The 11th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine welcomes Anthony Fauci to its editorial staff, in addition to more than 85 new contributors. While the organization of the book is similar to previous editions, major emphasis has been placed on disorders that affect multiple organ systems. Important advances in genetics, immunology, and oncology are emphasized. Many chapters of the book have been rewritten and describe major advances in internal medicine. Subjects that received only a paragraph or two of attention in previous editions are now covered in entire chapters. Among the chapters that have been extensively revised are the chapters on infections in the compromised host, on skin rashes in infections, on many of the viral infections, including cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, on sexually transmitted diseases, on diabetes mellitus, on disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, and on lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. The major revisions in these chapters and many

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

Li-ion battery technology has become very important in recent years as these batteries show great promise as power sources that can lead us to the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. The development of new materials for Li-ion batteries is the focus of research in prominent groups in the field of materials science throughout the world. Li-ion batteries can be considered to be the most impressive success story of modern electrochemistry in the last two decades. They power most of today's portable devices, and seem to overcome the psychological barriers against the use of such high energy density devices on a larger scale for more demanding applications, such as EV. Since this field is advancing rapidly and attracting an increasing number of researchers, it is important to provide current and timely updates of this constantly changing technology. In this review, we describe the key aspects of Li-ion batteries: the basic science behind their operation, the most relevant components, anodes, cathodes, electrolyte solutions, as well as important future directions for R&D of advanced Li-ion batteries for demanding use, such as EV and load-leveling applications.

Challenges in the development of advanced Li-ion batteries: a review

The science and technology of ultracapacitors are reviewed for a number of electrode materials, including carbon, mixed metal oxides, and conducting polymers. More work has been done using microporous carbons than with the other materials and most of the commercially available devices use carbon electrodes and an organic electrolytes. The energy density of these devices is 3¯5 Wh/kg with a power density of 300¯500 W/kg for high efficiency (90¯95%) charge/discharges. Projections of future developments using carbon indicate that energy densities of 10 Wh/kg or higher are likely with power densities of 1¯2 kW/kg. A key problem in the fabrication of these advanced devices is the bonding of the thin electrodes to a current collector such the contact resistance is less than 0.1 cm2. Special attention is given in the paper to comparing the power density characteristics of ultracapacitors and batteries. The comparisons should be made at the same charge/discharge efficiency.

Ultracapacitors: Why, How, and Where is the Technology

This critical review presents an overview of the various classes of Li(+) conductors for use as electrolytes in lithium polymer batteries and all-solid state microbatteries. Initially, we recall the main models for ion transport and the structure-transport relationships at the basis of the observed conductivity behaviours. Emphasis is then placed on the physico-chemical and functional parameters relevant for optimal electrolytes preparation, as well as on the techniques of choice for their evaluation. Finally, the state of the art of polymer and ceramic electrolytes is reported, and the most interesting strategies for the future developments are described (121 references).

Electrolytes for solid-state lithium rechargeable batteries: recent advances and perspectives

Nonlinear Optical Crystals: A Complete Survey

Preparation and characterization of antimony nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution activities

Transition metal sulfides are widely employed as bifunctional electrocatalysts owing to their unique structural features, well-off active sites, and modifiable electronic and mechanical properties. Herein, we have synthesized highly efficient ternary copper iron sulfide (CuFeS2)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites via a hydrothermal approach for an overall water splitting process. The tetragonal structure of CuFeS2 microflowers anchored on rGO sheets is identified by using X-ray analysis and compared with standard Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) #35-752. In Raman spectra, the existence of two bands D (defects) and G (graphitic) confirms the presence of the rGO composite with CuFeS2, and the ratio of D and G band (ID/IG) is observed to be 1.18. The morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy substantiates the formation of microflowers with rGO sheets. The elemental composition of CuFeS2/rGO was analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, which demonstrated a weight percentage of various compositions of Cu (18.07%), Fe (11.32%), S (13.88%), and C (56.74%). Moreover, the CuFeS2/rGO composites exhibited a high surface area, pore volume, and diameter of 50.352 m2/g, 0.162 cc/g, and 2.471 nm, respectively. The fabricated electrodes were examined by using electrochemical characterization. The obtained results clearly showed low overpotential and low Tafel slope values in both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) (176 mV and 216 mV/dec) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) (153 mV and 150 mV/dec) processes. In addition, the fabricated composite exhibited low 1.59 V cell voltages for an overall water splitting process with more excellent stability, and it showed a faradaic efficiency of 97.8% for H2 and 95.5% for O2. Therefore, the composite of rGO in ternary metal sulfide plays a predominant role in improving the electrocatalytic activity of the material, and the CuFeS2/rGO composite emerges as a promising electrode for the water splitting process. 

Ternary Copper Iron Sulfide Microflowers Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide for Water Splitting

Hydrothermal synthesis technique was employed to synthesize bare and Ag doped WO3 electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting process for sustainable energy production. The structural confirmation of the bare and Ag (5% and 10%) doped WO3 samples were done by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Monoclinic crystal structure was confirmed. The active vibrations of O-W-O in WO3 structure was confirmed by Raman spectra. O-W-O stretching and functional groups were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The electrochemical water splitting nature of products was characterized by linear sweep voltammetry. The current density was achieved as 812 mA/g with low over potential for 5% Ag doped WO3 electrode. The higher charge transfer was reported for the same electrode with very good electrochemical stability over 24 h of continuous electrochemical OER activity. From the results, it is confirmed that the optimum dopant concentration and the fine morphological engineering in WO3 with high oxygen vacancies present in the sample would be recommended as one of the efficient electrodes utilized for sustainable energy production applications via electrochemical water splitting technique.

Electrochemical water splitting of Ag-WO3 nanostructures

Control of the morphology and the aspect ratio of zinc oxide nanostructures by varying mainly the anionic and cationic strengths of the mother solution in the hydrothermal process is reported. This is studied by choosing five different cationic ([Zn2+]) concentrations in two different anionic ([OH−]) concentrations each, giving totally ten combinations. A change in the concentration of the mother solution greatly altered the size and the aspect ratio of the nanostructures, as seen in the scanning electron microscopy images of the nanostructures. Changing the ionic strength directly influenced the growth parameters such as the interfacial energy and the formation of nuclei, which resulted in different nanostructures. By using an X-ray diffraction analysis, we confirmed the produced nanostructures to be wurtzite-structured hexagonal zinc oxide in all cases. A characteristic predominant growth along the polar planes with angular tips was also observed by using transmission electron microscopy.

Ionic-strength induced control of the shape and the aspect ratio of ZnO nano-structures prepared by using the hydrothermal process

The surfactant free SnO2 nanostructure was successfully synthesized by simple one pot hydrothermal route and its physico-chemical properties were investigated. XRD result confirmed the formation of tetragonal SnO2 nanostructure. Raman spectrum revealed two Raman active modes (Eg +A2u) of SnO2 nanostructure. SEM images revealed nanoplate array formation of SnO2. The well defined metal oxygen vibration band (O-Sn-O) at 609 cm−1 was confirmed through FTIR spectrum. The electrochemical properties of the sample were examined by employing four different electrolytes such KCl, KOH, Na2SO4 and NaOH respectively. The highest specific capacitance of about 120.41 F/g for 5 mV/s and good conductivity was observed for the electrolyte KCl by cyclic voltammogram (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies.

Ganesan Ravi

Papers

Preparation and characterization of antimony nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution activities

Ternary Copper Iron Sulfide Microflowers Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide for Water Splitting

Electrochemical water splitting of Ag-WO3 nanostructures

Ionic-strength induced control of the shape and the aspect ratio of ZnO nano-structures prepared by using the hydrothermal process

Surfactant free SnO2 nanoplate array synthesis for supercapacitor applications