Achieving an optimal balance between peak power density and long-term stability in high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) technology is instrumental in facilitating sustainable energy recovery. In this study, we pioneered the design of long alkyl quaternized ionic liquid (GIL) to introduce it into hydroxypolybenzimidazole (OHPBI), to enhance the proton conductivity of OHPBI. Concurrently, we incorporated selfcontained microporous polymers (PIM-1) into the system and utilized the differing affinities of GIL and PIM-1 toward the phosphoric acid (PA) phase to prepare microphase-separated polybenzimidazole (OHPBI-GPIL-PIMX) membranes. Notably, the PA retention rate of the OHPBI-GPIL-PIMX membrane at 160 degrees C/0% relative humidity is 89.1%. Additionally, the OHPBI-GPIL-PIMX membrane achieves a peak power density of 1.1 W cm-2 at 180 degrees C, with a voltage decay rate of 0.05 mV h-1 after prolonged operation. The OHPBI-GPIL-PIMX membrane demonstrates both high power output and long-term stability, highlighting its potential for emerging electrochemical applications.

Against the backdrop of the global energy transition and the scarcity of lithium resources, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as a crucial alternative energy storage technology. Graphite, the anode material...

Phosphoric acid (PA)-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) is an ideal choice of membrane materials for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) as efficient clean energy devices. PA-doped PBI (PBI/PA) membranes exhibit favorable proton conductivity. However, extended usage results in the leaching of PA and the deterioration of mechanical qualities. Here, we prepared composite membranes of quaternised linear polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)/PBI containing side chains of quaternary ammonium (QA) and siloxane groups through a series of treatments. This design improves both proton conductivity and PA retention through the QA group, the conserved NH site and the high attraction of PIL to PA. Meanwhile, the introduced siloxane crosslinked structure ensures the mechanical properties and chemical stability of the membranes. Among them, QMPBI-P-O10-T90 (P: PIL, O: TOPEA, T: TEA) membrane achieves a proton conductivity of 135.5 mS cm- 1 at 180 degrees C and a PA retention of 85.3 % at 160 degrees C/0 % RH. In addition, at 160 degrees C without humidity, the peak power density of QMPBI-P-O10-T90 membrane can reach 523.2 mW cm- 2. This synthesis strategy offers a promising new approach to fabricate polymeric ionic liquid-based crosslinked membranes for various applications.

In phosphoric acid (PA)-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes designed for high-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs), increasing the PA doping is essential. Yet, excessive PA doping causes a decline in mechanical strength, which in turn affects the cell performance. We utilize a strategy that integrates elevated PA absorption, increased mechanical strength, and enhanced PA retention. An azide-type ionic liquid (IL) containing double bonds was synthesized and crosslinked with PBI via free radical polymerization reaction. In addition, the IL can also self-polymerize to form long-chain polymeric ionic liquid (PIL). Together, the two structures together form a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (sIPN) system, which has good mechanical properties. The synthesized alkaline ionic liquid can absorb and retain a large amount of PA through acid-base interactions and inter-ionic interactions. Consequently, the proton conductivity of the amino-type polybenzimidazole (AmPBI)-polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-30 (where 30 stands for the wt% of IL) membrane in an anhydrous environment at 180 °C reached 138.2 mS cm-1. After PA retention test at 160 °C/0 % relative humidity (RH) for 240 h, the proton conductivity reached 99.4 mS cm-1 at 180 °C. The AmPBI-PIL-10 membrane exhibited a significant power density of 635.4 mW cm-2 at 160 °C. The AmPBI-PIL-X composite membranes exhibited exceptional performance.

Boron (B) is essential for plant growth, but toxic in excess. In several countries, soil toxic B levels are always a severe agricultural problem in arid and semi-arid regions. Phytoremediation of excess B containing soil is still in its infancy, while high B tolerant plants with elevated protein abundance of B efflux transporter were successfully established or explored. Brassica napus (B. napus) is one of the most important oil crops. However, B efflux transporters underlying excess B tolerance in B. napus remain unknown. Here, we reported that in Brassicaceae species, B. napus had four homologous genes of Arabidopsis AtBOR4 , which were renamed BnaBOR4.1, BnaBOR4.2, BnaBOR4.3 and BnaBOR4.4. BnaBOR4.1, BnaBOR4.2 and BnaBOR4.3 showed constitutive expression and BnaBOR4.4 appeared to be a pseudogene. BnaBOR4.2 and BnaBOR4.3 were expressed in inner cell layers and BnaBOR4.1 in the outer cell layer in root tip, and all were expressed in vascular tissue in the mature zone. B efflux activity assays in yeast demonstrated that BnaBOR4.1, BnaBOR4.2 and AtBOR4 but not BnaBOR4.3 had comparable levels of B transport activity. Structure-functional analysis between BnaBOR4.3 and BnaBOR4.2 demonstrated that amino acid residue substitution at position 297 (Ala vs Pro) and 427 (Met vs Leu) is critical for the B transport activity. Mutant BnaBOR4.3M427L partially restored the B efflux activity, and both mutants BnaBOR4.3A297P and BnaBOR4.3A297P&M427L fully restored B efflux activity, indicating that the Pro297 residue is critical for their function. Further validation of BnaBOR4 was accomplished by growing transgenic Arabidopsis plants under high B conditions. Taken together, our study identified two functional B efflux genes BnaBOR4.1 and BnaBOR4.2 in B. napus, and a key amino acid residue proline 297 associated with B efflux activity. This study highlights the potential of BanBOR4 genes for B. napus cultivation under high B stress.

用超声辅助溶液燃烧合成技术制备双层碳包覆的Na3V2(PO4)3(NVP)钠离子电池正极材料,并对其电化学性能进行深入的研究.结果表明,双层碳包覆在NVP颗粒表面,由内自外分别为无定形硬碳和石墨烯.石墨烯添加量为5.0％(质量分数)的碳包覆NVP复合材料具有优异的电化学性能,在1 C倍率下充放电其初始比容量为117 mAh·g-1,循环300圈后容量的保持率为79％,在10 C倍率下其放电比容量高达100 mAh-g-1.这种正极材料电化学动力学性能的提高,源于均匀的双层碳包覆结构及其构建的三维电子传输通道.

The ternary amorphous CuSeP2 was designed and prepared as the anode material of potassium ion battery for the first time, and its electrochemical performance was also investigated. After ball-milling with commercial graphene powder, it is used as the anode material for potassium ion battery with reversible specific capacity up to 300 mAh g-1, and the corresponding initial coulombic efficiency is close to 60%. What's more, the specific capacity remains above 150 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g-1. When increasing the current density to 1000 mA g-1, the CuSeP2/graphene composites still has a potassium storage specific capacity of 100 mAh g-1. Our results show that the potassium storage mechanism of the ternary CuSeP2 anode material is a typical conversion reaction and the introduction of Cu can not only buffer the volume expansion during the subsequent electrochemical reaction, but also effectively enhance the electrochemical reversibility of potassium ion.

Recent progress has shown that vacuolar Pi transporters (VPTs) are important for cellular Pi homoeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa under fluctuating external Pi supply, but the identity and involvement of VPTs in cellular Pi homoeostasis in Brassica napus is poorly understood. Here, we identified two vacuolar Pi influx transporters B. napus, BnA09PHT5;1b and BnCnPHT5;1b, and uncovered their necessity for cellular Pi homoeostasis through functional analysis. Both Brassica proteins are homologs of Arabidopsis AtPHT5;1 with a similar sequence, structure, tonoplast localization, and VPT activity. Brassica pht5;1b double mutants had smaller shoots and larger shoot cellular Pi concentrations than wild-type B. napus, which contrasts with a previous study of the Arabidopsis pht5;1 mutant, suggesting that PHT5;1-VPTs play different roles in cellular Pi homoeostasis in seedlings of B. napus and A. thaliana. Disruption of BnPHT5;1b genes also caused Pi toxicity in floral organs, reduced seed yield and impacted seed traits, consistent with the proposed role of AtPHT5;1 in floral Pi homoeostasis in Arabidopsis. Taken together, our studies identified two vacuolar Pi influx transporters in B. napus and revealed the distinct and conserved roles of BnPHT5;1bs in cellular Pi homoeostasis in this plant species.

Prussian blue attracts the attention of many researchers as a promising candidate for use in sodium-ion battery cathodes due to its open frameworks and high working potential. However, the interstitial water in its crystal structure and its poor electronic conductivity limits its performance in practical sodium-ion batteries. Here, acid-assisted ball milling synthesis was employed as a versatile method for the production of surface-modified Prussian blue. With (CH3COO)2Fe being used as the raw material, the Prussian blue produced using ball milling synthesis was modified by the carboxyl functional group on its surface, which resulted in lower interstitial water content and enhanced electrochemical cycling performance. In addition, ball milling synthesis provided the as-prepared Prussian blue with a large surface area, improving its electrochemical rate performance. When used as the cathode of sodium-ion batteries, as-prepared Prussian blue delivered a specific capacity of 145.3 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and 113.7 mAh g−1 at 1 C, maintaining 54.5% of the initial capacity after 1000 cycles at 1 C (1 C = 170 mA g−1). Furthermore, a solid-state sodium-ion battery was mounted, with as-prepared Prussian blue being employed as the cathode and Na metal as the anode, which delivered a high specific capacity of 128.7 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C. The present study put forward an effective solution to overcome the limitations of Prussian blue for its commercial application.

As advanced electrode materials for sodium ion batteries, Prussian blue and its derivatives have attracted considerable attention due to their low cost, structural stability and facile synthesis process. However, the application of commercially available Prussian blue is limited by its poor electronic conductivity as well as the structural defect induced by crystalline/interstitial water molecules. Herein, to address these drawbacks, an etching-agent free method is developed to synthesize Prussian blue with a hollow structure, and the synthesis mechanism is revealed. Owing to the stability of divalent iron ions, the shorter electron/ion diffusion pathway and fewer defect sites of the hollow structure, the obtained Prussian blue exhibits excellent electrochemical performance (specific capacity of 133.6 mA h g-1 at 1C, 1C = 170 mA g-1), which can put forward a new avenue to engineer advanced electrode materials for sodium ion batteries.

Prussian blue (PB) has great potential for use as a sodium cathode material owing to its high working potential and cube frame structure. Herein, this work reports a two-step method to synthesize PB with ascorbic acid as the ball-milling additive, which improves the electrochemical rate performance of PB during the traditional co-precipitation method. The obtained PB sample exhibited a superior specific capability (113.3 mAh g−1 even at 20 C, 1 C = 170 mA g−1) and a specific capacity retention of 84.8% after 100 cycles at 1 C rate. In order to enhance the cycling performance of the PB, an in situ polyaniline coating strategy was employed in which aniline was added into the electrolyte and polymerized under electrochemical conditions. The coated anode exhibited a high specific capacity retention of 62.7% after 500 cycles, which is significantly higher than that of the non-coated sample, which only remains 40.1% after 500 cycles. This development has shown a great potential as a low-cost, high-performance and environment-friendly technology for large-scale industrial application of PB.

Porous CoP3@PPy microcubes are synthesized from the cubic Co3[Co(CN)6]2precursors followed by PPy coating. When used as anode material for lithium ion batteries, a large specific capacity of 1310 mAh g−1 can be obtained for CoP3@PPy composite at 100 mA g−1, and retains 650 mAh g−1 after 220 cycles at 500 mA g−1. Even at high current density of 4000 mA g−1, the CoP3@PPy composite still maintains a reversible capacity as high as 800 mAh g−1. When matched with LiFePO4 for full battery, a high capacity of 540 mAh g−1 can be obtained at 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles. The improved lithium storage performance of CoP3@PPy is ascribed to the unique porous structure of CoP3 microcubes and the homogeneous PPy buffer/conducting layers, which can alleviate the giant volume changes and facilitate fast charge transfer during the lithiation/delithiation process.

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are considered as promising cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries. However, PBAs usually suffer from low electrical conductivity and high humid sensitivity, which results in the poor electrochemical kinetics and stability. In this work, a passivation strategy is proposed to solve these problems. The sodium iron hexacyanoferrate (PB) passivated by acetate ligands exhibits significantly improved electrochemical kinetics. It delivers a specific capacity of 128 mAh g(-1) at 25 mA g(-1). Even at 2 A g(-1), the capacity still retains 94.6 mAh g(-1). Most impressively, the passivated PB can maintain excellent electrochemical stability when exposed in the humid air for 7 days. Further investigations show that the strong physical interaction between the acetate ligands and the exposed Fe atoms can inhibit the readsorption of water and induce the electron transfer between low spin Fe and high spin Fe in PB. Thus, the surface passivation can efficiently enhance the electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability of PB.

FeSi4P4 has been synthesized by a facile ball-milling method and evaluated as anode in sodium ion battery for the first time. The FeSi4P4 electrode can deliver a reversible capacity of 180 mAh g (1) at 100 mA g (1) with a capacity retention of 99% after 100 cycles. Experimental data and DFT calculation reveal that the sodium storage in FeSi4P4 is realized via the unusual insertion/extraction reaction. Our results demonstrate that transition metal phosphosilicides could be potential anode materials for sodium ion batteries. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.