We are today experiencing an increasing demand for high energy density storage devices like the lithium-ion battery for applications in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles (EV) and as interim storage for renewable energy. High capacity retention and long cycle life are prerequisites, particularly for the EV market. The key for a long cycle life is the formation of a stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the surface of the negative electrode, which typically forms on the first cycles due to decomposition reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface. More control over the surface layer can be gained when the layer is generated prior to the battery operation. Such a layer can be tailored more easily and can reduce the loss of lithium inventory considerably. In this context, water-soluble electrode binders, e.g. sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), have proven themselves exceptionally useful. Since the binder is a standard component in composite electrodes anyway, its integration into the electrode fabrication process is easily accomplished. This thesis work investigates the parameters that govern binder distribution in elec-trode coatings, control the stability and electrochemical performance of the elec-trode and that determine the composition of the surface layer. Several commonly used electrode materials (graphite, silicon and lithium titanate) have been applied in order to study the impact of the binder on the electrode morphology and the differ-ent electrode-electrolyte interfaces. The results are correlated with the electrochemi-cal performance and with the SEI composition obtained by in-house and synchro-tron-based photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). The results demonstrate that the poor swellability of these water-soluble binders leads to a protection of the active material, given that the surface coverage is high and the binder evenly distributed. Although on the laboratory scale electrode formu-lations with a high binder content are common, they have little practical use in commercial devices due to the high content of inactive material. As the binder con-tent is decreased, complete surface coverage is more difficult to achieve and the binder distribution is more strongly coupled to the particle-binder interactions during the preparation process. Moreover, it is demonstrated in this thesis how these inter-actions are related to the surface area of the electrode components applied, the surface composition and the electrochemistry of the electrode. As a result of the smaller binder contents the benefits provided by CMC-Na and PAA at the electrode surface are compromised and the performance differs less distinctly from electrodes fabricated with the conventional binder, i.e. poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVdF). Composites of alloying and conversion materials, on the other hand, typically em-ploy binders in larger amounts. Despite the frequently noted resiliency to volume expansion, which is also a positive side effect of the poor swellability of the binder in the electrolyte, the protection of the surface and the formation of a more stable interface are the major cause for the improved electrochemical behaviour, com-pared to electrodes employing PVdF binders.

Neste trabalho, estudamos a interação de um peptídeo antimicrobiano com membranas modelo, por meio de dicroísmo circular (CD), fluorescência e microscopia óptica. Tal peptídeo, chamado de híbrido, foi sintetizado como uma mistura das regiões mais ativas de dois outros peptídeos antimicrobianos, chamados de pediocina A e plantaricina 149. Esse peptídeo híbrido possui carga de +8, em pH fisiológico, e as membranas estudadas foram compostas por uma mistura de fosfolipídeos zwiteriônicos (cabeça polar de fosfatidilcolina, PC) e aniônicos (cabeça polar de fosfatidilglicerol, PG), em diferentes razões molares. Os resultados de CD evidenciaram que este peptídeo se apresenta de forma desordenada em solução aquosa, porém adota uma conformação helicoidal na presença de grandes vesículas unilamelares carregadas negativamente (LUVs). A quantidade de componente helicoidal é dependente da quantidade de lipídeo negativo presente na bicamada lipídica. A fluorescência do triptofano revelou um deslocamento para o azul muito significativo, chegando a 20 nm para membranas compostas por 100 mol% de PG. Os dois resultados (CD e fluorescência) indicam que a região dos aminoácidos que contém o triptofano deve estar interagindo muito fortemente com a região hidrofóbica da membrana, numa conformação tipo-helicoidal. Experimentos de vazamento de carboxifluoresceína encapsulada em LUVs, por espectroscopia de fluorescência, demonstraram a ação lítica do peptídeo induzindo a formação de poros nas membranas, independentemente da composição das LUVs. Entretanto, a razão molar peptídeo:lipídeo necessária para induzir vazamento da sonda foi menor para membranas lipídicas compostas por bicamadas contendo altas quantidades de PG. Tal fato coloca em evidência o papel fundamental da interação eletrostática entre os peptídeos carregados positivamente com as membranas carregadas negativamente para o processo de ligação e mecanismo de ação deste peptídeo. Para estudar mais detalhadamente o mecanismo de ação, realizamos experimentos de microscopia óptica em vesículas unilamelares gigantes. Concluímos que o peptídeo provoca total desestabilização das vesículas unilamelares gigantes, com formação de poros, seguidos de ruptura da bicamada lipídica e sua transformação em pequenos e mal definidos complexos de peptídeos e fosfolipídeos. / In this work, we investigated the interaction between an antibacterial peptide with model membranes, by means of circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and optical microscopy. Such a peptide was synthesized from the most active regions of two others antimicrobial peptides, namely pediocin A and plantaricin 149. The hybrid peptide has a net charge of ~ +8, at physiological pH, and the studied model membranes were composed of a mixture of zwitterionic phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine polar head) and anionic phospholipids (phosphatidylglycerol polar head), at differente molar ratio. The CD results evidenced that the peptide was essentially structureless in aqueous solution, but acquired an helical conformation in the presence of charged large unillamellar vesicles LUVs. The helical content is dependent on the negative charge amount on membrane surface. The tryptophan fluorescence revealed a significant blue shift of the maximium emission wavelength, up to 20 nm for the membranes composed of 100 mol% of PG in respect to the peptide fluorescence in the aqueous solution. This indicates that part of the aminoacid residues, that contains the tryptophan, must be buried into the hydrophobic medium of the lipid membrane. Leakage experiments using fluorescence spectroscopy of carboxyfluorescein encapsulated in LUVs demonstrated the lytic action of the peptide, inducing the pore formation in the membrane, regardless of lipid membrane composition. However, it should be stressed that the peptide:lipid molar ratio necessary to induce probe leakage was smaller for lipid membranes made up of large PG amounts. Such evidence points out the key role of the electrostatic interaction between a positively charged peptide and the negatively charged membrane, mediated by hydrophobic contribution. To gain further insight into the lytic mechanism of the peptide, we performed single vesicle experiments using giant unilamellar vesicles under optical microscopy observations. We conclude that the peptide provokes a total membrane desestabilization, with pore formation, followed by a membrane disruption and its transformation into smaller and not well defined complexes of phospholipids and peptides.

Neste trabalho, estudamos a interação de um peptídeo antimicrobiano com membranas modelo, por meio de dicroísmo circular (CD), fluorescência e microscopia óptica. Tal peptídeo, chamado de híbrido, foi sintetizado como uma mistura das regiões mais ativas de dois outros peptídeos antimicrobianos, chamados de pediocina A e plantaricina 149. Esse peptídeo híbrido possui carga de +8, em pH fisiológico, e as membranas estudadas foram compostas por uma mistura de fosfolipídeos zwiteriônicos (cabeça polar de fosfatidilcolina, PC) e aniônicos (cabeça polar de fosfatidilglicerol, PG), em diferentes razões molares. Os resultados de CD evidenciaram que este peptídeo se apresenta de forma desordenada em solução aquosa, porém adota uma conformação helicoidal na presença de grandes vesículas unilamelares carregadas negativamente (LUVs). A quantidade de componente helicoidal é dependente da quantidade de lipídeo negativo presente na bicamada lipídica. A fluorescência do triptofano revelou um deslocamento para o azul muito significativo, chegando a 20 nm para membranas compostas por 100 mol% de PG. Os dois resultados (CD e fluorescência) indicam que a região dos aminoácidos que contém o triptofano deve estar interagindo muito fortemente com a região hidrofóbica da membrana, numa conformação tipo-helicoidal. Experimentos de vazamento de carboxifluoresceína encapsulada em LUVs, por espectroscopia de fluorescência, demonstraram a ação lítica do peptídeo induzindo a formação de poros nas membranas, independentemente da composição das LUVs. Entretanto, a razão molar peptídeo:lipídeo necessária para induzir vazamento da sonda foi menor para membranas lipídicas compostas por bicamadas contendo altas quantidades de PG. Tal fato coloca em evidência o papel fundamental da interação eletrostática entre os peptídeos carregados positivamente com as membranas carregadas negativamente para o processo de ligação e mecanismo de ação deste peptídeo. Para estudar mais detalhadamente o mecanismo de ação, realizamos experimentos de microscopia óptica em vesículas unilamelares gigantes. Concluímos que o peptídeo provoca total desestabilização das vesículas unilamelares gigantes, com formação de poros, seguidos de ruptura da bicamada lipídica e sua transformação em pequenos e mal definidos complexos de peptídeos e fosfolipídeos. / In this work, we investigated the interaction between an antibacterial peptide with model membranes, by means of circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and optical microscopy. Such a peptide was synthesized from the most active regions of two others antimicrobial peptides, namely pediocin A and plantaricin 149. The hybrid peptide has a net charge of ~ +8, at physiological pH, and the studied model membranes were composed of a mixture of zwitterionic phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine polar head) and anionic phospholipids (phosphatidylglycerol polar head), at differente molar ratio. The CD results evidenced that the peptide was essentially structureless in aqueous solution, but acquired an helical conformation in the presence of charged large unillamellar vesicles LUVs. The helical content is dependent on the negative charge amount on membrane surface. The tryptophan fluorescence revealed a significant blue shift of the maximium emission wavelength, up to 20 nm for the membranes composed of 100 mol% of PG in respect to the peptide fluorescence in the aqueous solution. This indicates that part of the aminoacid residues, that contains the tryptophan, must be buried into the hydrophobic medium of the lipid membrane. Leakage experiments using fluorescence spectroscopy of carboxyfluorescein encapsulated in LUVs demonstrated the lytic action of the peptide, inducing the pore formation in the membrane, regardless of lipid membrane composition. However, it should be stressed that the peptide:lipid molar ratio necessary to induce probe leakage was smaller for lipid membranes made up of large PG amounts. Such evidence points out the key role of the electrostatic interaction between a positively charged peptide and the negatively charged membrane, mediated by hydrophobic contribution. To gain further insight into the lytic mechanism of the peptide, we performed single vesicle experiments using giant unilamellar vesicles under optical microscopy observations. We conclude that the peptide provokes a total membrane desestabilization, with pore formation, followed by a membrane disruption and its transformation into smaller and not well defined complexes of phospholipids and peptides.