As one important component of sulfur cathodes, the carbon host plays a key role in the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this paper, a mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon (MPNC)-sulfur nanocomposite is reported as a novel cathode for advanced Li-S batteries. The nitrogen doping in the MPNC material can effectively promote chemical adsorption between sulfur atoms and oxygen functional groups on the carbon, as verifi ed by X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, and the mechanism by which nitrogen enables the behavior is further revealed by density functional theory calculations. Based on the advantages of the porous structure and nitrogen doping, the MPNC-sulfur cathodes show excellent cycling stability (95% retention within 100 cycles) at a high current density of 0.7 mAh cm −2 with a high sulfur loading (4.2 mg S cm −2 ) and a sulfur content (70 wt%). A high areal capacity (≈3.3 mAh cm −2 ) is demonstrated by using the novel cathode, which is crucial for the practical application of Li-S batteries. It is believed that the important role of nitrogen doping promoted chemical adsorption can be extended for development of other high performance carbon-sulfur composite cathodes for Li-S batteries.

Nitrogen-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Promoted Chemical Adsorption of Sulfur and Fabrication of High-Areal-Capacity Sulfur Cathode with Exceptional Cycling Stability for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Condition monitoring can reduce machine breakdown losses, increase productivity and operation safety, and therefore deliver significant benefits to many industries. The emergence of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with smart processing ability play an ever-growing role in online condition monitoring of machines. WSNs are cost-effective networking systems for machine condition monitoring. It avoids cable usage and eases system deployment in industry, which leads to significant savings. Powering the nodes is one of the major challenges for a true WSN system, especially when positioned at inaccessible or dangerous locations and in harsh environments. Promising energy harvesting technologies have attracted the attention of engineers because they convert microwatt or milliwatt level power from the environment to implement maintenance-free machine condition monitoring systems with WSNs. The motivation of this review is to investigate the energy sources, stimulate the application of energy harvesting based WSNs, and evaluate the improvement of energy harvesting systems for mechanical condition monitoring. This paper overviews the principles of a number of energy harvesting technologies applicable to industrial machines by investigating the power consumption of WSNs and the potential energy sources in mechanical systems. Many models or prototypes with different features are reviewed, especially in the mechanical field. Energy harvesting technologies are evaluated for further development according to the comparison of their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, a discussion of the challenges and potential future research of energy harvesting systems powering WSNs for machine condition monitoring is made.

Energy Harvesting Technologies for Achieving Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks in Machine Condition Monitoring: A Review.

The internet of things (IoT) manages a large infrastructure of web-enabled smart devices, small devices that use embedded systems, such as processors, sensors, and communication hardware to collect, send, and elaborate on data acquired from their environment. Thus, from a practical point of view, such devices are composed of power-efficient storage, scalable, and lightweight nodes needing power and batteries to operate. From the above reason, it appears clear that energy harvesting plays an important role in increasing the efficiency and lifetime of IoT devices. Moreover, from acquiring energy by the surrounding operational environment, energy harvesting is important to make the IoT device network more sustainable from the environmental point of view. Different state-of-the-art energy harvesters based on mechanical, aeroelastic, wind, solar, radiofrequency, and pyroelectric mechanisms are discussed in this review article. To reduce the power consumption of the batteries, a vital role is played by power management integrated circuits (PMICs), which help to enhance the system’s life span. Moreover, PMICs from different manufacturers that provide power management to IoT devices have been discussed in this paper. Furthermore, the energy harvesting networks can expose themselves to prominent security issues putting the secrecy of the system to risk. These possible attacks are also discussed in this review article.

Energy Harvesting towards Self-Powered IoT Devices

Recent progress in blue energy harvesting for powering distributed sensors in ocean

Renewable energy harvesting schemes in wireless sensor networks: A Survey

The operational efficiency of remote environmental wireless sensor networks (EWSNs) has improved tremendously with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies over the past few years. EWSNs require elaborate device composition and advanced control to attain long-term operation with minimal maintenance. This article is focused on power supplies that provide energy to run the wireless sensor nodes in environmental applications. In this context, EWSNs have two distinct features that set them apart from monitoring systems in other application domains. They are often deployed in remote areas, preventing the use of mains power and precluding regular visits to exchange batteries. At the same time, their surroundings usually provide opportunities to harvest ambient energy and use it to (partially) power the sensor nodes. This review provides a comprehensive account of energy harvesting sources, energy storage devices, and corresponding topologies of energy harvesting systems, focusing on studies published within the last 10 years. Current trends and future directions in these areas are also covered.

Energy Harvesting Sources, Storage Devices and System Topologies for Environmental Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review.

This contribution describes a simulation framework for Environmental Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN) implemented in C#. The proposed solution aims at a single node operation scenario that can be extended to the network level in the future. Hardware model of EWSN node has been configured based on parameters obtained from a prototype device developed by the authors. A simple timer-based controller has been implemented as a reference control algorithm. The framework was tested using 5-years of historical environmental data to demonstrate its basic functionality and feasibility to run long-term simulations in an accelerated mode. The results confirm that the developed solution can evaluate various control strategies without on-site testing, providing an effective alternative to rapid prototyping of EWSN devices.

A Simulation Framework for Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Networks: Single Node Architecture Perspective

Low-power Embedded Supply System: Li-ion Battery with Gas-Gauge Case Study

Smart grids are electricity supply-networks which detect and react to local changes in usage based on feedback from digital communications technologies. Their expansion are likely to have a positive impact on our economy, social development, and especially, on environmental measures taken to counteract climate change. In addition, the application of business strategies in the electricity-production sector would facilitate the pre-diagnosis of energy consumption fluctuations. Energy-saving audits are currently carried out by specialised professionals who rely on initiatives which are costly, both in terms of time and effort.

Toward to an Electric Monitoring Platform Based on Agents

The current goal is to minimize an embedded system consumption while maintaining all its features. Well-tuned power management becomes even more important in systems without any possibility of energy harvesting that rely solely on the battery power. The aim is a significant increase in the battery life without a desirable degradation in the quality of the service.

Karolina Janosova

Papers

Energy Harvesting Sources, Storage Devices and System Topologies for Environmental Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review.

A Simulation Framework for Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Networks: Single Node Architecture Perspective

Low-power Embedded Supply System: Li-ion Battery with Gas-Gauge Case Study

Toward to an Electric Monitoring Platform Based on Agents

A Fuzzy Control Method for Priority Driven Embedded Device