Brookhaven National Laboratory

About: Brookhaven National Laboratory is a facility organization based out in Upton, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Quantum chromodynamics & Scattering. The organization has 18828 authors who have published 39450 publications receiving 1782061 citations. The organization is also known as: BNL.

Sodium Storage and Transport Properties in Layered Na2Ti3O7 for Room‐Temperature Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract: Layered sodium titanium oxide, Na2Ti3O7, is synthesized by a solid-state reaction method as a potential anode for sodium-ion batteries. Through optimization of the electrolyte and binder, the microsized Na2Ti3O7 electrode delivers a reversible capacity of 188 mA h g(-1) in 1 M NaFSI/PC electrolyte at a current rate of 0.1C in a voltage range of 0.0-3.0 V, with sodium alginate as binder. The average Na storage voltage plateau is found at ca. 0.3 V vs. Na+/Na, in good agreement with a first-principles prediction of 0.35 V. The Na storage properties in Na2Ti3O7 are investigated from thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. By reducing particle size, the nanosized Na2Ti3O7 exhibits much higher capacity, but still with unsatisfied cyclic properties. The solid-state interphase layer on Na2Ti3O7 electrode is analyzed. A zero-current overpotential related to thermodynamic factors is observed for both nano- and microsized Na2Ti3O7. The electronic structure, Na+ ion transport and conductivity are investigated by the combination of first-principles calculation and electrochemical characterizations. On the basis of the vacancy-hopping mechanism, a quasi-3D energy favorable trajectory is proposed for Na2Ti3O7. The Na+ ions diffuse between the TiO6 octahedron layers with pretty low activation energy of 0.186 eV.

Changes in brain glucose metabolism in cocaine dependence and withdrawal.

Abstract: Objective The authors investigated changes in brain function associated with cocaine dependence and withdrawal to provide clues regarding the processes that lead to the uncontrollable self-administration of cocaine. Method They measured regional brain metabolism with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography in 15 outpatients with the diagnosis of cocaine abuse and 17 normal comparison subjects. Ten of the patients were studied less than 1 week after they had last had cocaine, and five were studied 2-4 weeks after withdrawal. Results Patients studied within 1 week of cocaine withdrawal but not those studied within 2-4 weeks of cocaine withdrawal had higher levels of global brain metabolism as well as higher levels of regional brain metabolism in the basal ganglia and orbitofrontal cortex than did normal subjects, probably as a consequence of less brain dopamine activity. There was also a significant relationship between the number of days since cocaine withdrawal and regional brain glucose metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex and in the basal ganglia, and the correlations between cocaine craving and metabolic activity were significant in the prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusions Although the time-dependent fall in metabolic activity suggests that the higher metabolic activity observed less than a week after cocaine withdrawal may represent a nonspecific expression of drug withdrawal, the selectivity of changes in glucose metabolism for the basal ganglia and for the orbitofrontal cortex suggests that the regional metabolic changes seen in cocaine abusers during detoxification are related to changes in brain dopamine activity.

Self-assembly in aqueous solution of wheel-shaped Mo154 oxide clusters into vesicles.

Abstract: Surfactants and membrane lipids readily assemble into complex structures1 such as micelles, liposomes or hollow vesicles owing to their amphiphilic character—the fact that part of their structure is attracted to polar environments while another part is attracted to non-polar environments. The self-assembly of complex structures also occurs in polyoxometallate chemistry, as exemplified by the molybdenum blue solutions known for centuries. But while the presence of nanometre-sized metal oxide aggregates in these solutions has long been recognized, unravelling the composition and formation process of these aggregates proved difficult. Recent work has indicated that discrete, wheel-shaped mixed-valence polyoxomolybdate clusters of the type {Mo154} (refs 2–4) assemble into well-defined nanometre-sized aggregates, including spherical structures5. Here we report light-scattering data and transmission electron microscopy images of hollow spherical structures with an average, almost monodisperse radius of about 45 nm and composed of approximately 1,165 {Mo154} wheel-shaped clusters. The clusters appear to lie flat and homogeneously distributed on the vesicle surface. Unlike conventional lipid vesicles, the structures we observe are not stabilized by hydrophobic interactions. Instead, we believe the polyoxomolybdate-based vesicles form owing to a subtle interplay between short-range van der Waals attraction and long-range electrostatic repulsion, with important further stabilization arising from hydrogen bonding involving water molecules encapsulated between the wheel-shaped clusters and in the vesicles’ interior.