Conductivity enhancement within garnet-rich polymer composite electrolytes via the addition of succinonitrile

All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs) are promising alternatives to conventional organic electrolyte-based batteries due to their higher safety and higher energy densities. Despite advantages, ASSLIBs suffer from issues like high charge transfer resistances due to the brittleness of the inorganic solid electrolyte and chemical instabilities at the lithium/electrolyte interface. Within this work, we investigate composite electrolytes (CEs) based on garnet-type Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ (LLZTO), polyethylene oxide, and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, prepared via a solvent-free cryo-milling approach in contrast to conventional solvent-mediated synthesis. Compositions ranging from polymer-rich to garnet-rich systems are investigated via X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in order to determine the compatibility of the cryo-milling process toward membrane fabrication along with the possible chemical interactions between the composite membrane components. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to study the role of ceramic to polymer weight fraction on ionic conductivity. It is shown that the addition of succinonitrile (SCN) to the garnet-rich CEs can significantly improve the ionic conductivity compared to the SCN-free CEs.     

Book reviews

Australian Urban Planning: New Challenges, New Agendas. Brendan Gleeson and Nicholas Low. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2000. ISBN 1865082384 (paperback). 273 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $35.00.

Australian Urban Planning: New Challenges, New Agendas. Review 2.

Equity, Environment, Efficiency: Ethics and Economics in Urban Australia. Patrick Troy (ed.). Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000. ISBN 0522848923 (paperback). 255pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $43.95.

Asian New Urbanism. William S. W. Lim. Select Books, Singapore, 1998. ISBN 9814022012. 250 pp.. RRP $52.00.

Rethinking Australian Citizenship. Wayne Hudson and John Kane (eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 052159670 (paperback), 052159337 9 (hardback). 274pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $34.95 (paperback), $90.00 (hardback).

Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning. Henry Sanoff. John Wiley, New York, 2000. ISBN 0471355453. 306 pp.; bibliography, additional readings and index. RRP $114.95.

Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism. Sharon Beder. Scribe, Melbourne, rev. edn, 2000. ISBN 090801144 (paperback). 336 pp; bibliography and index. RRP $29.95.     

Experimentelle Untersuchung zur Tropfenbildung in kontinuierlich betriebenen Rotor‐Stator‐Maschinen

Rotor‐stator‐machinery is characterized in continuous operation by a homogeneous power input and a defined residence time. The influence of the equipment configuration and process design in the laminar flow regime was considered little till now. In order to fill this knowledge gap, the process behavior of this type of device was systematically investigated experimentally under axial flow conditions, as well as an energetic optimization of the machine configuration was performed.     

Trans-Splicing Improvement by the Combined Application of Antisense Strategies

Spliceosome-mediated RNA trans-splicing has become an emergent tool for the repair of mutated pre-mRNAs in the treatment of genetic diseases. RNA trans-splicing molecules (RTMs) are designed to induce a specific trans-splicing reaction via a binding domain for a respective target pre-mRNA region. A previously established reporter-based screening system allows us to analyze the impact of various factors on the RTM trans-splicing efficiency in vitro. Using this system, we are further able to investigate the potential of antisense RNAs (AS RNAs), presuming to improve the trans-splicing efficiency of a selected RTM, specific for intron 102 of COL7A1. Mutations in the COL7A1 gene underlie the dystrophic subtype of the skin blistering disease epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). We have shown that co-transfections of the RTM and a selected AS RNA, interfering with competitive splicing elements on a COL7A1-minigene (COL7A1-MG), lead to a significant increase of the RNA trans-splicing efficiency. Thereby, accurate trans-splicing between the RTM and the COL7A1-MG is represented by the restoration of full-length green fluorescent protein GFP on mRNA and protein level. This mechanism can be crucial for the improvement of an RTM-mediated correction, especially in cases where a high trans-splicing efficiency is required.     

Enhancing the temperature stability of PLA by compounding strategies

The low thermal stability of polylactid acid (PLA) limits its use for various applications such as microwave‐ready dishes or hot beverage packaging. Furthermore, contained items might be damaged by occurring temperature peaks during transport (e.g., shipping container internal temperature exceeds 80°C) or other usage (e.g., car dashboard heated by sun). The aim of this study was the development of a PLA compound with an operating temperature above 100°C. Therefore, different formulations (e.g., stereocomplex of PLLA and PDLA, cross‐linking of PLA or use of commercial additives) were identified and compounds with varying conditions produced and tested regarding their thermal and mechanical properties. The results showed clearly possible routes for improving the thermal properties of PLA. Using such compounds respectively processing routes and additives helps to overcome one of the most significant problems when using PLA. The higher operating temperature of this biopolymer will lead to a wider field of application and will avoid shipping hazards. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2849–2858, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An effective quantum potential for particle–particle interactions in three-dimensional semiconductor device simulations

The classical Coulomb potential and force can be calculated efficiently using fast multi-pole methods. Effective quantum potentials, however, describe the physics of electron transport in semiconductors more precisely. Such an effective quantum potential was derived previously for the interaction of an electron with a barrier for use in particle-based Monte Carlo semiconductor device simulators. The method is based on a perturbation theory around thermodynamic equilibrium and leads to an effective potential scheme in which the size of the electron depends upon its energy and which is parameter-free. Here we extend the method to electron-electron interactions and show how the effective quantum potential can be evaluated efficiently in the context of many-body problems. Finally several examples illustrate how the momentum of the electrons changes the classical potential.     

Threshold Fluence Measurement for Laser Liftoff of InP Thin Films by Selective Absorption

We explore conditions for achieving laser liftoff in epitaxially grown heterojunctions, in which single crystal thin films can be separated from their growth substrates using a selectively absorbing buried intermediate layer. Because this highly non‐linear process is subject to a variety of process instabilities, it is essential to accurately characterize the parameters resulting in liftoff. Here, we present an InP/InGaAs/InP heterojunction as a model system for such characterization. We show separation of InP thin films from single crystal InP growth substrates, wherein a ≈10 ns, Nd:YAG laser pulse selectively heats a coherently strained, buried InGaAs layer. We develop a technique to measure liftoff threshold fluences within an inhomogeneous laser spatial profile, and apply this technique to determine threshold fluences of the order 0.5 J cm^?2 for our specimens. We find that the fluence at the InGaAs layer is limited by non‐linear absorption and InP surface damage at high powers, and measure the energy transmission in an InP substrate from 0 to 8 J cm^?2. Characterization of the ejected thin films shows crack‐free, single crystal InP. Finally, we present evidence that the hot InGaAs initiates a liquid phase front that travels into the InP substrate during liftoff.

     

Suppression of inward-rectifying K+ channels KAT1 and AKT2 by dominant negative point mutations in the KAT1 alpha-subunit

Na(+)-glucose transport and transepithelial permeability were investigated during symptomatic acute cryptosporidiosis in newborn rats. The infection resulted in a significant (P < 0.01) decrease in the ileal short-circuit current and a nonsignificant fall in the transepithelial potential difference and conductance. In glucose-stimulated conditions, the rise in ileal short-circuit current and transepithelial permeability were significantly lower in Cryptosporidium parvum-infected rats than in controls (delta Isc = 3.24 +/- 1.21 microA.cm-2 vs delta Isc = 5.09 +/- 2.23 microA.cm-2 in infected and control animals, respectively; P < 0.001; delta PD = -0.35 +/- 0.13 mV vs delta PD = -0.44 +/- 0.14 mV for infected and control animals, respectively; P < 0.01). Electrical parameters were not affected by addition of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin in either Cryptosporidium-infected newborn rats or controls. Horseradish peroxidase and mannitol flux studies demonstrated a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in transepithelial molecular permeability in infected enterocyte rats, HRP flux = 380, range 68-5570 ng.cm-2, and mannitol flux = 1.06, range, 0.34-1.44%.cm-2.min-1, compared with controls rats, HRP flux = 4446 range, 1121-124,363 ng.cm-2, and mannitol flux = 1.99, range, 0.57-5.09%.cm-2.min-1; P < 0.05. These effects could originate from C. parvum-induced alteration of intracellular trafficking of pinocytosis vesicles and therefore account for the decrease in permeability to solute and macromolecules, together with impaired transcellular nutrient transport, in suckling rats.     

Comment on the paper “Controlling intermetallic compound formation reaction between Sn and Ni-P by Zn addition” by X.F. Zhang, J.D. Guo, J.K. Shang, J. Alloys Compd. 479 (2009) 505–510

Zhang et al. recently reported about the formation of Ni₄(Sn,Zn) in the interlayer of a Sn–Zn/Ni(P) solder joint. This phase is claimed to be based on the binary Ni₄Sn phase. However, this phase as described in the literature by Mikulas and Thomassen, was ruled out for any existing phase diagram version. It could be proved that the diffraction pattern from Mikulas and Thomassen was composed of Ni and Ni₃Sn low-temperature phase. Thus the interpretation of their X-ray diffraction results is incorrect and the phase “Ni₄Sn” is an artefact. The indexing of Ni₄(Sn,Zn) by Zhang et al. is based on this artefact and therefore is incorrect, too. Furthermore, Tai et al. investigated IMC formation in Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu/Ni–8Zn–8P joints and could not observe any interdiffusion of Zn as stated by Zhang et al.