Ultra-high-rate lithium-sulfur batteries with high sulfur loading enabled by Mn2O3-carbonized bacterial cellulose composite as a cathode host

Engineering a Biomimetic Glomerular Filtration Barrier: Coculturing Endothelial Podocytes on Kidney ECM-Bacterial Cellulose Membrane Hybrid

A novel avenue for advancing our understanding of kidney disease mechanisms and developing targeted therapeutics lies in overcoming the limitations of the existing in vitro models. Traditional animal models, while useful, do not fully capture the intricacies of human kidney physiology and pathophysiology. Tissue engineering offers a promising solution, yet current models often fall short in replicating the complex microarchitecture and biochemical milieu of the kidney. To address this challenge, we propose the development of a sophisticated in vitro glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) utilizing advanced biomaterials and a kidney decellularized extracellular matrix (kdECM). In our approach, we employ a bacterial cellulose membrane (BC) as a scaffold, providing a robust framework for cell growth and interaction. Coating this scaffold with kdECM hydrogel derived from caprine kidney tissue via a detergent-free decellularization method ensures the preservation of vital extracellular matrix proteins crucial for cellular compatibility and signaling. Our engineered GFB not only supports the growth of endothelial and podocyte cells but also exhibits the presence of key markers such as CD31 and nephrin, indicating successful cellular integration. Furthermore, the expression of collagen IV, an essential extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, validates the fidelity of our model in simulating cellular interactions within a kdECM matrix. Additionally, we assessed the filtration efficiency of the developed GFB model using albumin, a standard protein, to evaluate its performance under conditions that closely mimic the native physiological environment. This innovative approach, which faithfully recapitulates the native microenvironment of the glomerulus, holds immense promise for elucidating kidney disease mechanisms, conducting permeability studies, and advancing personalized therapeutic strategies. By leveraging cutting-edge biomaterials and tissue-specific coculture technology, this study can be further extended to develop GFB for the treatment of renal diseases, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Recent progress of bacterial cellulose-based separator platform for lithium-ion and lithium‑sulfur batteries

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has recently attracted a lot of attention as a high-performance, low-cost separator substrate for a variety of lithium-ion (LIBs) and lithium‑sulfur batteries (LISs). BC-base can be used in the design and manufacture of separators, mainly because of its unique properties compared to traditional polyethylene/polypropylene separator materials, such as high mechanical properties, high safety, good ionic conductivity, and suitability for a variety of design and manufacturing needs. In this review, we briefly introduce the sources, production methods, and modification strategies of BC, and further describe the preparation methods and properties of BC battery separators for various LIBs and LISs.

Optimizing potassium polysulfides for high performance potassium-sulfur batteries

Potassium-sulfur batteries attract tremendous attention as high-energy and low-cost energy storage system, but achieving high utilization and long-term cycling of sulfur remains challenging. Here we show a strategy of optimizing potassium polysulfides for building high-performance potassium-sulfur batteries. We design the composite of tungsten single atom and tungsten carbide possessing potassium polysulfide migration/conversion bi-functionality by theoretical screening. We create two ligand environments for tungsten in the metal-organic framework, which respectively transmute into tungsten single atom and tungsten carbide nanocrystals during pyrolysis. Tungsten carbide provide catalytic sites for potassium polysulfides conversion, while tungsten single atoms facilitate sulfides migration thereby significantly alleviating the insulating sulfides accumulation and the associated catalytic poisoning. Resultantly, highly efficient potassium-sulfur electrochemistry is achieved under high-rate and long-cycling conditions. The batteries deliver 89.8% sulfur utilization (1504 mAh g-1), superior rate capability (1059 mAh g-1 at 1675 mA g-1) and long lifespan of 200 cycles at 25 °C. These advances enlighten direction for future KSBs development.

Cellulose Nanocrystal Embedded Composite Foam and Its Carbonization for Energy Application

In this study, we fabricated a cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-embedded aerogel-like chitosan foam and carbonized the 3D foam for electrical energy harvesting. The nanocrystal-supported cellulose foam can demonstrate a high surface area and porosity, homogeneous size ranging from various microscales, and a high quality of absorbing external additives. In order to prepare CNC, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was chemically treated with sulfuric acid. The CNC incorporates into chitosan, enhancing mechanical properties, crystallization, and generation of the aerogel-like porous structure. The weight percentage of the CNC was 2 wt% in the chitosan composite. The CNC/chitosan foam is produced using the freeze-drying method, and the CNC-embedded CNC/chitosan foam has been carbonized. We found that the degree of crystallization of carbon structure increased, including the CNCs. Both CNC and chitosan are degradable materials when CNC includes chitosan, which can form a high surface area with some typical surface-related morphology. The electrical cyclic voltammetric result shows that the vertical composite specimen had superior electrochemical properties compared to the horizontal composite specimen. In addition, the BET measurement indicated that the CNC/chitosan foam possessed a high porosity, especially mesopores with layer structures. At the same time, the carbonized CNC led to a significant increase in the portion of micropore.

Application of Inorganic Quantum Dots in Advanced Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have emerged as one of the most attractive alternatives for post-lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, owing to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density. However, the large-scale application of Li-S batteries remains enormously problematic because of the poor cycling life and safety problems, induced by the low conductivity , severe shuttling effect, poor reaction kinetics, and lithium dendrite formation. In recent studies, catalytic techniques are reported to promote the commercial application of Li-S batteries. Compared with the conventional catalytic sites on host materials, quantum dots (QDs) with ultrafine particle size (<10 nm) can provide large accessible surface area and strong polarity to restrict the shuttling effect, excellent catalytic effect to enhance the kinetics of redox reactions, as well as abundant lithiophilic nucleation sites to regulate Li deposition. In this review, the intrinsic hurdles of S conversion and Li stripping/plating reactions are first summarized. More importantly, a comprehensive overview is provided of inorganic QDs, in improving the efficiency and stability of Li-S batteries, with the strategies including composition optimization, defect and morphological engineering, design of heterostructures, and so forth. Finally, the prospects and challenges of QDs in Li-S batteries are discussed.

Mn2O3 nanoparticle impregnated glycine max husks for the optimization of oil remediation in contaminated water

The sorption of crude oil using raw (unmodified) and Mn₂O₃ nanoparticle-modified glycine max husks was investigated for treatment of oil-spilled water surfaces by batch sorption technique. Box-Behnken design was employed for optimization of the sorption process by response surface methodology using design expert software. The sorbents' characterization was by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and Thermogravimetric analysis. Equilibrium isotherm data were evaluated using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Scatchard models. The Langmuir gave the best fit to the experimental data and maximum monolayer uptake capacities of 3.47 and 5.29 gg^-1 were obtained for the raw and nanoparticle-modified glycine max husks (RGMH and NGMH), respectively. Kinetics showed that their sorption will be satisfactorily described using pseudo-second-order, based on their large R² values and at equilibrium uptake time of 70 and 50 min for oil onto the RGMH and NGMH, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters revealed a process that is non-spontaneous for RGMH, and spontaneous and feasible for NGMH. Regeneration and reusability after three sets of sorption-desorption were better with NGMH. Thus, Mn₂O₃ NGMH has greater potential as a sorbent for the management of oil-spilled water surfaces than RGMH.