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Aimed by the increasing interest in the field of printed batteries, the study recently has demonstrated the possibility to successfully gravure print composites working as electrodes for Li‐ion batteries. Gravure is one of the most appealing printing technique for the mass production of functional layers due to its unique ability to couple high speed and high resolution. The ink formulation is challenging because of the low viscosity ink requirement which makes difficult to obtain the proper functionality of the layer, especially in case of composite materials like electrodes, and a mass loading suitable for practical applications. Changing a material of the composite implies the study of a new gravure ink in terms of formulation and preparation process. Ruling the ink preparation can strongly decrease the process time promoting the industrial use of the gravure printing. For this reason, the study proposes a methodology, mainly based on the capillary number, able to suggest the best receipt for each specific ink. Here, a study case is reported, using lithium manganese oxide (LMO) as active material for the gravure printed cathode manufacturing. Such work gives the possibility to show the proposed methodology for ruling the ink preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim to promote technology transfer to small and medium-sized enterprises, a scale-up process to synthesize kilos of LiFePO4 is described. The process allowed the production of a material with a specific capacity of to 150 mAh g-1. Furthermore, a water-based manufacturing process to produce LiFePO4 electrodes was described. The experimental conditions were widely investigated to obtain homogeneous slurries and cracking free electrode coating, which resulted in flexible electrodes with good mechanical characteristics. These electrodes have been coupled with graphite base anodes to build 50 mAh Li-ion batteries and their electrochemical performance evaluated by galvanostatic cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state and sol-gel syntheses were selected as easy and scalable methods to prepare a lithium-rich cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. Among the extended family of layered oxides, Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 was chosen for its low nickel content and the absence of cobalt. Both synthesis methods involved two heating steps at different temperatures, 600 and 900 °C. The first step is needed to decompose the metal acetates, which were selected as precursors, and the second step is needed to crystallise the material. To obtain a material with well-defined defects, the rate of heating and cooling was carefully controlled. The materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction, SEM coupled with EDS analysis, and thermal analysis and were finally tested as cathodes in a lithium semi cell. The solid-state synthesis allowed us to obtain better structural characteristics with respect to the sol-gel one in terms of a well-formed hexagonal layer structure and a reduced Li+/Ni2+ disorder. On the other hand, the sol-gel method produced a material with a higher specific capacity. The performance of this latter material was then evaluated as a function of the discharge current, highlighting its good rate capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the growing interest in printed batteries, we recently demonstrated the possibility of employing industrial gravure printing in battery manufacturing. Gravure is the most appealing printing technique for the low-cost production of functional layers, but it is rarely investigated since the necessity to use diluted inks makes it difficult to obtain proper functionality, especially in the case of composites, and an adequate mass loading of the printed layer. For this reason, the ink formulation represents one of the main challenges; ruling on it could strongly boost the use of such a technique in industrial manufacturing. It is known that a viable method for obtaining good gravure printing quality is based on the Capillary number approaching unity. Taking into account such methods for the choice of ink and the process parameters, here a study of the printing quality influence on the functionality and the performances of the gravure printed layer is proposed in the case of an LFP-based cathode for Li-ion batteries. Good printing quality is necessary to obtain proper layer functionality, but specific parameters have to be considered for achieving high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production through water electrolysis has gained significant attention in the past years as a means of tackling the problem of the imbalance between the intermittent rate of electricity production from renewable sources and the continuous electricity demand from end users. Recently, much of the effort has been shifted toward the electrolysis of steam rather than water, for example in solid oxide cells, which operate at temperatures around 800°C. In this manner, part of the energy required for the conversion to hydrogen is provided as heat rather than electricity. At the same time, the high temperature levels require the use of highly resistant materials, which increase the overall cost of the process. An interesting alternative is represented by molten carbonate electrolysis cells (MCECs), operating at temperatures well below 700°C. In the present work, a molten carbonate cell was operated in a lower temperature range (490-550°C) by changing the composition of the electrolyte mixture. The data obtained, along with experimental results at higher temperature (570-650°C) available in the literature, was analyzed using a 0D model accounting for Ohmic and activation overpotentials to determine the correlation between current and potential. It was found that, while the dependence of Ohmic losses on temperatures is discontinuous when cell operation is switched from the lower to the higher temperature range, activation losses vary with continuity. This result provides important insight on the performance of MCECs that can serve as a basis for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured titania is one of the most commonly encountered constituents of nanotechnology devices for use in energy-related applications, due to its intrinsic functional properties as a semiconductor and to other favorable characteristics such as ease of production, low toxicity and chemical stability, among others. Notwithstanding this diffusion, the quest for improved understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms governing the material properties and thus its performance in devices is still active, as testified by the large number of dedicated papers that continue to be published. In this framework, we consider and analyze here the effects of the material morphology and structure in determining the energy transport phenomena as cross-cutting properties in some of the most important nanophase titania applications in the energy field, namely photovoltaic conversion, hydrogen generation by photoelectrochemical water splitting and thermal management by nanofluids. For these applications, charge transport, light transport (or propagation) and thermal transport are limiting factors for the attainable performances, whose dependence on the material structural properties is reviewed here on its own. This work aims to fill the gap existing among the many studies dealing with the separate applications in the hope of stimulating novel cross-fertilization approaches in this research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to study the genetic structure and degree of variability of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) varieties. Six varieties of hemp were analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, using 10 plants per variety. The varieties were a dioecious landrace, a dioecious selection from it, a cross-bred cultivar, a monoecious variety, a drug strain, and an inbred female line. The genetic complexity of each cultivar was investigated by determining the number of bands produced by the primers used, the number of fixed and polymorphic loci, the average allele frequency, and the heterozygosity. A good correlation was found between these parameters and the genetic origin and breeding strategy of each variety. The average polymorphism over all varieties and loci was 97.1%; the single cultivar polymorphism ranged from 31.1 to 85.5%. Heterozygosity ranged from 0.05 (inbred female line) to 0.26 (cross-bred Fibranova). The average heterozygosity calculated over all 102 loci and all plants studied was 0.29. The Fst (Wright's fixation index) value calculated for all loci was 0.48, and only 33.3% of the scored loci had higher values and can be considered informative for cultivar identification. A Fisher's test based on allele frequencies suggested complete differentiation among all varieties, with the exception of the Italian dioecious varieties Carmagnola and CS, for which no discriminating alleles were found. The correlations among the molecular data and the genetic structure of the different cultivars and the consequences in relation to variety discrimination in hemp are discussed., HEMP is a traditional crop in Europe and Asia. It belongs to the Cannabaceae family, which comprises two genera: Cannabis and Humulus (hops). Despite hemp's past importance for both the [...]

Abstract Background Safety assessment of genetically modified organisms is currently often performed by comparative evaluation. However, natural variation of plant characteristics between commercial varieties is usually not considered explicitly in the statistical computations underlying the assessment. Results Statistical methods are described for the assessment of the difference between a genetically modified (GM) plant variety and a conventional non-GM counterpart, and for the assessment of the equivalence between the GM variety and a group of reference plant varieties which have a history of safe use. It is proposed to present the results of both difference and equivalence testing for all relevant plant characteristics simultaneously in one or a few graphs, as an aid for further interpretation in safety assessment. A procedure is suggested to derive equivalence limits from the observed results for the reference plant varieties using a specific implementation of the linear mixed model. Three different equivalence tests are defined to classify any result in one of four equivalence classes. The performance of the proposed methods is investigated by a simulation study, and the methods are illustrated on compositional data from a field study on maize grain. Conclusions A clear distinction of practical relevance is shown between difference and equivalence testing. The proposed tests are shown to have appropriate performance characteristics by simulation, and the proposed simultaneous graphical representation of results was found to be helpful for the interpretation of results from a practical field trial data set.

The Risk "Assessment of genetically engineered organisms in the EU and Switzerland" (RAGES) project (2016‐2019) evaluated the risk assessment of genetically modified plants (GMPs) as performed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its Swiss counterpart. RAGES claims shortcomings in several areas of the European risk assessment of GMPs, in particular: (1) the risk posed by herbicide tolerant GMPs on animal and human health; (2) the risk assessment approach of GMPs producing insecticidal proteins; (3) the risk assessment of nutritionally altered GMPs; (4) the assessment of GMPs combining different traits; (5) the environmental risk assessment of GMPs that can persist and spontaneously propagate in the environment; and (6) genetically modified organisms (GMOs) produced using new genetic engineering technologies. Following a request of the European Commission, EFSA reviewed the main scientific arguments raised by RAGES, and assessed whether thereports published by RAGES contain elements that could lead the GMO Panel to reconsider the outcome of its previous scientific opinions on GMPs. EFSA confirms that its risk assessment approach and data requirements are adequate and sufficient for the risk assessment of current GMPs, and that they are consistent with the applicable EU legislation and internationally agreed standards. Moreover, EFSAhas gained more than 20 years of experience in the risk assessment of GMPs, and conducts a continued scientific review of all relevant evidenceby following the scientific and technical developments in the GMO area.Overall, EFSA concludes that the final RAGES reports do not contain elements that would lead the GMO Panel to reconsider the outcome of its previous scientific opinions on GMPs. Therefore, EFSA considers that the previous GMO Panel risk assessment conclusions remain valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batteries, Energy conversion, Energy transfer, Failure Analysis, X-ray Microscopy Cover Feature: X-Ray Microscopy: A Non-Destructive Multi-Scale Imaging to Study the Inner Workings of Batteries (ChemElectroChem 7/2023) Keywords: Batteries; Energy conversion; Energy transfer; Failure Analysis; X-ray Microscopy EN Batteries Energy conversion Energy transfer Failure Analysis X-ray Microscopy 1 1 1 04/05/23 20230403 NES 230403 B The Cover Feature b illustrates the potential of X-ray Microscopy (XRM) to non-destructively investigate the inner workings of batteries highlighting the possibility to visualize each component such as the anode (yellow), the cathode (blue) and the nickel net (green) separately. [Extracted from the article]