The Relationship between Depression Severity and Prefrontal Hemodynamic Changes in Adolescents with Major Depression Disorder: A Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study.

Objective: : Numerous studies have identified hemodynamic changes in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). However, studies on adolescents with MDD are limited. As adolescence is a stage of rapid brain development, differences may occur depending on age. This study used fNIRS as an objective tool to investigate hemodynamic changes in the frontal lobe according to depression severity and age in adolescents with MDD. Methods: : Thirty adolescents (12 aged 12-15 years and 18 aged 16-18 years) were retrospectively investigated. The Children's Depression Inventory was used as a psychiatric evaluation scale, fNIRS was used as an objective brain function evaluation tool, and the Verbal Fluency Test was performed. Results: : During the Verbal Fluency Test, in the younger MDD group, oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration increased in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region as the severity of depression increased. In the older MDD group, the oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration decreased in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region as the severity of depression increased. Conclusion: : These results suggest that fNIRS may be an objective tool for identifying age differences among adolescents with MDD. To generalize the results and verify fNIRS as a potential biomarker tool, follow-up studies with a larger sample group should be conducted.

High-Performance Li-Ion and Na-Ion Capacitors Based on a Spinel Li4Ti5O12 Anode and Carbonaceous Cathodes.

Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LICs) have become promising electrochemical energy storage systems that overcome the limitations of lithium-ion batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors. The asymmetric combination of these devices enhances the overall electrochemical performance by delivering simultaneous energy and power capabilities. Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO), a spinel zero-strain material, has been studied extensively as an anode material for LIC applications because of its high-rate capability, negligible volume change, and enhanced cycling performance. Here, the different synthetic methods and modifications of the intercalation-type LTO to enhance the overall electrochemical performance of LICs are mainly focused. Moreover, the cathodic part (i.e., the activated carbon derived from various sources, including natural products, polymers, and inorganic materials) is also dealt with as it contributes substantially to the overall performance of the LIC. Not only do the anode and cathode, but also the electrolytes have a substantial influence on LIC performance. The electrolytes used in LTO-based LICs as well as in flexible and bendable configurations are also mentioned. Overall, the previous work along with other available reports on LTO-based LICs in a simplified way is analyzed.

Controlled Synthesis of SnO2 Nanostructures as Alloy Anode via Restricted Potential Toward Building High-Performance Dual-Ion Batteries with Graphite Cathode.

Dual-ion batteries (DIBs) are considered one of the promising energy storage devices in which graphite serves as a bi-functional electrode, i.e., anode and cathode in the aprotic organic solvents. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), DIBs reversibly store the cations and anions in the anode and cathodes during redox reactions, respectively. The electrolyte is a source for both cations and anions, so the choice of electrolyte plays a vital role. In the present work, the synthesis of SnO2 nanostructures is reported as a possible alternative for graphite anode, and the Li-storage performance is optimized in half-cell (Li/SnO2 ) assembly with varying amounts of conductive additive (acetylene black) and limited working potential (1 V vs Li). Finally, a DIB using recovered graphite (RG) fabricated from spent LIB as a cathode and SnO2 nanostructures as an anode under balanced loading conditions. Prior to the fabrication, both electrodes are pre-cycled to eliminate irreversibility. An in-situ impedance study has been employed to validate the passivation layer formation during the charge-discharge process. The high-performance SnO2 /RG-based DIB delivered a maximum discharge capacity of 380 mAh g-1 . The electrochemical performance of DIB has been assessed by varying temperature conditions to evaluate their suitability in different climatic conditions.

Synthesis and Characterization of the New Li1+xAl1+xSi1-xO4 (x = 0-0.25) Solid Electrolyte for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A systematic study was performed to investigate the effect of the sintering temperature, sintering duration, and aluminum doping on the crystalline structure and ionic conductivity of the Li1+xAl1+xSi1-xO4 (LASO; x = 0-0.25) solid electrolyte. There was a strong indication that an increase in the sintering temperature and sintering time increased the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. In particular, the doping concentration and composition ratio (Li1+xAl1+xSi1-xO4; x = 0-0.25) were found to be crucial factors for achieving high ionic conductivity. The sintering time of 18 h and lithium concentration influenced the lattice parameters of the LASO electrolyte, resulting in a significant improvement in ionic conductivity from 2.11 × 10-6 (for pristine LASO) to 1.07 × 10-5 S cm-1. An increase in the lithium concentration affected the stoichiometry, and it facilitated a smoother Li-ion transfer process since lithium served as an ion-conducting bridge between LASO grains.

Effect of Sodium Phosphate Coating on Cu and Mg-Substituted P2-Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 for Improving the Cycling Performance of Sodium-Ion Capacitors.

Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) bridge the performance gaps between batteries and supercapacitors by providing a high energy and power density in a single configuration. As battery-type active materials, sodium preintercalated layered metal oxides are desirable owing to their unique crystal structure, simple synthesis process, and high working voltage. However, their poor cyclic stability and low kinetics limit their application. Herein, we report increased rate capability and cycle stability achieved by introducing transition metal substitution and surface coating strategies. By substituting a portion of Ni and Mn with Cu and Mg (the sample name was denoted as NMCM), the P2-O2 transition which occurs at high voltages was alleviated. Additionally, a thin and uniform sodium phosphate coating layer suppressed surface side reactions occurring during charge-discharge processes, as observed through ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ex-situ transmission electron microscopy. Compared to the pristine sample, the capacity improved by 48% at a high current density of 4 A g-1. After 100 cycles, the sodium-phosphate-coated sample (NMCM@P) retained about 90% of its capacity, whereas NMCM had a capacity retention of 63%. When evaluating the longer stability of SIC full cells, NMCM@P exhibited an outstanding stability of 71% after 5000 cycles. This was higher than that of NMCM, which retained only 17% of its initial capacity.

Neuromodulatory feasibility of a current limiter-based tDCS device: a resting-state electroencephalography study.

Recently, we introduced a current limiter-based novel transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) device that does not generate significant tDCS-induced electrical artifacts, thereby facilitating simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) measurement during tDCS application. In this study, we investigated the neuromodulatory effect of the tDCS device using resting-state EEG data measured during tDCS application in terms of EEG power spectral densities (PSD) and brain network indices (clustering coefficient and path length). Resting-state EEG data were recorded from 10 healthy subjects during both eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) states for each of five different conditions (baseline, sham, post-sham, tDCS, and post-tDCS). In the tDCS condition, tDCS was applied for 12 min with a current intensity of 1.5 mA, whereas tDCS was applied only for the first 30 s in the sham condition. EEG PSD and brain network indices were computed for the alpha frequency band most closely associated with resting-state EEG. Both alpha PSD and network indices were found to significantly increase during and after tDCS application compared to those of the baseline condition in the EO state, but not in the EC state owing to the ceiling effect. Our results demonstrate the neuromodulatory effect of the tDCS device that does not generate significant tDCS-induced electrical artifacts, thereby allowing simultaneous measurement of electrical brain activity. We expect our novel tDCS device to be practically useful in exploring the impact of tDCS on neuromodulation more precisely using ongoing EEG data simultaneously measured during tDCS application.

Interphase stabilized electrospun SnO2 fibers as alloy anode via restricted cycling for Li-ion capacitors with high energy and wide temperature operation.

The second-generation supercapacitor comprises the hybridized energy storage mechanism of Lithium-ion batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors, i.e, Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs). The electrospun SnO2 nanofibers are synthesized by a simple electrospinning technique and are directly used as anode material for LICs with activated carbon (AC) as a cathode. However, before the assembly, the battery-type electrode SnO2 is electrochemically pre-lithiated (LixSn + Li2O), and AC loading is balanced with respect to its half-cell performance. First, the SnO2 is tested in the half-cell assembly with a limited potential window of 0.005 to 1 V vs. Li to avoid the conversion reaction of Sn0 to SnOx. Also, the limited potential window allows only the reversible alloy/de-alloying process. Finally, the assembled LIC, AC/(LixSn + Li2O), displayed a maximum energy density of 185.88 Wh kg-1 with ultra-long cyclic durability of over 20,000 cycles. Further, the LIC is also exposed to various temperature conditions (-10, 0, 25, & 50 °C) to study the feasibility of using them in different environmental conditions.

Highly promoted solvent-co-intercalation process in pencil graphite anode and Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode in full-cell Na-ion battery.

The electrochemical performance of graphite recovered from 6H-pencil with the highest content of SiO2 is evaluated in both Na-ion half and full-cell assemblies. The concept of sodium co-intercalation into graphite is exploited by fabricating cells with electrolytes based on tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (G4) and diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (G2). The capacity at high current rates is maximum when the G2-based electrolyte is used, both in half and full cells, while the capacity retention after high current rates is better in a G4-based system. Upon calculating the capacity contribution, the G2-based system shows prominent capacitance-based charge storage, whereas the G4-based system has a higher contribution from the Faradaic mechanism. The former also shows a faster diffusion mechanism. While G2 based system has higher capacity retention in half-cell, G4 based system has higher capacity retention in full-cell. When G2 is used as the electrolyte solvent, the irreversibility during cycling is high, affecting cell performance. The full cells with G4 and G2 electrolytes show maximum energy/power densities of 33 Wh kg-1/2.7 kW kg-1 and 23 Wh kg-1/1.4 kW kg-1, respectively. Our study shows that the charge storage mechanism can be varied by tuning the electrolyte solvent. This study is the first to explore pencil graphite for sodium-ion storage.

Fabrication of Na-Ion Full-Cells using Carbon-Coated Na3 V2 (PO4 )2 O2 F Cathode with Conversion Type CuO Nanoparticles from Spent Li-Ion Batteries.

Spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) offer immense potential in the form of resources such as Li, transition metals (Co, Ni, and Mn), graphite, and Cu, which can be recovered through suitable recycling procedures. The Cu-current collector is recovered from spent LIBs and converted as a copper oxide (CuO) anode for Na-ion batteries. The performance of CuO is evaluated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (CuO-C), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) (CuO-P) binders in CuO half-cell and CuO/carbon-coated Na3 V2 (PO4 )2 O2 F (CuO/NVPOF) full-cell assemblies. The CuO-C half-cell displays superior electrochemical performance than CuO-P in terms of cycling and rate performance showing 88% more capacity. To study the stabilization and solid electrolyte interphase growth in CuO-C, an in situ impedance study is conducted. However, the full-cell, CuO-P/NVPOF displays better capacity retention during cycling with Coulombic efficiency >95% from the second cycle, whereas CuO-C/NVPOF could hardly maintain only >90%. For conversion type CuO, it is apparent that, though the CMC binder supports half-cell performance, the PVdF binder is suitable for the practical cell/full-cell configuration.

Understanding the Structural Phase Transitions in Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 Symmetrical Sodium-Ion Batteries Using Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Techniques.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) hold great potential for use in large-scale grid storage applications owing to their low energy cost compared to lithium analogs. The symmetrical SIBs employing Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 (NVP) as both the cathode and anode are considered very promising due to negligible volume changes and longer cycle life. However, the structural changes associated with the electrochemical reactions of symmetrical SIBs employing NVP have not been widely studied. Previous studies on symmetrical SIBs employing NVP are believed to undergo one mole of Na+ storage during the electrochemical reaction. However, in this study, it is shown that there are significant differences during the electrochemical reaction of the symmetrical NVP system. The symmetrical sodium-ion cell undergoes ≈2 moles of Na+ reaction (intercalation and deintercalation) instead of 1 mole of Na+ . A simultaneous formation of Na5 V2 (PO4 )3 phase in the anode and NaV2 (PO4 )3 phase in the cathode is revealed by synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. A symmetrical NVP cell can deliver a stable capacity of ≈99 mAh g-1 , (based on the mass of the cathode) by simultaneously utilizing V3+ /V2+ redox in anode and V3+ /V4+ redox in cathode. The current study provides new insights for the development of high-energy symmetrical NIBs for future use.

Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Parental Stress Scale for Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study standardizes the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) for Republic of Korean parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and verifies its reliability and validity. METHODS: Data from 160 parents of children with ADHD who completed the following self-reported questionnaires were analyzed: the Korean ADHD Rating Scales, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the PSS, and the Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale. All scale items were measured for reliability and validity, and the appropriate factors for measuring stress in Korean parents with ADHD children were extracted. RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses derived two sub-factors and 11 items. Goodness of fit was confirmed, and the scale was deemed suitable for explaining stress in parents of children with ADHD. CONCLUSION: In this study, the validity and reliability of the K-PSS-ADHD were investigated. We expect that the K-PSS-ADHD will be used as a basis for future studies on stress in parents of children with ADHD.

Clinical Applications of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Children and Adolescents with Psychiatric Disorders.

The purpose of this review is to examine the clinical use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Many studies have been conducted using objective evaluation tools for psychiatric evaluation, such as predicting psychiatric symptoms and treatment responses. Compared to other tools, fNIRS has the advantage of being a noninvasive, inexpensive, and portable method and can be used with patients in the awake state. This study mainly focused on its use in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. We hope that research involving fNIRS will be actively conducted in various diseases in the future.

A sustainable green synthesis of functionalized biocompatible carbon quantum dots from Aloe barbadensis Miller and its multifunctional applications.

Herein, we demonstrated a sustainable green approach for the preparation of fluorescent biocompatible carbon quantum dots by microwave-assisted reflux synthesis from Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe vera) extract. The Transmission Electron Microscopic images reveal that the as-prepared CQDs are spherical with less than 5 nm in size. The CQDs are amorphous, showed an excitation-independent behaviour, emitted blue fluorescence and have a fluorescence quantum yield of 31%. The presence of -OH groups contributed to the blue emission and helped CQDs to disperse uniformly in an aqueous solution. The prepared CQDs were employed as a photocatalyst for the environmental remediation to degrade the anionic dye, eosin yellow under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the CQDs exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 98.55% within 80 min and a 100% efficiency within 100 min. Further, the cytotoxic properties of as-prepared CQDs are investigated in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line using MTT assay. The results demonstrated a notable reduction in cell viability in a dose-subjected manner, and the cell viability decreased to 50% (IC50) at a concentration of 52.2 ± 1.35 µg/mL. Furthermore, cellular internalization of CQDs in breast cancer cells is studied. As expected, CQDs are found to internalize by the cancer cells with blue emission as revealed by fluorescence microscope. In the end, CQDs in human breast cancer cells demonstrate the anti-proliferative effect and are found to be an impressive fluorescent probe for live-cell imaging, paving a path for its potential biomedical applications.

Microwave-assisted green synthesis of fluorescent carbon quantum dots from Mexican Mint extract for Fe3+ detection and bio-imaging applications.

Biomass-derived carbon quantum dots have drawn special interest owing to their admirable photostability, biocompatibility, fluorescence, high solubility, sensitivity and environmentally friendly properties. In the present work, the Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) was synthesized from the Plectranthus amboinicus (Mexican Mint) leaves via the microwave-assisted reflux method. The strong absorption peaks observed from UV-vis spectra at 291 and 330 nm corresponds to the π-π* and n-π* transitions, respectively, reveal the formation of CQDs. The synthesized CQDs showed bright blue fluorescence under UV irradiation with a fluorescence quantum yield of 17% and a maximum emission of 436 nm in the blue region at an excitation wavelength of 340 nm. The HRTEM analysis elucidates that the synthesized CQDs were crystalline and spherical in shape with a particle size of 2.43 ± 0.02 nm. The FT-IR spectroscopy confirms the presence of the different functional groups such as -OH, -CH, CO and C-O. The chemical composition of CQD was revealed through XPS analysis. The synthesized CQDs were used as a fluorescent probe to detect different metal ions, where high selectivity was obtained for Fe3+ ions through quenching phenomenon. The emission intensity of CQD showed a good linear relationship with R2 = 0.9111 with the concentration of Fe3+ ions in the range of 0-15 µM. The fluorescence emission of CQD was turned OFF upon the binding of Fe3+ ions and turned - ON with the addition of ascorbic acid. With this fluorescent turn ON-OFF behaviour of CQD, the NOT and IMPLICATION logic gates were constructed and studied for different input conditions. The biocompatibility of CQD was tested via MTT assay using MCF7 breast cancer cell line, which revealed that CQD synthesized from the Mexican Mint leaves possess less cytotoxicity. Further, the prepared CQD was applied effectively as fluorescent probes in a cell imaging application.

Relationship Between the Loudness Dependence of the Auditory Evoked Potential and the Severity of Suicidal Ideation in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) is a reliable indicator that is inversely related to central serotonergic activity, and recent studies have suggested an association between LDAEP and suicidal ideation. This study investigated differences in LDAEP between patients with major depressive disorder and high suicidality and those with major depressive disorder and low suicidality compared to healthy controls. METHODS: This study included 67 participants: 23 patients with major depressive disorder with high suicidality (9 males, mean age 29.3 ± 15.7 years, total score of SSI-BECK ≥ 15), 22 patients with major depressive disorder with low suicidality (9 males, mean age 42.2 ± 14.4 years, total score of SSI-BECK ≤ 14), and 22 healthy controls (11 males, mean age 31.6 ± 8.7 years). Participants completed the following assessments: Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Scale for Suicidal ideation, State Anxiety Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and LDAEP (measured at electrode Cz). RESULTS: There were no sex-related differences among groups (p = 0.821). The high-suicidality group exhibited significantly higher LDAEP compared to the low-suicidality group (0.82 ± 0.79 vs. 0.26 ± 0.36, p = 0.014). No significant differences were found between the control and high-suicidality (p = 0.281) or the control and low-suicidality groups (p = 0.236). CONCLUSION: LDAEP was applied to demonstrate the association between serotonergic activity and suicidal ideation and suicide risk in major depression and may be a candidate of biological marker for preventing suicide in this study.

Impact of carbonate-based electrolytes on the electrochemical activity of carbon-coated Na3V2(PO4)2F3 cathode in full-cell assembly with hard carbon anode.

An immense effort has been put into developing high-performance electrodes to commercialize sodium-ion batteries, but research on developing an efficient electrolyte is lacking. This study aims to find the best carbonate-based electrolyte systems by incorporating the existing ideas reported in this field. The sodium superionic conductor (NASICON) type Na3V2(PO4)2F3-C (NVPF-C) was chosen as a cathode, and its compatibility with four different carbonate-based electrolyte solutions was studied in the half-cell assembly. Additionally, full-cell assembly with hard carbon as an anode is also explored. Binary and ternary combinations of the solvents ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, and dimethyl carbonate were employed with and without fluoroethylene carbonate as an additive. A systematic study was performed, including the in-situ impedance technique, and to determine the compatibility. Detailed galvanostatic studies for NVPF-C based half-cells, as well as hard carbon/NVPF-C full-cells, are performed, which shows that 1 M NaClO4 in propylene carbonate:dimethyl carbonate + fluoroethylene carbonate is a better electrolyte composition for this assembly. Subsequently, a temperature study was carried out on this electrolyte to test its performance.

Ultra-High Energy Density Hybrid Supercapacitors Using MnO2/Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrid Nanoscrolls.

Manganese oxide (MnO2) is a promising material for supercapacitor applications, with a theoretical ultra-high energy density of 308 Wh/kg. However, such ultra-high energy density has not been achieved experimentally in MnO2-based supercapacitors because of several practical issues, such as low electrical conductivity of MnO2, incomplete utilization of MnO2, and dissolution of MnO2. The present study investigates the potential of MnO2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid nanoscroll (GMS) structures as electrode material for overcoming the difficulties and for developing ultra-high-energy storage systems. A hybrid supercapacitor, comprising MnO2/rGO nanoscrolls as anode material and activated carbon (AC) as a cathode, is fabricated. The GMS/AC hybrid supercapacitor exhibited enhanced energy density, superior rate performance, and promising Li storage capability that bridged the energy-density gap between conventional Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors. The fabricated GMS/AC hybrid supercapacitor demonstrates an ultra-high lithium discharge capacity of 2040 mAh/g. The GMS/AC cell delivered a maximum energy density of 105.3 Wh/kg and a corresponding power density of 308.1 W/kg. It also delivered an energy density of 42.77 Wh/kg at a power density as high as 30,800 W/kg. Our GMS/AC cell's energy density values are very high compared with those of other reported values of graphene-based hybrid structures. The GMS structures offer significant potential as an electrode material for energy-storage systems and can also enhance the performance of the other electrode materials for LIBs and hybrid supercapacitors.

Highly Perforated V2 O5 Cathode with Restricted Lithiation toward Building "Rocking-Chair" Type Cell with Graphite Anode Recovered from Spent Li-Ion Batteries.

Current research motivation on fabricating next-generation lithium-ion batteries by averting the growing demand for battery raw materials brings enormous interest on the V2 O5 cathode again as a result of its abundance, ease synthesis, and tunable Li-intercalation properties. So far, the research activities are mainly focused on V2 O5 to attain a maximum capacity (>300 mAh g-1 ) for more than 1 mol. Li-intercalation which results in poor structural stability. Keeping this issue in mind, here, the full-cell assembly by limiting 1 mol is proposed and constructed. Li-insertion in V2 O5 as a cathode and LiC6 as an anode for the first time. Prior to the full-cell assembly, hydrothermally prepared rod-like V2 O5 reveals the specific capacity of 143 mAh g-1 in half-cell configuration with good cycling stability. The full-cell, V2 O5 /LiC6, offers a specific capacity of ≈236 mAh g-1 with a maximum energy density of ≈197.1 Wh kg-1 . Furthermore, the practical feasibility of the cell has been examined at different temperatures that divulged a maximum energy density of 136 Wh kg-1 at 50 °C. Also, the obtained results encourage V2 O5 as a strong contender for the commercial LiFePO4 /C system andpave the new directions for advanced battery technology.

Highly Reversible Na-Intercalation into Graphite Recovered from Spent Li-Ion Batteries for High-Energy Na-Ion Capacitor.

High-performance Na-ion capacitor (NIC) was constructed with graphite recovered from spent Li-ion batteries (LIBs) as battery-type negative electrode and high-surface-area activated carbon as a supercapacitor component. Unlike Li-insertion into graphite, Na-insertion into graphite is extremely limited; hence, a "solvent-co-intercalation" mechanism was proposed for high reversibility using ether family solvents. First, the Na-insertion properties were assessed in the half-cell assembly with 0.5 m NaPF6 in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether as an electrolyte solution and compared with the commercial graphite. The NIC comprised pre-sodiated graphite as a negative electrode and commercial activated carbon as a cathode. This fascinating NIC configuration displayed the maximum energy density of 59.93 Wh kg-1 with exceptional cyclability of 5000 cycles at ambient temperature with approximately 98 % retention. Interestingly, the electrode aging process in the presence of electrolyte resulted in approximately 19 % higher energy density than the routine electrode heat treatment. Further, the electrochemical activity of the NIC at various temperatures was studied, and it was found that the graphite recovered from spent LIBs could be effectively reused towards the construction of high-performance charge storage devices with exceptional performance.

Nanoengineered Organic Electrodes for Highly Durable and Ultrafast Cycling of Organic Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have become increasingly important as next-generation energy storage systems for application in large-scale energy storage. It is very crucial to develop an eco-friendly and green SIB technique with superior performance for sustainable future use. Replacing the conventional inorganic electrode materials with green and safe organic electrodes will be a promising approach. However, the poor electrochemical kinetics, unstable electrode-electrolyte interface, high solubility of the electrodes in the electrolyte, and large amount of conductive carbon present great challenges for organic SIBs. In this study, the issues of organic electrodes are addressed through atomic-level manipulation of these organic molecules using a series of ultrathin (Å-level) metal oxide coatings (Al2 O3 , ZnO, and TiO2 ). Uniform and precise coatings on the perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylicacid dianhydride by gas-phase atomic layer deposition technique shows a stable interphase, enhanced electrochemical kinetics (71C, 10 A g-1 ), and excellent stability (89%-500 cycles) compared to conventional organic electrode (70%-200 cycles). Further studies reveal that the chemical stability of the metal oxide coating layer plays a critical role in influencing the redox behavior, and improving kinetics of organic electrodes. This study opens a new avenue for developing high-energy organic SIBs with performance equivalent to inorganic counterparts.