The Origins of Ion Conductivity in MOF-Ionic Liquids Hybrid Solid Electrolytes

Fast Li+ solid ion conductors are a key component of all-solid-state batteries, a technology currently under development. The possible use of metallic lithium as active material in solid-state batteries warrants a quantum step improvement of battery specific energy, enabling further electric vehicles application. Hereby, we report the synthesis and ion conduction properties of a new solid hybrid electrolyte based on the MIL-121 metal organic framework (MOF) structure. After an ion exchange procedure that introduces Li+ in the structure, a known quantity of a soaking electrolyte is incorporated. The soaking electrolyte is based on the EMIM-TFSI ionic liquid, thus we can classify our formulation as a MOF–ionic liquid hybrid solid electrolyte. Electrical conductivity is investigated by impedance spectroscopy and preliminary studies of ion dynamics are conducted by 7Li NMR. The field of MOF-based ion conductors remains in incipient stages of research. Our report paves the way towards the rational design of new solid-state ion conductors.

Improving the Performance of Practical Quantum Key Distribution With Advantage Distillation Technology

To improve the maximal transmission distance and the maximal error rate tolerance, we apply the advantage distillation technology to analyze security of the practical decoy-sate quantum key distribution system. Based on the practical experimental parameters, the device-dependent quantum key distribution protocols and the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution protocols have been respectively analyzed, and our analysis results demonstrate that the advantage distillation technology can significantly improve the performance of different quantum key distribution protocols. In the four-state and six-state device-dependent quantum key distribution protocols, we prove that the maximal transmission distance can be improved from 142 km to 180 km and from 146 km to 187 km respectively. In the four-state and six-state measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution protocols, we prove that the maximal transmission distance can be improved from 195 km to 273 km and from 200 km to 282 km respectively. More interestingly, the advantage distillation technology does not need to change the hardware devices about the quantum step, thus it can be conveniently to be applied in various practical quantum key distribution systems.

Infrastructure and InfraReg: on rousing the international law ‘Wizards of Is’

Physical, informational and now digital infrastructure features throughout Nation-State consolidation and imperial extension, in war preparedness and war logistics, in resource extraction and energy capture and transit, in each quantum step in economic globalisation, in mass migrations and religious missions, in the global scaling of finance and financialisation, in the global digital economy, in artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, in economic development strategies and in China's vast Belt and Road Initiative. International law has largely aligned with these enterprises, but has seemed not effectively to address massive anthropocenic degradation, AI, new biotech, and the human and planetary consequences of extractive capitalism. Science and technology studies, and work extending from Bruno Latour and Susan Leigh Star to governance-by-prototype and ‘new materialism’, have generated rich insights about infrastructure. These are being extended to ‘infrastructure as regulation’ (the infra-reg project). This paper explores implications for reinvigorating deliberative forward-planning international law projects to address technologically driven transformation, which follow from ‘thinking infrastructurally’.

Perspectives on Galactic Structure

The Milky Way is currently the subject of great observational effort. This includes both ESA's unique Gaia mission, as well as a multitude of ground-based surveys. Several of these are already returning data of unprecedented depth and quality for large numbers of Milky Way stars. These new data are likely to lead to a quantum step in our understanding of Milky Way structure and evolution. Because the new data will allow us to study our Galaxy at much greater resolution than possible in other galaxies, we also expect to greatly improve our understanding of disk galaxy formation in general.