Search

Layered LiMO2 (M = Ni, Co, Mn, and Al mixture) cathode materials used for Li‐ion batteries are reputed to be highly reactive through their surface, where the chemistry changes rapidly when exposed to ambient air. However, conventional electron/spectroscopy‐based techniques or thermogravimetric analysis fails to capture the underlying atom‐scale chemistry of vulnerable Li species. To study the evolution of the surface composition at the atomic scale, cryogenic atom probe tomography is used herein and the surface species formed during exposure of a LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) cathode material to air are probed. The compositional analysis evidences the formation of Li2CO3. Site‐specific examination from a cracked region of an NMC811 particle also reveals the predominant presence of Li2CO3. These insights will help to design improved protocols for cathode synthesis and cell assembly, as well as critical knowledge for cathode degradation.

Carbon nanotubes have been explored in various fields of science and technology due to their unique properties. However, their toxic nature put limitations to its consideration for the bio-medical applications. In our work, we report the synthesis of paramagnetic CNT/Gd2O3 hybrid nanostructures through easily scalable electrochemical deposition technique. The nanostructure has shown significant longitudinal relaxivity of 18.93 mM−1s−1 for water protons indicating its possibility to be used as an MRI contrast agent. The in-vitro cytotoxicity test on the normal (HaCaT) and cancerous (HeLa) cells reveal that CNT/Gd2O3 hybrid nanostructure is bio-compatible in comparison to the pure CNTs, which is further supported by our theoretical studies using MD simulations.