Search

The future application of Li metal batteries (LMBs) at scale demands electrolytes that endow improved performance under fast-charging and low-temperature operating conditions. Recent works indicate that desolvation kinetics of Li+ plays a crucial role in enabling such behavior. However, the modulation of this process has typically been achieved through inducing qualitative degrees of ion pairing into the system. In this work, we find that a more quantitative control of the ion pairing is crucial to minimizing the desolvation penalty at the electrified interface and thus the reversibility of the Li metal anode under kinetic strain. This effect is demonstrated in localized electrolytes based on strongly and weakly bound ether solvents that allow for the deconvolution of solvation chemistry and structure. Unexpectedly, we find that maximum degrees of ion pairing are suboptimal for ultralow temperature and high-rate operation and that reversibility is substantially improved via slight local dilution away from the saturation point. Further, we find that at the optimum degree of ion pairing for each system, weakly bound solvents still produce superior behavior. The impact of these structure and chemistry effects on charge transfer are then explicitly resolved via experimental and computational analyses. Lastly, we demonstrate that the locally optimized diethyl ether-based localized-high-concentration electrolytes supports kinetic strained operating conditions, including cycling down to -60 °C and 20-min fast charging in LMB full cells. This work demonstrates that explicit, quantitative optimization of the Li+ solvation state is necessary for developing LMB electrolytes capable of low-temperature and high-rate operation.

α-L-rhamnosidase (Rha) is ubiquitous in nature and has high feasibility in the food and biotechnology industries. A green and environmentally friendly method was used to improve the activity of Rha. Here, we show that the effects of ultrasound treatment on the Rha. Ultrasonic treatment at 80 W for 10 min yielded the highest enzyme activity. Treatment increased enzyme activity by 26.3% and half-life by 124 min. Further, treatment increased the catalytic efficiency of Rha and increased the substrate conversion rate by 33.88%. These results demonstrate that ultrasound increases the catalytic activity and stability of Rha. Thus, ultrasonic treatment of Rha is cost-effective on the industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antenna design and optimization must ensure robust electrical performance, making its analysis a crucial step in all antenna design processes. Traditionally, this analysis involves setting up various cases after establishing the calculation model, comparing the performance of each case, and summarizing the impact of relevant factors to guide design and optimization. However, this method is time-consuming and inefficient. This paper proposes a sensitivity-based approach for analyzing antenna electrical performance, using a radome-covered array antenna as an example. First, we derive the formulas for calculating the antenna's electrical performance and its sensitivity to the current amplitude, array element position, and radome thickness. We then design comparative experiments to analyze the antenna's performance using the sensitivity-based method and the traditional case enumeration method. Comparing the conclusions of both methods, we find that they yield the same results regarding antenna performance. The proposed sensitivity-based method offers a quantitative evaluation of various influencing factors and provides a more scientific and systematic approach to analyzing antenna electrical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐performance and durable membranes are being sought to enable energy‐efficient CO2 capture. Although representing an appealing candidate for the above application, successful translation of distinct properties of MOF filler into hybrid composite membranes (HCMs) remains challenging. In this study, we synthesized uniform hollow defect‐engineered UiO‐66 nanoparticles as filler for enhancing the CO2/N2 separation performance and durability of Pebax‐2533 membranes. The existence of missing‐linker defects in the framework not only endows HCMs with higher CO2/N2 adsorption selectivity but also provides ultrafast CO2 transport pathways; moreover, hollow structure of UiO‐66 not only contributes to better filler dispersibility in polymeric matrix but also reduces CO2 diffusion path length. Obtained HCMs manifest concurrently increased CO2 permeability (3100 Barrer) and CO2/N2 separation factor (44), far exceeding state‐of‐the‐art 2019 upper bound for polymer membranes; moreover, our membranes exhibit enhanced resistance toward plasticization, physical aging, and water vapors under harsh operation conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the issues of corrosion weakening of solid-waste-based backfill material caused by mine water, a novel hydrophobic solid waste backfill (HSBF) material was developed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and a silane coupling agent (SCA) as hydrophobic modification additives, and NaOH (SH) and sodium silicate (SS) as alkali activators. Fly ash and slag were chosen as the primary raw solid waste materials. The rheological properties of the hydrophobic-treated backfill slurries were measured, and the resulting physicochemical properties were compared with the unmodified reference group. This study reveals that the fresh HSBF slurry follows a Modified Bingham (M-B) model with shear-thinning characteristics. The addition of PDMS causes an increase in the water contact angle of the hardened HSBF material with F8S2 to up to 134.9°, indicating high hydrophobicity. Morphological observations indicated that PDMS mainly attaches to the inorganic particles' surface through the bridging action of SCA for the hydrophobic modification of the backfill material. The overall strength of the HSBF materials was further ensured via fly ash–slag ratio optimization, and was found to be enhanced up to 98% by increasing slag content from 20% to 50%. This is mainly attributed to the hydration of slag, forming C-S(A)-H gel, which contributes to the increased strength. The novel HSBF material enables the elimination of cement in mine backfilling applications, demonstrating good economic benefits. Its excellent mechanical and hydrophobic properties can not only prevent overburden displacement in goaf areas, but can also mitigate water resource loss from overlying strata and simultaneously reduce the safety risks associated with long-term mine water deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of CO2 mineralization fly ash (F) and coal gangue (G) technology is proposed in this research work to prepare underground backfilling materials. The test process can be divided into pre-treatment and post-treatment stages. In the pre-treatment stage, a sealed stirring vessel is used to conduct CO2 wet mineralization. The ratios of F and G were selected as follows: 20%:60% (F2G6), 30%:50% (F3G5), 40%:40% (F4G4), 50%:30% (F5G3), and 60%:20% (F6G2). The ratios were prepared into Φ50 mm × 100 mm cylindrical samples, with curing durations of 3 d, 7 d, 14 d, and 28 d. In the post-processing stage, the SANS microcomputer-controlled electronic universal testing machine and FLIR A615 infrared thermal imager were used to carry out uniaxial loading and temperature detection, respectively. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), average infrared radiation temperature (AIRT), variance of original infrared image temperature (VOIIT), and variance of successive minus infrared image temperature (VSMIT) of the samples were compared and analyzed. The results indicated that when curing reaches 14 d, the strength approaches its peak, with minimal changes in strength over a delayed period; furthermore, as the ratio of F to G continues to increase, the mineralization effect gradually strengthens, reaching its optimum level at a ratio of 5:3. However, when the ratio exceeds 5:3, signs of deteriorating mineralization effect start to appear. During the loading process, the AIRT of the mineralized samples showed a continuous increase, but the VOIIT and VSMIT of the mineralized sample both exhibited significant fluctuations or rapid increases during damage rupture. Moreover, the rise in the AIRT value was found to be linked to the increase in the ratio of F to G. This indicates that F has a higher thermal–mechanical conversion efficiency compared to G, so the temperature change will be greater during the loading process. The drastic changes in the VOIIT and VSMIT indicate that they can be used as sensitive response indicators for sample rupture, and can predict and warn of damage rupture in mineralized samples. Research work can provide practical guidance and reference for underground backfilling of CO2 mineralization industrial waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) membrane is well recognized for its great capability in efficient C3H6/C3H8 separation, and their sustainable fabrication is extremely advantageous for batch production and commercial application. In this study, a solvent‐free protocol was developed for sustainable production of ZIF‐8 membranes with exceptional C3H6/C3H8 selectivity through combining atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique with in situ supercritical fluid (SCF) processing. Experimental results indicated that maintaining appropriate deposition number and conducting SCF processing in gas‐like supercritical carbon dioxide region were crucial for obtaining ZIF‐8 membranes with excellent C3H6/C3H8 selectivity (~185), one of the highest among ZIF‐8 membranes reported in the literature. Noteworthy, not only residual 2‐methylimidazole ligands along with vented gaseous CO2 could be fully recycled and repetitively utilized, but also obsoleting ZIF‐8 membranes could be effectively patched upon SCF‐based treatment. The above‐mentioned solvent‐free protocol holds great application prospects for sustainable production of diverse high‐performance metal–organic framework membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]