Stable water-in-oil emulsion is essential to digital PCR and many other bioanalytical reactions that employ droplets as microreactors. We developed a novel technology to produce monodisperse emulsion droplets with high efficiency and high throughput using a bench-top centrifuge. Upon centrifugal spinning, the continuous aqueous phase is dispersed into monodisperse droplet jets in air through a micro-channel array (MiCA) and then submerged into oil as a stable emulsion. We performed dPCR reactions with a high dynamic range through the MiCA approach, and demonstrated that this cost-effective method not only eliminates the usage of complex microfluidic devices and control systems, but also greatly suppresses the loss of materials and cross-contamination. MiCA-enabled highly parallel emulsion generation combines both easiness and robustness of picoliter droplet production, and breaks the technical challenges by using conventional lab equipment and supplies.

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The key role played by carbon dioxide in global temperature cycles has stimulated constant research attention on carbon capture and storage. Among the various options, lithium-carbon dioxide batteries are intriguing, not only for the transformation of waste carbon dioxide to value-added products, but also for the storage of electricity from renewable power resources and balancing the carbon cycle. The development of this system is still in its early stages and faces tremendous hurdles caused by the introduction of carbon dioxide. In this review, detailed discussion on the critical problems faced by the electrode, the interface, and the electrolyte is provided, along with the rational strategies required to address these problematic issues for efficient carbon dioxide fixation and conversion. We hope that this review will provide a resource for a comprehensive understanding of lithium-carbon dioxide batteries and will serve as guidance for exploring reversible and rechargeable alkali metal-based carbon dioxide battery systems in the future.

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