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1. Effect of background gas composition on the stoichiometry and lithium ion conductivity of pulse laser deposited epitaxial lithium lanthanum tantalate (Li3 x La1/3− x TaO3)

   https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0003457  

   Brummel, Ian A.; Zhou, Chuanzhen; Ihlefeld, Jon F. (May 2024, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A)

   Lithium lanthanum tantalate (Li3xLa1/3−xTaO3, x = 0.075) thin films were grown via pulsed laser deposition using background gas atmospheres with varying partial pressures of oxygen and argon. The background gas composition was varied from 100% to 6.6% oxygen, with the pressure fixed at 150 mTorr. The maximum ion conductivity of 1.5 × 10−6 S/cm was found for the film deposited in 100% oxygen. The ion conductivity of the films was found to decrease with reduced oxygen content from 100% to 16.6% O2 in the background gas. The 6.6% oxygen background condition produced ion conductivity that approached that of the 100% oxygen condition film. The lithium transfer from the target to the film was found to decrease monotonically with decreasing oxygen content in the background gas but did not account for all changes in the ion conductivity. The activation energy of ion conduction was measured and found to correlate well with the measured ion conductivity trends. Analysis of x-ray diffraction results revealed that the films also exhibited a change in the lattice parameter that directly correlated with the ion conduction activation energy, indicating that a primary factor for determining the conductivity of these films is the changing size of the ion conduction bottleneck, which controls the activation energy of ion conduction. 

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2. Observation of the surface layer of lithium metal using in situ spectroscopy

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0096546  

   Seo, Ambrose; Meyer, Andrew; Shrestha, Sujan; Wang, Ming; Xiao, Xingcheng; Cheng, Yang-Tse (May 2022, Applied Physics Letters)

   We have investigated the surface of lithium metal using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and optical spectroscopic ellipsometry. Even if we prepare the surface of lithium metal rigorously by chemical cleaning and mechanical polishing inside a glovebox, both spectroscopic investigations show the existence of a few tens of nanometer-thick surface layers, consisting of lithium oxides and lithium carbonates. When lithium metal is exposed to room air (∼50% moisture), in situ real-time monitoring of optical spectra indicates that the surface layer grows at a rate of approximately 24 nm/min, presumably driven by an interface-controlled process. Our results hint that surface-layer-free lithium metals are formidable to achieve by a simple cleaning/polishing method, suggesting that the initial interface between lithium metal electrodes and solid-state electrolytes in fabricated lithium metal batteries can differ from an ideal lithium/electrolyte contact. 

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3. Benchmark calculations of the ² D Rydberg spectrum of lithium

   https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2021.1925765  

   Stanke, Monika; Palikot, Ewa; Sharkey, Keeper L.; Adamowicz, Ludwik (July 2021, Molecular Physics)

   null (Ed.)
4. Ab initio single-neutron spectroscopic overlaps in lithium isotopes

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.108.054303  

   Sargsyan, G. H.; Launey, K. D.; Shaffer, R. M.; Marley, S. T.; Dudeck, N.; Mercenne, A.; Dytrych, T.; Draayer, J. P. (November 2023, Physical Review C)
5. Microbial Mineralization with Lysinibacillus sphaericus for Selective Lithium Nanoparticle Extraction

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c06540  

   Vigil, Toriana N; Johnson, Grayson C; Jacob, Sarah G; Spangler, Leah C; Berger, Bryan W (September 2024, Environmental Science & Technology)

   Lithium is a critical mineral in a wide range of current technologies, and demand continues to grow with the transition to a green economy. Current lithium mining and extraction practices are often highly ecologically damaging, in part due to the large amount of water and energy they consume. Biomineralization is a natural process that transforms inorganic precursors to minerals. Microbial biomineralization has potential as an ecofriendly alternative to current lithium extraction techniques. This work demonstrates Lysinibacillus sphaericus biomineralization of lithium chloride to lithium hydroxide. Quantitative analysis of biomineralized lithium via the 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-benzoxazole fluorescence assay reveals significantly greater recovery with L. sphaericus than without. Furthermore, L. sphaericus biomineralization is specific to lithium over sodium. The nanoparticles produced were further characterized via Fourier transform infrared and transmission electron microscopy analysis as crystalline lithium hydroxide, which is an advanced functional material. Finally, ESI–LC/MS was used to identify several proteins involved in this microbial biomineralization process, including the S-layer protein. Through the isolation of L. sphaericus ghosts, this work shows that the S-layer protein alone plays a critical role in the biomineralization of crystalline lithium hydroxide nanoparticles. Through this study of microbial biomineralization of lithium with L. sphaericus, there is potential to develop innovative and environmentally friendly extraction techniques. 

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