Microencapsulation of n-eicosane as energy storage material

For heat energy storage application, polyurea. microcapsules containing phase change material, n-eicosane, were synthesized by using interfacial polymerization method with toluene- 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) and diethylenetriamine (DETA) as monomers in an emulsion system. Poly(ethylene glycol)octyl-phenyl ether (OP), a nonionic surfactant, was the emulsifier for the system. The experimental result indicates that TDI was reacted with DETA in a mass ratio of 3 to 1. FT-IR spectra confirm the formation of wall material, polyurea, from the two monomers, TDI and DETA. Encapsulation efficiency of n-eicosane is about 75%. Microcapsule of n-eicosane melts at a temperature close to that of n-eicosane, while its stored heat energy varies with core material n-eicosane when wall material fixed. Thermo-gravimetric analysis shows that core material n-eicosane, micro-n-eicosane and wall material polyurea can withstand temperatures up to 130, 170 and 250 degreesC, respectively.

Microencapsulation of n-hexadecane as a phase change material in polyurea

For thermal energy storage application, polyurea microcapsules about 2.5 mum in diameter containing phase change material were prepared using interfacial polycondensation method. In the system droplets in microns are first formed by emulsifying an organic phase consisting of a core material ( n-hexadecane) and an oil-soluble reactive monomer, toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI), in an aqueous phase. By adding water-soluble reactive monomer, diamine, monomers TDI and diamine react with each other at the interface of micelles to become a shell. Ethylenediamine (EDA), 1, 6-hexane diamine (HDA) and their mixture were employed as water-soluble reactive monomers. The effects of diamine type on chemical structure and thermal properties of the microcapsules were investigated by FT-IR and thermal analysis respectively. The infrared spectra indicate that polyurea microcapsules have been successfully synthesized; all the TG thermographs show microcapsules containing n-hexadecane can sustain high temperature about 300 degreesC without broken and the DSC measurements display that all samples possess a moderate heat of phase transition; thermal cyclic tests show that the encapsulated paraffin kept its energy storage capacity even after 50 cycles of operation. The results obtained from experiments show that the encapsulated n-hexadecane possesses a good potential as a thermal energy storage material.

Degradation of aquatic humic material by ultraviolet light

Natural humic water was treated with ultraviolet (UV) light and UV + hydrogen peroxide . The effects on the dissolved organic carbon content (DOC), the UV-absorbance at 254 nm (UV-abs.), the molecular size distribution, pH, and mutagenic activity were monitored, and the identity and concentrations of the most abundant gas chromatographable organic degradation products were determined. The DOC content and the UV-abs. of the water decreased substantially during treatment with. The decreases were dependent on the time of irradiation (UV dose) as well as on the H2O2 dose applied. The humus macromolecules were degraded to smaller fragments during irradiation. At higher UV doses, however, part of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) was found to precipitate, probably as a result of polymerization. Oxalic acid, acetic acid, malonic acid, and n-butanoic acid were the most abundant degradation products detected. These acids were found to account for up to 20% and 80% of the DOM in UV- and waters, respectively. No mutagenic activity was generated by the UV irradiation or the treatment. It is further concluded that the substantial mutagenic activity formed during chlorination of humic waters cannot be decreased by using UV irradiation as a pretreatment step.

Study on Broadband Emitting Self-Assembled Quantum-Dot Material and Devices

City Univ Hong Kong

Highly ordered mesoporous carbons as electrode material for the construction of electrochemical dehydrogenase- and oxidase-based biosensors

In this work, the excel lent catalytic activity of highly ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) to the electrooxidation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was described for the construction of electrochemical alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and glucose oxidase (GOD)-based biosensors.

The characteristics of highly ordered mesoporous carbons as electrode material for electrochemical sensing as compared with carbon nanotubes

In this paper, the unique properties of highly ordered mesoporous carbons modified glassy carbon electrode (OMCs/GE) are illustrated from comparison with carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (CNTs/GE) for the electrochemical sensing applications.

Electroluminescence of hole block material caused by electron accumulation and hole penetration

In this study, we investigated the electroluminescence (EL) mechanisms and processes of hole block material in the multilayer devices with Eu(TTA)(3)phen (TTA = thenoyltrifluoroacetone, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) doped CBP (4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazolebiphenyl) as the light-emitting layer (EML). First, the hole block ability of 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) was experimentally confirmed by comparing the EL spectra. With increasing hole injection, BCP emission emerges and increases gradually due to the increasing hole penetration from EML into the hole block layer (HBL).

Rectangular AgIn(WO4)(2) nanotubes: A promising photoelectric material

Rectangular AgIn(WO4)(2) nanotubes with a diameter range of 80 to 120 nm and length up to 2 mu m have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. These nanotubes exhibit interesting white light emissions when using 320 nm as the excitation wavelength. A photocatalytic reaction for water decomposition to evolve K, was performed under UV irradiation, and the rate of H, evolution is nearly seven times that of the sample prepared by a solid-state reaction, which shows much higher photocatalytic activities compared with their bulk counterparts.

[Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)-doped silica nanoparticles within layer-by-layer biomolecular coatings and their application as a biocompatible electrochemiluminescent tag material

[Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)-doped silica (RuSi) nanoparticles were synthesized by using a water/oil microemulsion method. Stable electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was obtained when the RuSi nanoparticles were immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode by using tripropylamine (TPA) as a coreactant. Furthermore, the ECL of the RuSi nanoparticles with layer-by-layer biomolecular coatings was investigated. Squential self-assembly of the polyelectrolytes and biomolecules on the RuSi nanoparticles gave nanocomposite suspensions, the ECL of which decreased on increasing the number of bilayers.

Nanostructured bulk novel hard material with "rounded" grains obtained by nanocrystalline "rounded" (W0.5Al0.5)C powders

A novel nano-scaled bulk hard material (W0.5Al0.5)C-Co with "rounded" grains was prepared by nanocrystalline "rounded" (W0.5Al0.5)C powders with "rounded" particle shape in this study. The nano-scaled "rounded" particles do not contain sharp edges, which form local tensile stress concentrations on loading of the composite, thus leading to improved toughness and reduced sensitivity to crack. Nanocrystalline (W0.5Al0.5)C powders with "rounded" particle shape were used as starting materials. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the samples.

A soluble nonionic surfactant as electron injection material for high-efficiency inverted bottom-emission organic light emitting diodes

A soluble nonionic surfactant, polyethylenimine 80% ethoxylated (PEIE) solution, was used as the electron injection material in inverted bottom-emission organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The transparent PEIE film was formed on indium-tin-oxide cathode by simple spin-coating method and it was found that the electron injection was greatly enhanced. The devices with PEIE electron injection layer had achieved significant enhancement in luminance and efficiency. The maximum luminance reached 47 000 cd/m(2), and the maximum luminance efficiency and power efficiency arrived at 19.7 cd/A and 10.6 lm/W, respectively.

La-2(Zr0.7Ce0.3)(2)O-7 - A new oxide ceramic material with high sintering-resistance

Oxide ceramics with high sintering-resistance above 1473 K have very important applications in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), catalytic combustion and high-temperature structural materials. Lanthanum zirconate (La2Zr2O7, LZ) is an attractive TBC material which has higher sintering-resistance than yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and this property could be further improved by the proper addition of ceria.

WO3/C hybrid material as a highly active catalyst support for formic acid electrooxidation

The hybrid material based on WO3 and Vulcan XC-72R carbon has been used as the support of Pd nano-catalysts. The resultant Pd-WO3/C catalysts in a large range of WO3 content exhibit excellent catalytic activity and stability for formic acid electrooxidation. The great improvement in the catalytic performance is attributed to the uniform dispersion of Pd with less particle sizes on the WO3/C support and the hydrogen spillover effect which greatly accelerates the dehydrogenation of HCOOH on Pd.

Pd nanoparticles supported on WO3/C hybrid material as catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Pd nanoparticles supported on WO3/C hybrid material have been developed as the catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in direct methanol fuel cells. The resultant Pd-WO3/C catalyst has an ORR activity comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst and a higher activity than the Pd/C catalyst prepared with the same method. Based on the physical and electrochemical characterizations, the improvement in the catalytic performance may be attributed to the small particle sizes and uniform dispersion of Pd on the WO3/C, the strong interaction between Pd and WO3 and the formation of hydrogen tungsten bronze which effectively promote the direct 4-electron pathway of the ORR at Pd.