Prospective Cohort Study

Energy production and storage have become key issues concerning our welfare in daily life. Present challenges for batteries are twofold. In the first place, the increasing demand for powering systems of portable electronic devices and zero-emission vehicles stimulates research towards high energy and high voltage systems. In the second place, low cost batteries are required in order to advance towards smart electric grids that integrate discontinuous energy flow from renewable sources, optimizing the performance of clean energy sources. Na-ion batteries can be the key for the second point, because of the huge availability of sodium, its low price and the similarity of both Li and Na insertion chemistries. In spite of the lower energy density and voltage of Na-ion based technologies, they can be focused on applications where the weight and footprint requirement is less drastic, such as electrical grid storage. Much work has to be done in the field of Na-ion in order to catch up with Li-ion technology. Cathodic and anodic materials must be optimized, and new electrolytes will be the key point for Na-ion success. This review will gather the up-to-date knowledge about Na-ion battery materials, with the aim of providing a wide view of the systems that have already been explored and a starting point for the new research on this battery technology.

Na-ion batteries, recent advances and present challenges to become low cost energy storage systems

The General Utility Lattice Program (GULP) has been extended to include the ability to simulate polymers and surfaces, as well as adding many other new features, and the current status of the program is fully documented. Both the background theory is described, as well as providing a concise review of some of the previous applications in order to demonstrate the range of its use. Examples are presented of work performed using the new compatibilities of the software, including the calculation of Born effective charges, mechanical properties as a function of applied pressure, calculation of frequency-dependent dielectric data, surface reconstructions of calcite and the performance of a linear-scaling algorithm for bond-order potentials.

The general utility lattice program (GULP)

Although known since the late 19th century, organic–inorganic perovskites have recently received extraordinary research community attention because of their unique physical properties, which make them promising candidates for application in photovoltaic (PV) and related optoelectronic devices. This review will explore beyond the current focus on three-dimensional (3-D) lead(II) halide perovskites, to highlight the great chemical flexibility and outstanding potential of the broader class of 3-D and lower dimensional organic-based perovskite family for electronic, optical, and energy-based applications as well as fundamental research. The concept of a multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid, in which the organic and inorganic structural components provide intentional, unique, and hopefully synergistic features to the compound, represents an important contemporary target.

Organic–Inorganic Perovskites: Structural Versatility for Functional Materials Design

Synthesis, properties, and applications of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

The possibility of substituting S 2− and SO 4 2− ions into the superconducting cuprate, La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 ( T c ≈ 40 K) has been investigated. In contradiction to previous reports, no evidence has been found for the successful incorporation of S 2− into this material, but SO 4 2− groups show limited solubility, and are situated at the copper sites. A change in the cell symmetry from tetragonal to orthorhombic occurs at a substitution level of between 5% and 10%. The presence of sulphur in the form of SO 4 2− groups has been confirmed by X-ray emission spectroscopy for samples prepared from both sulphides and sulphates. Structure refinements based on X-ray powder diffraction data indicate that the SO 4 2− groups are substituting at the copper sites. SQUID measurements have also been performed and show that superconducting properties are adversely affected as the level of substitution is increased.

Substitution of SO42− anions in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4: structure and superconductivity

Variable temperature neutron diffraction study of Bi3ReO8 oxide ion conductor

The local environment of cations in Bi12.5Er1.5ReO24.5

Many of the challenges facing humanity could be resolved by population-wide 
changes in individual behavior patterns. Intolerance of others considered different 
from ourselves within and between nations, wealth inequalities, health-threatening 
poverty, crime, the health and social damage caused by drug abuse, and the increasing concentration of CO 2 threatening the human habitat are all generated and 
sustained by more or less widespread patterns of potentially modifiable behavior. 
In this chapter, we focus on how individual behavior patterns can be changed to 
prevent illness and sustain health, but the underlying principles of intervention 
design and evaluation have much wider application.

Designing and Evaluating Behavior-Change Interventions to Promote Health

LiSbO2 has been synthesized using a ceramic method involving evacuated quartz tubes to ensure stoichiometry. Its structure [monoclinic, P21/c; a = 4.8550(3) A, b = 17.857(1) A, c = 5.5771(3) A; β =...

Colin Greaves

Papers

Substitution of SO42− anions in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4: structure and superconductivity

Variable temperature neutron diffraction study of Bi3ReO8 oxide ion conductor

The local environment of cations in Bi12.5Er1.5ReO24.5

Designing and Evaluating Behavior-Change Interventions to Promote Health

LiSbO2: synthesis, structure, stability, and lithium-ion conductivity.