Highly Electrocatalytic Activity of RuO2 Nanocrystals for Triiodide Reduction in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are promising alternatives to conventional silicon devices because of their simple fabrication procedure, low cost, and high efficiency. Platinum is generally used as a superior counter electrode (CE) material, but the disadvantages such as high cost and low abundance greatly restrict the large-scale application of DSCs. An efficient and sustainable way to overcome the limited supply of Pt is the development of high-efficiency Pt-free CE materials, which should possess both high electrical conductivity and superior electrocatalytic activity simultaneously. Herein, for the first time, a two-step strategy to synthesize ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) nanocrystals is reported, and it is shown that RuO2 catalysts exhibit promising electrocatalytic activity towards triiodide reduction, which results in comparable energy conversion efficiency to that of conventional Pt CEs. More importantly, by virtue of first-principles calculations, the catalytic mechanism of electrocatalysis for triiodide reduction on various CEs is investigated systematically and it is found that the electrochemical triiodide reduction reaction on RuO2 catalyst surfaces can be enhanced significantly, owing to the ideal combination of good electrocatalytic activity and high electrical conductivity.

Facet-Dependent Catalytic Activity of Platinum Nanocrystals for Triiodide Reduction in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Platinum (Pt) nanocrystals have demonstrated to be an effective catalyst in many heterogeneous catalytic processes. However, pioneer facets with highest activity have been reported differently for various reaction systems. Although Pt has been the most important counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), suitable atomic arrangement on the exposed crystal facet of Pt for triiodide reduction is still inexplicable. Using density functional theory, we have investigated the catalytic reaction processes of triiodide reduction over {100}, {111} and {411} facets, indicating that the activity follows the order of Pt(111) > Pt(411) > Pt(100). Further, Pt nanocrystals mainly bounded by {100}, {111} and {411} facets were synthesized and used as counter electrode materials for DSCs. The highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency of Pt(111) in DSCs confirms the predictions of the theoretical study. These findings have deepened the understanding of the mechanism of triiodide reduction at Pt surfaces and further screened the best facet for DSCs successfully.

Oxygen reduction reaction mechanism on nitrogen-doped graphene:A density functional theory study

Nitrogen-doped graphene (N-graphene) was reported to exhibit a good activity experimentally as an electrocatalyst of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode of fuel cells under the condition of electropotential of similar to 0.04 V (vs. NNE) and pH of 14. This material is promising to replace or partially replace the conventionally used Pt. In order to understand the experimental results. ORR catalyzed by N-graphene is studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations under experimental conditions taking the solvent, surface adsorbates, and coverages into consideration. Two mechanisms, i.e., dissociative and associative mechanisms, over different N-doping configurations are investigated. The results show that N-graphene surface is covered by O with 1/6 monolayer, which is used for reactions in this work. The transition state of each elementary step was identified using four different approaches, which give rise to a similar chemistry. A full energy profile including all the reaction barriers shows that the associative mechanism is more energetically favored than the dissociative one and the removal of O species from the surface is the rate-determining step. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Metal-Terminated MnCr2O4 Nano-octahedron Catalyzing MnS Dissolution in an Austenitic Stainless Steel

To understand pitting corrosion in stainless steel is very important, and a recent work showed that the MnS dissolution catalyzed by MnCr2O4{111} is a starting point of pit g. This demonstrates the need to understand the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on MnCr2O4{111}, which is the other half-reaction to complete pitting corrosion. In this study, the adsorption behaviors of all oxygen-containing species on MnCr2O4{111}, which has several possible terminations, are explored via density functional theory calculations. It is found that O-2 adsorbs on MnCr2O4{111) surfaces very strongly. Many possible reactions are investigated and the favored reaction mechanism of ORR is determined. The interactions between O-2 and H2O on the two metal-terminated MriCr(2)O(4){111} are found to be different according to the atomic configurations of the two surfaces. All the calculated results suggest that ORR can readily occur on the MnCr2O4{111} surfaces.

Hierarchical Demand Response for Peak Reduction using Dantzig‐Wolfe Decomposition

Demand Response (DR) algorithms manipulate the energy consumption schedules of controllable loads so as to satisfy grid objectives. Implementation of DR algorithms using a centralised agent can be problematic for scalability reasons, and there are issues related to the privacy of data and robustness to communication failures. Thus it is desirable to use a scalable decentralised algorithm for the implementation of DR. In this paper, a hierarchical DR scheme is proposed for Peak Minimisation (PM) based on Dantzig-Wolfe Decomposition (DWD). In addition, a Time Weighted Maximisation option is included in the cost function which improves the Quality of Service for devices seeking to receive their desired energy sooner rather than later. The paper also demonstrates how the DWD algorithm can be implemented more efficiently through the calculation of the upper and lower cost bounds after each DWD iteration.

Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formate at Low Overpotential using a Superbase Ionic Liquid

A new low-energy pathway is reported for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate and syngas at low overpotentials, utilizing a reactive ionic liquid as the solvent. The superbasic tetraalkyl phosphonium ionic liquid [P66614][124Triz] is able to chemisorb CO2 through equimolar binding of CO2 with the 1,2,4-triazole anion. This chemisorbed CO2 can be reduced at silver electrodes at overpotentials as low as 0.17 V, forming formate. In contrast, physically absorbed CO2 within the same ionic liquid or in ionic liquids where chemisorption is impossible (such as [P66614][NTf2]) undergoes reduction at significantly increased overpotentials, producing only CO as the product.

Labeled 15NO experiments for the study of NOx reduction over Pt-Ba/Al2O3 LNT catalyst

Kinetics of methylene blue (MB) photocatalyzed reduction and dark regeneration in a colorimetric oxygen sensor

Performance data for a dye based, regenerable oxygen sensor (Mills and Lawrie [1], Mills et al. [2]) are analyzed to develop useful kinetic models for sensor photoactivation (dye reduction) and dark, oxygen detection (dye oxidation). The titania loaded, thin film sensor exhibits an apparent first order photoactivation of the dye, which we demonstrate (Section 3.2 and Fig. 4) is due to a kinetic disguise of a zero order photoreaction occurring through a non-uniformly illuminated sensor film. The observed zero order, slow recovery due to dye oxidation by dioxygen (O2 detection) appears best rationalized by a model assuming a near O2-impermeable skin developing on the sensor surface as solvent is evaporatively removed following sensor film casting and curing.

Corneal hysteresis is correlated with reduction in axial length after trabeculectomy.

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine whether corneal biomechanical parameters are predictive of reduction in axial length after anti-metabolite trabeculectomy. METHODS: Chinese subjects undergoing trabeculectomy with mitomycin C by a single experienced surgeon underwent the following measurements: Corneal hysteresis (CH, Ocular Response Analyzer, Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments), Goldmann intra-ocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT) and axial length (AL, IOLMaster, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) were measured pre-operatively, and AL, CH and IOP were measured 1 day and 1 week post-operatively. RESULTS: Mean age of 31 subjects was 52.0 ± 15.2 years, and 15 (48.4%) were female. The mean pre-operative IOP of 21.4 ± 9.3 mmHg was reduced to 8.2 ± 4.6 mmHg 1 day and 11.0 ± 4.4 mmHg 1 week post-operatively (p < 0.001). AL declined from 22.99 ± 0.90 to 22.76 ± 0.87 mm at 1 day and 22.74 ± 0.9 mm at 1 week; 30/31 (%) eyes had a decline in AL (p < 0.001, sign test). In multivariate linear regression models including post-operative data from 1 day and 1 week, greater decline in Goldmann IOP (p < 0.0001, greater pre-op axial length (p < 0.001) and lower pre-operative CH (p = 0.03), were all associated with greater decline in post-operative axial length. CONCLUSIONS: Eyes with lesser ability of the ocular coat to absorb energy (lower CH) had significantly greater decrease in axial length after trabeculectomy-induced IOP-lowering.

Strength reduction of till under dynamic pore pressure condition

Cuttings in heavily overconsolidated clays are known to be susceptible to progressive deformation caused by creep and fatigue that usually begins at the toe of the slope. The progressive deformation leads to strength reduction with time at constant stress (or called softening) and could be accelerated by fluctuation of groundwater level associated with more extreme rainfall events predicted through climate change. The purpose of this paper is to assess the mechanism of progressive deformation due to creep and fatigue using element testing on samples of till. The samples were subjected to fully drained loading and the deviator stresses were held constant at various percentages of peak failure stress, while the pore water pressure was kept static or dynamic (fluctuating ±5 kPa) over a period of time. The results have shown that the samples experienced significant deformation even at a higher factor of safety (i.e. the failure deviator stress/deviator stress at which the pore water pressure was fluctuated) under pore water pressure dynamics.