Comparative electrochemical study of 5832-9 stainless steel at different media of biological interest

The electrochemical behavior of ISO 5832-9 stainless steel at 37 degrees C in 0.9% NaCl, Ringer Lactate and minimum essential medium (MEM) has been studied, using linear voltammetry, and surface analysis by SEM and EDS. Mechanical and toxicity tests were made. ISO 5832-9 is passivated at corrosion potential (E) and it does not present pitting corrosion on the media studied from to 50 in V above the transpassivation potential (Ei). SEM and EDS analysis have shown that the sample previously immersed in MEM presents a diffirent behavior at 50 in V above El: the manganese oxide inclusions are absent in the surface. E. values and passivation current density values j(pass) changed according to the following. E(corr, RL) < E(corr,NaCl) < E(corr, MEM) and J (MEM) << j(RL) congruent to j(NaCl) The stainless steel was characterized as non toxic in the cytotoxicity assay

The influence of albumin on the anodic dissolution of chromium present in UNSS31254 stainless steel in chloride environment

The influence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the anodic dissolution of chromium present in UNS S31254 stainless steel (SS) in 0.15 mol L-1 NaCl at 37.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C has been studied, using anodic potentiostatic polarization curves and optical emission spectroscopy. Electrochemical results have shown that BSA has little effect on the transpassivation potential (E-T) and on the passivation current density values. However on the passivation range, BSA diminishes the intensity of the anodic wave seen at about E=750mV versus SCE attributed to Cr(III)/Cr(VI) oxidation. Optical emission spectroscopy results have shown that BSA prevents the anodic dissolution of chromium to occur and minimizes iron dissolution above the transpassivation potential (E=1160 mV versus SCE). (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical behavior of the cistein and diphosfonate for stainless steel in media of HCl 1 mol L(-1)

Amino acids and self assembled monolayers (SAM`s) have been studied as to their inhibiting action on the corrosion of metallic materials. The objective of work is to study the electrochemical behavior of the cisteincisteine, the diphosfonate and the mixture of both in inhibiting the action of corrosion on stainless steel 304 in HCl 1 molL(-1). As the following techniques were used: open circuit potential (OCP), potenciostatic anodic polarization (A P), chronoamperomeny (CA), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and optical microscopy (OM). The results of CA showed that cisteine has a double effect, catalytic and inhibiting, in function of the immersion time of the metallic part in the electrolytic solution. AP curves have shown lesser current density for the system containing cisteine diphosfonate suggesting an inhibiting synergic action. These results have been confirmed by EIS and OM.

Electrocombustion of humic acid and removal of algae from aqueous solutions

This paper reports experiments involving the electrochemical combustion of humic acid (HA) and removal of algae from pond water. An electrochemical flow reactor with a boron-doped diamond film anode was used and constant current experiments were conducted in batch recirculation mode. The mass transfer characteristics of the electrochemical device were determined by voltammetric experiments in the potential region of water stability, followed by a controlled current experiment in the potential region of oxygen evolution. The average mass transfer coefficient was 5.2 x 10(-5) m s(-1). The pond water was then processed to remove HA and algae in the conditions in which the reaction combustion occurred under mass transfer control. To this end, the mass transfer coefficient was used to estimate the initial limiting current density applied in the electrolytic experiments. As expected, all the parameters analyzed here-solution absorbance at 270 nm, total phenol concentration and total organic carbon concentration-decayed according to first-order kinetics. Since the diamond film anode successfully incinerated organic matter, the electrochemical system proved to be predictable and programmable.

Potential oscillations in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a Pd-Pt/C anode

We report in this paper the occurrence of potential oscillations in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a Pd-Pt/C anode, fed with H(2)/100 ppm CO, and operated at 30 degrees C. We demonstrate that the use of Pd-Pt/C anode enables the emergence of dynamic instabilities in a PEMFC. Oscillations are characterized by the presence of very high oscillation amplitude, ca. 0.8 V. which is almost twice that observed in a PEMFC with a Pt-Ru/C anode under similar conditions. The effects of the H(2)/CO flow rate and cell current density on the oscillatory dynamics were investigated and the mechanism rationalized in terms of the CO oxidation and adsorption processes. We also discuss the fundamental aspects concerning the operation of a PEMFC under oscillatory regime in terms of the benefit resulting from the higher average power output. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ethanol oxidation reactions using SnO(2)@Pt/C as an electrocatalyst

This paper presents a study on the ethanol oxidation reaction using SnO(2)@Pt/C core-shell structures as electrocatalysts. All the materials used, including Pt/C and PtSn/C E-tek, were 20% (w/w) metal on carbon. The formation of core-shell nanoparticles (SnO(2)@Pt/C) was measured by UV-vis spectrophotometry. X-ray diffraction measurements showed Pt (shell) diffraction patterns without influence from the SnO(2) core and without any shift in 2 theta values for Pt. The diameters of the core-shell particle structures, measured using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images, were in the range of 3-16 nm. The electrochemical profile for SnO(2)@Pt/C in an acidic medium (H(2)SO(4) at a concentration of 0.5 mol L(-1)) was almost the same as the typical electrochemical behavior for Pt in an acidic medium. Furthermore, the onset potential for the ethanol oxidation reaction using SnO(2)@Pt/C was almost the same as that for PtSn/C E-tek (0.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode). However, the mass current peak densities for ethanol oxidation were 50% higher on SnO(2)@Pt/C than on PtSn/C E-tek. In the polarization curve, the mass current density for ethanol oxidation was higher at all potentials for SnO(2)@Pt/C when compared to Pt/C and PtSn/C E-tek. At 0.5 V, the current mass density for ethanol oxidation on SnO(2)@Pt was 2.3 times of that for the same process on the commercial material. The electrocatalytic activity of SnO(2)@Pt/C for ethanol oxidation was associated with an increase in the electrochemically active surface area. However, an electronic effect should also be considered because the Pt shell changes its electronic structure in the presence of the foreign core. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of learning between Digital gallery and Hands-on Laboratory

This thesis has been done in ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) located in Toronto Canada. It focuses on learning in two parts of the museum. It tries to find out how much each part is effective in terms of learning. Studies have been done in the Digital gallery, which has been equipped with digital video projector and workstation that allows visitors to interact with the collections in 2 or 3 dimensional spaces while they are watching the presenting film. The rest of the study was in Hands-on laboratory, which allows students to examine artifacts and discuss their findings .The method was used in this research is Concept mapping .In Digital gallery, 24 schools surveys in the form of pre-post- test by help of the concept mapping method has been done. In Hands-on laboratory, 12 schools have been studied by using the combination of interviewing and written pre post-test of concept mapping.

Estudo de reatores eletroquímicos para remoção de Cu2+ , Zn2+, Fenol e BTEX em água produzida

The production of water has become one of the most important wastes in the petroleum industry, specifically in the up stream segment. The treatment of this kind of effluents is complex and normally requires high costs. In this context, the electrochemical treatment emerges as an alternative methodology for treating the wastewaters. It employs electrochemical reactions to increase the capability and efficiency of the traditional chemical treatments for associated produced water. The use of electrochemical reactors can be effective with small changes in traditional treatments, generally not representing a significant additional surface area for new equipments (due to the high cost of square meter on offshore platforms) and also it can use almost the same equipments, in continuous or batch flow, without others high costs investments. Electrochemical treatment causes low environmental impact, because the process uses electrons as reagent and generates small amount of wastes. In this work, it was studied two types of electrochemical reactors: eletroflocculation and eletroflotation, with the aim of removing of Cu2+, Zn2+, phenol and BTEX mixture of produced water. In eletroflocculation, an electrical potential was applied to an aqueous solution containing NaCl. For this, it was used iron electrodes, which promote the dissolution of metal ions, generating Fe2+ and gases which, in appropriate pH, promote also clotting-flocculation reactions, removing Cu2+ and Zn2+. In eletroflotation, a carbon steel cathode and a DSA type anode (Ti/TiO2-RuO2-SnO2) were used in a NaCl solution. It was applied an electrical current, producing strong oxidant agents as Cl2 and HOCl, increasing the degradation rate of BTEX and phenol. Under different flow rates, the Zn2+ was removed by electrodeposition or by ZnOH formation, due the increasing of pH during the reaction. To better understand the electrochemical process, a statistical protocol factor (22) with central point was conducted to analyze the sensitivity of operating parameters on removing Zn2+ by eletroflotation, confirming that the current density affected the process negatively and the flow rate positively. For economical viability of these two electrochemical treatments, the energy consumption was calculated, taking in account the kWh given by ANEEL. The treatment cost obtained were quite attractive in comparison with the current treatments used in Rio Grande do Norte state. In addition, it could still be reduced for the case of using other alternative energy source such as solar, wind or gas generated directly from the Petrochemical Plant or offshore platforms

Mapeamento com Sonar Usando Grade de Ocupação baseado em Modelagem Probabilística

In this work, we propose a probabilistic mapping method with the mapped environment represented through a modified occupancy grid. The main idea of the proposed method is to allow a mobile robot to construct in a systematic and incremental way the geometry of the underlying space, obtaining at the end a complete environment map. As a consequence, the robot can move in the environment in a safe way, based on a confidence value of data obtained from its perceptive system. The map is represented in a coherent way, according to its sensory data, being these noisy or not, that comes from exterior and proprioceptive sensors of the robot. Characteristic noise incorporated in the data from these sensors are treated by probabilistic modeling in such a way that their effects can be visible in the final result of the mapping process. The results of performed experiments indicate the viability of the methodology and its applicability in the area of autonomous mobile robotics, thus being an contribution to the field

Desenvolvimento de antenas de microfita com aberturas nos patches condutores através do método da segmentação

Microstrip antennas are widely used in modern telecommunication systems. This is particularly due to the great variety of geometries and because they are easily built and integrated to other high frequency devices and circuits. This work presents a study of the properties of the microstrip antenna with an aperture impressed in the conducting patch. Besides, the analysis is performed for isotropic and anisotropic dielectric substrates. The Multiport Network Model MNM is used in combination with the Segmentation Method and the Greens function technique in the analysis of the considered microstrip antenna geometries. The numerical analysis is performed by using the boundary value problem solution, by considering separately the impedance matrix of the structure segments. The analysis for the complete structure is implemented by choosing properly the number and location of the neighboor element ports. The numerial analysis is performed for the following antenna geometries: resonant cavity, microstrip rectangular patch antenna, and microstrip rectangular patch antenna with aperture. The analysis is firstly developed for microstrip antennas on isotropic substrates, and then extended to the case of microstrip antennas on anisotropic substrates by using a Mapping Method. The experimental work is described and related to the development of several prototypes of rectangular microstrip patch antennas wtih and without rectangular apertures. A good agreement was observed between the simulated and measured results. Thereafter, a good agreement was also observed between the results of this work and those shown in literature for microstrip antennas on isotropic substrates. Furthermore, results are proposed for rectangular microstrip patch antennas wtih rectangular apertures in the conducting patch

Effect of ion concentration of ionomer in electron injection layer of polymer light-emitting devices

Polymer light-emitting devices (PLEDs) with poly(2-methoxy-5-hexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene (OC1OC6-PPV) as the emissive layer were studied with an electron injection layer of ionomers consisting of copolymers of styrene and methylmethacrylate (PS/PMMA) with 3, 6 and 8 mol% degree of sulfonation. The ionomers were able to form very thin films over the emissive layer, with less than 30 nm. Additionally, the presence of ion pairs of ionomer suppresses the tendency toward dewetting of the thin film of ionomer (similar to 10 nm) which can cause malfunction of the device. The effect of the ionomers was investigated as a function of the ion content. The devices performance, characterized by their current density and luminance intensity versus voltage, showed a remarkable increase with the ionomer layer up to 6 mol% of ionic groups, decreasing after that for the 8 mol% ionomer device. The study of the impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10(6) Hz showed that the injection phenomena dominate over the transport in the electroluminescent polymer bulk. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vortex-antivortex annihilation dynamics in a square mesoscopic superconducting cylinder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Analysis of the E-J Curve of HTS Tapes Under DC and AC Magnetic Fields at 77 K

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Thermodynamic analysis of direct steam reforming of ethanol in molten carbonate fuel cell

Fuel cell as molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) operates at high temperatures. Thus, cogeneration processes may be performed, generating heat for its own process or for other purposes of steam generation in the industry. The use of ethanol is one of the best options because this is a renewable and less environmentally offensive fuel, and is cheaper than oil-derived hydrocarbons, as in the case of Brazil. In that country, because of technical, environmental, and economic advantages, the use of ethanol by steam reforming process has been the most investigated process. The objective of this study is to show a thermodynamic analysis of steam reforming of ethanol, to determine the best thermodynamic conditions where the highest volumes of products are produced, making possible a higher production of energy, that is, a more efficient use of resources. To attain this objective, mass and energy balances were performed. Equilibrium constants and advance degrees were calculated to get the best thermodynamic conditions to attain higher reforming efficiency and, hence, higher electric efficiency, using the Nernst equation. The advance degree (according to Castellan 1986, Fundamentos da Fisica/Quimica, Editora LTC, Rio de Janeiro, p. 529, in Portuguese) is a coefficient that indicates the evolution of a reaction, achieving a maximum value when all the reactants' content is used of reforming increases when the operation temperature also increases and when the operation pressure decreases. However, at atmospheric pressure (1 atm), the advance degree tends to stabilize in temperatures above 700 degrees C; that is, the volume of supplemental production of reforming products is very small with respect to high use of energy resources necessary. The use of unused ethanol is also suggested for heating of reactants before reforming. The results show the behavior of MCFC. The current density, at the same tension, is higher at 700 degrees C than other studied temperatures such as 600 and 650 degrees C. This fact occurs due to smaller use of hydrogen at lower temperatures that varies between 46.8% and 58.9% in temperatures between 600 and 700 degrees C. The higher calculated current density is 280 mA/cm(2). The power density increases when the volume of ethanol to be used also increases due to higher production of hydrogen. The highest produced powers at 190 mA/cm(2) are 99.8, 109.8, and 113.7 mW/cm(2) for 873, 923, and 973 K, respectively. The thermodynamic efficiency has the objective to show the connection among operational conditions and energetic factors, which are some parameters that describe a process of internal steam reforming of ethanol.

Effect of target bias on magnetic field enhanced plasma immersion ion implantation

Recent studies have demonstrated that sheath dynamics in plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is significantly affected by an external magnetic field, especially in the case when the magnetic field is parallel to the workpiece surface or intersects it at small angles. In this work we report the results from two-dimensional, particle-in-cell (PIC) computer simulations of magnetic field enhanced plasma immersion implantation system at different bias voltages. The simulations begin with initial low-density nitrogen plasma, which extends with uniform density through a grounded cylindrical chamber. Negative bias voltage is applied to a cylindrical target located on the axis of the vacuum chamber. An axial magnetic field is created by a solenoid installed inside the target holder. A set of simulations at a fixed magnetic field of 0.0025 T at the target surface is performed. Secondary electron emission from the target subjected to ion bombardment is also included. It is found that the plasma density around the cylindrical target increases because of intense background gas ionization by the electrons drifting in the crossed E x B fields. Suppression of the sheath expansion and increase of the implantation current density in front of the high-density plasma region are observed. The effect of target bias on the sheath dynamics and implantation current of the magnetic field enhanced PIII is discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.