the bottom-up, and the middle-way approaches to this challenge and the possible synergies between them.

Large-basis calculation of 6Li nucleus with Skyrme potential

Large-basis calculation of 6Li nucleus with Skyrme potential

Differential elastic nucleus–nucleus scattering in complete Glauber theory

The differential elastic cross-sections of [Formula: see text]C–[Formula: see text]C and [Formula: see text]Li–[Formula: see text]C nuclei are calculated in the complete Glauber theory. The role of the possible correlations connected to the shell effects in [Formula: see text]Li nucleus is considered.

Noble-gas atoms characterized by hyperfine frequency shift of lithium atom.

We report an experimental and theoretical study on the shift of the hyperfine splitting frequency of ground-state Li atoms in noble gases, He, Ne, Ar, and Xe. The frequency shift is due to the change in the electron-spin density at the Li nuclei induced by collisions to the noble-gas atoms. The electron density is calculated along the interatomic distance in a pseudopotential and a dispersion potential. Based on the measured and the calculated frequency shifts, we find the importance of attractive force in collisions to helium as well as heavy noble-gas atoms. Taking advantage of the simple energy structure of the Li atom, we obtain the s wave scattering length for free electrons on noble-gas atoms by using the hyperfine splitting frequency as a precise measure.