Advanced Sustainable Systems最新文献

All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

Garnet-type Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) Li-ion conductor is a promising solid electrolyte for all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). In article number 2300656, Cheng-Xin Li, Venkataraman Thangadurai, and co-workers show that by doping with cations, it is possible to significantly enhance the ionic conductivity and stability of the LLZO electrolyte, thereby facilitating the development and application of ASSLBs with high energy density and enhanced safety.

Papertronics

In article number 2400049, Seokheun Choi, Zahra Rafiee, and Anwar Elhadad present a groundbreaking framework that revolutionizes papertronics, merging biodegradability with flexibility. It combines functional inks, paper's natural capillary action, and precision-engineered hydrophobic wax to control flow, enabling the creation of tunable electronic components—resistors, capacitors, and transistors—and the seamless integration of electronic circuits within paper, redefining their construction, performance, and utility.

Na-ion batteries (SIBs) are receiving a great deal of attention as potential sustainable replacements for Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles and grid storage applications. To date, commercialized SIBs offer inferior energy density with passable extended cycling. By contrast, next-generation SIBs will likely utilize layered oxide cathodes that offer improved energy density but to date show inferior stability both during cycling and in terms of stability of the cathodes in air during cell assembly. These properties are highly tunable with composition and herein the promising P2 phases are systematically explored in the Na–Fe–Mn–O phase diagram by making 256 different compositions. The optimal material is a P2 material saturated with Ni (a modest 16% of the transition metal layer) and shows a highly competitive energy density of 640 Wh kg⁻¹ while minimizing the amount of sacrificial sodium needed in full cells and also improving the air stability of the material. This study shows the vital role that thorough systematic screening will play in the continued development of these vital materials for sustainable secondary battery production and provides guidance toward sustainable Na-ion cathodes by minimizing the nickel content required for high performance.

With the aim to build a simple alert system that may be of extended use, a screening for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is carried out in the Mero-Barcés hydrographic watershed, in Cecebre, A Coruña, NW Spain, which feeds the reservoir that supplies drinking water to ≈400 000 inhabitants in the area. Water samples are collected for five years (2015–2019) at six different sampling points, to assess the presence and potential risk of CECs, including some widely used drugs: clofibric acid, paracetamol carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ofloxacin, ketoprofen, and sotalol; an alkaloid: caffeine; synthetic flavourings: galaxolide and tonalide; and a plasticiser: bisphenol A. The most abundant CECs occurring are ibuprofen (>2µg L⁻¹), diclofenac, caffeine, and galaxolide. Samples of treated drinking water show a certain degree of CECs abatement. The presence of nonpolar substances, banned in the EU nowadays, is confirmed. A snapshot of sediments is sampled in 2018–2019, and PAHs and PCBs are quantified, the former being mainly of pyrogenic origin. Based on known properties of quantifiable substances, a traffic-light system is developed for risk assessment of the state of continental waters, a strategy that may be useful for decission-makers to implement environmental remediation policies

A super-black wood with low reflectivity in the UV/Vis range is created by plasma modifying basswood surfaces. Here the super-black wood is characterized, the process used to make it is described and its possible practical uses are discussed. Wood samples are exposed to oxygen glow-discharge plasma. Transverse surfaces exposed to high-energy plasma have a deep-black velvety appearance. The reflectance of these surfaces is measured and compared with those of commercial super-black materials. The reflectivity of samples over a narrower wavelength range is measured with a spectrophotometer and converted into lightness values. The microstructure and surface chemistry of super-black wood are examined using SEM/X-ray micro-CT and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. Transverse basswood samples modified with high-energy plasma have reflectivity averaging 0.68% (300–700 nm). The super-black color of plasma-modified wood is retained when it is coated with gold/vanadium alloy indicating structural coloration. Plasma creates a low density, lignin-enriched surface with deep pits, columns and tangled fibrils; features also found in synthetic super-black materials. In conclusion, this method of creating a super-black material by plasma-modification of basswood does not require a lithography pre-step, generates no liquid waste and, as is demonstrated here, can be used to prototype luxury consumer products.

The precise control of size and morphology of photocatalysts through solvothermal methods is a challenge in the basic research of 3-D titanium dioxide (TiO₂) hierarchical structures. This study utilizes the solvothermal method to synthesize N-involved TiO₂ nanoflowers with nanosheet-assembled structures ranging from microscale (1.3 µm ± 0.2 µm) to nanoscale (200 nm ± 50 nm), achieved by varying the volume fraction (percentage by volume, vol%) of N-N-dimethylformamide (DMF) from 0% to 75% in a mixed solution of DMF and isopropanol (IPA). The synthesized TiO₂:VF_DMF = 0–75% catalyst exhibits good monodispersity and uniform particle size. With increasing DMF volume percentage, the size of TiO₂:VF_DMF = 0–75% decreased regularly, and the number of nanosheets constructed with a single TiO₂:VF_DMF = 0–75% particle decreased without any stacking or reassembly occurring. This study monitors the solvothermal processes of DMF 5% and DMF 75%, revealing the changing rules of nanoparticle size and morphology. Furthermore, the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange shows that TiO₂:VF_DMF = 50% and TiO₂:VF_DMF = 75% are structurally stable and exhibit good photocatalytic activity without any noble metal doping. The degradation efficiency reaches 99.9%, and after repeated use, the catalysts demonstrate excellent degradation performance.