No abstract

The expansion of renewable energy and the growing number of electric vehicles and mobile devices are demanding improved and low-cost electrochemical energy storage. In order to meet the future needs for energy storage, novel material systems with high energy densities, readily available raw materials, and safety are required. Currently, lithium and lead mainly dominate the battery market, but apart from cobalt and phosphorous, lithium may show substantial supply challenges prospectively, as well. Therefore, the search for new chemistries will become increasingly important in the future, to diversify battery technologies. But which materials seem promising? Using a selection algorithm for the evaluation of suitable materials, the concept of a rechargeable, high-valent all-solid-state aluminum-ion battery appears promising, in which metallic aluminum is used as the negative electrode. On the one hand, this offers the advantage of a volumetric capacity four times higher (theoretically) compared to lithium analog. On the other hand, aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust. There is a mature industry and recycling infrastructure, making aluminum very cost efficient. This would make the aluminum-ion battery an important contribution to the energy transition process, which has already started globally. So far, it has not been possible to exploit this technological potential, as suitable positive electrodes and electrolyte materials are still lacking. The discovery of inorganic materials with high aluminum-ion mobility—usable as solid electrolytes or intercalation electrodes—is an innovative and required leap forward in the field of rechargeable high-valent ion batteries. In this review article, the constraints for a sustainable and seminal battery chemistry are described, and we present an assessment of the chemical elements in terms of negative electrodes, comprehensively motivate utilizing aluminum, categorize the aluminum battery field, critically review the existing positive electrodes and solid electrolytes, present a promising path for the accelerated development of novel materials and address problems of scientific communication in this field.

Epitaxially grown La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films show resistance modulations induced by the inverse piezoeffect of the employed Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3-PbTiO3(001) (PMN-PT) substrates. The in-plane strain state of the films can continuously be tuned by application of a piezovoltage to PMN-PT. The lattice deformation of a PMN-PT(001) substrate was quantified by x-ray measurements under an electric field. Variation of in-plane lattice parameters by ∼0.06% reversibly changes the resistance of the manganite films by up to 9% at 300 K and shifts the magnetic Curie temperature. Films of different thicknesses from 50 to 290 nm, offering different as-grown strain states, have been studied.

The steel of Damascus blades, which were first encountered by the Crusaders when fighting against Muslims, had features not found in European steels--a characteristic wavy banding pattern known as damask, extraordinary mechanical properties, and an exceptionally sharp cutting edge. Here we use high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to examine a sample of Damascus sabre steel from the seventeenth century and find that it contains carbon nanotubes as well as cementite nanowires. This microstructure may offer insight into the beautiful banding pattern of the ultrahigh-carbon steel created from an ancient recipe that was lost long ago.

LiNbO 3 (LN) and LiTaO 3 (LT) materials of polar crystal structure exhibit a spontaneous polarization that can be changed by temperature. This phenomenon, commonly known as the pyroelectric effect, leads to the generation of surface charges that in turn are the source for a pyroelectrocatalytic or pyroelectrochemical activity of these materials described in this paper. It can also be regarded as a selective conversion of thermal via electrical to chemical energy based on the pyroelectric effect. In this context, we have investigated the impact of thermally excited pyroelectric LN and LT nano-and microcrystalline powder materials on the bacterium Escherichia coli in aqueous solutions. Powders have been prepared both by milling of commercially available single crystals and by precursorbased solution routes. Our results show that in dependence on the crystallite size and surface area of the pyroelectric particulate material in direct contact with the cells and/or their culture solution, a high antimicrobial activity can be achieved. On the basis of further experimental results of oxidative conversion of the fluorescent dye 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin, a disinfection mechanism including the formation of reactive oxygen species at the pyroelectric particle surface is proposed. The phenomenon is discussed in analogy to the well-established photocatalytic disinfection mechanism.