Sun, wind and tides have huge potential in providing us electricity in an environmental-friendly way. However, its intermittency and non-dispatchability are major reasons preventing full-scale adoption of renewable energy generation. Energy storage will enable this adoption by enabling a constant and high-quality electricity supply from these systems. But which storage technology should be considered is one of important issues. Nowadays, great effort has been focused on various kinds of batteries to store energy, lithium-related batteries, sodium-related batteries, zinc-related batteries, aluminum-related batteries and so on. Some cathodes can be used for these batteries, such as sulfur, oxygen, layered compounds. In addition, the construction of these batteries can be changed into flexible, flow or solid-state types. There are many challenges in electrode materials, electrolytes and construction of these batteries and research related to the battery systems for energy storage is extremely active. With the myriad of technologies and their associated technological challenges, we were motivated to assemble this 2020 battery technology roadmap.

The application of Li-ion conducting garnet electrolytes is challenged by their large interfacial resistance with the metallic lithium anode and the relative small critical current density at which the lithium dendrites short-circuit the battery. Both of these challenges are closely related to the morphology and the structure of the garnet membranes. Here, we prepared four polycrystalline garnet Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO) pellets with different particle sizes (nano/micro) and grain boundary additive (with/without Al 2 O 3 ) to investigate the influence of grain size, the composition of the grain boundary, and the mechanical strength of the pellet on the total Li-ion conduction of the pellet, Li/garnet interfacial transfer, and lithium dendrite growth in all-solid-state Limetal cells. The results showed that the garnet pellets prepared with nanoparticles and LiAlO 2 -related grain boundary phase had decreased total Li-ion conductivity because of the increased resistance of the grain boundary; however, these pellets showed higher mechanical strength and improved capability to suppress lithium dendrite growth at high current densities. By controlling the grain size and optimizing the grain boundary with Al 2 O 3 sintering additive, the hot-pressing sintered LLZTO solid electrolytes can reach up to 1.01 × 10 −3 S cm −1 in Li + conductivity and 0.29 eV in activation energy. LLZTO with nanosized grain and LiAlO 2 -modified grain boundary showed the highest critical current density, which is 0.6 mA cm −2 at room temperature and 1.7 mA cm −2 at 60 °C. This study offers a useful guideline for preparing a high-performance LLZTO solid electrolyte.

Five isoflavanquinones have been isolated from the roots of Abrus precatorius L. (Leguminosae). Three of them are new and designated as abruquinones D, E, and F. The pharmacological activities of the isoflavanquinones have been evaluated. The results indicated that abruquinones A, B, and D exhibited remarkable inhibitory effects on the platelet aggregation. The IC50 of abruquinones A and B for the inhibition of the platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid (AA) and collagen were less than 5 micrograms/ml, and of abruquinone D, was less than 10 micrograms/ml for that induced by AA. On the other hand, abruquinones A, B, D, and F showed strong anti-inflammatory and antiallergic effects. The IC50 of abruquinones A, B, D, and F for the inhibition of superoxide formation were less than 0.3 micrograms/ml, for the inhibition of the release of both beta-glucuronidase and lysozyme from rat neutrophils and the release of both beta-glucuronidase and histamine from mast cells were less than 1 microgram/ml.

All solid-state lithium metal batteries are viewed as a potential next-generation energy storage technology due to their high energy density and better safety performance. The study on solid-state electrolytes (SSE) is of crucial importance for the development of technology in this field. Here, we develop a solvent-free preparation and matrix modification process for allsolid-state composite electrolytes (CSEs) based on the blended PVDF-HFP/PEO polymer matrix, and systematically study the effects of the solvent-free process on their properties. The results show that the solvent-free PVDF-HFP/PEO/10 wt % LLZTO solid-state electrolytes (1:1 mass ratio blended polymer matrix) combine the electrochemical and mechanical advantages of both polymers, thus-prepared electrolytes perform excellent tensile strength and ductility (over 500% strain for polymer matrix as well as 170% strain and 4.78 MPa strength for CSEs), and the ionic conductivity can reach ∼6.2 × 10 −4 S•cm −1 at 80 °C. At the same time, the electrochemical stability and cycle stability of the electrolytes are enhanced due to the optimized process. The discoloration reaction of PVDF-HFP in composite electrolytes is further studied in this work as well. In addition to excellent performance, the simple process based on the solvent-free method also lays the foundation for scale-up production.

Garnet‐type Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 (LLZTO) electrolyte is considered as a promising solid electrolyte because of its relatively high ionic conductivity and excellent electrochemical stability. The surface contamination layer and poor Li/LLZTO interface contact cause large interfacial resistance and quick Li dendrite growth. In this paper, a porous hard carbon layer is introduced by the carbonization of a mixed layer of phenolic resin and polyvinyl butyral on the LLZTO surface to improve Li/garnet interfacial wettability. The multi‐level pore structure of the hard carbon interlayer provides capillary force and large specific surface area, which, together with the chemical activity of the carbon material with Li, promote the molten Li infiltration with garnet electrolyte. The Li/LLZTO interface delivers a low interfacial resistance of 4.7 Ω∙cm2 at 40 °C and a higher critical current density, which can achieve stable Li+ conduction for over 800 h under current densities of 0.1 and 0.2 mA∙cm−2. The solid‐state battery coupled with Li and LiFePO4 exhibits excellent rate and cycling performance, demonstrating the application feasibility of the hard carbon interlayer for a solid state Li metal battery.