Lithium (Li)‐metal anodes are of great promise for next‐generation batteries due to their high theoretical capacity and low redox potential. However, Li‐dendrite growth during cycling imposes a tremendous safety concern on the practical application of Li‐metal anodes. Herein, an effective approach to suppress Li‐dendrite growth by coating a polypropylene (PP) separator with a thin layer of ultrastrong diamond‐like carbon (DLC) is reported. Theoretical calculations indicate that the DLC coating layer undergoes in situ chemical lithiation once assembled with the lithium‐metal anode, transforming the DLC/PP separator into an excellent 3D Li‐ion conductor. This in situ lithiated DLC/PP separator can not only mechanically suppress Li‐dendrite growth by its intrinsically high modulus (≈100 GPa), but also uniformly redistributes Li ions to render dendrite‐free lithium deposition. The twofold effects of the DLC/PP separator result in stable cycling of lithium plating/stripping (over 4500 h) at a high current density of 3 mA cm−2. Remarkably, this approach enables more than 1000 stable cycles at 5 C with a capacity retention of ≈71% in a Li || LiFePO4 coin cell and more than 200 stable cycles at 0.2 C in a Li || LiNi0.5Co0.3Mn0.2O2 pouch cell with cathode mass loading of ≈9 mg cm−2.
Objective: Multiple mechanisms including vascular endothelial cell damage have a critical role in the formation and development of atherosclerosis (AS), but the specific molecular mechanisms are not exactly clarified. This study aims to determine the possible roles of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2)/mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) pathway in AS mouse model and H2O2-induced endothelial cell damage model and explore its possible mechanisms.Approach and Results: The AS mouse model was established using apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE–/–) mice that were fed with a high-fat diet. It was very interesting to find that Pyk2/MCU expression was significantly increased in the artery wall of atherosclerotic mice and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) attacked by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In addition, down-regulation of Pyk2 by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) protected HUVECs from H2O2 insult. Furthermore, treatment with rosuvastatin on AS mouse model and H2O2-induced HUVEC injury model showed a protective effect against AS by inhibiting the Pyk2/MCU pathway, which maintained calcium balance, prevented the mitochondrial damage and reactive oxygen species production, and eventually inhibited cell apoptosis.Conclusion: Our results provide important insight into the initiation of the Pyk2/MCU pathway involved in AS-related endothelial cell damage, which may be a new promising target for atherosclerosis intervention.
Dual-ion batteries (DIBs) are one of the promising candidates to meet the low-cost requirements of commercial applications because of their high working voltage, excellent safety, and environmental friendliness. In addition to the electrolyte, the research on DIBs mainly focuses on the electrode materials, especially the high-performance anodes. Alloy-type materials, such as Si, Sn, Al, and so forth, are promising alternative anodes owing to their large abundance, excellent conductivity, and especially high specific capacity. However, the alloy-type anodes tend to pulverize due to the excessive volume expansion during the alloying/dealloying process, along with repeated growth/fracture of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer and continuous consumption of the electrolyte. Herein, we have successfully developed an amorphous carbon nanointerface (ACNI) (<10 nm) coated on an Al anode that acts as an artificial SEI to prevent the continuous growth of the formed SEI layer and maintain its structural stability. Further, pairing this ultrathin ACNI/Al anode with the graphite cathode constructs proof-of-concept DIBs, exhibiting significantly improved performances with a specific capacity of 115 mA h g −1 and a capacity retention ratio of ∼94% after 1000 cycles.
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