The intricate charge–discharge reactions and bad conductivity nature of sulfur determine the extreme importance of cathode engineering for Li–S batteries. Herein, spinel ZnCo2O4 porous ...particles@N‐doped reduced graphene oxide (ZnCo2O4@N‐RGO) are prepared via the combined procedures of refluxing and hydrothermal treatment, consisting of interconnected uniform ZnCo2O4 nanocubes with an average size of 5 nm anchored on graphene nanosheets. The as‐obtained composite can act as an inimitable cathode scaffold to suppress the shuttling of polysulfides by chemical confinement of ZnCo2O4 and N‐RGO for the first time, as demonstrated by the adsorption energy of ZnCo2O4 to Li2S4 via the strong chemical bonding between Zn or Co and S. The RGO nanosheets with a relatively high specific surface area provide a good conductive network and structural stability. The introduction of doped N atoms and numerous ZnCo2O4 porous nanoparticles can inhibit the transfer of lithium polysulfides between the cathode and anode. Due to the unique structural and compositional features, the as‐obtained hybrid materials with the high sulfur loading of 71% and even 82% still deliver high specific capacity, good rate capability, and enhanced cycling stability with exceptionally high initial Coulombic efficiency, which displays a high utilization of sulfur.
A unique ZnCo2O4 porous particles@N‐doped reduced graphene oxide (ZnCo2O4@N‐RGO) hybrid is composed of interconnected spinel ZnCo2O4 nanocubes anchored on graphene nanosheets. Due to the advantages of the ZnCo2O4@N‐RGO hybrid with a high electrical conductivity and strong immobilization/blocking ability for polysulfides, the ZnCo2O4@N‐RGO‐based electrode displays high sulfur utilization, long cycling life, and high rate performance in Li–S batteries.
This paper investigates the fault-tolerant control problem for heterogeneous vehicular platoons where input quantization and dead-zone nonlinearity are also involved. Due to the occurrence of ...actuator faults, the maximum acceleration changes, which may invalid the traditional quadratic spacing policy. To tackle the dilemma, an improved quadratic spacing policy with the lower bound of fault factor is proposed. Furthermore, the improved quadratic spacing policy removes the assumption of zero initial spacing errors. Based on the new spacing policy, an adaptive fault-tolerant platoon control scheme is developed, by employing radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) and PID-type sliding mode control method. The given scheme is proved to be capable of guaranteeing individual vehicle stability, string stability and traffic flow stability. The effectiveness of the scheme is verified through comparison simulation studies.
Our purpose was to compare toxicity and biochemical control in postprostatectomy patients treated with conventional (66 Gy) or dose-intensified (72 Gy) radiation therapy.
Patients who had stage ...pT3-4, positive surgical margins, or rising prostate-specific antigen ≥ 0.2 ng/mL after radical prostatectomy were randomly assigned to receive either 66 Gy in 33 fractions or 72 Gy in 36 fractions. A primary endpoint was to assess the difference in biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS) between these 2 cohorts, and secondary endpoints were to assess differences in genitourinary (GU), gastrointestinal (GI), and hematologic toxicities between these 2 cohorts. bPFS was estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method and toxicities were compared using the χ2 test.
Between September 2011 and November 2016, 144 patients were enrolled: 71 patients to the 66 Gy cohort and 73 patients to the 72 Gy cohort. The median follow-up time was 48.5 months (range, 14-79 months). There was no difference in 4-year bPFS between the 66 Gy and 72 Gy cohorts (75.9% vs 82.6%; P = .299). However, in patients with a higher Gleason score (8-10), the 72 Gy cohort had statistically significant improvement in bPFS compared with the 66 Gy cohort (79.7% vs 55.7%; P = .049). Toxicity analysis showed no difference in ≥2 acute or late GI or GU toxicities between these 2 cohorts. A total of 48 patients were scored as urinary incontinence before radiation therapy, of which 39 (81.3%) reported incontinence recovery or stable at 1-year follow-up, and only 9 (18.8%) patients reported worsening. There was no difference between the 2 cohorts in urinary incontinence either at baseline or at 1-year follow-up.
Dose escalation (72 Gy) demonstrated no improvement in 4-year bPFS compared with the 66 Gy regimen. However, the dose escalation was not associated with greater acute or late GU or GI toxicities and did not increase urinary incontinence.
Ternary blend organic solar cells (TB‐OSCs) incorporating multiple donor and/or acceptor materials into the active layer have emerged as a promising strategy to simultaneously improve the overall ...device parameters for realizing higher performances than binary devices. Whereas introducing multiple materials also results in a more complicated morphology than their binary blend counterparts. Understanding the morphology is crucially important for further improving the device performance of TB‐OSC. This review introduces the solubility and miscibility parameters that affect the morphology of ternary blends. Then, this review summarizes the recent processes of morphology study on ternary blends from the aspects of molecular crystallinity, molecular packing orientation, domain size and purity, directly observation of morphology, vertical phase separation as well as morphological stability. Finally, summary and prospects of TB‐OSCs are concluded.
This review briefly introduces the solubility and miscibility parameters that affect the morphology of ternary blends and then summarizes the recent processes of morphology study on ternary blends from the aspects of molecular crystallinity, molecular packing orientation, domain size and purity, vertical phase separation, direct observation of the morphology as well as morphological stability.
Abstract
Lithium garnets have been widely studied as promising electrolytes that could enable the next-generation all-solid-state lithium batteries. However, upon exposure to atmospheric moisture and ...carbon dioxide, insulating lithium carbonate forms on the surface and deteriorates the interfaces within electrodes. Here, we report a scalable solid sintering method, defined by lithium donor reaction that allows for complete decarbonation of Li
6.4
La
3
Zr
1.4
Ta
0.6
O
12
(LLZTO) and yields an active LiCoO
2
layer for each garnet particle. The obtained LiCoO
2
coated garnets composite is stable against air without any Li
2
CO
3
. Once working in a solid-state lithium battery, the LiCoO
2
-LLZTO@LiCoO
2
composite cathode maintains 81% of the initial capacity after 180 cycles at 0.1 C. Eliminating CO
2
evolution above 4.0 V is confirmed experimentally after transforming Li
2
CO
3
into LiCoO
2
. These results indicate that Li
2
CO
3
is no longer an obstacle, but a trigger of the intimate solid-solid interface. This strategy has been extended to develop a series of LLZTO@active layer materials.
Although benefits of design perception have been documented from the perspective of consumers on a large scale, but the perspective of employees has been ignored. This study aims to investigate the ...impact of design elements on employee-brand-based equity under the mediating role of the green concept. For this purpose, data are collected from the employees of the manufacturing sector and 346 responses are used for an inferential purpose. These data were collected using the survey research method through the convenience sampling technique. Data has been analyzed through Smart PLS by applying the structural equation modeling technique. After assessing the measurement and structural model, the results obtained indicate that design elements of products in the manufacturing industry can influence the perception of employees and it can foster positive behavior among employees in the shape of employee-brand-based equity. The mediating role of the green concept has also been proved. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.
Understanding the dynamics and underlying mechanism of carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere is one of the key issues in global change research. In this study, we ...quantified the carbon fluxes in different terrestrial ecosystems in China, and analyzed their spatial variation and environmental drivers based on the long‐term observation data of ChinaFLUX sites and the published data from other flux sites in China. The results indicate that gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of terrestrial ecosystems in China showed a significantly latitudinal pattern, declining linearly with the increase of latitude. However, GEP, ER, and NEP did not present a clear longitudinal pattern. The carbon sink functional areas of terrestrial ecosystems in China were mainly located in the subtropical and temperate forests, coastal wetlands in eastern China, the temperate meadow steppe in the northeast China, and the alpine meadow in eastern edge of Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. The forest ecosystems had stronger carbon sink than grassland ecosystems. The spatial patterns of GEP and ER in China were mainly determined by mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT), whereas the spatial variation in NEP was largely explained by MAT. The combined effects of MAT and MAP explained 79%, 62%, and 66% of the spatial variations in GEP, ER, and NEP, respectively. The GEP, ER, and NEP in different ecosystems in China exhibited ‘positive coupling correlation’ in their spatial patterns. Both ER and NEP were significantly correlated with GEP, with 68% of the per‐unit GEP contributed to ER and 29% to NEP. MAT and MAP affected the spatial patterns of ER and NEP mainly by their direct effects on the spatial pattern of GEP.
Effects of four different drying methods on the colour, texture, sensory quality, microstructure, bacterial viability and storage stability of probiotic-enriched apple snacks were assessed. The ...drying methods were air drying （AD）, freeze drying （FD）, freeze drying followed by microwave vacuum drying （FD＋MVD） and air drying followed by explosion puffing drying （AD＋EPD）. Overall, FD＋MVD can be used as a suitable drying method for the development of probiotic enriched apple snacks in consideration of colour, texture, sensory quality, bacterial viability and storage stability. Probiotic bacteria in FD＋MVD-dried samples remained above 1×106 CFU g 1 for 120 days at 25℃C. Interestingly, bacterial viability in FD＋MVD-dried samples turned out to be significantly higher than FD-dried samples during storage for 120 days.
1D organic micro/nanostructures (OMNSs) based on π‐conjugated molecules are considered to be suitable candidates as photonic units due to their unique photophysical advantages over traditional ones ...in low‐temperature solution‐processed approach, tunable emission color, the built‐in cavity for optical confinement, and so forth. These inherent characteristics of OMNSs make them have broad application prospects in photonics devices, such as nanolasers, optical waveguides, and optical logical gates. In this review, the recent processes of OMNSs in terms of light generation, light confinement, and propagation are introduced, separately. Some representative works of OMNSs are discussed in the direction of optical modulation and processing. However, huge challenges still remain before the OMNSs are actually used as components of optical circuits in the photonics chips. The summary and the expectations are presented for the future development of 1D organic micro/nanostructures photonics.
1D organic micro/nanostructures have great potential in nanoscale integrated optical circuits as photonic components due to their intrinsic capabilities to generate and confine optical signals efficiently. Herein, the recent advances of 1D micro/nanostructures in photonic applications are reviewed. Then, the prospects and suggestions for future development are presented.
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