Thermal-Conductivity-Enhancing Copper-Plated Expanded Graphite/Paraffin Composite for Highly Stable Phase-Change Materials.

Paraffin (PA)/expanded graphite (EG) is an important composite phase change material with low cost, high heat storage, good thermal conductivity and cycling stability. Its thermal conductivity needs to be further improved for application in the thermal management system of power lithium-ion batteries. In this paper, copper plated expanded graphite (CPEG) with 3D porous structure was prepared by electroless copper plating method, which was used as thermal conductivity enhancing material to replace part of EG in PA/EG composite materials. For the optimized phase change material composed of 80 %PA-14 %EG-6 %CPEG, the copper content is very low (0.768 wt %), but its thermal conductivity can be significantly improved without loss of latent heat and thermal cycling stability. Its thermal conductivity is increased from 11 times to 16.5 times that of paraffin while compared with the copper-free composite material (80 %PA-20 %EG). The PA/EG/CPEG composite material exhibits good temperature control effect on power lithium-ion batteries.

CeO2 Nanoparticles Seed Priming Increases Salicylic Acid Level and ROS Scavenging Ability to Improve Rapeseed Salt Tolerance.

Soil salinity is a major issue limiting efficient crop production. Seed priming with nanomaterials (nanopriming) is a cost-effective technology to improve seed germination under salinity; however, the underlying mechanisms still need to be explored. Here, polyacrylic acid coated nanoceria (cerium oxide nanoparticles) (PNC, 9.2 nm, -38.7 mV) are synthesized and characterized. The results show that under salinity, PNC priming significantly increases rapeseed shoot length (41.5%), root length (93%), and seedling dry weight (78%) compared to the no-nanoparticle (NNP) priming group. Confocal imaging results show that compared with NNP group, PNC priming significantly reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in leaf (94.3% of H2O2, 56.4% of •O2 -) and root (38.4% of H2O2, 41.3% of •O2 -) of salt stressed rapeseed seedlings. Further, the results show that compared with the NNP group, PNC priming not only increases salicylic acid (SA) content in shoot (51.3%) and root (78.4%), but also upregulates the expression of SA biosynthesis related genes in salt stressed rapeseed. Overall, PNC nanopriming improved rapeseed salt tolerance is associated with both the increase of ROS scavenging ability and the increase of salicylic acid. The results add more information to understand the complexity of mechanisms behind nanoceria priming improved plant salt tolerance.

Enhanced Structural Stability and Electrochemical Performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 Cathode Materials by Ga Doping.

Structural instability during cycling is an important factor affecting the electrochemical performance of nickel-rich ternary cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. In this work, enhanced structural stability and electrochemical performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials are achieved by Ga doping. Compared with the pristine electrode, Li[Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2]0.98Ga0.02O2 electrode exhibits remarkably improved electrochemical performance and thermal safety. At 0.5C rate, the discharge capacity increases from 169.3 mAh g-1 to 177 mAh g-1, and the capacity retention also rises from 82.8% to 89.8% after 50 cycles. In the charged state of 4.3 V, its exothermic temperature increases from 245.13 °C to more than 271.24 °C, and the total exothermic heat decreases from 561.7 to 225.6 J·g-1. Both AC impedance spectroscopy and in situ XRD analysis confirmed that Ga doping can improve the stability of the electrode/electrolyte interface structure and bulk structure during cycling, which helps to improve the electrochemical performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material.

Preparation and Electrochemical Properties of LiNi2/3Co1/6Mn1/6O2 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The cathode material LiNi2/3Co1/6Mn1/6O2 with excellent electrochemical performance was prepared successfully by a rheological phase method. The materials obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and charge-discharge tests. The results showed that both calcination temperatures and atmosphere are very important factors affecting the structure and electrochemical performance of LiNi2/3Co1/6Mn1/6O2 material. The sample calcinated at 800 °C under O2 atmosphere displayed well-crystallized particle morphology, a highly ordered layered structure with low defects, and excellent electrochemical performance. In the voltage range of 2.8-4.3 V, it delivered capacity of 188.9 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C and 130.4 mAh g-1 at 5 C, respectively. The capacity retention also reached 93.9% after 50 cycles at 0.5 C. All the results suggest that LiNi2/3Co1/6Mn1/6O2 is a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.