Collège de France

About: Collège de France is a education organization based out in Paris, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Dopamine. The organization has 6541 authors who have published 11983 publications receiving 648742 citations. The organization is also known as: College de France.

Evidence for anionic redox activity in a tridimensional-ordered Li-rich positive electrode β-Li2IrO3.

Abstract: Lithium-ion battery cathode materials have relied on cationic redox reactions until the recent discovery of anionic redox activity in Li-rich layered compounds which enables capacities as high as 300 mAh g-1. In the quest for new high-capacity electrodes with anionic redox, a still unanswered question was remaining regarding the importance of the structural dimensionality. The present manuscript provides an answer. We herein report on a β-Li2IrO3 phase which, in spite of having the Ir arranged in a tridimensional (3D) framework instead of the typical two-dimensional (2D) layers seen in other Li-rich oxides, can reversibly exchange 2.5 e- per Ir, the highest value ever reported for any insertion reaction involving d-metals. We show that such a large activity results from joint reversible cationic (Mn+) and anionic (O2)n- redox processes, the latter being visualized via complementary transmission electron microscopy and neutron diffraction experiments, and confirmed by density functional theory calculations. Moreover, β-Li2IrO3 presents a good cycling behaviour while showing neither cationic migration nor shearing of atomic layers as seen in 2D-layered Li-rich materials. Remarkably, the anionic redox process occurs jointly with the oxidation of Ir4+ at potentials as low as 3.4 V versus Li+/Li0, as equivalently observed in the layered α-Li2IrO3 polymorph. Theoretical calculations elucidate the electrochemical similarities and differences of the 3D versus 2D polymorphs in terms of structural, electronic and mechanical descriptors. Our findings free the structural dimensionality constraint and broaden the possibilities in designing high-energy-density electrodes for the next generation of Li-ion batteries.

Axo-Glial Interactions Regulate the Localization of Axonal Paranodal Proteins

Abstract: Mice incapable of synthesizing the abundant galactolipids of myelin exhibit disrupted paranodal axo-glial interactions in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Using these mutants, we have analyzed the role that axo-glial interactions play in the establishment of axonal protein distribution in the region of the node of Ranvier. Whereas the clustering of the nodal proteins, sodium channels, ankyrinG, and neurofascin was only slightly affected, the distribution of potassium channels and paranodin, proteins that are normally concentrated in the regions juxtaposed to the node, was dramatically altered. The potassium channels, which are normally concentrated in the paranode/juxtaparanode, were not restricted to this region but were detected throughout the internode in the galactolipid-defi- cient mice. Paranodin/contactin-associated protein (Caspr), a paranodal protein that is a potential neuronal mediator of axon-myelin binding, was not concentrated in the paranodal regions but was diffusely distributed along the internodal regions. Collectively, these findings suggest that the myelin galactolipids are essential for the proper formation of axo-glial interactions and demonstrate that a disruption in these interactions results in profound abnormalities in the molecular organization of the paranodal axolemma.

Artificial Photosynthesis: From Molecular Catalysts for Light‐driven Water Splitting to Photoelectrochemical Cells

Abstract: Photosynthesis has been for many years a fascinating source of inspiration for the development of model systems able to achieve efficient light-to-chemical energetic transduction. This field of research, called "artificial photosynthesis," is currently the subject of intense interest, driven by the aim of converting solar energy into the carbon-free fuel hydrogen through the light-driven water splitting. In this review, we highlight the recent achievements on light-driven water oxidation and hydrogen production by molecular catalysts and we shed light on the perspectives in terms of implementation into water splitting technological devices.

Dynamical mean-field theory within an augmented plane-wave framework: Assessing electronic correlations in the iron pnictide LaFeAsO

Abstract: We present an approach that combines the local-density approximation (LDA) and the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) in the framework of the full-potential linear augmented plane-wave method. Wannier-type functions for the correlated shell are constructed by projecting local orbitals onto a set of Bloch eigenstates located within a certain energy window. The screened Coulomb interaction and Hund's coupling are calculated from a first-principles constrained random-phase approximation scheme. We apply this $\text{LDA}+\text{DMFT}$ implementation, in conjunction with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo algorithm, to the study of electronic correlations in LaFeAsO. Our findings support the physical picture of a metal with intermediate correlations. The average value of the mass renormalization of the $\text{Fe}\text{ }3d$ bands is about 1.6, in reasonable agreement with the picture inferred from photoemission experiments. The discrepancies between different $\text{LDA}+\text{DMFT}$ calculations (all technically correct) which have been reported in the literature are shown to have two causes: (i) the specific value of the interaction parameters used in these calculations and (ii) the degree of localization of the Wannier orbitals chosen to represent the $\text{Fe}\text{ }3d$ states, to which many-body terms are applied. The latter is a fundamental issue in the application of many-body calculations, such as DMFT, in a realistic setting. We provide strong evidence that the DMFT approximation is more accurate and more straightforward to implement when well-localized orbitals are constructed from a large energy window encompassing $\text{Fe-}3d$, $\text{As-}4p$, and $\text{O-}2p$ and point out several difficulties associated with the use of extended Wannier functions associated with the low-energy iron bands. Some of these issues have important physical consequences regarding, in particular, the sensitivity to the Hund's coupling.