Ionic liquids thermodynamically compatible with Li metal are very promising for applications to rechargeable lithium batteries. 1-methyl-3-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (P 13 TFSI) is screened out as a particularly promising ionic liquid in this study. Dimensionally stable, elastic, flexible, nonvolatile polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs) with high electrochemical stabilities, high ionic conductivities and other desirable properties have been synthesized by dissolving Li imide salt (LiTFSI) in P 13 TFSI ionic liquid and then mixing the electrolyte solution with poly(vinylideneco-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) copolymer. Adding small amounts of ethylene carbonate to the polymer gel electrolytes dramatically improves the ionic conductivity, net Li ion transport concentration, and Li ion transport kinetics of these electrolytes. They are thus favorable and offer good prospects in the application to rechargeable Li batteries including open systems like Li/air batteries, as well as more "conventional" rechargeable lithium and lithium ion batteries.As is well known, Li is the most electropositive and lightest metal, and thus has the greatest theoretical specific capacity of 3860 Ah/kg.1 , 2 This has attracted worldwide efforts of researchers and manufacturers to develop advanced battery technologies based on lithium. To date, the rechargeable lithium ion battery has already been one of the best choices in view of specific capacity and cycle stability. 1 However, rechargeable lithium metal batteries with even higher specific capacities are still unavailable in the market, especially lithium/air batteries which possess the highest theoretical specific energy (as high as 13,000 Wh/g, excluding the oxygen from the air). Conventional Li/air batteries based on aqueous electrolytes suffer from fast capacity loss due to corrosion of lithium by water and are also nonrechargeable. Abraham and Jiang first reported a rechargeable lithium/oxygen cell using organic polymer gel electrolytes and demonstrated its advantages such as an all solid state design, rechargeablity and a high capacity. 3 Read studied the effect of electrolyte and air cathode formulation on the electrochemical properties of an Li/O 2 organic electrolyte cell and found that electrolyte composition has the largest effect on discharge capacity and rate capability. 4 Both groups incorporated common organic solvents in the electrolyte, i.e., ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), 1,2-dimethoxyethane, diethyl carbonate (DEC), dimethyl carbonate, γ-butyrolactone, tetrahydrofuran, or tetrahydropyran. 3, 4 The highly reactive lithium metal cannot, however, be thermodynamically compatible with common organic solvents. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript considerable additional challenges in improving the properties of the electrolytes being used, such as meeting the requirements of little to no volatility, moisture insensitivity and air stability. Our efforts are concerned with developing s...

A highly stable water-based superhydrophobic coating was developed by a simple spraying technique using a low-cost and readily available non-fluorinated material system.

Data and knowledge of the spatial-temporal dynamics of surface water area (SWA) and terrestrial water storage (TWS) in China are critical for sustainable management of water resources but remain very limited. Here we report annual maps of surface water bodies in China during 1989-2016 at 30m spatial resolution. We find that SWA decreases in waterpoor northern China but increases in water-rich southern China during 1989-2016. Our results also reveal the spatial-temporal divergence and consistency between TWS and SWA during 2002-2016. In North China, extensive and continued losses of TWS, together with small to moderate changes of SWA, indicate long-term water stress in the region. Approximately 569 million people live in those areas with deceasing SWA or TWS trends in 2015. Our data set and the findings from this study could be used to support the government and the public to address increasing challenges of water resources and security in China.

With the rapid development of on-chip optical interconnects and optical computing in the past decade, silicon-based integrated devices for monolithic and hybrid optoelectronic integration have attracted wide attention. Due to its narrow pseudo-direct gap behavior and compatibility with Si technology, epitaxial Ge-on-Si has become a significant material for optoelectronic device applications. In this paper, we describe recent research progress on heteroepitaxy of Ge flat films and self-assembled Ge quantum dots on Si. For film growth, methods of strain modification and lattice mismatch relief are summarized, while for dot growth, key process parameters and their effects on the dot density, dot morphology and dot position are reviewed. The results indicate that epitaxial Ge-on-Si materials will play a bigger role in silicon photonics.