Sharif Digital Repository

Titanium nitride/graphene nanocomposite as an anode material of lithium ion batteries has been fabricated through the reaction of TiCl4 and NaN3 in supercritical benzene medium followed by ammonia treating at 1000 °C for 10 h. The synthesized TiN/G nanocomposite depicts rate-dependent behavior in such a way that it shows specific capacity of 115 mAh g−1 when is cycled at higher rate (1.6 C) while it shows 76 mAh g−1 when is cycled initially at lower rate (0.2 C) and is subsequently subjected to higher rate (1.6 C). Moreover, TiN/G anode demonstrates capacity retention of 112%, 100%, and 70% after 250 cycles at charge/discharge rates of 1.6, 0.7, and 0.2 C, respectively. This unusual behavior... 

Co-free Li-rich manganese nickel oxide (LMNO) materials are emerging as an up-and-coming candidate for high-energy–density cathodes. However, they suffer from severe cycling capacity fading and poor performance rates. Herein, the surface functionalization of an LMNO cathode is designed by polypyrrole (PPy) nanostructure coating. We found that PPy nanoparticles@LMNO cathode exhibits high-capacity retention and enhanced rate capabilities, delivering a discharge capacity as high as 191 mAh g−1, with capacity retention of 96%, after ∼ 200 cycles at a current density of 20 mA g−1. The results indicate that the intercalation and doping pseudocapacitance can be varied depending on the synthesis... 

This paper aims at the investigation of acoustic streaming produced by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in a drop. Computational simulation of acoustofluidic phenomenon, using lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), presenting acoustic applications in flow control, and a relatively complete parametric study are the motivations of this work. For this purpose, a computational fluid dynamics modeling based on multi-relaxation time multi-component multiphase color gradient lattice Boltzmann method was used. The simulations were carried out at wave frequencies ranging from 20 MHz to 271 MHz and wave amplitudes ranging from 0.5 nm to about 350 nm. First, the non-dimensional form of Navier-Stokes equations... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

Nowadays, the importance of the blood particles separation is undeniable in medical fields and there are different sorts of separation methods accordingly. Acoustic cell separation is chosen in this paper. Also, numerical methods have been used to study the effect of geometrical factors on the separation of the particles before spending time and expenses in a trial and error manner experimentally. We have implemented a plenary finite-element-based simulation of separatingblood particles such as white blood cells and platelets in an acoustic field using standing surface acoustic waves. In this paper, unlike previous works in which the channel is rectangular; the channel is trapezoidal in... 

A 1-D heterogeneous model of sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) process in a packed bed reactor consisting of nickel catalyst well mixed with CO2 sorbent particles is investigated for three types of common sorbents. The performance of SE-SMR process is studied under low medium pressure conditions (3 – 11 bar) to find the optimum operating conditions. Optimal CaO sorption corresponding to 82% CH4 conversion and 85% H2 purity is found at 900 K, 3 bar, 3.5 kgm−2s−1 and S/C of 3.0. In contrast, lithium zirconate (LZC) and hydrotalcite (HTC) sorbents exhibited best sorptions under the operating conditions of 773 K, 5 bar and S/C of 3 with CH4 conversion of 91.3% and 55.2%, and H2... 

The effect of substitutional Li doping into NiOx hole transporting layer (HTL) for use in inverted perovskite solar cells was systematically studied. Li doped NiOx thin films with preferential crystal growth along the (111) plane were deposited using a simple solution-based process. Mott-Schottky analysis showed that hole carrier concentration (NA) is doubled by Li doping. Utilizing 4 % Li in NiOx improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar devices from 9.0 % to 12.6 %. Photoluminescence quenching investigations demonstrate better hole capturing properties of Li:NiOx compared to that of NiOx, leading to higher current densities by Li doping. The electrical conductivity of NiOx is... 

In this paper, we aim to account for the partitioning of finite sized ions and electric double layer (EDL) overlapping effects on the electrostatics and hydrodynamics of soft nanofluidics by stablishing a modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB) equation enjoying mean field approach. The application of the present MPB equation enables us to describe the interaction between the steric effect and electrostatic repulsion of EDL ions due to permittivity difference of polyelectrolyte layer (PEL) and electrolyte solution. Utilizing the Debye-Hückel approximation pertinent to low surface potentials, we analytically derive the solutions of electric potential and velocity profiles of mixed electroosmotic and... 

An intense decrease in cycling performance and safety is a challenge for elevated temperature application of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM) cathode material. In this paper, effect of two types of nano-coatings on improvement of elevated temperature performance of NCM cathode material has been investigated. One of the coatings contains SiO2 nanoparticles and the other one contains composite of reduced graphene oxide and SiO2 nanoparticles (rGO-SiO2). The coatings were fabricated by a facile wet chemical method. The SiO2 coated cathode material showed an excellent elevated temperature cycling stability, however, a decrease in discharge capacity and rate capability of this sample was observed. On... 

Nowadays, the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode material has attracted great research interest due to its high energy density and less usage of costly raw materials. However, the high nickel content of NCM811 brings about an extremely unstable interface between the electrode and electrolyte and therefore inferior cyclic stability. Herein, we have proposed a straightforward method to deliver 1, 2, and 4 wt % of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of the NCM811 cathode material and to improve its properties at room and high temperatures. Based on scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy observations, the coating thickness varies from 10 to 35 nm and the 2 wt %... 

Low temperature lithium titanate compounds (i.e., Li4Ti 5O12 and Li2TiO3) with nanocrystalline and mesoporous structure were prepared by a straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route. The effect of Li:Ti molar ratio was studied on crystallisation behaviour of lithium titanates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the powders were crystallised at the low temperature of 500 °C and the short annealing time of 1 h. Moreover, it was found that Li:Ti molar ratio and annealing temperature influence the preferable orientation growth of the lithium titanate compounds. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed that the average... 

A simple, rapid, and highly regioselective green protocols for the synthesis of β-hydroxylnitriles by the direct reaction of epoxides with trimethylsilyl cyanide in the presence of catalytic amount of lithium perchlorate under solvent free conditions in high to quantitative yield is reported. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

In this research, we investigate the effect of alkali metal cations including Li, Na and Cs in hydrothermal solution on the morphology, stability, and photoactivity of nanostructured TiO2 nanoflakes as a photoanode. The TiO2 nanoflakes are formed through hydrothermal treatment of Ti foil in 1.0 M LiOH, NaOH or CsOH at 100 °C for 3 h. By subsequent thermal reduction of the structure in an optimized Ar/H2 environment, conductive TiO2 nanoflakes were formed. The reduction treatment remarkably improves the photocurrent density of the TiO2 nanoflakes and has the highest impact on the sample treated in the NaOH alkali solution. For the nanoflakes produced in NaOH alkali solution, the bandgap is... 

(Lanthanum, Cerium)(Iron, Manganese, Cobalt, Palladium)(Oxygen)3- Perovskite catalyst was prepared by the citrate route and deposited on ceramic monoliths via dip coating procedure. The catalyst was applied on a car with XU7 motors and the amount of emission was monitored with vehicle emission test systems in Sapco company. The results were compared with the imported catalyst with noble metals such as palladium, platinum and rhodium by Iran Khodro company based on the Euro III standards. The catalysts were characterized by specific surface area measurements, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, line scan and map. In the results, obtained in the home made sample, the amount of... 

LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) has been considered as a promising cathode for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high electrochemical capacity and low cost; however, poor cycling stability is one of the main restricting factors in industrial applications of the NCM811 cathode material. Notably, the capacity fading and low structural stability of NCM811 are intensified at elevated temperatures. ZrO2- and composite rGO-ZrO2-coated NCM811 were fabricated by a facile wet chemical method and evaluated at 25 and 55 °C to overcome these impediments. The ZrO2 coating provides superior cycling and thermal stability and perfectly protects the cathode active material from deleterious side reactions, and... 

Charge-discharge rate capability is one of the most important properties of cathode materials for lithium batteries, in particular when envisaging high power density applications such as automotive applications. Efforts to modify rate have been carried out by carbon coating and decreasing particle size in order to modify electronic and ionic conductivity. However, this approach cannot justify all experimental data reported in the literature. Here, we investigated the rate capability of cathode materials by considering their density of states (DOS) calculated by several density functional theory (DFT) methods, in both the lithiated and the delithiated case. We suggested that these structures... 

Nitrates of lithium, cobalt and nickel are utilized to synthesize LiNi 0.8Co0.2O2 cathode material through sol-gel technique. Various synthesis parameters such as calcination time and temperature as well as chelating agent are studied to determine the optimized condition for material processing. Using TG/DTA techniques, the optimized calcination temperatures are selected. Different characterization techniques such as ICP, XRD and TEM are employed to characterize the chemical composition, crystal structure, size and morphology of the powders. Micron and nano-sized powders are produced using citric/oxalic and TEA as chelating agent, respectively. Selected powders are used as cathode material... 

Na3MnCO3PO4 (NMCP) particles were synthesized via ball milling of Mn(NO3)2.4H2O, Na2HPO4.2H2O and Na2CO3.H2O powders. The particles were anchored onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets during hydrothermal reduction process under stirring. Materials produced were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric (TG) measurement and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. Results showed that dissolution of ball milling products in DI water is an effective method for separation of NMCP from byproducts. Best milling time for production of pure NMCP of minimum particle... 

We introduce an effective method for copper indium sulfide selenide (CISSe) doping with different alkali metals (Li, Na and K) based on a pre-deposited alkali chloride layer. A simple and fast spray method is used for pre-deposition of alkali chloride layer (LiCl, NaCl, KCl) on substrate surface before spray pyrolysis deposition of copper indium disulfide CuInS2 (CIS) films followed by selenization. The different properties of alkali-doped CISSe films by the alkali chloride pre-deposition (ACPD) method were compared to the post-deposition treatment (PDT) method. Based on FESEM images, a highly compact film with large grains can be obtained for CISSe films doped with K(∼0.72 μm) and Na (∼0.56...