Commercial Materials Research Articles

Closed-Loop Direct Upcycling of Spent Ni-Rich Layered Cathodes into High-Voltage Cathode Materials.

Facing the resource and environmental pressures brought by the retiring wave of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), direct recycling methods are considered to be the next generation's solution. However, the contradiction between limited battery life and the demand for rapidly iterating technology forces the direct recovery paradigm to shift toward "direct upcycling." Herein, a closed-loop direct upcycling strategy that converts waste current collector debris into dopants is proposed, and a highly inclusive eutectic molten salt system is utilized to repair structural defects in degraded polycrystalline LiNi0.83Co0.12Mn0.05O2 cathodes while achieving single-crystallization transformation and introducing Al/Cu dual-doping. Upcycled materials can effectively overcome the two key challenges at high voltages: strain accumulation and lattice oxygen evolution. It exhibits comprehensive electrochemical performance far superior to commercial materials at 4.6V, especially its fast charging capability at 15C, and an impressive 91.1% capacity retention after 200 cycles in a 1.2Ah pouch cell. Importantly, this approach demonstrates broad applicability to various spent layered cathodes, particularly showcasing its value in the recycling of mixed spent cathodes. This work effectively bridges the gap between waste management and material performance enhancement, offering a sustainable path for the recycling of spent LIBs and the production of next-generation high-voltage cathodes.

Sustainable conversion of vine shoots and pig manure into high-performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered promising candidates for future grid energy storage, with hard carbons emerging as key commercial anode materials. This study presents a novel approach to synthesize N-doped hard carbons via co-hydrothermal treatment of vine shoots and pig manure and subsequent thermal annealing of the resulting hydrochar. This method enhances the development of micro- and ultra-microporosity in the synthesized hard carbons, with nitrogen, and to a lesser extent phosphorus and sulfur, introduced as doping elements. Furthermore, the incorporation of hydrochloric acid during the hydrothermal step promotes biomass hydrolysis, leading to increased mesoporosity and the formation of microsphere clusters. In the realm of electrochemical performance, an investigation into various ester- and ether-based electrolytes has revealed NaPF6 in diglyme as the best formulation, thanks to its thinner and more stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI). Using this electrolyte, the best-performing electrode showed an initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 73 %, with reversible capacities of 239, 180, 86, and 57 mAh g−1 at 0.1, 1, 5, and 10 A g−1, respectively. In addition, the electrode exhibited a remarkable capacity retention of 88 % after 250 cycles as well as a compatible behavior when paired with a NVPF-based cathode.

The effect of lubrication on the tribological properties of polymer composites for high contact pressure hydropower bearings

Premature failure of polymeric self-lubricating bearings is a limiting factor in the sustainable and continued operation of hydropower plants. In this work, the tribological performance of two novel polymer composites was studied with respect to commercially available materials. The materials were evaluated under dry and lubricated conditions, using water and an environmentally adaptive lubricant (EAL). The two tested commercial materials yielded a low dry sliding friction and wear. Under water lubricated conditions, the in-house developed polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) based composite provided an exceptionally low friction and a wear rate of a factor of 3 lower than the best performing commercial material. Using the EAL wear was reduced for most materials by up to 85%.

Modelling of Static and Dynamic Elastomer Friction in Dry Conditions

Understanding the tribological behavior of elastomers in dry conditions is essential for sealing applications, as dry contact may occur even in lubricated conditions due to local dewetting. In recent decades, Persson and co-authors have developed a comprehensive theory for rubber contact mechanics and dry friction. In this work, their model is implemented and extended, particularly by including static friction based on the bond population model by Juvekar and coworkers. Validation experiments are performed using a tribometer over a wide range of materials, temperatures and speeds. It is shown that the friction model presented in this work can predict the static and dynamic dry friction of various commercial rubber materials with different base polymers (FKM, EPDM and NBR) with an average accuracy of 10%. The model is then used to study the relevance of different elastomer friction contributions under various operating conditions and for different roughness of the counter surface. The present model will help in the development of novel optimized sealing solutions and provide a foundation for future modeling of lubricated elastomer friction.

Comparative analysis of amine-functionalized silica for direct air capture (DAC): Material characterization, performance, and thermodynamic efficiency

Direct air capture (DAC) technology faces challenges due to energy-intensive processes and limited CO2 capture capacity under atmospheric concentration. Utilizing adsorption techniques with solid sorbents offers a sustainable solution. This study investigates the performance, efficiency, and regeneration energy of various amines (TEPA, low and high molecular weights PEI and APTES) functionalized mesoporous silica (SBA-15) for DAC. Comprehensive investigations, including characterization and thermodynamic efficiency evaluation, are conducted for CO2 adsorption under dry and humid conditions (50 % RH). Functionalizing SBA-15 with TEPA, PEI-L and PEI-H, and TEPA significantly improves CO2 adsorption, increasing capacities to 2.1, 1.36, and 1.11 mmol/g, respectively, and introduction of humidity further increases CO2 capacities to 3.17, 2.87, and 1.68 mmol/g, respectively. However, there’s a trade-off in thermodynamic efficiency due to energy consumed in desorbing water molecules. S-TEP exhibits the highest thermodynamic efficiency in dry conditions, while S-PEI-L achieves the highest efficiency in humid conditions. Stability tests of all material in addition to, the commercial material, lewatit demonstrate robust regenerability over 10 cycles under both dry and humid conditions (50 % RH). This study provides insights into functionalized SBA-15 performance in CO2 adsorption, with implications for efficient and sustainable indoor DAC processes.

Core-shell structured LiFePO4/C nanocomposite battery material for lithium production from brines

The development of affordable and environmentally friendly methods to produce lithium is urgently required to cope with the accelerating growth of the lithium battery market. Battery materials such as LiFePO4 can be used to selectively sequestrate lithium from brine natural resources, thus producing a high-purity lithium salt for battery manufacture, but the long-term stability of the material is currently not sufficient for practical applications. Here, we report, for the first time, the development of a nanosized core-shell structured LiFePO4/C material for applications in lithium production from brines. This LiFePO4/C with a LiFePO4-core (∼123 nm size) covered by a pinhole-free carbon shell (∼5 nm thickness) was prepared via solvothermal synthesis, and the carbon content was optimised to 5 wt%. The optimal core-shell structured LiFePO4/C material exhibits a lithium extraction capacity of ca. 160 mA h g-1 at C/10 and ca. 130 mA h g-1 at 1C, and >87 % capacity retention after 50 cycles of lithium sequestration and release at C/10 in synthetic brines. This excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to the homogenous nanosizing of the LiFePO4 particles as well as the full coverage of the carbon coating, which provides effective protection by preventing the direct contact of LiFePO4 with the brines, thus stopping the surface degradation reactions that compromise the long-term stability. A direct comparison with three commercial LiFePO4 materials demonstrates that, while similar performance is obtained in non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries, for lithium production applications, core-shell nanostructuring is crucial to achieve high capacity and preserve the material's longevity.

Microfluidic flow sensor based on chronoamperometric measurements in a microchannel

Microfluidics explores the fluid behavior at micron scale and is therefore suited to applications that need precise manipulation of fluids at small length or volume scales. In a span of over two decades, microfluidics has become an essential tool for modern genome sequencing platforms, single-cell analysis and common diagnostic tests. Despite many successful applications, the field has various challenges: Fabrication processes are yet to transition to commercial materials, microfluidic systems are reliant on skilled operators, and supporting equipment. Technological innovations in automation are needed to enable easy to use, completely on-chip microfluidic systems. Sensors are a critical component of any automated system. Fluid and flow properties such as flow rate, pressure, temperature, viscosity are critical to applications in drug development, and material/chemical synthesis. The flow rate (μL/min or nL/min) predictions based on external (off-chip) flow measurements can lead to erroneous calculations. The present work explores a technique based on chronoamperometry to measure flow rates inside a microchannel. Chronoamperometry based redox cycling of aqueous NaCl was performed by using interdigitated electrodes (IDE). The sensor measures current transients (which are modulated by the flow rate of the solution) effected by redox reactions on surface of the electrodes. The sensor demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.016 (μL/min)−1 change in charge transfer per unit change in flow rate and 3σ resolution of 9.3 μL/min. The calibration curve is linear in the range 0 – 200 μL/min, with a limit of detection (LoD) of 5 μL/min, making it suitable for various microfluidics applications.

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution coupled with dye hydrogenation reactions for sustainable wastewater treatment using transition-metal (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) nanoparticles with ZnO nanowire supports

A water electrolysis coupled with chemical reduction strategy is proposed to realize sustainable wastewater treatment. Correspondingly, a series of transition-metal (e.g., iron, cobalt, nickel and copper) nanoparticles anchored on zinc oxide nanowire array (ZnO NA) with bifunctional catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction together with dye hydrogenation reaction (HER/DHR) are developed, while their catalytic activity are comparatively investigated at the same time. This renewable strategy with environmental and economic benefits exhibits high-efficiency treatment capability towards various dye wastewaters. For example, a typical system based on nickel nanoparticles with ZnO NA supports, which exhibits higher catalytic activity towards the HER/DHR than those of other three counterparts under the same conditions, can transform waste 4-nitrophenol into valuable 4-aminophenol with an apparent rate constant of 36.95 × 10-3 min−1 and a conversion rate of 98.32 %, thereby achieving dye decolorization and resource regeneration simultaneously. Its efficiency is significantly superior to that of chemical method dependent on traditional reducing agents and commercial nickel materials, demonstrating its stronger competitiveness. It is mainly benefited from the interface synergistic effect of nickel nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanowires. This novel system is expected to replace conventional sewage remediation technologies for efficient, inexpensive, and eco-friendly dye degradation, and thus is very important for energy and environmental sustainability.

Advancing Atomic Force Microscopy: Design of Innovative IP-Dip Polymer Cantilevers and Their Exemplary Fabrication via 3D Laser Microprinting

This paper presents the design and fabrication of new types of polymer-based cantilevers for atomic force microscopy. The design and fabrication are aimed at the capability of 3D laser microprinting technology based on two-photon polymerization on a standard silicon substrate. IP-Dip commercial material from the Nanoscribe company was used for the fabrication of the designed cantilevers. The fabricated microprinted cantilevers facilitate precise manipulation at the nanoscopic scale, which is essential for studying nanomaterials’ mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. The cantilevers’ flexibility allows for the integration of functional elements such as piezoelectric layers and optical fibers, enabling combined measurements of multiple physical parameters. Various cantilever geometries, including rectangular and V-shaped, are examined, and their resonance frequencies are calculated. The experimental process involves preparing the cantilevers on a silicon substrate and coating them with aluminum for enhanced reflectivity and conductivity. Scanning electron microscope analysis documents the precise form of prepared polymer cantilevers. The functionality of the probes is validated by scanning a step-height standard grating. This study demonstrates the versatility and precision of the fabricated cantilevers, showcasing their potential for large-area scans, living cell investigation, and diverse nanotechnology applications.

Influence of knot strength on the mechanical performance of a biodegradable gillnet

Ghost fishing is a global issue that can be addressed using fishing gear materials that do not persist in the marine environment. However, for these alternatives to be widely adopted, they must meet the same mechanical specifications as current commercial materials while degrading without any negative impact. The objective of this study was to compare a conventional gillnet made of polyamide 6 (PA6) with an alternative made of poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBSAT) at three different scales: monofilament, knot, and net. While the PBSAT monofilament’s strength was half that of the conventional PA6 net, knot and net losses were even more significant. This indicates a greater sensitivity of the material to the knot. Since the results between the knot and net scales were coherent, testing whole net panels is not necessary. Studying the curvature and the behaviour of the knot revealed its complex geometry and mechanical behaviour. Testing the weaver’s knot is a good indicator for studying the relevance of an alternative to conventional fishing gear materials. This should be considered when developing biodegradable nets in order to reduce ghost fishing at sea.

Effect of Carbon Support on the Properties of Fe, N, S Co-Doped ORR Catalysts Prepared by Molten Salt Method

In recent years, the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly catalysts for various electrochemical processes has become a major focus in the fields of energy storage and fine chemicals. Efficient and cost-effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts are crucial for the advancement of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. This study explores the use of rice husk-based porous carbon (RHPC) with a hierarchically porous structure as a support material for sustainable ORR catalysts. The performance of RHPC was compared with other commercial carbon materials, such as acetylene black (AB) and coconut shell carbon (YP-50), evaluating key properties including particle size, specific surface area, oxygen-containing functional groups, degree of graphitization, and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. Compared to AB, which has higher conductivity, and YP-50, which has a greater abundance of oxygen functional groups, RHPC demonstrated significant advantages as a catalyst support. The resulting Fe-NS/RHPC catalyst exhibited high activity (E1/2 = 0.858 V vs RHE, J = 4.83 mA cm−2), outperforming the standard Pt/C (E1/2 = 0.844 V vs RHE, J = 4.99 mA cm−2). When tested in a liquid Zn-air battery, the Fe-NS/RHPC catalyst achieved a peak power density of 116.2 mW cm−2 and a capacity of up to 792.5 mAh g−1.

Improving efficiency in RGB phosphorescent and white organic light emitting diodes via donor-spiro-boron acceptor host materials

The universal host material with boron acceptor core structure is exceptionally sparse to be designed for red, green, and blue in efficient phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes (PhOLEDs) accompanying white OLEDs, possessing indistinguishable device feature. Herein, two boron acceptors spiro-host materials namely 1'-(4-(dimesitylboranyl)phenyl)-10-phenyl-10H-spiro[acridine-9,9′-fluorene] (TPA-PBM) and 1-(4-(dimesitylboranyl)phenyl)-3′,6′-dimethylspiro[fluorene-9,8′-indolo[3,2,1-de]acridine] (2MeCz-PBM) were designed and synthesized. The designed rigid donor strategy exhibited good device performance among the reported boron donor-spiro-acceptor (D-spiro-A) skeleton for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In particular, we fabricate RGB three-color phosphorescent OLEDs based on TPA-PBM and 2MeCz-PBM. The red devices exhibit a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of nearly 28 % (26.8 % for TPA-PBM and 27.5 % for 2MeCz-PBM), with an electroluminescence spectrum at 608 nm. The green/blue devices obtain maximum EQEs of 21.2 %/15.3 % and 21.8 % 17.3 %, for TPA-PBM and 2MeCz-PBM, respectively. Furthermore, green devices display an extremely low efficiency roll-off with decreasing 1 % and 3 % at luminance of 5000 cd m−2. Additionally, the two-color white OLED using 2MeCz-PBM exhibits EQEmax and PEmax are 24.5 % and 62.9 lm W−1 respectively, the EQE remain 23.8 % at commercial lighting brightness of 1000 cd m−2. The WOLED also shows a stable white spectrum with CIE varying range of (0.41, 0.47) to (0.39, 0.46) at 100 cd m−2 to 15000 cd m−2. All obtained results confirmed that our targeted molecules have advantage of carrier balance and efficient charge recombination, which might replace many other commercial host materials.

Design of a Compact Multicyclic High-Performance Atmospheric Water Harvester for Arid Environments.

Water scarcity remains a grand challenge across the globe. Sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) is an emerging and promising solution for water scarcity, especially in arid and noncoastal regions. Traditional approaches to AWH such as fog harvesting and dewing are often not applicable in an arid environment (<30% relative humidity (RH)), whereas SAWH has demonstrated great potential to provide fresh water under a wide range of climate conditions. Despite advances in materials development, most demonstrated SAWH devices still lack sufficient water production. In this work, we focus on the adsorption bed design to achieve high water production, multicyclic operation, and a compact form factor (high material loading per heat source contact area). The modeling efforts and experimental validation illustrate an optimized design space with a fin-array adsorption bed enabled by high-density waste heat, which promises 5.826 Lwater kgsorbent -1 day-1 at 30% RH within a compact 1 L adsorbent bed and commercial adsorbent materials.

Supramolecular Modifying Nafion with Fluoroalkyl‐Functionalized Polyoxometalate Nanoclusters for High‐Selective Proton Conduction

Proton exchange membranes with high selectivity are urgently required in energy and electronic technologies. Nafion, a state‐of‐the‐art commercial proton exchange membrane material, faces significant challenges. It suffers from the permeation of undesirable substances, like hydrogen in fuel cells and vanadium ions in redox flow batteries, due to the unmatched sizes between its ionic domains (3~5 nm) and these substances. In this work, we present a supramolecular modification strategy that simultaneously enhances the proton conductivity and selectivity of Nafion. We employ fluoroalkyl‐grafted polyoxometalate (POMs) nanoclusters as supramolecular additives to modify Nafion via co‐assembly. These POMs can precisely and robustly decorate at Nafion ionic domains, with their fluoroalkyl chains anchoring into the perfluorinated matrix while their inorganic clusters stay in the ionic regions. The hybrid membranes, with continuous proton hopping sites and nanoscale steric hindrance offered by POMs, exhibit a 56% increase in proton conductivity and a 100% improvement in proton/vanadium selectivity. This leads to significantly enhanced power density and energy efficiency in fuel cells and vanadium flow batteries, respectively. These results underscore the intriguing potential of molecular cluster additives in improving the functions of ion‐conducting membranes.

Theoretical prediction of SbP3 monolayer as anode material for lithium-ion battery applications

Herein, we have carried out a systematic investigation using first-principles calculations on the properties of Li atoms adsorbed on SbP3 monolayer in order to evaluate its pertinence as an anode material for (LIBs). The diffusion barrier value of Li atom on the SbP3 monolayer is around 0.44 eV, which is quite low. The value of OCV of the SbP3 monolayer is moderate and comparable to the commercial anode materials TiO2. Also, the theoretical storage capacity of Li-ion in SbP3 monolayer is 499.36 mAhg−1. Therefore, these findings render the SbP3 monolayer a potential candidate as an efficient anode material for LIBs.

Practical surface-reconstruction strategy based on self-reactive interface design enables ultralong cyclability of commercial cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

Although Al-doped high-voltage LiCoO2 (HVLCO) cathode has been widely used in commercial lithium-ion batteries, it still suffers from poor cycling stability due to its unstable surface/interface structure causing bad side reactions. Herein, a surface reconstruction strategy based on self-reactive interface design has been proposed, to construct a uniform and ultrathin (∼ 5 nm) LiAlO2 (LAO) layer on the surface of HVLCO cathodes. The construction of LAO layer is realized by a facile and scalable process involving chemical immersion in LiOH solution and subsequent heating treatment. Moreover, the LAO coating layer imparts both lower interior stress upon lithiation and lower migration energy barrier of Li ions, guaranteeing stable and rapid lithium storage, which is confirmed by substantial characterizations and theory calculations. Consequently, ultralong cycle life over 10,000 h (1000 cycles) at 0.1 C is achieved for the surface-reconstructed HVLCO cathode, with an 86% capacity retention. Especially, different kinds of commercial HVLCO products as well as NCM (LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2) cathode material, after the same surface reconstruction, also show remarkably reinforced electrochemical performance. This practical surface-reconstruction strategy may serve as a useful guideline for future design and performance optimization of commercial cathode materials.

Highly Efficient Separation of Ethanol Amines and Cyanides via Ionic Magnetic Mesoporous Nanomaterials.

Simple and efficient sample pretreatment methods are important for analysis and detection of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) in environmental and biological samples. Despite many commercial materials or reagents that have been already applied in sample preparation, such as SPE columns, few materials with specificity have been utilized for purification or enrichment. In this study, ionic magnetic mesoporous nanomaterials such as poly(4-VB)@M-MSNs (magnetic mesoporous silicon nanoparticles modified by 4-vinyl benzene sulfonic acid) and Co2+@M-MSNs (magnetic mesoporous silicon nanoparticles modified by cobalt ions) with high absorptivity for ethanol amines (EAs, nitrogen mustard degradation products) and cyanide were successfully synthesized. The special nanomaterials were obtained by modification of magnetic mesoporous particles prepared based on co-precipitation using -SO3H and Co2+. The materials were fully characterized in terms of their composition and structure. The results indicated that poly(4-VB)@M-MSNs or Co2+@M-MSNs had an unambiguous core-shell structure with a BET of 341.7 m2·g-1 and a saturation magnetization intensity of 60.66 emu·g-1 which indicated the good thermal stability. Poly(4-VB)@M-MSNs showed selective adsorption for EAs while the Co2+@M-MSNs were for cyanide, respectively. The adsorption capacity quickly reached the adsorption equilibrium within the 90 s. The saturated adsorption amounts were MDEA = 35.83 mg·g-1, EDEA = 35.00 mg·g-1, TEA = 17.90 mg·g-1 and CN-= 31.48 mg·g-1, respectively. Meanwhile, the adsorption capacities could be maintained at 50-70% after three adsorption-desorption cycles. The adsorption isotherms were confirmed as the Langmuir equation and the Freundlich equation, respectively, and the adsorption mechanism was determined by DFT calculation. The adsorbents were applied for enrichment of targets in actual samples, which showed great potential for the verification of chemical weapons and the destruction of toxic chemicals.

Zwitterionic sulfobetaine-based hypercrosslinked hydrophilic materials for bioanalysis

Analysis of bioactive polar molecules is crucial for different fields, including biology, clinic medicine, and separation science. However, the design of the separation materials remains a huge challenge due to their tedious preparation process and limited chromatographic performances of traditional hydrophilic materials. New-generation hydrophilic polymer materials prepared via a sole-monomer system exhibit excellent reproducibility and chromatographic efficiency; however, such polymers reported to date have a high swelling propensity and risk of low surface exposure of functional groups, which limit their application as separation materials. In this study, N,N-bis(methacryloxyethyl)-N-methyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium betaines (BMMSB), a zwitterionic sulfobetaine, was used to rapidly fabricate the zwitterionic hypercrosslinked hydrophilic polymer materials via the sole-monomer system. The novel hypercrosslinked hydrophilic materials exhibited high porosity and permeability, superhydrophilicity, low protein adsorption, and excellent capillary column efficiency (up to 134,950 plates/m for thiourea). It was able to enrich 28 N-glycopeptides from hIgG tryptic digests with a higher efficiency than that of traditional poly(SPE-co-EDMA) monolith and commercial ZIC-HILIC materials. Additionally, the polyBMMSB hydrophilic materials demonstrated superior selectivity and column efficiency to the poly(SPE-co-EDMA) monolith for the separation of various small bioactive molecules, including nucleobases and nucleosides, phenol derivatives, benzoic acid derivatives, urea and allantoin. Especially, high performance bioanalysis of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers plasma Aβ42 and Aβ40, or some steroid hormones in human plasma were also achieved by the polyBMMSB monolith combined with nano liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. As such, these sulfobetaine-based zwitterionic polymers may serve as a prototypical next-generation zwitterionic hydrophilic materials for rapid and efficient bioanalysis.

Enhancing the stability of Li2NiO2 cathode additive with polyborosiloxane coating for high-energy lithium-ion batteries

Li2NiO2 has garnered considerable interest as a Li-excess cathode additive for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), attributed to its high irreversible capacity during the initial cycle and an operating voltage comparable with that of commercial cathode materials. However, its integration into practical applications is limited by its suboptimal cycling performance owing to moisture instability and gas evolution. To surmount these obstacles, we developed a hybrid surface coating strategy employing polyborosiloxane (PBS)—a structural derivative of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) synthesized with boric acid (H3BO3)—applied to a Li2NiO2 cathode additive. The bi-functional of the PBS layer enhances moisture resistance and ionic conductivity on the Li2NiO2 surface. A hydrophobic, elastic PDMS matrix offers conformal coverage, forestalling adverse moisture-induced side reactions. The introduction of H3BO3 into the PDMS matrix on the Li2NiO2 surface fosters the formation of Li–B–O bonds, thus augmenting the ionic conductivity of the coating. This innovative approach with the PBS layer significantly diminishes the interfacial resistance and improves the cycling performance of Li2NiO2 while preventing substantial structural degradation. In a full-cell configuration incorporating a PBS-coated Li2NiO2 cathode additive with a LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode and a SiOx/Graphite anode, the enhanced energy density and sustained stable cycling performance exceed 300 cycles. This hybrid layer can aid in producing longer-lasting, more efficient LIBs that can fulfill the requirements for use in high-energy storage solutions.

Monitoring polymer curing progress through optical attenuation coefficient variations

The curing process of polymers has a crucial influence on their final properties. In this work, the optical attenuation coefficient (OAC) of the polymer was developed to reveal the polymerization reaction and proposed a non-contacted cure monitoring method to estimate the curing degree based on the OAC measurement. The method involves acquiring the interference spectra of the polymer specimen using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and extracting the time-varied OAC from the amplitude-frequency of the spectra. Since polymer curing is accompanied by an increase in refractive index, the gradual convergence in the refractive index of the matrix and fillers leads to a decrease in the OAC. For validation, the reliability, repeatability, and stability experiments of this method were implemented successively on a dental polymer resin and verified its feasibility in monitoring the curing process. Then, the quantitative measuring performance under different curing conditions was further verified on another polymer composite. Finally, three commercial dental composite materials were successfully measured for the curing degree and confirmed the practicability of the OAC-OCT-based method in monitoring cure application.