Lithium-ion-conducting solid electrolytes hold promise for enabling high-energy battery chemistries and circumventing safety issues of conventional lithium batteries. Achieving the combination of high ionic conductivity and a broad electrochemical window in solid electrolytes is a grand challenge for the synthesis of battery materials. Herein we show an enhancement of the room-temperature lithium-ion conductivity by 3 orders of magnitude through the creation of nanostructured Li(3)PS(4). This material has a wide electrochemical window (5 V) and superior chemical stability against lithium metal. The nanoporous structure of Li(3)PS(4) reconciles two vital effects that enhance the ionic conductivity: (1) the reduction of the dimensions to a nanometer-sized framework stabilizes the high-conduction β phase that occurs at elevated temperatures, and (2) the high surface-to-bulk ratio of nanoporous β-Li(3)PS(4) promotes surface conduction. Manipulating the ionic conductivity of solid electrolytes has far-reaching implications for materials design and synthesis in a broad range of applications, including batteries, fuel cells, sensors, photovoltaic systems, and so forth.

Self-assembled mesoporous carbon (MC) materials have been synthesized and tested for application in capacitive deionization (CDI) of saline water. MC was prepared by self-assembly of a triblock copolymer with hydrogen-bonded chains via a phenolic resin, such as resorcinol or phloroglucinol in acidic conditions, followed by carbonization and, in some cases, activation by KOH. Carbon synthesized in this way was ground into powder, from which activated MC sheets were produced. In a variation of this process, after the reaction of triblock copolymer with resorcinol or phloroglucinol, the gel that was formed was used to coat a graphite plate and then carbonized. The coated graphite plate in this case was not activated and was tested to serve as current collector during the CDI process. The performance of these MC materials was compared to that of carbon aerogel for salt concentrations ranging between 1000 ppm and 35,000 ppm. Resorcinol-based MC removed up to 15.2 mg salt per gram of carbon, while carbon aerogel removed 5.8 mg salt per gram of carbon. Phloroglucinol-based MC-coated graphite exhibited the highest ion removal capacity at 21 mg of salt per gram of carbon for 35,000 ppm salt concentration.

Templated carbon materials have recently received tremendous attention due to energy storage and separations applications. Hierarchical structures are ideal for increased mass-transport throughout the carbon material. A new ordered mesoporous carbon material has been developed using glyoxal which exhibits a hierarchical structure with pore sizes up to 200 nm. The hierarchical structure arises from the cross linking reagent and not from the standard spinodal decomposition of a secondary solvent. The carbon material was studied for potential application as a capacitive deionization (CDI) electrode for brackish water. Results indicate that the hierarchical structure provides a pathway for faster adsorption kinetics when compared to standard resorcinol-formaldehyde CDI electrodes.

Addition of dispersants to aqueous based lithium-ion battery electrode formulations containing LiFePO(4) is critical to obtaining a stable suspension. The resulting colloidal suspensions enable dramatically improved coating deposition when processing electrodes. This research examines the colloidal chemistry modifications based on polyethyleneimine (PEI) addition and dispersion characterization required to produce high quality electrode formulations and coatings for LiFePO(4) active cathode material. The isoelectric point, a key parameter in characterizing colloidal dispersion stability, of LiFePO(4) and super P C45 were determined to be pH = 4.3 and 3.4, respectively. PEI, a cationic surfactant, was found to be an effective dispersant. It is demonstrated that 1.0 wt % and 0.5 wt % PEI were required to stabilize the LiFePO(4) and super P C45 suspension, respectively. LiFePO(4) cathode suspensions with 1.5 wt % PEI demonstrated the best dispersibility of all components, as evidenced by viscosity and agglomerate size of the suspensions and elemental distribution within dry cathodes. The addition of PEI significantly improved the LiFePO(4) performance.

Production of various forms of nonintegrated viral DNA was measured in cultured mouse cells carrying different Fv-1 alleles early after infection with N-tropic or B-tropic retroviruses. Quantitative analyses were performed by agarose gel electrophoresis, transfer to diazobenzyloxymethyl-paper, and molecular hybridization. In permissive infection of Fv-n cells (NIH Swiss and DBA mouse strains) with N-tropic virus and of Fv-1 b cells (BALB/c and C57BL/6 strains) with B-tropic virus, form III (double-stranded linear) DNA first appeared at 3-4 hr and reached a maximum at 8-10 hr; two form I (closed circle) DNAs appeared at 7-8 hr and reached a maximum at or beyond 12 hr. In the two Fv-1 b cells infected with N4ropic virus and in DBA (Fv-1 n) cells infected with B-tropic virus, formation of the two form I DNAs was quantitatively restricted but formation of form III DNA was unaltered. In Fv-1" NIH Swiss mouse embryo cells infected with B-tropic virus, the level of form III DNA was markedly depressed and hence the two form I DNAs were not detectable. In C57BL/6 cells as well as in DBA/2 cells 12 hr after infection, the quantity of form III DNA varied directly with the amount of restricted virus, whereas the quantity of form I DNA varied according to the square of the amount of restricted virus. The significance of these results for understanding the molecular basis of retrovirus replication and its restriction by the Fv-1 gene is discussed. The importance of the mouse Fv-1 gene locus in controlling infection by N-and B-tropic retroviruses has been well recognized in both animal studies and cell culture studies (1-5). This locus, mapped on chromosome 4 of the mouse (6), is presumably responsible for the production of specific inhibitor molecules in the cytoplasm of the cell (7-9). Inactivation of the restricted virus particles appears to be mediated by a virus protein, possibly the p30 core protein (10), which serves as a "target" for the Fv-1 gene product (11,12). However, the precise molecular mechanism of Fv-1 gene restriction is still unknown. Results of various previous investigations (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) indicate that Fv-1 restriction occurs intracellularly at an early step of the virus replication cycle. Of particular significance are the observations (i) that, in Fv-1 restricted infection, the quantity of the cellgenome integrated viral DNA is markedly decreased whereas the formation of nonintegrated viral DNA appears to be unaffected (17-18), and (ii) that transfection by infectious integrated viral DNA is not restricted by the Fv-1 locus of the cell (19,20). These data imply that Fv-1 restriction may occur at or prior to the step of viral DNA integration.In the present study, we quantitatively measured the production of double-stranded linear and circular forms of viral DNA in Fv-1 permissive and restrictive cells early after infection with N-and B-tropic murine retroviruses. The results demonstrate that mouse cells may be assigned to either of two classes with regard to their ability to re...

Switching manufacturing of composite battery electrodes from an organic system to an aqueous system provides both economic and environmental advantages. However, particle agglomeration of the electrode components and poor wetting of electrode dispersions to the current collectors are inherently introduced. Particle agglomeration can be mitigated by selection of appropriate dispersants. This research examines the effect of dispersant, poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), on the associated morphology and electrochemical performance of LiFePO 4. The addition of PEI reduces the agglomerate size and contributes to a more homogeneous distribution of cathode constituents, which results in a smoother, more uniform cathode surface. The LiFePO 4 cathodes with PEI demonstrated a higher Li + diffusion coefficient (1 × 10 −14 cm 2 s −1), better initial capacity (>142 mAh g −1), greater capacity retention (∼100%), and superior rate performance compared to the cathodes without PEI. When PEI concentration was varied, the LiFePO 4 cathode with 2 wt% PEI exhibited the best performance at 167 mAh g −1 capacity (98% of the theoretical capacity) and 100% retention after 50 cycles when discharged at 0.2C at 25 • C in a half cell.

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Normal grain growth in dense, fine-grained, aluminum oxide-0.1 wt% MgO was studied under both conventional furnace and 28-GHz microwave furnace annealing conditions. The microstructural changes that occurred were the same for both sets of samples; soap bubble microstructures were observed and the aspect ratios and shape factors did not change during the anneals. The kinetics of grain growth were greatly increased by the 28-GHz microwave anneals; e.g., the grain growth rate at 1500°C in the microwave furnace was the same as the rate at 1700°C in the conventional furnace. Also, the activation energy for grain growth was reduced by the microwave anneal from 590 kJ/mol (conventional) to 480 kJ/mol (microwave). Finally, these results demonstrate that a "microwave effect" can exist in a dense ceramic body and that no free pore-solid interfaces are necessary. [