UK & EVERYWHERE ELSE

First ever survey of A&E triage nurses highlights problems with a lack of training, low staffing, high stress and overflowing departments

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Nurses who assess patients at emergency departments would like more training and say their decisions can be negatively impacted by the high pressures of their work. 

Researchers at the University of East Anglia conducted the first ever UK survey of triage nurses to discover the background, training and decision-making processes of this role in emergency departments. 

Lead author Hugh Gorick, a PhD researcher at UEA’s School of Health Sciences who also works as an assistant practitioner in an NHS hospital’s Acute Medical Unit, said: “More than 24 million patients present to emergency departments in the UK every year, resulting in a high-pressure situation with limited resources.  

“When the patients arrive, they will be triaged to assess how sick they are, to know how quickly they will need to receive treatment.  

“These assessments need to be rapid and accurate to prevent delays and harm from occurring. 

“Triage nurses told us that if they experience low staffing and busy environments this has a negative impact on their stress and their abilities to triage effectively. 

“The survey also showed there is a huge variation in the frequency and quality of training for this vital role.” 

The study recruited 51 participants from hospitals across the UK through posts on social media and online forums for nurses. 

The nurses who were assessing and prioritising patients turning up at A&E departments came from different backgrounds and ranged from very experienced to newly qualified. 

When they were tested on how they make decisions in these urgent situations, they generally scored well. 

But the study found that training for triage nurses varied greatly, and 53pc felt they wanted more training to be available. Meanwhile 43pc felt the quality and content of the training could also be improved. 

It also highlighted a lack of space to conduct assessments in emergency departments as impacting efficiency, as well as a lack of staff. 

Dr Marie McGee, of UEA’s School of Health Sciences, said: “This research highlights the need to ensure triage areas are properly staffed with enough space to see patients. 

“We would recommend legislation for safe nurse staffing and the development of a national standard for triage nurses with defined knowledge and skills that need to be achieved and set periods for refresher courses. 

“Managers also need to ensure the psychological welfare of nurses in emergency departments, with access to proper support systems.”   

The researchers previously carried out a systematic review which found that nurses around the world favour using clinical reasoning and intuition over triage algorithms to work out how sick a patient is before triaging for treatment. 

However, this latest survey showed that nurses in the UK rely more on their training and comprehensive assessments, rather than just their gut feeling when making these decisions. 

The researchers acknowledged that the number of triage nurses in the UK is not known, and as such it is difficult to assess the reach of this study.  

The data was also self-reported and future research could look to use more in-depth methods, such as interviews, as well as looking more closely at training. 

As a result, the team would like to hear from triage nurses about their experiences in UK emergency departments for the next stage of their research. 

This will involve an interview which will take approximately 60 minutes, using Microsoft Teams.  

To take part you must be a registered nurse working in the UK, whose role involves face-to-face triage.  

Nurses who work exclusively with paediatrics, mental health or maternity are not eligible for this study. For more information, or to take part, email emergency.triage@uea.ac.uk  

‘Understanding the decision-making practices used by registered nurses assessing acuity at triage in emergency departments in the UK: A national survey” is published in the journal Emergency Nurse. 

 

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JOURNAL

Emergency Nurse

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Understanding the decision-making practices used by registered nurses assessing acuity at triage in emergency departments in the UK: A national survey

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024

SEE 'DEI' ISN'T 'WOKE'

Sleep societies announce 2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award recipient

Award recognizes the work of University of Arizona sleep researcher Michael Grandner

Grant and Award Announcement

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE

DARIEN, IL – Clinical psychologist Michael A. Grandner is the recipient of the 2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award from the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint initiative of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to sleep medicine or sleep and circadian science through their work to increase the diversity, equity and inclusion of sleep medicine providers, or to develop educational programs, research, or clinical work aimed at reducing disparities. The award presentation will occur Monday, June 3, during the plenary session of the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting of the APSS in Houston.

“Receiving this award is an incredible and humbling honor, and I hope to continue to live up to what it represents,” said Grandner, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology. “I have dedicated my career to not only studying how sleep health matters in terms of health and health disparities, but also doing what I can to recruit, encourage, support, and cultivate a broad diversity of voices to our field. Not only does it make us more inclusive, but it brings perspectives, questions and insights that make our science better.”

Grandner is director of the sleep and health research program at the University of Arizona and director of the behavioral sleep medicine clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. His work focuses on translational sleep research and behavioral sleep medicine, including studies of sleep as a domain of health behavior and the development and implementation of behavioral interventions for insufficient sleep and sleep disorders.

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About the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC
The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS organizes the SLEEP annual meeting each June (sleepmeeting.org).

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (aasm.org).

About the Sleep Research Society
The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).

 

"Nanokillers" against bacteria and other pathogens

An UPV team develops an intelligent nanodevice based on a component of cinnamon essential oil as an antimicrobial agent

UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA

 

IMAGE: 

UPV TEAM

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CREDIT: UPV

A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomaterials y Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) has developed an intelligent nano killer based on a component of cinnamon essential oil (cinnamaldehyde) for use as an antimicrobial agent.

So far, the new nanodevice has shown significant efficacy against pathogenic microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. It could be applied for the elimination of pathogens that may be present in food, wastewater and in the treatment of nosocomial infections, which are those acquired during hospital stays.

In the case of Escherichia coli, most strains are harmless, although some can cause severe abdominal cramping or acute diarrhea and vomiting. In the case of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, its effects can be skin infections, bloodstream infections, osteomyelitis, or pneumonia. Meanwhile, Candida albicans is a fungus found in different biological fluids, causing diseases such as candidemia or invasive candidiasis.

Easy application

According to the team of the IDM-CIBER NanoSens group, applying this " nanokiller " would be very simple. "For example, we could create a spray, make a formulation based on water and other compounds, and apply it directly. We could make a water-based formulation in the field and spray it directly, like any pesticide today. And in hospitals, it could be applied on bandages, and we could even try to make a capsule that could be taken orally," explains Andrea Bernardos, a researcher in the NanoSens group at the Inter-University Institute for Molecular Recognition Research and Technological Development (IDM).

High efficacy

The new nanodevice improves the efficacy of encapsulated cinnamaldehyde compared to the free compound: about 52-fold for Escherichia coli, about 60-fold for Staphylococcus aureus, and about 7-fold for Candida albicans.

"The increase in the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil component is possible thanks to the decrease in its volatility due to its encapsulation in a porous silica matrix and the increase in its local concentration when released due to the presence of the microorganisms," highlights Andrea Bernardos, a researcher at the Inter-University Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM).

It stands out for its high antimicrobial activity at very low doses, among its advantages. In addition, it enhances the antimicrobial properties of free cinnamaldehyde with a reduction of the biocidal dose of around 98% for bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and 72% for the yeast strain (Candida albicans) when the nanodevice is applied.

"Moreover, this type of device containing natural biocides (such as essential oil components) whose release is controlled by the presence of pathogens could also be applied in fields such as biomedicine, food technology, agriculture, and many others," concludes Ángela Morellá-Aucejo, also an IDM researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de València.

The results of this study have been published in the journal Biomaterials Advances.

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JOURNAL

Biomaterials Advances

DOI

10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.213840. 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Remarkable enhancement of cinnamaldehyde antimicrobial activity encapsulated in capped mesoporous nanoparticles: A new “nanokiller” approach in the era of antimicrobial resistance

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Mar-2024

 

A new study reveals key role of plant-bacteria communication for the assembly of a healthy plant microbiome supporting sustainable plant nutrition

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

 

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NITROGEN NUTRITION AND SIGNALING DURING ROOT NODULE SYMBIOSIS IMPACT THE COMMUNITY ASSEMBLIES. LOTUS PLANTS GROWN IN THE PRESENCE OF INORGANIC NITROGEN SECRETE SPECIFIC METABOLITES AND ASSEMBLE A MICROBIAL COMMUNITY WITH LOW CONNECTIVITY. LOTUS PLANTS GROWN IN SYMBIOSIS-PERMISSIVE CONDITIONS SECRETE METABOLITES SUCH AS FLAVONOIDS (1) THAT INDUCE NOD FACTOR PRODUCTION IN COMPATIBLE NITROGEN-FIXING RHIZOBIUMISOLATES (2). NOD FACTORS ARE RECOGNIZED BY THE LOTUS HOST WHICH INITIATES A SIGNALING PATHWAY (3) TO ACCOMMODATE THE SYMBIONT. SYMBIOTICALLY ACTIVE ROOTS HAVE AN EXUDATE PROFILE (4) AND ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES THAT DIFFER FROM PLANTS GROWN IN THE PRESENCE OF INORGANIC NITROGEN. IT REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED HOW BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SYMBIOTICALLY ACTIVE PLANTS IMPACT THE HOST TO PROMOTE THE SYMBIOTIC ASSOCIATION AND PLANT GROWTH (5

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CREDIT: FROM KE TAO ET AL. 2024)

The results in Nature Communications find that symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing bacteria can ensure dominance among soil microbes due to its signalling-based communication with the legume plant host. Researchers discovered that when legumes need nitrogen, they will send out from the roots and into the soil specific molecules that are in turn recognized by the symbiotic bacteria to produce another molecule, the Nod factor which is recognized back by the legume plant. When this mutual recognition was established, the plant will modify the panel of root secreted molecules and by this will affect which soil bacteria can grow in the vicinity of their roots.

Plants like legumes have a special relationship with certain bacteria in the soil. These bacteria help the plants grow in soil that does not have much nitrogen by converting nitrogen from the air into a usable form. Depending on the nitrogen available in the soil, legume plants can be in different states: lacking nitrogen, in a partnership with the bacteria, or using nitrogen from inorganic sources like nitrate.

The symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria was shown before to affect the rest of microorganisms living around the plant roots. However, it is not always clear how this partnership affects other microbes, and whether it depends on how much nitrogen the plant has.

In the new study, the team found that the communities of bacteria around the roots and in the surrounding soil differ depending on and have predictive power of the plant's nitrogen status. Moreover, it was found that signalling exchange between legume and its symbiont plays a critical role in modulating the profile of root secreted molecules, influencing the assembly of a symbiotic root microbiome.

The results provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between nitrogen nutrition, Nod factor signaling, and root microbiome assembly. The findings emphasize the importance of symbiosis and nitrogen nutrition in shaping plant-bacteria interactions, offering potential applications in agriculture and sustainable plant growth.

This is a clear example of interdisciplinary research, where the expertise in chemistry from Associate Prof. Dr. Marianne Glasius to analyze root exudates, in mathematics from Prof. Dr. Rasmus Waagepetersen to develop predictive models, and plant genetics and microbiome from Prof. Dr. Simona Radutoiu enabled complex causational studies of root-associated bacterial communities. By integrating these diverse fields, the researchers were able to answer key questions about how nitrogen nutrition and symbiosis influence plant-bacteria interactions, providing valuable insights for sustainable agriculture.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-47752-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Nitrogen and Nod factor signaling determine Lotus japonicus root exudate composition and bacterial assembly

 

Developing novel methods to detect antibiotics in vegetables and earthworms

The IBeA research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has managed to detect very low levels of antimicrobials in vegetables and earthworms

UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

“The massive use of antibiotics and antimicrobials in people and animals has led to these substances appearing in unexpected environmental samples,” said Irantzu Vergara, researcher in the UPV/EHU’s IBeA group. Drugs that do not end up fully metabolised in the body reach the environment through various routes (such as manure, sewage sludge used as fertilisers, etc.), are leached into the soil and may end up transferring to crops or earthworms, which are at the base of the food chain. “Although no short-term toxicity has been demonstrated in humans, the unintended consumption of antibiotics in the diet can cause problems for allergic individuals; and the effects of long-term exposure remain unknown. However, the biggest problem associated with this contamination is the spread of multi-resistant bacteria; it is difficult to find an effective treatment in the event of infection, which is responsible for 33,000 deaths per year across Europe,” explained Vergara.

To address this problem, the IBeA research group has developed two analytical methods enabling very low concentrations of antimicrobials in vegetables and earthworms to be detected: “Although high drug concentrations can be expected in manure, much lower concentrations are expected after these substances have transferred to plants or earthworms, so sensitive methods are needed to detect them,” said Vergara.

The methods developed by Vergara in the UPV/EHU labs enable a wide range of antimicrobial drugs to be simultaneously determined, as well as various products deriving from their transformation. As the researcher explained, “the drugs can be excreted in their original form or transformed after being metabolised (after undergoing certain changes in the body). What is more, these are very sensitive compounds which, under conditions of temperature, humidity, light, etc., can be very easily degraded and transformed in the environment.”

The methods constitute a significant breakthrough, as “until now there have been no analytical methods to simultaneously study a wide range of antimicrobials in plants and earthworms, and they did not focus on the analysis of transformation products, either. Each family of antibiotics has different physicochemical properties, and it is very important that the same analytical method can be used to analyse all of them. We have also achieved pretty low detection limits, which allow us to detect very low concentrations of these substances in the environment.”

Samples of vegetables taken in different locations across the Basque Autonomous Community

In the case of vegetables, the research group took samples from different locations of the Basque Country, from both organic and non-organic agriculture. “We set out to measure the scale of the antibiotics problem in the Basque Autonomous Community. The analytical studies conducted revealed data on the existence of antimicrobial drugs and their derivatives in vegetables: we found that there is a transfer of both antimicrobials and degradation products between soil and vegetables. In other words, there is a problem of antimicrobial contamination in the Basque Country,” she added.

In the case of earthworms, however, they conducted an experiment under controlled conditions of exposure, in other words “this is a study designed and conducted in the laboratory using earthworms. We wanted to check whether, in the case of contaminated soil, the earthworms that feed on this soil are able to accumulate antimicrobials in their bodies. The study did in fact reveal an accumulation of these antimicrobials in the body, which generate a large variety of previously unreported transformation products.”

Vergara stressed the need to “continue multidisciplinary research along these lines, as this is a problem that is going to affect everyone over the coming decades”. Water treatment plants currently do not have fully effective treatments to remove residual drugs, and this water is often used for irrigation. “As there is such a large, constant input of antimicrobials into the environment, the bacteria are getting used to coexisting with them and generating resistance,” she explained. The researcher warned that “in fact, there are already cases in which there are no effective treatments for people who become infected with multi-resistant bacteria. It is important to drive forward research in order to minimise the problem or to start to look for solutions in the short to medium term”.

Additional information

This study is part of the PhD thesis being written up by Irantzu Vergara in the IBeA research group at the UPV/EHU under the supervision of Ailette Prieto and Maitane Olivares.

Bibliographic reference

• I. Vergara-Luis, C.F. Rutkoski, E. Urionabarrenetxea, E.A. Almeida, E. Anakabe, M. Olivares, M. Soto, A. Prieto
• Antimicrobials in Eisenia fetida earthworms: A comprehensive study from method development to the assessment of uptake and degradation
• Science of The Total Environment
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171214
• I. Vergara-Luis, M. Jin, J.C. Baez-Millán, B. González-Gaya, I. Ijurco, M. Lacuesta, M. Olivares, A. Prieto
• Multitarget and suspect-screening of antimicrobials in vegetables samples: Uptake experiments and identification of transformation products
• Food Chemistry
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138643

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JOURNAL

Food Chemistry

DOI

10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138643 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024

SCI-FI-TEK

New discoveries about the nature of light could improve methods for heating fusion plasma

DOE/PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY

 

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AN ARTIST’S CONCEPTION OF PHOTONS, THE PARTICLES THAT MAKE UP LIGHT, PERTURBING PLASMA

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CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: KYLE PALMER / PPPL COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

Both literally and figuratively, light pervades the world. It banishes darkness, conveys telecommunications signals between continents and makes visible the invisible, from faraway galaxies to the smallest bacterium. Light can also help heat the plasma within ring-shaped devices known as tokamaks as scientists worldwide strive to harness the fusion process to generate green electricity.

Now, scientists have made discoveries about light particles known as photons that could aid the quest for fusion energy. By performing a series of mathematical calculations, the researchers found that one of a photon’s basic properties is topological, meaning that it doesn’t change even as the photon moves through different materials and environments.

This property is polarization, the direction — left or right — that electric fields take as they move around a photon. Because of basic physical laws, a photon’s polarization helps determine the direction the photon travels and limits its movement. Therefore, a beam of light made up of only photons with one type of polarization cannot spread into every part of a given space. These findings demonstrate the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s (PPPL) strengths in theoretical physics and fusion research.

“Having a more accurate understanding of the fundamental nature of photons could lead to scientists designing better light beams for heating and measuring plasma,” said Hong Qin, a principal research physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) PPPL and co-author of a paper reporting the results in Physical Review D.

Simplifying a complicated problem

Though the researchers were studying individual photons, they were doing so as a way to solve a larger, more difficult problem — how to use beams of intense light to excite long-lasting perturbations in the plasma that could help maintain the high temperatures needed for fusion.

Known as topological waves, these wiggles often occur on the border of two different regions, like plasma and the vacuum in tokamaks at its outer edge. They are not especially exotic — they occur naturally in Earth’s atmosphere, where they help produce El Niño, a gathering of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that affects weather in North and South America. To produce these waves in plasma, scientists must have a greater understanding of light — specifically, the same sort of radio-frequency wave used in microwave ovens — which physicists already use to heat plasma. With greater understanding comes the greater possibility of control.

“We are trying to find similar waves for fusion,” said Qin. “They are not easily stopped, so if we could create them in plasma, we could increase the efficiency of plasma heating and help create the conditions for fusion.” The technique resembles ringing a bell. Just as using a hammer to hit a bell causes the metal to move in such a way that it creates sound, the scientists want to strike plasma with light so it wiggles in a certain way to create sustained heat.

Solving a problem by simplifying it happens throughout science. “If you’re learning to play a song on the piano, you don’t start by trying to play the whole song at full speed,” said Eric Palmerduca, a graduate student in the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics, which is based at PPPL, and lead author of the paper. “You start playing it at a slower tempo; you break it into small parts; maybe you learn each hand separately. We do this all the time in science — breaking a bigger problem up into smaller problems, solving them one or two at a time, and then putting them back together to solve the big problem.”

Turn, turn, turn

In addition to discovering that a photon’s polarization is topological, the scientists found that the spinning motion of photons could not be separated into internal and external components. Think of Earth: It both spins on its axis, producing day and night, and orbits the sun, producing the seasons. These two types of motion typically do not affect each other; for instance, Earth’s rotation around its axis does not depend on its revolution around the sun. In fact, the turning motion of all objects with mass can be separated this way.

But scientists have not been so sure about particles like photons, which do not have mass. “Most experimentalists assume that the angular momentum of light can be split into spin and orbital angular momentum,” said Palmerduca. “However, among theorists, there has been a long debate about the correct way to do this splitting or whether it is even possible to do this splitting. Our work helps settle this debate, showing that the angular momentum of photons cannot be split into spin and orbital components.”

Moreover, Palmerduca and Qin established that the two movement components can’t be split because of a photon’s topological, unchanging properties, like its polarization. This novel finding has implications for the laboratory. “These results mean that we need a better theoretical explanation of what is going on in our experiments,” Palmerduca said.

All of these findings about photons give the researchers a clearer picture of how light behaves. With a greater understanding of light beams, they hope to figure out how to create topological waves that could be helpful for fusion research.

Insights for theoretical physics

Palmerduca notes that the photon findings demonstrate PPPL’s strengths in theoretical physics. The findings relate to a mathematical result known as the Hairy Ball Theorem. “The theorem states that if you have a ball covered with hairs, you can’t comb all the hairs flat without creating a cowlick somewhere on the ball. Physicists thought this implied that you could not have a light source that sends photons in all directions at the same time,” Palmerduca said. He and Qin found, however, that this is not correct because the theorem does not take into account, mathematically, that photon electric fields can rotate.

The findings also amend research by former Princeton University Professor of Physics Eugene Wigner, who Palmerduca described as one of the most important theoretical physicists of the 20th century. Wigner realized that using principles derived from Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, he could describe all the possible elementary particles in the universe, even those that hadn’t been discovered yet. But while his classification system is accurate for particles with mass, it produces inaccurate results for massless particles, like photons. “Qin and I showed that using topology,” Palmerduca said, “we can modify Wigner’s classification for massless particles, giving a description of photons that works in all directions at the same time.”

A clearer understanding for the future

In future research, Qin and Palmerduca plan to explore how to create beneficial topological waves that heat plasma without making unhelpful varieties that siphon the heat away. “Some deleterious topological waves can be excited unintentionally, and we want to understand them so that they can be removed from the system,” Qin said. “In this sense, topological waves are like new breeds of insects. Some are beneficial for the garden, and some of them are pests.”

Meanwhile, they are excited about the current findings. “We have a clearer theoretical understanding of the photons that could help excite topological waves,” Qin said. “Now it’s time to build something so we can use them in the quest for fusion energy.”

This research was funded by the DOE award DE-AC02-09CH11466.

PPPL is mastering the art of using plasma — the fourth state of matter — to solve some of the world's toughest science and technology challenges. Nestled on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, New Jersey, our research ignites innovation in a range of applications, including fusion energy, nanoscale fabrication, quantum materials and devices, and sustainability science. The University manages the Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the nation’s single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Feel the heat at https://energy.gov/science and http://www.pppl.gov.  

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JOURNAL

Physical Review D

ARTICLE TITLE

Photon Topology

 

Iron could be key to less expensive, greener lithium-ion batteries, research finds

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

 

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A COLLABORATION CO-LED BY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY RESEARCHER DAVID JI IS HOPING TO SPARK A GREEN BATTERY REVOLUTION BY SHOWING THAT IRON INSTEAD OF COBALT AND NICKEL CAN BE USED AS A CATHODE MATERIAL IN LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES.

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CREDIT: IMAGE PROVIDED BY XIULEI "DAVID" JI, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

CORVALLIS, Ore. – What if a common element rather than scarce, expensive ones was a key component in electric car batteries?

A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries.

The findings, published today in Science Advances, are important for multiple reasons, Oregon State’s Xiulei “David” Ji notes.

“We’ve transformed the reactivity of iron metal, the cheapest metal commodity,” he said. “Our electrode can offer a higher energy density than the state-of-the-art cathode materials in electric vehicles. And since we use iron, whose cost can be less than a dollar per kilogram – a small fraction of nickel and cobalt, which are indispensable in current high-energy lithium-ion batteries – the cost of our batteries is potentially much lower.”

At present, the cathode represents 50% of the cost in making a lithium-ion battery cell, Ji said. Beyond economics, iron-based cathodes would allow for greater safety and sustainability, he added.

As more and more lithium-ion batteries are manufactured to electrify the transportation sector, global demand for nickel and cobalt has soared. Ji points out that in a matter of a couple of decades, predicted shortages in nickel and cobalt will put the brakes on battery production as it’s currently done.

In addition, those elements’ energy density is already being extended to its ceiling level – if it were pushed further, oxygen released during charging could cause batteries to ignite – plus cobalt is toxic, meaning it can contaminate ecosystems and water sources if it leaches out of landfills.

Put it all together, Ji said, and it’s easy to understand the global quest for new, more sustainable battery chemistries.

A battery stores power in the form of chemical energy and through reactions converts it to the electrical energy needed to power vehicles as well as cellphones, laptops and many other devices and machines. There are multiple types of batteries, but most of them work the same basic way and contain the same basic components.

A battery consists of two electrodes – the anode and cathode, typically made of different materials – as well as a separator and electrolyte, a chemical medium that allows for the flow of electrical charge. During battery discharge, electrons flow from the anode into an external circuit and then collect at the cathode.

In a lithium-ion battery, as its name suggests, a charge is carried via lithium ions as they move through the electrolyte from the anode to the cathode during discharge, and back again during recharging.

“Our iron-based cathode will not be limited by a shortage of resources,” said Ji, explaining that iron, in addition to being the most common element on Earth as measured by mass, is the fourth-most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. “We will not run out of iron till the sun turns into a red giant.”

Ji and collaborators from multiple universities and national laboratories increased the reactivity of iron in their cathode by designing a chemical environment based on a blend of fluorine and phosphate anions – ions that are negatively charged.

The blend, thoroughly mixed as a solid solution, allows for the reversible conversion – meaning the battery can be recharged – of a fine mixture of iron powder, lithium fluoride and lithium phosphate into iron salts.

“We’ve demonstrated that the materials design with anions can break the ceiling of energy density for batteries that are more sustainable and cost less,” Ji said. “We’re not using some more expensive salt in conjunction with iron – just those the battery industry has been using and then iron powder. To put this new cathode in applications, one needs to change nothing else – no new anodes, no new production lines, no new design of the battery. We are just replacing one thing, the cathode.”

Storage efficiency still needs to be improved, Ji said. Right now, not all of the electricity put into the battery during charging is available for use upon discharge. When those improvements are made, and Ji expects they will be, the result will be a battery that works much better than ones currently in use while costing less and being greener.

“If there is investment in this technology, it shouldn’t take long for it to be commercially available,” Ji said. “We need the visionaries of the industry to allocate resources to this emerging field. The world can have a cathode industry based on a metal that’s almost free compared to cobalt and nickel. And while you have to work really hard to recycle cobalt and nickel, you don’t even have to recycle iron – it just turns into rust if you let it go.”

The Basic Energy Sciences program of the U.S. Department of Energy funded this research, which was co-led by Tongchao Liu of Argonne National Laboratory and also included Oregon State’s Mingliang Yu, Min Soo Jung and Sean Sandstrom. Scientists from Vanderbilt University, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory contributed as well.

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adn4441 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Unlocking Iron Metal as a Cathode for Sustainable Li-ion Batteries by an Anion Solid-Solution

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024

 

Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency

Thermophotovoltaics developed at U-M can recover significantly more energy stored in heat batteries

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Images

Closing in on the theoretical maximum efficiency, devices for turning heat into electricity are edging closer to being practical for use on the grid, according to University of Michigan research. 

 

Heat batteries could store intermittent renewable energy during peak production hours, relying on a thermal version of solar cells to convert it into electricity later. 

 

"As we include higher fractions of renewables on the grid to reach decarbonization goals, we need lower costs and longer durations of energy storage as the energy generated by solar and wind does not match when the energy is used," Andrej Lenert, U-M associate professor of chemical engineering and corresponding author of the study recently published in Joule.

 

Thermophotovoltaic cells work similarly to photovoltaic cells, commonly known as solar cells. Both convert electromagnetic radiation into electricity, but thermophotovoltaics use the lower energy infrared photons rather than the higher energy photons of visible light. 

 

The team reports that their new device has a power conversion efficiency of 44% at 1435°C, within the target range for existing high-temperature energy storage  (1200°C-1600°C). It surpasses the 37% achieved by previous designs within this range of temperatures.

 

"It's a form of battery, but one that's very passive. You don't have to mine lithium as you do with electrochemical cells, which means you don't have to compete with the electric vehicle market. Unlike pumped water for hydroelectric energy storage, you can put it anywhere and don't need a water source nearby," said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering at U-M and contributing author of the study.

 

In a heat battery, thermophotovoltaics would surround a block of heated material at a temperature of at least 1000°C. It might reach that temperature by passing electricity from a wind or solar farm through a resistor or by absorbing excess heat from solar thermal energy or steel, glass or concrete production. 

 

"Essentially, using electricity to heat something up is a very simple and inexpensive method to store energy relative to lithium ion batteries. It gives you access to many different materials to use as a storage medium for thermal batteries," Lenert said.

 

The heated storage material radiates thermal photons with a range of energies. At 1435°C, about 20-30% of those have enough energy to generate electricity in the team's thermophotovoltaic cells. The key to this study was optimizing the semiconductor material, which captures the photons, to broaden its preferred photon energies while aligning with the dominant energies produced by the heat source.

 

But the heat source also produces photons above and below the energies that the semiconductor can convert to electricity. Without careful engineering, those would be lost. 

 

To solve this problem, the researchers built a thin layer of air into the thermophotovoltaic cell just beyond the semiconductor and added a gold reflector beyond the air gap—a structure they call an air bridge. This cavity helped trap photons with the right energies so that they entered the semiconductor and sent the rest back into the heat storage material, where the energy had another chance to be re-emitted as a photon the semiconductor could capture.

 

"Unlike solar cells, thermophotovoltaic cells can recuperate or recycle photons that are not useful," said Bosun Roy-Layinde, U-M doctoral student of chemical engineering and first author of the study.

 

A recent study found stacking two air bridges improves the design, increasing both the range of photons converted to electricity and the useful temperature range for heat batteries.

 

"We're not yet at the efficiency limit of this technology. I am confident that we will get higher than 44% and be pushing 50% in the not-too-distant future," said Forrest, who also is the Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, materials science and engineering, and physics. 

 

The team has applied for patent protection with the assistance of U-M Innovation Partnerships and is seeking partners to bring the technology to market.

 

This research is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (grant numbers 2018572 and 2144662) and the Army Research Office (grant number W911-NF-17-0312).   

 

Study: High efficiency air-bridge thermophotovoltaic cells (DOI:10.1016/j.joule.2024.05.002)

 

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JOURNAL

Joule

DOI

10.1016/j.joule.2024.05.002