Beyond state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology with metallic lithium anodes to replace conventional ion intercalation anode materials is highly desirable because of lithium's highest specific capacity (3,860 mA/g) and lowest negative electrochemical potential (∼3.040 V vs. the standard hydrogen electrode). In this work, we report for the first time, to our knowledge, a 3D lithium-ion-conducting ceramic network based on garnet-type Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 2 Al 0.2 O 12 (LLZO) lithium-ion conductor to provide continuous Li + transfer channels in a polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based composite. This composite structure further provides structural reinforcement to enhance the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix. The flexible solid-state electrolyte composite membrane exhibited an ionic conductivity of 2.5 × 10 −4 S/cm at room temperature. The membrane can effectively block dendrites in a symmetric Li j electrolyte j Li cell during repeated lithium stripping/plating at room temperature, with a current density of 0.2 mA/cm 2 for around 500 h and a current density of 0.5 mA/cm 2 for over 300 h. These results provide an all solid ion-conducting membrane that can be applied to flexible LIBs and other electrochemical energy storage systems, such as lithium-sulfur batteries.solid-state electrolyte | 3D garnet nanofibers | polyethylene oxide | ionic conductor | flexible membrane H igh capacity, high safety, and long lifespan are three of the most important key factors to developing rechargeable lithium batteries for applications in portable electronics, transportation (e.g., electrical vehicles), and large-scale energy storage systems (1-5). Based on state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology, metallic lithium anode is preferable to replace conventional ion intercalation anode materials because of the highest specific capacity (3,860 mAh/g) of lithium and the lowest negative electrochemical potential (∼3.040 V vs. the standard hydrogen electrode), which can maximize the capacity density and voltage window for increased battery energy density (1). Moreover, the success of beyond LIBs, such as lithium-sulfur and lithium-oxygen, will strongly rely on lithium metal anode designs with good stability to achieve their targeted goals of high energy density and long cycle life.Using lithium metal in organic liquid electrolyte systems faces many challenges in terms of battery performance and safety. For example, lithium-sulfur batteries suffer from the dissolution of intermediate polysulfides in the organic electrolyte that causes severe parasitic reactions on lithium metal surfaces, leading to lithium metal degradation and low lithium cycling efficiency (6). Lithium-oxygen batteries have the challenge of chemically instable liquid electrolytes on the oxygen electrode that cause limited battery cycling (7). All of these challenges are associated with the use of lithium metal in liquid electrolyte battery systems. Another major associated challenge is lithium dendrite growth on lithium metal anodes, which causes int...

All-component 3D-printed lithium-ion batteries are fabricated by printing graphene-oxide-based composite inks and solid-state gel polymer electrolyte. An entirely 3D-printed full cell features a high electrode mass loading of 18 mg cm(-2) , which is normalized to the overall area of the battery. This all-component printing can be extended to the fabrication of multidimensional/multiscale complex-structures of more energy-storage devices.

Conventional bulky and rigid power systems are incapable of meeting flexibility and breathability requirements for wearable applications. Despite the tremendous efforts dedicated to developing various 1D energy storage devices with sufficient flexibility, challenges remain pertaining to fabrication scalability, cost, and efficiency. Here, a scalable, low-cost, and high-efficiency 3D printing technology is applied to fabricate a flexible all-fiber lithium-ion battery (LIB). Highly viscous polymer inks containing carbon nanotubes and either lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or lithium titanium oxide (LTO) are used to print LFP fiber cathodes and LTO fiber anodes, respectively. Both fiber electrodes demonstrate good flexibility and high electrochemical performance in half-cell configurations. All-fiber LIB can be successfully assembled by twisting the as-printed LFP and LTO fibers together with gel polymer as the quasi-solid electrolyte. The all-fiber device exhibits a high specific capacity of ≈110 mAh g −1 at a current density of 50 mA g −1 and maintains a good flexibility of the fiber electrodes, which can be potentially integrated into textile fabrics for future wearable electronic applications.

No abstract

Background and Purpose-It is still controversial whether elevated plasma homocysteine and the C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene are risk factors for stroke. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the 2 factors and stroke in Chinese in a large case-control study. Methods-We recruited 1823 stroke patients (807 cerebral thrombosis, 513 lacunar infarction, 503 intracerebral hemorrhage) and 1832 controls. Total plasma homocysteine was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. C677T polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and HinfI digestion. Results-Total plasma homocysteine levels were significantly higher in cases than controls (median, 14.7 versus 12.8 mol/L; PϽ0.001) and associated with an increased risk of 1.87-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.58 to 2.22) for overall stroke, 1.72-fold (95% CI, 1.39 to 2.12) for cerebral thrombosis, 1.89-fold (95% CI, 1.50 to 2.40) for lacunar infarction, and 1.94-fold (95% CI, 1.48 to 2.55) for intracerebral hemorrhage. The C677T mutation of the MTHFR gene was positively correlated with plasma homocysteine levels in both controls (␤ϭ0.250, PϽ0.001) and cases (␤ϭ0.272, PϽ0.001) and more frequently in cases than in controls (47.0% versus 44.2%, Pϭ0.017). The TT genotype was associated with an increased risk for overall stroke (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.56) and thrombotic stroke (odds ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.78). Conclusions-The C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene was associated with increased risk of cerebral thrombotic stroke in Chinese. Total plasma homocysteine was correlated with both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, suggesting potential initiation of homocysteine-lowering therapy in this population.

No abstract

High temperature heaters are ubiquitously used in materials synthesis and device processing. In this work, we developed three-dimensional (3D) printed reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-based heaters to function as high-performance thermal supply with high temperature and ultrafast heating rate. Compared with other heating sources, such as furnace, laser, and infrared radiation, the 3D printed heaters demonstrated in this work have the following distinct advantages: (1) the RGO based heater can operate at high temperature up to 3000 K because of using the high temperature-sustainable carbon material; (2) the heater temperature can be ramped up and down with extremely fast rates, up to ∼20 000 K/second; (3) heaters with different shapes can be directly printed with small sizes and onto different substrates to enable heating anywhere. The 3D printable RGO heaters can be applied to a wide range of nanomanufacturing when precise temperature control in time, placement, and the ramping rate are important.

Background-The haplotypes in the gene vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) have been found to affect warfarin dose response through effects on the formation of reduced-form vitamin K, a cofactor for ␥-carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins, which is involved in the coagulation cascade and has a potential impact on atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that VKORC1-dependent effects on the coagulation cascade and atherosclerosis would contribute to susceptibility for vascular diseases. Methods and Results-To test the hypothesis, we studied the association of polymorphisms of VKORC1 with stroke (1811 patients), coronary heart disease (740 patients), and aortic dissection (253 patients) compared with matched controls (nϭ1811, 740, and 416, respectively). Five common noncoding single-nucleotide polymorphisms of VKORC1 were identified in a natural haplotype block with strong linkage disequilibrium (DЈϾ0.9, r 2 Ͼ0.9), then single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) ϩ2255 in the block was selected for the association study. We found that the presence of the C allele of the ϩ2255 locus conferred almost twice the risk of vascular disease (odds ratio [OR] 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] .58 to 2.41, PϽ0.001 for stroke; OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.38, PϽ0.01 for coronary heart disease; and OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.48, PϽ0.05 for aortic dissection). We also observed that subjects with the CC and CT genotypes had lower levels of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (a regulator for the bone), probably vascular calcification, and lower levels of protein induced in vitamin K absence or antagonism II (PIVKA-II, a des-␥-carboxy prothrombin) than those with TT genotypes. Conclusions-The haplotype of VKORC1 may serve as a novel genetic marker for the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and aortic dissection.