After taking the advice, I became a top student.

Then came a series of more complex operations: carbon nanotube composites, cobalt nanoparticle loading, and sulfur loading via melt diffusion.

Each step requires repeated optimization of parameters, such as the ultrasonic dispersion time, the reduction reaction temperature, and the vacuum level during sulfur loading...

Chen Mo gradually became skilled, starting from a novice who couldn't even hold a pipette steadily.

He learned to use scanning electron microscopy to observe morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to measure functional groups, and thermogravimetric analysis to measure sulfur loading.

Next, we need to install the batteries, which requires the glove box.

The glove box was the most futuristic experimental device Chen Mo had ever seen. It was a large, transparent plastic box with two black rubber gloves embedded in it, and next to it was a transitional capsule that looked like a spaceship.

It is filled with argon gas, and the water and oxygen content is displayed on the screen: H₂O < 0.1 ppm, O₂ < 0.1 ppm.

"Before the operation, send all the necessary items in through the transfer cabin."

Deng Songyuan pointed to the circular transition chamber, "After placing the items, close the outer door, then evacuate the vacuum, fill with argon gas, and repeat this process three times. This is called displacement."

Chen did as instructed.

When the vacuum was first applied, the valve of the transition chamber hissed loudly, startling him.

After the three-wheel replacement was completed, he opened the inner door and put his hand inside the glove.

The rubber gloves were thick and slippery, and you couldn't feel the texture of the parts at all when your fingers were inside.

He tried to pick up the positive terminal of a button battery, but his gloves were too slippery, and the positive terminal fell onto the control panel with a clatter.

"Slow down."

Deng Songyuan, suppressing a laugh, said, "The first lesson in using the glove box is that you can't feel anything; you have to use your eyes to see, relying on sight to replace touch."

Chen Mo took a deep breath and picked up the positive electrode shell again.

The battery assembly process was more complicated than he had imagined. The positive electrode shell, spring, gasket, lithium plate, separator, electrolyte, positive electrode plate, and positive electrode shell were stacked one by one, and then the positions were adjusted with tweezers before finally being placed on a sealing machine and pressed tightly.

Every step must be taken with utmost care.

When Chen Mo used tweezers to grasp the diaphragm, one corner of the diaphragm folded over.

He tried to flatten it, and the entire diaphragm became wrinkled.

"Let's start over."

Deng Songyuan bluntly stated, "A battery with a wrinkled separator will definitely short-circuit."

Chen Mo took out the wrinkled diaphragm and replaced it with a new one.

He succeeded the second time.

The separator was neatly placed on the lithium sheet, four drops of electrolyte were added, the positive electrode was placed on top, and the opening was sealed.

The battery is finished.

Chen Mo pulled his hand out of the glove box and found that his back was soaked with sweat.

Finally, the first complete button battery was installed.

Chen Mo put it into the Blue Electric Test System, set the charging and discharging parameters, and the screen displayed the first discharge capacity of 1120 mAh/g.

"Not bad." Deng Songyuan's evaluation was restrained, but his eyes lit up.

However, the following data gradually wiped the smiles off their faces.

Second cycle: 980.

Third lap: 810.

Fifth lap: 650.

Lap 10: 490.

The curve, like a kite with a broken string, plunged headlong down.

"Kulun's efficiency is only 82%."

Chen Mo stared at the screen, his fingers pausing on the keyboard. "The shuttle effect is very serious."

Deng Songyuan remained silent for a while before saying, "Our material does not have enough adsorption capacity for polysulfides. The cobalt nanoparticles may be unevenly distributed, or the pore structure may collapse during the cycle."

He took Chen Mo's lab notebook, flipped to the most recent pages, and looked at them for a long time.

"Let's go back first. This is not a simple problem; we need to redesign the materials."

Deng Songyuan never expected to succeed on the first try; experiments are inherently a long process.

……

Chengdu No. 4 Middle School

Deng Rui, the coach of the competition class, stormed into the admissions office.

"Old Gao, what's going on? It's been so many days, why haven't we seen any activity from you?"

Upon arriving at the director's office, Deng Rui asked somewhat unhappily.

"It's just that we haven't found a suitable opportunity to contact them. We can't just go to No. 1 High School and poach their students right in front of Zhang Hu, can we?"

Gao Yinquan explained.

Of course, ultimately it comes down to the fact that he didn't take it too seriously.

Chen Mo is indeed very outstanding, but their No. 4 Middle School has produced too many talents who can get first place in the province. Compared with those students, Chen Mo does not have much of an advantage.

Although there was talk of Professor Yanbei going to No. 1 High School, it was just hearsay, and the two professors may not have gone there for Chen Mo.

Otherwise, why didn't Chen Mo go directly to Yanbei University?

"What's wrong with that?"

"Does No. 1 Middle School have the audacity to refuse our request for our students?"

Deng Rui said firmly, "Let's go, let's get this done today."

As a math competition coach, he had a gut feeling that this kid was something special!

After seeing Chen Mo's provincial competition answer sheet, he became even more convinced of his intuition.

Chengdu No. 7 Middle School, Admissions Office

A young man rushed into the director's office, panting, and said, "It's bad, Director Yang, the people from No. 4 Middle School have gone straight to No. 1 Middle School."

"What?"

Yang Qingchen suddenly stood up from his chair.

"You, Gao Yinquan, have no martial ethics."

After saying that, he quickly said to the young man, "Hurry up and get the car ready, we're going to No. 1 Middle School too."

The same thing happened at No. 9 Middle School, where admissions officers from three of Chengdu's top middle schools rushed to Chengdu No. 1 Middle School from three different directions.

At the gate of Rongcheng No.1 Middle School

A Denza MPV came to a steady stop in front of the school gate. Gao Yinquan, Deng Rui and their group got out of the car and saw Yang Qingchen and his group getting out of a car in front of them.

"Hey, what brings Director Yang here?"

Gao Yinquan made a sarcastic remark, but he had already guessed that the other party was also after that student from No. 1 Middle School.

He hadn't really cared about it at first.

But the moment he saw Yang Qingchen, he made up his mind that he had to snatch that little guy this time!

The Fourth Middle School and the Seventh Middle School have been rivals for so many years. Over the years, the two have met many times in various junior high schools. He has snatched students that Yang Qingchen favored, and Yang Qingchen has also snatched students that he favored. The grudges and grievances between them have long been indistinguishable.

However, before the two could even enter the school gate, they saw another MPV parked in front of the school.

People from the admissions office of No. 9 Middle School also came.

The three groups of people arrived at the gate of No. 1 Middle School together, but the expected scene of being stopped by the security guards did not occur. Instead, after the group explained their purpose, the security guards led them to Zhang Hu's office.

"You've arrived."

Zhang Hu was not surprised by their arrival. Instead, he made a phone call and asked Wang Xiaohua to bring Chen Mo over.

Yang Qingchen was somewhat surprised, "You released them so readily?"

"A genius like Chen Mo is wasting his talent by staying at our No. 1 Middle School. Going to your No. 479 is like a dragon entering the sea."

Zhang Hu said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, the admissions directors of the three top high schools, No. 4, No. 7, and No. 9, immediately became more interested in Chen Mo.

The person who could elicit such a stance from the principal of No. 1 High School must be no ordinary person.

However, after more than ten minutes, Wang Xiaohua appeared at the door of Zhang Hu's office, but Chen Mo was not behind her.

"Um?"

Where are they?

"Nobody's even showing up. That's so rude!"

Gao Yinquan frowned slightly, already feeling somewhat displeased.

"Where is Chen Mo?"

Zhang Hu voiced the question that had been on everyone's mind.

Seeing the scene in the office, Wang Xiaohua knew exactly what was about to happen, but she could only smile wryly, "He's not at No. 1 Middle School today."

"Not in No. 1 Middle School?"

Zhang Hu was taken aback. Wasn't today Monday?

"He went to the University of Science and Technology with Professor Deng to do experiments," Wang Xiaohua quickly added. It wasn't that she liked to exhale, but Zhang Hu had asked too quickly.

"Why do experiments have to be done at a science and engineering university?"

Zhang Hu was a little embarrassed. Although their No. 1 High School was not a top-tier high school, it still had a chemistry lab. Why did they have to go to the university of science and technology to do the experiment instead of at the school? Wasn't this an insult to the fact that No. 1 High School's facilities were inadequate?

"I don't know either, you'll have to ask Teacher Deng."

Zhang Hu also had a headache.

Looking at the admissions director of Class 479, he pondered for a moment and then said, "How about you all come back tomorrow?"

"Let's forget about tomorrow, aren't we going to the Polytechnic University? Let's go there now!"

Deng Rui was also an impatient person. Since he was already here, he might as well get things done today.

No one else had any objections; it's only a little over an hour's drive from here to the Polytechnic University.

So, the group left the high school, got into an MPV, and headed straight for the Polytechnic University.

However, this time there were four MPVs instead of three, and Zhang Hu and Wang Xiaohua followed them.