Kinetic Mechanism and Structural Design of Thick Electrodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Challenges and Optimization Strategies.

Thick electrode is a critical strategy to increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries(LiBs) by maximizing the active material loading. However, their practical application is obstructed by kinetic limitations, including low charge transfer efficiency and poor mechanical stability, which severely decrease rate capability, cycling performance, and safety. This review focuses on an intensive analysis of the problems with thick electrodes in terms of ion transfer kinetics, electron transfer discontinuities, and poor mechanical stability.

A Minireview for Recent Development of Nanomaterial-Based Detection of Antibiotics.

Antibiotics are considered a new type of organic pollutant. Antibiotic residues have become a global issue due to their harm to human health. As the use of antibiotics is increasing in human life, such as in medicine, crops, livestock, and even drinking water, the accurate analysis of antibiotics is very vital.

Hierarchically Porous Carbons Derived from Biomasses with Excellent Microwave Absorption Performance.

A variety of biomass-based carbon materials with two-level porous structure have been successfully prepared by one-step carbonization process. The first level of microscale pores templates from the inherent porous tissues, while the second one of nanopores is produced by the in situ etching by the embedded alkaline metal elements. The superimposed effect of nano and microscale pores endows the hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs) with excellent microwave absorption (MA) performance.

Biodiesel production from rubber seed oil using poly (sodium acrylate) supporting NaOH as a water-resistant catalyst.

Poly (sodium acrylate) supporting NaOH (NaOH/NaPAA) was prepared by in situ polymerization of aqueous solution of acrylic acid with an over-neutralization by adding excess of NaOH. NaOH/NaPAA presented a promising selectivity for water absorbency and good water retention with negligible swelling capacity in the organic solvents of methanol, glycerol, rubber seed oil methyl esters, and rubber seed oil. NaOH/NaPAA catalysts showed a basic strength of 15.

One-pot process combining transesterification and selective hydrogenation for biodiesel production from starting material of high degree of unsaturation.

A one-pot process combining transesterification and selective hydrogenation was established to produce biodiesel from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seed oil which is eliminated as a potential feedstock by a specification of iodine value (IV; 120 g I(2)/100g maximum) contained in EN 14214. A series of alkaline earth metal oxides and alkaline earth metal supported copper oxide were prepared and tested as catalysts.