The development of novel electrolytes for next-generation high voltage lithium ion battery is of primary importance. In this work, a fluorinated phosphazene derivative, ethoxy-(pentafluoro)-cyclotriphosphazene (PFN), is proposed as a novel electrolyte additive for improving the electrochemical performance and safety of lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4) cathode. With the addition of PFN, the electrolyte can be preferentially oxidized and decomposed, thus producing some linear polymers, multi-ring polymers, LiNO 3 , RONO 2 Li (RONO 2 : nitrate ester functional group, with R standing for any organic residue), Li 3 PO 4 , and ROPO 3 Li (ROPO 3 : monoester phosphate) simultaneously. These as-generated materials form a dense, uniform, and thin protective layer on the surface of the cathode material, which suppresses the decomposition of electrolyte and electrode corrosion, correspondingly protecting the LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 from structural destruction. Due to the coverage by the protective film and corrosion suppression, charge and discharge tests demonstrate that PFN is effective for improving the cycling stability of LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4. The discharge capacity of a battery with 5 wt% PFN is 124.4 mAh g −1 and 99.8 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles at the current rates of 0.2 C and 1 C, respectively, which is much better than the performance without PFN. Meanwhile, because of the combined structure of the nonflammable cyclophosphazene and fluorine, the PFN creates a highly synergistic flame retardant effect, and a low content of PFN can almost completely extinguish burning electrolyte, leading to excellent safety performance for the lithium ion battery.

Antisolvent-assisted crystallization has been extensively used for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), although this approach has a fatal drawback, low reproducibility, originating from the extremely harsh operating conditions of the current antisolvents. As a result, only skilled technicians are qualified to be scheduled to prepare perovskite thin films to fabricate high-efficiency devices, which lowers the pace of progress of PSCs. Besides, the most popular antisolvents toluene (TL) and chlorobenzene (CB) are highly toxic and carcinogenic. On account of these, we tried to develop a low hazardous antisolvent that enabled us to achieve highly efficient and highly reproducible PSCs. Herein, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was employed in the inverted NiO X -based planar PSC for engineering an efficient perovskite layer, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 17.02% on glass substrates and 14.49% on flexible polymer substrates with negligible hysteresis, which even outperformed TL and CB. More importantly, TEOS PSCs exhibited much higher reproducibility than that of their counterparts. These desirable features should be ascribed to the higher-quality perovskite films with larger grain size, reduced density of defects, and thus smoother carrier transportation and slower carrier recombination. This work drives another step toward industrial-scale commercialization of PSCs and also paves the way for environmentally friendly photovoltaic applications.

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Flexible nanocomposites composed of high dielectric constant fillers and polymer matrix have shown great potential for electrostatic capacitors and energy storage applications. To obtain the composited material with high dielectric constant and high breakdown strength, multi-interfacial composited particles, which composed of conductive cores and insulating shells and possessed the internal barrier layer capacitor (IBLC) effect, were adopted as fillers. Thus, FeO@BaTiO core-shell particles were prepared and loaded into the poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) polymer matrix. As the mass fraction of core-shell fillers increased from 2.5 wt % to 30 wt %, the dielectric constant of the films increased, while the loss tangent remained at a low level (<0.05 at 1 kHz). Both high electric displacement and high electric breakdown strength were achieved in the films with 10 wt % core-shell fillers loaded. The maximum energy storage density of 7.018 J/cm was measured at 2350 kV/cm, which shows significant enhancement than those of the pure P(VDF-HFP) films and analogous composited films with converse insulating-conductive core-shell fillers. A Maxwell-Wagner capacitor model was also adopted to interpret the efficiency of IBLC effects on the suppressed loss tangent and the superior breakdown strength. This work explored an effective approach to prepare dielectric nanocomposites for energy storage applications experimentally and theoretically.

Aim Bile salt export pump (BSEP) have been confirmed to play an important role for bile acid canalicular export in the treatment of cholestasis. In this study, we investigated the stimulatory effect of emodin on BSEP signaling pathway in cholestasis. Methods Cell and animal experiments were given different concentrations of emodin. The BSEP upstream molecule farnesoid X receptor was down-regulated by small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology or guggulsterones and up-regulated by lentivirus or GW4064. Real-time PCR and Western blotting was employed to detect the mRNA and protein levels of BSEP in LO2 cell, rat primary hepatocytes and liver tissue. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to examine the expression of BSEP in liver tissues. Rat liver function and pathological changes of liver tissue were performed by biochemical test and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Results Emodin could increase the mRNA and protein expression of BSEP and FXR. When down-regulating farnesoid X receptor expression with the siRNA or inhibitor guggulsterones, and up-regulating farnesoid X receptor expression with the lentivirus or agonist GW4064, emodin could increase the mRNA level of BSEP and FXR and the protein level of BSEP, FXR1, and FXR2. Emodin also had a notable effect on rat primary hepatocytes experiment, rat pathological manifestation, BSEP, FXR1, and FXR2 positive staining in liver tissues and the test of liver function. Conclusion Emodin has a protective effect and a rescue activity on cholestasis via stimulating FXR/BSEP pathways in promoting the canalicular export of accumulated bile.

The aim of this study is to investigate Emodin on alleviating intrahepatic cholestasis by regulation of liver farnesoid X receptor (FXR) pathway. Cell and animal models of intrahepatic cholestatis were established. Biochemical tests and histomorphology were performed. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression of FXR, small heterodimer partner (SHP), uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 2 family polypeptide B4 (UGT2B4), and bile salt export pump (BSEP) was detected. As a result, compared with the model group, the serum levels of biochemical test were significantly lower in the Emodin group (P <0.01). The histopathological changes were remitted significantly by Emodin treatment. In the model group, the mRNA and protein expression of FXR, SHP, UGT2B4, and BSEP was significantly lower than in the normal group in cell models (P <0.05). With Emodin intervention, the expression of FXR, SHP, UGT2B4, and BSEP was notably increased (P <0.05). In conclusion, Emodin plays a protective role in intrahepatic cholestasis by promoting FXR signal pathways.

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