Engineering topics

Chen, Honghao

Publications and source records attributed to Chen, Honghao.

8 records

DOE OSTI2018

Acoustic transmission devices and process for making and using same

Acoustic tags and a process for fabrication are disclosed for identifying and tracking various hosts including inanimate and animate objects in up to three dimensions. The acoustic tags may be powered by a single power source. Tags can have an operation lifetime of up to 90 days or longer at a transmission rate of 3 seconds. The acoustic tags have an enhanced signal range that enhances detection probability when tracking the hosts.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2018

Injectable acoustic transmission devices and process for making and using same

Injectable acoustic tags and a process of making are described for tracking host animals in up to three dimensions. The injectable acoustic tags reduce adverse biological effects and have a reduced cost of manufacture compared with conventional surgically implanted tags. The injectable tags are powered by a single power source with a lifetime of greater than 30 days. The injectable tags have an enhanced acoustic signal transmission range that enhances detection probability for tracking of host animals.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2015

Following the Transient Reactions in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Using In an In Situ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Technique

Li-S batteries hold great potential for next-generation, large-format power source applications; yet, the fundamental understanding of the electrochemical reaction pathways remains lacking to enable their functionality as promised. Here, in situ NMR technique employing a specially designed cylindrical micro battery was used to monitor the chemical environments around Li+ ions during repetitive charge-discharge process and track the transient electrochemical and chemical reactions occurring in the whole Li-S system. The in situ NMR provides real time, quantitative information related to the temporal concentration variations of the polysulfides with various chain lengths, providing important clues for the reaction pathways during both discharge and charge processes. The in-situ technique also reveals that redox reactions may involve transient species that are difficult to detect in ex-situ NMR study. Intermediate species such as charged free radicals may play an important role in the formation of the polysulfide products. Additionally, in situ NMR measurement simultaneously reveals vital information on the 7Li chemical environments in the electrochemical and parasitic reactions on the lithium anode that promotes the understanding of the failure mechanism in the Li-S system. These new insights could help design effective strategies to accelerate the development of Li-S battery technology.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2015

Direct Observation of Sulfur Radicals as Reaction Media in Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Lithium sulfur (Li-S) battery has been regaining tremendous interest in recent years because of its attractive attributes such as high gravimetric energy, low cost and environmental benignity. However, it is still not conclusively known how polysulfide ring/chain participates in the whole cycling and whether the discharge and charge processes follow the same pathway. Herein, we demonstrate the direct observation of sulfur radicals by using in situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique. Based on the concentration changes of sulfur radicals at different potentials and the electrochemical characteristics of the cell, it is revealed that the chemical and electrochemical reactions in Li-S cell are driving each other to proceed through sulfur radicals, leading to two completely different reaction pathways during discharge and charge. The proposed radical mechanism may provide new perspectives to investigate the interactions between sulfur species and the electrolyte, inspiring novel strategies to develop Li-S battery technology.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Energetics of Defects on Graphene through Fluorination

In the present study, we used FGS[5] as the substrate and implemented low temperature (<=150 oC) direct fluorination on graphene sheets. The fluorine content has been modulated to investigate the formation mechanism of different functional groups such as C-F, CF2, O-CF2 and (C=O)F during the fluorination process. The detailed structure and chemical bonds were simulated theoretically and quantified experimentally by using density function theory (DFT) calculations and NMR techniques, respectively. The adjustable power/energy ratio from fluorinated graphene as cathode for primary lithium batteries is also discussed. From a combination of NMR spectroscopy and theoretical calculation, we conclude that the topological defects without oxygen containing groups provide most of the reactive sites to react with F. FGS also contain a small number of COOH groups which contribute for the fluorination reaction. Hydroxyl or epoxy groups contribute to another fraction of the reaction products.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2014

Micro-battery Development for Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System Applications

The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) project supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, has yielded the smallest acoustic fish tag transmitter commercially available to date. In order to study even smaller fish populations and make the transmitter injectable by needles, the JSATS acoustic micro transmitter needs to be further downsized. This study focuses on the optimization of microbattery design based on Li/CFx chemistry. Through appropriate modifications, a steady high-rate pulse current with desirable life time has been achieved while the weight and volume of the battery is largely reduced. The impedance variation in as-designed microbatteries is systematically compared with that of currently used watch batteries in JSATS with an attempt to understand the intrinsic factors that control the performances of microbatteries under the real testing environments.

acoustic telemetry↗

DOE OSTI2013

Tunable Electrochemical Properties of Fluorinated Graphene

The structural and electrochemical properties of fluorinated graphene have been investigated by using a series of graphene fluorides (CFx, x=0.47, 0.66, 0.89). Fluorinated graphene exhibited high capacity retentions of 75-81% of theoretical capacity at moderate rates as cathode materials for primary lithium batteries. Specifically, CF0.47 maintained a capacity of 356 mAhg-1 at a 5C rate, superior to that of traditional fluorinated graphite. The discharged graphene fluorides also provide an electrochemical tool to probe the chemical bonding on the parent graphene substrate.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2013

Ionic Liquid-Enhanced Solid State Electrolyte Interface (SEI) for Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Li-S battery is a complicated system with many challenges existing before its final market penetration. While most of the reported work for Li-S batteries is focused on the cathode design, we demonstrate in this work that the anode consumption accelerated by corrosive polysulfide solution also critically determines the Li-S cell performance. To validate this hypothesis, ionic liquid (IL) N-methyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (Py14TFSI) has been employed to modify the properties of SEI layer formed on Li metal surface in Li-S batteries. It is found that the IL-enhanced passivation film on the lithium anode surface exhibits much different morphology and chemical compositions, effectively protecting lithium metal from continuous attack by soluble polysulfides. Therefore, both cell impedance and the irreversible consumption of polysulfides on lithium metal are reduced. As a result, the Coulombic efficiency and the cycling stability of Li-S batteries have been greatly improved. After 120 cycles, Li-S battery cycled in the electrolyte containing IL demonstrates a high capacity retention of 94.3% at 0.1 C rate. These results unveil another important failure mechanism for Li-S batteries and shin the light on the new approaches to improve Li-S battery performances.

electrolyte↗