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Read our Privacy notice Drug-traffickers were most likely behind an unprecedented wave of attacks against French prisons though foreign influence and the far-left remain possible instigators French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on Thursday It is one of the most credible scenarios," Retailleau told RTL radio At least nine prison facilities and affiliated institutions have been targeted with nightly arson and other attacks this week and a car was set alight at the home of a prison guard There was no sign of further violence overnight into Thursday President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that those behind an unprecedented wave of attacks would be tracked down and punished after violence flared for a third night A car was set on fire in front of the home of a prison guard who works in Aix-Luynes the door of a building in the Seine-et-Marne region was damaged and three cars were set ablaze at Tarascon prison also in southern France the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said adding that it was opening an investigation That adds to at least nine prison facilities and other affiliated institutions - including a school for prison staff - targeted the previous two nights Retailleau confirmed an arrest, but said it was too early to tell if it was linked to the attacks, which the government has said appear to be a response to its efforts to clamp down a record-breaking surge of South American cocaine flooding Europe Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin plans to open high-security prisons to house France's top 100 drug kingpins and limit inmates' family contact. A Telegram group called French Prisoner Rights (DDPF), created the day before the attacks began and arguing that prisoner rights are under threat, is under investigation. The influx of South American cocaine has transformed local drug markets, sparking a wave of violence. Despite record cocaine seizures in France, gangs are reaping windfalls as they expand from traditional power bases in cities such as Marseille into smaller towns unused to drug violence. "Some are trying to intimidate our prison workers and are attacking (prisons) with unacceptable violence. They will be found, sentenced and punished," Macron said on X. The government has pointed the finger at drug traffickers, but also said that was one among several options being probed. "There are clearly people who try to destabilise the state by intimidating it," Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin told CNews TV and Europe 1 radio. "We are taking very firm measures that are leading drug traffickers to react." Graffiti letters "DDPF" - apparently an acronym for "French prisoners' rights" -were tagged on some of the attack sites, which some police sources said could be the work of unknown left-wing militant groups. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies A burned car in front of the Tarascon prison in Tarascon, southern France Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey The Art Newspaper's long-standing correspondent and expert on the Dutch painter stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on meticulous investigations and discoveries Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here A few weeks ago we told the story of the Van Gogh self-portrait that was hidden in a salt mine in central Germany to protect it from bombing raids during the Second World War the Magdeburg museum’s painting of The Artist on the Road to Tarascon (1888) is believed to have been destroyed by a fire nearly a kilometre underground—although it is possible that it was looted and could still survive it was one of the relatively few Van Gogh paintings that were photographed in colour before the war But there is another part of the saga that has not yet been told. When I visited Magdeburg’s Kulturhistorisches Museum a few years ago I discovered in their archive an unpublished glass negative dating from the 1920s revealing that their Van Gogh had once hung in an extremely bold frame The photographer was concentrating on the painting Vincent van Gogh’s The Artist on the Road to Tarascon (1888) in its original museum frame glass negative of the 1920s Courtesy of the Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg This early black-and-white photograph has now been studied by the UK-based frame historian Lynn Roberts, who writes a blog on frames She is convinced that the Van Gogh frame would have been gilded: “On the top there are what appear to be minute scratches on the gold whereas you would be able to see the grain of the wood if it were ungilded The brightness of the beading shows that it is gilded as does the relatively high contrast over the frame as a whole.” Roberts has now made a reconstruction for The Art Newspaper to show how the framed painting might have been presented in the early 20th century Lynn Roberts’ reconstruction of the museum frame and the Van Gogh painting of The Artist on the Road to Tarascon © Lynn Roberts It seems that the frame may well have been specifically designed specifically for The Artist on the Road to Tarascon The decorative corners could well represent stylised sunflowers The swirling lines are reminiscent of Van Gogh’s windswept wheatfields or his often turbulent skies the painting had been displayed in the avant-garde Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne in a more conventional frame (although difficult to see in the photograph a close examination shows that the frame was mitred not with decorative squares in the corners) with Van Gogh's The Artist on the Road to Tarascon circled © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln rba_32416 (with thanks to Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud The interesting aesthetic question is whether the new dramatically wavy frame unduly deflects attention from the painting virtually no museum curator would contemplate hanging a masterpiece in such a way Yet somehow it adds even more of a sense of movement to the artist’s composition—and the presentation emphasises how Van Gogh was regarded in the 1910s as a truly revolutionary artist He was honoured as a respected artist by being in a gilded frame The Artist on the Road to Tarascon had been bought by the Magdeburg museum in 1912 and the frame was almost certainly created very shortly afterwards After Hitler came to power in 1933 much “modern” art was condemned as “degenerate” and this led to the notorious Entartete Kunst exhibition in Munich four years later By this time Magdeburg’s painting had almost certainly been banished to the storeroom in a successful effort to prevent it being confiscated by the Nazi regime believes that for ease of transport and storage the frames would have been removed from the paintings just before they were evacuated to the salt mine After the war the frames were kept in an attic store Then in 1960—when Magdeburg was part of the communist German Democratic Republic—the museum director ordered them to be destroyed Von Elsner says that staff got rid of hundreds of historic frames from paintings lost during the war: "They were thrown out of a window onto the street where they smashed and were removed as rubbish." All we now have is the glass negative of the framed painting and colour reproductions of the lost picture. The Otsuka Museum of Art a Japanese venue that displays ceramic copies of western paintings recently added a framed replica of the Van Gogh to its collection It also generously provided another copy for the Magdeburg What would Van Gogh have thought about the Magdeburg frame “If the painting looks good in a simple frame why put gilding around it?” he wrote to his sister Wil this point was made even more strongly by Paul Gachet the son of the doctor who treated Van Gogh after he shot himself: "It is an act of moral barbarism to put gold frames around Vincent’s canvases Martin Bailey is a leading Van Gogh specialist and special correspondent for The Art Newspaper He has curated exhibitions at the Barbican Art Gallery Compton Verney/National Gallery of Scotland and Tate Britain To contact Martin Bailey, please email vangogh@theartnewspaper.com Please note that he does not undertake authentications Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here blog25 October 2019Van Gogh and Germany: Frankfurt mounts best show on the artist in recent yearsStädel Museum tells the story of Germany's love affair with the painter which ended in tragedy with Hitler’s rise to power Metrics details Before discussing the spectra, it is worth noting that all precautions have been taken to prevent any contact of the samples with air by maintaining them in dry argon atmosphere or in high vacuum at all steps (details in “Methods” section). Charge compensation from oxygen (anionic redox) as deduced by HAXPES Evolution of O 1s photoelectron spectra at 6.9 keV (highest probe depth) during the a first and b second cycles Black dots are experimental data and red curves are fits Lattice O2– peak is at binding energy (BE) ≈ 529.5 eV On– grows at BE ≈ 530.5 eV (pink peak) followed by its reduction on discharge Surface deposits appear at higher BEs (gray peaks) Each O 1s panel has been normalized to keep the same intensity of the O2– component (green peak) for all spectra Note that the pristine sample was never in contact with the electrolyte and that its oxygenated surface species are those commonly observed at the surface of oxides The other samples are electrochemically prepared and hence show new surface oxygenated species compared to the pristine which come from electrolyte decomposition and passivating surface film formation An extra satellite peak at BE ≈ 535–536 eV is seen with 6.9 keV (and also weakly with 3.0 keV) The effect of probe depth on the O 1s spectra is shown for two samples c first charged at 4.80 V and d first discharged at 2.00 V Surface deposits diminish at high photon energies in contrast to the steady On– Changes in the monochromator energy resolution at different photon energies affect the shape of spectra (the worst energy resolution is obtained for 3.0 keV) Note that each O 1s panel has been normalized to keep the same intensity of the O2– component for all spectra Estimated percentage of oxidized lattice oxygen is plotted as a function of capacity to understand the anionic charge-compensation during the e first and f second cycles Results from 3.0 and 6.9 keV are overlaid in e and f The ±3% absolute error bars represent the uncertainty in the fitting procedure which was determined by comparing the effect of different initial conditions on the resulting fits To answer the important question about bulk vs. surface anionic redox, we compare the effect of different probe depths as shown here for two samples, i.e., first charged (Fig. 2c) and first discharged (Fig. 2d) While gradually going deeper into the two samples the intensity of On– component is not dependent on the photon energy and we do not observe much variation in % On– (percentage of oxidized lattice oxygen) defined as On–/(On– + O2–) by considering the integrated areas the contribution from surface deposits neatly decreases as hυ increases we can unambiguously conclude that On– is present in the bulk the quantification of % On– with HAXPES is more reliable than with surface-sensitive in-house XPS because the polluting O 1s signal from surface deposits is diminished at high hυ and hence the On– peak is not overshadowed but the ±3% absolute error is not insignificant as it leads to rather high relative errors when % On– is low (33% for % On– = 9 ± 3% vs 10% for % On– = 33 ± 3%) and further work is needed to overcome this uncertainty via improved energy resolution or surface cleaning Hysteresis and path dependence in activated LR-NMC studied by voltage window opening a Voltage profiles and b corresponding dQ/dV curves as the charge window is opened stepwise from 2.0 to 4.8 V LR-NMC is first activated by a few formation cycles in 2.0 to 4.8 V All curves in a and b start on the charge direction from 2.0 V (at 0 mAh g−1) and trace identical charging paths whereas the discharges vary with cutoff voltages Different regimes are highlighted with different colors Hysteresis is triggered above 4.1 V as the capacity expected from high-potential charge (4.1–4.8 V red) is split on discharge between high and low potentials the cell’s resistance (right axis in a) is also estimated by Ohm’s law applied to the voltage relaxation during a 10 s rest-step applied when switching from charge to discharge c Voltage profiles and d corresponding dQ/dV curves as the discharge window is opened stepwise from 4.8 to 2.0 V in a fashion opposite the first experiment All curves in c and d start on the discharge direction from 4.8 V (fully charged initially) The capacity expected from low potential discharge (3.4–2.0 V orange) is spread from low to high potentials on charge The cell resistance (right axis in c) is estimated from the voltage relaxation during a 10 s rest-step applied when switching from discharge to charge The SoC with cell resistance minimum on discharge path is shaded since cationic redox has the same dQ/dV peak on either charge or discharge it can be concluded that voltage hysteresis is associated with anionic redox which takes place asymmetrically between charge and discharge the cationic redox peak at 3.8 V is not affected by current (meaning fast kinetics) To further investigate the role of positive electrode in these results three-electrode electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was performed at different SoCs Via detailed spectroscopic and electrochemical analyses of LR-NMC cathodes, we have revealed (i) their charge-compensation mechanism from anionic/cationic redox, and (ii) how the interplay between these two processes governs application-wise important challenges, such as kinetics, hysteresis, and voltage fade. Next, we connect our results with published knowledge in this area. The small Mn3+/4+ contribution is restricted to low potentials (shaded blue) on charge with some anionic activity also Further charge to 4.1 V (shaded gray) leads to the peak at 3.8 V mainly from cationic oxidation (Ni2+/3+/4+ and Co3+/4+) along with some anionic contribution the discharge curve (shaded gray) shows two peaks due to cationic (3.8 V peak) and anionic (3.2 V peak) reductions If charging is continued to 4.8 V (shaded red and green) it is mainly charge compensated by anions and then the corresponding discharge capacity is split at high potential (shaded green) and low potential (3.2 V reduction peak Fast kinetics accompanies cationic redox on either charge or discharge LR-NMC powders were synthesized with a two-step process involving carbonate co-precipitation followed by heat treatment stoichiometric Ni-Mn-Co carbonate was co-precipitated from an aqueous solution of transition-metal sulfates by introducing in it an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate (2 M) and ammonia (0.2 M) This was carried out in a controlled manner (pH = 8 stirring speed = 1000 rpm) by using a continuously stirred tank reactor (Bioflow 320 Eppendorf) to regulate the morphology and homogeneity of particles The resulting Ni-Mn-Co carbonate powders were heat treated with Li2CO3 at 850 °C for 12 h to obtain the LR-NMC powders with a primary particle size of ~100 nm as characterized by SEM (FEI Helios NanoLab 650) The crystal structure was confirmed with X-ray diffraction (BRUKER D8 Advance diffractometer with Cu Kα radiation) and the targeted elemental composition was verified with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Li half-cells having LR-NMC powders hand mixed (to preserve morphology) with conductive Carbon Super P in a 90:10 mass ratio at the positive electrode (total weight kept ~20 mg for each cell to ensure repeatability) and Li metal foil at the negative electrode were assembled in Swagelock-type cells in an Argon glovebox (O2 < 0.1 ppm Positive and negative electrodes were separated with two layers of Whatman GF/D borosilicate glass-fiber sheets as the separator soaked with an electrolyte—LP100 (Merck) having 1 M LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene carbonate:propylene carbonate:dimethyl carbonate in a 1:1:3 weight ratio All cells are rested for 12 h before testing Once the desired SoC is achieved using a constant current density of ± 20 mA g−1 the Swagelok cells were disassembled in the glovebox carefully (ensuring no short circuiting) and as soon as possible (to prevent self-discharge under open circuit) The positive electrode powders were rinsed thoroughly three times with anhydrous dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to get rid of the electrolyte and soluble surface deposits DMC was evaporated by leaving the samples in vacuum (using the glovebox antechamber) for at least 1 h Note that our ex situ electrode samples were recovered as loose powders that were thoroughly mixed This averaged out any concentration gradients which can bias XPS results if slurry electrodes are used instead Great attention was paid to preserve the samples from air and moisture exposure during transfer and handling They were constantly maintained in dry argon atmosphere or in vacuum they were transferred directly from the argon glovebox (O2 < 0.1 ppm H2O < 0.1 ppm) connected to the spectrometer they were transferred from the on-site argon glovebox to the beamline introduction chamber (that was kept under vacuum) via a specially designed detachable stainless-steel transfer system (“suitcase”) The samples were first sealed in this “suitcase” inside the glovebox and then transferred to the beamline within 15 min All series of ex situ experiments (in-house XPS HAXPES and XAS) were performed on the same samples by pasting the powders on carbon tape HAXPES measurements were carried out at the GALAXIES beamline of SOLEIL synchrotron facility in France Photon excitation energies of hυ = 3.0 and 6.9 keV were obtained from the first- and the third-order reflections of the Si(111) double-crystal monochromator Photoelectrons were analyzed by a SCIENTA EW4000 spectrometer and the obtained energy resolution from the Au Fermi edge was 0.32 eV for 3.0 keV photon energy and 0.14 eV for 6.9 keV photon energy and the analysis chamber pressure was maintained around 10−8 mbar during the measurements Experiments were carried out using the single-bunch mode (lowest synchrotron brilliance) to minimize degradation under the X-ray beam The binding energy scale was calibrated to match the in-house XPS spectra on the same samples XAS spectra at Co LII,III edges were collected on the ANTARES beamline of SOLEIL synchrotron in France The ex situ cathodes were transferred from an Ar-filled glovebox to the analysis chamber using the same procedure as for HAXPES measurements in order to avoid air and moisture exposure Acquisition using a Bruker detector was carried out in TFY mode with about 100 nm probe depth The radiation was monochromatized using a plane-grating monochromator (PGM) which is characterized by a slit-less entrance and the use of two varied linear spacing gratings with a variable groove depth along the grating lines All measurements were performed over the range of 765–805 eV with a step size of 0.1 eV a linear background was subtracted from the XAS spectra and then they were normalized by the integrated area Lorentzian curves were used to fit the peak positions of the normalized XAS spectra T-shaped Swagelok-type cells were prepared with Li metal foil as the counter electrode and a small piece of Li metal as the reference electrode that was fixed at the exposed tip of an otherwise enameled thin copper wire (180 μm diameter) the reference electrode was placed well within the electrode-sandwich formed by the positive and negative electrodes Activated LR-NMC was used at the positive electrode after retrieving it from a coin-cell which had undergone five formation cycles as stated above This was achieved by disassembling the coin-cell (in discharged state) in the glovebox and quickly transferring the electrode to the fresh three-electrode cell Glass-fiber sheets soaked with LP100 (Merck) were used as separators After a few hours of rest to allow wetting and a cycle to confirm the expected electrochemical response EIS measurements were performed at varying levels of SoC achieved using a GITT protocol A 10 mV wave was applied with frequencies varying from 200 kHz to 1.4 mHz The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the authors on reasonable request Li, B. & Xia, D. Anionic redox in rechargeable lithium batteries. Adv. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201701054 (2017) Download references We thank Yin Yang for synthesizing the pristine materials Sarma for the fruitful discussions concerning HAXPES Experiments were performed on the GALAXIES beamline at SOLEIL Synchrotron We are grateful to Denis Céolin and Jean-Pascal Rueff for their assistance and to the SOLEIL staff for their smooth operation of the facility We also thank José Avila and Maria-Carmen Asensio from the ANTARES beamline for recording the Co-XAS spectra acknowledge the funding from the European Research Council (ERC) (FP/2014)/ERC Grant-Project 670116-ARPEMA Chimie du Solide et de l’Energie—UMR CNRS 8260 Gaurav Assat & Jean-Marie Tarascon Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l’Energie (RS2E)—FR CNRS 3459 Gaurav Assat, Dominique Foix, Charles Delacourt, Antonella Iadecola, Rémi Dedryvère & Jean-Marie Tarascon Dominique Foix & Rémi Dedryvère Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides (LRCS)—UMR CNRS 7314 prepared the samples and performed electrochemical measurements performed the in-house XPS measurements and analyzed the spectra supervised HAXPES experiments and analyzed the data wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors The authors declare no competing financial interests Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02291-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science French farmers in Tarascon piled rubbish outside a tax office as they protested against the government's agricultural policies Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Metrics details The study of chemo-mechanical stress taking place in the electrodes of a battery during cycling is of paramount importance to extend the lifetime of the device This aspect is particularly relevant for all-solid-state batteries where the stress can be transmitted across the device due to the stiff nature of the solid electrolyte stress monitoring generally relies on sensors located outside of the battery therefore providing information only at device level and failing to detect local changes we report a method to investigate the chemo-mechanical stress occurring at both positive and negative electrodes and at the electrode/electrolyte interface during battery operation optical fiber Bragg grating sensors were embedded inside coin and Swagelok cells containing either liquid or solid-state electrolyte The optical signal was monitored during battery cycling further translated into stress and correlated with the voltage profile This work proposes an operando technique for stress monitoring with potential use in cell diagnosis and battery design Although accessing such electrode breathing observables is essential for enhancing Li-ion battery lifetime this pioneering work was no longer pursued This aspect is even more crucial for the upcoming generation of ASSBs that require external pressure for operation and whose performances highly depend on the complex chemo-mechanics and stress variations at the electrodes and interfaces upon cycling Inspired by the aforementioned research articles and the widespread industrial use of FBGs in large composite structures for monitoring their mechanical integrity we decided to further exploit their use in the battery field including Li-based cells containing solid-state or liquid electrolytes we report the use FBGs for the internal operando monitoring of Li-driven stress changes in InLix and LixSi electrodes containing either liquid or solid-state electrolytes we show the implementation of FBG sensors at various positions in different all-solid-state cell configurations (InLix | Li3PS4 | Li4Ti5O12 or InLix | Li3PS4 | InLix) that enables to assess electrodes and interfaces stresses via data analysis relying on both empiric and theoretical models we demonstrate the benefit of this operando characterization technique for ASSBs for its local sensitivity providing insights directly at the material level which cannot be acquired by external force sensors a Scheme of the integration of an FBG into an in-house modified Swagelok cell together with the working principle of an FBG optical sensor b Time-resolved voltage (top) and Δλ and Δσ (bottom) evolution from the FBG sensor of an InLi0.6 | 1 M LiTFSI in DOL:DME | LTO cell with liquid electrolyte with the FBG placed at the anode/electrolyte interface c 2D stack-view of the reflected spectra given by the FBG sensor located at the anode/electrolyte interface for the cycles shown in (b) for a cell with the FBG sensor embedded within the InLix electrode This mathematical treatment will be repeatedly used throughout this work (unless otherwise specified) to convert ΔλB = (λB − λB,0) into longitudinal strain (ε) first and then translate it into stress (σ) expressed in MPa InLix || LTO batteries with non-aqueous liquid electrolytes were first assembled in modified Swagelok cells Such a difference does not come as a total surprise as Li-driven anisotropy stresses are more expected for 2D (graphite) rather than 3D (InLix) host structures Si anodes present an additional complication compared to InLix which is the low loading required for their proper functioning (in our case the electrode loadings were <1.5 mg cm−2 due to electrochemistry purposes) which are far below from the diameter of our fiber (150 μm) measurements were solely conducted with the FBG sensor placed on top of the Si electrode composite using in-house modified Swagelok cells as described before Bearing in mind that the Li-driven insertion process into Si depends on its particle size we have conducted our study using either nano- (40 nm) or micro- (1–5 μm) sized Si powders a Time-resolved voltage profile (top) and Δλ (bottom left) evolution from the FBG sensor of a Li | (LP30+FEC)| Si cell with liquid electrolyte with the FBG placed at the interface between the Si-based electrode and the electrolyte contained in the porous separator right) is also presented at the end of each lithiation c Comparison of the first and second cycle for micro-Si and nano-Si electrodes The dQ/dV plots together with the Δσ evolution from a FBG sensor located on top of the corresponding silicon electrodes are presented Schemes of the sequential steps (i) porosity filling and (iii) particles pulverization are shown in the figure The porosity of the nano-Si electrode and micro-Si electrode was 51% and 75% e Comparison of the sixth to the tenth cycle for micro-Si and nano-Si electrodes The dQ/dV plots together with the Δσ evolution is shown f Galvanostatic curves of the 12th to 18th cycles for the nano-Si cells with different cut-off voltages together with the corresponding g Δσmax for the different capacities achieved The cells were cycled in a 25 °C oven at a C-rate of C/30 (120 mA g−1) for micro-Si and C/10 (360 mA g−1) for nano-Si to better compare the cycling conditions in terms of efficient particle surface current density the irreversible pulverization of the microparticles could also explain the monotonous stress increase and the smaller Δσmax registered from the second cycle and on: once the fracturing has occurred the stress variation amplitude on the subsequent cycles becomes significantly smaller (Δσmax = 23 MPa) which report an intensive acoustic activity at the same dQ/dV position during the first discharge that strongly decreases upon subsequent cycles we must realize that such a simplified description can be perturbed by the dynamic nature of SEI growth Note that the minimum in the dQ/dV plot nearly corresponds to the position at which Δσ starts to drastically increase prior to reaching a maximum value of ~26 MPa at the end of the first lithiation without passing through a maximum as expected in the absence of cracking/pulverization these observations reinforce our claim that the measured stress with the FBG sensor is nested in the volume changes associated with the silicon electrode while rapidly increasing afterward with decreasing the lower cut-off voltage the InLix electrode is free of porosity because it was made directly by using an In and Li foil these results have shown the usefulness of FBG sensors to track the lithiation mechanism in micro-Si and nano-Si electrodes and reveal their differences this also shows the importance of porosity buffer to take up stresses generated from the electrode volume changes c Scheme of the coin cell placed under a frame with an external force sensor The galvanostatic cycling of the ASSB (top) is presented together with the external cycling pressure evolution monitored with the external force sensor for the ASSB cycled at C/30 (5.83 mA g−1) and at 25 °C d Scheme of the Swagelok cell placed under a frame with an external force sensor Fifth galvanostatic charge/discharge cycle and discharge capacity vs cycle number (inset) for the ASSB with the following C-rate protocol: the cell was cycled first at C/30 under external pressure applied by the force sensor and then the Swagelok screws were totally tightened so the ASSB was cycled without additional external pressure at C/30 and C/30 again up to ~70 cycles in total showing good capacity retention a Scheme of the modified coin cell with the implemented optical fiber and the external force sensor and Z-axis are detailed in the different views It is important to note that an axis transverse to the fiber is an axis perpendicular to the main symmetry axis (c∞) and therefore the axis “axial” to the cell is a “transverse” axis to the fiber every time we herein mention “longitudinal” or “transversal” will be respected to the fiber and “axial” will only be respected to the cell and an internal optical signal (bottom) for the aforementioned ASSB cycled at C/30 (5.83 mA g−1) and 25 °C in an operando mode with the corresponding galvanostatic charge/discharge cycle The charge and discharge processes are plotted in red and blue d Comparison between operando stress evolution obtained: 1—internally by the FBG sensor and using the mathematical model (green curve) and 2—internally by the FBG sensor and the sensitivity coefficient obtained with the experimental calibration of the sensor (blue curve) The respective galvanostatic charge/discharge is presented (top) The points at the beginning/middle/end of the charge/discharge are indicated by colored dots also marked in the corresponding FBG spectra in (d) The external cycling pressure was fixed at 2 MPa prior to performing the battery cycling that is in the order of our experimental data it should be pointed out that in both cases the stress fell back to nearly zero at the end of the discharge indicating no stress accumulation and hence mechanical reversibility of the system This observation clearly shows the importance of local stress measurements for better accessing the mechanical behavior at the component level it also highlights the complexity of the stress partitioning in all-solid-state batteries an aspect that will certainly have to be taken into account in practical systems that are not fully constrained and suffer from plastic deformations the “longitudinal” and “transversal” axis is used with respect to the optical fiber and the “axial” axis is only used with respect to the cell The scheme of the birefringence phenomena is presented b–d Experimental calibration curve of the FBG sensor when the ASSB is in an OCV status The externally applied pressure is increased externally from 0 to 9 MPa the externally applied pressure with the force sensor The birefringence regime is shadowed in light yellow Two regions are observed: 1—when only one peak is observed in the spectra (λB the calibration is done by λB – λB,0 and 2—the birefringence regime when λx and λy can be followed The difference between λx and λy is used in order to calibrate internal transverse stresses we focused on externally applied pressure of 8 MPa to profit from the birefringence phenomenon the slope of the linear fitting in the upper birefringence regime (5–9 MPa) is 0.105 nm MPa−1 and external cycling pressure (bottom) for the aforementioned ASSB cycled at C/30 (5.83 mA g−1) and 25 °C in an operando mode f 2D stack view of the operando collected spectra by the FBG sensor λx and λy evolution (middle) and operando stress evolution obtained internally by the FBG sensor and with the experimental calibration of the sensor (bottom) also marked in the corresponding FBG spectra in (f) The birefringence (B) of the light propagating through the optical fiber is given by50 Thus the real complexity in properly identifying the origins of the detailed features present in the optical signals Although pushing optical sensing to such a limit could be useful a Scheme of the modified Swagelok cell with the implemented optical fiber and the external force sensor The direction of the Li+ ions during charge/discharge is detailed in the scheme and external cycling pressure (bottom) for the aforementioned ASSB cycled at C/30 (5.83 mA g−1) and 25 °C for three consecutive cycles at an externally applied pressure of 2.7 MPa f 2D stack view of the collected spectra by the FBG sensor with the corresponding galvanostatic charge/discharge cycle when the externally applied pressure is 2.7 and 21 MPa and operando stress evolution obtained internally by the FBG sensor and with the experimental calibration of the sensor (bottom) when the externally applied pressure is 2.7 MPa also marked in the corresponding FBG spectra in (c) Note that due to the location of the FBG sensor in the positive electrode the relative stress is normalized (Δσ = 0 MPa) at the beginning of the discharge to compare positive stress variations this result demonstrates that FBGs integrated into battery electrodes provide insights at the material level thanks to their sensitivity to local stress variations thus opening a playground in the operando monitoring of mechanical properties that goes beyond the average changes of the whole device Although these results show the great potential of FBG sensing in spotting local mechanical stress a great amount of work remains to be done to precisely ascribe the origin of these stresses in such mechanically complex systems as composite electrodes we have investigated the use of FBG sensors for non-invasive operando monitoring of Li-driven stresses in electrodes contained into Swagelok or coin cells comprising a liquid or solid-state electrolyte we have selected Li-alloying electrodes that are known to undergo large volume changes upon Li uptake or removal By monitoring the variation of the optical wavelength signal (ΔλB) during cycling and converting it into Δσ we could access quantitatively to Li-driven local stresses at the electrode level which has never been achieved so far in ASSB’s with external force sensors Throughout stress monitoring by FBG sensors we also succeeded in differentiating the electrode behavior of nano vs micro Si particles towards Li uptake while reminding the importance of porosity in buffering electrode expansion hence providing clues in determining the proper cycling range for minimizing capacity loss by taking advantage of the birefringence phenomena we demonstrated the feasibility to access the directional anisotropy of the Li-driven stress field when the FBG sensor is placed at the solid InLix | LPS interface reuniting two materials of different elasticity we showed that external force sensors were totally blind to stress events occurring at the electrode level in symmetric InLix | LPS | InLix cells (showing constancy of Δσ upon cycling) while FBGs placed in the interphase between the InLix electrode and the solid-state electrolyte LPS successfully tracked the electrode’s stress variations during cycling hence highlighting the benefits offered by internal rather than external stress monitoring in all-solid-state batteries internal stress diagnostic via FBG sensors has the potential to offer great opportunities within the battery field both at the fundamental level to get insights on chemo-mechanical processes at the interfaces and within electrodes and on practical aspects oriented to enhance the performance of Si-based electrodes and ASSBs for this to happen several remaining difficulties must be resolved These range from the design of suitable cell hardware enabling an easier integration and positioning of the FBG sensors within the cell components to theoretical calculations of the Li-driven variation of material mechanical properties (such as Young’s modulus) for a deeper interpretation of the observed stress evolution Extensions of this work enlist 1—the study of layered compounds materials of choice by virtue of their 2D structure for further digging into the science beyond chemo-mechanical aspects and 2—testing the efficacy of self-healing electrodes that are of paramount importance for LIBs We speculate that our present findings together with future developments could play a key role in properly selecting and pairing suitable electrode materials for facilitating the development of all-solid-state batteries Microparticle-sized silicon powder (micro-Si Alfa Aesar) and nanoparticle-sized silicon powder (nano-Si Mw ≈ 450,000) was obtained from Sigma Aldrich The silicon anodes were prepared through a slurry casting process Silicon active material (micro-Si or nano-Si) were first hand-milled in the air in a weight ratio of 2:1:1 and milliQ water was then added to the powder mix to achieve a dry mass ratio between 15 and 25% the homogeneous slurry was casted onto the copper foil (99.9% thickness of 26 µm) using a doctor blade (Elcometer 200 μm gap) and then dried for 24 h in a vacuum oven at 80 °C The resulting micro-Si and nano-Si based electrodes presented an average thickness and mass loading of 1.1 ± 0.1 mg cm−2 and 23 ± 1 µm stored in the glovebox and used as received) composed of 1 M Lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) in EC:DMC (1:1 by volume) was used to prepare our LP30+FEC electrolyte (H2O < 15 ppm) by adding 5 wt% of 4-fluoro-1,3- dioxolan-2-one (FEC 0.38 mm thickness) was used as the counter electrode after being punched with a 5 mm stainless steel punch The cathode composite Li4Ti5O12:Li3PS4:C (LTO:LPS:C; 30:60:10 wt%) was prepared by hand-mixing the powders with a mortar and a pestle inside an Ar-filled glovebox with H2O and O2 contents below 0.1 ppm LPS) (NEI corporation) was the solid electrolyte used for all the all-solid-state cells the subsequent sealing with epoxy glue (Bühler EpoKwick FC) is done by applying the epoxy at each hole of the Swagelok body the assembly of the cell is done as in routine Swagelok cells using two Whatman papers as separator (Whatman GF/D soaked with 750 µL of the corresponding electrolyte and Li metal foil as the counter electrode (0.38 mm thickness the cell is finalized following the routine protocol for Swagelok’s assembly The coin cell was finished by the spacer/spring/cap and sealed with epoxy under the stainless steel frame with the external force sensor (Miniature button load cells up to 5000 N The body of the Swagelok cell was directly used as the die set to press the solid electrolyte 140 mg of Li3PS4 were firstly loaded into the body and cold-pressed at 4 ton cm−2 for 15 min under a hydraulic press (Manual hydraulic press ATLAS Specac up to 15 ton) inside an Ar-filled glovebox with H2O and O2 contents below 0.1 ppm The pellet position was perfectly aligned with the two drilled holes (Φ = 800 μm) to alloy the subsequent optical fiber implementation at the interface LPS/InLix cathode The holes were sealed with epoxy glue and the cell closed as explained above The Swagelok cell was positioned under the stainless steel frame including the external force sensor For the three cell configurations explained the respective blanks were assembled with the same procedure omitting the optical fiber implementation The cells were cycled with a BCS-810 or MPG2 potentiostat (Bio-Logic France) at a constant temperature of 25 °C inside temperature-controlled climatic chambers (Memmert The electrochemical performances of the cells were studied by galvanostatic discharge–charge cycling in the voltage range of 0.005–1.5 V vs Li/Li+ for the silicon-based cells and a voltage window of 0.5–1.3 V vs The cycling of the symmetrical ASSB was limited by time with a 30 h step for each charge/discharge The reflected spectra were collected with the interrogators FBGuard1550 (Safibra the wavelength accuracy/resolution of both of them is 1 pm 150 μm diameter) were purchased from SAMYON company (China) and IDIL (France) A high-resolution scanning electron microscope (Oxford Instruments) was used to perform the cross-section micrographs of pristine ASSBs The pellets were carefully and sharply cut after being previously embedded in conductive epoxy EDX of the pellets was performed under an acceleration voltage of 20 kV Laboratory XRD was performed in an airtight cell equipped with a Be window XRD patterns were recorded in reflection mode in Bragg–Brentano geometry using a Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer equipped with a Cu-Kα X-ray source (λ1 = 1.54056 Å The porosity of the electrodes was estimated by comparing the actual volume of an electrode to its expected volume regarding the true density of each material This density was measured on a helium pycnometer with a Micromeritics AccuPyc 1330 and Helium Messer gas (≥99.996 vol%) One analysis is composed of 20 helium purges followed up by 5 runs of measurements The authors declare that the main data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information Extra data are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author Towards greener and more sustainable batteries for electrical energy storage Issues and challenges facing rechargeable lithium batteries Fundamental understanding and practical challenges of anionic redox activity in Li-ion batteries Three-dimensional holey-graphene/niobia composite architectures for ultrahigh-rate energy storage Sustainability and in situ monitoring in battery development Chemo-mechanical challenges in solid-state batteries A review of mechanics-related material damages in all-solid-state batteries: mechanisms performance impacts and mitigation strategies (Electro)chemical expansion during cycling: monitoring the pressure changes in operating solid-state lithium batteries Strauss, F. et al. Operando characterization techniques for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Adv. Energy Sustain. Res. https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202100004 (2021) Deformation and stress in electrode materials for Li-ion batteries Electrochemical stiffness changes in lithium manganese oxide electrodes Electrochemical stiffness in lithium-ion batteries Operando differential electrochemical pressiometry for probing electrochemo‐mechanics in all‐solid‐state batteries Stress evolution during cycling of alloy-anode solid-state batteries Embedded fibre Bragg grating sensors in advanced composite materials Response of Bragg grating fiber-optic sensors when embedded in composite laminates Applications of Fiber Bragg Grating sensors in the composite industry Fiber Bragg grating sensors for structural health monitoring of Tsing Ma bridge: background and experimental observation Optical characterization of commercial lithiated graphite battery electrodes and in situ fiber optic evanescent wave spectroscopy Embedded fiber-optic sensing for accurate internal monitoring of cell state in advanced battery management systems part 2: Internal cell signals and utility for state estimation Operando decoding of chemical and thermal events in commercial Na(Li)-ion cells via optical sensors Monitoring of intercalation stages in lithium-ion cells over charge-discharge cycles with fiber optic sensors Monitoring the strain evolution of lithium‐ion battery electrodes using an optical fiber bragg grating sensor High precision strain monitoring for lithium ion batteries based on fiber Bragg grating sensors Internal strain and temperature discrimination with optical fiber hybrid sensors in Li-ion batteries The indium−lithium electrode in solid‐state lithium‐ion batteries: phase formation Reaction of Li with alloy thin films studied by in situ AFM pressure and thickness evolution of Li-ion pouch cells with silicon-composite negative electrodes Fiber optic sensing technologies for battery management systems and energy storage applications In situ stress measurement techniques on Li-ion battery electrodes: a review Determination of the individual strain-optic coefficients in single-mode optical fibres Real-time monitoring of stress development during electrochemical cycling of electrode materials for Li-ion batteries: overview and perspectives Structure and electrochemistry of the spinel oxides LiTi2O4 and Li43Ti53O4 Zero‐strain insertion material of Li [Li1 / 3Ti5 / 3] O 4 for rechargeable lithium cells In situ 119 Sn Mössbauer effect study of Li−CoSn 2 electrochemical system Reversible cycling of crystalline silicon powder In situ observation and long-term reactivity of Si/C/CMC composites electrodes for Li-ion batteries Internal microstructural changes and stress evolution in silicon nanoparticle based composite electrodes Size-dependent fracture of silicon nanoparticles during lithiation An in situ X-ray diffraction study of the reaction of Li with crystalline Si In-situ acoustic emission study of Si-based electrodes for Li-ion batteries Parasitic reactions in nanosized silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries Highly reversible lithium storage in nanostructured silicon Chemo-mechanical expansion of lithium electrode materials—on the route to mechanically optimized all-solid-state batteries Design of a pressure sensor based on optical fiber Bragg grating lateral deformation Menendez, J. M. & Guemes, J. A. Strain measurements inside thick CFRP laminates at the vicinity of bolted joints. (eds Claus, R. O. & Spillman, Jr., W. B.) 184–194 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.349729 Effects of diametric load on fibre Bragg gratings fabricated in low birefringent fibre Analysis of induced-birefringence effects on fiber Bragg gratings Characterization of a high birefringence fibre Bragg grating sensor subjected to non-homogeneous transverse strain fields Effects of distributed birefringence on fiber Bragg grating under non-uniform transverse load Operando visualization of morphological dynamics in all‐solid‐state batteries Templated spinel Li4Ti5O12 Li-ion battery electrodes combining high rates with high energy density Decomposition of ethylene carbonate on electrodeposited metal thin film anode Download references acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (ERC) (FP/2014)/ERC Grant-Project 670116-ARPEMA the authors acknowledge funding from DIM RESPORE and the International Balzan Prize Foundation Dominique Larcher for the pycnometer density measurements Chimie du Solide et de l’Energie—UMR 8260 CNRS Charlotte Gervillié & Jean-Marie Tarascon Laura Albero Blanquer & Jean-Marie Tarascon conceived the idea and designed the experiments including the different experimental setups performed the electrochemical and optical tests L.A.B performed the data analysis and materials characterization with the help of J.R.S prepared the Si electrodes and contributed to the data interpretation of the Si section The authors declare no competing interests Nature Communications thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28792-w Metrics details Our increasing dependence on lithium-ion batteries for energy storage calls for continual improvements in the performance of their positive electrodes which have so far relied solely on cationic redox of transition-metal ions for driving the electrochemical reactions Great hopes have recently been placed on the emergence of anionic redox—a transformational approach for designing positive electrodes as it leads to a near-doubling of capacity But questions have been raised about the fundamental origins of anionic redox and whether its full potential can be realized in applications we discuss the underlying science that triggers a reversible and stable anionic redox activity we highlight its practical limitations and outline possible approaches for improving such materials and designing new ones We also summarize their chances for market implementation in the face of the competing nickel-based layered cathodes that are prevalent today Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout The future cost of electrical energy storage based on experience rates High performance Li2Ru1–yMnyO3 (0.2 ≤ y ≤ 0.8) cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries: their understanding Reversible oxygen participation to the redox processes revealed for Li1.20Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2 Li- and Mn-rich cathode materials: challenges to commercialization High-voltage positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries Performance and design considerations for lithium excess layered oxide positive electrode materials for lithium ion batteries Review of the US Department of Energy’s ‘Deep Dive’ effort to understand voltage fade in Li- and Mn-rich cathodes This review paper summarizes the research carried out at Argonne National Laboratory (USA) on understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind voltage fade and voltage hysteresis in Li-rich NMCs Review—Lithium-excess layered cathodes for lithium rechargeable batteries Review—Li-rich layered oxide cathodes for next-generation Li-ion batteries: chances and challenges Anionic redox processes for electrochemical devices Solid-state redox reaction of oxide ions for rechargeable batteries Anionic redox in rechargeable lithium batteries Electrical energy storage and intercalation chemistry A Cyclable lithium organic electrolyte cell based on two intercalation electrodes Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with LiCoO2 and carbon electrodes: the LiCoO2/C system Anion–cation redox competition and the formation of new compounds in highly covalent systems Some solid state chemistry with holes: anion–cation redox competition in solids 31–39 (1997).This seminal review of anionic redox mechanisms in transition-metal chalcogenides demonstrates the versatile impact of such chemistry on structure Redox-induced structural change in anode materials based on tetrahedral (MPn4)x− transition metal pnictides the end member of the LixCoO2 solid solution and Processing of the Layered Lithium Cobalt Dioxide Lithium Intercalation Host Material In situ structural and electrochemical study of Ni1−xCoxO2 metastable oxides prepared by soft chemistry Ab initio study of lithium intercalation in metal oxides and metal dichalcogenides Identification of cathode materials for lithium batteries guided by first-principles calculations Oxygen contribution on Li-ion intercalation−deintercalation in LiCoO2 investigated by O K-edge and Co L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy Electron transfer mechanisms upon lithium deintercalation from LiCoO2 to CoO2 investigated by XPS Photoemission study of YBa2Cu3O7 through the superconducting transition: evidence for oxygen dimerization Additional oxygen ordering in ‘La2NiO4.25’ (La8Ni4O17): II Ground-state oxygen holes and the metal–insulator transition in the negative charge-transfer rare-earth nickelates Lithium metal rechargeable cells using Li2MnO3 as the positive electrode Mechanism of electrochemical activity in Li2MnO3 Understanding the anomalous capacity of Li/Li[NixLi(1/3−2x/3)Mn(2/3−x/3)]O2 cells using in situ X-ray diffraction and electrochemical studies Demonstrating oxygen loss and associated structural reorganization in the lithium battery cathode Li[Ni0.2Li0.2Mn0.6]O2 First evidence of manganese–nickel segregation and densification upon cycling in Li-rich layered oxides for lithium batteries Mechanisms associated with the ‘plateau’ observed at high voltage for the overlithiated Li1.12(Ni0.425Mn0.425Co0.15)0.88O2 system Direct in situ observation of Li2O evolution on Li-rich high-capacity cathode material Li[NixLi(1–2x)/3Mn(2–x)/3]O2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) Evidence of reversible oxygen participation in anomalously high capacity Li- and Mn-rich cathodes for Li-ion batteries Detailed studies of a high-capacity electrode material for rechargeable batteries Different oxygen redox participation for bulk and surface: a possible global explanation for the cycling mechanism of Li1.20Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2 Operando X-ray absorption study of the redox processes involved upon cycling of the Li-rich layered oxide Li1.20Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2 in Li ion batteries Charge-compensation in 3d-transition-metal-oxide intercalation cathodes through the generation of localized electron holes on oxygen This work demonstrated the reversibility of anionic redox in Li-rich NMC notably by experimentally showing that the amount of oxygen release was much less than previously believed Direct observation of reversible charge compensation by oxygen ion in Li-rich manganese layered oxide positive electrode material X-ray photoemission spectroscopy study of cationic and anionic redox processes in high-capacity Li-ion battery layered-oxide electrodes Fundamental interplay between anionic/cationic redox governing the kinetics and thermodynamics of lithium-rich cathodes This work proved redox reactivity of bulk lattice oxygen in Li-rich NMC using hard-XPS and further correlated it with the issues of hysteresis and sluggish kinetics Coupling between oxygen redox and cation migration explains unusual electrochemistry in lithium-rich layered oxides This work proved redox reactivity of bulk lattice oxygen in Li-rich NMC using STXM and further correlated it with cation migration to explain voltage hysteresis The structural and chemical origin of the oxygen redox activity in layered and cation-disordered Li-excess cathode materials This work provided the theoretical rationale for understanding the anionic redox activity in different types of structures The intriguing question of anionic redox in high-energy density cathodes for Li-ion batteries This work provided the theoretical rationale for understanding the reversible versus irreversible anionic redox activity in layered oxides Requirements for reversible extra-capacity in Li-rich layered oxides for Li-ion batteries Electron paramagnetic resonance imaging for real-time monitoring of Li-ion batteries Visualization of O–O peroxo-like dimers in high-capacity layered oxides for Li-ion batteries This work directly imaged the structural consequence of anionic redox activity Understanding the stability for Li-rich layered oxide Li2RuO3 cathode Molecular orbital principles of oxygen-redox battery electrodes Band gaps and electronic structure of transition-metal compounds The role of oxygen release from Li-and Mn-rich layered oxides during the first cycles investigated by on-line electrochemical mass spectrometry Reversible Li-intercalation through oxygen reactivity in Li-rich Li–Fe–Te oxide materials Understanding the roles of anionic redox and oxygen release during electrochemical cycling of lithium-rich layered Li4FeSbO6 Decoupling cationic–anionic redox processes in a model Li-rich cathode via Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy Evidence for anionic redox activity in a tridimensional-ordered Li-rich positive electrode β-Li2IrO3 Material design of high-capacity Li-rich layered-oxide electrodes: Li2MnO3 and beyond Gas-solid interfacial modification of oxygen activity in layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries Sulfur K-edge X-ray-absorption study of the charge transfer upon lithium intercalation into titanium disulfide XPS investigations of TiOySz amorphous thin films used as positive electrode in lithium microbatteries Crystal and electronic band structure of IrTe2: evidence of anionic bonds in a CdI2-like arrangement A new electrode material for rechargeable sodium batteries: P2-type Na2/3[Mg0.28Mn0.72]O2 with anomalously high reversible capacity Review on anionic redox for high-capacity lithium- and sodium-ion batteries Understanding and controlling anionic electrochemical activity in high-capacity oxides for next generation Li-ion batteries Li4NiTeO6 as a positive electrode for Li-ion batteries Origin of voltage decay in high-capacity layered oxide electrodes The electrochemical behavior of xLiNiO2·(1−x)Li2RuO3 and Li2Ru1−yZryO3 electrodes in lithium cells Origin of stabilization and destabilization in solid-state redox reaction of oxide ions for lithium-ion batteries Characterization of disordered Li(1+x)Ti2xFe(1–3x)O2 as positive electrode materials in Li-ion batteries using percolation theory Synthesis and electrochemical properties of Li4MoO5–NiO binary system as positive electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries Synthesis and electrode performance of Li4MoO5–LiFeO2 binary system as positive electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries A new class of high capacity cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable lithium batteries: Li–Ni–Ti–Mo oxides A new active Li–Mn–O compound for high energy density Li-ion batteries Unlocking the potential of cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable lithium batteries Approaching the limits of cationic and anionic electrochemical activity with the Li-rich layered rocksalt Li3IrO4 The Li3RuyNb1–yO4 (0 ≤ y ≤ 1) system: structural diversity and Li insertion and extraction capabilities A new sealed lithium-peroxide battery with a Co-doped Li2O cathode in a superconcentrated lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide electrolyte Anion-redox nanolithia cathodes for Li-ion batteries Examining hysteresis in composite xLi2MnO3·(1 – x)LiMO2 cathode structures Probing the initiation of voltage decay in Li-rich layered cathode materials at the atomic scale Electrochemical modeling and performance of a lithium- and manganese-rich layered transition-metal oxide positive electrode Best practice: performance and cost evaluation of lithium ion battery active materials with special emphasis on energy efficiency Re-entrant lithium local environments and defect driven electrochemistry of Li- and Mn-rich Li-ion battery cathodes Physical theory of voltage fade in lithium-and manganese-rich transition metal oxides Origin of hysteresis between charge and discharge processes in lithium-rich layer-structured cathode material for lithium-ion battery Editors’ choice—Practical assessment of anionic redox in Li-rich layered oxide cathodes: a mixed blessing for high energy Li-ion batteries Voltage fade of layered oxides: its measurement and impact on energy density A stable lithium-rich surface structure for lithium-rich layered cathode materials Energy and fuels from electrochemical interfaces Nickel-rich layered cathode materials for automotive lithium-ion batteries: achievements and perspectives High-energy Ni-rich Li[NixCoyMn1–x–y]O2 cathodes via compositional partitioning for next-generation electric vehicles Electrochemical and rate performance study of high-voltage lithium-rich composition: Li1.2Mn0.525Ni0.175Co0.1O2 Electrochemical kinetics and performance of layered composite cathode material Li[Li0.2Ni0.2Mn0.6]O2 Effect of transition metal composition on electrochemical performance of nickel–manganese-based lithium-rich layer-structured cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries Comparison of the structural and electrochemical properties of layered Li[NixCoyMnz]O2 (x = 1/3 0.8 and 0.85) cathode material for lithium-ion batteries Role of Mn content on the electrochemical properties of nickel-rich layered LiNi0.8–xCo0.1Mn0.1+xO2 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) cathodes for lithium-ion batteries Significant improvement of electrochemical performance of AlF3-coated Li[Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1]O2 cathode materials Synchrotron X-ray analytical techniques for studying materials electrochemistry in rechargeable batteries Quantitative probe of the transition metal redox in battery electrodes through soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy Download references Saubanère for valuable discussions on the theoretical aspects Georges for sharing their knowledge and comments Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0097-0 Metrics details This article has been updated Ever-growing energy needs and depleting fossil-fuel resources demand the pursuit of sustainable energy alternatives including both renewable energy sources and sustainable storage technologies It is therefore essential to incorporate material abundance eco-efficient synthetic processes and life-cycle analysis into the design of new electrochemical storage systems a few existing technologies address these issues fundamental and technological hurdles remain to be overcome Here we provide an overview of the current state of energy storage from a sustainability perspective We introduce the notion of sustainability through discussion of the energy and environmental costs of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries we also highlight current and future electrochemical storage systems beyond lithium-ion batteries The complexity and importance of recycling battery materials is also discussed In the html version of this Review originally published International Energy Agency Key World Energy Statistics 2011 (IEA, 2011); available at http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/key_world_energy_stats-1.pdf Conférences sur quelques problèmes actuels de la Chimie Physique et Cosmique (Gauthier-Villars et Cie Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (Oxford Univ A Review of Battery Life-Cycle Analysis: State of Knowledge and Critical Needs 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Recycling rechargeable lithium ion batteries: critical analysis of natural resource savings Novel low temperature approaches for the eco-efficient synthesis of electrode materials for secondary Li-ion batteries Hunting for better Li-based electrode materials via low temperature inorganic synthesis Eco-efficient synthesis of LiFePO4 with different morphologies for Li-ion batteries Virus-enabled synthesis and assembly of nanowires for lithium ion battery electrodes Fabricating genetically engineered high-power lithium-ion batteries using multiple virus genes From biomass to a renewable LixC6O6 organic electrode for sustainable Li-ion batteries Towards sustainable and renewable systems for electrochemical energy storage High energy storage Li-O2 and Li-S batteries Aluminum as anode for energy storage and conversion: a review Key challenges in future Li-battery research A high capacity calcium primary cell based on the Ca–S system Electrical energy storage for the grid: a battery of choices An overview of the chemical composition of biomass Layered lithium insertion material of LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 for lithium-ion batteries Lithium insertion into Fe2(SO4)3-type frameworks A 3.90 V iron-based fluorosulphate material for lithium-ion batteries crystallizing in the triplite structure Lithium-ion batteries: runaway risk of forming toxic compounds Investigation on the fire-induced hazards of Li-ion battery cells by fire calorimetry Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry as a suitable tool for the Li-ion battery electrolyte degradation mechanisms study Lithium salt of tetrahydroxybenzoquinone: toward the development of a sustainable Li-ion battery Conjugated dicarboxylate anodes for Li-ion batteries Redox cofactor from biological energy transduction as molecularly tunable energy-storage compound Sodium insertion in carboxylate based materials and their application in 3.6 V full sodium cells All organic sodium-ion batteries with Na4C8H2O6 Sodium terephthalate as an organic 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Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (General Assembly Resolution 42/187, United Nations, 1987); available at http://www.un-documents.net/a42r187.htm Download references We thank members of the European network ALISTORE-ERI and of the French Network Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l'Energie – RS2E for participating in some discussions related to this topic as well as M Subban for support in editing the manuscript Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides UPJV Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l'Energie (RS2E) Download citation The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of many of the world’s most eminent scientists scientific meetings and exhibitions held by the Royal Society as well as access to videos of past events and information on our venue Discover new research from across the sciences in our international Find out more about our values as a not-for-profit society publisher our support for open science and our commitment to research integrity Find out about our work in areas of current topical interest to the Royal Society The Royal Society provides a range of grant schemes to support the UK scientific community and foster collaboration between UK based and overseas scientists awards and prize lectures recognise excellence in science and technology Explore the latest work from the Royal Society from news stories and blog posts to policy statements and projects You can also find resources for teachers and history of science researchers Jean-Marie Tarascon focuses his research on the chemistry of materials for energy storage and conversion He examines ways to improve the capacity of lithium-ion batteries to store energy — from a ‘green energy’ perspective he is noted for his development of thin and flexible plastic lithium batteries in which the liquid electrolyte is replaced with a leak-free Early in his career, Jean-Marie investigated high-temperature superconducting materials, with the aim of limiting energy losses. Then, in the 1990s, he began to pursue his interest in developing new electrodes and polymers for plastic lithium-ion batteries. Over the years, Jean-Marie has set up and led a number of European energy storage research networks such as RS2E He is the recipient of a number of awards, including the 2011 ENI Protection of the Environment Award in recognition of his contributions to the development of high-performance–low-cost batteries. In 2005, Jean-Marie was elected to join the French Académie des sciences and in 2009 he received the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur — France’s highest decoration The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence Metrics details Metal-ion batteries are key enablers in today’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy for a better planet with ingeniously designed materials being the technology driver A central question remains how to wisely manipulate atoms to build attractive structural frameworks of better electrodes and electrolytes for the next generation of batteries This review explains the underlying chemical principles and discusses progresses made in the rational design of electrodes/solid electrolytes by thoroughly exploiting the interplay between composition crystal structure and electrochemical properties We highlight the crucial role of advanced diffraction imaging and spectroscopic characterization techniques coupled with solid state chemistry approaches for improving functionality of battery materials opening emergent directions for further studies the vast number of compositions potentially available from the Periodic Table poses an overwhelming challenge for the materials science community to find new battery electrodes researchers desperately need solid guidelines while searching through this huge parameter space for the best chemical combinations and structures Solid state chemistry is the art of building the desired atomic arrangements based on information hidden in the Periodic Table this research field has evolved from the trial and error Edison’s approach to become a fully-fledged science delivering an unprecedented control over material’s structure and properties This allowed building predictive models and conferring specific functional properties to a material with an extra degree of freedom offered by defects in solids the context of research is displaced towards accelerated materials discovery and novel eco-compatible processes together with engineering advances for device fabrication and prototyping solid state chemistry is still expanding pursuing our demands of understanding matter and transforming it to useful solids for emerging technologies The individual properties of atoms and ions encoded in the Periodic Table determine the basic redox chemistry which is fine-tuned by embedding into a certain crystal lattice in which the peculiar electronic structure and defects define the operating potential the electrode material combines surface modifications and control of grain boundaries optimized for high-energy density and cycling stability through advanced synthesis methods Further step towards the electrode requires extensive engineering aimed at selecting proper conductive additives and binders and mastering the deposition techniques of the electrode slurry onto current collector Note that the start and end points of this chain can be reversed instead of playing with electronic and crystal structures to design better batteries one could use the battery as an electrochemical reactor for fine tuning the chemical composition and electronic structure and preparing metastable compounds with unusual oxidation states should our write-up stop here in case of looking old-fashioned The material-oriented research is still largely driven by simple ideas hence importance of conceptual models and generalizations This is what this paper tries to illustrate and discuss as personally perceived Curing this problem calls for a fundamental understanding of the Li-driven anionic redox reactions a Stabilization of oxidized oxygen species (from left to right): strengthening of the M–O π-bonds catenation of oxygens in the (O–O)2− peroxogroups and cooperative distortion of the anionic framework due to a reductive coupling mechanism sp3-Hybridized oxygen orbitals as lone pairs in the polyanion cathode structures: b Local coordination environment of selected oxygens in the LiFePO4 and Na2FePO4F structures c Deintercalation of two neighbouring A+ alkali cations from the oxo-centered tetrahedron leaves two lone electron pairs residing on the O atom at the center of this tetrahedron d Configuration with two oxo-centered tetrahedra linked to sulfate groups and formation of peroxodisulfate anion S2O82− upon deintercalation of the A+ cations metallic Cu donates electrons from 3d orbitals to low-lying σ* orbitals of the (L2)2− dimers causing their cleavage These findings open up a new synthetic strategy worth being explored for designing novel transition metal compounds from precursors containing polyanionic redox centers This suggests that the feasibility of reductive coupling increases with either a spatial extension of the M nd orbitals a shortening of the M–O distances by applying external pressure The effect of pressure can be mimicked with epitaxial strain compression in thin films that is known as a tool to modify physical properties finding the right epitaxial relations and lattice mismatch could enable stable and reversible oxygen redox due to the reductive coupling in thin film or even 3D electrodes based on 3d transition metal oxides The lone pairs of these oxygens are equivalent to oxygen non-bonding states and could potentially act as electron sources it is not therefore impossible to envisage that the polyanionic redox process could be triggered upon removal of Li An explanation from a crystal structure and chemical bonding standpoint could really benefit the anionic redox field Additional insights are also necessary for designing chemical strategies that could help in taking high capacity anionic redox cathodes from the labs into market extra capacity is gained from the localized (L n′p)NB anionic states in addition to that coming from the (M–L)* band (panel e In the general case of M–L (L = ligand) bonding the electrochemical redox potential is determined by the position of the (M–L)* band that hosts the Fermi level relative to the Li 1s band The energy difference between (M–L)* and (M–L) can be expressed as a function of the overlap integral This lowers the S2/Δχ and consequently the (M–L)* band such that the redox potential increases The increased electrostatic repulsion through shorter cation–cation interactions typically results in enlarging of the M–L bond distances and consequently increases their ionicity leading to a higher potential of the M(k+1)+/Mk+ redox couple Understanding defect chemistry turns out to be as important as the crystalline matrix to design efficient ionic conductors The overall equation defining the ionic conductivity σ is shown together with a schematic of the activation energy barrier corresponding to the hopping of ions from site to site within the crystal structure (a b) together with the most favorable migration path between two tetrahedral sites T1 and T2 in the b.c.c Development of solid electrolytes over times together with their superionic conductivities (in S·cm−1) indicated in the parentheses (d) The legend: NaSICON: Na3Zr2PSi2O12; LiSICON: Li14ZnGe4O16; Glassy LPS: Li2S–P2S5; LATP: Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3; LiPON: Li2.98PO3.30N0.46; LLTO: LixLa2/3−x/3TiO3; LG-PS: Li4–xGe1–xPxS4; LLZO: Li7La3Zr2O12; LGPS: Li10GeP2S12; LPS: Li3PS4 Such boundaries usually originate from crystallites of different orientation in polycrystalline samples and more frequently from minute amounts of surficial phase having either structure These examples call for a better understanding of the grain boundary structure and developing advanced chemical approaches to control the grains and grain boundaries in electroactive materials and solid electrolytes the crystal space can be split into atoms and voids subspaces VDPs are built only around so-called “framework” atoms which remain immobile during ion migration top) indicate elementary voids and channels sorted by their radii (Rsd Only significant voids and channels with sufficiently large Rsd and Rad are suitable for mobile ions Such downselection results in a continuous system represented by curved 1D pathways for LiFePO4 where Easym—the energy penalty due to the coordination asymmetry and Erep—the electrostatic (Coulomb) repulsion The BVEL approach might reveal energetically favorable sites for ions or define migration pathways characterized by an activation energy Eact which can be treated as a migration barrier of a mobile ion Since BVSM and BVEL deal with a static crystal structure and the relaxation of the surrounding atoms during migration is disregarded the BVEL migration barrier is generally higher than the experimental one substantial literature data for monovalent ions validate a steady correlation between experimental the solid-state methods also provide a significant gain in time and cost (panel b) Progress in solid state electrochemistry have greatly benefit from establishing robust structural-electronic-electrochemical relationships via the prolific improvement of available diffraction imaging and spectroscopic characterization techniques and enabling many of them to act in an operando/in situ mode They target various local structural aspects (vacancies structure distortions) as well as chemical and electronic aspects This figure should serve as a guide to the reader for selecting the most suitable type of measurements dealing with a specific problem regarding crystal structure electronic structure and composition (as exemplified with the layered rock-salt type oxides) SANS: small angle X-ray/neutron scattering; XCT X-ray computed tomography; XRD-CT X-ray diffraction computed tomography The techniques to probe atomic arrangement are shown in black those targeting the electronic states and bonding are in red The techniques in bold can be applied in situ or operando d Projected charge density dDPC maps of Li0.95CoO2 and Li0.4CoO2: note clear reduction of the charge density at the Li layers Defects due to migration of the Co atoms from its native octahedral sites (CoO) to the tetrahedral interstices (Cot) are clearly seen in the enlarged part of the image of the charged Li0.4CoO2 material Li vacancies are clearly visible already at their low concentration whereas at large delithiation the Li-vacancy ordering is unambiguously detected and a partial migration of Co to the tetrahedral interstices becomes apparent and availability of the low-dose STEM imaging techniques makes it a perfect tool to study quantitatively the atomic structures of oxidized oxygen species formed due to the anionic redox this feature was almost material-neutral and assigned to the anionic redox no theoretical evidences have allowed to undoubtedly assigning such a feature to the occurrence of exotic O states Obviously more rigorous implementations of RIXS are being awaited along with an in-depth theoretical support to further elaborate on the nature of the oxidized oxygen species formed during charge and hopefully to bring a corrected trend/picture to this topic the next step towards the materials with practical importance is clearly of high demand One could argue that there is a massive amount of data already stored in scientific publications which are exponentially growing within the field of batteries but the reported metrics are full of incoherency with respect to composition characterization measurement methods causing the data variance and making a large part of reports obsolete the whole battery research community must be structured to provide standardized and reliable data calling for more “quantitative” experimental characterization techniques particularly with respect to retrieving information on disorder and defects the predicted materials will have to be synthesized after all which brings us back to the skills and competences in solid state chemistry along with some serendipity contribution Thus the solid-state chemists have received a powerful instrument for precise control of the chemical composition electron/hole doping and stabilizing metastable compositions and oxidation states with the battery research becoming a society-driven demand this field attracts a colossal number of researchers having wide ranges of expertise Solid state chemistry should largely help to unite a vision on the many-sided problems of the discovery of novel materials and novel reactivity concepts based on combined experimental and computational methods together with the help of novel advanced characterization techniques with an improved energy and spatial resolution such a multifaceted platform of knowledge should accelerate the development of better materials for rechargeable batteries The raw images associated with Fig. 5d are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request A reflection on lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry Computational understanding of Li-ion batteries Lithium and sodium battery cathode materials: computational insights into voltage Accelerating the discovery of materials for clean energy in the era of smart automation New frontiers for the materials genome initiative Artificial intelligence for materials discovery This seminal review highlights theoretical background practical realizationand limitations of a reversible and stable anionic redox activity in metal-ion battery cathodes Metal–oxygen decoordination stabilizes anion redox in Li-rich oxides Unified picture of anionic redox in Li/Na-ion batteries This work provides a theoretical framework for the unified picture of anionic redox reactions in A-rich transition metal oxides Redetermined crystal structure of FeS2 (pyrite) A new chemistry route to synthesize layered materials based on the redox reactivity of anionic chalcogen dimers Visualization of O-O peroxo-like dimers in high-capacity layered oxides for Li-ion batteries This work demonstrated a cooperative distortion of the oxygen framework associated with the anionic redox The structural stability of P2-layered na-based electrodes during anionic redox FeO2 and FeOOH under deep lower-mantle conditions and Earth’s oxygen–hydrogen cycles a geologically important material lying “in between” oxides and peroxides This work uncovered the role of non-bonding oxygen orbitals in the extra capacity delivered by anionic redox Oxygen redox chemistry without excess alkali metal ions in Na2/3[Mg0.28Mn0.72]O2 First-principles study of the chemical bonding and conduction behavior of LiFePO4 Origin of valence and core excitations in LiFePO4 and FePO4 The role of semilabile oxygen atoms for intercalation chemistry of the metal-ion battery polyanion cathodes Antisite disorder and bond valence compensation in Li2FePO4F cathode for Li-ion batteries Crystal structural changes and charge compensation mechanism during two lithium extraction/insertion between Li2FeSiO4 and FeSiO4 All-temperature batteries enabled by fluorinated electrolytes with non-polar solvents Structural evolution at the oxidative and reductive limits in the first electrochemical cycle of Li1.2Ni0.13Mn0.54Co0.13O2 Structure of hydrated tungsten peroxides [WO2(O2)H2O].nH2O Fundamentals of inorganic solid-state electrolytes for batteries Computational analysis and identification of battery materials This review demonstrates the geometric and crystal-chemical approaches and methodologies to identify perspective electrochemical energy storage materials Relationship between bond valence and bond softness of alkali halides and chalcogenides High-throughput design and optimization of fast lithium ion conductors by the combination of bond-valence method and density functional theory High-throughput search for potential potassium ion conductors: a combination of geometrical-topological and density functional theory approaches Crystallochemical tools in the search for cathode materials of rechargeable Na-ion batteries and analysis of their transport properties Design principles for solid-state lithium superionic conductors This work reveals a fundamental relationship between anion packing and ionic transport in fast Li-conducting materials Comparing the Descriptors for Investigating the Influence of Lattice Dynamics on Ionic Transport Using the Superionic Conductor Na3PS4–xSex Structural polymorphism in Na4Zn(PO4)2 driven by rotational order−disorder transitions and the impact of heterovalent substitutions on Na-Ion conductivity Volume effect or paddle-wheel mechanism-fast alkali-metal ionic conduction in solids with rotationally disordered complex anions Coupled cation–anion dynamics enhances cation mobility in room-temperature superionic solid-state electrolytes Low-temperature paddlewheel effect in glassy solid electrolytes Fast lithium ion conduction in garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 Garnet-type solid-state fast Li ion conductors for Li batteries: critical review Lithium ionic conductor Thio-LISICON: the Li2S - GeS2 -P2S5 system This work demonstrated that high ionic conductivity exceeding that of liquid organic electrolytes can be achieved in non-oxide inorganic solid High-power all-solid-state batteries using sulfide superionic conductors Boosting solid-state diffusivity and conductivity in lithium superionic argyrodites by halide substitution Anomalous high ionic conductivity of nanoporous β-Li3PS4 Progress and perspectives on halide lithium conductors for all-solid-state lithium batteries Synthesis of Li-Rich NMC: a comprehensive study Factors that affect Li mobility in layered lithium transition metal oxides Surface reconstruction and chemical evolution of stoichiometric layered cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries Crystal structure and Li-ion transport in Li2CoPO4F high-voltage cathode material for Li-ion batteries Numerical study of Li diffusion in polycrystalline LiCoO2 First-principles calculations of lithium-ion migration at a coherent grain boundary in a cathode material LiCoO2 Classical and emerging characterization techniques for investigation of ion transport mechanisms in crystalline fast ionic conductors FAULTS: a program for refinement of structures with extended defects This work introduces a tool for rigorous treatment of powder diffraction patterns from faulted structures A study of stacking faults and superlattice ordering in some li-rich layered transition metal oxide positive electrode materials Enhanced electrochemical performance of Li-rich cathode materials through microstructural control Recent advances in the application of total scattering methods to functional materials Hidden structural and chemical order controls lithium transport in cation-disordered oxides for rechargeable batteries Materials’ methods: NMR in battery research Structure solution and refinement of metal-ion battery cathode materials using electron diffraction tomography This review demonstrates capabilities of quantitative electron crystallography in structural characterization of battery materials In situ electron diffraction tomography using a liquid-electrochemical transmission electron microscopy cell for crystal structure determination of cathode materials for li-ion batteries Structure refinement using precession electron diffraction tomography and dynamical diffraction: theory and implementation Structure analysis of materials at the order–disorder borderline using three-dimensional electron diffraction Atomic-scale visualization of antisite defects in LiFePO4 Direct observation of lithium staging in partially delithiated LiFePO4 at atomic resolution Low-Dose aberration-free imaging of Li-rich cathode materials at various states of charge using electron ptychography Phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging of light and heavy atoms at the limit of contrast and resolution Advanced electron crystallography through model based imaging Anionic and cationic redox and interfaces in batteries: advances from soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy to resonant inelastic scattering Carbonophosphates: a new family of cathode materials for li-ion batteries identified computationally Designing multielectron lithium-ion phosphate cathodes by mixing transition metals Pyrophosphates AMoP2O7 (A = Li and Na): Synthesis A computational investigation of Li9M3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 (M = V Phosphates as lithium-ion battery cathodes: an evaluation based on high-throughput ab initio calculations Electrochemical oxidation of trivalent chromium in a phosphate matrix: Li3Cr2(PO4)3 as cathode material for lithium ion batteries High-capacity electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries: Li3NbO4-based system with cation-disordered rocksalt structure Lithium manganese oxyfluoride as a new cathode material exhibiting oxygen redox Superstructure control of first-cycle voltage hysteresis in oxygen-redox cathodes Ultrahigh power and energy density in partially ordered lithium-ion cathode materials Exploring the bottlenecks of anionic redox in Li-rich layered sulfides Recent advances and applications of machine learning in solid state materials science Models and materials for generalized Kitaev magnetism Tc up to 44 K) by an electrochemical route Electrochemical tuning of layered lithium transition metal oxides for improvement of oxygen evolution reaction Crystal-chemical guide for understanding redox energy variations of M2+/3+ couples in polyanion cathodes for lithium-ion batteries This work provides crystal-chemical rationale behind the redox potentials in polyanion cathodes Titanium-based potassium-ion battery positive electrode with extraordinarily high redox potential From bond valence maps to energy landscapes for mobile ions in ion-conducting solids Transport pathways for mobile ions in disordered solids from the analysis of energy-scaled bond-valence mismatch landscapes Download references Marchandier for reading the manuscript and valuable comments acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) (FP/2014)/ERC is grateful to Russian Science Foundation for financial support (grant 20-43-01012) Access to the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) facilities was granted by Advanced Imaging Core Facility (AICF) of Skoltech Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Peer review information Nature Communications thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18736-7 Metrics details Understanding and controlling anionic redox processes is pivotal for the design of new Li-ion battery and water-splitting materials Saubanère, M., McCalla, E., Tarascon, J.-M. & Doublet, M.-L. Energy Environ. Sci. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5EE03048J (2015) Download references Doublet at the Institut Charles Gerhardt in Montpellier McCalla at Collège de France for discussion acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) (FP/2014)/ERC Grant-Project 670116-ARPEMA Department of Materials Science and Engineering Reprints and permissions Download citation Tarascon Hospital Medicine is your white coat pocketbook turned into an app the Contents section is likely to be where you’ll stay and each system is further broken down into relevant areas Each section has the option to be added to your bookmarks This way you can quickly and easily refer back to a section that you look at often One thing that always wins my favor is citations from peer reviewed sources The actual content of the app is excellent in providing what you need to know when looking at a pocketbook reference For various diseases or clinical situations the app provides a distilled version of exactly what you need to be aware of for diagnosis and treatment and things that should be on your radar specifically related to the current situation (signs the design of the app leaves much to be wanted There are a few aspects that make it seem like the app was quickly thrown together the startup screen just says Default GUI three times It’s as if the developer was using some app development program but was in too much of a hurry to go through all the features the search function is simply not very good you have to scroll down about a half a page to find the entry with that exact name it doesn’t take you to the main Acute Kidney Injury section It takes you to a subsection within that section A quick read of Amazon reviews of the paperback version shows how popular and well-respected it is The app leaves the impression that its developers were narrowly focused on the conversion of the book into digital app form they have not yet taken full advantage of the capabilities afforded by mobile apps in their development Devices – This app was reviewed on an iPhone 5s iMedicalApps is an independent online medical publication for medical professionals and analysts interested in mobile medical technology and health care apps Our physician editors lead a team of physicians and commentary of mobile medical technology Our publication is heavily based on our own experiences in the hospital and clinic setting Login on the left or click the register button below to proceed Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team Metrics details Technological improvements in rechargeable solid-state batteries are being driven by an ever-increasing demand for portable electronic devices Lithium-ion batteries are the systems of choice and longer lifespan than comparable battery technologies We present a brief historical review of the development of lithium-based rechargeable batteries and discuss the challenges that remain regarding the synthesis electrochemical performance and safety of these systems Etude gènérale des phases NaxTiS2 et KxTiS2 Precursor effects of superconductivity up to 35 °K in layered compounds Electrochemical energy storage and intercalation chemistry Non-aqueous battery using chalcogenide electrode Solid state electrodes for high energy batteries LixCoO2 (0&lt;x†1): a new cathode material for batteries of high energy density Topochemical reactions of rutile related structures with lithium A cyclable lithium organic electrolyte cell based on two intercalation electrodes Hermetically sealed secondary battery with lanthanum nickel anode Alliages à base de Lanthane et de Nickel et leurs applications électrochimiques New method for the preparation of lithium insertion compounds in graphite Rechargeable lithium battery based on pyrolytic carbon as a negative electrode in Fast Ion Transport in Solids Electrodes and Electrolytes (eds Vashishta Poly(ethyleneoxide) electrolytes for operation at near room temperature Performance of Bellcore's plastic rechargeable Li-ion batteries in New Trends in Electrochemical Technology: Energy Storage Systems for Electronics Vol M.) 253–350 (Gordon & Breach Science Publishers Novel LiNi1-xTix/2Mgx/2O2 compounds as cathode materials for safer lithium-ion batteries Synthesis of layered LiMnO2 as an electrode for rechargeable lithium batteries Failure mechanism and improvement of the elevated temperature cycling of LiMn2O4 compounds through the use of the LiAlxMn2-xO4-yFz solid solution The elevated temperature performance of the LiMn2O4/C system: failure and solutions Effect of structure on the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox couple in iron phosphates Polyanionic structures as alternative materials for lithium batteries Lithium insertion in Wadsley-Roth phases based on Niobium oxide un nouveau matèriau d'électrode pour accumulateur au lithium High surface area V2O5 aerogel intercalation electrodes Electrochemical properties of high surface area vanadium oxides aerogels in Handbook of Solid-State Batteries and Capacitors (ed Carbon and graphites as substitutes for the lithium anode Ni or Cu) system for use as anode in lithium rechargeable cells Electrochemical lithiation of tin and tin-based intermetallics and composites Kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of several binary alloys negative electrode materials at ambient temperature Tin-based amorphous oxide: a high capacity lithium-ion storage material Electrochemical and in situ X-ray diffraction studies of the reaction of lithium with tin oxide composites Mechanically alloyed Sn-Fe(-C) powders as anode materials for Li-ion batteries Reaction of Li with grain-boundary atoms in nano structured compounds LixCu6Sn5 (0&lt;x&lt;13): an intermetallic insertion electrode for rechargeable lithium batteries Nano-sized transition-metal oxides as negative-electrode material for lithium-ion batteries Electrochemical reactivity and reversibility of cobalt oxides towards lithium Current state of the art on lithium battery electrolytes Industrial Chemistry Library Vol High voltage stable liquid electrolytes for Li1+xMn2O4/carbon rocking-chair lithium batteries Complexes of alkali metal ions with poly(ethylene oxide) in Second International Meeting on Polymer Electrolytes (ed in Polymer Electrolytes Reviews II (eds MacCallum Ion conductive macromodular gels and membranes for solid lithium cells DSC and high pressure electrical conductivity studies of liquid and hybrid electrolytes Structure of the polymer electrolyte poly(ethylene oxide): LiAsF6 low-dimensional polymer electrolyte blends with lithium salts giving high ambient DC conductivity Ion transport in glassy polymer electrolytes Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries Mesoscopic fast ion conduction in nanometre-scale planar heterostructures Review of selected electrode solution interactions which determine the performance of Li and Li-ion batteries Thin film lithium and lithium-ion batteries B Lithium-free thin film battery with in situ plated Li anode The development of reversible lithium metal electrodes for advances Li/S batteries Meeting on Power Sources for Consumer and Industrial Applications In situ SEM study of the interfaces in plastic lithium cells Download references both in academic institutions and industry for sharing the gratifying dedication to this field of progress Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides Reprints and permissions Download citation Metrics details Researchers must find a sustainable way of providing the power our modern lifestyles demand Essentials of Geology 7th edn (Prentice Hall The Fundamentals of Electrochemistry and Electrodeposition (American Electroplaters' Society Electrochemical Studies of Aluminum Deposition in Ionic Liquids at Ambient Temperatures: Light Metals (Warrendale Download references The authors wish to thank the scientific community in the field of energy storage and conversion for laying the foundations for these views Reprints and permissions Download citation Metrics details An Erratum to this article was published on 15 December 2011 The amount of energy that can be stored in Li-ion batteries is insufficient for the long-term needs of society for use in extended-range electric vehicles the energy-storage capabilities of Li–O2 and Li–S batteries are compared with that of Li-ion and the challenges that need to be overcome if such batteries are to succeed are highlighted Li-ion batteries have transformed portable electronics and will play a key role in the electrification of transport the highest energy storage possible for Li-ion batteries is insufficient for the long-term needs of society To go beyond the horizon of Li-ion batteries is a formidable challenge; there are few options Here we consider two: Li–air (O2) and Li–S The energy that can be stored in Li–air (based on aqueous or non-aqueous electrolytes) and Li–S cells is compared with Li-ion; the operation of the cells is discussed as are the significant hurdles that will have to be overcome if such batteries are to succeed Fundamental scientific advances in understanding the reactions occurring in the cells as well as new materials are key to overcoming these obstacles The potential benefits of Li–air and Li–S justify the continued research effort that will be needed In the version of this Review originally published the values in rows 2–5 of the 'Cell voltage' column appeared incorrectly; the full column should have read 3.8 This has now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions Advances in Lithium-Ion Batteries (Kluwer Academic/Plenum Lithium Batteries: Science and Technology (Springer Energy storage beyond the horizon: Rechargeable lithium batteries Nanomaterials for rechargeable lithium batteries Metal–air batteries with high energy density: Li–air versus Zn–air A review on air cathodes for zinc-air fuel cells Rechargeable batteries with aqueous electrolytes Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources (Elsevier A high-performance polymer tin sulfur lithium ion battery Stabilizing lithium–sulphur cathodes using polysulphide reservoirs Electrochemical properties of lithium sulfur cells using PEO polymer electrolytes prepared under three different mixing conditions Sulfur–graphene composite for rechargeable lithium batteries Sulfur-mesoporous carbon composites in conjunction with a novel ionic liquid electrolyte for lithium rechargeable batteries Lithium–sulfur battery: Evaluation of dioxolane-based electrolytes Anodic behavior of lithium in aqueous-electrolytes Lithium−air battery: Promise and challenges Rechargeable Li–S battery with specific energy 350 Wh/kg and specific power 3000 W/kg High energy rechargeable Li–S cells for EV application: Status PHEV and EV Battery Technology Status and Vehicle and Battery Market Outlook (AABC Europe Discharge characteristic of a non-aqueous electrolyte Li/O2 battery Elucidating the mechanism of oxygen reduction for lithium–air battery applications The influence of catalysts on discharge and charge voltages of rechargeable Li–oxygen batteries Activated lithium-metal-oxides as catalytic electrodes for Li–O2 cells Development of a lithium air rechargeable battery Study on lithium/air secondary batteries-stability of NASICON-type lithium ion conducting glass–ceramics with water Stability of a water-stable lithium metal anode for a lithium–air battery with acetic acid-water solutions Influence of nonaqueous solvents on the electrochemistry of oxygen in the rechargeable lithium−air battery Rechargeable lithium/TEGDME-LiPF6/O2 battery Oxygen transport properties of organic electrolytes and performance of lithium/oxygen battery Platinum–gold nanoparticles: A highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable lithium–air batteries Electrocatalytic activity studies of select metal surfaces and implications in Li–air batteries Method development to evaluate the oxygen reduction activity of high-surface-area catalysts for Li–air batteries An O2 cathode for rechargeable lithium batteries: The effect of a catalyst α-MnO2 nanowires: A catalyst for the O2 electrode in rechargeable lithium batteries Lithium–air batteries using hydrophobic room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte Preparation of mesocellular carbon foam and its application for lithium/oxygen battery The effect of oxygen pressures on the electrochemical profile of lithium/oxygen battery Air dehydration membranes for nonaqueous lithium–air batteries Oxygen-selective immobilized liquid membranes for operation of lithium–air batteries in ambient air The discharge rate capability of rechargeable Li–O2 batteries All-carbon-nanofiber electrodes for high-energy rechargeable Li-O2 batteries Crown ethers in nonaqueous electrolytes for lithium/air batteries Optimization of air electrode for Li/air batteries The electrochemistry of noble metal electrodes in aprotic organic solvents containing lithium salts Rechargeable Li–air batteries with carbonate-based liquid electrolytes Investigation on the charging process of Li2O2-based air electrodes in Li–O2 batteries with organic carbonate electrolytes Fundamental mechanism of the lithium–air battery Spectroscopic characterization of solid discharge products in Li-air cells with aprotic carbonate electrolytes Reactions in the rechargeable lithium–O2 battery with alkyl carbonate electrolytes The lithium–oxygen battery with ether-based electrolytes Solvents' critical role in nonaqueous lithium–oxygen battery electrochemistry Investigation of the O2 electrochemistry in a polymer electrolyte solid-state cell Oxygen reactions in a non-aqueous Li+ electrolyte Cathode catalyst for rechargeable metal–air & rechargeable metal–air battery Catalyst loaded onto carbon for rechargeable nonaqueous metal–air battery Carbon-supported manganese oxide nanocatalysts for rechargeable lithium–air batteries H2O2 decomposition reaction as selecting tool for catalysts in Li–O2 cells Electrochemistry of oxygen and superoxide ion in dimethylsulfoxide at platinum A lithium–air battery with a potential to continuously reduce O2 from air for delivering energy A Li-air fuel cell with recycle aqueous electrolyte for improved stability The effect of alkalinity and temperature on the performance of lithium–air fuel cell with hybrid electrolytes A lithium–air fuel cell using copper to catalyze oxygen-reduction based on copper-corrosion mechanism Design principles for oxygen-reduction activity on perovskite oxide catalysts for fuel cells and metal–air batteries Improvement of cycle property of sulfur electrode for lithium/sulfur battery Formation of lithium polysulfides in aprotic media Investigation of discharge reaction mechanism of lithium liquid electrolyte sulfur battery Lithium sulfur battery — oxidation reduction-mechanisms of polysulphides in THF solutions Polymere Carbone-Soufre Synthese et Proprietes Electrochimiques PhD Thesis l'Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (1986) A novel class of organosulfur electrodes for energy storage Electrochemical properties of organic disulfide/thiolate redox couples Poly[dithio-2,5-(1,3,4-thiadiazole)] (PDMcT)-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) composite cathode for high-energy lithium/lithium-ion rechargeable batteries computational and electrochemical characterization of a family of functionalized dimercaptothiophenes for potential use as high-energy cathode materials for lithium/lithium-ion batteries PVC disulfide as cathode materials for secondary lithium batteries A lithium/dissolved sulfur battery with an organic electrolyte The electrochemical behavior of polysulfides in tetrahydrofuran Study on the reduction species of sulfur by alkali metals in nonaqueous solvents Liquid electrolyte lithium–sulfur batteries Characterization of N-methyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-LiTFSI-tetra(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether mixtures as a Li metal cell electrolyte Rechargeable lithium/sulfur battery with suitable mixed liquid electrolytes Electrochemical performance of lithium/sulfur cells with three different polymer electrolytes Sulfur–carbon nano-composite as cathode for rechargeable lithium battery based on gel electrolyte All-solid-state Li/S batteries with highly conductive glass–ceramic electrolytes New nanostructured Li2S/silicon rechargeable battery with high specific energy Effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on electrochemical properties of lithium/sulfur rechargeable batteries Novel nanosized adsorbing sulfur composite cathode materials for the advanced secondary lithium batteries An approach to carbon nanotubes with high surface area and large pore volume Improvement of cycle property of sulfur-coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite cathode for lithium/sulfur batteries Effects of nanosized adsorbing material on electrochemical properties of sulfur cathodes for Li/S secondary batteries Electrochemical properties of sulfur electrode containing nano Al2O3 for lithium/sulfur cell A novel conductive polymer–sulfur composite cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries Lithium storage in conductive sulfur-containing polymers Sulphur-polypyrrole composite positive electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries Synthesis and electrochemical performance of sulfur/highly porous carbon composites Hierarchically structured sulfur/carbon nanocomposite material for high-energy lithium battery Porous hollow carbon@sulfur composites for high-power lithium–sulfur batteries Layer structured sulfur/expanded graphite composite as cathode for lithium battery Sandwich-type functionalized graphene sheet–sulfur nanocomposite for rechargeable lithium batteries Sulfur/polythiophene with a core/shell structure: Synthesis and electrochemical properties of the cathode for rechargeable lithium batteries Preparation and enhanced electrochemical properties of nano-sulfur/poly(pyrrole-co-aniline) cathode material for lithium/sulfur batteries Cathode composites for Li–S batteries via the use of oxygenated porous architectures Preparation of controlled porosity carbon aerogels for energy storage in rechargeable lithium oxygen batteries Lithium–air batteries using SWNT/CNF buckypapers as air electrodes Identifying capacity limitations in the Li/oxygen battery using experiments and modeling Lithium anode for lithium–air secondary batteries A novel high energy density rechargeable lithium/air battery Stability of Li/polymer electrolyte-ionic liquid composite/lithium conducting glass ceramics in an aqueous electrolyte Cu) sulphides versus lithium: The intriguing case of the copper sulphide A high energy density lithium/sulfur-oxygen hybrid battery http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/specs-features/index#/leaf-electric-car/specs-features/index US Advanced Battery Consortium USABC Goals for Advanced Batteries for EVs (2006). Available at: http://uscar.org/commands/files_download.php?files_id=27 Download references is indebted to the EPRSC and Toyota Motor Europe for support The authors wish to express their thanks to S Demir-Cakan and the ALISTORE-ERI members for helpful discussions are members of ALISTORE-ERI — European Network of Excellence on Lithium Batteries Present address: Present address: Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides — UMR CNRS 6007 Reprints and permissions Download citation You don't expect to see dragons in the South of France Sun-tanned heirs to the shipping industry and the occasional fire-breathing celebrity on vacation maybe The city of Tarascon is the exception to that rule and is named after a grotesque dragon-like beast that's had a presence in the region for 2,000 years Before understanding the history of the town of Tarascon it's important to get a mental picture of the beast itself A Tarasque is a dragon with six stubby bear legs until you realize the Tarasque also has a wildly-swinging scorpion tail and thorny turtle shell the Tarasque migrated from Central Turkey and was almost impossible to kill Knights and Kings chopped with every weapon they could find yet the beast eluded them one of the biblical figures that witnessed Jesus' resurrection She simply charmed the beast and brought it back to Tarascon the villagers still feared the monster and killed it even though it made no attempt to attack or even defend itself the town's people felt guilty and named their town after the dragon they had slain a sculpture of the Tarasque sits placidly in the town near King René's Castle the villagers of the town celebrate a festival in honor of the Tarasque and its untimely and eventually sad death A monument to the Turkish librarian who delivered books on the back of a donkey This statue stands in honor of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the French author of 'The Little Prince' and an aviation hero who created the iconic cartoon that features Charlie Brown A Taiwanese garden teems with the retired statues of the island's former dictator located at a mansion-turned-emancipation museum honors Galveston’s history as the birthplace of Juneteenth This abandoned park is home to hundreds of stone statues ranging from humans to mystical beings A monument to one of Croatia's famous freedom fighters When this monument to Slovenia's national poet was erected it's said to have sparked the ire of nearby church authorities Medievalists.net How do you operate a business when you can’t read and your knowledge of math is extremely limited Making your mark on the dotted line (as they used to say) could seal the deal or in the Middle Ages finalize your invoice at the end of the day’s work I visited the ruined fortifications near the Chapel of Saint Gabriel in Tarascon a little bit east of the current riverside chateau is remarkable for the surviving masons’ marks all over the castle’s stonework recording the signatures of over 30 masons Masons’ marks survive in medieval stone buildings like cathedrals and manor homes however Tarascon is unusual Not only are the marks relatively large but they are also still extremely crisp and easy to identify While somewhat rough and crude compared to other medieval buildings at least these are large and easily observed The Roman camp of Ernaginum formed the foundation for the castle towers and chapel down the hill There is evidence of Roman quarrying adjacent to the towers and several of the towers’ blocks were likely created by Roman masons The site was used strategically since the Iron Age and the major Roman roads in France intersected close by a charter from Charles the Bald references the church of Saint Gabriel in the first of several exchanges during the medieval period The fortifications are first mentioned in documents from 1207 a.d. when the Saint Gabriel site was controlled by the archbishop of Arles (chapel) and the Count of Provence (castle and the site is less than 3 miles from the Rhône the fortifications were abandoned after Raymond de Turenne des Baux pillaged the region Several manuscripts from the 15th century describe the typical work and training of masons outside of a guild however Tarascon’s structures pre-date these texts Masons’ marks are recorded in ancient Greek and Roman structures so it was a long-standing tradition for skilled craftsmen to record their contribution to a new building Occasionally quarry marks are seen in medieval buildings; these would be incised on stones selected by the master mason (akin to a project manager or chief architect) before shipping to the construction site Most quarry marks do not survive the final shaping of a stone to be set into its final position whereas masons’ marks survive in conspicuous places The marks at Tarascon are far from conspicuous This type of evident mark is typically seen when medieval masons were paid by quantity rather than a set daily wage a mason’s work would be counted and he would be paid for the number of stones shaped and completed Leaving his mark was the equivalent of leaving his signature on each stone to allow this daily accounting to happen The symbols vary in complexity however it must take several precious minutes to carve even the simple ones Some like the hammer are obviously related to the trade however I like the more whimsical ones like the star or wind puff/spiral It appears that masons’ marks were either shared or certain types were relatively common over hundreds of years. Several projects have tried to identify masons based on surveys of identifiable marks however rarely reach any firm answers and are inconclusive While southern France has a high number of medieval buildings in a good state of preservation there is currently no accessible literature comparing the marks at Tarascon to other buildings in close proximity (PhD project this is fertile ground for future study or just some delightful sight-seeing Don’t miss Glanum (an excavated Roman settlement) the Barbegal aqueduct sections east of Fontvielle or Mas Des Tourelles’ wine tasting room with Roman-era wine making display The chapel of Saint-Gabriel and its towers are on a well-marked trail system so if you prefer natural sights and sounds and white marks on the trees and rocks around the historic monuments When you go off the well-beaten path a little you find hidden treasures like the castle towers near Saint Gabriel This beautiful little spot has its own rich and significant history and hopefully as research marches down the road of progress the story of its masons’ marks will develop into something more enjoy the sights and scenery of this great site and ponder its mysterious symbols and marks Danielle Trynoski is the West Coast correspondent for Medievalists.net and is the co-editor of The Medieval Magazine We've created a Patreon for Medievalists.net as we want to transition to a more community-funded model We aim to be the leading content provider about all things medieval podcast and Youtube page offers news and resources about the Middle Ages We hope that are our audience wants to support us so that we can further develop our podcast and remove the advertising on our platforms This will also allow our fans to get more involved in what content we do produce Member Login In the 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea writer Jules Verne imagined a submarine powered by sodium batteries as several battery companies have begun manufacturing sodium-ion batteries as greener alternatives to lithium-ion batteries Sodium is just below lithium in the periodic table of the elements meaning their chemical behaviors are very similar That chemical kinship allows sodium-ion batteries to “ride the coattails” of lithium-ion batteries in terms of design and fabrication techniques Recent demonstrations of sodium-ion batteries both for power tools and for automobiles have highlighted the rapid progress in the technology But there are also downsides to sodium-ion batteries the top one being a lower energy density than their lithium-ion counterparts Energy density has a direct bearing on the driving range of an electric vehicle which means that sodium-powered cars may have trouble appealing to consumers who want a large vehicle that can go long distances Lower energy density also affects the overall environmental impact of sodium-ion technology because more batteries are needed to supply the same amount of energy as the corresponding lithium-ion technology says Shirley Meng from the University of Chicago who has been working on battery technology for 20 years She says that the recent release of sodium-ion-powered products will accelerate development as engineers will have data from real-world situations “I have no doubt that the best sodium-ion batteries will work as well as lithium-ion ones in less than 10 years,” Meng says Developed in the 1980s and recognized by the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry the lithium-ion battery has become one of the most commonly used batteries in the world and it has driven the surge in electric vehicle production a lithium-ion battery consists of three main components: a positive electrode (cathode) and an ion-transporting medium (electrolyte) in between the two There are various choices for the materials used for each component but the most common design has an anode made of graphite (carbon); a cathode made of a lithium-containing metal oxide such as lithium cobalt oxide or lithium manganese oxide; and an electrolyte that combines a lithium-based salt and an organic solvent lithium ions come out of the anode and move through the electrolyte to the cathode where they are absorbed a chemical reaction occurs that essentially “draws” electrons into the cathode from the connecting wire freeing the lithium ions so that they flow back into the anode Lithium-ion batteries have a number of attractive attributes they are rechargeable and have a high-energy density of 100–300 watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) compared to 30–40 Wh/kg for common lead-acid batteries That high density means your laptop or cellphone can have a battery that lasts throughout the day without weighing you down a typical battery can weigh around 250 kg and supply around 50,000 Wh of energy which is typically enough to drive 200 miles (320 km) Many environmentalists see this capability as our ticket for transitioning away from fossil fuels “The carbon footprint and the sustainability of the current way of making lithium-ion batteries is less than ideal.” in part because the world has a limited number of lithium-rich regions There are similar concerns over other lithium-ion-battery materials Lithium-ion alternatives include solid-state batteries (in which the liquid electrolyte is replaced by a solid one) and magnesium-ion batteries (in which magnesium ions replace lithium ions) Most of these options are still under development And some of them also have issues concerning the availability of resources sodium is abundant in seawater (although a more usable source is sodium ash deposits which can be found in many regions of the world) And because sodium shares so much chemistry with lithium sodium-ion batteries have been developing quickly and are already being commercialized “Compared to other lithium-ion alternatives I think sodium is at the forefront,” says Marcel Weil who assesses the environmental impact of batteries at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Helmholtz Institute Ulm in Germany Lithium and sodium systems were equally studied up until the 1980s Interest in the two technologies diverged when researchers began to make breakthroughs in lithium-ion batteries research on sodium-ion batteries had largely halted even as they developed lithium-ion systems Tarascon helped relaunch sodium-ion research in France His reasoning was that sodium appeared more sustainable that the green technology would have a place in the future,” he says two of which are relevant for battery performance The first difference is in the so-called redox potential which characterizes the tendency for an atom or molecule to gain or lose electrons in a chemical reaction which means sodium-ion batteries supply less energy—for each ion that arrives in the cathode—than lithium-ion batteries The second difference is that the mass of sodium is 3 times that of lithium Together these differences result in an energy density for sodium-ion batteries that is at least 30% lower than that of lithium-ion batteries [1] When considering electric vehicle applications this lower energy density means that a person can’t drive as far with a sodium-ion battery as with a similarly sized lithium-ion battery “sodium can’t beat lithium,” Tarascon says The energy density is also a problem when considering the overall environmental impact of a battery. Weil and his colleagues performed a comparison of sodium-ion batteries to lithium-ion batteries, looking at a number of environmental factors such as greenhouse gas emissions and resource usage [5] Although sodium-ion batteries do not require as many of our planet’s limited resources they currently release more greenhouse gases during production than an equivalent energy’s worth of lithium-ion batteries The reason is that larger quantities of materials need to be processed into batteries to produce the same amount of energy Weil says that this report provides a current snapshot the environmental impact of sodium-ion batteries will likely improve “We are convinced that they could have an even better overall performance than present lithium-based systems,” he says There are other differences between the two elements some of which work in sodium’s favor sodium ions can travel faster through the battery materials than lithium ions Tarascon explains that a sodium ion has a diffuse electron cloud that allows it to slip between atoms more easily than a lithium ion The faster motion of a sodium ion can lead to higher power and faster charging in sodium-ion batteries The current playbook for designing sodium-ion batteries resembles that of lithium-ion batteries most designs use “hard carbon,” which is like the graphite in lithium-ion batteries The cathode options can be divided into three families of materials (metal oxide layers and Prussian blue analogs) that resemble those used for lithium And the electrolyte is a similar cocktail of organic solvents Several research teams have tried to create sodium-based layered oxides for the cathode in an attempt to generate the high energy density that these compounds give lithium-ion batteries Tarascon and his colleagues have taken a different strategy They targeted a polyanionic compound—sodium vanadium fluorophosphate—as it seemed to be a promising material for making a high-power battery And it appears that the bet paid off: last year Tiamat a company for which Tarascon is a scientific advisor produced a sodium-ion battery that is the first to be used in a commercial product—not a vehicle but a cordless power drill The battery can charge in less than five minutes and can last a long time (over 5000 cycles) Several large battery manufacturers have also announced sodium-ion projects that target the electric vehicle market announced last year that its first-generation sodium-ion battery—with an energy density of 160 Wh/kg—will be placed in an electric vehicle from the Chinese company Chery Automobile Similar deals have recently been announced by the battery manufacturers HiNa and Farasis Energy and several sodium-ion-powered vehicle prototypes have recently rolled off the assembly line Meng calls these developments “very encouraging” as the companies will be collecting data under real-world driving conditions “That information is vital for making the batteries better,” she says But it may take some time before sodium-ion powered electric vehicles are widely available “The price of lithium has returned to a relatively low level which makes sodium-ion batteries less competitive,” says a spokesperson from CATL the lower energy density of sodium-ion batteries means the first target market will likely be smaller cars and two-wheeled vehicles but their driving range will never surpass the top-of-the-line lithium-ion batteries He imagines instead that sodium-ion technology will fill specific niches single-person electric vehicles or for vehicles that have a range of only 30–50 miles (50–80 km) but he says that society may have to change the way it views automobiles “We cannot only point to the technology developers and say ‘We need more efficiency.’ It’s even more important to stress that we need more ‘sufficiency,’ which is people being satisfied with a small car,” he says But whether sodium-ion or lithium-ion batteries come out on top the world needs more battery-technology options if it is to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and combat climate change “If we always dream that one day a magic molecule is going to enable us to store solar and wind and use electricity when we need it then I’m afraid that we will miss the golden opportunity to actually make some positive change.” Michael Schirber is a Corresponding Editor for Physics Magazine based in Lyon Experiments support a controversial proposal to generate electricity from our planet’s rotation by using a device that interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. Read More » An automatic, algorithmic technique can find optimal laser configurations for inertial-confinement fusion—one of two main fusion approaches. Read More » Ultraviolet photons induce potassium niobate to behave like a potent solid-state refrigerant, according to new calculations. Read More » Researchers have shown that they can distribute quantum keys under realistic conditions using commercial lasers Student enrollment and guaranteed financial support are expected to fall amid anticipation of federal budget cuts Two independent teams have searched for axions using x-ray observations of entire galaxies setting some of the strictest constraints to date on the properties of these dark matter candidates More Recent Articles » Sign up to receive weekly email alerts from Physics Magazine Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement France can now be taken over by Paper Excellence The buyer wants to make substantial investments at the mill the future of the Tarascon pulp mill in France has been secured Fibre Excellence announced that the commercial court of Toulouse approved the purchase of the mill by Canadian company Paper Excellence on 13 July Paper Excellence is the principal shareholder of Fibre Excellence and was reportedly the only investor to have submitted a bid The company is now planning to invest €180m to modernise the site The takeover marks a new start for the pulp mill the site is planned to be upgraded to the latest technical and environmental standards improve water quality and install a new biomass-powered turbine for power generation Fibre Excellence wants to install a plant for oxygen delignification which uses oxygen for the pulp bleaching process instead of chemical products Fibre Excellence used to produce mainly bleached pulp but the company has now switched production to unbleached pulp since the beginning of the year The switch was made partly for strategic reasons as demand for unbleached pulp is said to be good But the move also helps the company to avoid a heavy tax imposed on the use of the current bleaching method Fibre Excellence wants to retain the possibility of producing bleached pulp in the future which is why the new delignification plant will be installed Fibre Excellence Tarascon has the capacity to produce 250,000 tpy of softwood pulp and employs 280 persons The company has been in receivership since October 2020 Paper Excellence as principal shareholder could submit a bid because no other offers were received Paper Excellence had earlier refused to invest in the site and finally subjected its offer to certain conditions including financial assistance from the French government and guarantees on wood supply Fibre Excellence has a second subsidiary in France in Saint-Gaudens The pulp mill at the location has capacity to produce 290,000 tpy of bleached hardwood and softwood pulp.  EUWID Pulp and Paper keeps busy professionals up-to-date on the latest news from international pulp and paper markets Test EUWID Pulp and Paper free of charge and without any obligation by clicking here Service Customer Service+49 7224 9397-701servicenoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.de Editorial Team+49 7224 9397-0papernoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.com Get the latest news about developments and trends in the industry sent to you once a week free of charge by newsletter Sign up for our newsletter We use cookies and external services on our website others enhance your user experience or help us improve this website You can change your privacy settings any time by clicking privacy policy Necessary cookies are required for the correct functioning of the website Content from video platforms and map services is blocked by default. If access to these services is accepted, separate consent is no longer required when using them. You can find more information on the individual external services in our privacy policy a company that aims to build a plant to manufacture 500,000 sodium-ion cells per day “It is a high-performance technology that enables us to build batteries that can retain 80% of capacity after 10,000 cycles and run for 2000 cycles at 55°C.” However sodium-ion batteries cannot compete with lithium-ion batteries which benefit significantly from lithium’s lower weight Sensors to show what is going on inside batteries “We are also working on smart batteries with sensors to show what is going on inside,” explains the researcher The goal is to establish an electronic battery passport system with updated information on each device’s state of health The data is collected via a network of optical fibres linked to a strand array sensor that records physical changes (temperature researchers can closely monitor the chemical dynamics of commercial products under real working conditions and observe changes to a host of parameters in electric vehicle batteries so we won’t just be using 75% of their available energy The system will also facilitate their subsequent reuse this information can be sent to a Vehicle-To-Grid (V2G) network According to European law, all batteries must have removeable and replaceable cells by 2027. This is just one of the reasons that encouraged French Bordeaux start-up Gouach to develop an online tool for the design of smart and sustainable battery packs and the operators of fleets of scooters and other light means of transport anyone can configure a battery with cells that are neither glued nor soldered,” explains Maël Primet “Then we 3D-print a sample so that the customer can test it we set up a production run with one of our partner factories.” This design method facilitates the creation of repairable battery packs with parts that can be removed and replaced “We have developed our own battery management system (BMS) which lets us know in advance if a battery is likely to overheat or if one or more cells need to be changed.” To evaluate the environmental impact of their batteries Gouach commissioned an independent consultant’s study: “In the course of a battery’s five-year life cycle repairability results in a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions.” The giga-factories that are now being opened in mainland France will soon enable start-ups like Gouach to locally source their cells which will further reduce the carbon footprint of their batteries Tiamat to invest 100 million euros in the world’s first sodium-ion battery manufacturing plant (in French) Sodium-ion batteries: “a world first of which we are very proud” (in French) Toyota says solid-state battery breakthrough can halve cost and size 天才畫家梵高，晚年受著精神病困擾，相信是他一生裡最值得探討的時期之一；亦正因如此，梵高找在親弟 Theo 的介紹下接受了 Dr.Gachet 的治療，享受了人生裡最平靜的兩年。今年十月，一幅在該養病時期，由梵高在生命中最後一個月完成的花卉名畫《玻璃瓶中的花》以港幣$1.24億元在蘇富比成交，除了因為其誕生期令名畫價值連城外，由於《玻璃瓶中的花》曾經在二戰時落入納粹德軍手上，幸好最後還是得以保存。 提到納粹德軍與梵高名畫的淵源，最近再有驚人發現，有報導指已被燒毀多年的另一名作《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》或可能仍在世上。 《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》是梵高在1888年8月13日完成的「自畫像」作品，當日他在畫作完成後更向弟弟 Theo 寫信，分享這幅畫作的各細節和創作過程。畫中內的梵高，帶著草帽、畫筆、畫架、穿著全藍色的服裝，在烈日當空下從 Arles 的稻田走過十多公里到 Provençal 的草原繪畫。「自畫像」的而且確是梵高的標誌性畫作，那麼《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》又何以成為其中之一？在藝史中，梵高生平繪畫過36幅自畫像，全部均是肖像及半身距離的風格完成，而《《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》正是唯一一幅梵高清楚地將自己全身模樣畫下來的作品。開首再提到梵高晚年的養病期，源於《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》正是當時剛剛認識了 Dr.Gachet 後，心理壓力開始得以舒緩後而完成的畫作。 直到1912年，畫作被德國悠久博物館 Kaiser Friedrich Museum（KFM）收藏，成為創館以來最早被收藏的梵高作品，當日 Kaiser Friedrich Museum 更破例地以彩色攝影為《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》拍照留念（要知道彩色菲林攝影在1910年代，是非常奢侈的技術）。後來，二戰正式爆發，國內知名博物館內不少梵高巨作，也被納粹黨領袖希特拉變賣出國，令德國蒙受重大的藝術文化損失。幸運地，《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》在當時卻避過這一劫。 為了避過英軍的炸彈投擲，KFM 預先將超過400幅收藏遷至三十公里以外，鉀鹽重鎮斯塔斯富特（Staßfurt）的地下鹽曠，利用厚厚的鹽鋪蓋大部分畫作；據資料顯示，畫作收藏點上的30米距離，正是希特拉下令臨時搭建的工房，以用作生產納粹軍戰機的引擎。同年4月，美軍到達當地後該鹽曠立刻發生大火，據美軍文件顯示，由於當時有不當人員懷疑因搶掠，而試圖衝破美軍在鹽曠的防線，繼而造成大火，文件上更指這些不當人員是被納粹軍利用的人士，惟當日和及後再出現（4月30日）的兩次大火都未能調查出屬人為或意外。 據 KFM 的前任策展人分享，當日的失火很有可能是納粹軍利用不同俘虜入侵鹽曠，以縱火掩飾搶掠之罪行，而當日藏於鹽曠內的藝術作，除了《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》之外，還有十六世紀發動意志宗教改革、促成基督新教的德國哲學神學家 Martin Luther 的親筆手稿、著名德國風景畫家 Carl Hasenpflug 多幅著作。二戰結束後，以上兩幅畫作及其餘被藏於鹽曠內的藝術作品均陸續從不同地方出現，故不少學家均相信，作為當中藏品的代表之作，《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》很有可能仍在世上。 而且，藝壇知名梵高專員及學者 Martin Bailey 更分享，過去多年也一直為《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》的消失疑團進行調查，甚至在那些年前，他更回到斯塔斯富特，當日收藏起這些藏品的鹽曠遺址，發現幾乎全部鹽曠已被石屎封蓋，唯獨一個相當接近當日收藏畫作的「七號井」只是被鋪蓋，而且附近被重重的鐵網圍欄所包圍，令他相當懷疑。雖然目前仍未得知畫作的下落，但從種種調查及跡象來看，沒被封蓋的鹽曠口內存在了不為人知的秘密，而且很有可能與當日 KFM 收藏《The Artist on the Road to Tarascon》的行動有關。 opens on Thursday and will feature 50 masterpieces of late-19th to mid-20th-century European art from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection Highlights include Paul Cézanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire Vincent van Gogh's Tarascon Stagecoach and Amedeo Modigliani's portrait of Jean Cocteau as well as an outstanding suite of 16 watercolours by Cézanne Arts at Oxford was given a behind-the-scenes look at the installation of the new exhibition… This painting of the Tarascon stagecoach was produced in the courtyard of the inn at Arles – probably in a single sitting on 12 October 1888 spent time living and working in Paris and Arles He is famous for his vivid use of colour and works filled with emotion Although his artistic career only lasted for 10 years he was highly prolific and 864 paintings of his have survived Foreground: Édouard Manet – Young Woman in a Round Hat (1877-79) Édouard Manet (1832–83) lived and worked in Paris and many of his most famous works depict Parisian society of the 19th century At the time his paintings were considered controversial but they are now considered by many as the starting point for modern art Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881–1919) was a German sculptor who studied in Düsseldorf and also in Paris He worked as a paramedic in a military hospital during World War I and this had a profound effect on his later sculptures Lehmbruck created this portrait of his wife during their four-year stay in Paris (1910–14) Cézanne and the Modern: Masterpieces of European art from the Pearlman Collection runs from 13 March to 22 June 2014 Images © The Ashmolean Museum and The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation Contact: Sarah Whitebloom, [email protected] Vincent van Gogh’s most unusual self-portrait is assumed to have been destroyed by fire in the last days of the Second World War but it could have been looted—and might still survive the greatest treasure of the Magdeburg museum in central Germany The fire may well have been used as a cover by looters intent on seizing art treasures during the dying days of the Nazi regime The picture depicts Van Gogh sporting his straw hat weighed down with his easel and painting equipment he trudges along the road which ran north from the Yellow House in Arles into the Provençal landscape he loved to paint Vincent wrote to his brother Theo telling him about his latest picture showing him “laden with boxes Van Gogh’s other 36 self-portraits are all heads or heads-and-shoulders and the Magdeburg painting is the only one to clearly depict him in a landscape setting In 1912, The Artist on the Road to Tarascon was bought by the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (now the Kulturhistorisches Museum) making it among the earliest Van Goghs to enter a public collection it was photographed in colour in the 1930s Although many of the Van Goghs in German museums were sold off by the Nazis as “degenerate” over 400 of Magdeburg’s paintings were secretly moved to a salt mine on the outskirts of Stassfurt Evacuation seemed prudent and bombs destroyed part of the museum in January 1945 The paintings were taken down to a depth of 460m in the Neu-Stassfurt mine (between shafts six and seven) to be stored in one of voids left after the removal of salt a secret factory was set up to produce jet engines for Hitler’s Luftwaffe A postcard showing the Berlepsch mine at 406m depth 2km from the art storage mine (1920s-30s) Courtesy Archiv Bergmannsverein US troops reached Stassfurt at noon on 12 April Two fires then broke out in the salt mine where the Magdeburg museum collection was stored the first just hours after their arrival and the second on 30 April Declassified US military documents record: “The fires were stated to have been caused by displaced persons who entered the cave to loot; in the second case perhaps through the negligence of the US guards There is no clear evidence whether the fire was set accidentally or deliberately.” The “displaced persons” were Dutch and Polish forced labourers exploited by the Nazis in the underground jet factory believes that the fires are likely to have been arson perhaps in order to disguise the looting of the artworks It is possible that the most important paintings were seized with the packing cases and lesser works then being set alight The identity of potential looters is quite unclear: they could have been Nazi officials Dutch or Polish forced labourers or US troops There is tantalising evidence to suggest that some of Magdeburg’s paintings could have survived Two objects recorded as having been stored in the mine a Martin Luther manuscript and a Carl Hasenpflug painting later turned up after the war and some fire-damaged drawings books and natural history specimens were recovered The Neu-Stassfurt salt mines ceased production in 1972 and the shafts were then sealed I found a capped circular shaft in remote countryside The sealed entrance to shaft seven of the Neu-Stassfurt mine (2009) Photo: © Martin Bailey Van Elsner has been hunting for the Van Gogh and other Magdeburg paintings for decades and has not yet given up hope: “It is just possible that some survive As the Van Gogh was the most important in the collection it would have been a particularly attractive target for looters.” Natacha Tarascon launched her company in her forties The 47-year-old Frenchwoman said she had spent nearly half her life overseas "My husband and I have been expatriates for almost 20 years." the pair decided to move to Shanghai about 10 years ago leaving her established pharmacist job to venture into a new field while bringing up her three children "There are a lot of good opportunities here," she added labeling the local business environment with terms like "big market," "easy access," "efficient logistics," etc a Singaporean businesswoman and philanthropist based in the city entry points for expats and their businesses into China." with goods on store shelves in both China and France Natacha Tarascon of France (center) with her lab assistants in Shanghai from Silas Aaron Hardoon and Ellice Victor Sassoon a century ago to Tarascon and Painan today because of the city's inclusivity and inventiveness According to the Shanghai Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs Shanghai has awarded over 400,000 work permits to expats since April 2017 with roughly 20 percent considered high-end talent The city ranked first in terms of both the quantity and quality of foreign talent in the country Shanghai also topped a list of the most attractive cities on the Chinese mainland for expats for the eighth consecutive year in categories like expat-friendly policies according to a pool released by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2020 Painan described Shanghai's attractiveness for expats by using three keywords: "global," "opportunity," and "diversity." "Shanghai is one of the world's leading financial centers with modern infrastructure and a cosmopolitan lifestyle that blends Eastern and Western cultures Its cosmopolitan atmosphere makes it easier for expats to adjust," Painan said senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group believes Shanghai has one of the best business environments in the country "The government has an international outlook recognizes and appreciates the role that the foreign business community plays in China and has worked hard to streamline the bureaucratic steps involved in establishing and operating a business in Shanghai," said the former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai Linda Painan (right) tries her hand at traditional Chinese opera Among a number of expat-friendly initiatives streamlining procedures for them to apply for employment and residence permits has been enhanced as has financial and administrative support a one-stop platform for scouting and serving overseas talent Pudong led the city in awarding work and residency permits to expats in just five days two expatriates who moved to Shanghai to start a firm won the first work permits awarded to foreign entrepreneurs in Pudong in December 2020 Shanghai has one of the heaviest concentrations of foreign companies in China," Jarrett said with the arrival of co-working spaces like WeWork international incubators and accelerators like XNode Shanghai has become a fertile ground for foreigners looking to launch their businesses Painan founded the non-profit The Expatriate Center (TEC) which debuted the 3E International Fair in 2020 and seamlessly assimilated into the community's commercial fabric One highlight is the entrepreneurship competition 236 competitors from 57 countries and regions have entered the competition bringing over 75 projects in fields such as education obtaining incubation as well as winning a total of 320,000 yuan (US$44,007) in incentives Natacha Tarascon (sixth right) and other winners at the 2020 3E International Fair She came up with the idea to create natural skincare products for children some years ago after discovering that her little daughter was suffering from eczema She was growing weary of packing the child's cream in their luggage every time they took a flight back from France That is when the idea of a brand for children first emerged." it remained only an idea until the 3E International Fair She heard about the entrepreneurship competition from a friend and registered for it in 2020 I simply introduced the brand I wanted to create I didn't have any products with me." including professional guidance and financial support "The business has been doing well," she remarked Joshua Mugabe co-founded Lark Oral Care in 2022 He hailed it as a "strategic decision" to take part in the event "It offered an exceptional launchpad for our business," he said explaining that it granted experienced mentors and vital seed capital his team needed to bring their idea to life Lark Oral Care has expanded its business from Shanghai to the UK and the US "My journey in China has been nothing short of transformative," he said "I look forward to continuing to contribute to the dynamic landscape of business Linda Painan (top) and her volunteers at The Expatriate Center Tarascon claimed it was not hard to open a business in Shanghai "It's very simple to set up an office and it's very simple to open an account They provide you with a lot of opportunities," she said emphasizing that one of China's strong points is its sourcing and manufacturing costs are much lower than in France We can see that the quality is nearly identical but the price in China is really reasonable." and what we call 'guanxi.' Because I've been here for over 10 years it's easier for me to get the right person to help me find the right information." According to a poll conducted by Painan's Center "understanding government policies" remains one of the top worries because "not just being aware of what the policies are but also what the implications are for various businesses." to obtain concise information right from the horse's mouth per se I believe that's what they're searching for – to find a central placement for information emphasized the critical need for regulatory transparency and clarity "Sudden changes in regulations make it difficult for companies to plan," he explained "Many foreign companies have made significant investments in China they want their intellectual property to be recognized they want the authorities to treat them fairly and they want equal possibilities to flourish in China." "The Chinese language is a particular challenge that many expats face it can be tough to handle the enormous array of phone apps that are so important to life in China," he remarked "China's strong embrace of the digital world creates some degree of hardship for foreigners Shanghai remains a magnet for international talent and businesses Mugabe sees the city as the perfect intersection of culture "It's a place where bold ideas are embraced and where the support and resources to turn those ideas into reality are readily available," he said hailing the city as a global hub for both business and innovation "It's very dynamic; it's very cosmopolitan," Painan said of the city's mix of modern conveniences has a well-trained and highly educated workforce many top-tier colleges and research institutions and many amenities that make it appealing to international residents – good housing The ever-changing scenery in the city intrigues Bryce Jenner the proprietor of five restaurants in Shanghai "Evolving and stimulating," he described the spirit of the city "I've lived in the city for 23 years 1.Comments will appear only after being approved by our team so it might be a while before your comment is posted 2.In accordance with the Regulations on Internet News and Information Services and other related laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China comments should not contain anything that is obscene Please [ Login ] to leave a comment. Text description provided by the architects. The double extension of the Alphonse Daudet Lycée in Tarascon raises the question of responsibility when building on a remarkable site - Lycée built in 1933 by Gaston Castel (Grand Prix de Rome), listed as a historical monument; - Kilmaine barracks, site listed as a historical monument, built in 1718, by the architect Desfour. The building operation considers the memory of the site and territorial identity as narrative elements, as an extension of its morphology. diagram 02In a site steeped in history, within a team whose role is to pass on our secular and republican values, there is no room for arrogance and pompous architectural features. Spatial order is achieved by incorporating programmatic and contextual constraints, within a unique process of shape generation. The facades comply with the laws of barrack composition: podium, buttress, minerality, succession of sober openings, following a repetitive cutting module, in a subtle allegory of the loophole. Pitted, coloured concrete, deployed over the entire construction, betrays the vanity of the artifices of architectural design and pays homage to traditional military constructions, massive, robust, sober and efficient. © Vincent FillonNo plastic feats or material preciosity. The buildings, armed with abstraction, turn towards the only permanent elements of the site. Only tactics, specific devices, no feigned mannerisms. Two considerations have given rise to the building’s design: -one involves the status of image and its symbolic efficiency in space mastering and in crystallising intentions; - the other concerns the secular tectonic tradition and semantic use of construction as a vector of cohesion and readability of the constructed object. © Vincent FillonAll is played out in the ambivalent perception of the buildings. Spelled out in a singular, monolithic and mineral shape. Their billhook fashioned geometry fulfils their silent forms, proclaiming them as a system, in perfect symbiosis with the site. How to make a building credible in an era flooded with icons, counterfeits, as in the Ventimille market? © Philippe RuaultNot in the art of cloning erected as a communications strategy. Not by using and abusing architectural processes where conventional architectural writing is enough to belong, the implication and recognition of an egocentric cultural system void of meaning. © Philippe RuaultThe architectural project is like a beautiful woman It is commonplace to say that the building is LEB there are OCDs (obsessive compulsive disorders) in our profession they will generally answer “external insulation Can you imagine the damage done by the biblical responsibilities now weighing upon the shoulders of the EOs concrete still has a wonderful future ahead You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Metrics details which prevent the fully reversible insertion of Li ions into the negative electrodes Here we report that electrodes made of nanoparticles of transition-metal oxides (MO Cu or Fe) demonstrate electrochemical capacities of 700 mA h g-1 with 100% capacity retention for up to 100 cycles and high recharging rates The mechanism of Li reactivity differs from the classical Li insertion/deinsertion or Li-alloying processes and involves the formation and decomposition of Li2O accompanying the reduction and oxidation of metal nanoparticles (in the range 1–5 nanometres) respectively We expect that the use of transition-metal nanoparticles to enhance surface electrochemical reactivity will lead to further improvements in the performance of lithium-ion batteries Lithium secondary batteries using a lithium cobalt nitride Tin-based amorphous oxide: A high-capacity lithium-ion storage material LixCu6Sn5 (0&lt;x&lt;13): An intermetallic insertion electrode for rechargeable lithium batteries Synthesis and performances of new negative electrode materials for ‘Rocking Chair’ lithium batteries On the aggregation of tin in SnO composite glasses caused by the reversible reaction with lithium Synthesis and electrochemical properties vs Li of amorphous vanadates of general formula RVO4 (R = In Rechargeable Li1+xMn 2O4/carbon cells with a new electrolyte composition Potentiostatic studies and application to practical cells Rechargeable lithium interaction battery with flexible electrolyte the end member of the LixCoO 2 solid solution Reduction process of metal-based inorganic precursors in liquid polyols to produce monodisperse metal particles Size effect on the melting temperature of gold particles Download references Download citation Metrics details New materials hold the key to fundamental advances in energy conversion and storage both of which are vital in order to meet the challenge of global warming and the finite nature of fossil fuels Nanomaterials in particular offer unique properties or combinations of properties as electrodes and electrolytes in a range of energy devices This review describes some recent developments in the discovery of nanoelectrolytes and nanoelectrodes for lithium batteries The advantages and disadvantages of the nanoscale in materials design for such devices are highlighted Nanostructured materials for energy storage Issues and challenges facing rechargeable batteries (eds) Lithium Ion Batteries—Fundamentals and Performance (Kodansha-Wiley-VCH (eds) Advances in Lithium-Ion Batteries (Kluwer Academic/Plenum Electrochemical lithiation of tin and tin-based intermetallic and composites In Lithium Batteries Science and Technology (eds Nazri,G.-A Tin-based amorphous oxides: a high-capacity lithium-ion storage material Mechanically alloyed Sn–Fe(–C) powders as anode materials for Li ion batteries The reaction of lithium with Sn–Mn–C intermetallics prepared by mechanical alloying Si/C composites for high capacity lithium storage materials Structured silicon anodes for lithium battery applications Lithium intercalation intoTiO2-B nanowires Nano-sized transition metal oxides as negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries In Lithium Batteries Science and Technology (eds Nazri Synthesis and electrochemical properties vs Li of amorphous vanadates of general formula RVO4 (R = In Understanding the nature of low-potential Li uptake into high volumetric capacity molybedenum oxides Fully reversible homogeneous Li storage in RuO2 with high capacity Carbon metal fluoride nanocomposites: high capacity reversible metal fluoride conversion materials as rechargeable positive electrodes for Li batteries Reversibile formation and decomposition of LiF clusters using transition metal fluorides as precursors and their application in rechargeable Li batteries Nanocrystallinity effects in lithium battery materials Effect of particle size on lithium intercalation into α-Fe2O3 Nanoscale materials for lithium-ion batteries Electrochemistry of vanadium oxide nanotubes Layered LixMnyCo1–yO2 intercalation electrodes: influence of ion exchange on capacity and structure upon cycling Structural characterisation of layered LiMnO2 electrodes by electron diffraction and lattice imaging Origin of cycling stability in monoclinic and orthorhombic-phase lithium manganese oxide cathodes Effect of ball-milling on 3 V capacity of lithium manganese oxospinel cathodes Layered-to-spinel phase transformation in LixMnO2 Effect of structure on the Fe3+/Fe2+redox couple in iron phosphates Electroactivity of natural and synthetic triphylite Approaching theoretical capacity of LiFePO4 at room temperature and high rates Polymer electrolytes: the key to lithium polymer batteries Lithium-ion conducting ceramic/polyether composites Ionic conductivity of polymer–ceramic composites Transport and interfacial properties of composite polymer electrolytes Rubbery solid electrolytes with dominant cationic transport and high ambient conductivity High lithium metal cycling efficiency in a room-temperature ionic liquid The structure of poly(ethylene oxide)6:LiAsF6 Ionic conductivity in crystalline polymer electrolytes Ionic conductivity in the crystalline polymer electrolytes PEO6:LiXF6 Increasing the conductivity of crystalline polymer electrolytes New trends in electrochemical supercapacitors Morphological effects on the electrical and electrochemical properties of carbon aerogels High power electrochemical capacitors based on carbon nanotube electrodes A high-performance supercapacitor/battery hybrid incorporating templated mesoporous electrodes An asymmetric hybrid nonaqueous energy storage cell Fuel cells: reaching the era of clean and efficient power generation in the twenty-first century Analysis of platinum particle size and oxygen reduction in phosphoric acid Improved Pt alloy catalysts for fuel cells Role of structural and electronic properties of Pt and Pt alloys on electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction DMFCs: From fundamental aspects to technology development Electrocatalytic activity of Pt–Ru alloy colloids for CO and CO/H2 electrooxidation: stripping voltammetry and rotating-disk measurements Enhancement in methanol oxidation by spontaneously deposited ruthenium on low-index platinum-electrodes Pt submonolayers on Ru nanoparticles–a novel low Pt loading high CO tolerance fuel-cell electrocatalyst Iron(III) tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin (Fetmpp) as methanol tolerant electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in direct methanol fuel-cells Methanol tolerant oxygen reduction catalysts based on transition metal sulfides Partially sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)—a versatile proton conducting membrane material for modern energy conversion technologies Synthesis and characterization of novel acid-base polymer blends for application in membrane fuel cells Composite membranes for medium-temperature PEM fuel cells Emerging membranes for electrochemical systems: (I) solid polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cell systems Approaches and recent development of polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells operating above 100 °C On the development of proton conducting polymer membranes for hydrogen and methanol fuel cells Self-humidifying polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells Comparison of ethanol and methanol oxidation in a liquid feed solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells at high temperature FTIR spectroscopic investigation of inorganic fillers for composite DMFC membranes Transport in proton conductors for fuel cell applications: simulation On the development of proton conducting materials for technological applications Current status of intermediate temperature fuel cells (It-SOFCs) Defect chemistry and ion transport in nanostructured materials A direct-methane fuel cell with a ceria-based anode Direct oxidation of hydrocarbons in a solid-oxide fuel cell A brief review on the study of hydrogen storage in terms of carbon nanotubes Hydrogen-storage materials for mobile applications Storage of hydrogen in single-walled carbon nanotubes Hydrogen storage by alkali-doped carbon nanotubes—revisited Hydrogen Storage using carbon adsorbents—past Mechanical alloying and electronic simulation of MgH2–M systems (M–Al Hydrogen sorption properties of the nanocomposite 90wt.% Mg2Ni–10 wt.% V Synthesis of boron-nitride nanofibers and measurement of their hydrogen uptake capacity Addition of nanosized Cr2O3 to magnesium for improvement of the hydrogen sorption properties Carbon-coated metal bearing powders and process for production thereof Download references Mastragostino of the university of Bologna for suggestions and help in completing the supercapacitors part of this review Support from the European Network of Excellence 'ALISTORE' network is acknowledged is indebted to the Royal Society for financial support Download citation Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics (2024) Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry (2024) Print SANTA BARBARA — Artists look to other art by other artists for cues on how to make their own work Art is a giant conversation among artists about navigating human experience and this is one way in which it speaks with breadth and conviction Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) took his cues from scores of contemporaries as well as from painters from the recent past Partly that’s because the Dutchman started painting relatively late in his difficult life A surprisingly engrossing exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art digs into the wide-ranging sources on which Van Gogh drew during the 10 short years in which he worked “Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources” puts together 20 of his paintings dispersing them throughout galleries filled with 75 examples by 62 other artists Some works (mostly on paper) didn’t make it to Santa Barbara in time for a preview due to pandemic-related shipping issues especially from Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum they have now been installed.) But there was still plenty to see — the show continues through May 22 — and the sources from which the artist drew are often fascinating (National Gallery of Art) Does the name Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (1824-1886) ring a bell unless you happen to be a scholar in the field of mid-19th century French painting the artist from Marseille was a friend of Paul Cézanne’s with whom he sometimes went on landscape painting excursions in the South of France Van Gogh was crazy about Monticelli’s work which he stumbled on in an exhibition during his first visit to Paris in the year the older artist died were instrumental in the posthumous publication of a book about the work There are more paintings by Monticelli — eight in all — on view in the Santa Barbara show than by any other artist save Vincent and that includes brilliant household names like Eugène Boudin but the number and their placement on a separate wall near the entry emphasize his critical importance to Van Gogh’s development which was in the early stages of taking off when he encountered the painter from Marseille whose empathetic pictures of peasant farmers are graced with a heroic monumentality as in the imposing “The Sower” spreading seeds across tilled soil from a weighty shoulder sack usually has pride of place in understanding Van Gogh’s artistic origins who wrestled color with brushwork like Jacob wrestling with the angel in Genesis whose soulful picture of two homeless men drowning their sorrows in glasses of absinthe shows why he was regarded as the urban Millet But here’s the thing: Monticelli’s paintings differ from those because they are almost uniformly ugly awkward bursts of brusque color and vivid light; odd subjects like romantic scenes of clumsy young ladies clustered together in parklike settings (shades of aristocratic picnics by Jean-Antoine Watteau) — it’s no wonder he’s an obscure figure today It takes a moment to begin to see what Vincent might have seen in them it does emerge in these modestly scaled but jam-packed pictures from Monticelli’s reverence for Delacroix’s fulsome brushwork to his sensitivity to mortality embedded in the fragility of a simple bowl of flowers This and more would add fuel to the growing intensity of Van Gogh’s fire Jean-François Raffaëlli oil on canvas (Joseph McDonald / Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco) “Through Vincent’s Eyes” is not a masterpiece show All those are from the last two years of his life — peak Van Gogh “Tarascon Stagecoach,” rendered in a thick impasto he attributed to Monticelli’s influence plus vivid red and green hues he accredited to Monet’s chromatic splendor was painted in anticipation of Paul Gauguin’s impending visit to Van Gogh’s Yellow House in Arles is an extraordinarily abundant vase of white blooms set on a dark green table against a light green wall rhythmic cascades of white light falling on a diagonal behind it Van Gogh employed a vibrant crimson pigment that has unfortunately faded over passing decades the now-pinkish color losing its punch with the complimentary green These are flowers living joyfully despite inevitable demise Ditto the virtually flaming cedars and pine trees that rise skyward before the yellow and blue “Hospital at Saint-Rémy,” the psychiatric facility where the artist stayed not long before his death (Visitors from Los Angeles will recognize the stunning painting from the collection of the UCLA Hammer Museum.) The fine catalog to “Through Vincent’s Eyes” points to the anthropomorphism of those undulating trees which seem to dance furiously in the vivid light of a bright blue sky “Sheaves of Wheat” radiates all the formal elegance of a rustic cotillion One among a group of so-called “double square” paintings exactly twice as wide (40 inches) as they are high it dates from just days before Van Gogh died “Wheatfield With Crows” is the most widely known of the double squares “Wheatfield with Crows” is not in the exhibition which was smartly organized by SBMA deputy director and chief curator Eik Kahng in association with Ohio’s Columbus Museum of Art where a somewhat different version was seen over the winter whose widely admired 2011 biography of the artist “Van Gogh: The Life,” written with his husband grew up in Columbus.) The famous painting of black birds swooping skyward from a rustling wheat field is worth mentioning because it has become an almost cinematic emblem of a problem that the current exhibition means to untangle The popular myth of the melancholic madman as suicidal artist churning out masterpieces born of a tortured psyche on his way out the door has made it very hard to see Van Gogh authentically “Through Vincent’s Eyes” successfully pulls the plug on that folkloric view it’s a show about how artists actually work and the 16 “lesser” Van Gogh paintings are as necessary to it as the flat-out masterpieces — not to mention those very peculiar Monticelli pictures 'Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources' Where: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St.When: Tuesdays-Sundays, through May 22Admission: Special exhibition pricing is $10-$25; children under 6 are freeInfo: (805) 963-4364, sbma.net Travel & Experiences Lifestyle Hollywood Inc. Music Television Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map The relatives of 29-year-old Albanian Refik Mata who passed away last December 17 in the Tarascon prison in France The 29-year-old was found dead in his cell They seek to shed light on the death of their loved one.  The case was taken by the lawyer Julie Boano who a few days after the serious incident went to the prison cell together with the relatives of the victim to get his personal things. The family of the deceased mentions a case on October 7 when Refik appeared beaten up in a session where he would talk about his expulsion to Albania and never return to France. According to family members he had visible signs of violence on his face and other parts of his body When the judge asked him how he got those signs the Albanian did not give a reason. "Refik had started working in prison and two days later his brother decided to visit him There have been several reports from prison officials that Refik was blamed for several incidents within the penitentiary institution These reports surprised us because Refik was imprisoned in Nice in front of the prison in Tarascon and there was no special situation," said the lawyer. Mata was to be released in February 2024 he had no reason to take his own life. "Now everything is in the hands of investigators and we are waiting for a decision to be made or it will be designated as suicide or otherwise an investigation will be opened," said the lawyer Plenary Session Terminated after Tensions in Assembly Hall Opposition MPs Climbed through Windows to Enter Assembly Offices Tirana-Besiktas Match Suspended Due to Incidents Strong Security Measures for Bill Clinton's Visit in Tirana DP Accuses PM of Ignoring Albanians Living in Survival Conditions Roslyn Wells is a former public affairs executive but you would be forgiven for thinking her true calling lay in interior design Together with husband, corporate advisory firm partner John Hobson, Wells is the proud owner of Tarascon renovating and extending to inject personality and panache Complementing the sweeping views over Balmoral Beach and across the heads Many homes on the Balmoral Slopes surrender to the views and while Tarascon celebrates the iconic outlook it also displays a warm European design sensibility There is elegance in spades‚ the silk curtains travertine and European oak parquetry floors and marble finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms; but also a welcoming ambience that comes from bright well-scaled and clearly zoned spaces for casual living and entertaining Beyond the gothic front door you’ll find a sweeping elliptical staircase featuring Saturnia stone Wells commissioned blacksmith Hans Schappi to create the wrought-iron balustrade with an organic vine motif winding its way to the upper level a vintage Italian chandelier adds old-world glamour Outside the two main terraces are linked by a wide staircase and surrounded by semi-formal gardens created and cultivated by Hobson enjoyed through the kitchen’s picture window A lower-level en suite bedroom makes an ideal guest retreat but could be used as an office There’s a lift from the double garage to the ground and first floor Michael Coombs of McGrath Mosman is selling the property, and says the price guide sits between $9.5 million and $9.9 million. 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