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Room temperature ionic liquids （ILs） composed of cations and anions, as well as deep eutectic solvents （DESs） composed of hydrogen bond donors （HBDs） and hydrogen bond acceptors （HBAs）, are regarded as green solvents due to their low volatility. They have been used widely for electrochemically driven reactions because they exhibit high conductivity and excellent elec- trochemical stability. However, no systematic investigations on the electrochemical potential windows （EPWs）, which could be used to characterize the electrochemical stability, have been reported. In this regard, the EPWs of 33 ILs and 23 DESs have been studied utilizing cyclic voltammetry （CV） method and the effects of structural factors （cations and anions of ILs, and HBDs and HBAs of DESs） and external factors （electrode, water content） on the EPWs have been comprehensively investi- gated. The electrochemical stability of selected 1Ls comprising five traditional cations, namely imidazolium, pyridinium, pyr- rolidinium, piperidinium and ammonium and 13 kinds of versatile anions was studied. The results show that for ILs, both cati- on and anion play an important role on the reductive and oxidative potential limit. For a same IL at different working electrode, for example, glassy carbon （GC）, gold （Au） and platinum （Pt） electrode, the largest potential window is almost observed on the GC working electrode. The investigations on the EPWs of choline chloride （ChCl）, choline bromide （ChBr）, choline iodide （ChI）, and methyl urea based DESs show that the DES composed of ChCl and methyl urea has the largest potential window. This work may aid the selection of ILs or DESs for use as a direct electrolyte or a solvent in electrochemical applications.

The change in the parameters values of different physical nondestructive testing methods (surface acoustic waves, magnetic structuroscopy, and electrochemical potential) was studied depending on the hydrogen concentration in carbon steel in the range of 0.4–8.5 ppm. The most sensitive are the coercive force values, which changed by more than 25%. The values of the residual magnetic induction and the electrochemical potential of the metal surface changed by 23 and 20%, respectively, making them also applicable for assessing the hydrogen content in this steel. Other investigated parameters showed lower efficiency and their change were: for the magnetic hysteresis loop area of about 10%, and the maximum magnetic permeability and the relative change of the surface acoustic wave propagation velocity—approximately 2%.

Recently, the role of thermal resonance has been highlighted in living cells. As a consequence of this approach, the electrochemical potential was obtained in a partial differential equation concerning the cell membrane depth and its external temperature surface. In this paper, this last equation is studied and its solution’s consequences are discussed concerning the cells’ ion fluxes and their related entropy variation and power generation. Moreover, the metabolic power of the whole body is evaluated by using these previous numerical results.

The concept of “electric cables” involved in bioenergetic processes in a living cell was proposed half a century ago [Skulachev, V. P. (1971) Curr. Top. Bioenerg., Elsevier, pp. 127-190]. Membrane structures of a cell were considered as probable pathways for transferring transmembrane electrochemical potential. Further studies have shown that coupling membranes (inner mitochondrial membrane or bacterial cell membrane), i.e., those involved in the generation of membrane potential, can also serve for its transfer. A wide range of organisms from almost all major taxa have been discovered to employ the energy-transmitting function of coupling membranes. Macroscopic (millimeter or even centimeter in length) cable-like structures have been found, the most striking examples of which are giant mitochondria of some unicellular organisms (algae, fungi, protozoa) and animal tissues, filamentous mitochondria, mitochondrial reticulum in animal muscle tissue, and trichomes of cyanobacteria. The importance of such “electric cables” in cells or multicellular structures is determined by their ability to provide rapid energy exchange between metabolic counterparts, energy producers and energy consumers, as the diffusive transport of soluble macroergic molecules (ATP, etc.) requires much longer time. However, in the last 10-15 years, a new type of bacterial “electric cables” of presumably proteinaceous nature has been discovered, which serve a quite different purpose in cell bioenergetics. The molecular structure and functions of these cables will be discussed in the second part of the review (“Electric cables of living cells. II. Bacterial electron conductors”).

High temperatures are important abiotic stressors affecting plant growth, development and productivity. One of the consequences of unfavourable temperature effects on plants is an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. However, what role ROS will play in the further fate of the cell under temperature stress depends on many external and internal factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the relationship between ROS content and mitochondrial function in the cells of a Saccharum officinarum suspension culture under high temperatures. The work was carried out using fluorescence microscopy and the polarographic analysis method. We found the most significant increase in ROS content in S. officinarum cells during temperature treatments (that did not cause immediate cell death in culture) was at 45 and 50 °C. The ROS content was largely determined by mitochondrial activity, as evidenced by a decrease in the electrochemical potential on the inner mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm), and a simultaneous decrease of ROS levels in cells under the carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine (CCCP) treatment. The decrease in the respiratory activity of cells under high temperatures was determined by the decrease of the cytochrome pathway (CP) contribution. It should be noted that the reduction in respiration rate at a temperature of 50 °C preceded the death of cells in the culture, and was not a consequence of it

Water dissociation (WD, H 2 O → H +  + OH − ) is the core process in bipolar membranes (BPMs) that limits energy efficiency. Both electric-field and catalytic effects have been invoked to describe WD, but the interplay of the two and the underlying design principles for WD catalysts remain unclear. Using precise layers of metal-oxide nanoparticles, membrane-electrolyzer platforms, materials characterization, and impedance analysis, we illustrate the role of electronic conductivity in modulating the performance of WD catalysts in the BPM junction through screening and focusing the interfacial electric field and thus electrochemical potential gradients. In contrast, the ionic conductivity of the same layer is not a significant factor in limiting performance. BPM water electrolyzers, optimized via these findings, use ~30-nm-diameter anatase TiO 2 as an earth-abundant WD catalyst, and generate O 2 and H 2 at 500 mA cm −2 with a record-low total cell voltage below 2 V. These advanced BPMs might accelerate deployment of new electrodialysis, carbon-capture, and carbon-utilization technology. It is important yet challenging to elucidate the mechanism of water dissociation in bipolar membrane electrolysers. Here the authors show how water dissociation is accelerated by electric-field-focusing and catalytic effects and uncover design principles to optimize the performance.

Lithium metal has been regarded as the future anode material for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries due to its favorable combination of negative electrochemical potential and high theoretical capacity. However, uncontrolled lithium deposition during lithium plating/stripping results in low Coulombic efficiency and severe safety hazards. Herein, we report that nanodiamonds work as an electrolyte additive to co-deposit with lithium ions and produce dendrite-free lithium deposits. First-principles calculations indicate that lithium prefers to adsorb onto nanodiamond surfaces with a low diffusion energy barrier, leading to uniformly deposited lithium arrays. The uniform lithium deposition morphology renders enhanced electrochemical cycling performance. The nanodiamond-modified electrolyte can lead to a stable cycling of lithium | lithium symmetrical cells up to 150 and 200 h at 2.0 and 1.0 mA cm –2 , respectively. The nanodiamond co-deposition can significantly alter the lithium plating behavior, affording a promising route to suppress lithium dendrite growth in lithium metal-based batteries. Lithium metal is an ideal anode material for rechargeable batteries but suffer from the growth of lithium dendrites and low Coulombic efficiency. Here the authors show that nanodiamonds serve as an electrolyte additive to co-deposit with lithium metal and suppress the formation of dendrites.

Lithium metal (Li) is believed to be the ultimate anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to the advantages of high theoretical capacity, the lowest electrochemical potential, and light weight. Nevertheless, issues such as uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites, large volume changes, high chemical reactivity, and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) hinder its rapid development and practical application. Herein a stable and dendrite-free Li-metal anode is obtained by designing a flexible and freestanding MXene/COF framework for metallic Li. COF-LZU1 microspheres are distributed among the MXene film framework. Lithiophilic COF-LZU1 microspheres as nucleation seeds can promote uniform Li nucleation by homogenizing the Li + flux and lowering the nucleation barrier, finally resulting in dense and dendrite-free Li deposition. Under the regulation of the COF-LZU1 seeds, the Coulombic efficiency of the MXene/COF-LZU1 framework and electrochemical stability of corresponding symmetric cells are obviously enhanced. Li-S full cells with the modified Li-metal anode and sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (S@PAN) cathode also exhibited a superior electrochemical performance.

Lithium, with its high theoretical specific capacity and lowest electrochemical potential, has been recognized as the ultimate negative electrode material for next-generation lithium-based high-energy-density batteries. However, a key challenge that has yet to be overcome is the inferior reversibility of Li plating and stripping, typically thought to be related to the uncontrollable morphology evolution of the Li anode during cycling. Here we show that Li-metal texturing (preferential crystallographic orientation) occurs during electrochemical deposition, which governs the morphological change of the Li anode. X-ray diffraction pole-figure analysis demonstrates that the texture of Li deposits is primarily dependent on the type of additive or cross-over molecule from the cathode side. With adsorbed additives, like LiNO₃ and polysulfide, the lithium deposits are strongly textured, with Li (110) planes parallel to the substrate, and thus exhibit uniform, rounded morphology. A growth diagram of lithium deposits is given to connect various texture and morphology scenarios for different battery electrolytes. This understanding of lithium electrocrystallization from the crystallographic point of view provides significant insight for future lithium anode materials design in high-energy-density batteries.

The growing demand for lithium batteries with higher energy densities requires new electrode chemistries. Lithium metal is a promising candidate as the anode material due to its high theoretical specific capacity, negative electrochemical potential and favorable density. However, during cycling, low and uneven lithium ion concentration on the surface of anode usually results in uncontrolled dendrite growth, especially at high current densities. Here we tackle this issue by using lithiophilic montmorillonite as an additive in the ether-based electrolyte to regulate the lithium ion concentration on the anode surface and thus facilitate the uniform lithium deposition. The lithiophilic montmorillonite demonstrates a pumping feature that improves the self-concentrating kinetics of the lithium ion and thus accelerates the lithium ion transfer at the deposition/electrolyte interface. The signal intensity of TFSI − shows negligible changes via in situ Raman tracking of the ion flux at the electrochemical interface, indicating homogeneous ion distribution, which can lead to a stable and uniform lithium deposition on the anode surface. Our study indicates that the interfacial engineering induced by the lithiophilic montmorillonite could be a promising strategy to optimize the lithium deposition for next-generation lithium metal batteries. The address one of the major challenges facing the lithium metal anode, here the authors use lithiophilic montmorillonite as an additive to the ether-based electrolyte to regulate the lithium ion concentration on the anode surface, facilitating uniform lithium deposition.