RESEARCHES ON CHEMICALLY MODIFIED ELECTRODES - ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF 1-12 PHOSPHOMOLYBDIC HETEROPOLY ANION FILM MODIFIED ELECTRODE

A monolayer of 1:12 phosphomolybdic anion (PMo_(12)) was modified electrochemically on a glassy carbon electrode and its electrochemical behavior was studied with cyclic voltammetry (CV). It is shown that PMo_(12) film is adsoibed strongly on the surface of glassy carbon electrodes, H~+ ions in the solution plays an important role in the electrochemical processes of PMo_(12) film modified electrodes, whereas other anions, such as Cl~-, NO_3~-, SO_4~(2-), ClO_4~- and PO_4~(3-) etc., do not take par...

Design and synthesis of hierarchical MnO2 nanospheres/carbon nanotubes/conducting polymer ternary composite for high performance electrochemical electrodes.

For efficient use of metal oxides, such as MnO(2) and RuO(2), in pseudocapacitors and other electrochemical applications, the poor conductivity of the metal oxide is a major problem. To tackle the problem, we have designed a ternary nanocomposite film composed of metal oxide (MnO(2)), carbon nanotube (CNT), and conducting polymer (CP). Each component in the MnO(2)/CNT/CP film provides unique and critical function to achieve optimized electrochemical properties. The electrochemical performance of the film is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, and constant-current charge/discharge cycling techniques. Specific capacitance (SC) of the ternary composite electrode can reach 427 F/g. Even at high mass loading and high concentration of MnO(2) (60%), the film still showed SC value as high as 200 F/g. The electrode also exhibited excellent charge/discharge rate and good cycling stability, retaining over 99% of its initial charge after 1000 cycles. The results demonstrated that MnO(2) is effectively utilized with assistance of other components (fFWNTs and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) in the electrode. Such ternary composite is very promising for the next generation high performance electrochemical supercapacitors.

Localization of Metal Electrodes in the Intact Rat Brain Using Registration of 3D Microcomputed Tomography Images to a Magnetic Resonance Histology Atlas.

Simultaneous neural recordings taken from multiple areas of the rodent brain are garnering growing interest due to the insight they can provide about spatially distributed neural circuitry. The promise of such recordings has inspired great progress in methods for surgically implanting large numbers of metal electrodes into intact rodent brains. However, methods for localizing the precise location of these electrodes have remained severely lacking. Traditional histological techniques that require slicing and staining of physical brain tissue are cumbersome, and become increasingly impractical as the number of implanted electrodes increases. Here we solve these problems by describing a method that registers 3-D computerized tomography (CT) images of intact rat brains implanted with metal electrode bundles to a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Histology (MRH) Atlas. Our method allows accurate visualization of each electrode bundle's trajectory and location without removing the electrodes from the brain or surgically implanting external markers. In addition, unlike physical brain slices, once the 3D images of the electrode bundles and the MRH atlas are registered, it is possible to verify electrode placements from many angles by "re-slicing" the images along different planes of view. Further, our method can be fully automated and easily scaled to applications with large numbers of specimens. Our digital imaging approach to efficiently localizing metal electrodes offers a substantial addition to currently available methods, which, in turn, may help accelerate the rate at which insights are gleaned from rodent network neuroscience.

Increasing Stability of Lithium-Ion Batteries with Ordered Graphene Silicon Negative Electrodes

Currently, lackluster battery capability is restricting the widespread integration of Smart Grids, limiting the long-term feasibility of alternative, green energy conversion technologies. Silicon nanoparticles have great conductivity for applications in rechargeable batteries, but have degradation issues due to changes in volume during lithiation/delithiation cycles. To combat this, we use electrochemical deposition to uniformly space silicon particles on graphene sheets to create a more stable structure. We found the process of electrochemical deposition degraded the graphene binding in the electrode material, severely reducing charge capacity. But, the usage of mechanically mixing silicon particles with grapheme yielded batteries better than those that are commercially available.