Titania nanotube-modified screen printed carbon electrodes enhance the sensitivity in the electrochemical detection of proteins

The use of titania nanotubes (TiO2-NT) as the working electrode provides a substantial improvement in the electrochemical detection of proteins. A biosensor designed using this strategy provided a robust method to detect protein samples at very low concentrations (C-protein ca 1 ng/mu l). Reproducible measurements on protein samples at this concentration (I-p,I-a of 80 +/- 1.2 mu A) could be achieved using a sample volume of ca 30 mu l. We demonstrate the feasibility of this strategy for the accurate detection of penicillin binding protein, PBP2a, a marker for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The selectivity and efficiency of this sensor were also validated using other diverse protein preparations such as a recombinant protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP10D) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). This electrochemical method also presents a substantial improvement in the time taken (few minutes) when compared to conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocols. It is envisaged that this sensor could substantially aid in the rapid diagnosis of bacterial infections in resource strapped environments. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modelling of optical transport behavior of organic photovoltaic devices with nano-pillar transparent conducting electrodes

Optical transport behavior of organic photo-voltaic devices with nano-pillar transparent electrodes is investigated in this paper in order to understand possible enhancement of their charge-collection efficiency. Modeling and simulations of optical transport due to this architecture show an interesting regime of length-scale dependent optical characteristics. An electromagnetic wave propagation model is employed with simulation objectives toward understanding the mechanism of optical scattering and waveguide effects due to the nano-pillars and effective transmission through the active layer. Partial filling of gaps between the nano-pillars due to the nano-fabrication process is taken into consideration. Observations made in this paper will facilitate appropriate design rules for nano-pillar electrodes. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Modal tailoring and closed-form solutions for rotating non-uniform Euler-Bernoulli beams

In this paper, the free vibration of a rotating Euler-Bernoulli beam is studied using an inverse problem approach. We assume a polynomial mode shape function for a particular mode, which satisfies all the four boundary conditions of a rotating beam, along with the internal nodes. Using this assumed mode shape function, we determine the linear mass and fifth order stiffness variations of the beam which are typical of helicopter blades. Thus, it is found that an infinite number of such beams exist whose fourth order governing differential equation possess a closed form solution for certain polynomial variations of the mass and stiffness, for both cantilever and pinned-free boundary conditions corresponding to hingeless and articulated rotors, respectively. A detailed study is conducted for the first, second and third modes of a rotating cantilever beam and the first and second elastic modes of a rotating pinned-free beam, and on how to pre-select the internal nodes such that the closed-form solutions exist for these cases. The derived results can be used as benchmark solutions for the validation of rotating beam numerical methods and may also guide nodal tailoring. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TiO2/ZnO core/shell nano-heterostructure arrays as photo-electrodes with enhanced visible light photoelectrochemical performance

The present article reports a facile method for preparing the vertically-aligned 1D arrays of a new type of type II n-n TiO2/ZnO core/shell nano-heterostructures by growing the nano-shell of ZnO on the electrochemically fabricated TiO2 nanotubes core for visible light driven photoelectrochemical applications. The strong interfacial interaction at the type II heterojunction leads to an effective interfacial charge separation and charge transport. The presence of various defects such as surface states, interface states and other defects in the nano-heterostructure enable it for improved visible light photoelectrochemical performance. The presence of such defects has also been confirmed by the UV-vis absorption, cathodoluminescence, and crystallographic studies. The TiO2/ZnO core/shell nano-heterostructures exhibit strong green luminescence due to the defect transitions. The TiO2/ZnO core/shell nano-heterostructures photo-electrode show significant enhancement of visible light absorption and it provides a photocurrent density of 0.7 mA cm(-2) at 1 V vs. Ag/AgCl, which is almost 2.7 times that of the TiO2/ZnO core/shell nano-heterostructures under dark conditions. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results demonstrate that the substantially improved photoelectrochemical and photo-switching performance of the nano-heterostructures photo-anode is because of the enhancement of interfacial charge transfer and the increase in the charge carrier density caused by the incorporation of the ZnO nano-shell on TiO2 nanotube core.

Vertical electric field induced bacterial growth inactivation on amorphous carbon electrodes

The objective of the present work is to understand the vertical electric field stimulation of the bacterial cells, when grown on amorphous carbon substrates in vitro. In particular, the antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli are studied using MTTassay, live/dead assay and inner membrane permeabilization assays. In our experiments, the carbon substrate acts as one electrode and the counter electrode is positioned outside the culture medium, thus suppressing the current, electrokinetic motions and chemical reactions. Guided by similar experiments conducted in our group on neuroblastoma cells, the present experimental results further establish the interdependence of field strength and exposure duration towards bacterial growth inactivation in vitro. Importantly, significant reduction in bacterial viability was recorded at the 2.5 V/cm electric field stimulation conditions, which does not reduce the neural cell viability to any significant extent on an identical substrate. Following electrical stimulation, the bacterial growth is significantly inhibited for S. aureus bacterial strain in an exposure time dependent manner. In summary, our experiments establish the effectiveness of the vertical electric field towards bacterial growth inactivation on amorphous carbon substrates, which is a cell type dependent phenomenon (Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ZnO/ITO core/shell nanostructure electrodes for future prototype solar cell devices

The impact of indium tin oxide (ITO) layers over vertically aligned zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) has been investigated to consider ITO nanolayers as transparent conducting oxide electrodes (TCOE) for hierarchical heteronanostructure solar cell devices that have ZnO nanostructures as branches. ZnO/ITO core/shell nanostructures were prepared in two- steps using vapor-liquid-solid and evaporation processes, and further the structures were annealed at various temperatures. Transmission electron microscopic studies show that the as-grown ZnO/ITO structures consist of an amorphous ITO shell on single crystalline ZnO cores, whereas the structures annealed above 300 degrees C consist of a single crystalline ITO shell. ITO layer deposited ZnO NRs exhibit a small red-shift in ZnO near-band-edge emission as well as optical band gap. The electrical measurements carried out on single ZnO/ITO core/shell NR under dark and UV light showed excellent thermionic transport properties. From these investigations it is emphasized that ITO nanolayers could be used as TCO electrodes for prototype ZnO based hierarchical solar cell devices.

Role of electrical resistance of electrodes in modeling of discharging and charging of flooded lead-acid batteries

Electrical resistance of both the electrodes of a lead-acid battery increases during discharge due to formation of lead sulfate, an insulator. Work of Metzendorf 1] shows that resistance increases sharply at about 65% conversion of active materials, and battery stops discharging once this critical conversion is reached. However, these aspects are not incorporated into existing mathematical models. Present work uses the results of Metzendorf 1], and develops a model that includes the effect of variable resistance. Further, it uses a reasonable expression to account for the decrease in active area during discharge instead of the empirical equations of previous work. The model's predictions are compared with observations of Cugnet et al. 2]. The model is as successful as the non-mechanistic models existing in literature. Inclusion of variation in resistance of electrodes in the model is important if one of the electrodes is a limiting reactant. If active materials are stoichiometrically balanced, resistance of electrodes can be very large at the end of discharge but has only a minor effect on charging of batteries. The model points to the significance of electrical conductivity of electrodes in the charging of deep discharged batteries. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metal-organic chemical vapor-deposited cobalt oxide films as negative electrodes for thin film Li-ion battery

In this study, thin films of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) have been grown by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique on stainless steel substrate at two preferred temperatures (450 degrees C and 500 degrees C), using cobalt acetylacetonate dihydrate as precursor. Spherical as well as columnar microstructures of Co3O4 have been observed under controlled growth conditions. Further investigations reveal these films are phase-pure, well crystallized and carbon-free. High-resolution TEM analysis confirms that each columnar structure is a continuous stack of minute crystals. Comparative study between these Co3O4 films grown at 450 degrees C and 500 degrees C has been carried out for their application as negative electrodes in Li-ion batteries. Our method of electrode fabrication leads to a coating of active material directly on current collector without any use of external additives. A high specific capacity of 1168 micro Ah cm(-2) mu m(-1) has been measured reproducibly for the film deposited at 500 degrees C with columnar morphology. Further, high rate capability is observed when cycled at different current densities. The Co3O4 electrode with columnar structure has a specific capacity 38% higher than the electrode with spherical microstructure (grown at 450 degrees C). Impedance measurements on the Co3O4 electrode grown at 500 degrees C also carried out to study the kinetics of the electrode process. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Analysis of Entropy Generation During Mixed Convective Heat Transfer of Nanofluids Past a Rotating Circular Cylinder

The entropy generation due to mixed convective heat transfer of nanofluids past a rotating circular cylinder placed in a uniform cross stream is investigated via streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin based finite element method. Nanosized copper (Cu) particles suspended in water are used with Prandtl number (Pr)=6.9. The computations are carried out at a representative Reynolds number (Re) of 100. The dimensionless cylinder rotation rate, a, is varied between 0 and 2. The range of nanoparticle volume fractions (phi) considered is 0 <= phi <= 5%. Effect of aiding buoyancy is brought about by considering two fixed values of the Richardson number (Ri) as 0.5 and 1.0. A new model for predicting the effective viscosity and thermal conductivity of dilute suspensions of nanoscale colloidal particles is presented. The model addresses the details of the agglomeration-deagglomeration in tune with the pertinent variations in the effective particulate dimensions, volume fractions, as well as the aggregate structure of the particulate system. The total entropy generation is found to decrease sharply with cylinder rotation rates and nanoparticle volume fractions. Increase in nanoparticle agglomeration shows decrease in heat transfer irreversibility. The Bejan number falls sharply with increase in alpha and phi.

Three centered hydrogen bonds of the type C=O...H(N)...X-C in diphenyloxamide derivatives involving halogens and a rotating CF3 group: NMR, QTAIM, NCI and NBO studies

The existence of three centered C=O...H(N)...X-C hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) involving organic fluorine and other halogens in diphenyloxamide derivatives has been explored by NMR spectroscopy and quantum theoretical studies. The three centered H-bond with the participation of a rotating CF3 group and the F...H-N intramolecular hydrogen bonds, a rare observation of its kind in organofluorine compounds, has been detected. It is also unambiguously established by a number of one and two dimensional NMR experiments, such as temperature perturbation, solvent titration, N-15-H-1 HSQC, and F-19-H-1 HOESY, and is also confirmed by theoretical calculations, such as quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), natural bond orbital (NBO) and non-covalent interaction (NCI).

Mixed Mode Analysis of Obliquely Oriented Edge Cracked Semicircular Disk Under Compression

A new mixed-mode compression fracture specimen, obliquely oriented edge cracked semicircular disk (OECSD) is analyzed by extending pure opening mode configuration of edge cracked semicircular disk (ECSD) under Hertzian compression. Photoelastic experiments are conducted on two different specimens of OECSD of same size and different crack lengths and inclinations. Finite element method (FEM) is used to solve a number of cases of the problem varying crack length and crack inclination. FE results show a good match with experiments. Inclination of edge crack in OECSD can be so made as to obtain any mode-mixity ratio between zero and one and beyond for any crack length. The new specimen can be used for fracture testing under compression more conveniently than the existing ones in several ways.

Robust, metallic Pd17Se15 and Pd7Se4 phases from a single source precursor and their use as counter electrodes in dye sensitized solar cells

Thin films of conducting palladium selenide phases (Pd17Se15 and Pd7Se4) are prepared using a single source molecular precursor by thermolysis. Varying the mole ratios of palladium and selenium precursors results in palladium organo-selenolate complexes which on thermolysis at different temperatures yield Pd17Se15 and Pd7Se4 phases that are very stable and adherent to the substrate. The organo-selenolate complexes are characterized using small angle XRD, Se-77 NMR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The palladium selenide films are characterized by various techniques such as XRD, XPS, TEM and SEM. Electrical conductivities of the films are determined using the four probe method. The strong adherence of the films to glass substrates coupled with high corrosion resistant behavior towards strong acid and alkaline environments render them to be very effective as electrocatalysts. The catalytic activity towards the I-3(-)/I- redox couple, which is an important reaction in the regeneration of the dye in a dye-sensitized solar cell, is studied. Between the two phases, the Pd17Se15 film shows superior activity as the counter electrode for dye sensitized solar cells with a photocurrent conversion efficiency of 7.45%.

Modeling of Effect of Nucleation Rate and Electrodes' Resistance on Discharge Characteristics of Lead-Acid Batteries

Classical models are not successful in describing discharge characteristics of a lead-acid battery when the current density is varied over a wide range. A model is developed in this work to overcome this lacuna by introducing into the standard models two mechanisms that have not been used earlier. Lead sulfate particles nucleate and grow on active materials of electrodes during discharge, resulting in coverage of active area. Increasing rate of discharge builds supersaturation of lead sulfate rapidly, and causes increased extents of nucleation and coverage. Electrodes behave almost like an insulator due to deposition of lead sulfate when active materials are converted to a critical extent, and this can stop discharge process. Influence of this mechanism is also rate dependent. The new model developed is tested against data on polarization behavior, and capacity drawn as a function of current. The model successfully predicts both polarization curves and Peukert behavior. The model is used to predict charge that can be drawn at a current after partial discharge at a different current. Model suggests that altering nucleation behavior can be useful in enhancing capacity available for discharge. (C) 2015 The Electrochemical Society.

Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin Method for Rotating Euler-Bernoulli Beam

Free vibration problem of a rotating Euler-Bernoulli beam is solved with a truly meshless local Petrov-Galerkin method. Radial basis function and summation of two radial basis functions are used for interpolation. Radial basis function satisfies the Kronecker delta property and makes it simpler to apply the essential boundary conditions. Interpolation with summation of two radial basis functions increases the node carrying capacity within the sub-domain of the trial function and higher natural frequencies can be computed by selecting the complete domain as a sub-domain of the trial function. The mass and stiffness matrices are derived and numerical results for frequencies are obtained for a fixed-free beam and hinged-free beam simulating hingeless and articulated helicopter blades. Stiffness and mass distribution suitable for wind turbine blades are also considered. Results show an accurate match with existing literature.

GRMHD formulation of highly super-Chandrasekhar rotating magnetized white dwarfs: stable configurations of non-spherical white dwarfs

Here we extend the exploration of significantly super-Chandrasekhar magnetized white dwarfs by numerically computing axisymmetric stationary equilibria of differentially rotating magnetized polytropic compact stars in general relativity (GR), within the ideal magnetohydrodynamic regime. We use a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) framework that describes rotating and magnetized axisymmetric white dwarfs, choosing appropriate rotation laws and magnetic field profiles (toroidal and poloidal). The numerical procedure for finding solutions in this framework uses the 3 + 1 formalism of numerical relativity, implemented in the open source XNS code. We construct equilibrium sequences by varying different physical quantities in turn, and highlight the plausible existence of super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs, with masses in the range of 2-3 solar mass, with central (deep interior) magnetic fields of the order of 10(14) G and differential rotation with surface time periods of about 1-10 s. We note that such white dwarfs are candidates for the progenitors of peculiar, overluminous Type Ia supernovae, to which observational evidence ascribes mass in the range 2.1-2.8 solar mass. We also present some interesting results related to the structure of such white dwarfs, especially the existence of polar hollows in special cases.