Decarbonisation of energy will rely heavily, at least initially, on the use of lithium ion batteries for automotive transportation. The projected volumes of batteries necessitate the development of fast and...

The presence of water in a DES imparts selectivity to metal etching via the formation of passivation layers.

The water-soluble biopolymers, gelatin and sodium alginate, were investigated as potential alternative binders for use in lithium-ion battery anodes. The polymers were modified using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) made from choline chloride and glycerol. It was found that the addition of the DES resulted in greater plasticity and adhesion with respect to the unmodified binders and also to the current commonly used PVDF or CMC/SBR binders. Both the modified gelatin and sodium alginate binders are dispersible in water and can be rapidly delaminated by using mild ultrasound. These latter points are key steps in the function of the anode material and the subsequent recycling at the end of life. Imaging of the coatings formed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that the two types of binders dispersed themselves differently around the graphite particles, with the gelatin binder being distributed across the entire electrode surface, whereas the sodium alginate binder remained located at the hydrophilic edge planes of the graphite.

Iodine has been shown to act as a good electrocatalyst for metal digestion in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) but little is known about its speciation or reactivity in these high...

Introduction Despite significant efforts to increase deprescribing (1), marginal progress has been achieved (2). Deprescribing is a complex process involving multiple steps and activities, of which some may be routinely undertaken whilst others require interventions to support behaviour-change. Aim We aimed to develop an internationally derived specification validated by practitioners from multiple health systems that stipulates both the steps and activities required to deliver those steps of safe deprescribing. We also aimed to estimate the extent to which the required activities are currently undertaken and identify the barriers and enablers that need addressing to deliver safe deprescribing. Methods We formulated an electronic survey comprising literature reported deprescribing activities. Relevant networks in 25 countries e.g., British Geriatrics Society and Australian deprescribing network, emailed the survey link to all of their member practitioners. Respondents reported the frequency with which they thought each deprescribing activity was undertaken in practice within their peer group on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) and whether it was important. We invited extended responses regarding the barriers and enablers to deprescribing and analysed these using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Results From 263 respondents 77.9% were prescribers; 110 (41.8%) were doctors, 85 (32.3%) were pharmacists, 44 (16.7%) were nurses and 24 (9.1%) were other healthcare professionals. Eighteen activities were combined into four deprescribing steps summarised in table 1. All were considered important and clinical activities were ‘often’ or ‘always’ undertaken. Patient orientated activities were only ‘sometimes’ undertaken. The barriers and enablers requiring addressing are in the TDF domains of ‘social influence’ to support practitioners to undertake patient orientated activities and ‘environmental context and resources’ to ensure they have sufficient capacity. Conclusion An internationally derived literature and practice informed process for safe deprescribing has been established. Social desirability bias may have inflated reported frequency of activities being undertaken. We therefore chose reporting on the collective rather than own behaviour, to ameliorate these effects. Organisations should prioritise the inadequate collaboration with patients through addressing practitioners’ behavioural determinants. References 1. Scott S, Clark A, Farrow C, May H, Patel M, Twigg MJ, et al. Deprescribing admission medication at a UK teaching hospital; a report on quantity and nature of activity. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 2018;40(5):991–6. 2. O’Mahony D, Gudmundsson A, Soiza RL, Petrovic M, Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Cherubini A, et al. Prevention of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized older patients with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy: the SENATOR* randomized controlled clinical trial. Age and Ageing. 2020;49(4):605–14.