Advance of Prussian Blue-Derived Nanohybrids in Energy Storage: Current Status and Perspective.

Great changes have occurred in the energy storage area in recent years as a result of rapid economic expansion. People have conducted substantial research on sustainable energy conversion and storage systems in order to mitigate the looming energy crisis. As a result, developing energy storage materials is critical. Materials with an open frame structure are known as Prussian blue analogs (PBAs). Anode materials for oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides, borides, and carbides have been extensively explored as anode materials in the field of energy conversion and storage in recent years. The advantages and disadvantages of oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides, borides, carbides, and other elements, as well as experimental methodologies and electrochemical properties, are discussed in this work. The findings reveal that employing oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides, borides, and other electrode materials to overcome the problems of low conductivity, excessive material loss, and low specific volume is ineffective. Therefore, this review intends to address the issues of diverse energy storage materials by combining multiple technologies to manufacture battery materials with low cost, large capacity, and extended service life.

Computational-Guided Design of Photoelectrode Active Materials for Light-Assisted Energy Storage.

The design of a novel photoelectric integrated system is considered to be an efficient way to utilize and store inexhaustible solar energy. However, the mechanism of photoelectrode under illuminate conditions is still unclear. Density functional theory (DFT) provides standardized analysis and becomes a powerful way to explain the photoelectrochemical mechanism. Herein, the feasibility of four metal oxide configurations as photoelectrode materials by using a high throughput calculation method based on DFT are investigated. According to the photoelectrochemical properties, band structure and density of states are calculated, and the intercalate/deintercalate simulation is performed with adsorption configuration. The calculation indicates that the band gap of Fe2 CoO4 (2.404 eV) is narrower than that of Co3 O4 (2.553 eV), as well as stronger adsorption energy (-3.293 eV). The relationship between the electronic structure and the photoelectrochemical performance is analyzed and verified according to the predicted DFT results by subsequent experiments. Results show that the Fe2 CoO4 photoelectrode samples exhibit higher coulombic efficiency (97.4%) than that under dark conditions (94.9%), which is consistent with the DFT results. This work provides a general method for the design of integrated photoelectrode materials and is expected to be enlightening for the adjustment of light-assisted properties of multifunctional materials.

Association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants with blood lipids in Chinese adults: The China Multi-Ethnic Cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is a crucial risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies have suggested that air pollution is associated with blood lipids. However, little evidence exists in low- and middle-income regions. We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and blood lipids in southwestern China. METHODS: We included 67,305 participants aged 30-79 years from the baseline data of the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study. Three-year average concentrations of particles with diameters ≤1 µm (PM1), particles with diameters ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5), particles with diameters ≤ 10 µm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) were estimated using satellite-based spatiotemporal models. Individual serum lipids, including cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), were measured. Linear, logistic, and quantile regression models were used to evaluate the association between ambient air pollution and blood lipids. RESULTS: All five air pollutants in our study were associated with lipid levels. Increased air pollution exposure was associated with a high risk of dyslipidemia. Each 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with 0.92% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64%, 1.20%), 2.23% (95% CI: 1.44%, 3.02%), and 3.04% (95% CI: 2.61%, 3.47%) increases in TC, TG, and LDL-C levels, respectively, and a 2.03% (95% CI: 1.69%, 2.37%) decrease in HDL-C levels, and high risks of dyslipidemia (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.18). Stronger associations of air pollution with blood lipids were found in participants with high lipid levels than in those with low lipid levels. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure to air pollutants was associated with blood lipid levels and the risk of dyslipidemia. People with high lipid levels were more susceptible to air pollution. Therefore, air pollution prevention and control may help reduce the incidence of dyslipidemia and the burden of CVDs.

China's First Demonstration of Cobalt-rich Manganese Crust Thickness Measurement in the Western Pacific with a Parametric Acoustic Probe.

Cobalt-rich manganese crusts (CRCs) are important as a potential mineral source that could occur throughout the Pacific on seamounts, ridges, and plateaus. We built a prototype parametric acoustic probe to complete the task of in-situ thickness measurements to estimate the volumetric distribution of deep-sea mineral. The prototype is designed with dual-channels for receiving the primary and secondary signal, which lays a foundation for improving the thickness extraction algorithm. Considering that the signal quality is degraded by the system interference and ambient noise, some improvements to the algorithm are proposed by including the wavelet-based envelope extraction method and the adaptive estimation strategy based on the dual-channel information. Additionally, wavelet regression is applied to reduce the measuring noise assuming that the CRCs have local thickness invariability. The algorithm is suitable for the CRCs with the structure of the multilayers at the top surface and one single layer at the bottom surface. A laboratory experiment is performed to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The experiments carried out on the China Ocean 51th voyage in the Western Pacific Ocean on Aug 30, 2018, are described and the data obtained by using the sit-on-bottom stationary measurement are processed to validate the design of the prototype.

Achieving High Performance Electrode for Energy Storage with Advanced Prussian Blue-Drived Nanocomposites-A Review.

Recently, Prussian blue analogues (PBAs)-based anode materials (oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides, borides, and carbides) have been extensively investigated in the field of energy conversion and storage. This is due to PBAs' unique properties, including high theoretical specific capacity, environmental friendly, and low cost. We thoroughly discussed the formation of PBAs in conjunction with other materials. The performance of composite materials improves the electrochemical performance of its energy storage materials. Furthermore, new insights are provided for the manufacture of low-cost, high-capacity, and long-life battery materials in order to solve the difficulties in different electrode materials, combined with advanced manufacturing technology and principles. Finally, PBAs and their composites' future challenges and opportunities are discussed.

Identification of the susceptible subpopulations for wide pulse pressure under long-term exposure to ambient particulate matters.

Wide pulse pressure (WPP) is a preclinical indicator for arterial stiffness and cardiovascular diseases. Long-term exposure to ambient particulate matters (PMs) would increase the risk of WPP. Although reducing pollutants emissions and avoiding outdoor activity during a polluted period are effective ways to blunt the adverse effects. Identifying and protecting the susceptible subpopulation is another crucial way to reduce the disease burdens. Therefore, we aimed to identify the susceptible subpopulations of WPP under long-term exposure to PMs. The WPP was defined as pulse pressure over 60 mmHg. Three-year averages of PMs were estimated using random forest approaches. Associations between WPP and PMs exposure were estimated using generalized propensity score weighted logistic regressions. Demographic, socioeconomic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and hematological biomarkers were collected to detect the modification effects on the WPP-PMs associations. Susceptible subpopulations were defined as those with significantly higher risks of WPP under PMs exposures. The PMs-WPP associations were significant with ORs (95%CI) of 1.126 (1.094, 1.159) for PM1, 1.174 (1.140, 1.210) for PM2.5, and 1.111 (1.088, 1.135) for PM10. There were 17 subpopulations more sensitive to WPP under long-term exposure to PMs. The susceptibility was higher in subpopulations with high BMI (Q3-Q4 quartiles), high-intensive physical activity (Q3 or Q4 quartile), insufficient or excessive fruit intake (Q1 or Q5 quartile), insufficient or too long sleep length (<7 or >8 h). Subpopulations with elevated inflammation markers (WBC, LYM, BAS, EOS: Q3-Q4 quartiles) and glucose metabolism indicators (HbA1c, GLU: Q3-Q4 quartiles) were more susceptible. Besides, elder, urban living, low socioeconomic level, and excessive red meat and sodium salt intake were also related to higher susceptibility. Our findings on the susceptibility characteristics would help to develop more targeted disease prevention and therapy strategies. Health resources can be allocated more effectively by putting more consideration to subpopulations with higher susceptibility.