Lithium-sulfur batteries with high sulfur content and mass loading are promising energy storage technologies due to sulfur's exceptional theoretical energy density. However, in practice, their actual capacity drastically decays when the sulfur cathode is loaded to the commercially required levels of 4 mgsulfur cm-2 and above, significantly reducing the energy density. This reduction is due to the excessive formation of polysulfides during sulfur lithiation, which not only deteriorates battery performance through their detrimental shuttling but also results in substantial stress buildup due to their significantly larger volume compared to sulfur. To address these challenges, we have developed an approach to suppress lithium polysulfide shuttling by limiting the space for sulfur expansion while improving the Li+ ion diffusion. This was achieved through a straightforward but effective method to cross-link the organic binder used in sulfur electrodes. Specifically, PVDF, one of the most common binder materials for battery electrodes, was studied. The chemical, mechanical, and structural properties of the cross-linked PVDF binder were thoroughly investigated, compared with standard PVDF, and correlated to the achieved electrochemical performance of sulfur electrodes. As a result, sulfur cathodes with cross-linked PVDF binder exhibited prolonged cycle life compared to their standard counterparts. Moreover, using this expansion-mitigant binder, cathodes with areal sulfur loading of 4 mg cm-2 showed exceptional stability for more than 200 cycles and a Coulombic efficiency above 97%. This approach offers a promising avenue to alleviate the major roadblocks of lithium-sulfur battery commercialization while allowing the utilization of the commonly accessible and well-studied binder chemistries.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have emerged as a promising alternative to commercialized proton exchange membrane fuel cells because they can enable much lower costs by using cheaper materials, especially non-precious metal electrocatalysts. However, the commercialization of AEMFCs faces several technical challenges, including water management during operation. More specifically, achieving high power density typically requires AEMFCs to be operated with anode/cathode reacting gas dew points much lower than the cell operating temperature to prevent flooding. Conversely, achieving long lifetime typically requires reacting gases with high relative humidities to be supplied to the cell. A solution is needed that can allow for high power density to be achieved under states of high hydration - i.e., high reacting gas dew points, even at lower operating temperatures (e.g., 60 degrees C). This work explores multiple electrode-level water management strategies for AEMFCs with the goal of enabling high power operation at high states of hydration, including: i) hydrophobic catalyst layers by adding PTFE; ii) hydrophilic catalyst layers by adding Nafion (R); iii) gas diffusion layers (GDLs) with patterned wettability; and iv) combinations thereof. Compared to hydrophobic electrodes suffering serious flooding at high hydration states, the promising result of this work is one of the highest reported peak power densities reported to date at 60 o C, 1.5 W cm-2 , under H2/O2 flow with hydrophilic-hydrophobic hybrid electrodes, even with anode and cathode dew points of 59 degrees C and 62 degrees C, respectively. It is expected that these electrode-level water management strategies can contribute to the commercialization of AEMFCs in the near future.

Tuning binder dissolution dynamics yields distinct structural states, promoting binder shell formation that confines sulfur and suppresses polysulfide loss.

Coke formation through thermal decomposition of methane at high temperatures is inevitable and thermodynamically favorable in dry reforming of methane (DRM), resulting in low catalytic activity and stability via quick catalyst deactivation. Owing to this, formidable catalysts design through kinetic dominance to mitigate carbon deposition is necessary to upgrade the DRM reaction for industrial feasibility. This review explores the importance of different supports and promoters, especially the silica and porous alumino-silicates (zeolites) towards kinetic coke mitigation in DRM catalysts. Generally, support is used to clutch the active species, affords them with high specific surface area and porosity, improve the dispersion and size-reduction, prevent agglomeration and sintering, increase basicity or acidity (as the case may be), improve the thermal and mechanical stability for efficient catalyst performance and stability. Furthermore, the kinetics feasibility of different rate-determining steps presented in literature based on the widely used Power Law (PL), Eley-Rideal, and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) models for DRM reactions is thoroughly discussed. The insights into future trend and outlook towards remedying carbonized emissions and valorization purposes are highlighted. This review will greatly be useful for research studies related to the DRM for effective catalysts design that meet industrial conditions.

The performance of Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries is significantly influenced by material selection and manufacturing processes, with conductive carbon and slurry formulation playing crucial roles. In this study, the impact of carbon morphology and solvent/solid ratio in slurry preparation on microstructure and electrochemical performance of sulfur cathodes was investigated. Various carbon structures, such as nanotubes, sheets, and particles, were explored, and the solvent volume was adjusted to assess their effects on electrode architecture and electrochemical performance. Our findings demonstrate that the binder dissolution process and consequent electrode architecture and performance are highly influenced by both the carbon structure and slurry solvent volume. Furthermore, it was observed that, contrary to common assumption, advanced carbon structures are not necessary for enhanced capacity and durability of Li-S cathodes. Accordingly, the best cycling durability was achieved by optimizing the slurry with 300 mu L/mgPVDF of NMP solvent and using Ketjen black as the conductive carbon, resulting in an initial capacity of 1029 mAh gS-1, with a retention of 830 mAh gS-1 after 500 cycles. These results, obtained at a high areal loading of 4.5 mgS cm-2, demonstrate the commercial potential of the proposed electrode formulation and processing method without reliance on advanced materials or techniques.

Oxidative-aided cracking of n-hexane is studied in a gas-phase oxygen-free environment over VOx/ZSM-5. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation of VOx on ZSM-5. Characterization of the prepared samples using XRD, SEM, and BET showed smooth, fine, highly crystalline, and highly dispersed VOx on ZSM-5. Raman spectroscopy revealed the presence of isolated moieties on the 1.5 and 2.5 % vanadia loading while a small number of polyvanadate species are detected on the 5 % VOx sample. TPR confirmed the ZSM-5 support contains highly reducible vanadia species. The amount of VOx loading also affected the activity and product distribution. The olefin and COx selectivities are affected by reaction time/temperature and amount/availability of lattice oxygen. VOx/ZSM-5(1.5) showed 99.9 % n-hexane conversion and 91.39 olefin selectivity at 575 degrees C and 25 s time-onstream. This superior performance is attributed to the intermittent release of oxygen, optimum acidity, microporosity, and mesoporosity.

Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries are among the popular candidates for next-generation rechargeable energy storage devices due to their high specific capacity and superior energy storage capabilities. However, commercialization of Li-S batteries has been hindered by several challenges such as the insulating nature of sulfur, and the shuttling of soluble lithium polysulfides and accumulation of insulating deposits on the electrodes – leading to capacity degradation over extended cycling1. Several research efforts have been devoted to mitigating these challenges. Among the different approaches, many studies focus on addressing the poor conductivity of sulfur and lithium polysulfide shuttling simultaneously by developing conductive carbon hosts2,3. While improvements have been achieved in the development of host structures with better electronic conductivity and improved polysulfide trapping capability, many of those structures have advanced architectures that demand complex processing, expensive precursors, and often lower gravimetric sulfur loading (<70 wt%).This leads to expensive-to-produce electrodes that have lower true energy density than desired. What is needed are simple preparation methods that address the issues discussed above without overly complicated processing, and preferably already commercialized materials. In this work, we systematically investigate the effect of different electrode components, including various common carbons and polymeric binders. The effect of carbon type and loading is discussed. The effect of solvent to binder ratio in the electrode slurry preparation is also studied. By tuning the binder composition, types of conductive carbon black, and the amount of solvent, we observed a difference in the structure of the host medium and consequently the sulfur electrode. Specifically, a shell covering surrounding the sulfur particles was observed at low solvent/binder ratio. Increasing the solvent/binder ratio led to the disappearance of the shell coverings and particle agglomeration, which resulted in lower achieved capacity and reduced cycle life. Ketjen black offered the highest specific capacity, while the presence of shell covering achieved at a low solvent/binder ratio was found necessary for cycling stability. This work demonstrates the importance of electrode processing parameters on the structure and electrochemical performance of sulfur cathode in Li-S batteries. The new understandings from this work can provide guidance on electrode designs to achieve Li-S batteries with enhanced capacity and longevity. References G. Li et al., Adv. Mater., 30, 1705590 (2018). D.-W. Wang et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 1, 9382 (2013). Y. Li and S. Guo, Matter, 4, 1142–1188 (2021).

The lithium-sulfur battery (LSB) is a promising candidate for high-performance energy storage applications due to its high theoretical energy density and low cost. However, developing a highly durable sulfur cathode for LSBs has been challenging due to the known polysulfide shuttling and volume variation of sulfur that leads to chemical and mechanical degradation of the cathode during cycling. Sulfur confinement has become a promising solution to both issues. However, confining sulfur typically requires a complex and expensive process. Herein, we present a simple electrode processing method for producing highly durable sulfur cathodes with self-structured binder confinement for sulfur particles using only commercially available sulfur, carbon black, and binder, with no additional components. The dissolution of the binder is controlled during the slurry preparation step to form a porous binder/carbon shell structure around the sulfur particles that can entrap the soluble polysulfides and slow down the shuttling mechanism. The sulfur cathodes achieved through this method offer an outstanding capacity retention of 74% over 1000 cycles, a considerable reduction in the lithium-polysulfide shuttling and active material loss. Electrodes with a high areal loading of 7.37 mAh/cm2 (4.4 mg/cm2) also showed excellent cyclability as well as a high capacity of 800 mAh/g. The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the presented method make it promising for the large-scale manufacturing of low-cost and durable sulfur cathodes, which pave the path to the commercialization of LSBs.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been the predominant energy storage technology for a variety of applications such as portable electronic devices and wireless power tools. However, the rising demand for emerging technologies such as long-range electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage and delivery has drastically increased the necessity for low-cost LIBs with enhanced performance and safety. Improvements in the modern LIB technology can be achieved through improvements in different, individual components of the battery. Among the key components of the battery, the separator plays a vital role. To date, polypropylene (PP)/polyethylene (PE) membranes have been used as separators in LIBs due to their desired electrochemical stability. However, these separator materials suffer from low thermal stability, which results in their deformation or decomposition at elevated temperatures upon high charging rates 1 . A dangerous consequence of this material degradation is an electrical short, leading to an aggressive discharge of the battery and subsequent fire. Moreover, PP/PE separators possess relatively low electrolyte wettability and an expensive and eco-unfriendly fabrication process. Hence, alternative separator materials for future LIB technology are indispensable. Among alternative separator materials, cellulose is a promising candidate 2 . Cellulose is derived from biomass which is one of the most abundant and renewable resources on Earth. It also is non-toxic and has high mechanical and chemical stability. Additionally, with an initial decomposition temperature of 270°C, cellulose offers a major advantage in thermal stability compared to its polymeric competitors 3 . The thermal and electrochemical stability, electrolyte wettability, and performance of cellulose-based separators in LIBs have been studied 3,4 . However, those reports mostly consider the conventional LIB electrode materials– Li transition metal oxide and graphite; and focus on the separator/electrolyte compatibility. Therefore, to be considered for future generations of high-performance Li-based batteries, cellulose-based separators must be investigated in batteries with new electrode chemistries. This work presents new insights on the interaction of cellulose-based separator and metallic Li – the leading candidate for future anodes. Coin cells were prepared using various cathode materials, Li metal anode, and a commercial cellulose-based separator. The cycling performance of the cells was tested at different C rates. Results were compared with the cycling performance of the coin cells with similar electrodes but a commercial PP/PE separator. Comparable discharge profiles were observed in the two groups of cells, but the cellulose separator hampered the charging process. Additional electrochemical analysis suggested an undesired interaction between the cellulose-based separator and metallic Li. To further understand this interaction, various protective coatings on the separator were investigated, the results of which suggest a mechanical degradation in the cellulose separator during cycling and consequently a soft short. These results are expected to provide a new understanding regarding the stability of cellulose-based separators in Li metal-containing batteries, which can help with their implementation in the next generation of Li-based batteries with enhanced performance and safety. References: Zhang, J.; Liu, Z.; Kong, Q.; Zhang, C.; Pang, S.; Yue, L.; Wang, X.; Yao, J.; Cui, G. Renewable and Superior Thermal-Resistant Cellulose-Based Composite Nonwoven as Lithium-Ion Battery Separator. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2012 , 5, 1, 128-134. Yu, B.; Park, K.; Jang, J.; Goodenough, J. Cellulose-Based Porous Membrane for Suppressing Li Dendrite Formation in Lithium-Sulfur Battery. ACS Energy Lett. 2016 , 1, 3, 633-637. Zhang, H.; Wang, X.; Liang, Y. Preparations and Characterization of a Lithium-ion Battery Separator from Cellulose Nanofibers. Heliyon , 2015 , 1, 2, e00032. Sheng, J.; Tong, S.; He, Z.; Yang, R. Recent Developments of Cellulose Materials for Lithium-ion Battery Separators. Cellulose 2017 , 24, 4103-4122.

Methylene blue (MB) is an important compound in textile and wood processing industries as well as in medical research for combating malaria parasites. Despite these versatilities, direct contact with human beings results in adverse health challenges, and contamination of water bodies affects aquatic biotas. Hence, it is important to treat MB-contaminated wastewaters before disposal into water bodies. Adsorption, which depends on some parameters, proves to be an easy, cheap, and efficient technique to remove pollutants in wastewater. However, investigating these parameters experimentally is a laborious, expensive, and time-consuming process whose efficiency is limited by the conditions imposed on the experiments. Herein, we developed polynomial multiple linear regression (MLR) and the three other machine learning models to study the interplay of five adsorption parameters (descriptors) and their effects on the removal of methylene blue from water using aluminized activated carbon (Al-AC). The optimized machine learning models, that is random forest (R = 0.9905), support vector regression (R = 0.9946), and multilayer perceptron (R = 0.9993), outperformed the best MLR model (R = 0.9845) by small margins. High statistical R and low error values are not enough to satisfactorily classify a model. Hence, the generalizability of the models was further determined under different experimental conditions, and the order of predictive accuracy of the models was established as ANN > SVR > RF > 2-degree MLR. Aluminum loading, adsorbent dosage, and initial adsorbate concentration are the most important factors affecting MB removal. The removal efficiency, which could reach 99.9% at optimum conditions, does not depend on the temperature thus eliminating the need to install temperature control apparatus for practical setup.

The advent of electric vehicles, grid storage, and more powerful electronic devices has made it necessary to develop a new generation of high energy rechargeable batteries to overcome the inadequacies of the current lithium-ion batteries (LIB) technology. Replacing the conventional cathode material with Sulfur and pairing it with a Lithium (Li) metal anode to obtain the Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery is a promising approach. Li-S has a theoretical specific energy density of 2600 Wh/kg, which is significantly higher than what the modern LIB can offer 1 . In addition, the low cost, natural abundance, and environmental friendliness of sulfur suit commercial consideration. However, the path to commercialization and adoption of Li-S has several challenges. One of the major challenges in Li-S batteries relates to the undesired solubility of the sulfur products in the liquid electrolyte, resulting in so-called Li polysulfides (LiPSs) “shuttling”. During the discharge, the reaction of Li and sulfur results in the stepwise transformation of stable ring-shaped sulfur (S 8 ) to a series of LiPSs (Li 2 S x , x = 1, 2, 4, 6, 8). Unfortunately, the long-chain LiPSs have high solubility in the electrolyte that facilitates the back-and-forth transport of the LiPSs between the electrodes. The result is a “chemical short” in the cell, a loss of active material, and poor cyclability 2 . To overcome this problem, a clear understanding of the discharge and charge electrochemical reactions in Li-S battery is much needed. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a powerful technique to study the electrochemical mechanisms at work in many technologies, including the Li-S battery. Because of this, multiple EIS-based measurements for the Li-S battery have been reported. However, those attempts carried out EIS measurements during the first cycle 3–5 or the first few cycles 6 , which does not provide robust insight into the conditioned charge and discharge processes taking place in a real battery as it operates for many cycles. Hence, a clear understanding of the electrochemical processes and their mechanisms in Li-S batteries at extended cycle numbers is needed. In this work, we expand our understanding of the Li-S charge and discharge mechanisms at a high number of cycles and various depths of discharge (DoD) and states of charge (SoC). An equivalent circuit model of the EIS spectra was proposed from the Nyquist plots. New insights about the individual contribution of charge transfer resistance and the impedance resulting from the deposition of non-conducting Li 2 S/Li 2 S 2 at high number of cycles were achieved. These new insights are expected to provide a better understanding of the Li-S performance during extended cycle life. References S. Evers and L. F. Nazar, Acc. Chem. Res. , 46 , 1135–1143 (2013). A. Manthiram, Y. Fu, S.-H. Chung, C. Zu, and Y.-S. Su, Chem. Rev. , 114 , 11751–11787 (2014). S. Waluś, C. Barchasz, R. Bouchet, and F. Alloin, Electrochimica Acta , 359 , 136944 (2020). N. A. Cañas et al., Electrochimica Acta , 97 , 42–51 (2013). L. Yuan, X. Qiu, L. Chen, and W. Zhu, J. Power Sources , 189 , 127–132 (2009). V. Kolosnitsyn, E. V. Kuz’mina, E. Karaseva, and S. E. Mochalov, J. Power Sources , 196 , 1478–1482 (2011).

Lithium (Li) ion batteries (LIBs) have been the predominant and fastest growing energy storage technology over the past few decades. A significant amount of LIB research has been carried out and remarkable improvements in the technology have been achieved. As a result, state-of-the-art LIBs offer superior cyclability, high efficiency, and high specific energy relative to competitors [1]. However, the desire for long-range electric vehicles (EVs) and grid-level energy storage and delivery is increasing the demands for batteries with very high gravimetric energy density (e.g. > 500 Wh/kg) [2]. This is simply much higher than what LIB electrode materials can practically offer (~ 260 Wh/kg). Therefore, alternative chemistries are needed at both electrodes. One material that has received significant attention recently as a replacement cathode material in Li-based batteries is sulfur (S). S has 5 times the theoretical specific energy than conventional LIB cathodes and can offer a practical energy density of > 500 Wh/kg when coupled with commercially available lithiated graphite or Li metal anodes [3]. S is also non-toxic, low-cost, and has high natural abundance. These properties make S a promising candidate for next-generation cathodes in Li battery systems. Yet, the path to achieving near theoretical capacity and long cycle life for S cathodes has proven difficult due to numerous unsolved scientific and technical issues including: i) the insulating nature of Sulfur (S8) and its discharged product (Li2S); ii) undesired solubility of the S products in the liquid electrolyte, resulting in the degrading so-called Li polysulfides “shuttling”, and iii) structural change of the S cathode during charge and discharge due to the large volume variation between the fully charged and discharged products [4]. Several approaches have been reported to address these challenges and improve the Li-S battery performance and durability. Despite these efforts, the advances have been mostly limited to a small number of cycles, or the need for complex structures and that would lead to expensive synthesis costs at the manufacturing scale. In fact, it is not truly known if such complex structures are even necessary as the literature lacks a truly systematic investigation into i) the influence of the S structure on its behavior; and ii) how the S structure evolves as a result of charging and discharging the cell. It is also likely that complex structures would not be reformed upon deep charging/discharging – making their possible advantages only temporary. Hence, there are a limited number of truly practical S cathodes that can be rationally developed [3, 4]. In this work, new insights are presented regarding the structural evolution of S cathodes throughout cycling. The structural changes experienced by the S cathodes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) during charge and discharge (at C/10) over the lifetime of the cell (10’s to 100’s of cycles) for multiple cells. Cycling was done with Li-S coin cells that were made using a Li metal anode and a S cathode. The S cathode was prepared using commercially available S powder, a through low-cost, simple, and scalable electrode recipe and production techniques. Drastic microstructural and compositional transformations were observed in the S cathodes as a consequence of charging and discharging. Results suggest that there was a reversible swelling transfiguration of the support structure (conductive carbon plus binder) during each discharge and charge step. It was also observed that the location and distribution of S was changed, and new structures were formed. These results are expected to cast light on a fairly unknown area in the Li-S battery technology, which can help with future scale-up and manufacturing of these cells. References [1] G. E. Blomgren, “The development and future of lithium ion batteries,” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, vol. 164, no. 1, p. A5019, 2016. [2] B. Zhu, X. Wang, P. Yao, J. Li, and J. Zhu, “Towards high energy density lithium battery anodes: silicon and lithium,” Chemical science, vol. 10, no. 30, pp. 7132–7148, 2019. [3] Z. Lin and C. Liang, “Lithium–sulfur batteries: from liquid to solid cells,” Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 936–958, 2015. [4] ZW. She, Y. Sun, Q. Zhang, and Y. Cui. “Designing high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries” Chemical society reviews, vol. 45, no. 20, pp. 5605-5634, 2016.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are a reliable energy storage technology that have been used in various applications such as portable devices and power tools. However, the specific capacities of the electrode materials in the current LIB technology are approaching their theoretical limits which impedes their utilization in a variety of emerging applications such as long-range electric vehicles, next-generation mobile devices, and grid level energy storage and delivery. Therefore, alternative electrode materials with high specific capacity beyond the conventional LIB electrode materials are needed 1. Sulfur has been touted as a promising alternative cathode material in recent years. Sulfur offers superior theoretical capacity, and a high practical energy density when it is paired with a Li metal anode in so called Li-S batteries2. Non-toxicity, low cost and high natural abundance also make Sulfur environmentally and economically appealing. However, achieving the desired high energy density and long cycle life in Li-S batteries have been proven difficult because of the: (1) insulating nature of the two end products of charge and discharge; S8 and Li2S, (2) electrode degradation due to the volumetric change during cycling, and (3) dissolution of the Sulfur discharge products, Li-polysulfides (LiPSs), in the ether-based electrolyte, resulting in the “shuttling effect” that leads to capacity decay over extended cycling 3,4. In this work, new insights are presented on how the binder, its solvent, and dissolution process affect the electrode microstructure and performance. The Sulfur cathodes were prepared using commercially available Sulfur powder, carbon black and various binders and solvents. The cathode structures prepared using different binder and solvent combinations were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cycling performance of the Sulfur cathodes were tested in coin cells. The results showed considerable structural and performance variations between cathodes with similar binders but different solvents, or different treatment conditions with the same solvent. In particular, when binders were minimally dissolved in N-Methylpyrrolidone a porous shell-like structure was observed around the sulfur particles that evolved to a denser sponge-shape structure upon excessive dissolution. The porous shell structure resulted in enhanced performance and cycle life. Using spectroscopic data, it is possible that enhanced cycle life might be attributable to physical trapping of the LiPSs and providing a buffer for the volumetric change during discharge. Thus, a new perspective will be presented that the binder/solvent interaction can impact the performance of sulfur cathodes by manipulating both its structural and chemical behavior. These results are expected to provide a new understanding regarding the effect of binder and its processing on the performance of Li-S batteries and help to write a new narrative regarding electrode chemistry and preparation techniques for future applications. References M. Zhao et al., ACS Cent. Sci., 6, 1095–1104 (2020). A. Manthiram, Y. Fu, S.-H. Chung, C. Zu, and Y.-S. Su, Chem. Rev., 114, 11751–11787 (2014). A. Manthiram, Y. Fu, and Y.-S. Su, Acc. Chem. Res., 46, 1125–1134 (2013). W. Ren, W. Ma, S. Zhang, and B. Tang, Energy Storage Mater., 23, 707–732 (2019).

Water and wastewater treatment applications stand to benefit immensely from the design and development of new materials based on silica nanoparticles and their derivatives. Nanosilica possesses unique properties, including low toxicity, chemical inertness, and excellent biocompatibility, and can be developed from a variety of sustainable precursor materials. Herein, we provide an account of the recent advances in the synthesis and utilization of nanosilica for wastewater treatment. This review covers key physicochemical aspects of several nanosilica materials and a variety of nanotechnology-enabled wastewater treatment techniques such as adsorption, separation membranes, and antimicrobial applications. It also discusses the prospective design and tuning options for nanosilica production, such as size control, morphological tuning, and surface functionalization. Informative discussions on nanosilica production from agricultural wastes have been offered, with a focus on the synthesis methodologies and pretreatment requirements for biomass precursors. The characterization of the different physicochemical features of nanosilica materials using critical surface analysis methods is discussed. Bio-hybrid nanosilica materials have also been highlighted to emphasize the critical relevance of environmental sustainability in wastewater treatment. To guarantee the thoroughness of the review, insights into nanosilica regeneration and reuse are provided. Overall, it is envisaged that this work's insights and views will inspire unique and efficient nanosilica material design and development with robust properties for water and wastewater treatment applications.

The corrosion of zinc particles in alkaline environments is an energetically parasitic process that produces hydrogen gas as a byproduct. This “gassing” phenomenon is thermodynamically favorable in standard zinc-alkaline battery chemistries. Building hydrogen pressure within these primary cells can eventually lead to cell rupture, leaking the high-pH electrolyte and slurry from the cell, often destroying the electronic device that the cell was meant to power. One of the particle-level variables that can control the gassing and corrosion rate is the particle crystallinity. As the crystallinity of the zinc particles is enhanced (larger grains and fewer grains per particle), a reduction in the rate of this undesirable gassing phenomenon is expected. In this study, we demonstrate a systematic method for enhancing zinc particle crystallinity by thermally growing zinc grains. Since thermally growing zinc grains requires temperature exposure above the melting point of metallic zinc, an oxide layer is first grown around the outside of the particle surface. Oxides tend to have significantly higher melting temperatures than their metallic counterparts and this is true in the zinc/zinc oxide case where the melting temperature of metallic zinc is 420 o C and the melting temperature of zinc oxide is 1975 o C. Forming a thin oxide layer around the particle allows the metallic zinc core to be recrystallized whilst simultaneously retaining the particle shape. Following the grain growth step, the oxide layer is easily washed away with a quick acetic acid treatment. Outlined in this work is a detailed study on the scalable three-step process for growing zinc grains and enhancing bulk zinc powder crystallinity by the following: 1) oxide layer formation, 2) grain growth, and 3) oxide layer removal. Following the treatment, both achievable capacity and the corrosion rate were tested. It will be shown that the higher crystallinity particles have superior performance and lower gassing than traditional Zn powders without the treatment.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of the promising alternatives to modern Lithium-ion Battery (LIB) technology due to their superior specific energy density, which can satisfy the emerging needs of advanced energy storage applications such as electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage and delivery. However, achieving this high specific energy density is hampered by several challenges inherent to the properties of sulfur and its discharge products. One major issue is related to the insulating nature of S and its fully discharged product (Li 2 S), which often leads to low utilization of the active material and poor rate capability. The poor electronic conductivity of these species can be overcome by utilizing conductive hosts, though they are dilutive and decrease the energy density, meaning that their mass ratio to the active material should be as low as possible [1]. Another crucial issue relates to the undesired solubility of certain sulfur discharge products, so-called long-chain Li polysulfides (LiPSs), in the conventional ether-based liquid electrolyte. The solubility of long-chain LiPSs promotes their free back-and-forth transport between the positive and negative electrodes, which results in poor cyclability and capacity decay [2, 3]. Despite the efforts to engineer and control the undesired LiPSs shuttling effect, advances have been mostly limited to a small number of cycles (100-200), or the need for complex and often expensive synthesis that has limited the rational development of new sulfur cathodes. At present, a large majority of the sulfur cathode research has focused on nano-architectured electrodes using 2D and 3D host materials for sulfur, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, conductive scaffolds, yolk-shell structures, and the like, to increase the conductivity and alleviate the LiPSs shuttling [4]. Although these approaches have helped to increase the achievable capacity, and sometimes the cyclability, their synthesis methods have been highly complex, meaning that their manufacturing cost will be high. Also, in operating cells, it is highly unlikely that these complex structures can be effectively reproduced upon many charge-discharge cycles – meaning that capacity loss is essentially inevitable. Thus, developing novel, yet affordable and scalable, cathode architectures that can enhance the rapid transport of Li-ions to active sites for electrode reactions, accommodate discharge-induced volume expansion, and minimize the shuttling mechanism by sulfur encapsulation are still in great need. In this work, we present a low-cost and scalable processing method for highly durable sulfur cathodes containing commercial sulfur, carbon black, and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The sulfur cathode slurry was prepared through a simple and scalable recipe where the degree of binder dissolution into the solvent was controlled before electrode deposition. Variables such as the solvent:binder ratio, dissolution time, and agitation will be discussed. The microstructure of the sulfur cathodes was characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Through controlled dissolution of binder, a porous, swollen network of binder was achieved that adhered the sulfur and carbon particles while providing a highly porous structure that can accommodate the sulfur volume expansion during discharge and impede dissolution of the discharge products into the electrolyte by physically trapping them. The cycling performance of the sulfur cathodes prepared through the present novel processing was tested at C/10 and compared with those prepared through the conventional production techniques. The sulfur cathodes prepared with this novel electrode processing offered impressive capacity retention of 80% after 1000 cycles suggesting a considerable improvement in the shuttling effect and active material preservation. These results are expected to help move the production and manufacturing of Li-S batteries forward. References -J. Lee, T.-H. Kang, H.-Y. Lee, J. S. Samdani, Y. Jung, C. Zhang, Z. Yu, G.-L. Xu, L. Cheng, S. Byun et al., Advanced Energy Materials, vol. 10, no. 22, p. 1903934, 2020. Yang, G. Zheng, and Y. Cui, Chemical Society Reviews, vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 3018–3032, 2013. She, Y. Sun, Q. Zhang, and Y. Cui., Chemical society reviews, vol. 45, no. 20, pp. 5605-5634, 2016. Zhou, D. L. Danilov, R.-A. Eichel, and P. H. L. Notten, Advanced Energy Materials, vol. 1, p. 2001304, 2020.

The steel plant’s workplace environmental hazard parameters in Ilorin, Nigeria was evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). Three environmental parameters (illumination, temperature and noise level) were measured. The data obtained were compared with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) standard for the workplace environment. Based on the preliminary analysis of the workplace environment, five variables (No. of lightings, no. of windows, no. of machines, no. of workers and age of machines) were considered as input parameters. RSM was used to perform the modelling and optimization to identify functional relationships between the input and output parameters. Three (3) model equations one for each of the output parameters were developed and checked for adequacy and validity. All developed model equations were found to present functional relationships between input and output parameters. Hence, all developed model equations can be used as reliable tools for estimating, predicting, and conducting analysis for workplace environmental hazard. Best optimized results were selected based on desirability (0–1). Illumination, temperature and noise level got desirability rate of 0.921, 1.000 and 0.983 respectively. The outcome of this study suggested that the environmental parameters studied within the workplace do not conform with the OSHA standard and as a result may constitute long-term health risks to the workers.

Zn-MnO2 alkaline batteries have been the dominant primary energy storage solution for decades. Despite their success, there is a desire to improve their discharge capacity and energy density as they approach their practical engineering limits. Since the capacity of alkaline batteries is limited by the Zn anode mass, one possible pathway to enhance the energy density is to modify the Zn anode with secondary materials that boost their capacity without sacrificing their stability. Herein, partial deployment of Al in Zn anodes was investigated to increase capacity and energy density as Al has a similar to 3.5 fold higher theoretical gravimetric capacity than Zn. To do that, Zn-rich electrolytic Zn/Al (e-Zn/Al) was synthesized, physically characterized and exposed to a series of electrochemical methods in both three-electrode cells and cylindrical full cells, including linear sweep and cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and charge/discharge cycling. In addition, an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance was utilized to explore the influence of ZnO and Al(OH)(3) electrolyte additives to KOH on Zn corrosion and passivation. It was shown that partial Al inclusion significantly improved capacity, to 581 mAh g(anode)(-1) (similar to 784 Wh kg(anode)(-1)) at C/20. Finally, excellent cycle performance was observed over 800 h in secondary full cells.

Electroanalytical techniques are specialized tools with high-sensitivity that when combined with electron transfer theory can shed light on the mechanisms of highly complex, heterogeneous, multi-step reactions – including SEI formation on LiB anodes.

Adsorption of pollutants or contaminants remains one of the most promising approaches for environmental and economical cleaning purposes. Whilst the adsorption is a very desirable and attractive method of cleaning and separation based on the cost and ease of operation, the efficiency of adsorptive technology anchors or revolves around the choice of the adsorbent. Carbon and its modified varieties, metal?organic frameworks (MOF), clays, zeolites, silica-based, and supported metal(s) have been employed over decades as adsorbents for different industrial, environmental and biological applications. This review focuses on the milestones achieved over decades regarding different non-carbonaceous adsorbents for adsorptive desulfurization of sulfur compounds in liquid fuels. Synthesis strategies of adsorbents, adsorption mechanisms, competitive effect of aromatic compounds, regenerability, nature of the liquid fuel (medium of liquid fuel), cost effectiveness, efficiency and few characterization techniques, and other parameters that affect the performance and operability of adsorbents will be explored in this review. The maximum adsorption capacity will be compared as a yardstick for chosen adsorbent for a specific sulfur compound in a suitable medium, and future research direction would be suggested. The readers will have a full understanding of adsorbents? properties and performance in different media of liquid fuels and the chemistry of interaction with the host matrices. The review will also serve as a guide in bridging the gap between the past, present and the future on the adsorptive desulfurization technology.