Polyaniline-coated carbon particles and their electrode behavior in organic carbonate electrolyte

In an attempt to increase the interface stability of carbon used in Li-ion batteries, a thin conducting polyaniline (PANI) film was fabricated on the surface of carbon by in situ chemical polymerization. The chemical and electrochemical properties of the composite material were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was confirmed that the PANI film has an obvious effect on the morphology and the electrochemical performance of carbon. The results could be attributed to the electronic and electrochemical activity of the conducting PANI films.

Properties of a nanocomposite polymer electrolyte from an amorphous comb-branch polymer and nanoparticles

Three fully amorphous comb-branch polymers based on poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) as a backbone and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether of different molecular weights as side chains were synthesized. SiO2 nanoparticles of various contents and the salt LiCF3SO3 were added to these comb-branch polymers to obtain nanocomposite polymer electrolytes. The thermal and transport properties of the samples have been characterized. The maximum conductivity of 2.8x10(-4) S cm(-1) is obtained at 28 degreesC. In the system the longer side chain of the comb-branch polymer electrolyte increases in ionic conductivity after the addition of nanoparticles. To account for the role of the ceramic fillers in the nanocomposite polymer electrolyte, a model based on a fully amorphous comb-branch polymer matrix in enhancing transport properties of Li+ ions is proposed.

A room-temperature ionic-liquid-templated proton-conducting gelatinous electrolyte

Novel proton-conducting gelatinous electrolytes templated by room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-tetrafluoroborate (BMImBF(4)) have been prepared in methylsisesquioxane backbone containing H3PO4, and the influences of the RTIL on the structure, morphology, thermal stability, and electrochemical properties of the gelatinous electrolytes have been examined. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy proved that BMImBF(4) acted as structure-directing template during the sol-gel process of methyl-trimethoxysilane. X-ray photoelectron spectra and infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that the hydrogen-bonding was formed between BMImBF(4) and H3PO4. The electrolytes had good thermal stability up to 300 degreesC and showed superior mechanical and electrochemical properties. A room-temperature conductivity of 1.2 x 10(-3) S cm(-1) was obtained for the electrolyte at the molar ratio of RTIL/Si/H3PO4 0.3/1/1, and its electrochemical window was up to 1.5 V.

A new flow field and its two-dimension model for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)

A new flow field was designed to search flow fields fitting polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) better due its extensible. There are many independent inlets and outlets in the new flow field. The new flow field we named NINO can extend to be more general when pressures at the inlet and outlet vary and some usual flow fields will be obtained. A new mathematical model whose view angle is obverse is used to describe the flow field.

Preparation of a carbon supported Pt catalyst using an improved organic sol method and its electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation

The organic sol method for preparing ultrafine transition metal colloid particles reported for the first time by Bonnemann et al. [H. Bonnemann, W Brijoux, R. Brinkmann, E. Dinjus, T. Jou beta en, B. Korall, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 30 (1991) 1312] has been improved in this paper. The improved organic sol method uses SnCl2 as the reductant and methanol as the organic solvent. Thus, this method is very simple and inexpensive. It was found that the average size of the Pt particles in the Pt/C catalysts can be controlled by adjusting the evaporating temperature of the solvent. Therefore, the Pt/C catalysts prepared by the same method are suitable for evaluating the size effect of the Pt particles on electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that when the evaporating temperatures of the solvent are 65, 60, 50, 40, and 30 degrees C, the average sizes of the Pt particles in the Pt/C catalysts prepared are: 2.2, 3.2, 3.8, 4.3, and 4.8 nm, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) results demonstrated that the small Pt particles are easily oxidized and the decomposition/adsorption of methanol cannot proceed on the surfaces of Pt oxides.

Effect of Ce and MgO on NO decomposition over La1-x-Ce-x-Sr-Ni-O/MgO

Ce and MgO were added simultaneously to La-Sr-Ni-O catalyst and a substantial enhancement of activity for NO decomposition was observed, which may be attributed to the formation of a new highly active site caused by the addition of Ce and MgO.

Effect of valence of copper in La2-xThxCuO4 on NO decomposition reaction

NO decomposition reaction was investigated over La2-xThxCuO4, in which the valence of copper was controlled by Th substitution and was characterized by XPS measurement. A close correlation between the valence of copper and the activity was observed. The activity increased with the decrease of the average oxidation number of copper, and increased with the increase of Cu+ content, suggesting that the transition metal with low valence (Cu+) is active for the reaction in the present cases.

Thermotropic liquid crystallinity, thermal decomposition behavior, and aggregated structure of poly(propylene carbonate)/ethyl cellulose blends

Maleic anhydride end capped poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC-MA) was blended with ethyl cellulose (EC) by casting from dichloromethane solutions. The thermotropic liquid crystallinity, thermal decomposition behavior, and aggregated structure were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TGA), and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). DSC exhibits thermotropic liquid crystallinity in the rich EC composition range. TGA shows that thermal decomposition temperatures were elevated upon interfusing EC into PPC-MA. WAXD corroborates that EC and PPC-MA/EC blend films cast from dilute dichloromethane solution possessed cholesteric liquid crystalline structure in the rich EC composition range, and that dilution of PPC-MA with EC increased the dimension of noncrystalline region, leading to a more ordered packed structure.

Electrochemical study of PW12O403- in poly(ethylene glycol) electrolyte

The electrochemical properties Of PW12O403- (abbreviated as PW12) anion in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) have been studied by cyclic voltammetry, complex impedance and FT-IR spectroscopy. The PW12 anion in PEG-LiClO4 electrolyte shows reasonable facile electrochemistry, and the diffusion coefficients Of PW12 were measured with microelectrode. It is shown that ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes based on low molecular weight PEG can be improved by the addition of PW12. The increase of conductivity is coupled with decrease of transient cross-links density of polymer chains which is evidenced by the downshift of C-O-C stretching mode. The phenomena are explained in view of ion-ion and ion-polymer interactions.

Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of the new solid electrolyte materials Ce6-xErxMoO15-delta (0.0 < x < 1.5)

A new series of oxides, Ce6-xErxMoO15-delta (0.0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 1.5), was synthesized using wet-chemistry techniques. The precursors and resultant oxide powders were characterized by differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetry, x-ray diffraction, and IR, Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation temperature of the powders was found to be as low as 350degreesC. Ce6-xErxMoO15-delta crystallized to a fluorite-related cubic structure. The electrical conductivity of the samples was investigated by using ac impedance spectroscopy. This showed that the presence of Er was related to the oxygen-ion conductivity, and that the highest oxygen-ion conductivity was found in Ce6-xErxMoO15-delta (x = 0.4), ranging from 5.9 x 10(-5) S cm(-1) at 300degreesC to 1.26 x 10(-2) S cm(-1) at 700degreesC, respectively. This kind of material shows a potential application in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells.

Electrochemical H2S sensor with H2SO4 pre-treated Nafion membrane as solid polymer electrolyte

It is reported for the first time that the performance of the electrochemical H2S sensor with the Nation membrane pre-treated with the concentrated H2SO4 as the solid electrolyte is much more stable than that for the sensor with the Nation membrane without H2SO4 pretreatment. The sensitivity of the sensor is about 2.92 muA/ppm. The response time of the sensor is about 9 s. The detection limit is about 0.1 ppm. Therefore, this kind of the electrochemical H2S gas sensor may be desirable for the practical application.

Study of the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte using imaginary impedance spectroscopy

Polymeric electrolytes of (PEO1)(10) LiClO4-Al2O3 (PEO: poly (ethyleneoxide)) and (PEO2)(16)LiClO4-EC (EC: ethylene carbonate) were prepared. We proposed an equivalent circuit and gave the meaning of the concerned circuit elements. When the impedance spectrum deformed severely, the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte was determined by using the maximum of imaginary impedance, which is a convenient method.

Effect of properties of active carbon supports on performance of Pt/C catalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

The Pt/C catalysts were prepared with pine active carbon and Vulcan XC-72 active carbon as the supports. The performances of the Pt/C catalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were compared. The result indicates that the performance of Pt/Vulcan XC-72 is better than that of Pt/pine. The physical and chemical properties of the two active carbons were measured using several analysis techniques. It was found that the pore size, specific conductivity and the surface function group significantly influence the performance of the electrocatalyst.

The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and maleated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

The thermal decomposition mechanism of maleated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was investigated by FTIR and H-1 NMR. The results of experiments showed that the random chain scission of maleated PHB obeyed the six-membered ring ester decomposition process. The thermal decomposition behavior of PHB and maleated PHB with different graft degree were studied by thermogravimetry (TGA) using various heating-up rates. The thermal stability of maleated PHB was evidently better than that of PHB. With increase in graft degree, the thermal decomposition temperature of maleated PHB gradually increased and then declined. Activation energy E. as a kinetic parameter of thermal decomposition was estimated by the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger methods, respectively. It could be seen that approximately equal values of activation energy were obtained by both methods.