Understanding interaction of curcumin and metal ions on electrode surfaces using EDXRF

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Daisy; Kumar, K. Krishna; Narayanan, S. Sriman

2018-04-01

A chemically modified electrode was developed for determination of metal ions (Cd, Pb, Zn, Co, Hg). The modifier used for the study was Curcumin. Curcumin acts as a complexing agent at the surface of the electrode for preconcentration of metal ions from electrolyte to electrode surface and stripped back to electrolyte during analysis. EDXRF was used to analyze these electrodes and it was concluded that the PCR modified electrode favored effective chelation for lead and mercury.

Electrochemical surface plasmon resonance sensor based on two-electrode configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Bing; Dong, Wei; Wen, Yizhang; Pang, Kai; Wang, Xiaoping; Li, Yazhuo; Zhan, Shuyue

2016-01-01

To obtain detailed information about electrochemistry reactions, a two-electrode electrochemical surface plasmon resonance (EC-SPR) sensor has been proposed. We describe the theory of potential modulation for this novel sensor and determine the factors that can change the SPR resonance angle. The reference electrode in three-electrode configuration was eliminated, and comparing with several other electrode materials, activated carbon (AC) is employed as the suitable counter electrode for its potential stability. Just like three-electrode configuration, the simpler AC two-electrode system can also obtain detailed information about the electrochemical reactions. (paper)

A surface-electrode quadrupole guide for electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffrogge, Johannes Philipp

2012-12-19

This thesis reports on the design and first experimental realization of a surface-electrode quadrupole guide for free electrons. The guide is based on a miniaturized, planar electrode layout and is driven at microwave frequencies. It confines electrons in the near-field of the microwave excitation, where strong electric field gradients can be generated without resorting to resonating structures or exceptionally high drive powers. The use of chip-based electrode geometries allows the realization of versatile, microstructured potentials with the perspective of novel quantum experiments with guided electrons. I present the design, construction and operation of an experiment that demonstrates electron confinement in a planar quadrupole guide for the first time. To this end, electrons with kinetic energies from one to ten electron-volts are guided along a curved electrode geometry. The stability of electron guiding as a function of drive parameters and electron energy has been studied. A comparison with numerical particle tracking simulations yields good qualitative agreement and provides a deeper understanding of the electron dynamics in the guiding potential. Furthermore, this thesis gives a detailed description of the design of the surface-electrode layout. This includes the development of an optimized coupling structure to inject electrons into the guide with minimum transverse excitation. I also discuss the extension of the current setup to longitudinal guide dimensions that are comparable to or larger than the wavelength of the drive signal. This is possible with a modified electrode layout featuring elevated signal conductors. Electron guiding in the field of a planar, microfabricated electrode layout allows the generation of versatile and finely structured guiding potentials. One example would be the realization of junctions that split and recombine a guided electron beam. Furthermore, it should be possible to prepare electrons in low-lying quantum mechanical

A surface-electrode quadrupole guide for electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffrogge, Johannes Philipp

2012-01-01

This thesis reports on the design and first experimental realization of a surface-electrode quadrupole guide for free electrons. The guide is based on a miniaturized, planar electrode layout and is driven at microwave frequencies. It confines electrons in the near-field of the microwave excitation, where strong electric field gradients can be generated without resorting to resonating structures or exceptionally high drive powers. The use of chip-based electrode geometries allows the realization of versatile, microstructured potentials with the perspective of novel quantum experiments with guided electrons. I present the design, construction and operation of an experiment that demonstrates electron confinement in a planar quadrupole guide for the first time. To this end, electrons with kinetic energies from one to ten electron-volts are guided along a curved electrode geometry. The stability of electron guiding as a function of drive parameters and electron energy has been studied. A comparison with numerical particle tracking simulations yields good qualitative agreement and provides a deeper understanding of the electron dynamics in the guiding potential. Furthermore, this thesis gives a detailed description of the design of the surface-electrode layout. This includes the development of an optimized coupling structure to inject electrons into the guide with minimum transverse excitation. I also discuss the extension of the current setup to longitudinal guide dimensions that are comparable to or larger than the wavelength of the drive signal. This is possible with a modified electrode layout featuring elevated signal conductors. Electron guiding in the field of a planar, microfabricated electrode layout allows the generation of versatile and finely structured guiding potentials. One example would be the realization of junctions that split and recombine a guided electron beam. Furthermore, it should be possible to prepare electrons in low-lying quantum mechanical

Improving surface acousto-optical interaction by high aspect ratio electrodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dühring, Maria Bayard; Laude, Vincent; Khelif, Abdelkrim

2009-01-01

The acousto-optical interaction of an optical wave confined inside a waveguide and a surface acoustic wave launched by an interdigital transducer (IDT) at the surface of a piezoelectric material is considered. The IDT with high aspect ratio electrodes supports several acoustic modes that are stro......The acousto-optical interaction of an optical wave confined inside a waveguide and a surface acoustic wave launched by an interdigital transducer (IDT) at the surface of a piezoelectric material is considered. The IDT with high aspect ratio electrodes supports several acoustic modes...

Ion Motion Stability in Asymmetric Surface Electrode Ion Traps

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Fayaz; Ozakin, Arkadas

2010-03-01

Many recently developed designs of the surface electrode ion traps for quantum information processing have asymmetry built into their geometries. The asymmetry helps rotate the trap axes to angles with respect to electrode surface that facilitate laser cooling of ions but introduces a relative angle between the RF and DC fields and invalidates the classical stability analysis of the symmetric case for which the equations of motion are decoupled. For asymmetric case the classical motion of a single ion is given by a coupled, multi-dimensional version of Mathieu's equation. In this poster we discuss the stability diagram of asymmetric surface traps by performing an approximate multiple scale perturbation analysis of the coupled Mathieu equations, and validate the results with numerical simulations. After obtaining the stability diagram for the linear fields, we simulate the motion of an ion in a given asymmetric surface trap, utilizing a method-of-moments calculation of the electrode fields. We obtain the stability diagram and compare it with the ideal case to find the region of validity. Finally, we compare the results of our stability analysis to experiments conducted on a microfabricated asymmetric surface trap.

Surface modification of positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Julien, C.M., E-mail: Christian.Julien@upmc.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (PHENIX), UMR 8234, 75005 Paris (France); Mauger, A. [Institut de Minéralogie de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), UPMC Univ. Paris 6, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris (France); Groult, H. [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (PHENIX), UMR 8234, 75005 Paris (France); Zaghib, K. [Energy Storage and Conversion, Research Institute of Hydro-Québec, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S1 (Canada)

2014-12-01

The advanced lithium-ion batteries are critically important for a wide range of applications, from portable electronics to electric vehicles. The research on their electrodes aims to increase the energy density and the power density, improve the calendar and the cycling life, without sacrificing the safety issues. A constant progress through the years has been obtained owing to the surface treatment of the particles, in particular the coating of the nanoparticles with a layer that protects the core region from side reactions with the electrolyte, prevents the loss of oxygen, and the dissolution of the metal ions in the electrolyte, or simply improve the conductivity of the powder. The purpose of the present work is to present the different surface modifications that have been tried for three families of positive electrodes: layered, spinel and olivine frameworks that are currently considered as promising materials. The role of the different coats used to improve either the surface conductivity, or the thermal stability, or the structural integrity is discussed. - Highlights: • Report the various surface modifications tried for the positive electrodes of Li-ion batteries. • The role of different coats used to improve the conductivity, or the thermal stability, or the structural integrity. • Improvement of electrochemical properties of electrodes after coating or surface treatment.

Direct electrodeposition of metal nanowires on electrode surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gambirasi, Arianna; Cattarin, Sandro; Musiani, Marco; Vazquez-Gomez, Lourdes; Verlato, Enrico

2011-01-01

A method for decorating the surface of disk electrodes with metal nanowires is presented. Cu and Ni nanowires with diameters from 1.0 μm to 0.2 μm are directly deposited on the electrode surface using a polycarbonate membrane filter template maintained in contact with the metal substrate by the soft homogeneous pressure of a sponge soaked with electrolyte. The morphologic and structural properties of the deposit are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The latter shows that the head of nanowires with diameter of 0.4 μm is ordinarily polycrystalline, and that of nanowires with diameter of 0.2 μm is almost always monocrystalline for Cu and frequently also for Ni. Cyclic voltammetries and impedance investigations recorded in alkaline solutions at representative Ni electrodes decorated with nanowires provide consistent values of roughness factor, in the range 20-25.

Surface studies of Li-ion and Mg battery electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Esbenshade, Jennifer

This dissertation focuses on studies of the surfaces of both Li-ion and Mg-ion battery electrodes. A fundamental understanding of processes occurring at the electrode surface is vital to the development of advanced battery systems. Additionally, modifications to the electrode surfaces are made and further characterized for improved performance. LiMn2O4 Cathodes for Li-ion Batteries: Effect of Mn in electrolyte on anode and Au coating to minimize dissolution: LiMn2O4 (LMO) is known to dissolve Mn ions with cycling. This section focuses on both the effect of the dissolution of Mn2+ into the electrolyte as well as Au coating on the LMO to improve electrochemical performance. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) was used to monitor changes in mass on the anode, SEM and AES were used to observe changes in surface morphology and chemical composition, and potentiostatic voltammetry was used to monitor charge and discharge capacity. The effect of Cu2+ addition in place of Mn2+ was also studied, as Cu is known to form an underpotential deposition (UPD) monolayer on Au electrodes. Following this, LMO particles were coated with a Au shell by a simple and scalable electroless deposition for use as Li-ion battery cathodes. The Au shell was intended to limit the capacity fade commonly seen with LMO cathodes by reducing the dissolution of Mn. Characterization by SEM, TEM, EELS, and AFM showed that the Au shell was approximately 3 nm thick. The Au shell prevented much of the Mn from dissolving in the electrolyte with 82% and 88% less dissolved Mn in the electrolyte at room temperature and 65 ºC, respectively, as compared to the uncoated LMO. Electrochemical performance studies with half cells showed that the Au shell maintained a higher discharge capacity over 400 cycles by nearly 30% with 110 mA hr g-1 for the 400th cycle as compared to a commercial LMO at 85 mA hr g-1. Similarly, the capacity fade was reduced in full cells: the coated LMO had 47% greater capacity

Effect of surface roughness and surface modification of indium tin oxide electrode on its potential response to tryptophan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Md. Zaved Hossain; Nakanishi, Takuya; Kuroiwa, Shigeki; Hoshi, Yoichi; Osaka, Tetsuya

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We examine factors affecting potential response of ITO electrode to tryptophan. → Surface roughness of ITO electrode affects the stability of its rest potential. → Surface modification is effective for ITO electrode with a certain roughness. → Optimum values of work function exist for potential response of ITO to tryptophan. - Abstract: The effect of surface modification of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode on its potential response to tryptophan was investigated for ITO substrates with different surface roughness. It was found that a small difference in surface roughness, between ∼1 and ∼2 nm of R a evaluated by atomic force microscopy, affects the rest potential of ITO electrode in the electrolyte. A slight difference in In:Sn ratio at the near surface of the ITO substrates, measured by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectrometry and Auger electron spectroscopy is remarkable, and considered to relate with surface roughness. Interestingly, successive modification of the ITO surface with aminopropylsilane and disuccinimidyl suberate, of which essentiality to the potential response to indole compounds we previously reported, improved the stability of the rest potential and enabled the electrodes to respond to tryptophan in case of specimens with R a values ranging between ∼2 and ∼3 nm but not for those with R a of ∼1 nm. It was suggested that there are optimum values of effective work function of ITO for specific potential response to tryptophan, which can be obtained by the successive modification of ITO surface.

Effect of multipactor conditioning on technical electrode surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graves, T. P.; Spektor, R.; Stout, P.

2009-01-01

Historically, multipactor conditioning has been utilized to remove surface contaminants from rf electrodes by electron-stimulated gas desorption, and such conditioning has been shown to reduce multipactor susceptibility. Multipactor threshold improvements are due to increasing E 1 , the minimum energy for the secondary electron coefficient, δ>1, such that resonant electrons are incapable of producing discharge-sustaining secondary emission. Using an rf amplitude sweep technique, the evolution of the multipactor threshold is measured as a function of multipactor conditioning time for a series of technical electrode surfaces. Results show over +3 dB of threshold improvement in copper and gold electrodes, while the aluminum threshold actually decreases with conditioning exposure. Additionally, these conditioning results indicate the possible voltage region for transient-mode multipaction (TMM), which can cause significant risk to rf systems such as space satellite components for which in-situ conditioning is generally not possible. Experimental results and supporting Monte Carlo particle tracking simulation results are presented.

Surface Area Expansion of Electrodes with Grass-like Nanostructures to Enhance Electricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Al Atraktchi, Fatima Al-Zahraa; Zhang, Yifeng; Noori, Jafar Safaa

2012-01-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have applications possibilities for wastewater treatment, biotransformation, and biosensor, but the development of highly efficient electrode materials is critical for enhancing the power generation. Two types of electrodes modified with nanoparticles or grass-like nan......Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have applications possibilities for wastewater treatment, biotransformation, and biosensor, but the development of highly efficient electrode materials is critical for enhancing the power generation. Two types of electrodes modified with nanoparticles or grass...... of plain silicium showed a maximum power density of 86.0 mW/m2. Further expanding the surface area of carbon paper electrodes with gold nanoparticles resulted in a maximum stable power density of 346.9 mW/m2 which is 2.9 times higher than that achieved with conventional carbon paper. These results show...

Effects of Cable Sway, Electrode Surface Area, and Electrode Mass on Electroencephalography Signal Quality during Motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Symeonidou, Evangelia-Regkina; Nordin, Andrew D; Hairston, W David; Ferris, Daniel P

2018-04-03

More neuroscience researchers are using scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to measure electrocortical dynamics during human locomotion and other types of movement. Motion artifacts corrupt the EEG and mask underlying neural signals of interest. The cause of motion artifacts in EEG is often attributed to electrode motion relative to the skin, but few studies have examined EEG signals under head motion. In the current study, we tested how motion artifacts are affected by the overall mass and surface area of commercially available electrodes, as well as how cable sway contributes to motion artifacts. To provide a ground-truth signal, we used a gelatin head phantom with embedded antennas broadcasting electrical signals, and recorded EEG with a commercially available electrode system. A robotic platform moved the phantom head through sinusoidal displacements at different frequencies (0-2 Hz). Results showed that a larger electrode surface area can have a small but significant effect on improving EEG signal quality during motion and that cable sway is a major contributor to motion artifacts. These results have implications in the development of future hardware for mobile brain imaging with EEG.

High-voltage electrode optimization towards uniform surface treatment by a pulsed volume discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponomarev, A V; Pedos, M S; Scherbinin, S V; Mamontov, Y I; Ponomarev, S V

2015-01-01

In this study, the shape and material of the high-voltage electrode of an atmospheric pressure plasma generation system were optimised. The research was performed with the goal of achieving maximum uniformity of plasma treatment of the surface of the low-voltage electrode with a diameter of 100 mm. In order to generate low-temperature plasma with the volume of roughly 1 cubic decimetre, a pulsed volume discharge was used initiated with a corona discharge. The uniformity of the plasma in the region of the low-voltage electrode was assessed using a system for measuring the distribution of discharge current density. The system's low-voltage electrode - collector - was a disc of 100 mm in diameter, the conducting surface of which was divided into 64 radially located segments of equal surface area. The current at each segment was registered by a high-speed measuring system controlled by an ARM™-based 32-bit microcontroller. To facilitate the interpretation of results obtained, a computer program was developed to visualise the results. The program provides a 3D image of the current density distribution on the surface of the low-voltage electrode. Based on the results obtained an optimum shape for a high-voltage electrode was determined. Uniformity of the distribution of discharge current density in relation to distance between electrodes was studied. It was proven that the level of non-uniformity of current density distribution depends on the size of the gap between electrodes. Experiments indicated that it is advantageous to use graphite felt VGN-6 (Russian abbreviation) as the material of the high-voltage electrode's emitting surface. (paper)

Fabricating solid carbon porous electrodes from powders

Science.gov (United States)

Kaschmitter, James L.; Tran, Tri D.; Feikert, John H.; Mayer, Steven T.

1997-01-01

Fabrication of conductive solid porous carbon electrodes for use in batteries, double layer capacitors, fuel cells, capacitive dionization, and waste treatment. Electrodes fabricated from low surface area (Electrodes having a higher surface area, fabricated from powdered carbon blacks, such as carbon aerogel powder, carbon aerogel microspheres, activated carbons, etc. yield high conductivity carbon compositives with excellent double layer capacity, and can be used in double layer capacitors, or for capacitive deionization and/or waste treatment of liquid streams. By adding metallic catalysts to be high surface area carbons, fuel cell electrodes can be produced.

Numerical modelling of needle-grid electrodes for negative surface corona charging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang, Y; Chen, G; Rotaru, M

2011-01-01

Surface potential decay measurement is a simple and low cost tool to examine electrical properties of insulation materials. During the corona charging stage, a needle-grid electrodes system is often used to achieve uniform charge distribution on the surface of the sample. In this paper, a model using COMSOL Multiphysics has been developed to simulate the gas discharge. A well-known hydrodynamic drift-diffusion model was used. The model consists of a set of continuity equations accounting for the movement, generation and loss of charge carriers (electrons, positive and negative ions) coupled with Poisson's equation to take into account the effect of space and surface charges on the electric field. Four models with the grid electrode in different positions and several mesh sizes are compared with a model that only has the needle electrode. The results for impulse current and surface charge density on the sample clearly show the effect of the extra grid electrode with various positions.

Effect of Surface Treatment on Performance of Electrode Material Based on Carbon Fiber Cloth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

XU Jian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The carbon fiber cloth was treated by surface treatment, and then it was used as the electrode substrate. The electrode material based on carbon fibers was synthesized by a galvanostatic electrodeposition method. The interface resistivity, electrochemical property and corrosion resistance of the CF/β-PbO2 electrode were characterized by four-probe method and electrochemical workstation, respectively. The results show that the surface roughness and chemical activity of the carbon fibers can be significantly improved through surface treatment. The carbon fibers possess the best chemical activity on the surface at the hot-air oxidation temperature of 400℃. Joint hot-air and liquid-phase oxidations show that the chemical activity of the carbon fibers on the surface is further improved, the grooves and pits on the surface of the carbon fibers are more obvious, after this treatment, the interface resistivity of the CF/β-PbO2 electrode reaches the minimum value of 6.19×10-5Ω·m, meanwhile, the conductivity and the electrochemical property of the CF/β-PbO2 electrode reaches the best, and with the best corrosion resistance, the corrosion rate is only 1.44×10-3g·cm-2·h-1.Thus, the interface resistivity, electrochemical property and corrosion resistance of the CF/β-PbO2 electrode depend on the the interface structure of the CF/β-PbO2 electrode obtained under different surface treatments.

The electrochemical behavior and surface structure of titanium electrodes modified by ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, G.F.; Xie, Z.; Huang, W.Q.; Yang, S.B.; Zhao, L.H.

2004-01-01

Industrial grade titanium modified by ion implantation and sputtering was used as electrodes. The effect of ion beam modification on the electrochemical behavior and surface structure of electrodes was investigated. Also discussed is the hydrogen evolution process of the electrode in acidic solution. Several ions such as Fe + , C + , W + , Ni + and others, were implanted into the electrode. The electrochemical tests were carried out in 1N H 2 SO 4 solution at 30±1 deg. C. The electrode potential was measured versus a saturate calomel electrode as a function of immersion time. The cathodic polarization curves were measured by the stable potential static method. The surface layer composition and the chemical state of the electrodes were also investigated by Auger electron spectrometer (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique. The results show that: (1) the stability of modified electrodes depends on the active elements introduced by ion implantation and sputtering deposition. (2) The hydrogen evolution activity of industrial grade titanium may be improved greatly by ion beam modification. (3) Ion beam modification changed the composition and the surface state of electrodes over a certain depth range and forms an activity layer having catalytic hydrogen evolution, which inhibited the absorption of hydrogen and formation of titanium hydride. Thus promoted hydrogen evolution and improved the hydrogen evolution catalytic activity in industrial grade titanium

Magnetic loading of TiO2/SiO2/Fe3O4 nanoparticles on electrode surface for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of diclofenac

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Xinyue; Yang, Juan; Zhang, Jingdong

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Magnetic TSF nanoparticles are immobilized on electrode surface with aid of magnet. ► Magnetically attached TSF electrode shows high photoelectrochemical activity. ► Diclofenac is effectively degraded on TSF-loaded electrode by photoelectrocatalysis. ► Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of diclofenac is monitored with voltammetry. - Abstract: A novel magnetic nanomaterials-loaded electrode developed for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) treatment of pollutants was described. Prior to electrode fabrication, magnetic TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Fe 3 O 4 (TSF) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and FT-IR measurements. The nanoparticles were dispersed in ethanol and then immobilized on a graphite electrode surface with aid of magnet to obtain a TSF-loaded electrode with high photoelectrochemical activity. The performance of the TSF-loaded electrode was tested by comparing the PEC degradation of methylene blue in the presence and absence of magnet. The magnetically attached TSF electrode showed higher PEC degradation efficiency with desirable stability. Such a TSF-loaded electrode was applied to PEC degradation of diclofenac. After 45 min PEC treatment, 95.3% of diclofenac was degraded on the magnetically attached TSF electrode.

Catoptric electrodes: transparent metal electrodes using shaped surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Kik, Pieter G

2014-09-01

An optical electrode design is presented that theoretically allows 100% optical transmission through an interdigitated metallic electrode at 50% metal areal coverage. This is achieved by redirection of light incident on embedded metal electrode lines to an angle beyond that required for total internal reflection. Full-field electromagnetic simulations using realistic material parameters demonstrate 84% frequency-averaged transmission for unpolarized illumination across the entire visible spectral range using a silver interdigitated electrode at 50% areal coverage. The redirection is achieved through specular reflection, making it nonresonant and arbitrarily broadband, provided the electrode width exceeds the optical wavelength. These findings could significantly improve the performance of photovoltaic devices and optical detectors that require high-conductivity top contacts.

Textile Electrodes Embedded in Clothing: A Practical Alternative to Traditional Surface Electromyography when Assessing Muscle Excitation during Functional Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steffi L. Colyer, Polly M. McGuigan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Textile electromyography (EMG electrodes embedded in clothing allow muscle excitation to be recorded in previously inaccessible settings; however, their ability to accurately and reliably measure EMG during dynamic tasks remains largely unexplored. To quantify the validity and reliability of textile electrodes, 16 recreationally active males completed two identical testing sessions, within which three functional movements (run, cycle and squat were performed twice: once wearing EMG shorts (measuring quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals myoelectric activity and once with surface EMG electrodes attached to the vastus lateralis, biceps femoris and gluteus maximus. EMG signals were identically processed to provide average rectified EMG (normalized to walking and excitation length. Results were compared across measurement systems and demonstrated good agreement between the magnitude of muscle excitation when EMG activity was lower, but agreement was poorer when excitation was higher. The length of excitation bursts was consistently longer when measured using textile vs. surface EMG electrodes. Comparable between-session (day-to-day repeatability was found for average rectified EMG (mean coefficient of variation, CV: 42.6 and 41.2% and excitation length (CV: 12.9 and 9.8% when using textile and surface EMG, respectively. Additionally, similar within-session repeatability (CV was recorded for average rectified EMG (13.8 and 14.1% and excitation length (13.0 and 12.7% for textile and surface electrodes, respectively. Generally, textile EMG electrodes appear to be capable of providing comparable muscle excitation information and reproducibility to surface EMG during dynamic tasks. Textile EMG shorts could therefore be a practical alternative to traditional laboratory-based methods allowing muscle excitation information to be collected in more externally-valid training environments.

Method of electrode printing on one or more surfaces of a dielectric substrate

KAUST Repository

Neophytou, Marios

2017-09-14

Described herein is a method for printing electrodes surfaces of a dielectric substrate. Provided herein is a new method of depositing electrically conductive electrodes of any shape on flexible and/or rigid dielectric substrates/surfaces and devices so produced. In various embodiments, the devices can generate ionic wind, for example to remove dust or other debris or contaminants or to remove ice or humidity from a surface.

Method of electrode printing on one or more surfaces of a dielectric substrate

KAUST Repository

Neophytou, Marios; Kirkus, Mindaugas; Lacoste, Deanna A.

2017-01-01

Described herein is a method for printing electrodes surfaces of a dielectric substrate. Provided herein is a new method of depositing electrically conductive electrodes of any shape on flexible and/or rigid dielectric substrates/surfaces and devices so produced. In various embodiments, the devices can generate ionic wind, for example to remove dust or other debris or contaminants or to remove ice or humidity from a surface.

Low temperature formation of electrode having electrically conductive metal oxide surface

Science.gov (United States)

Anders, Simone; Anders, Andre; Brown, Ian G.; McLarnon, Frank R.; Kong, Fanping

1998-01-01

A low temperature process is disclosed for forming metal suboxides on substrates by cathodic arc deposition by either controlling the pressure of the oxygen present in the deposition chamber, or by controlling the density of the metal flux, or by a combination of such adjustments, to thereby control the ratio of oxide to metal in the deposited metal suboxide coating. The density of the metal flux may, in turn, be adjusted by controlling the discharge current of the arc, by adjusting the pulse length (duration of on cycle) of the arc, and by adjusting the frequency of the arc, or any combination of these parameters. In a preferred embodiment, a low temperature process is disclosed for forming an electrically conductive metal suboxide, such as, for example, an electrically conductive suboxide of titanium, on an electrode surface, such as the surface of a nickel oxide electrode, by such cathodic arc deposition and control of the deposition parameters. In the preferred embodiment, the process results in a titanium suboxide-coated nickel oxide electrode exhibiting reduced parasitic evolution of oxygen during charging of a cell made using such an electrode as the positive electrode, as well as exhibiting high oxygen overpotential, resulting in suppression of oxygen evolution at the electrode at full charge of the cell.

Single-step fabrication of electrodes with controlled nanostructured surface roughness using optically-induced electrodeposition

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, N.; Li, M.; Liu, L.; Yang, Y.; Mai, J.; Pu, H.; Sun, Y.; Li, W. J.

2018-02-01

The customized fabrication of microelectrodes from gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has attracted much attention due to their numerous applications in chemistry and biomedical engineering, such as for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and as catalyst sites for electrochemistry. Herein, we present a novel optically-induced electrodeposition (OED) method for rapidly fabricating gold electrodes which are also surface-modified with nanoparticles in one single step. The electrodeposition mechanism, with respect to the applied AC voltage signal and the elapsed deposition time, on the resulting morphology and particle sizes was investigated. The results from SEM and AFM analysis demonstrated that 80-200 nm gold particles can be formed on the surface of the gold electrodes. Simultaneously, both the size of the nanoparticles and the roughness of the fabricated electrodes can be regulated by the deposition time. Compared to state-of-the-art methods for fabricating microelectrodes with AuNPs, such as nano-seed-mediated growth and conventional electrodeposition, this OED technique has several advantages including: (1) electrode fabrication and surface modification using nanoparticles are completed in a single step, eliminating the need for prefabricating micro electrodes; (2) the patterning of electrodes is defined using a digitally-customized, projected optical image rather than using fixed physical masks; and (3) both the fabrication and surface modification processes are rapid, and the entire fabrication process only requires less than 6 s.

Electromagnetic surface waves for large-area RF plasma productions between large-area planar electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nonaka, S.

1992-01-01

Recently, large-area plasma production has been tested by means of a 13.56 MHz radio-frequency (RF) discharge between a pair of large-area planar electrodes, approximately 0.5 m x 1.4 m, as one of the semiconductor technologies for fabrication of large-area amorphous silicon solar cells in the ''Sunshine Project'' of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. We also confirmed long plasma production between a pair of long electrodes. In this paper, normal electromagnetic (EM) waves propagating in a region between a planar waveguide with one plasma and two dielectric layers are analyzed in order to study the feasibility of large-area plasma productions by EM wave-discharges between a pair of large-area RF electrodes larger than the half-wavelength of RF wave. In conclusion, plasmas higher than an electron plasma frequency will be produced by an odd TMoo surface mode. (author) 4 refs., 3 figs

Influence of surface states of CuInS{sub 2} quantum dots in quantum dots sensitized photo-electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peng, Zhuoyin; Liu, Yueli [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); Wu, Lei [School of Electronic and Electrical, Wuhan Railway Vocational College of Technology, Wuhan 430205 (China); Zhao, Yinghan; Chen, Keqiang [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China); Chen, Wen, E-mail: chenw@whut.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China)

2016-12-01

Graphical abstract: J–V curves of different ligands capped CuInS{sub 2} QDs sensitized TiO{sub 2} photo-electrodes. - Highlights: • DDT, OLA, MPA, and S{sup 2−} ligand capped CuInS{sub 2} quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes are prepared. • Surface states of quantum dots greatly influence the electrochemical performance of CuInS{sub 2} quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes. • S{sup 2−} ligand enhances the UV–vis absorption and electron–hole separation property as well as the excellent charge transfer performance of the photo-electrodes. - Abstract: Surface states are significant factor for the enhancement of electrochemical performance in CuInS{sub 2} quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes. DDT, OLA, MPA, and S{sup 2−} ligand capped CuInS{sub 2} quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes are prepared by thermolysis, solvethermal and ligand-exchange processes, respectively, and their optical properties and photoelectrochemical properties are investigated. The S{sup 2−} ligand enhances the UV–vis absorption and electron–hole separation property as well as the excellent charge transfer performance of the photo-electrodes, which is attributed to the fact that the atomic S{sup 2−} ligand for the interfacial region of quantum dots may improve the electron transfer rate. These S{sup 2−}-capped CuInS{sub 2} quantum dot sensitized photo-electrodes exhibit the excellent photoelectrochemical efficiency and IPCE peak value, which is higher than that of the samples with DDT, OLA and MPA ligands.

Improving electromechanical output of IPMC by high surface area Pd-Pt electrodes and tailored ionomer membrane thickness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viljar Palmre

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, we attempt to improve the electromechanical performance of ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs by developing high surface area Pd-Pt electrodes and tailoring the ionomer membrane thickness. With proper electroless plating techniques, a high dispersion of palladium particles is achieved deep in the ionomer membrane, thereby increasing notably the interfacial surface area of electrodes. The membrane thickness is increased using 0.5 and 1 mm thick ionomer films. For comparison, IPMCs with the same ionomer membranes, but conventional Pt electrodes, are also prepared and studied. The electromechanical, mechanoelectrical, electrochemical and mechanical properties of different IPMCs are characterized and discussed. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDS is used to investigate the distribution of deposited electrode metals in the cross section of Pd-Pt IPMCs. Our experiments demonstrate that IPMCs assembled with millimeter thick ionomer membranes and newly developed Pd-Pt electrodes are superior in mechanoelectrical transduction, and show significantly higher blocking force compared to conventional type of IPMCs. The blocking forces of more than 0.3 N were measured at 4V DC input, exceeding the force output of typical Nafion® 117-based Pt IPMCs more than two orders of magnitude. The newly designed Pd-Pt IPMCs can be useful in more demanding applications, e.g., in biomimetic underwater robotics, where high stress and drag forces are encountered.

Surface intermediates on metal electrodes at high temperatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zachau-Christiansen, Birgit; Jacobsen, Torben; Bay, Lasse

1998-01-01

The mechanisms widely conceived for the O(2)-reduction or H(2)-oxidation reactions in SOFC's involve intermediate O/H species adsorbed on the electrode surface. The presence of these intermediates is investigated by linear sweep voltammetry. In air at moderate temperatures (500 degrees C) Pt...

The effects of surface modification on carbon felt electrodes for use in vanadium redox flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ki Jae; Kim, Young-Jun; Kim, Jae-Hun; Park, Min-Sik

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► We observed the physical and chemical changes on the surface of carbon felts after various surface modifications. ► The surface area and chemistry of functional groups formed on the surface of carbon felt are critical to determine the kinetics of the redox reactions of vanadium ions. ► By incorporation of the surface modifications into the electrode preparation, the electrochemical activity of carbon felts could be notably enhanced. - Abstract: The surface of carbon felt electrodes has been modified for improving energy efficiency of vanadium redox flow batteries. For comparative purposes, the effects of various surface modifications such as mild oxidation, plasma treatment, and gamma-ray irradiation on the electrochemical properties of carbon felt electrodes were investigated at optimized conditions. The cell energy efficiency was improved from 68 to 75% after the mild oxidation of the carbon felt at 500 °C for 5 h. This efficiency improvement could be attributed to the increased surface area of the carbon felt electrode and the formation of functional groups on its surface as a result of the modification. On the basis of various structural and electrochemical characterizations, a relationship between the surface nature and electrochemical activity of the carbon felt electrodes is discussed.

Redox Response of Reduced Graphene Oxide-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrodes to Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydrazine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun-ichi Anzai

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The surface of a glassy carbon (GC electrode was modified with reduced graphene oxide (rGO to evaluate the electrochemical response of the modified GC electrodes to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 and hydrazine. The electrode potential of the GC electrode was repeatedly scanned from −1.5 to 0.6 V in an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide (GO to deposit rGO on the surface of the GC electrode. The surface morphology of the modified GC electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM. SEM and AFM observations revealed that aggregated rGO was deposited on the GC electrode, forming a rather rough surface. The rGO-modified electrodes exhibited significantly higher responses in redox reactions of H2O2 as compared with the response of an unmodified GC electrode. In addition, the electrocatalytic activity of the rGO-modified electrode to hydrazine oxidation was also higher than that of the unmodified GC electrode. The response of the rGO-modified electrode was rationalized based on the higher catalytic activity of rGO to the redox reactions of H2O2 and hydrazine. The results suggest that rGO-modified electrodes are useful for constructing electrochemical sensors.

Study of surface atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma based on ultrathin laminated electrodes in air

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Luxiang; Liu, Wenzheng; Li, Zhiyi; Ma, Chuanlong

2018-05-01

A method to generate large-area surface plasma in air by micro-discharge is proposed. Two ultrathin laminated electrode structures of non-insulating and insulating types were formed by using the nanoscale ITO conductive layer. The surface glow discharge in atmospheric air is realized in low discharge voltage by constructing the special electric field of two-dimensional unidirectional attenuation. In particular, the insulating electrode structure can avoid the loss of ITO electrodes so that the discharge stability can be increased, and the treated objects can be prevented from metal ion pollution caused by the electrode in the discharge. It has broad application prospects in the fields of aerodynamics and material surface treatment.

Surface effects of electrode-dependent switching behavior of resistive random-access memory

KAUST Repository

Ke, Jr Jian

2016-09-26

The surface effects of ZnO-based resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) were investigated using various electrodes. Pt electrodes were found to have better performance in terms of the device\\'s switching functionality. A thermodynamic model of the oxygen chemisorption process was proposed to explain this electrode-dependent switching behavior. The temperature-dependent switching voltage demonstrates that the ReRAM devices fabricated with Pt electrodes have a lower activation energy for the chemisorption process, resulting in a better resistive switching performance. These findings provide an in-depth understanding of electrode-dependent switching behaviors and can serve as design guidelines for future ReRAM devices.

Ligand substitution and selective surface coordination studies of iodine and 2,5-dihydroxythiophenol at platinum electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, G.M.; Soriaga, M.P.

1989-01-01

The relative surface coordination strengths of 2,5-dihydroxythiophenol (DHT) and iodine at a smooth polycrystalline platinum electrode have been investigated by thin-layer electrochemical techniques. The competitive chemisorption was studied by exposing the Pt electrode to solutions of varying mole fractions of I and DHT. Studies of ligand substitution were carried out by the introduction of an iodine-coated Pt electrode into DHT solutions, and the introduction of a DHT-coated into I solutions. Surface coverage measurements indicated that DHT is preferentially adsorbed and will displace chemisorbed iodine at the Pt electrode. Chemisorbed DHT is not appreciably displaced by iodine. These results and their contribution to the trend in the selective surface coordination chemistry of platinum electrodes will be discussed

Surface Intermediates on Metal Electrodes at High Temperature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zachau-Christiansen, Birgit; Jacobsen, Torben; Bay, Lasse

1997-01-01

The mechanisms widely suggested for the O2-reduc-tion or H2-oxidation SOFC reactions involve inter-mediate O/H species adsorbed on the electrode surface. The presence of these intermediates is investigated by linear sweep voltammetry. In airat moderate temperatures (500øC) Pt in contact with YSZ...

Isolation and dispersion of reduced metal particles using the surface dipole moment of F-terminated diamond electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyamoto, M.; Tanaka, Y.; Furuta, M. [Department of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, School of Science, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi-shi, Yamaguchi 753-8512 (Japan); Kondo, T. [Department of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Fujishima, A. [Kanagawa Advanced Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1, Sakato, Takastu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan); Honda, K. [Department of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, School of Science, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi-shi, Yamaguchi 753-8512 (Japan)], E-mail: khonda@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp

2009-04-30

+}) and optimizing the sweep rate to minimize the Zn particle diameter. This result was hard to achieve with O-BDD. The separation of metal particles other than Cu was achieved with F-BDD because of its stronger surface dipole moment. However, with noble type metals (such as Pt and Ni) that have metal-metal oxide equilibrium potentials higher than the upper potential limit for potential cycling with F-BDD (+0.8 V), the surfaces of the reduced metal particles were not insulated and metal particles were deposited on the BDD surface. In order to isolate metal particles from the electrode, it was necessary to apply a maximum potential over that of the metal-metal oxide equilibrium line in the Pourbaix Diagram during the potential cycle.

Finite element analysis of surface acoustic waves in high aspect ratio electrodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dühring, Maria Bayard; Laude, Vincent; Khelif, Abdelkrim

2008-01-01

This paper elaborates on how the finite element method is employed to model surface acoustic waves generated by high aspect ratio electrodes and their interaction with optical waves in a waveguide. With a periodic model it is shown that these electrodes act as a mechanical resonator which slows...

Preparation of electrodes on cfrp composites with low contact resistance comprising laser-based surface pre-treatment

KAUST Repository

Almuhammadi, Khaled Hamdan

2016-12-29

Various examples are provided related to the preparation of electrodes on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites with low contact resistance. Laser-based surface preparation can be used for bonding to CFRP composites. In one example, a method includes preparing a pretreated target area on a CFRP composite surface using laser pulsed irradiation and bonding an electrode to exposed fibers in the pretreated target area. The surface preparation can allow the electrode to have a low contact resistance with the CFRP composite.

Surface-modified reduced graphene oxide electrodes for capacitors by ionic liquids and their electrochemical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jieun; Kim, Seok

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Reduced graphene oxide surface was modified by introduction of ionic liquids. • Microstructure and capacitance of modified electrode were dependent on the ionic liquids contents. • Modification gives electrode better charge transport and higher specific capacitance. • Modified electrode showed the better capacitive performance such as rate capability and cycle stability. - Abstract: In this work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/ionic liquids (IL) composites with different weight ratios of IL to rGO were synthesized by a simple method. In these composites, IL contributed to the exfoliation of rGO sheets and to the improvement of the electrochemical properties of the resulting composites by enhancing the ion diffusion and charge transport. The structure of the composites was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. The TEM images showed that IL was coated on the surface of rGO in a translucent manner. The electrochemical analysis of the prepared composites was carried out by performing cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Among the prepared composites, the one with a weight ratio of rGO to IL of 1:7 showed the highest specific capacitance of 147.5 F g −1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s −1 . In addition, the rate capability and cycle performance of the composites were enhanced compared to pristine rGO. These enhanced properties make the composites suitable as electrode materials for the better performance supercapacitors

Insights into the Surface Reactivity of Cermet and Perovskite Electrodes in Oxidizing, Reducing, and Humid Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Paloukis, Fotios; Papazisi, Kalliopi M; Dintzer, Thierry; Papaefthimiou, Vasiliki; Saveleva, Viktoriia A; Balomenou, Stella P; Tsiplakides, Dimitrios; Bournel, Fabrice; Gallet, Jean-Jacques; Zafeiratos, Spyridon

2017-08-02

Understanding the surface chemistry of electrode materials under gas environments is important in order to control their performance during electrochemical and catalytic applications. This work compares the surface reactivity of Ni/YSZ and La 0.75 Sr 0.25 Cr 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 , which are commonly used types of electrodes in solid oxide electrochemical devices. In situ synchrotron-based near-ambient pressure photoemission and absorption spectroscopy experiments, assisted by theoretical spectral simulations and combined with microscopy and electrochemical measurements, are used to monitor the effect of the gas atmosphere on the chemical state, the morphology, and the electrical conductivity of the electrodes. It is shown that the surface of both electrode types readjusts fast to the reactive gas atmosphere and their surface composition is notably modified. In the case of Ni/YSZ, this is followed by evident changes in the oxidation state of nickel, while for La 0.75 Sr 0.25 Cr 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 , a fine adjustment of the Cr valence and strong Sr segregation is observed. An important difference between the two electrodes is their capacity to maintain adsorbed hydroxyl groups on their surface, which is expected to be critical for the electrocatalytic properties of the materials. The insight gained from the surface analysis may serve as a paradigm for understanding the effect of the gas environment on the electrochemical performance and the electrical conductivity of the electrodes.

Redox properties of phenosafranine at zeolite-modified electrodes-Effect of surface modification and solution pH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Easwaramoorthi, S.; Natarajan, P.

2008-01-01

Redox properties of cationic dye phenosafranine (3,7-diamino-5-phenylphenazenium chloride) (PS + ) were studied at zeolite-modified electrodes using Zeolite-Y and NaZSM-5. The peak current and peak potential of phenosafranine-adsorbed zeolite were found to be influenced by the pH of the electrolyte solution. Observation of a second redox couple is suggested to be due to formation of new species at low concentration from the reduced phenosafranine at the zeolite-modified electrodes. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles encapsulated in the cavities of the zeolite or anchored on the external surface of the zeolite do not seem to affect the redox properties of adsorbed PS + . When the cyclic voltammograms are recorded immediately after the electrode is immersed into the solution, the redox potential of PS + is found to be sensitive to the nature of the zeolite surface. The peak potential shifts towards positive region under continuous cycles as the surface hydroxyl groups get protonated in acidic electrolyte solution thereby forcing the movement of dye molecules from the zeolite surface to the zeolite electrode solution interface. The electron transfer rate constants for the adsorbed dye at the electrode are calculated to be 2.5 ± 0.2 s -1 and 3.5 ± 0.2 s -1 for the zeolite-Y electrode and the ZSM-5 electrode, respectively by the Laviron equation

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis and Surface Modification of Electrode Materials for Renewable Energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Shuo; Tao, Li; Wang, Ruilun; El Hankari, Samir; Chen, Ru; Wang, Shuangyin

2018-02-14

Renewable energy technology has been considered as a "MUST" option to lower the use of fossil fuels for industry and daily life. Designing critical and sophisticated materials is of great importance in order to realize high-performance energy technology. Typically, efficient synthesis and soft surface modification of nanomaterials are important for energy technology. Therefore, there are increasing demands on the rational design of efficient electrocatalysts or electrode materials, which are the key for scalable and practical electrochemical energy devices. Nevertheless, the development of versatile and cheap strategies is one of the main challenges to achieve the aforementioned goals. Accordingly, plasma technology has recently appeared as an extremely promising alternative for the synthesis and surface modification of nanomaterials for electrochemical devices. Here, the recent progress on the development of nonthermal plasma technology is highlighted for the synthesis and surface modification of advanced electrode materials for renewable energy technology including electrocatalysts for fuel cells, water splitting, metal-air batteries, and electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors, etc. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A highly permeable and enhanced surface area carbon-cloth electrode for vanadium redox flow batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, X. L.; Zhao, T. S.; Zeng, Y. K.; An, L.; Wei, L.

2016-10-01

In this work, a high-performance porous electrode, made of KOH-activated carbon-cloth, is developed for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The macro-scale porous structure in the carbon cloth formed by weaving the carbon fibers in an ordered manner offers a low tortuosity (∼1.1) and a broad pore distribution from 5 μm to 100 μm, rendering the electrode a high hydraulic permeability and high effective ionic conductivity, which are beneficial for the electrolyte flow and ion transport through the porous electrode. The use of KOH activation method to create nano-scale pores on the carbon-fiber surfaces leads to a significant increase in the surface area for redox reactions from 2.39 m2 g-1 to 15.4 m2 g-1. The battery assembled with the present electrode delivers an energy efficiency of 80.1% and an electrolyte utilization of 74.6% at a current density of 400 mA cm-2, as opposed to an electrolyte utilization of 61.1% achieved by using a conventional carbon-paper electrode. Such a high performance is mainly attributed to the combination of the excellent mass/ion transport properties and the high surface area rendered by the present electrode. It is suggested that the KOH-activated carbon-cloth electrode is a promising candidate in redox flow batteries.

Quantitative roughness characterization and 3D reconstruction of electrode surface using cyclic voltammetry and SEM image

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dhillon, Shweta; Kant, Rama, E-mail: rkant@chemistry.du.ac.in

2013-10-01

Area measurements from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and image from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to characterize electrode statistical morphology, 3D surface reconstruction and its electroactivity. SEM images of single phased materials correspond to two-dimensional (2D) projections of 3D structures, leading to an incomplete characterization. Lack of third dimension information in SEM image is circumvented using equivalence between denoised SEM image and CV area measurements. This CV-SEM method can be used to estimate power spectral density (PSD), width, gradient, finite fractal nature of roughness and local morphology of the electrode. We show that the surface morphological statistical property like distribution function of gradient can be related to local electro-activity. Electrode surface gradient micrographs generated here can provide map of electro-activity sites. Finally, the densely and uniformly packed small gradient over the Pt-surface is the determining criterion for high intrinsic electrode activity.

Quantitative roughness characterization and 3D reconstruction of electrode surface using cyclic voltammetry and SEM image

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhillon, Shweta; Kant, Rama

2013-01-01

Area measurements from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and image from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to characterize electrode statistical morphology, 3D surface reconstruction and its electroactivity. SEM images of single phased materials correspond to two-dimensional (2D) projections of 3D structures, leading to an incomplete characterization. Lack of third dimension information in SEM image is circumvented using equivalence between denoised SEM image and CV area measurements. This CV-SEM method can be used to estimate power spectral density (PSD), width, gradient, finite fractal nature of roughness and local morphology of the electrode. We show that the surface morphological statistical property like distribution function of gradient can be related to local electro-activity. Electrode surface gradient micrographs generated here can provide map of electro-activity sites. Finally, the densely and uniformly packed small gradient over the Pt-surface is the determining criterion for high intrinsic electrode activity.

Pt-graphene electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoshi, Hajime; Tanaka, Shumpei; Miyoshi, Takashi

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Graphene films with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercial graphene. • Pt consumption can be reduced by using Pt-graphene films. • The film showed improved catalytic activity for the reaction I 3 − /I − . • The film can be used as the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). • The performance of DSSC was superior to that of the Pt electrode. - Abstract: A simple paste method for fabricating graphene films with Pt nanoparticles was developed. First, graphene pastes with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercially available graphene. The resulting films of graphene nanoplatelet aggregates with Pt nanoparticles (Pt-GNA) contained Pt nanoparticles distributed over the entire three-dimensional surface of the GNA. Then, the catalytic activity for the I 3 − /I − redox reaction was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The GNA electrode exhibited higher activity than a graphene nanoplatelet electrode because of its higher effective surface area. Addition of Pt nanoparticles to the electrodes improved the catalytic activity. In particular, a large Faradaic current for the I 3 − /I − reaction was observed for the Pt-GNA electrode. As the counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), their performance was consistent with the cyclic voltammetry results. In particular, the DSSC performance of the Pt-GNA electrode was superior to that of the Pt electrodes commonly used in DSSCs

Surface-Activated Amorphous Alloy Fuel Electrodes for Methanol Fuel Cell

OpenAIRE

Asahi, Kawashima; Koji, Hashimoto; The Research Institute for Iron, Steel and Other Metals; The Research Institute for Iron, Steel and Other Metals

1983-01-01

Amorphous alloy electrodes for electrochemical oxidation of methanol and its derivatives were obtained by the surface activation treatment consisting of electrodeposition of zinc on as-quenched amorphous alloy substrates, heating at 200-300℃ for 30 min, and subsequently leaching of zinc in an alkaline solution. The surface activation treatment provided a new method for the preparation of a large surface area on the amorphous alloys. The best result for oxidation of methanol, sodium formate an...

Maleimide-activated aryl diazonium salts for electrode surface functionalization with biological and redox-active molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Jason C; Polsky, Ronen; Wheeler, David R; Brozik, Susan M

2008-03-04

A versatile and simple method is introduced for formation of maleimide-functionalized surfaces using maleimide-activated aryl diazonium salts. We show for the first time electrodeposition of N-(4-diazophenyl)maleimide tetrafluoroborate on gold and carbon electrodes which was characterized via voltammetry, grazing angle FTIR, and ellipsometry. Electrodeposition conditions were used to control film thickness and yielded submonolayer-to-multilayer grafting. The resulting phenylmaleimide surfaces served as effective coupling agents for electrode functionalization with ferrocene and the redox-active protein cytochrome c. The utility of phenylmaleimide diazonium toward formation of a diazonium-activated conjugate, followed by direct electrodeposition of the diazonium-modified DNA onto the electrode surface, was also demonstrated. Effective electron transfer was obtained between immobilized molecules and the electrodes. This novel application of N-phenylmaleimide diazonium may facilitate the development of bioelectronic devices including biofuel cells, biosensors, and DNA and protein microarrays.

Enhanced charging kinetics of porous electrodes: surface conduction as a short-circuit mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzadeh, Mohammad; Gibou, Frederic; Squires, Todd M

2014-08-29

We use direct numerical simulations of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations to study the charging kinetics of porous electrodes and to evaluate the predictive capabilities of effective circuit models, both linear and nonlinear. The classic transmission line theory of de Levie holds for general electrode morphologies, but only at low applied potentials. Charging dynamics are slowed appreciably at high potentials, yet not as significantly as predicted by the nonlinear transmission line model of Biesheuvel and Bazant. We identify surface conduction as a mechanism which can effectively "short circuit" the high-resistance electrolyte in the bulk of the pores, thus accelerating the charging dynamics and boosting power densities. Notably, the boost in power density holds only for electrode morphologies with continuous conducting surfaces in the charging direction.

Doped graphene electrodes for organic solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hyesung; Kim, Ki Kang; Bulovic, Vladimir; Kong, Jing; Rowehl, Jill A

2010-01-01

In this work graphene sheets grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with controlled numbers of layers were used as transparent electrodes in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. It was found that for devices with pristine graphene electrodes, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is comparable to their counterparts with indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Nevertheless, the chances for failure in OPVs with pristine graphene electrodes are higher than for those with ITO electrodes, due to the surface wetting challenge between the hole-transporting layer and the graphene electrodes. Various alternative routes were investigated and it was found that AuCl 3 doping on graphene can alter the graphene surface wetting properties such that a uniform coating of the hole-transporting layer can be achieved and device success rate can be increased. Furthermore, the doping both improves the conductivity and shifts the work function of the graphene electrode, resulting in improved overall PCE performance of the OPV devices. This work brings us one step further toward the future use of graphene transparent electrodes as a replacement for ITO.

Surface functional groups in capacitive deionization with porous carbon electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmatifar, Ali; Oyarzun, Diego I.; Palko, James W.; Hawks, Steven A.; Stadermann, Michael; Santiago, Juan G.; Stanford Microfluidics Lab Team; Lawrence Livermore National Lab Team

2017-11-01

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising technology for removal of toxic ions and salt from water. In CDI, an applied potential of about 1 V to pairs of porous electrodes (e.g. activated carbon) induces ion electromigration and electrostatic adsorption at electrode surfaces. Immobile surface functional groups play a critical role in the type and capacity of ion adsorption, and this can dramatically change desalination performance. We here use models and experiments to study weak electrolyte surface groups which protonate and/or depropotante based on their acid/base dissociation constants and local pore pH. Net chemical surface charge and differential capacitance can thus vary during CDI operation. In this work, we present a CDI model based on weak electrolyte acid/base equilibria theory. Our model incorporates preferential cation (anion) adsorption for activated carbon with acidic (basic) surface groups. We validated our model with experiments on custom built CDI cells with a variety of functionalizations. To this end, we varied electrolyte pH and measured adsorption of individual anionic and cationic ions using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC) techniques. Our model shows good agreement with experiments and provides a framework useful in the design of CDI control schemes.

Experimental study on magnetically insulated transmission line electrode surface evolution process under MA/cm current density

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, PengFei; Qiu, Aici [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); State Key Laboratory of Intense Pulse Radiation of Simulation and Effect, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China); Hu, Yang; Yang, HaiLiang; Sun, Jiang; Wang, Liangping; Cong, Peitian [State Key Laboratory of Intense Pulse Radiation of Simulation and Effect, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China)

2016-03-15

The design of high-current density magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) is a difficult problem of current large-scale Z-pinch device. In particular, a thorough understanding of the MITL electrode surface evolution process under high current density is lacking. On the “QiangGuang-I” accelerator, the load area possesses a low inductance short-circuit structure with a diameter of 2.85 mm at the cathode, and three reflux columns with a diameter of 3 mm and uniformly distributed circumference at the anode. The length of the high density MITL area is 20 mm. A laser interferometer is used to assess and analyze the state of the MITL cathode and anode gap, and their evolution process under high current density. Experimental results indicate that evident current loss is not observed in the current density area at pulse leading edge, and peak when the surface current density reaches MA/cm. Analysis on electrode surface working conditions indicates that when the current leading edge is at 71.5% of the peak, the total evaporation of MITL cathode structure can be realized by energy deposition caused by ohmic heating. The electrode state changes, and diffusion conditions are reflected in the laser interferometer image. The MITL cathode area mainly exists in metal vapor form. The metal vapor density in the cathode central region is higher than the upper limit of laser penetration density (∼4 × 10{sup 21}/cm{sup 3}), with an expansion velocity of ∼0.96 km/s. The metal vapor density in the electrode outer area may lead to evident distortion of fringes, and its expansion velocity is faster than that in the center area (1.53 km/s).

Magnetic loading of TiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles on electrode surface for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of diclofenac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Xinyue; Yang, Juan [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan 430074 (China); Zhang, Jingdong, E-mail: zhangjd@mail.hust.edu.cn [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan 430074 (China)

2011-11-30

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetic TSF nanoparticles are immobilized on electrode surface with aid of magnet. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetically attached TSF electrode shows high photoelectrochemical activity. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Diclofenac is effectively degraded on TSF-loaded electrode by photoelectrocatalysis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of diclofenac is monitored with voltammetry. - Abstract: A novel magnetic nanomaterials-loaded electrode developed for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) treatment of pollutants was described. Prior to electrode fabrication, magnetic TiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} (TSF) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and FT-IR measurements. The nanoparticles were dispersed in ethanol and then immobilized on a graphite electrode surface with aid of magnet to obtain a TSF-loaded electrode with high photoelectrochemical activity. The performance of the TSF-loaded electrode was tested by comparing the PEC degradation of methylene blue in the presence and absence of magnet. The magnetically attached TSF electrode showed higher PEC degradation efficiency with desirable stability. Such a TSF-loaded electrode was applied to PEC degradation of diclofenac. After 45 min PEC treatment, 95.3% of diclofenac was degraded on the magnetically attached TSF electrode.

Enhancing biodegradation and energy generation via roughened surface graphite electrode in microbial desalination cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Atieh; Yousefi Kebria, Daryoush; Najafpour Darzi, Ghasem

2017-09-01

The microbial desalination cell (MDC) is known as a newly developed technology for water and wastewater treatment. In this study, desalination rate, organic matter removal and energy production in the reactors with and without desalination function were compared. Herein, a new design of plain graphite called roughened surface graphite (RSG) was used as the anode electrode in both microbial fuel cell (MFC) and MDC reactors for the first time. Among the three type of anode electrodes investigated in this study, RSG electrode produced the highest power density and salt removal rate of 10.81 W/m 3 and 77.6%, respectively. Such a power density was 2.33 times higher than the MFC reactor due to the junction potential effect. In addition, adding the desalination function to the MFC reactor enhanced columbic efficiency from 21.8 to 31.4%. These results provided a proof-of-concept that the use of MDC instead of MFC would improve wastewater treatment efficiency and power generation, with an added benefit of water desalination. Furthermore, RSG can successfully be employed in an MDC or MFC, enhancing the bio-electricity generation and salt removal.

Surface and interface sciences of Li-ion batteries. -Research progress in electrode-electrolyte interface-

Science.gov (United States)

Minato, Taketoshi; Abe, Takeshi

2017-12-01

The application potential of Li-ion batteries is growing as demand increases in different fields at various stages in energy systems, in addition to their conventional role as power sources for portable devices. In particular, applications in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage are increasing for Li-ion batteries. For these applications, improvements in battery performance are necessary. The Li-ion battery produces and stores electric power from the electrochemical redox reactions between the electrode materials. The interface between the electrodes and electrolyte strongly affects the battery performance because the charge transfer causing the electrode redox reaction begins at this interface. Understanding of the surface structure, electronic structure, and chemical reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface is necessary to improve battery performance. However, the interface is located between the electrode and electrolyte materials, hindering the experimental analysis of the interface; thus, the physical properties and chemical processes have remained poorly understood until recently. Investigations of the physical properties and chemical processes at the interface have been performed using advanced surface science techniques. In this review, current knowledge and future research prospects regarding the electrode-electrolyte interface are described for the further development of Li-ion batteries.

Fluorescence quenching studies of potential-dependent DNA reorientation dynamics at glassy carbon electrode surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qin; Cui, Chenchen; Higgins, Daniel A; Li, Jun

2012-09-05

The potential-dependent reorientation dynamics of double-stranded DNA (ds-DNA) attached to planar glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surfaces were investigated. The orientation state of surface-bound ds-DNA was followed by monitoring the fluorescence from a 6-carboxyfluorescein (FAM6) fluorophore covalently linked to the distal end of the DNA. Positive potentials (i.e., +0.2 V vs open circuit potential, OCP) caused the ds-DNA to align parallel to the electrode surface, resulting in strong dipole-electrode quenching of FAM6 fluorescence. Switching of the GCE potential to negative values (i.e., -0.2 V vs OCP) caused the ds-DNA to reorient perpendicular to the electrode surface, with a concomitant increase in FAM6 fluorescence. In addition to the very fast (submilliseconds) dynamics of the initial reorientation process, slow (0.1-0.9 s) relaxation of FAM6 fluorescence to intermediate levels was also observed after potential switching. These dynamics have not been previously described in the literature. They are too slow to be explained by double layer charging, and chronoamperometry data showed no evidence of such effects. Both the amplitude and rate of the dynamics were found to depend upon buffer concentration, and ds-DNA length, demonstrating a dependence on the double layer field. The dynamics are concluded to arise from previously undetected complexities in the mechanism of potential-dependent ds-DNA reorientation. The possible origins of these dynamics are discussed. A better understanding of these dynamics will lead to improved models for potential-dependent ds-DNA reorientation at electrode surfaces and will facilitate the development of advanced electrochemical devices for detection of target DNAs.

Cylindrical articles surfacing with a strip electrode at an angle to the generatrix

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Віталій Петрович Іванов

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The use of the strip electrode when surfacing is made along a variable path leads to a change in the melting process and the formation of a weld bead, due to the absence, in contrast to the wire electrode, of the axial symmetry of the strip cross section. In the layered surfacing of mill rolls with the rollers being at an angle to the generatrix, there may be such defects as undercuts and slagging along the edges of the seam, that worsen the quality and performance of the wear resistant layer. According to the results of the metallographic analysis of the sections, it has been established that these defects in the seam at the cross-over of the rolls during the layer-by-layer surfacing are not remelted by the arc and it leads to slag inclusions in the zone. There is an asymmetry in the formation of the weld pool, which is associated with the peculiarities of the liquid metal flow during its melting. Thus, a decrease in the minimum deviation angle of the strip electrode location with respect to the deposition rate vector leads to a decrease in the crack resistance of the working surface. Investigations of the weld bead formation during deposition by a strip electrode as a function of the angle of the strip rotation with respect to the deposition rate vector have been performed. The influence of the change in the angle of rotation of the strip electrode on the uniformity of the fusion line with the parent metal formation was studied. The allowable range of strip angle values has been determined, which ensures the quality and operability of the wear-resistant layer, as well as the absence of formation defects. Analysis of the wear characteristics and fracture toughness of the deposited layer showed that a change in the location of the strip electrode makes it possible to increase the fracture toughness of the welded layer with high quality of its formation and practically unchanged wear resistance

Electrochemistry of Hemin on Single-Crystal Au(111)-electrode Surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Ling; Ulstrup, Jens; Zhang, Jingdong

adsorption on well-defined single-crystal Au(111)-electrode surfaces using electrochemistry combined with scanning tunnelling microscopy under electrochemical control. Hemin gives two voltammetric peaks assigned to adsorbed monomers and dimmers (Fig. 1B). In situ STM shows that hemin self...

Voltammetry and Electrocatalysis of Achrornobacter Xylosoxidans Copper Nitrite Reductase on Functionalized Au(111)-Electrode Surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Welinder, Anna C.; Zhang, Jingdong; Hansen, Allan G.

2007-01-01

A long-standing issue in protein film voltammetry (PFV), particularly electrocatalytic voltammetry of redox enzyme monolayers, is the variability of protein adsorption modes, reflected in distributions of catalytic activity of the adsorbed protein/enzyme molecules. Use of well-defined, atomically...... planar electrode surfaces is a step towards the resolution of this central issue. We report here the voltammetry of copper nitrite reductase (CNiR, Achromobacter xylosoxidons) on Au(111)-electrode surfaces modified by monolayers of a broad variety of thiol-based linker molecules. These represent......NiR thus shows highly efficient, close to ideal reversible electrocatalytic voltammetry on cysteamine-covered Au(111)-electrode surfaces, most likely due to two cysteamine orientations previously disclosed by in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy. Such a dual orientation exposes both a hydrophobic...

Torso geometry reconstruction and body surface electrode localization using three-dimensional photography.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Alday, Erick A; Thomas, Jason A; Kabir, Muammar; Sedaghat, Golriz; Rogovoy, Nichole; van Dam, Eelco; van Dam, Peter; Woodward, William; Fuss, Cristina; Ferencik, Maros; Tereshchenko, Larisa G

We conducted a prospective clinical study (n=14; 29% female) to assess the accuracy of a three-dimensional (3D) photography-based method of torso geometry reconstruction and body surface electrodes localization. The position of 74 body surface electrocardiographic (ECG) electrodes (diameter 5mm) was defined by two methods: 3D photography, and CT (marker diameter 2mm) or MRI (marker size 10×20mm) imaging. Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreement in X (bias -2.5 [95% limits of agreement (LoA) -19.5 to 14.3] mm), Y (bias -0.1 [95% LoA -14.1 to 13.9] mm), and Z coordinates (bias -0.8 [95% LoA -15.6 to 14.2] mm), as defined by the CT/MRI imaging, and 3D photography. The average Hausdorff distance between the two torso geometry reconstructions was 11.17±3.05mm. Thus, accurate torso geometry reconstruction using 3D photography is feasible. Body surface ECG electrodes coordinates as defined by the CT/MRI imaging, and 3D photography, are in good agreement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Solid oxide electrode kinetics in light of in situ surface studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

2014-01-01

The combination of in situ and in particular in operando characterization methods such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on both technical and model electrode are well known ways to gain some practical insight in electrode reaction kinetics. Yet, is has become clear that in spite...... of the strengths it is not sufficient to reveal much details of the electrode mechanisms mainly because it provide average values only. Therefore it has to be combined with surface science methods in order to reveal the interface structure and composition. Ex situ methods have been very useful over the latest....... Furthermore, it seems that detailed mathematical modeling using new tools like COMSOL is necessary for the synthesis of the large amount of data for a well-characterized electrode into one physical meaningful picture. A brief review of literature an own data will be presented with a practical example of SOFC...

Smooth-surface silver nanowire electrode with high conductivity and transparency on functional layer coated flexible film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, So Hee; Lim, Sooman; Kim, Haekyoung, E-mail: hkkim@ynu.ac.kr

2015-08-31

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) with silver nanowires has been widely studied as an alternative of indium tin oxide for flexible electronic or optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. However, it has an issue of surface roughness due to nanowire's intrinsic properties. Here, to achieve a smooth electrode with high conductivity and transmittance on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates, a functional layer of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is utilized with a mechanical transfer process. The silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET with low surface roughness of 9 nm exhibits the low sheet resistance of 18 Ω □{sup −1} and high transmittance of 87.6%. It is produced by transferring the silver nanowire electrode spin-coated on the glass to PVP-coated PET using a pressure of 10 MPa for 10 min. Silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET demonstrates the stable sheet resistance of 18 Ω □{sup −1} after the mechanical taping test due to strong adhesion between PVP functional layer and silver nanowires. Smooth TCE with silver nanowires could be proposed as a transparent electrode for flexible electronic or optical devices, which consist of thin electrical active layers on TCE. - Highlights: • Silver nanowire (Ag NWs) transparent electrodes were fabricated on flexible film. • Flexible film was coated with poly N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). • PVP layer plays roles as an adhesive layer and matrix in electrode. • Ag NWs electrode exhibited with low surface roughness of 9 nm. • Ag NWs electrode has a low resistance (18 Ω ☐{sup −1}) and high transmittance (87.6%)

Smooth-surface silver nanowire electrode with high conductivity and transparency on functional layer coated flexible film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, So Hee; Lim, Sooman; Kim, Haekyoung

2015-01-01

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) with silver nanowires has been widely studied as an alternative of indium tin oxide for flexible electronic or optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. However, it has an issue of surface roughness due to nanowire's intrinsic properties. Here, to achieve a smooth electrode with high conductivity and transmittance on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates, a functional layer of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is utilized with a mechanical transfer process. The silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET with low surface roughness of 9 nm exhibits the low sheet resistance of 18 Ω □ −1 and high transmittance of 87.6%. It is produced by transferring the silver nanowire electrode spin-coated on the glass to PVP-coated PET using a pressure of 10 MPa for 10 min. Silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET demonstrates the stable sheet resistance of 18 Ω □ −1 after the mechanical taping test due to strong adhesion between PVP functional layer and silver nanowires. Smooth TCE with silver nanowires could be proposed as a transparent electrode for flexible electronic or optical devices, which consist of thin electrical active layers on TCE. - Highlights: • Silver nanowire (Ag NWs) transparent electrodes were fabricated on flexible film. • Flexible film was coated with poly N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). • PVP layer plays roles as an adhesive layer and matrix in electrode. • Ag NWs electrode exhibited with low surface roughness of 9 nm. • Ag NWs electrode has a low resistance (18 Ω ☐ −1 ) and high transmittance (87.6%)

Effect of oxidation of carbon material on suspension electrodes for flow electrode capacitive deionization.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatzell, Kelsey B; Hatzell, Marta C; Cook, Kevin M; Boota, Muhammad; Housel, Gabrielle M; McBride, Alexander; Kumbur, E Caglan; Gogotsi, Yury

2015-03-03

Flow electrode deionization (FCDI) is an emerging area for continuous and scalable deionization, but the electrochemical and flow properties of the flow electrode need to be improved to minimize energy consumption. Chemical oxidation of granular activated carbon (AC) was examined here to study the role of surface heteroatoms on rheology and electrochemical performance of a flow electrode (carbon slurry) for deionization processes. Moreover, it was demonstrated that higher mass densities could be used without increasing energy for pumping when using oxidized active material. High mass-loaded flow electrodes (28% carbon content) based on oxidized AC displayed similar viscosities (∼21 Pa s) to lower mass-loaded flow electrodes (20% carbon content) based on nonoxidized AC. The 40% increased mass loading (from 20% to 28%) resulted in a 25% increase in flow electrode gravimetric capacitance (from 65 to 83 F g(-1)) without sacrificing flowability (viscosity). The electrical energy required to remove ∼18% of the ions (desalt) from of the feed solution was observed to be significantly dependent on the mass loading and decreased (∼60%) from 92 ± 7 to 28 ± 2.7 J with increased mass densities from 5 to 23 wt %. It is shown that the surface chemistry of the active material in a flow electrode effects the electrical and pumping energy requirements of a FCDI system.

Surface morphological structures and electrochemical activity properties of iridium–niobium binary alloy electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, Toru, E-mail: matsumoto.t@jemai.or.jp [Green Innovation Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8501 (Japan); Sata, Naoaki [Green Innovation Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8501 (Japan); Kobayashi, Kiyoshi [Advanced Ceramic Group, Advanced Materials Processing Unit, National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Yamabe-Mitarai, Yoko [High Temperature Materials Unit Functional Structure Materials Group, National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan)

2013-10-01

Highlights: • An Ir–23Nb alloy has the best oxidation capability among other Nb concentrations. • The reason is the Ir–23Nb has a large surface area which results from Ir + Ir{sub 3}Nb. • An Ir–23Nb glucose sensor detects glucose much better than an Ir glucose sensor. -- Abstract: The electrochemical activities of Ir–Nb binary alloys were investigated as functions of the alloy compositions, crystal structures, and surface morphologies for a hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid redox reaction. High activities for the redox reaction of hydrogen peroxide were observed when pure Ir and an alloy with a composition of 77 at% Ir–23 at% Nb (Ir–23Nb) were used. Tests on eight electrodes—Ir, Ir–13Nb, Ir–17Nb, Ir–23Nb, Ir–30Nb, Ir–43Nb, Ir–62Nb, and Nb—showed that at a constant potential difference of 0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the Ir–23Nb electrode had the best hydrogen peroxide oxidation capability: 9.2 μA/mm{sup 2} for 2 mM hydrogen peroxide. Apart from Nb, Ir–23Nb gave the best performance in terms of preferential hydrogen peroxide oxidation against ascorbic acid. Subsequently, the Ir and Ir–23Nb electrodes were used for the fabrication of amperometric glucose sensors. We first coated the two electrodes with a γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane membrane and then with a glucose oxidase membrane. Tests on the Ir and Ir–23Nb electrode glucose sensors showed that the latter had better glucose detection capability than the former: 0.226 μA/(mm{sup 2} mM) for the Ir–23Nb sensor with 1.67 mM glucose. We investigated the relationship between the electrode responses to both hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid and the electrode surface structures.

Pt-graphene electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoshi, Hajime, E-mail: hoshi@ed.tus.ac.jp; Tanaka, Shumpei; Miyoshi, Takashi

2014-12-15

Highlights: • Graphene films with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercial graphene. • Pt consumption can be reduced by using Pt-graphene films. • The film showed improved catalytic activity for the reaction I{sub 3}{sup −}/I{sup −}. • The film can be used as the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). • The performance of DSSC was superior to that of the Pt electrode. - Abstract: A simple paste method for fabricating graphene films with Pt nanoparticles was developed. First, graphene pastes with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercially available graphene. The resulting films of graphene nanoplatelet aggregates with Pt nanoparticles (Pt-GNA) contained Pt nanoparticles distributed over the entire three-dimensional surface of the GNA. Then, the catalytic activity for the I{sub 3}{sup −}/I{sup −} redox reaction was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The GNA electrode exhibited higher activity than a graphene nanoplatelet electrode because of its higher effective surface area. Addition of Pt nanoparticles to the electrodes improved the catalytic activity. In particular, a large Faradaic current for the I{sub 3}{sup −}/I{sup −} reaction was observed for the Pt-GNA electrode. As the counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), their performance was consistent with the cyclic voltammetry results. In particular, the DSSC performance of the Pt-GNA electrode was superior to that of the Pt electrodes commonly used in DSSCs.

Distance scaling of electric-field noise in a surface-electrode ion trap

Science.gov (United States)

Sedlacek, J. A.; Greene, A.; Stuart, J.; McConnell, R.; Bruzewicz, C. D.; Sage, J. M.; Chiaverini, J.

2018-02-01

We investigate anomalous ion-motional heating, a limitation to multiqubit quantum-logic gate fidelity in trapped-ion systems, as a function of ion-electrode separation. Using a multizone surface-electrode trap in which ions can be held at five discrete distances from the metal electrodes, we measure power-law dependencies of the electric-field noise experienced by the ion on the ion-electrode distance d . We find a scaling of approximately d-4 regardless of whether the electrodes are at room temperature or cryogenic temperature, despite the fact that the heating rates are approximately two orders of magnitude smaller in the latter case. Through auxiliary measurements using the application of noise to the electrodes, we rule out technical limitations to the measured heating rates and scalings. We also measure the frequency scaling of the inherent electric-field noise close to 1 /f at both temperatures. These measurements eliminate from consideration anomalous-heating models which do not have a d-4 distance dependence, including several microscopic models of current interest.

Laser-based surface preparation of composite laminates leads to improved electrodes for electrical measurements

KAUST Repository

Almuhammadi, Khaled; Selvakumaran, Lakshmi; Alfano, Marco; Yang, Yang; Bera, Tushar Kanti; Lubineau, Gilles

2015-01-01

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a low-cost, fast and effective structural health monitoring technique that can be used on carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Electrodes are a key component of any EIT system and as such they should feature low resistivity as well as high robustness and reproducibility. Surface preparation is required prior to bonding of electrodes. Currently this task is mostly carried out by traditional sanding. However this is a time consuming procedure which can also induce damage to surface fibers and lead to spurious electrode properties. Here we propose an alternative processing technique based on the use of pulsed laser irradiation. The processing parameters that result in selective removal of the electrically insulating resin with minimum surface fiber damage are identified. A quantitative analysis of the electrical contact resistance is presented and the results are compared with those obtained using sanding.

Laser-based surface preparation of composite laminates leads to improved electrodes for electrical measurements

KAUST Repository

Almuhammadi, Khaled

2015-10-19

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a low-cost, fast and effective structural health monitoring technique that can be used on carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Electrodes are a key component of any EIT system and as such they should feature low resistivity as well as high robustness and reproducibility. Surface preparation is required prior to bonding of electrodes. Currently this task is mostly carried out by traditional sanding. However this is a time consuming procedure which can also induce damage to surface fibers and lead to spurious electrode properties. Here we propose an alternative processing technique based on the use of pulsed laser irradiation. The processing parameters that result in selective removal of the electrically insulating resin with minimum surface fiber damage are identified. A quantitative analysis of the electrical contact resistance is presented and the results are compared with those obtained using sanding.

Carbon nanofibers grown on activated carbon fiber fabrics as electrode of supercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, T-H; Hung, K-H; Tzeng, S-S; Shen, J-W; Hung, C-H

2007-01-01

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were grown directly on activated carbon fiber fabric (ACFF), which was then used as the electrode of supercapacitors. Cyclic voltammetry and ac impedance were used to characterize the electrochemical properties of ACFF and CNF/ACFF electrodes in both aqueous and organic electrolytes. ACFF electrodes show higher specific capacitance than CNF/ACFF electrodes due to larger specific surface area. However, the spaces formed between the CNFs in the CNF/ACFF electrodes are more easily accessed than the slit-type pores of ACFF, and much higher electrical-double layer capacitance was obtained for CNF/ACFF electrodes

Water surface deformation in strong electrical fields and its influence on electrical breakdown in a metal pin-water electrode system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruggeman, Peter; Graham, Leigh; Groote, Joris de; Vierendeels, Jan; Leys, Christophe

2007-01-01

Electrical breakdown and water surface deformation in a metal pin-water electrode system with dc applied voltages is studied for small inter-electrode distances (2-12 mm). The radius of curvature of the metal pin is 0.5 cm to exclude corona before breakdown at these small inter-electrode spacings. Calculations of the water surface deformation as a function of the applied voltage and initial inter-electrode spacing are compared with measurements of the water elevation. For distances smaller than 7 mm the calculated stability limit of the water surface corresponds with the experimentally obtained breakdown voltage. It is proved with fast CCD images and calculations of the electrical field distribution that the water surface instability triggers the electrical breakdown in this case. The images show that at breakdown the water surface has a Taylor cone-like shape. At inter-electrode distance of 7 mm and larger the breakdown voltage is well below the water stability limit and the conductive channel at breakdown is formed between the pin electrode and the static water surface. Both cases are discussed and compared

Surface-reconstructed Cu Electrode via a Facile Electrochemical Anodization-Reduction Process for Low Overpotential CO 2 reduction

KAUST Repository

Min, Shixiong

2017-03-21

A high-surface-area Cu electrode, fabricated by a simple electrochemical anodization-reduction method, exhibits high activity and selectivity for CO2 reduction at low overpotential in 0.1 M KHCO3 solution. A faradaic efficiency of 37% for HCOOH and 27% for CO production was achieved with the current density of 1.5 mA cm-2 at −0.64 V vs. RHE, much higher than that of polycrystalline Cu. The enhanced catalytic performance is a result of the formation of the high electrochemical active surface area and high density of preferred low-index facets.

Electroadsorption desalination with carbon nanotube/PAN-based carbon fiber felt composites as electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Zhou, Junbo

2014-01-01

The chemical vapor deposition method is used to prepare CNT (carbon nanotube)/PCF (PAN-based carbon fiber felt) composite electrodes in this paper, with the surface morphology of CNT/PCF composites and electroadsorption desalination performance being studied. Results show such electrode materials with three-dimensional network nanostructures having a larger specific surface area and narrower micropore distribution, with a huge number of reactive groups covering the surface. Compared with PCF electrodes, CNT/PCF can allow for a higher adsorption and desorption rate but lower energy consumption; meanwhile, under the condition of the same voltage change, the CNT/PCF electrodes are provided with a better desalination effect. The study also found that the higher the original concentration of the solution, the greater the adsorption capacity and the lower the adsorption rate. At the same time, the higher the solution's pH, the better the desalting; the smaller the ions' radius, the greater the amount of adsorption.

Immobilization of olfactory receptors onto gold electrodes for electrical biosensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casuso, Ignacio [Departament d' Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Laboratori de Nanobioenginyeria-IBEC, Parc Cientific de Barcelona, C/Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona (Spain)], E-mail: icasuso@pcb.ub.es; Pla-Roca, Mateu [Departament d' Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Laboratori de Nanobioenginyeria-IBEC, Parc Cientific de Barcelona, C/Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona (Spain); Gomila, Gabriel [Departament d' Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Laboratori de Nanobioenginyeria-IBEC, Parc Cientific de Barcelona, C/Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona (Spain)], E-mail: ggomila@pcb.ub.es; Samitier, Josep [Departament d' Electronica, Universitat de Barcelona, Laboratori de Nanobioenginyeria-IBEC, Parc Cientific de Barcelona, C/Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona (Spain); Minic, Jasmina; Persuy, Marie A.; Salesse, Roland; Pajot-Augy, Edith [INRA, Neurobiologie de l' Olfaction et de la Prise Alimentaire, Equipe Recepteurs et Communication Chimique, Domaine de Vilvert, Jouy en Josas Cedex (France)

2008-07-01

We investigate the immobilization of native nanovesicles containing functional olfactory receptors onto gold electrodes by means of atomic force microscopy in liquid. We show that nanovesicles can be adsorbed without disrupting them presenting sizes once immobilized ranging from 50 nm to 200 nm in diameter. The size of the nanovesicles shows no dependence on the electrode hydrophobicity being constant in a height/width ratio close to 1:3. Nevertheless, electrode hydrophobicity does affect the surface coverage, the surface coverage is five times higher in hydrophilic electrodes than on hydrophobic ones. Surface coverage is also affected by nanovesicles dimensions in suspension, the size homogenization to around 50 nm yields a further five fold increment in surface coverage achieving a coverage of about 50% close to the hard spheres jamming limit (54.7%). A single layer of nanovesicles is always formed with no particle overlap. Present results provide insights into the immobilization on electrodes of olfactory receptors for further olfactory electrical biosensor development.

Rotational electrical impedance tomography using electrodes with limited surface coverage provides window for multimodal sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Lehti-Polojärvi, Mari; Koskela, Olli; Seppänen, Aku; Figueiras, Edite; Hyttinen, Jari

2018-02-01

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an imaging method that could become a valuable tool in multimodal applications. One challenge in simultaneous multimodal imaging is that typically the EIT electrodes cover a large portion of the object surface. This paper investigates the feasibility of rotational EIT (rEIT) in applications where electrodes cover only a limited angle of the surface of the object. In the studied rEIT, the object is rotated a full 360° during a set of measurements to increase the information content of the data. We call this approach limited angle full revolution rEIT (LAFR-rEIT). We test LAFR-rEIT setups in two-dimensional geometries with computational and experimental data. We use up to 256 rotational measurement positions, which requires a new way to solve the forward and inverse problem of rEIT. For this, we provide a modification, available for EIDORS, in the supplementary material. The computational results demonstrate that LAFR-rEIT with eight electrodes produce the same image quality as conventional 16-electrode rEIT, when data from an adequate number of rotational measurement positions are used. Both computational and experimental results indicate that the novel LAFR-rEIT provides good EIT with setups with limited surface coverage and a small number of electrodes.

Investigating Surface and Interface Phenomena in LiFeBO3 Electrodes Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy Depth Profiling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maibach, Julia; Younesi, Reza; Schwarzburger, Nele

2014-01-01

The formation of surface and interface layers at the electrodes is highly important for the performance and stability of lithium ion batteries. To unravel the surface composition of electrode materials, photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) is highly suitable as it probes chemical surface and interface...... properties with high surface sensitivity. Additionally, by using synchrotron-generated hard x-rays as excitation source, larger probing depths compared to in-house PES can be achieved. Therefore, the combination of in-house soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy...

Comparison of electrocatalytic characterization of boron-doped diamond and SnO2 electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lv, Jiangwei; Feng, Yujie; Liu, Junfeng; Qu, Youpeng; Cui, Fuyi

2013-01-01

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) and SnO 2 electrodes were prepared by direct current plasma chemical vapor deposition (DC-PCVD) and sol–gel method, respectively. Electrochemical characterization of the two electrodes were investigated by phenol electrochemical degradation, accelerated service life test, cyclic voltammetry (CV) in phenol solution, polarization curves in H 2 SO 4 . The surface morphology and crystal structure of two electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The results showed a considerable difference between the two electrodes in their electrocatalytic activity, electrochemical stability and surface properties. Phenol was readily mineralized to CO 2 at BDD electrode, favoring electrochemical combustion, but its degradation was much slower at SnO 2 electrode. The service life of BDD electrode was 10 times longer than that of SnO 2 . Higher electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability of BDD electrode arise from its high oxygen evolution potential and the physically absorbed hydroxyl radicals (·OH) on electrode surface.

Electrode-electrolyte interface model of tripolar concentric ring electrode and electrode paste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrollaholhosseini, Seyed Hadi; Steele, Preston; Besio, Walter G

2016-08-01

Electrodes are used to transform ionic currents to electrical currents in biological systems. Modeling the electrode-electrolyte interface could help to optimize the performance of the electrode interface to achieve higher signal to noise ratios. There are previous reports of accurate models for single-element biomedical electrodes. In this paper we develop a model for the electrode-electrolyte interface for tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCRE) that are used to record brain signals.

Exploiting both optical and electrical anisotropy in nanowire electrodes for higher transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jianjin; Goldthorpe, Irene A

2018-01-26

Transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxide and random meshes of silver nanowires (AgNWs) have isotropic in-plane properties. However, we show that imparting some alignment to AgNWs can create anisotropic transparency and electrical conductivity characteristics that may benefit many applications. For example, liquid crystal displays and the touch sensors on top of them often only need to be transparent to one type of polarized light as well as predominantly conductive in only one direction. Herein, AgNWs are slightly preferentially aligned during their deposition by rod coating. Compared to randomly oriented AgNW films, the alignment boosts the transparency to perpendicularly polarized light, as well as achieves a higher transparency for a given sheet resistance in one direction compared to randomly oriented AgNWs films. These factors together increase the transparency of a 16 Ω/sq electrode by 7.3 percentage points. The alignment technique is cheap and scalable, compatible with roll-to-roll processes, and most importantly does not require extra processing steps, as rod coating is already a standard process for AgNW electrode fabrication.

Mechanical polishing as an improved surface treatment for platinum screen-printed electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junqiao Lee

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The viability of mechanical polishing as a surface pre-treatment method for commercially available platinum screen-printed electrodes (SPEs was investigated and compared to a range of other pre-treatment methods (UV-Ozone treatment, soaking in N,N-dimethylformamide, soaking and anodizing in aqueous NaOH solution, and ultrasonication in tetrahydrofuran. Conventional electrochemical activation of platinum SPEs in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution was ineffective for the removal of contaminants found to be passivating the screen-printed surfaces. However, mechanical polishing showed a significant improvement in hydrogen adsorption and in electrochemically active surface areas (probed by two different redox couples due to the effective removal of surface contaminants. Results are also presented that suggest that SPEs are highly susceptible to degradation by strong acidic or caustic solutions, and could potentially lead to instability in long-term applications due to continual etching of the binding materials. The ability of SPEs to be polished effectively extends the reusability of these traditionally “single-use” devices. Keywords: Screen-printed electrodes, Polishing, Platinum, Activation, Pre-treatment, Cyclic voltammetry

Evolution of surface motor activation zones in hemiplegic patients during 20 sessions of FES therapy with multi-pad electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovana Malešević

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine surface motor activation zones for wrist, fingers and thumb extension movements and their temporal change during 20 therapy sessions using advanced multi-pad functional electrical stimulation system. Results from four hemiplegic patients indicate that certain zones have higher probability of eliciting each of the target movements. However, mutual overlap and variations of the zones are present not just between the subjects, but also on the intrasubject level, reflected through these session to session transformations of the selected virtual electrodes. The obtained results could be used as a priori knowledge for semi-automated optimization algorithm and could shorten the time required for calibration of the multi-pad electrode.

New Fabrication Method of Three-Electrode System on Cylindrical Capillary Surface as a Flexible Implantable Microneedle

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhuoqing; Zhang, Yi; Itoh, Toshihiro; Maeda, Ryutaro

2013-04-01

In this present paper, a three-electrode system has been fabricated and integrated on the cylindrical polymer capillary surface by micromachining technology, which could be used as a flexible and implantable microneedle for glucose sensor application in future. A UV lithography system is successfully developed for high resolution alignment on cylindrical substrates. The multilayer alignment exposure for cylindrical polymer capillary substrate is for the first time realized utilizing the lithography system. The ±1 μm alignment precision has been realized on the 330 μm-outer diameter polymer capillary surface, on which the three-electrode structure consisting of two platinum electrodes and one Ag/AgCl reference electrode has been fabricated. The fabricated whole device as microneedle for glucose sensor application has been also characterized in 1 mol/L KCl and 0.02 mol/L K3Fe(CN)6 mix solution. The measured cyclic voltammetry curve shows that the prepared three-electrode system has a good redox property.

Localization, correlation, and visualization of electroencephalographic surface electrodes and brain anatomy in epilepsy studies

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkmann, Benjamin H.; O'Brien, Terence J.; Robb, Richard A.; Sharbrough, Frank W.

1997-05-01

Advances in neuroimaging have enhanced the clinician's ability to localize the epileptogenic zone in focal epilepsy, but 20-50 percent of these cases still remain unlocalized. Many sophisticated modalities have been used to study epilepsy, but scalp electrode recorded electroencephalography is particularly useful due to its noninvasive nature and excellent temporal resolution. This study is aimed at specific locations of scalp electrode EEG information for correlation with anatomical structures in the brain. 3D position localizing devices commonly used in virtual reality systems are used to digitize the coordinates of scalp electrodes in a standard clinical configuration. The electrode coordinates are registered with a high- resolution MRI dataset using a robust surface matching algorithm. Volume rendering can then be used to visualize the electrodes and electrode potentials interpolated over the scalp. The accuracy of the coordinate registration is assessed quantitatively with a realistic head phantom.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering of new acridine based fluorophore adsorbed on silver electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Solovyeva, Elena V.; Myund, Liubov A.; Denisova, Anna S.

2015-10-01

4,5-Bis(N,N-di(2-hydroxyethyl)iminomethyl)acridine (BHIA) is a new acridine based fluoroionophore and a highly-selective sensor for cadmium ion. The direct interaction of the aromatic nitrogen atom with a surface is impossible since there are bulky substituents in the 4,5-positions of the acridine fragment. Nevertheless BHIA molecule shows a reliable SERS spectrum while adsorbed on a silver electrode. The analysis of SERS spectra pH dependence reveals that BHIA species adsorbed on a surface can exist in both non-protonated and protonated forms. The adsorption of BHIA from alkaline solution is accompanied by carbonaceous species formation at the surface. The intensity of such "carbon bands" turned out to be related with the supporting electrolyte (KCl) concentration. Upon lowering the electrode potential the SERS spectra of BHIA do not undergo changes but the intensity of bands decreases. This indicates that the adsorption mechanism on the silver surface is realized via aromatic system of acridine fragment. In case of such an adsorption mechanism the chelate fragment of the BHIA molecule is capable of interaction with the solution components. Addition of Cd2+ ions to a system containing BHIA adsorbed on a silver electrode in equilibrium with the solution leads to the formation of BHIA/Cd2+ complex which desorption causes the loss of SERS signal.

A computation study on the interplay between surface morphology and electrochemical performance of patterned thin film electrodes for Li-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Gur, Sourav; Frantziskonis, George N.; Aifantis, Katerina E.

2017-08-01

Recent experiments illustrate that the morphology of the electrode surface impacts the voltage - capacity curves and long term cycling performance of Li-ion batteries. The present study systematically explores the role of the electrode surface morphology and uncertainties in the reactions that occur during electrochemical cycling, by performing kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). This allows encoding of the inherent stochasticity at discrete microscale reaction events over the deterministic mean field reaction dynamics that occur in Li-ion cells. The electrodes are taken to be dense thin films whose surfaces are patterned with conical, trapezoidal, dome-shaped, or pillar-shaped structures. It is shown that the inherent perturbations in the reactions together with the characteristics of the electrode surface configuration can significantly improve battery performance, mainly because patterned surfaces, as opposed to flat surfaces, result in a smaller voltage drop. The most efficient pattern was the trapezoidal, which is consistent with experimental evidence on Si patterned electrodes.

Use of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for determination of active surface area of modified carbon-based electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, Leticia Lopes de

2011-01-01

Carbon-based electrodes as well the ion exchange electrodes among others have been applied mainly in the treatment of industrial effluents and radioactive wastes. Carbon is also used in fuel cells as substrate for the electrocatalysts, having high surface area which surpasses its geometric area. The knowledge of the total active area is important for the determination of operating conditions of an electrochemical cell with respect to the currents to be applied (current density). In this study it was used two techniques to determine the electrochemical active surface area of glassy carbon, electrodes and ion exchange electrodes: cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The experiments were carried out with KNO 3 0.1 mol.L -1 solutions in a three-electrode electrochemical cell: carbon-based working electrode, platinum auxiliary electrode and Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The glassy carbon and porous carbon electrodes with geometric areas of 3.14 x 10 -2 and 2.83 X 10 -1 cm 2 , respectively, were used. The ion exchange electrode was prepared by mixing graphite, carbon, ion exchange resin and a binder, and this mixture was applied in three layers on carbon felt, using a geometric area of 1.0 cm 2 during the experiments. The capacitance (Cd) of the materials was determined by EIS using Bode diagrams. The value of 172 μF.cm -2 found for the glassy carbon is consistent with the literature data (∼ 200 μF.cm'- 2 ). By VC, varying the scan rate from 0.2 to 2.0 mV.s-1, the capacitance CdS (S = active surface area) in the region of the electric double layer (EDL) of each material was determined. By EIS, the values of C d , 3.0 x 10 -5 μF.cm'- 2 and 11 x 10 3 μF.cm-2, were found for the porous carbon and ion exchange electrodes, respectively, which allowed the determination of active surface areas as 3.73 x 106 cm 2 and 4.72 cm 2 . To sum up, the combined use of EIS and CV techniques is a valuable tool for the calculation of active surface

Electrochemical characterization of screen-printed and conventional carbon paste electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fanjul-Bolado, Pablo; Hernandez-Santos, David; Lamas-Ardisana, Pedro Jose [Departamento de Quimica Fisica y Analitica, Universidad de Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias (Spain); Martin-Pernia, Alberto [Departamento de Ingenieria Electrica, Electronica de Computadores y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, 33204 Gijon, Asturias (Spain); Costa-Garcia, Agustin [Departamento de Quimica Fisica y Analitica, Universidad de Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias (Spain)], E-mail: costa@fq.uniovi.es

2008-04-01

This work compares the electroactivity of a conventional carbon paste electrode and non-pretreated commercially available screen-printed carbon electrodes (from Alderon Biosciences, University of Florence and DropSens) towards some benchmark redox couples like hexaammineruthenium (III), ferricyanide, p-aminophenol and hydroquinone. While cyclic voltammograms of Ru{sup 3+} did not show significative electron transfer reactivity differences between the electrodes tested, the other redox systems exhibited higher reversible behaviours on DropSens electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy and roughness analysis with a profilometer were applied to detect the surface morphology of the working electrodes. The roughness evaluated of the screen-printed carbon working electrodes increased in this order Alderon < University of Florence < DropSens. Finally, the most electrochemically active and rough unpretreated electrode (DropSens commercial screen-printed electrode) was used to study the electrochemical-chemical reaction mechanism of indigo carmine oxidation in 0.1 M sulphuric acid. This study showed that the adsorption of the oxidation product of indigo carmine is stabilized when it is adsorbed on the surface of the electrode.

Electrochemical characterization of screen-printed and conventional carbon paste electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fanjul-Bolado, Pablo; Hernandez-Santos, David; Lamas-Ardisana, Pedro Jose; Martin-Pernia, Alberto; Costa-Garcia, Agustin

2008-01-01

This work compares the electroactivity of a conventional carbon paste electrode and non-pretreated commercially available screen-printed carbon electrodes (from Alderon Biosciences, University of Florence and DropSens) towards some benchmark redox couples like hexaammineruthenium (III), ferricyanide, p-aminophenol and hydroquinone. While cyclic voltammograms of Ru 3+ did not show significative electron transfer reactivity differences between the electrodes tested, the other redox systems exhibited higher reversible behaviours on DropSens electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy and roughness analysis with a profilometer were applied to detect the surface morphology of the working electrodes. The roughness evaluated of the screen-printed carbon working electrodes increased in this order Alderon < University of Florence < DropSens. Finally, the most electrochemically active and rough unpretreated electrode (DropSens commercial screen-printed electrode) was used to study the electrochemical-chemical reaction mechanism of indigo carmine oxidation in 0.1 M sulphuric acid. This study showed that the adsorption of the oxidation product of indigo carmine is stabilized when it is adsorbed on the surface of the electrode

Gold leaf counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Kazuhiro; Toyoda, Takeshi

2018-03-01

In this study, a gold leaf 100 nm thin film is used as the counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. The traditional method of hammering gold foil to obtain a thin gold leaf, which requires only small amounts of gold, was employed. The gold leaf was then attached to the substrate using an adhesive to produce the gold electrode. The proposed approach for fabricating counter electrodes is demonstrated to be facile and cost-effective, as opposed to existing techniques. Compared with electrodes prepared with gold foil and sputtered gold, the gold leaf counter electrode demonstrates higher catalytic activity with a cobalt-complex electrolyte and higher cell efficiency. The origin of the improved performance was investigated by surface morphology examination (scanning electron microscopy), various electrochemical analyses (cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), and crystalline analysis (X-ray diffractometry).

Surface oxygenation of polypropylene using an air dielectric barrier discharge: the effect of different electrode-platen combinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Upadhyay, D.J.; Cui, N.-Y.; Anderson, C.A.; Brown, N.M.D.

2004-01-01

Polypropylene film has been modified in an air dielectric barrier discharge using two different electrode-platen configurations: stainless steel wire electrode-rubber platen or ceramic electrode-aluminium platen combinations. Modified films were characterised by static contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR). Surface hydrophilic modification appears to be governed by the presence of low-molecular weight oxidised functionalities using XPS and SIMS techniques. Irrespective of the type of electrode-platen combination used to obtain the discharge, oxygenated functionalities of identical nature are formed on the polymer surface. However, the degree of oxidation obtained by the discharge using the wire electrodes with the rubber platen was considerably greater. Further increase in the observed hydrophilicity due to molecular rearrangement and development of stable oxygenated functionalities was evident after 1 month of post-processing analysis

Studying the glial cell response to biomaterials and surface topography for improving the neural electrode interface

Science.gov (United States)

Ereifej, Evon S.

grown on PMMA resembled closely to that of cells grown on the control surface, thus confirming the biocompatibility of PMMA. Additionally, the astrocyte GFAP gene expressions of cells grown on PMMA were lower than the control, signifying a lack of astrocyte reactivity. Based on the findings from the biomaterials study, it was decided to optimize PMMA by changing the surface characteristic of the material. Through the process of hot embossing, nanopatterns were placed on the surface in order to test the hypothesis that nanopatterning can improve the cellular response to the material. Results of this study agreed with current literature showing that topography effects protein and cell behavior. It was concluded that for the use in neural electrode fabrication and design, the 3600mm/gratings pattern feature sizes were optimal. The 3600 mm/gratings pattern depicted cell alignment along the nanopattern, less protein adsorption, less cell adhesion, proliferation and viability, inhibition of GFAP and MAP2k1 compared to all other substrates tested. Results from the initial biomaterials study also indicated platinum was negatively affected the cells and may not be a suitable material for neural electrodes. This lead to pursuing studies with iridium oxide and platinum alloy wires for the glial scar assay. Iridium oxide advantages of lower impedance and higher charge injection capacity would appear to make iridium oxide more favorable for neural electrode fabrication. However, results of this study demonstrate iridium oxide wires exhibited a more significant reactive response as compared to platinum alloy wires. Astrocytes cultured with platinum alloy wires had less GFAP gene expression, lower average GFAP intensity, and smaller glial scar thickness. Results from the nanopatterning PMMA study prompted a more thorough investigation of the nanopatterning effects using an organotypic brain slice model. PDMS was utilized as the substrate due to its optimal physical properties

Improve the surface of silver nanowire transparent electrode using a double-layer structure for the quantum-dot light-emitting diodes

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Seok Hyeon; Been Heo, Su; Kang, Seong Jun

2018-03-01

We developed a double-layer structured transparent electrode for use in flexible quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) were coated on a transparent substrate to obtain a highly conductive and flexible transparent electrode. The highly conductive PEDOT:PSS improved the surface roughness of the AgNWs transparent electrode film as well as the surface coverage area of the film. The double-layer structured transparent electrode showed superior mechanical properties than conventional indium-tin oxide (ITO) and AgNWs transparent electrodes. QLEDs with the double-layer structured transparent electrode also showed good reliability under cyclic bending conditions. These results indicate that the double-layer structured AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS transparent electrode described here is a feasible alternative to ITO transparent electrodes for flexible QLEDs.

Relating surface chemistry and oxygen surface exchange in LnBaCo2O(5+δ) air electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Téllez, Helena; Druce, John; Kilner, John A; Ishihara, Tatsumi

2015-01-01

The surface and near-surface chemical composition of electroceramic materials often shows significant deviations from that of the bulk. In particular, layered materials, such as cation-ordered LnBaCo2O(5+δ) perovskites (Ln = lanthanide), undergo surface and sub-surface restructuring due to the segregation of the divalent alkaline-earth cation. These processes can take place during synthesis and processing steps (e.g. deposition, sintering or annealing), as well as at temperatures relevant for the operation of these materials as air electrodes in solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysers. Furthermore, the surface segregation in these double perovskites shows fast kinetics, starting at temperatures as low as 400 °C over short periods of time and leading to a decrease in the transition metal surface coverage exposed to the gas phase. In this work, we use a combination of stable isotope tracer labeling and surface-sensitive ion beam techniques to study the oxygen transport properties and their relationship with the surface chemistry in ordered LnBaCo2O(5+δ) perovskites. Time-of-Flight Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) combined with (18)O isotope exchange was used to determine the oxygen tracer diffusion (D*) and surface exchange (k*) coefficients. Furthermore, Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) was used for the analysis of the surface and near surface chemistry as it provides information from the first mono-atomic layer of the materials. In this way, we could relate the compositional modifications (e.g. cation segregation) taking place at the electrochemically-active surface during the exchange at high temperatures and the oxygen transport properties in double perovskite electrode materials to further our understanding of the mechanism of the surface exchange process.

Concatenation of electrochemical grafting with chemical or electrochemical modification for preparing electrodes with specific surface functionality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, Pallavi; Maire, Pascal; Novak, Petr

2011-01-01

Surface modified electrodes are used in electro-analysis, electro-catalysis, sensors, biomedical applications, etc. and could also be used in batteries. The properties of modified electrodes are determined by the surface functionality. Therefore, the steps involved in the surface modification of the electrodes to obtain specific functionality are of prime importance. We illustrate here bridging of two routes of surface modifications namely electrochemical grafting, and chemical or electrochemical reduction. First, by electrochemical grafting an organic moiety is covalently immobilized on the surface. Then, either by chemical or by electrochemical route the terminal functional group of the grafted moiety is transformed. Using the former route we prepared lithium alkyl carbonate (-O(CH 2 ) 3 OCO 2 Li) modified carbon with potential applications in batteries, and employing the latter we prepared phenyl hydroxyl amine (-C 6 H 4 NHOH) modified carbon which may find application in biosensors. Benzyl alcohol (-C 6 H 4 CH 2 OH) modified carbon was prepared by both chemical as well as electrochemical route. We report combinations of conjugating the two steps of surface modifications and show how the optimal route of terminal functional group modification depends on the chemical nature of the moiety attached to the surface in the electrochemical grafting step.

Concatenation of electrochemical grafting with chemical or electrochemical modification for preparing electrodes with specific surface functionality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verma, Pallavi; Maire, Pascal [Paul Scherrer Institut, Electrochemistry Laboratory, Section Electrochemical Energy Storage, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Novak, Petr, E-mail: petr.novak@psi.c [Paul Scherrer Institut, Electrochemistry Laboratory, Section Electrochemical Energy Storage, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

2011-04-01

Surface modified electrodes are used in electro-analysis, electro-catalysis, sensors, biomedical applications, etc. and could also be used in batteries. The properties of modified electrodes are determined by the surface functionality. Therefore, the steps involved in the surface modification of the electrodes to obtain specific functionality are of prime importance. We illustrate here bridging of two routes of surface modifications namely electrochemical grafting, and chemical or electrochemical reduction. First, by electrochemical grafting an organic moiety is covalently immobilized on the surface. Then, either by chemical or by electrochemical route the terminal functional group of the grafted moiety is transformed. Using the former route we prepared lithium alkyl carbonate (-O(CH{sub 2}){sub 3}OCO{sub 2}Li) modified carbon with potential applications in batteries, and employing the latter we prepared phenyl hydroxyl amine (-C{sub 6}H{sub 4}NHOH) modified carbon which may find application in biosensors. Benzyl alcohol (-C{sub 6}H{sub 4}CH{sub 2}OH) modified carbon was prepared by both chemical as well as electrochemical route. We report combinations of conjugating the two steps of surface modifications and show how the optimal route of terminal functional group modification depends on the chemical nature of the moiety attached to the surface in the electrochemical grafting step.

Fabrication of high surface area graphene electrodes with high performance towards enzymatic oxygen reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Bari, Chiara; Goñi-Urtiaga, Asier; Pita, Marcos; Shleev, Sergey; Toscano, Miguel D.; Sainz, Raquel; De Lacey, Antonio L.

2016-01-01

High surface area graphene electrodes were prepared by simultaneous electrodeposition and electroreduction of graphene oxide. The electrodeposition process was optimized in terms of pH and conductivity of the solution and the obtained graphene electrodes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical methods (cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy). Electrodeposited electrodes were further functionalized to carry out covalent immobilization of two oxygen-reducing multicopper oxidases: laccase and bilirubin oxidase. The enzymatic electrodes were tested as direct electron transfer based biocathodes and catalytic currents as high as 1 mA/cm 2 were obtained. Finally, the mechanism of the enzymatic oxygen reduction reaction was studied for both enzymes calculating the Tafel slopes and transfer coefficients.

Recursive grid partitioning on a cortical surface model: an optimized technique for the localization of implanted subdural electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pieters, Thomas A; Conner, Christopher R; Tandon, Nitin

2013-05-01

Precise localization of subdural electrodes (SDEs) is essential for the interpretation of data from intracranial electrocorticography recordings. Blood and fluid accumulation underneath the craniotomy flap leads to a nonlinear deformation of the brain surface and of the SDE array on postoperative CT scans and adversely impacts the accurate localization of electrodes located underneath the craniotomy. Older methods that localize electrodes based on their identification on a postimplantation CT scan with coregistration to a preimplantation MR image can result in significant problems with accuracy of the electrode localization. The authors report 3 novel methods that rely on the creation of a set of 3D mesh models to depict the pial surface and a smoothed pial envelope. Two of these new methods are designed to localize electrodes, and they are compared with 6 methods currently in use to determine their relative accuracy and reliability. The first method involves manually localizing each electrode using digital photographs obtained at surgery. This is highly accurate, but requires time intensive, operator-dependent input. The second uses 4 electrodes localized manually in conjunction with an automated, recursive partitioning technique to localize the entire electrode array. The authors evaluated the accuracy of previously published methods by applying the methods to their data and comparing them against the photograph-based localization. Finally, the authors further enhanced the usability of these methods by using automatic parcellation techniques to assign anatomical labels to individual electrodes as well as by generating an inflated cortical surface model while still preserving electrode locations relative to the cortical anatomy. The recursive grid partitioning had the least error compared with older methods (672 electrodes, 6.4-mm maximum electrode error, 2.0-mm mean error, p < 10(-18)). The maximum errors derived using prior methods of localization ranged from 8

Electrospun carbon nanofibers surface-grafted with vapor-grown carbon nanotubes as hierarchical electrodes for supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhengping; Wu, Xiang-Fa; Fong, Hao

2012-01-01

This letter reports the fabrication and electrochemical properties of electrospun carbon nanofibers surface-grafted with vapor-grown carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as hierarchical electrodes for supercapacitors. The specific capacitance of the fabricated electrodes was measured up to 185 F/g at the low discharge current density of 625 mA/g; a decrease of 38% was detected at the high discharge current density of 2.5 A/g. The morphology and microstructure of the electrodes were examined by electron microscopy, and the unique connectivity of the hybrid nanomaterials was responsible for the high specific capacitance and low intrinsic contact electric resistance of the hierarchical electrodes.

Investigation of top electrode for PZT thick films based MEMS sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hindrichsen, Christian Carstensen; Pedersen, Thomas; Kristiansen, Paw T.

2010-01-01

In this work processing of screen printed piezoelectric PZT thick films on silicon substrates is investigated for use in future MEMS devices. E-beam evaporated Al and Pt are patterned on PZT as a top electrode using a lift-off process with a line width down to 3 mu m. Three test structures are used...... to investigate the optimal thickness of the top electrode, the degradation of the piezoelectric properties of the PZT film in absence of a diffusion barrier layer and finally how to fabricate electrical interconnects down the edge of the PZT thick film. The roughness of the PZT is found to have a strong...... influence on the conductance of the top electrode influencing the optimal top electrode thickness. A 100 nm thick top electrode on the PZT thick film with a surface roughness of 273 nm has a 4.5 times higher resistance compared to a similar wire on a planar SiO2 surface which has a surface roughness of less...

In situ electrochemical-mass spectroscopic investigation of solid electrolyte interphase formation on the surface of a carbon electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gourdin, Gerald; Zheng, Dong; Smith, Patricia H.; Qu, Deyang

2013-01-01

The energy density of an electrochemical capacitor can be significantly improved by utilizing a lithiated negative electrode and a high surface area positive electrode. During lithiation of the negative carbon electrode, the electrolyte reacts with the electrode surface and undergoes decomposition to form a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that passivates the surface of the carbon electrode from further reactions between Li and the electrolyte. The reduction reactions that the solvent undergoes also form insoluble and gaseous by-products. In this work, those gaseous by-products generated by reductive decomposition of a carbonate-based electrolyte, 1.2 M LiPF 6 in EC/PC/DEC (3:1:4), were analyzed at different stages during the lithiation process of an amorphous carbon electrode. The stages in the generation of gaseous by-products were determined to come as a result of two, 1-electron reduction steps of the cyclic carbonate components of the electrolyte. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was also used to investigate the two distinct electrochemical processes and the development of the two phases of the SEI structure. This is the first time that the state of an electrochemical cell during the formation of the SEI layer has been systematically correlated with theoretical reaction mechanisms through the use of in situ electrochemical-MS and impedance spectroscopy analyses

An Ideal Electrode Material, 3D Surface-Microporous Graphene for Supercapacitors with Ultrahigh Areal Capacitance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Liang; Stacchiola, Dario J.; Hu, Yun Hang

2017-01-01

The efficient charge accumulation of an ideal supercapacitor electrode requires abundant micropores and its fast electrolyte-ions transport prefers meso/macropores. But, current electrode materials cannot meet both requirements, resulting in poor performance. We creatively constructed three-dimensional cabbage-coral-like graphene as an ideal electrode material, in which meso/macro channels are formed by graphene walls and rich micropores are incorporated in the surface layer of the graphene walls. The unique 3D graphene material can achieve a high gravimetric capacitance of 200 F/g with aqueous electrolyte, 3 times larger than that of commercially used activated carbon (70.8 F/g). Furthermore, it can reach an ultrahigh areal capacitance of 1.28 F/cm"2 and excellent rate capability (83.5% from 0.5 to 10 A/g) as well as high cycling stability (86.2% retention after 5000 cycles). The excellent electric double-layer performance of the 3D graphene electrode can be attributed to the fast electrolyte ion transport in the meso/macro channels and the rapid and reversible charge adsorption with negligible transport distance in the surface micropores.

Disposable screen printed graphite electrode for the direct electrochemical determination of ibuprofen in surface water

KAUST Repository

Amin, Sidra; Soomro, M. Tahir; Memon, Najma; Solangi, Amber R.; Sirajuddin; Qureshi, Tahira; Behzad, Ali Reza

2014-01-01

The potential of square wave voltammetry (SWV) for the determination of ibuprofen in aqueous solution, applying baseline correction, is reported. A screen printed graphite electrodes (SPGEs), especially pretreated for this purpose, were used to investigate the electrochemical oxidation and detection of ibuprofen. After optimization of SWV parameters, measurements were carried out at 200 Hz modulation frequency, 4 mV step potential and 40 mV pulse amplitude for the determination of ibuprofen. The surfaces of both untreated and pretreated SPGEs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electro-catalytic properties of both the electrodes were correlated with the surface treatment. The pretreated screen printed graphite electrode exhibited a high sensitivity toward ibuprofen even in low concentration. The developed method was found rapid, cost-effective and reproducible for in-field ibuprofen detection.

Disposable screen printed graphite electrode for the direct electrochemical determination of ibuprofen in surface water

KAUST Repository

Amin, Sidra

2014-08-01

The potential of square wave voltammetry (SWV) for the determination of ibuprofen in aqueous solution, applying baseline correction, is reported. A screen printed graphite electrodes (SPGEs), especially pretreated for this purpose, were used to investigate the electrochemical oxidation and detection of ibuprofen. After optimization of SWV parameters, measurements were carried out at 200 Hz modulation frequency, 4 mV step potential and 40 mV pulse amplitude for the determination of ibuprofen. The surfaces of both untreated and pretreated SPGEs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electro-catalytic properties of both the electrodes were correlated with the surface treatment. The pretreated screen printed graphite electrode exhibited a high sensitivity toward ibuprofen even in low concentration. The developed method was found rapid, cost-effective and reproducible for in-field ibuprofen detection.

Supercapacitors based on modified graphene electrodes with poly(ionic liquid)

Science.gov (United States)

Trigueiro, João Paulo C.; Lavall, Rodrigo L.; Silva, Glaura G.

2014-06-01

The improved accessibility of the electrolyte to the surface of carbon nanomaterials is a challenge to be overcome in supercapacitors based on ionic liquid electrolytes. In this study, we report the preparation of supercapacitors based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) electrodes and ionic liquid as the electrolyte (specifically, 1-methyl-1-propylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or [MPPy][TFSI]). Two types of electrodes were compared: the RGO-based electrode and a poly(ionic liquid)-modified RGO electrode (PIL:RGO). The supercapacitor produced with the PIL:RGO electrode and [MPPy][TFSI] showed an electrochemical stability of 3 V and provided a capacitance of 71.5 F g-1 at room temperature; this capacitance is 130% higher with respect to the RGO-based supercapacitor. The decrease of the specific capacitance after 2000 cycles is only 10% for the PIL:RGO-based device. The results revealed the potential of the PIL:RGO material as an electrode for supercapacitors. This composite electrode increases the compatibility with the ionic liquid electrolyte compared to an RGO electrode, promoting an increase in the effective surface area of the electrode accessible to the electrolyte ions.

Roles of Bulk and Surface Chemistry in the Oxygen Exchange Kinetics and Related Properties of Mixed Conducting Perovskite Oxide Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola H. Perry

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Mixed conducting perovskite oxides and related structures serving as electrodes for electrochemical oxygen incorporation and evolution in solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells, respectively, play a significant role in determining the cell efficiency and lifetime. Desired improvements in catalytic activity for rapid surface oxygen exchange, fast bulk transport (electronic and ionic, and thermo-chemo-mechanical stability of oxygen electrodes will require increased understanding of the impact of both bulk and surface chemistry on these properties. This review highlights selected work at the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER, Kyushu University, set in the context of work in the broader community, aiming to characterize and understand relationships between bulk and surface composition and oxygen electrode performance. Insights into aspects of bulk point defect chemistry, electronic structure, crystal structure, and cation choice that impact carrier concentrations and mobilities, surface exchange kinetics, and chemical expansion coefficients are emerging. At the same time, an understanding of the relationship between bulk and surface chemistry is being developed that may assist design of electrodes with more robust surface chemistries, e.g., impurity tolerance or limited surface segregation. Ion scattering techniques (e.g., secondary ion mass spectrometry, SIMS, or low energy ion scattering spectroscopy, LEIS with high surface sensitivity and increasing lateral resolution are proving useful for measuring surface exchange kinetics, diffusivity, and corresponding outer monolayer chemistry of electrodes exposed to typical operating conditions. Beyond consideration of chemical composition, the use of strain and/or a high density of active interfaces also show promise for enhancing performance.

Polymer Coatings of Cochlear Implant Electrode Surface - An Option for Improving Electrode-Nerve-Interface by Blocking Fibroblast Overgrowth.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C Hadler

Full Text Available Overgrowth of connective tissue and scar formation induced by the electrode array insertion increase the impedance and, thus, diminish the interactions between neural probes as like cochlear implants (CI and the target tissue. Therefore, it is of great clinical interest to modify the carrier material of the electrodes to improve the electrode nerve interface for selective cell adhesion. On one side connective tissue growth needs to be reduced to avoid electrode array encapsulation, on the other side the carrier material should not compromise the interaction with neuronal cells. The present in vitro-study qualitatively and quantitatively characterises the interaction of fibroblasts, glial cells and spiral ganglion neurons (SGN with ultrathin poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide (PDMAA, poly(2-ethyloxazoline (PEtOx and poly([2-methacryloyloxyethyl]trimethylammoniumchlorid (PMTA films immobilised onto glass surfaces using a photoreactive anchor layer. The layer thickness and hydrophilicity of the polymer films were characterised by ellipsometric and water contact angle measurement. Moreover the topography of the surfaces was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM. The neuronal and non-neuronal cells were dissociated from spiral ganglions of postnatal rats and cultivated for 48 h on top of the polymer coatings. Immunocytochemical staining of neuronal and intermediary filaments revealed that glial cells predominantly attached on PMTA films, but not on PDMAA and PEtOx monolayers. Hereby, strong survival rates and neurite outgrowth were only found on PMTA, whereas PDMAA and PEtOx coatings significantly reduced the SG neuron survival and neuritogenesis. As also shown by scanning electron microscopy (SEM SGN strongly survived and retained their differentiated phenotype only on PMTA. In conclusion, survival and neuritogenesis of SGN may be associated with the extent of the glial cell growth. Since PMTA was the only of the polar polymers used in this study

Corrosion behavior of a positive graphite electrode in vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Huijun; Xu Qian; Yan Chuanwei; Qiao Yonglian

2011-01-01

Graphical abstract: The overpotential for gas evolution on positive graphite electrode decreases due to the functional groups of COOH and C=O introduced on the surface of graphite electrode during corrosion process, which can self-catalyze the oxidation of carbon atoms therefore, accelerates corrosion process. Highlights: → Initial potential for gas evolution is higher than 1.60 V vs SCE. → Factors affecting the graphite corrosion are investigated. → Functional groups of COOH and C=O introduced during corrosion process. → The groups can self-catalyze the oxidation of carbon atoms. - Abstract: The graphite plate is easily suffered from corosion because of CO 2 evolution when it acts as the positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery. The aim is to obtain the initial potential for gas evolution on a positive graphite electrode in 2 mol dm -3 H 2 SO 4 + 2 mol dm -3 VOSO 4 solution. The effects of polarization potential, operating temperature and polarization time on extent of graphite corrosion are investigated by potentiodynamic and potentiostatic techniques. The surface characteristics of graphite electrode before and after corrosion are examined by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the gas begins to evolve on the graphite electrode when the anodic polarization potential is higher than 1.60 V vs saturated calomel electrode at 20 deg. C. The CO 2 evolution on the graphite electrode can lead to intergranular corrosion of the graphite when the polarization potential reaches 1.75 V. In addition, the functional groups of COOH and C=O introduced on the surface of graphite electrode during corrosion can catalyze the formation of CO 2 , therefore, accelerates the corrosion rate of graphite electrode.

Electrode placement during electro-desalination of

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ottosen, Lisbeth M.; Andersson, Lovisa C. H.

2017-01-01

Carved stone sculptures and ornaments can be severely damaged by salt induced decay. Often the irregular surfaces are decomposed, and the artwork is lost. The present paper is an experimental investigation on the possibility for using electro-desalination for treatment of stone with irregular shape....... Electro-desalination experiments were made with different duration to follow the progress. Successful desalination of the whole stone piece was obtained, showing that also parts not being placed directly between the electrodes were desalinated. This is important in case of salt damaged carved stones......, where the most fragile parts thus can be desalinated without physically placing electrodes on them. The Cl removal rate was higher in the areas closest to the electrodes and slowest in the part, which was not placed directly between the electrodes. This is important to incorporate in the monitoring...

Surface structured platinum electrodes for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in imidazolium based ionic liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanc-Scherer, Florin A; Montiel, Miguel A; Montiel, Vicente; Herrero, Enrique; Sánchez-Sánchez, Carlos M

2015-10-07

The direct CO2 electrochemical reduction on model platinum single crystal electrodes Pt(hkl) is studied in [C2mim(+)][NTf2(-)], a suitable room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) medium due to its moderate viscosity, high CO2 solubility and conductivity. Single crystal electrodes represent the most convenient type of surface structured electrodes for studying the impact of RTIL ion adsorption on relevant electrocatalytic reactions, such as surface sensitive electrochemical CO2 reduction. We propose here based on cyclic voltammetry and in situ electrolysis measurements, for the first time, the formation of a stable adduct [C2mimH-CO2(-)] by a radical-radical coupling after the simultaneous reduction of CO2 and [C2mim(+)]. It means between the CO2 radical anion and the radical formed from the reduction of the cation [C2mim(+)] before forming the corresponding electrogenerated carbene. This is confirmed by the voltammetric study of a model imidazolium-2-carboxylate compound formed following the carbene pathway. The formation of that stable adduct [C2mimH-CO2(-)] blocks CO2 reduction after a single electron transfer and inhibits CO2 and imidazolium dimerization reactions. However, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 under those conditions provokes the electrochemical cathodic degradation of the imidazolium based RTIL. This important limitation in CO2 recycling by direct electrochemical reduction is overcome by adding a strong acid, [H(+)][NTf2(-)], into solution. Then, protons become preferentially adsorbed on the electrode surface by displacing the imidazolium cations and inhibiting their electrochemical reduction. This fact allows the surface sensitive electro-synthesis of HCOOH from CO2 reduction in [C2mim(+)][NTf2(-)], with Pt(110) being the most active electrode studied.

Facile in-situ fabrication of graphene/riboflavin electrode for microbial fuel cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Qian-Qian; Wu, Xia-Yuan; Yu, Yang-Yang; Sun, De-Zhen; Jia, Hong-Hua; Yong, Yang-Chun

2017-01-01

A novel graphene/riboflavin (RF) composite electrode was developed and its potential application as microbial fuel cell (MFC) anode was demonstrated. Graphene layers were first grown on the surface of graphite electrode by a one-step in-situ electrochemical exfoliation approach. Then, noncovalent functionalization of the graphene layers with RF was achieved by a simple spontaneous adsorption process. The graphene/RF electrode was extensively characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman analysis, and cyclic voltammetry analysis. Remarkably, when applied as the anode of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 inoculated MFCs, the graphene/RF electrode significantly decreased charge transfer over-potential and enhanced cell attachment, which in turn delivered about 5.3- and 2.5-fold higher power output, when compared with that produced by the bare graphite paper electrode and graphene electrode, respectively. These results demonstrated that electron shuttle immobilization on the electrode surface could be a promising and practical strategy for improving the performance of microbial electrochemical systems.

Treatment of As(V) and As(III) by electrocoagulation using Al and Fe electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuan, W H; Hu, C Y; Chiang, M C

2009-01-01

A batch electrocoagulation (EC) process with bipolar electrode and potentiodynamic polarization tests with monopolar systems were investigated as methods to explore the effects of electrode materials and initial solution pH on the As(V) and As(III) removal. The results displayed that the system with Al electrode has higher reaction rate during the initial period from 0 to 25 minutes than that of Fe electrode for alkaline condition. The pH increased with the EC time because the As(V) and As(III) removal by either co-precipitation or adsorption resulted in that the OH positions in Al-hydroxide or Fe-hydroxide were substituted by As(V) and As(III). The pH in Fe electrode system elevate higher than that in Al electrode because the As(V) removal substitutes more OH position in Fe-hydroxide than that in Al-hydroxide. EC system with Fe electrode can successfully remove the As(III) but system with Al electrode cannot because As(III) can strongly bind to the surface of Fe-hydroxide with forming inner-sphere species but weakly adsorb to the Al-hydroxide surface with forming outer-sphere species. The acidic solution can destroy the deposited hydroxide passive film then allow the metallic ions liberate into the solution, therefore, the acidic initial solution can enhance the As(V) and As(III) removal. The over potential calculation and potentiodynamic polarization tests reveal that the Fe electrode systems possess higher over potential and pitting potential than that of Al electrode system due to the fast hydrolysis of and the occurrence of Fe-hydroxide passive film.

The modification of glassy carbon and gold electrodes with aryl diazonium salt: The impact of the electrode materials on the rate of heterogeneous electron transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guozhen; Liu Jingquan; Boecking, Till; Eggers, Paul K.; Gooding, J. Justin

2005-01-01

The heterogeneous electron-transfer properties of ferrocenemethylamine coupled to a series of mixed 4-carboxyphenyl/phenyl monolayers on glassy carbon (GC) and gold electrodes were investigated, by cyclic voltammetry, in aqueous buffer solutions. The electrodes were derivatized in a step-wise process. Electrochemical reduction of mixtures of 4-carboxyphenyl and phenyl diazonium salts on the electrode surfaces yielded stable monolayers. The introduction of carboxylic acid moieties onto the surfaces was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Subsequently the 4-carboxyphenyl moieties were activated using water-soluble carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide and reacted with ferrocenemethylamine. The rate constants of electron transfer through the monolayer systems were determined from cyclic voltammograms using the Marcus theory for electron transfer and were found to be an order of magnitude higher for the ferrocene-modified monolayer systems on gold than those on GC electrodes. The results suggest the electrode material has an important influence on the rate of electron transfer

Electrospark deposition of Al2O3–TiB2/Ni composite-phase surface coatings on Cu–Cr–Zr alloy electrodes

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Ping Luo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available To improve electrode life during the resistance spot welding of galvanized steel plates, an Al2O3–TiB2 composite coating was synthesized on the surfaces of spot-welding electrodes through an electrospark deposition process. The microstructure, elemental composition, phase structure, and mechanical properties of the coating were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and microhardness testing. It was found that extensive cracking occurred in the monolithic Al2O3–TiB2 coating and at the coating–electrode interface. When the Al2O3–TiB2 coating was deposited on electrodes precoated with Ni, the number of defects decreased significantly. Further, delamination did not occur, and fewer cracks were formed. The average hardness of the multilayered Al2O3–TiB2/Ni coating was approximately 2200 HV and higher than that of the monolithic Al2O3–TiB2 coating (1100 HV.

Morphology Effect of Vertical Graphene on the High Performance of Supercapacitor Electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Zou, Qionghui; Hsu, Hua Shao; Raina, Supil; Xu, Yuxi; Kang, Joyce B; Chen, Jun; Deng, Shaozhi; Xu, Ningsheng; Kang, Weng P

2016-03-23

Graphene and its composites are widely investigated as supercapacitor electrodes due to their large specific surface area. However, the severe aggregation and disordered alignment of graphene sheets hamper the maximum utilization of its surface area. Here we report an optimized structure for supercapacitor electrode, i.e., the vertical graphene sheets, which have a vertical structure and open architecture for ion transport pathway. The effect of morphology and orientation of vertical graphene on the performance of supercapacitor is examined using a combination of model calculation and experimental study. Both results consistently demonstrate that the vertical graphene electrode has a much superior performance than that of lateral graphene electrode. Typically, the areal capacitances of a vertical graphene electrode reach 8.4 mF/cm(2) at scan rate of 100 mV/s; this is about 38% higher than that of a lateral graphene electrode and about 6 times higher than that of graphite paper. To further improve its performance, a MnO2 nanoflake layer is coated on the surface of graphene to provide a high pseudocapacitive contribution to the overall areal capacitance which increases to 500 mF/cm(2) at scan rate of 5 mV/s. The reasons for these significant improvements are studied in detail and are attributed to the fast ion diffusion and enhanced charge storage capacity. The microscopic manipulation of graphene electrode configuration could greatly improve its specific capacitance, and furthermore, boost the energy density of supercapacitor. Our results demonstrate that the vertical graphene electrode is more efficient and practical for the high performance energy storage device with high power and energy densities.

Effects of Nanowire Length and Surface Roughness on the Electrochemical Sensor Properties of Nafion-Free, Vertically Aligned Pt Nanowire Array Electrodes

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Zhiyang Li

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, vertically aligned Pt nanowire arrays (PtNWA with different lengths and surface roughnesses were fabricated and their electrochemical performance toward hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 detection was studied. The nanowire arrays were synthesized by electroplating Pt in nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO template. Different parameters, such as current density and deposition time, were precisely controlled to synthesize nanowires with different surface roughnesses and various lengths from 3 μm to 12 μm. The PtNWA electrodes showed better performance than the conventional electrodes modified by Pt nanowires randomly dispersed on the electrode surface. The results indicate that both the length and surface roughness can affect the sensing performance of vertically aligned Pt nanowire array electrodes. Generally, longer nanowires with rougher surfaces showed better electrochemical sensing performance. The 12 μm rough surface PtNWA presented the largest sensitivity (654 μA·mM−1·cm−2 among all the nanowires studied, and showed a limit of detection of 2.4 μM. The 12 μm rough surface PtNWA electrode also showed good anti-interference property from chemicals that are typically present in the biological samples such as ascorbic, uric acid, citric acid, and glucose. The sensing performance in real samples (river water was tested and good recovery was observed. These Nafion-free, vertically aligned Pt nanowires with surface roughness control show great promise as versatile electrochemical sensors and biosensors.

Bioinspired fractal electrodes for solar energy storages.

Science.gov (United States)

Thekkekara, Litty V; Gu, Min

2017-03-31

Solar energy storage is an emerging technology which can promote the solar energy as the primary source of electricity. Recent development of laser scribed graphene electrodes exhibiting a high electrical conductivity have enabled a green technology platform for supercapacitor-based energy storage, resulting in cost-effective, environment-friendly features, and consequent readiness for on-chip integration. Due to the limitation of the ion-accessible active porous surface area, the energy densities of these supercapacitors are restricted below ~3 × 10 -3  Whcm -3 . In this paper, we demonstrate a new design of biomimetic laser scribed graphene electrodes for solar energy storage, which embraces the structure of Fern leaves characterized by the geometric family of space filling curves of fractals. This new conceptual design removes the limit of the conventional planar supercapacitors by significantly increasing the ratio of active surface area to volume of the new electrodes and reducing the electrolyte ionic path. The attained energy density is thus significantly increased to ~10 -1  Whcm -3 - more than 30 times higher than that achievable by the planar electrodes with ~95% coulombic efficiency of the solar energy storage. The energy storages with these novel electrodes open the prospects of efficient self-powered and solar-powered wearable, flexible and portable applications.

Bioinspired fractal electrodes for solar energy storages

Science.gov (United States)

Thekkekara, Litty V.; Gu, Min

2017-03-01

Solar energy storage is an emerging technology which can promote the solar energy as the primary source of electricity. Recent development of laser scribed graphene electrodes exhibiting a high electrical conductivity have enabled a green technology platform for supercapacitor-based energy storage, resulting in cost-effective, environment-friendly features, and consequent readiness for on-chip integration. Due to the limitation of the ion-accessible active porous surface area, the energy densities of these supercapacitors are restricted below ~3 × 10-3 Whcm-3. In this paper, we demonstrate a new design of biomimetic laser scribed graphene electrodes for solar energy storage, which embraces the structure of Fern leaves characterized by the geometric family of space filling curves of fractals. This new conceptual design removes the limit of the conventional planar supercapacitors by significantly increasing the ratio of active surface area to volume of the new electrodes and reducing the electrolyte ionic path. The attained energy density is thus significantly increased to ~10-1 Whcm-3- more than 30 times higher than that achievable by the planar electrodes with ~95% coulombic efficiency of the solar energy storage. The energy storages with these novel electrodes open the prospects of efficient self-powered and solar-powered wearable, flexible and portable applications.

ORGANIC ELECTRODE COATINGS FOR NEXT-GENERATION NEURAL INTERFACES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulises A Aregueta-Robles

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Traditional neuronal interfaces utilize metallic electrodes which in recent years have reached a plateau in terms of the ability to provide safe stimulation at high resolution or rather with high densities of microelectrodes with improved spatial selectivity. To achieve higher resolution it has become clear that reducing the size of electrodes is required to enable higher electrode counts from the implant device. The limitations of interfacing electrodes including low charge injection limits, mechanical mismatch and foreign body response can be addressed through the use of organic electrode coatings which typically provide a softer, more roughened surface to enable both improved charge transfer and lower mechanical mismatch with neural tissue. Coating electrodes with conductive polymers or carbon nanotubes offers a substantial increase in charge transfer area compared to conventional platinum electrodes. These organic conductors provide safe electrical stimulation of tissue while avoiding undesirable chemical reactions and cell damage. However, the mechanical properties of conductive polymers are not ideal, as they are quite brittle. Hydrogel polymers present a versatile coating option for electrodes as they can be chemically modified to provide a soft and conductive scaffold. However, the in vivo chronic inflammatory response of these conductive hydrogels remains unknown. A more recent approach proposes tissue engineering the electrode interface through the use of encapsulated neurons within hydrogel coatings. This approach may provide a method for activating tissue at the cellular scale, however several technological challenges must be addressed to demonstrate feasibility of this innovative idea. The review focuses on the various organic coatings which have been investigated to improve neural interface electrodes.

Supercapacitor Electrode Based on Activated Carbon Wool Felt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Claudia Pina

2018-04-01

Full Text Available An electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC is based on the physical adsorption/desorption of electrolyte ions onto the surface of electrodes. Due to its high surface area and other properties, such as electrochemical stability and high electrical conductivity, carbon materials are the most widely used materials for EDLC electrodes. In this work, we study an activated carbon felt obtained from sheep wool felt (ACF’f as a supercapacitor electrode. The ACF’f was characterized by elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, textural analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The electrochemical behaviour of the ACF’f was tested in a two-electrode Swagelok®-type, using acidic and basic aqueous electrolytes. At low current densities, the maximum specific capacitance determined from the charge-discharge curves were 163 F·g−1 and 152 F·g−1, in acidic and basic electrolytes, respectively. The capacitance retention at higher current densities was better in acidic electrolyte while, for both electrolytes, the voltammogram of the sample presents a typical capacitive behaviour, being in accordance with the electrochemical results.

Activation of glassy carbon electrodes by photocatalytic pretreatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumanli, Onur [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Art, Ondokuz Mayis University, Kurupelit, 55139 Samsun (Turkey); Onar, A. Nur [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Art, Ondokuz Mayis University, Kurupelit, 55139 Samsun (Turkey)], E-mail: nonar@omu.edu.tr

2009-11-01

This paper describes a simple and rapid photocatalytic pretreatment procedure that removes contaminants from glassy carbon (GC) surfaces. The effectiveness of TiO{sub 2} mediated photocatalytic pretreatment procedure was compared to commonly used alumina polishing procedure. Cyclic voltammetric and chronocoulometric measurements were carried out to assess the changes in electrode reactivity by using four redox systems. Electrochemical measurements obtained on photocatalytically treated GC electrodes showed a more active surface relative to polished GC. In cyclic voltammograms of epinephrine, Fe(CN){sub 6}{sup 3-/4-} and ferrocene redox systems, higher oxidation and reduction currents were observed. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants (k{sup o}) were calculated for Fe(CN){sub 6}{sup 3-/4-} and ferrocene which were greater for photocatalytic pretreatment. Chronocoulometry was performed in order to find the amount of adsorbed methylene blue onto the electrode and was calculated as 0.34 pmol cm{sup -2} for photocatalytically pretreated GC. The proposed photocatalytic GC electrode cleansing and activating pretreatment procedure was more effective than classical alumina polishing.

Surface structure and morphology of Cu-free and Cu-covered Au(100) and Au(111) electrodes in alkaline solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlaup, Christian [Technical University of Denmark, Department of Physics, Fysikvey, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Friebel, Daniel [Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Wandelt, Klaus [University of Bonn, Institute for Physical und Theoretical Chemistry, Wegelerstr. 12, D-53115 Bonn (Germany)

2011-07-01

For both Cu-free Au-electrodes three different phases were observed as a function of the applied electrode potential. While at low potentials the onset of surface reconstruction points towards an apparently adsorbate free surface and, thus, a weak interaction with species from the electrolyte, a Au-hydroxide and a Au-oxide phase are formed subsequently during potential increase. A similar phase behavior was also found for Cu-covered Au-electrodes, while at low potentials an apparently adsorbate free Cu layer is observed, a Cu-hydroxide coadsorbate phase and a Cu-oxide phase are formed under increased potential conditions. In addition the apparently adsorbate free Cu-film tends to form a Cu-Au alloy phase while keeping the electrode for a sufficient long time at low potential conditions.

Effects of electrolytic composition on the electric double-layer capacitance at smooth-surface carbon electrodes in organic media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, In-Tae; Egashira, Minato; Yoshimoto, Nobuko; Morita, Masayuki

2010-01-01

As a fundamental research on the optimization of electrolyte composition in practical electrochemical capacitor device, double-layer capacitance at Glassy Carbon (GC) and Boron-doped Diamond (BDD), as typical smooth-surface carbon electrodes, has been studied as a function of the electrolyte composition in organic media. Specific capacitance (differential capacitance: F cm -2 ) determined by an AC impedance method, in which no contribution of mass-transport effects is included, corresponded well to integrated capacitance evaluated by conventional cyclic voltammetry. The specific capacitance at the GC electrode varied with polarized potential and showed clear PZC (potential of zero charge), while the potential dependence of the capacitance at BDD was very small. The effects of the solvent and the electrolytic salt on the capacitance behavior were common for both electrodes. That is, the sizes of the solvent molecule and the electrolytic ion (cation) strongly affected the capacitance at these smooth-surface carbon electrodes.

Low Cost Electrode Assembly for EEG Recordings in Mice

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Emily C. Vogler

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Wireless electroencephalography (EEG of small animal subjects typically utilizes miniaturized EEG devices which require a robust recording and electrode assembly that remains in place while also being well-tolerated by the animal so as not to impair the ability of the animal to perform normal living activities or experimental tasks. We developed simple and fast electrode assembly and method of electrode implantation using electrode wires and wire-wrap technology that provides both higher survival and success rates in obtaining recordings from the electrodes than methods using screws as electrodes. The new wire method results in a 51% improvement in the number of electrodes that successfully record EEG signal. Also, the electrode assembly remains affixed and provides EEG signal for at least a month after implantation. Screws often serve as recording electrodes, which require either drilling holes into the skull to insert screws or affixing screws to the surface of the skull with adhesive. Drilling holes large enough to insert screws can be invasive and damaging to brain tissue, using adhesives may interfere with conductance and result in a poor signal, and soldering screws to wire leads results in fragile connections. The methods presented in this article provide a robust implant that is minimally invasive and has a significantly higher success rate of electrode implantation. In addition, the implant remains affixed and produces good recordings for over a month, while using economical, easily obtained materials and skills readily available in most animal research laboratories.

Analysis of oxidation of self-baking electrodes (Soederberg electrodes) by means of three-dimensional model

Science.gov (United States)

Pashnin, S. V.

2017-10-01

The paper presents the methodology and results of the development of the temperature dependence of the oxidation speed of the self-baking electrode (Soederberg Electrodes) in the ore-thermal furnaces. For the study of oxidation, the working ends of the self-baking electrodes, which were taken out from the ore-thermal furnaces after their scabbings, were used. The temperature of the electrode surface by its height was calculated with the help of the mathematical model of heat work of self-baking electrode. The comparison of electrode surface temperatures with the speed of oxidation of the electrode allowed one to obtain the temperature dependency of the oxidation of the lateral electrode surface. Comparison of the experimental data, obtained in the laboratory by various authors, showed their qualitative coincidence with results of calculations of the oxidation rate presented in this article. With the help of the mathematical model of temperatures fields of electrode, the calculations of the sizes of the cracks, appearing after burnout ribs, were performed. Calculations showed that the sizes of the cracks after the ribs burnout, calculated by means of the obtained temperature dependence, coincide with the experimental data with sufficient accuracy.

Surface modification and electrochemical properties of activated carbons for supercapacitor electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Dan; Qiu, Wenmei; Xu, Jingcai; Han, Yanbing; Jin, Hongxiao; Jin, Dingfeng; Peng, Xiaoling; Hong, Bo; Li, Ji; Ge, Hongliang; Wang, Xinqing

2015-12-01

Modifications with different acids (HNO3, H2SO4, HCl and HF, respectively) were introduced to treat the activated carbons (ACs) surface. The microstructures and surface chemical properties were discussed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), ASAP, Raman spectra and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The ACs electrode-based supercapacitors were assembled with 6 mol ṡ L-1 KOH electrolyte. The electrochemical properties were studied by galvanostatic charge-discharge and cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that although the BET surface area of modified ACs decreased, the functional groups were introduced and the ash contents were reduced on the surface of ACs, receiving larger specific capacitance to initial AC. The specific capacitance of ACs modified with HCl, H2SO4, HF and HNO3 increased by 31.4%, 23%, 21% and 11.6%, respectively.

Demonstration of Cold 40Ca+ Ions Confined in a Microscopic Surface-Electrode Ion Trap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Liang; Wan Wei; Xie Yi; Wu Hao-Yu; Zhou Fei; Feng Mang

2013-01-01

40 Ca + ions are successfully confined, under the cooling of a red-detuned laser, in a home-built microscopic surface-electrode (MSE) trap. With all electrodes deposited on a low-rf-loss substrate, our 500-μm-scale MSE trap is designed involving three potential wells and manufactured by the standard technique of the printed circuit board. Both linear and two-dimensional crystals of 40 Ca + are observed in the trap after preliminary micromotion compensation is carried out. The development of the MSE trap aims at large-scale trapped-ion quantum information processing

Investigation of Electrochemical Behaviour of Quercetin on the Modified Electrode Surfaces with Procaine and Aminophenyl in Non-Aquous Medium

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Ibrahim Ender Mulazimoglu

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical ımpedance spectroscopy have been used to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of quercetin (3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone on the procaine and aminophenyl modified electrode. The modification of procaine and aminophenyl binded electrode surface with quercetin was performed in +0,3/+2,8 V (for procaine and +0,4/+1,5 V (for aminophenyl potential range using 100 mV s-1 scanning rate having 10 cycle. A solution of 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile was used as a non-aquous solvent. For the modification process a solution of 1 mM quercetin in 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate was used. In order to obtain these two surface, a solution of 1 mM procaine and 1 mM nitrophenyl diazonium salt in 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate was used. By using these solutions bare glassy carbon electrode surface was modified. Nitrophenyl was reduced to amine group in 0.1 M HCl medium on the nitrophenyl modified glassy carbon elelctrode surface. Procaine modified glassy carbon electrode surface was quite electroactive. Although nitrophenyl modified glassy carbon elelctrode surface was electroinactive, it was activated by reducing nitro group into amine group. For the characterization of the modified surface 1 mM ferrocene in 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate for cyclic voltammetry and 1 mM ferricyanide/ferrocyanide (1:1 mixture in 0,1 M KCl for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used.

The development of a micropatterned electrode for studies of zinc electrodeposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sutija, Dave P. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Muller, Rolf H. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Tobias, Charles W. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1986-12-01

A micropatterned electrode was prepared for the study of electrocrystallization. Using microphotolithography, in conjunction with evaporation and pulse electrodeposition of thin films, a set of artificially roughened electrodes with hemispherical surface features five microns in diameter was developed. Voltammetric studies were conducted to determine the best electrode material. Gold, platinum, and various carbon surfaces were evaluated for zinc nucleation density and hydrogen overpotential. Surface homogeneity was examined by both light and scanning electron microscopy. Gold was determined to possess the best combination of material properties: chemical inertness, low melting point, and a high work function allowing underpotential deposition of zinc which reduces the rate of hydrogen evolution. Stripping coulometry was employed to determine zinc limiting currents, and evaluate effective diffusion coefficients in concentrated zinc chloride solutions. Although the method worked well for dilute zinc chloride and copper sulfate solutions, it failed at higher current densities; the emergence of surface roughness obscured actual limiting current plateaus.

Surface study of stainless steel electrode deposition from soil electrokinetic (EK) treatment using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Embong, Zaidi, E-mail: zaidi@uthm.edu.my [Faculty of Science, Technology and Human Development, Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHM) 86400, Parit Raja, Batu, Johor (Malaysia); Research Centre for Soft Soils (RECESS), Office for Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Consultancy Management (ORICC), Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia UTHM 86400, Parit Raja, Batu, Johor (Malaysia); Johar, Saffuwan [Faculty of Science, Technology and Human Development, Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHM) 86400, Parit Raja, Batu, Johor (Malaysia); Tajudin, Saiful Azhar Ahmad [Research Centre for Soft Soils (RECESS), Office for Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Consultancy Management (ORICC), Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia UTHM 86400, Parit Raja, Batu, Johor (Malaysia); Sahdan, Mohd Zainizan [Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Centre (MiNT-SRC), Office for Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Consultancy Management (ORICC), Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia UTHM 86400, Parit Raja, Batu, Johor (Malaysia)

2015-04-29

Electrokinetic (EK) remediation relies upon application of a low-intensity direct current through the soil between stainless steel electrodes that are divided into a cathode array and an anode array. This mobilizes charged species, causing ions and water to move toward the electrodes. Metal ions and positively charged organic compounds move toward the cathode. Anions such as chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and negatively charged organic compounds move toward the anode. Here, this remediation techniques lead to a formation of a deposition at the both cathode and anode surface that mainly contributed byanion and cation from the remediated soil. In this research, Renggam-Jerangau soil species (HaplicAcrisol + RhodicFerralsol) with a surveymeter reading of 38.0 ± 3.9 μR/hr has been investigation in order to study the mobility of the anion and cation under the influence electric field. Prior to the EK treatment, the elemental composition of the soil and the stainless steel electrode are measured using XRF analyses. Next, the soil sample is remediated at a constant electric potential of 30 V within an hour of treatment period. A surface study for the deposition layer of the cathode and anode using X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that a narrow photoelectron signal from oxygen O 1s, carbon, C 1s silica, Si 2p, aluminium, Al 2p and chromium, Cr 2p exhibited on the electrode surface and indicate that a different in photoelectron intensity for each element on both electrode surface. In this paper, the mechanism of Si{sup 2+} and Al{sup 2+} cation mobility under the influence of voltage potential between the cathode and anode will be discussed in detail.

Surface study of stainless steel electrode deposition from soil electrokinetic (EK) treatment using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Embong, Zaidi; Johar, Saffuwan; Tajudin, Saiful Azhar Ahmad; Sahdan, Mohd Zainizan

2015-01-01

Electrokinetic (EK) remediation relies upon application of a low-intensity direct current through the soil between stainless steel electrodes that are divided into a cathode array and an anode array. This mobilizes charged species, causing ions and water to move toward the electrodes. Metal ions and positively charged organic compounds move toward the cathode. Anions such as chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and negatively charged organic compounds move toward the anode. Here, this remediation techniques lead to a formation of a deposition at the both cathode and anode surface that mainly contributed byanion and cation from the remediated soil. In this research, Renggam-Jerangau soil species (HaplicAcrisol + RhodicFerralsol) with a surveymeter reading of 38.0 ± 3.9 μR/hr has been investigation in order to study the mobility of the anion and cation under the influence electric field. Prior to the EK treatment, the elemental composition of the soil and the stainless steel electrode are measured using XRF analyses. Next, the soil sample is remediated at a constant electric potential of 30 V within an hour of treatment period. A surface study for the deposition layer of the cathode and anode using X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that a narrow photoelectron signal from oxygen O 1s, carbon, C 1s silica, Si 2p, aluminium, Al 2p and chromium, Cr 2p exhibited on the electrode surface and indicate that a different in photoelectron intensity for each element on both electrode surface. In this paper, the mechanism of Si 2+ and Al 2+ cation mobility under the influence of voltage potential between the cathode and anode will be discussed in detail

Molybdenum coated SU-8 microneedle electrodes for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Soltanzadeh, Ramin; Afsharipour, Elnaz; Shafai, Cyrus; Anssari, Neda; Mansouri, Behzad; Moussavi, Zahra

2017-11-21

Electrophysiological devices are connected to the body through electrodes. In some applications, such as nerve stimulation, it is needed to minimally pierce the skin and reach the underneath layers to bypass the impedance of the first layer called stratum corneum. In this study, we have designed and fabricated surface microneedle electrodes for applications such as electrical peripheral nerve stimulation. We used molybdenum for microneedle fabrication, which is a biocompatible metal; it was used for the conductive layer of the needle array. To evaluate the performance of the fabricated electrodes, they were compared with the conventional surface electrodes in nerve conduction velocity experiment. The recorded signals showed a much lower contact resistance and higher bandwidth in low frequencies for the fabricated microneedle electrodes compared to those of the conventional electrodes. These results indicate the electrode-tissue interface capacitance and charge transfer resistance have been increased in our designed electrodes, while the contact resistance decreased. These changes will lead to less harmful Faradaic current passing through the tissue during stimulation in different frequencies. We also compared the designed microneedle electrodes with conventional ones by a 3-dimensional finite element simulation. The results demonstrated that the current density in the deep layers of the skin and the directivity toward a target nerve for microneedle electrodes were much more than those for the conventional ones. Therefore, the designed electrodes are much more efficient than the conventional electrodes for superficial transcutaneous nerve stimulation purposes.

Study on effect of tool electrodes on surface finish during electrical discharge machining of Nitinol

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, Anshuman Kumar; Chatterjee, Suman; Nayak, Praveen Kumar; Sankar Mahapatra, Siba

2018-03-01

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a non-traditional machining process which is widely used in machining of difficult-to-machine materials. EDM process can produce complex and intrinsic shaped component made of difficult-to-machine materials, largely applied in aerospace, biomedical, die and mold making industries. To meet the required applications, the EDMed components need to possess high accuracy and excellent surface finish. In this work, EDM process is performed using Nitinol as work piece material and AlSiMg prepared by selective laser sintering (SLS) as tool electrode along with conventional copper and graphite electrodes. The SLS is a rapid prototyping (RP) method to produce complex metallic parts by additive manufacturing (AM) process. Experiments have been carried out varying different process parameters like open circuit voltage (V), discharge current (Ip), duty cycle (τ), pulse-on-time (Ton) and tool material. The surface roughness parameter like average roughness (Ra), maximum height of the profile (Rt) and average height of the profile (Rz) are measured using surface roughness measuring instrument (Talysurf). To reduce the number of experiments, design of experiment (DOE) approach like Taguchi’s L27 orthogonal array has been chosen. The surface properties of the EDM specimen are optimized by desirability function approach and the best parametric setting is reported for the EDM process. Type of tool happens to be the most significant parameter followed by interaction of tool type and duty cycle, duty cycle, discharge current and voltage. Better surface finish of EDMed specimen can be obtained with low value of voltage (V), discharge current (Ip), duty cycle (τ) and pulse on time (Ton) along with the use of AlSiMg RP electrode.

Charge-Discharge Properties of the Surface-Modified ZrNi Alloy Electrode with Different Degrees of Boiling Alkaline Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akihiro Matsuyama

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Charge-discharge properties of the surface-modified ZrNi negative electrodes with different degrees of boiling alkaline treatment were investigated. The boiling alkaline treatment was performed by immersing the ZrNi electrode in a boiling 6 M KOH aqueous solution for 2 h or 4 h. The initial discharge capacity for the untreated ZrNi negative electrode was 21 mAh·g−1, but it was increased to 114 mAh·g−1 and 308 mAh·g−1 after the boiling alkaline treatments for 2 h and 4 h, respectively. The discharge capacity for the ZrNi negative electrode after the treatment for 2 h steadily increased with repeating charge-discharge cycles as well as that of the untreated electrode, whereas that for the ZrNi negative electrode after the 4 h treatment greatly decreased. The high rate of dischargeability was improved with an increase in the treatment period of time, and the charge-transfer resistance was drastically decreased. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy demonstrated the ZrO2 passive layer on the ZrNi alloy surface was removed by the boiling alkaline treatment to form a porous morphology containing Ni(OH2, which can be reduced to Ni during charging, leading to the reduction of a barrier for the charge-discharge reactions.

Effect of shape and resistivity of electrodes in a Faraday MHD duct

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayakumar, R.; Ghosh, S.

1976-01-01

The object of achieving uniform current distribution in the presence of high axial fields has prompted the use of resistive electrodes in flat and wedge geometries. In the case of flat geometry the technique involves the generation of voltage drop along the surface of the electrodes in the axial direction, due to the Faraday current collected by the electrode and flowing into a lead wire, to reduce or eliminate the discontinuity in the axial electrical field that would otherwise occur, say in case of metal electrodes. In the case of wedge shapes, higher resistance path is provided for the regions where current is likely to concentrate. In the case of flat geometry, the effect of the position of lead wire also influences the current distribution in the plasma and on the electrode surface. The resistive electrodes have been investigated for the actual current distribution by numerically solving the Laplace's equation for current stream function, arising out of Maxwell's equation and generalised Ohm's law. In the case of wedge electrode, the solution has been sought by numerical analysis of both plasma and electrode zones. It is shown that both geometries, the flat geometry with a lead wire shifted optimally from one edge and the wedge electrode can almost eliminate current concentration. (author)

Metal-mesh based transparent electrode on a 3-D curved surface by electrohydrodynamic jet printing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, Baekhoon; Yoo, Hyunwoong; Jang, Yonghee; Ryu, Changkook; Byun, Doyoung; Nguyen, Vu Dat

2014-01-01

Invisible Ag mesh transparent electrodes (TEs), with a width of 7 μm, were prepared on a curved glass surface by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing. With a 100 μm pitch, the EHD jet printed the Ag mesh on the convex glass which had a sheet resistance of 1.49 Ω/□. The printing speed was 30 cm s −1 using Ag ink, which had a 10 000 cPs viscosity and a 70 wt% Ag nanoparticle concentration. We further showed the performance of a 3-D transparent heater using the Ag mesh transparent electrode. The EHD jet printed an invisible Ag grid transparent electrode with good electrical and optical properties with promising applications on printed optoelectronic devices. (technical note)

Preparation and Performance of Sb-SnO2 / Ti Electrode Modified with Carbon Nanotubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WEI Jin-zhi

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the electro-catalytic oxidation activity and stability of Sb-SnO2 /Ti electrode，the CNTs-Sb-SnO2 /Ti electrode was prepared by sol-gel-thermal decomposition method. The microstructure and electrochemical properties of the modified electrode was characterized via SEM electrochemical impedance spectroscope ( EIS ，polarization curve and congo red degradation experiments. Furthermore，its the stability was investigated by accelerated life test. The results indicate that when the optimal doping amount of CNTs is 2. 0 g /L the congo red removal rate increases by 14. 7% using the CNTs-Sb-SnO2 /Ti electrode compared with the Sb-SnO2 /Ti electrode. Meanwhile pore structure appears and roughness increases on the surface of modified electrodes leading to larger specific surface area of electrode. Then the modified electrodes exhibit higher oxygen evolution potential and lower charge transfer resistance. Additionally，accelerated life tests reveal that the modified electrode has better electro-catalytic stability while the service life increases by

High surface area carbon for bifunctional air electrodes applied in zinc-air batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arai, H [on leave from NTT Laboratories (Japan); Mueller, S; Haas, O [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1999-08-01

Bifunctional air electrodes with high surface area carbon substrates showed low reduction overpotential, thus are promising for enhancing the energy efficiency and power capability of zinc-air batteries. The improved performance is attributed to lower overpotential due to diffusion of the reaction intermediate, namely the peroxide ion. (author) 1 fig., 2 refs.

Electrode surface engineering by atomic layer deposition: A promising pathway toward better energy storage

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Bilal

2016-04-29

Research on electrochemical energy storage devices including Li ion batteries (LIBs), Na ion batteries (NIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs) has accelerated in recent years, in part because developments in nanomaterials are making it possible to achieve high capacities and energy and power densities. These developments can extend battery life in portable devices, and open new markets such as electric vehicles and large-scale grid energy storage. It is well known that surface reactions largely determine the performance and stability of electrochemical energy storage devices. Despite showing impressive capacities and high energy and power densities, many of the new nanostructured electrode materials suffer from limited lifetime due to severe electrode interaction with electrolytes or due to large volume changes. Hence control of the surface of the electrode material is essential for both increasing capacity and improving cyclic stability of the energy storage devices.Atomic layer deposition (ALD) which has become a pervasive synthesis method in the microelectronics industry, has recently emerged as a promising process for electrochemical energy storage. ALD boasts excellent conformality, atomic scale thickness control, and uniformity over large areas. Since ALD is based on self-limiting surface reactions, complex shapes and nanostructures can be coated with excellent uniformity, and most processes can be done below 200. °C. In this article, we review recent studies on the use of ALD coatings to improve the performance of electrochemical energy storage devices, with particular emphasis on the studies that have provided mechanistic insight into the role of ALD in improving device performance. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

Surface potential distribution and airflow performance of different air-exposed electrode plasma actuators at different alternating current/direct current voltages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Liang; Yan, Hui-Jie; Qi, Xiao-Hua; Hua, Yue; Ren, Chun-Sheng, E-mail: rchsh@dlut.edu.cn [School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Key laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams, Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023 (China)

2015-04-15

Asymmetric surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators have been intensely studied for a number of years due to their potential applications for aerodynamic control. In this paper, four types of actuators with different configurations of exposed electrode are proposed. The SDBD actuators investigated are driven by dual-power supply, referred to as a fixed AC high voltage and an adjustable DC bias. The effects of the electrode structures on the dielectric surface potential distribution, the electric wind velocity, and the mean thrust production are studied, and the dominative factors of airflow acceleration behavior are revealed. The results have shown that the actions of the SDBD actuator are mainly dependent on the geometry of the exposed electrode. Besides, the surface potential distribution can effectively affect the airflow acceleration behavior. With the application of an appropriate additional DC bias, the surface potential will be modified. As a result, the performance of the electric wind produced by a single SDBD can be significantly improved. In addition, the work also illustrates that the actuators with more negative surface potential present better mechanical performance.

Surface potential distribution and airflow performance of different air-exposed electrode plasma actuators at different alternating current/direct current voltages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Liang; Yan, Hui-Jie; Qi, Xiao-Hua; Hua, Yue; Ren, Chun-Sheng

2015-01-01

Asymmetric surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators have been intensely studied for a number of years due to their potential applications for aerodynamic control. In this paper, four types of actuators with different configurations of exposed electrode are proposed. The SDBD actuators investigated are driven by dual-power supply, referred to as a fixed AC high voltage and an adjustable DC bias. The effects of the electrode structures on the dielectric surface potential distribution, the electric wind velocity, and the mean thrust production are studied, and the dominative factors of airflow acceleration behavior are revealed. The results have shown that the actions of the SDBD actuator are mainly dependent on the geometry of the exposed electrode. Besides, the surface potential distribution can effectively affect the airflow acceleration behavior. With the application of an appropriate additional DC bias, the surface potential will be modified. As a result, the performance of the electric wind produced by a single SDBD can be significantly improved. In addition, the work also illustrates that the actuators with more negative surface potential present better mechanical performance

Activation and discharge kinetics of metal hydride electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnsen, Stein Egil

2003-07-01

Potential step chronoamperometry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (eis) measurements were performed on single metal hydride particles. For the {alpha}-phase, the bulk diffusion coefficient and the absorption/adsorption rate parameters were determined. Materials produced by atomisation, melt spinning and conventional casting were investigated. The melt spun and conventional cast materials were identical and the atomised material similar in composition. The particles from the cast and the melt spun material were shaped like parallelepipeds. A corresponding equation, for this geometry, for diffusion coupled to an absorption/adsorption reaction was developed. It was found that materials produced by melt spinning exhibited lower bulk diffusion (1.7E-14 m2/s) and absorption/adsorption reaction rate (1.0E-8 m/s), compared to materials produced by conventionally casting (1.1E-13 m2/s and 5.5E-8 m/s respectively). In addition, the influence of particle active surface and relative diffusion length were discussed. It was concluded that there are uncertainties connected to these properties, which may explain the large distribution in the kinetic parameters measured on metal hydride particles. Activation of metal hydride forming materials has been studied and an activation procedure, for porous electrodes, was investigated. Cathodic polarisation of the electrode during a hot alkaline surface treatment gave the maximum discharge capacity on the first discharge of the electrode. The studied materials were produced by gas atomisation and the spherical shape was retained during the activation. Both an AB{sub 5} and an AB{sub 2} alloy was successfully activated and discharge rate properties determined. The AB{sub 2} material showed a higher maximum discharge capacity, but poor rate properties, compared to the AB{sub 5} material. Reduction of surface oxides, and at the same time protection against corrosion of active metallic nickel, can explain the satisfying results of

Influence of the crystallographic structure of the electrode surface on the structure of the electrical double layer and adsorption of organic molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kochorovski, Z.; Zagorska, I.; Pruzhkovska-Drakhal, R.; Trasatti, S.

1995-01-01

The results of systematic investigation of influence of crystal structure of Bi-, Sb- and Cd-electrode surfaces on regularities of double electric layer structure in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions of surface-nonactive electrolyte are given. Influence of electrode surface characteristics on adsorptive behaviour of different organic molecules has been studied. General regularities of of chemical nature influence and surface crystallographic structure on the double layer structure and on organic compounds adsorption have been established. 57 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs

Measurement of the Ru surface content of electrodeposited PtRu electrodes with the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance: implications for methanol and CO electrooxidation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frelink, T.; Visscher, W.; Veen, van J.A.R.

1996-01-01

To obtain the surface content of Ru in rough electrocodeposited PtRu electrodes, the mass change of a Pt electrode during Ru deposition was measured with the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCMB). It is shown that there is a correlation between the potential of the surface oxide

Coated carbon nanotube array electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Zhifeng [Newton, MA; Wen, Jian [Newton, MA; Chen, Jinghua [Chestnut Hill, MA; Huang, Zhongping [Belmont, MA; Wang, Dezhi [Wellesley, MA

2008-10-28

The present invention provides conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode materials comprising aligned CNT substrates coated with an electrically conducting polymer, and the fabrication of electrodes for use in high performance electrical energy storage devices. In particular, the present invention provides conductive CNTs electrode material whose electrical properties render them especially suitable for use in high efficiency rechargeable batteries. The present invention also provides methods for obtaining surface modified conductive CNT electrode materials comprising an array of individual linear, aligned CNTs having a uniform surface coating of an electrically conductive polymer such as polypyrrole, and their use in electrical energy storage devices.

Coaxial fiber supercapacitor using all-carbon material electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Viet Thong; Kim, Heetae; Ghosh, Arunabha; Kim, Jaesu; Chang, Jian; Vu, Quoc An; Pham, Duy Tho; Lee, Ju-Hyuck; Kim, Sang-Woo; Lee, Young Hee

2013-07-23

We report a coaxial fiber supercapacitor, which consists of carbon microfiber bundles coated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a core electrode and carbon nanofiber paper as an outer electrode. The ratio of electrode volumes was determined by a half-cell test of each electrode. The capacitance reached 6.3 mF cm(-1) (86.8 mF cm(-2)) at a core electrode diameter of 230 μm and the measured energy density was 0.7 μWh cm(-1) (9.8 μWh cm(-2)) at a power density of 13.7 μW cm(-1) (189.4 μW cm(-2)), which were much higher than the previous reports. The change in the cyclic voltammetry characteristics was negligible at 180° bending, with excellent cycling performance. The high capacitance, high energy density, and power density of the coaxial fiber supercapacitor are attributed to not only high effective surface area due to its coaxial structure and bundle of the core electrode, but also all-carbon materials electrodes which have high conductivity. Our coaxial fiber supercapacitor can promote the development of textile electronics in near future.

Liquid electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Ekechukwu, A.A.

1994-07-05

A dropping electrolyte electrode is described for use in electrochemical analysis of non-polar sample solutions, such as benzene or cyclohexane. The liquid electrode, preferably an aqueous salt solution immiscible in the sample solution, is introduced into the solution in dropwise fashion from a capillary. The electrolyte is introduced at a known rate, thus, the droplets each have the same volume and surface area. The electrode is used in making standard electrochemical measurements in order to determine properties of non-polar sample solutions. 2 figures.

SFG study of methanol dissociative adsorption at Pt(1 0 0), Pt(1 1 0) and Pt(1 1 1) electrodes surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, F.; Busson, B.; Six, C.; Pluchery, O.; Tadjeddine, A.

2002-04-01

The Pt( hkl)/methanol in acidic solution interface which constitutes a model of the anodic part of a fuel cell is studied by infrared-visible sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy. Methanol dissociative adsorption leads to CO poisoning of the Pt electrode surfaces. The structure of the CO/Pt( hkl) interface depends strongly on the orientation of the surface electrode.

Electrochemical characteristics of Shewanella loihica on carbon nanotubes-modified graphite surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiaoming; Epifanio, Monica; Marsili, Enrico

2013-01-01

Highlights: • We deposited CNT coatings on graphite electrode by electrophoretic deposition. • CNT coating increased extracellular electron transfer in Shewanella loihica biofilms. • Thick electroactive biofilms hinder the electroactivity of CNT coatings. -- Abstract: High specific surface and electrocatalytic activity of the electrode surface favour extracellular electron transfer from electrochemically active biofilms to polarized electrodes. We coated layer-by-layer carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on graphite electrodes through electrophoretic deposition, thus increasing the electrocatalytic activity. After determining the optimal number of CNT layers through electrochemical methods, we grew Shewanella loihica PV-4 biofilms on the CNT-coated electrodes to quantify the increase in extracellular electron transfer rate compared with unmodified electrodes. Current density on CNT-modified electrodes was 1.7 times higher than that observed on unmodified electrodes after 48 h from inoculation. Rapid microbial cells attachment on CNT-coated electrodes, as determined from scanning electronic microscopy, explained the rapid increase of the current. Also, the CNT reduced the charge transfer resistance of the graphite electrodes, as measured by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. However, the electrocatalytic activity of the CNT-coated electrode decreased as the biofilm grew thicker and covered the CNT-coating. These result confirmed that surface-modified electrodes improve the electron transfer rate in thin biofilms (<5 μm), but are not feasible for power production in microbial fuel cells, where the biofilm thickness is much higher

Voltammetric and impedance behaviours of surface-treated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, F. B.; Jing, B.; Cui, Y.; Di, J. J.; Qu, M.

2015-01-01

The electrochemical performances of hydrogen- and oxygen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and AC impedance spectroscopy. In addition, the surface morphologies, phase structures, and chemical states of the two diamond films were analysed by scanning probe microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the potential window is narrower for the hydrogen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film than for the oxygen-terminated one. The diamond film resistance and capacitance of oxygen-terminated diamond film are much larger than those of the hydrogen-terminated diamond film, and the polarization resistances and double-layer capacitance corresponding to oxygen-terminated diamond film are both one order of magnitude larger than those corresponding to the hydrogen-terminated diamond film. The electrochemical behaviours of the two diamond film electrodes are discussed

High performance cermet electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Isenberg, Arnold O.; Zymboly, Gregory E.

1986-01-01

Disclosed is a method of increasing the operating cell voltage of a solid oxide electrochemical cell having metal electrode particles in contact with an oxygen-transporting ceramic electrolyte. The metal electrode is heated with the cell, and oxygen is passed through the oxygen-transporting ceramic electrolyte to the surface of the metal electrode particles so that the metal electrode particles are oxidized to form a metal oxide layer between the metal electrode particles and the electrolyte. The metal oxide layer is then reduced to form porous metal between the metal electrode particles and the ceramic electrolyte.

Comparison of effectiveness between cork-screw and peg-screw electrodes for transcranial motor evoked potential monitoring using the finite element method.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomio, Ryosuke; Akiyama, Takenori; Ohira, Takayuki; Yoshida, Kazunari

2016-01-01

Intraoperative monitoring of motor evoked potentials by transcranial electric stimulation is popular in neurosurgery for monitoring motor function preservation. Some authors have reported that the peg-screw electrodes screwed into the skull can more effectively conduct current to the brain compared to subdermal cork-screw electrodes screwed into the skin. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of electrode design on transcranial motor evoked potential monitoring. We estimated differences in effectiveness between the cork-screw electrode, peg-screw electrode, and cortical electrode to produce electric fields in the brain. We used the finite element method to visualize electric fields in the brain generated by transcranial electric stimulation using realistic three-dimensional head models developed from T1-weighted images. Surfaces from five layers of the head were separated as accurately as possible. We created the "cork-screws model," "1 peg-screw model," "peg-screws model," and "cortical electrode model". Electric fields in the brain radially diffused from the brain surface at a maximum just below the electrodes in coronal sections. The coronal sections and surface views of the brain showed higher electric field distributions under the peg-screw compared to the cork-screw. An extremely high electric field was observed under cortical electrodes. Our main finding was that the intensity of electric fields in the brain are higher in the peg-screw model than the cork-screw model.

In situ diffraction studies of electrode surface structure during gold electrodeposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnussen, O.M.; Krug, K.; Ayyad, A.H.; Stettner, J.

2008-01-01

Surface X-ray scattering (SXS) in transmission geometry provides a valuable tool for in situ structural studies of electrochemical interfaces under reaction conditions, as illustrated here for homoepitaxial electrodeposition on Au(1 0 0) and Au(1 1 1) electrodes. Employing diffusion-limited deposition conditions to separate the effects of potential and deposition rate, a mutual interaction between the interface structure and the growth behavior is found. Time-dependent SXS measurements during Au(1 0 0) homoepitaxy show with decreasing potential transitions from step flow to layer-by-layer growth, then to multilayer growth, and finally back to layer-by-layer growth. This complex growth behavior can be explained within the framework of kinetic growth theory by the effect of potential, Cl adsorbates and the Au surface structure, specifically the presence of the surface reconstruction, on the Au surface mobility. Conversely, the electrodeposition process influences the structure of the reconstructed Au surface, as illustrated for Au(1 1 1), where a significant deposition-induced compression of the Au surface layer as compared to Au(1 1 1) surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions or in Au-free electrolyte is found. This compression increases towards more negative potentials, which may be explained by a release of potential-induced surface stress

Characterization on glow-discharge-treated cellulose acetate membrane surfaces for single-layer enzyme electrode studies

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Biederman, H.; Boyaci, I. H.; Bílková, P.; Slavinská, D.; Mutlu, S.; Zemek, Josef; Trchová, M.; Klimovič, J.; Mutlu, M.

2001-01-01

Roč. 81, - (2001), s. 1341-1352 ISSN 0021-8995 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : cellulose acetate membrane * plasma polymerization * surface treatment * enzyme electrodes Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.992, year: 2001

The Impact of Surface Chemistry on Bio-derived Carbon Performance as Supercapacitor Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Alshareef, Husam N.

2016-12-23

In this study, we demonstrate that highly functionalized and porous carbons can be derived from palm-leaf waste using the template-free facile synthesis process. The derived carbons have high content of nitrogen dopant, high surface area, and various defects. Moreover, these carbons exhibit a high electrical conductivity (107 S m−1). Thanks to the high content of edge N (64.3%) and highly microporous nature (82% of microspores), these biomass-derived carbons show promising performance when used as supercapacitor electrodes. To be specific, these carbonaceous materials show a specific capacitance as high as 197 and 135 F g−1 at 2 and 20 A g−1 in three-electrode configuration, respectively. Furthermore, the symmetrical cells using palm-leaf-derived carbon show an energy density of 8.4 Wh Kg−1 at a power density of 0.64 kW Kg−1, with high cycling life stability (∼8% loss after 10,000 continuous charge–discharge cycles at 20 A g−1). Interestingly, as the power density increases from 4.4 kW kg−1 to 36.8 kW kg−1, the energy density drops slowly from 8.4 Wh kg−1 to 3.4 Wh kg−1. Getting such extremely high power density without significant loss of energy density indicates that these palm-leaf-derived carbons have excellent electrode performance as supercapacitor electrodes.

The Impact of Surface Chemistry on Bio-derived Carbon Performance as Supercapacitor Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Alshareef, Husam N.; Whitehair, Daniel; Xia, Chuan

2016-01-01

In this study, we demonstrate that highly functionalized and porous carbons can be derived from palm-leaf waste using the template-free facile synthesis process. The derived carbons have high content of nitrogen dopant, high surface area, and various defects. Moreover, these carbons exhibit a high electrical conductivity (107 S m−1). Thanks to the high content of edge N (64.3%) and highly microporous nature (82% of microspores), these biomass-derived carbons show promising performance when used as supercapacitor electrodes. To be specific, these carbonaceous materials show a specific capacitance as high as 197 and 135 F g−1 at 2 and 20 A g−1 in three-electrode configuration, respectively. Furthermore, the symmetrical cells using palm-leaf-derived carbon show an energy density of 8.4 Wh Kg−1 at a power density of 0.64 kW Kg−1, with high cycling life stability (∼8% loss after 10,000 continuous charge–discharge cycles at 20 A g−1). Interestingly, as the power density increases from 4.4 kW kg−1 to 36.8 kW kg−1, the energy density drops slowly from 8.4 Wh kg−1 to 3.4 Wh kg−1. Getting such extremely high power density without significant loss of energy density indicates that these palm-leaf-derived carbons have excellent electrode performance as supercapacitor electrodes.

Elucidating the Polymeric Binder Distribution within Lithium-ion Battery Electrodes Using SAICAS.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyuman; Byun, Seoungwoo; Choi, Jaecheol; Hong, Seungbum; Ryou, Myung-Hyun; Lee, Yong Min

2018-03-30

Polymeric binder distribution within electrodes is crucial to guarantee the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for their long-term use in applications such as electric vehicles and energy-storage systems. However, due to limited analytical tools, such analyses have not been conducted so far. Herein, the adhesion properties of LIB electrodes at different depths are measured using a surface and interfacial cutting analysis system (SAICAS). Moreover, two LiCoO 2 electrodes, dried at 130 and 230 °C, are carefully prepared and used to obtain the adhesion properties at every 10 μm of depth as well as the interface between the electrode composite and the current collector. At high drying temperatures, more of the polymeric binder material and conductive agent appears adjacent to the electrode surface, resulting in different adhesion properties as a function of depth. When the electrochemical properties are evaluated at different temperatures, the LiCoO 2 electrode dried at 130 °C shows a much better high-temperature cycling performance than does the electrode dried at 230 °C due to the uniform adhesion properties and the higher interfacial adhesion strength. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Aqueous processing of composite lithium ion electrode material

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianlin; Armstrong, Beth L; Daniel, Claus; Wood, III, David L

2015-02-17

A method of making a battery electrode includes the steps of dispersing an active electrode material and a conductive additive in water with at least one dispersant to create a mixed dispersion; treating a surface of a current collector to raise the surface energy of the surface to at least the surface tension of the mixed dispersion; depositing the dispersed active electrode material and conductive additive on a current collector; and heating the coated surface to remove water from the coating.

Aqueous processing of composite lithium ion electrode material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jianlin; Armstrong, Beth L.; Daniel, Claus; Wood, III, David L.

2017-06-20

A method of making a battery electrode includes the steps of dispersing an active electrode material and a conductive additive in water with at least one dispersant to create a mixed dispersion; treating a surface of a current collector to raise the surface energy of the surface to at least the surface tension of the mixed dispersion; depositing the dispersed active electrode material and conductive additive on a current collector; and heating the coated surface to remove water from the coating.

Screen-printed carbon electrode modified on its surface with amorphous carbon nitride thin film: Electrochemical and morphological study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghamouss, F. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France); Tessier, P.-Y. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Djouadi, A. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Besland, M.-P. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Boujtita, M. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France)]. E-mail: mohammed.boujtita@univ-nantes.fr

2007-04-20

The surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was modified by using amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN {sub x}) thin film deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Scanning electron microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterise respectively the morphology and the chemical structure of the a-CN {sub x} modified electrodes. The incorporation of nitrogen in the amorphous carbon network was demonstrated by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The a-CN {sub x} layers were deposited on both carbon screen-printed electrode (SPCE) and silicon (Si) substrates. A comparative study showed that the nature of substrate, i.e. SPCE and Si, has a significant effect on both the surface morphology of deposited a-CN {sub x} film and their electrochemical properties. The improvement of the electrochemical reactivity of SPCE after a-CN {sub x} film deposition was highlighted both by comparing the shapes of voltammograms and calculating the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant.

Structure formation and surface chemistry of ionic liquids on model electrode surfaces—Model studies for the electrode | electrolyte interface in Li-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Buchner, Florian; Uhl, Benedikt; Forster-Tonigold, Katrin; Bansmann, Joachim; Groß, Axel; Behm, R. Jürgen

2018-05-01

Ionic liquids (ILs) are considered as attractive electrolyte solvents in modern battery concepts such as Li-ion batteries. Here we present a comprehensive review of the results of previous model studies on the interaction of the battery relevant IL 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([BMP]+[TFSI]-) with a series of structurally and chemically well-defined model electrode surfaces, which are increasingly complex and relevant for battery applications [Ag(111), Au(111), Cu(111), pristine and lithiated highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), and rutile TiO2(110)]. Combining surface science techniques such as high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for characterizing surface structure and chemical composition in deposited (sub-)monolayer adlayers with dispersion corrected density functional theory based calculations, this work aims at a molecular scale understanding of the fundamental processes at the electrode | electrolyte interface, which are crucial for the development of the so-called solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer in batteries. Performed under idealized conditions, in an ultrahigh vacuum environment, these model studies provide detailed insights on the structure formation in the adlayer, the substrate-adsorbate and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions responsible for this, and the tendency for chemically induced decomposition of the IL. To mimic the situation in an electrolyte, we also investigated the interaction of adsorbed IL (sub-)monolayers with coadsorbed lithium. Even at 80 K, postdeposited Li is found to react with the IL, leading to decomposition products such as LiF, Li3N, Li2S, LixSOy, and Li2O. In the absence of a [BMP]+[TFSI]- adlayer, it tends to adsorb, dissolve, or intercalate into the substrate (metals, HOPG) or to react with the substrate (TiO2) above a critical temperature, forming LiOx and Ti3+ species in the latter case. Finally, the formation of stable

Preparation of electrodes on cfrp composites with low contact resistance comprising laser-based surface pre-treatment

KAUST Repository

Almuhammadi, Khaled Hamdan; Lubineau, Gilles; Alfano, Marco Francesco; Buttner, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Various examples are provided related to the preparation of electrodes on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites with low contact resistance. Laser-based surface preparation can be used for bonding to CFRP composites. In one example, a

Effect of surface transport properties on the performance of carbon plastic electrodes for flow battery applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Xihe; Souier, Tewfik; Chiesa, Matteo; Vassallo, Anthony

2014-01-01

Due to their high electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, carbon nanotube (MWNT)-high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites are potential candidates to replace traditional activated carbon electrodes for the next generation of fuel-cells, super capacitors and flow batteries. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is employed to separate the surface conduction from bulk conduction in 15% HDPE-MWNT and 19% carbon black (CB)-HDPE composites for zinc-bromine flow battery electrodes. While exhibiting superior bulk conductivity, the interfacial conductivity of MWNT-filled composites is lower than that of CB-filled composites. High resolution conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) imaging and current-voltage (I-V) spectroscopy were employed to investigate the sub-surface electronic transport of the composite. Unlike the CB-composite, the fraction of conducting MWNTs near the surface is very low compared to their volume fraction. In addition, the non-linear I-V curves reveal the presence of a tunneling junction between the tip and the polymer-coated MWNTs. The tunneling resistance is as high as 1 GΩ, which strongly affects the electronic/electrochemical transfer at the interface of the electrolyte and the surface of the composite, which is evident in the voltammetric and EIS observations

A Configurable Surface-Electrode Ion Trap Design for Quantum Information Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wei; Chen Shu-Ming; Chen Ping-Xing; Wu Wei

2013-01-01

We propose a configurable surface-electrode ion trap design to alleviate the poor reusability of the existing traps. It can architecturally and electrically support 5 mainstream modes by design reuse, thus enhancing the trap reusability and reducing the experiment setup overhead. We also develop a corresponding simulation suite which can optimize trap geometries and calculate trap parameters to control the trapped ion's classic motion. According to our analytical and simulated results, the configurable design can serve as a unified platform for basic research of large-scale quantum information processing

A comparison of tripolar concentric ring electrode and spline Laplacians on a four-layer concentric spherical model.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiang; Makeyev, Oleksandr; Besio, Walter

2011-01-01

We have simulated a four-layer concentric spherical head model. We calculated the spline and tripolar Laplacian estimates and compared them to the analytical Laplacian on the spherical surface. In the simulations we used five different dipole groups and two electrode configurations. The comparison shows that the tripolar Laplacian has higher correlation coefficient to the analytical Laplacian in the electrode configurations tested (19, standard 10/20 locations and 64 electrodes).

TXRF study of electrochemical deposition of metals on glass-ceramic carbon electrode surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alov, N.; Oskolok, K.; Wittershagen, A.; Mertens, M.; Rittmeyer, C.; Kolbesen, B.O.

2000-01-01

Nowadays the methods of solid surface analysis are widely used to study the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of joint electrochemical deposition of metals on solid substrates. In this work the surfaces of some binary and ternary metal electrodeposits on disc glass-ceramic carbon electrodes were studied by total-reflection x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF). Metal alloys were obtained as a result of electrochemical co-deposition of copper, cadmium and lead from n x 10 -4 M (Cu, Cd, Pb)(NO 3 ) 2 + 0.01 M HNO 3 solutions under mixing. TXRF measurements were performed with an ATOMIKA EXTRA II A spectrometer using Mo K α and W (Brems) primary excitation. The serious advantage of TXRF as a method of near-surface analysis is very high element sensitivity. Apart from main elements (Cu, Cd, Pb) we have detected trace elements (Cl, Ag, Pt, Hg) which are present in working solution and has an effect to the electrodeposit formation. The comparison of TXRF data with information obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron-probe x-ray microanalysis permits to realize depth profiling electrochemical alloys. In particular it was found that in binary systems Cu-Pb and Cu-Cd the relative lead and cadmium content on the electrodeposit surface is considerably greater than in the bulk. These phenomena are due to the features of metal nucleation and growth mechanisms. High sensitivity of TXRF to surface morphology and the correlation of TXRF and scanning electron microscopy data allow to determine the area of prevailing location of metal in the heterogeneous alloy surface. So we have established that in Cu-Pb and Cu-Cd-Pb systems solid solution of copper and lead is formed: significant part of lead is deposited not only in specific 3D-clusters but also in copper thin film. It was demonstrated that the near-surface TXRF analysis of metal electrodeposits on solid electrodes is highly effective to study the mechanisms of metal nucleation, metal cluster and thin film

Sulfur and Nitrogen Co-Doped Graphene Electrodes for High-Performance Ionic Artificial Muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotal, Moumita; Kim, Jaehwan; Kim, Kwang J; Oh, Il-Kwon

2016-02-24

Sulfur and nitrogen co-doped graphene electrodes for bioinspired ionic artificial muscles, which exhibit outstanding actuation performances (bending strain of 0.36%, 4.5 times higher than PSS electrodes, and 96% of initial strain after demonstration over 18 000 cycles), provide remarkable electro-chemo-mech anical properties: specific capacitance, electrical conductivity, and large surface area with mesoporosity. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preparation and characterization of PbO2–ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Yingwu; Zhao Chunmei; Zhu Jin

2012-01-01

PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrodes were prepared by the anodic codeposition in the lead nitrate plating bath containing ZrO 2 nanoparticles. The influences of the ZrO 2 nanoparticles concentration, current density, temperature and stirring rate of the plating bath on the composition of the nanocomposite electrodes were investigated. The surface morphology and the structure of the nanocomposite electrodes were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The experimental results show that the addition of ZrO 2 nanoparticles in the electrodeposition process of lead dioxide significantly increases the lifetime of nanocomposite electrodes. The PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrodes have a service life of 141 h which is almost four times longer than that of the pure PbO 2 electrodes. The morphology of PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrodes is more compact and finer than that of PbO 2 electrodes. The relative surface area of the composite electrodes is approximately 2 times that of the pure PbO 2 electrodes. The structure test shows that the addition of ZrO 2 nanoparticles into the plating bath decreases the grain size of the PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrodes. The anodic polarization curves show that the oxygen evolution overpotential of PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrodes is higher than PbO 2 electrodes. The pollutant anodic oxidation experiment show that the PbO 2 –ZrO 2 nanocomposite electrode exhibited the better performance for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol than PbO 2 electrode, the removal ratio of COD reached 96.2%.

Plasma etching treatment for surface modification of boron-doped diamond electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondo, Takeshi [Department of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Ito, Hiroyuki [Department of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Kusakabe, Kazuhide [Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Ohkawa, Kazuhiro [Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Einaga, Yasuaki [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Yokohama 223-8522 (Japan); Fujishima, Akira [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan); Kawai, Takeshi [Department of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan)]. E-mail: kawai@ci.kagu.tus.ac.jp

2007-03-01

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin film surfaces were modified by brief plasma treatment using various source gases such as Cl{sub 2}, CF{sub 4}, Ar and CH{sub 4}, and the electrochemical properties of the surfaces were subsequently investigated. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, Cl and F atoms were detected on the BDD surfaces after 3 min of Cl{sub 2} and CF{sub 4} plasma treatments, respectively. From the results of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical AC impedance measurements, the electron-transfer rate for Fe(CN){sub 6} {sup 3-/4-} and Fe{sup 2+/3+} at the BDD electrodes was found to decrease after Cl{sub 2} and CF{sub 4} plasma treatments. However, the electron-transfer rate for Ru(NH{sub 3}){sub 6} {sup 2+/3+} showed almost no change after these treatments. This may have been related to the specific interactions of surface halogen (C-Cl and C-F) moieties with the redox species because no electrical passivation was observed after the treatments. In addition, Raman spectroscopy showed that CH{sub 4} plasma treatment of diamond surfaces formed an insulating diamond-like carbon thin layer on the surfaces. Thus, by an appropriate choice of plasma source, short-duration plasma treatments can be an effective way to functionalize diamond surfaces in various ways while maintaining a wide potential window and a low background current.

Fluctuations at electrode-YSZ interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Torben; Hansen, Karin Vels; Skou, Eivind

2005-01-01

Current fluctuations at potentiostatically controlled point electrodes of Pt, La$_{0.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$MnO$_3$ and Ni on YSZ surfaces are determined at 1000$^\\circ$C. For the oxygen reduction process on Pt electrodes characteristic sawtooth shaped low frequency fluctuations are observed. At temperat......Current fluctuations at potentiostatically controlled point electrodes of Pt, La$_{0.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$MnO$_3$ and Ni on YSZ surfaces are determined at 1000$^\\circ$C. For the oxygen reduction process on Pt electrodes characteristic sawtooth shaped low frequency fluctuations are observed....../water atmosphere are presented for discussion. The origin of the observations is not known at present but it appears likely that they are related to the activation/deactivation mechanism of SOFCs....

Methods and systems for in-situ electroplating of electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Zappi, Guillermo Daniel; Zarnoch, Kenneth Paul; Huntley, Christian Andrew; Swalla, Dana Ray

2015-06-02

The present techniques provide electrochemical devices having enhanced electrodes with surfaces that facilitate operation, such as by formation of a porous nickel layer on an operative surface, particularly of the cathode. The porous metal layer increases the surface area of the electrode, which may result in increasing the efficiency of the electrochemical devices. The formation of the porous metal layer is performed in situ, that is, after the assembly of the electrodes into an electrochemical device. The in situ process offers a number of advantages, including the ability to protect the porous metal layer on the electrode surface from damage during assembly of the electrochemical device. The enhanced electrode and the method for its processing may be used in any number of electrochemical devices, and is particularly well suited for electrodes in an electrolyzer useful for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Self-assembly of phosphorylated dihydroceramide at Au(111) electrode surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pawłowski, Jan; Juhaniewicz, Joanna; Sęk, Sławomir, E-mail: slasek@chem.uw.edu.pl

2017-01-15

Although the adsorption of lipids on reconstructed Au(111) surface and formation of highly ordered stripe-like domains are well-known phenomena, the exact orientation of the molecules with respect to the substrate remains unclear. Therefore, in this study we have focused on the structure and arrangement of lipid molecules forming highly ordered stripe-like domains at gold electrode-electrolyte interface. N-palmitoyl-D-erythro-dihydroceramide-1-phosphate was selected as model compound since its ability to transform into hemimicellar structure is limited. This way it was possible to get very stable lipid film with characteristic stripe-like pattern. Application of complementary techniques such as atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy enabled detailed characteristics of lipid adlayer adsorbed on Au(111) electrode. Based on careful analysis of the experimental results, we have proposed a model which describes the arrangement of the molecules within the film. In general, it assumes flat-lying orientation of the lipids but only one hydrocarbon chain of phosphorylated dihydroceramide is involved in direct interaction with gold. - Highlights: • STM and AFM methods were used to examine adsorption of model lipid on Au(111). • Self-assembly of model lipid leads to formation of highly organized molecular film. • The model is proposed which reproduces the STM contrast.

Pt nanoparticle modified single walled carbon nanotube network electrodes for electrocatalysis: control of the specific surface area over three orders of magnitude

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miller, T.S.; Sansuk, S.; Lai, Stanley; Macpherson, J.V.; Unwin, P.R.

2015-01-01

The electrodeposition of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on two-dimensional single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) network electrodes is investigated as a means of tailoring electrode surfaces with a well-defined amount of electrocatalytic material. Both Pt NP deposition and electrocatalytic studies are

Extraction electrode geometry for a calutron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veach, A.M.; Bell, W.A. Jr.

1975-01-01

This patent relates to an improved geometry for the extraction electrode and the ground electrode utilized in the operation of a calutron. The improved electrodes are constructed in a partial-picture-frame fashion with the slits of both electrodes formed by two tungsten elongated rods. Additional parallel spaced-apart rods in each electrode are used to establish equipotential surfaces over the rest of the front of the ion source

Plasma immersion ion implantation of the interior surface of a large cylindrical bore using an auxiliary electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng, X.C.; Kwok, T.K.; Liu, A.G.; Chu, P.K.; Tang, B.Y.

1998-01-01

A model utilizing cold, unmagnetized, and collisionless fluid ions as well as Boltzmann electrons is used to comprehensively investigate the sheath expansion into a translationally invariant large bore in the presence of an auxiliary electrode during plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of a cylindrical bore sample. The governing equation of ion continuity, ion motion, and Poisson close-quote s equation are solved by using a numerical finite difference method for different cylindrical bore radii, auxiliary electrode radii, and voltage rise times. The ion density and ion impact energy at the cylindrical inner surface, as well as the ion energy distribution, maximum ion impact energy, and average ion impact energy for the various cases are obtained. Our results show a dramatic improvement in the impact energy when an auxiliary electrode is used and the recommended normalized auxiliary electrode radius is in the range of 0.1 endash 0.3. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Electrochemical investigations of Pu(IV)/Pu(III) redox reaction using graphene modified glassy carbon electrodes and a comparison to the performance of SWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Ruma; Gamare, Jayashree; Sharma, Manoj K.; Kamat, J.V.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • First report of aqueous electrochemistry of Plutonium on graphene modified electrode. • Graphene is best electrocatalytic material for Pu(IV)/Pu(III) redox couple among the reported modifiers viz. reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and SWCNT’s. • The electrochemical reversibility of Pu(IV)/Pu(III) redox couple improves significantly on graphene modified electrode compared to previously reported rGO & SWCNTs modified electrodes • Donnan interaction between plutonium species and graphene surface offers a possibility for designing a highly sensitive sensor for plutonium • Graphene modified electrode shows higher sensitivity for the determination of plutonium compared to glassy carbon and single walled carbon nanotube modified electrode - Abstract: The work reported in this paper demonstrates for the first time that graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (Gr/GC) show remarkable electrocatalysis towards Pu(IV)/Pu(III) redox reaction and the results were compared with that of single-walled carbon nanotubes modified GC (SWCNTs/GC) and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. Graphene catalyzes the exchange of current of the Pu(IV)/Pu(III) couple by reducing both the anodic and cathodic overpotentials. The Gr/GC electrode shows higher peak currents (i p ) and smaller peak potential separation (ΔE p ) values than the SWCNTs/GC and GC electrodes. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants (k s ), charge transfer coefficients (α) and the diffusion coefficients (D) involved in the electrocatalytic redox reaction were determined. Our observations show that graphene is best electrocatalytic material among both the SWCNTs and GC to study Pu(IV)/Pu(III) redox reaction.

Implementation of a symmetric surface-electrode ion trap with field compensation using a modulated Raman effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allcock, D T C; Sherman, J A; Stacey, D N; Burrell, A H; Curtis, M J; Imreh, G; Linke, N M; Szwer, D J; Webster, S C; Steane, A M; Lucas, D M

2010-01-01

We describe a new electrode design for a surface-electrode Paul trap, which allows rotation of the normal modes out of the trap plane, and a technique for micromotion compensation in all directions using a two-photon process, which avoids the need for an ultraviolet laser directed to the trap plane. The fabrication and characterization of the trap are described, as well as its implementation for the trapping and cooling of single Ca + ions. We also propose a repumping scheme that increases ion fluorescence and simplifies heating rate measurements obtained by time-resolved ion fluorescence during Doppler cooling.

Implementation of a symmetric surface-electrode ion trap with field compensation using a modulated Raman effect

Science.gov (United States)

Allcock, D. T. C.; Sherman, J. A.; Stacey, D. N.; Burrell, A. H.; Curtis, M. J.; Imreh, G.; Linke, N. M.; Szwer, D. J.; Webster, S. C.; Steane, A. M.; Lucas, D. M.

2010-05-01

We describe a new electrode design for a surface-electrode Paul trap, which allows rotation of the normal modes out of the trap plane, and a technique for micromotion compensation in all directions using a two-photon process, which avoids the need for an ultraviolet laser directed to the trap plane. The fabrication and characterization of the trap are described, as well as its implementation for the trapping and cooling of single Ca+ ions. We also propose a repumping scheme that increases ion fluorescence and simplifies heating rate measurements obtained by time-resolved ion fluorescence during Doppler cooling.

Electrode assemblies, plasma apparatuses and systems including electrode assemblies, and methods for generating plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Peter C; Grandy, Jon D; Detering, Brent A; Zuck, Larry D

2013-09-17

Electrode assemblies for plasma reactors include a structure or device for constraining an arc endpoint to a selected area or region on an electrode. In some embodiments, the structure or device may comprise one or more insulating members covering a portion of an electrode. In additional embodiments, the structure or device may provide a magnetic field configured to control a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Plasma generating modules, apparatus, and systems include such electrode assemblies. Methods for generating a plasma include covering at least a portion of a surface of an electrode with an electrically insulating member to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Additional methods for generating a plasma include generating a magnetic field to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on an electrode.

From the plane to higher surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kawarabayashi, Ken-ichi; Thomassen, Carsten

2012-01-01

We show that Grötzschʼs theorem extends to all higher surfaces in the sense that every triangle-free graph on a surface of Euler genus g becomes 3-colorable after deleting a set of at most 1000⋅g⋅f(g) vertices where f(g) is the smallest edge-width which guarantees a graph of Euler genus g and gir...

Anodized Steel Electrodes for Supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagu, Jagdeep S; Wijayantha, K G Upul; Bohm, Mallika; Bohm, Siva; Kumar Rout, Tapan

2016-03-09

Steel was anodized in 10 M NaOH to enhance its surface texture and internal surface area for application as an electrode in supercapacitors. A mechanism was proposed for the anodization process. Field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEGSEM) studies of anodized steel revealed that it contains a highly porous sponge like structure ideal for supercapacitor electrodes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements showed that the surface of the anodized steel was Fe2O3, whereas X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicated that the bulk remained as metallic Fe. The supercapacitor performance of the anodized steel was tested in 1 M NaOH and a capacitance of 18 mF cm(-2) was obtained. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed that there was a large psueudocapacitive contribution which was due to oxidation of Fe to Fe(OH)2 and then further oxidation to FeOOH, and the respective reduction of these species back to metallic Fe. These redox processes were found to be remarkably reversible as the electrode showed no loss in capacitance after 10000 cycles. The results demonstrate that anodization of steel is a suitable method to produce high-surface-area electrodes for supercapacitors with excellent cycling lifetime.

High Performance of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si Solar Cells Based on Textured Surface with AgNWs Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiangyu; Zhang, Pengbo; Zhang, Juan; Wang, Jilei; Li, Gaofei; Fang, Xiaohong; Yang, Liyou; Chen, Xiaoyuan

2018-02-01

Hybrid heterojunction solar cells (HHSCs) have gained extensive research and attention due to simple device structure and low-cost technological processes. Here, HHSCs are presented based on a highly transparent conductive polymer poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) directly spin-coated on an n-type crystalline silicon with microscale surface textures, which are prepared by traditional chemical etching. We have studied interface properties between PEDOT:PSS and textured n-Si by varying coating conditions. Final power conversion efficiency (PCE) could arrive at 8.54% by these simple solution-based fabrication processes. The high conversion efficiency is attributed to the fully conformal contact between PEDOT:PSS film and textured silicon. Furthermore, the reflectance of the PEDOT:PSS layer on textured surface is analyzed by changing film thickness. In order to improve the performance of the device, silver nanowires were employed as electrodes because of its better optical transmittance and electrical conductivity. The highest PCE of 11.07% was achieved which displayed a 29.6% enhancement compared with traditional silver electrodes. These findings imply that the combination of PEDOT:PSS film and silver nanowire transparent electrodes pave a promising way for realizing high-efficiency and low-cost solar cells.

Plasma treatment of polyethylene tubes in continuous regime using surface dielectric barrier discharge with water electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Galmiz, Oleksandr; Zemánek, Miroslav; Pavliňák, David; Černák, Mirko

2018-05-01

Combining the surface dielectric barrier discharges generated in contact with water based electrolytes, as the discharge electrodes, we have designed a new type of surface electric discharge, generating thin layers of plasma which propagate along the treated polymer surfaces. The technique was aimed to achieve uniform atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of polymeric tubes and other hollow bodies. The results presented in this work show the possibility of such system to treat outer surface of polymer materials in a continuous mode. The technical details of experimental setup are discussed as well as results of treatment of polyethylene tubes are shown.

Preparation of porous carbon nanofibers derived from PBI/PLLA for supercapacitor electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Kyung-Hye; Ferraris, John P

2016-10-21

Porous carbon nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning blend solutions of polybenzimidazole/poly-L-lactic acid (PBI/PLLA) and carbonization. During thermal treatment, PLLA was decomposed, resulting in the creation of pores in the carbon nanofibers. From SEM images, it is shown that carbon nanofibers had diameters in the range of 100-200 nm. The conversion of PBI to carbon was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, and the surface area and pore volume of carbon nanofibers were determined using nitrogen adsorption/desorption analyses. To investigate electrochemical performances, coin-type cells were assembled using free-standing carbon nanofiber electrodes and ionic liquid electrolyte. cyclic voltammetry studies show that the PBI/PLLA-derived porous carbon nanofiber electrodes have higher capacitance due to lower electrochemical impedance compared to carbon nanofiber electrode from PBI only. These porous carbon nanofibers were activated using ammonia for further porosity improvement and annealed to remove the surface functional groups to better match the polarity of electrode and electrolyte. Ragone plots, correlating energy density with power density calculated from galvanostatic charge-discharge curves, reveal that activation/annealing further improves energy and power densities.

Boron-doped MnO{sub 2}/carbon fiber composite electrode for supercapacitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chi, Hong Zhong, E-mail: hzchi@hdu.edu.cn [College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Zhu, Hongjie [College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Gao, Linhui [Center of Materials Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018 (China)

2015-10-05

Highlights: • Interstitial ion in MnO{sub 2} lattice. • Porous film composed by interlocking worm-like nanostructure. • Boron-doped birnessite-type MnO{sub 2}/carbon fiber composite electrode. • Enhanced capacitive properties through nonmetal element doping. - Abstract: The boron-doped MnO{sub 2}/carbon fiber composite electrode has been prepared via in situ redox reaction between potassium permanganate and carbon fibers in the presence of boric acid. The addition of boron as dopant results in the increase of growth-rate of MnO{sub 2} crystal and the formation of worm-like nanostructure. Based on the analysis of binding energy, element boron incorporates into the MnO{sub 2} lattice through interstitial mode. The doped electrode with porous framework is beneficial to pseudocapacitive reaction and surface charge storage, leading to higher specific capacitance and superior rate capability. After experienced 1000 cycles, the boron-doped MnO{sub 2} still retain a higher specific capacitance by about 80% of its initial value. The fall in capacitance is blamed to be the combination of the formation of soluble Mn{sup 2+} and the absence of active site on the outer surface.

On the Concept of Electrode to Discharge Phenomena in Surface Roughness With Reference Strongly Electronegative Gases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McAllister, Iain Wilson

1986-01-01

The use of geometrically well-defined protrusions in studies es of the effects of electrode surface roughness upon the insulation strength of strongly electronegative gases is discussed. It is argued that, with respect to the roughness associated with production processes, the dimensions of artif...

Influence of surface oxidation on ion dynamics and capacitance in porous and nonporous carbon electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dyatkin, Boris [Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States); Zhang, Yu [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); Mamontov, Eugene [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kolesnikov, Alexander I. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Cheng, Yongqiang [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Meyer, III, Harry M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Cummings, Peter T. [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); Gogotsi, Yury G. [Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2016-04-07

Here, we investigate the influence of surface chemistry and ion confinement on capacitance and electrosorption dynamics of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) in supercapacitors. Using air oxidation and vacuum annealing, we produced defunctionalized and oxygen-rich surfaces of carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). While oxidized surfaces of porous CDCs improve capacitance and rate handling abilities of ions, defunctionalized nonporous GNPs improve charge storage densities on planar electrodes. Quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) probed the structure, dynamics, and orientation of RTIL ions confined in divergently functionalized pores. Oxidized, ionophilic surfaces draw ions closer to pore surfaces and enhance potential-driven ion transport during electrosorption. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations corroborated experimental data and demonstrated the significance of surface functional groups on ion orientations, accumulation densities, and capacitance.

EDTA modified glassy carbon electrode: Preparation and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ustuendag, Zafer; Solak, Ali Osman

2009-01-01

EDTA-phenoxyamide modified glassy carbon electrode (EDTA-GC) was prepared at a glassy carbon electrode by surface synthesis. In the first step, nitrophenyl was grafted to the glassy carbon (GC) surface via the electrochemical reduction of its tetraflouroborate diazonium salt. In the second step, nitrophenyl-modified electrode (NP-GC) was subjected to the cathodic potential scan to reduce the nitro to amine group. p-Aminophenyl modified glassy carbon electrode (AP-GC) was dipped into a EDTA solution containing 1-ethyl-3(3-(dimethlyamino)propyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) as an activating agent. Thus formed ((2-anilino-2-oxoethyl){2-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]-ethyl}amino)acetic acid modified GC electrode was denoted as EDTA-GC and characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Complexation of the EDTA-GC surface with Pb 2+ ions was investigated if this electrode could be used as a metal sensor.

Structure and Modification of Electrode Materials for Protein Electrochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeuken, Lars J C

The interactions between proteins and electrode surfaces are of fundamental importance in bioelectrochemistry, including photobioelectrochemistry. In order to optimise the interaction between electrode and redox protein, either the electrode or the protein can be engineered, with the former being the most adopted approach. This tutorial review provides a basic description of the most commonly used electrode materials in bioelectrochemistry and discusses approaches to modify these surfaces. Carbon, gold and transparent electrodes (e.g. indium tin oxide) are covered, while approaches to form meso- and macroporous structured electrodes are also described. Electrode modifications include the chemical modification with (self-assembled) monolayers and the use of conducting polymers in which the protein is imbedded. The proteins themselves can either be in solution, electrostatically adsorbed on the surface or covalently bound to the electrode. Drawbacks and benefits of each material and its modifications are discussed. Where examples exist of applications in photobioelectrochemistry, these are highlighted.

Interaction of nucleic acids with electrically charged surfaces. VII. The effect of ionic strength of neutral medium on the conformation of dna adsorbed on the mercury electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Brabec, V

1980-02-01

Triangular-wave direct current (d.c.) voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electrode and phase-selective alternating current (a.c.) polarography at a dropping mercury electrode were used for the investigation of adsorption of double-helical (ds) DNA at mercury electrode surfaces from neutral solutions of 0.05-0.4 M HCOONH4. It was found for the potential region T (from -0.1 V up to ca. -1.0 V) that the height of voltammetric peaks of ds DNA is markedly influenced by the initial potential only at relatively low ionic strength (mu) (from 0.05 up to ca. 0.3). Also a decrease of differential capacity (measured by means of a.c. polarography) in the region T depended markedly on the electrode potential only at relatively low ionic strength. The following conclusions were made concerning the interaction of ds DNA with a mercury electrode charged to potentials of the region T in neutral medium of relatively low ionic strength mu potentials in the Vicinity of the zero charge potential a higher number of ds DNA segments can be opened, probably as a consequence of the strain which could act on the ds DNA molecule in the course of the segmental adsorption/desorption process.

Insight into the Role of Surface Wettability in Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reactions Using Light-Sensitive Nanotubular TiO2 Supported Pt Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Chenhui; Wang, Bing; Gao, Ziyue; Liu, Zhaoyue; Zhang, Qianqian; Zhai, Jin

2017-02-01

Surface wettability is of importance for electrochemical reactions. Herein, its role in electrochemical hydrogen evolution reactions is investigated using light-sensitive nanotubular TiO2 supported Pt as hydrogen evolution electrodes (HEEs). The HEEs are fabricated by photocatalytic deposition of Pt particles on TiO2 nanotubes followed by hydrophobization with vaporized octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTS) molecules. The surface wettability of HEEs is subsequently regulated in situ from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity by photocatalytic decomposition of OTS molecules using ultraviolet light. It is found that hydrophilic HEEs demonstrate a larger electrochemical active area of Pt and a lower adhesion force to a gas bubble when compared with hydrophobic ones. The former allows more protons to react on the electrode surface at small overpotential so that a larger current is produced. The latter leads to a quick release of hydrogen gas bubbles from the electrode surface at large overpotential, which ensures the contact between catalysts and electrolyte. These two characteristics make hydrophilic HEEs generate a much high current density for HERs. Our results imply that the optimization of surface wettability is of significance for improving the electrocatalytic activity of HEEs.

Guest-Host Complex Formed between Ascorbic Acid and β-Cyclodextrin Immobilized on the Surface of an Electrode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Teresa Ramírez-Silva

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This work deals with the formation of supramolecular complexes between ascorbic acid (AA, the guest, and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD, the host, that was first potentiodynamically immobilized on the surface of a carbon paste electrode (CPE throughout the formation of a β-CD-based conducting polymer (poly-β-CD. With the bare CPE and the β-CD-modified CPE, an electrochemical study was performed to understand the effect of such surface modification on the electrochemical response of the AA. From this study it was shown that on the modified-CPE, the AA was surface-immobilized through formation of an inclusion complex with β-CD, which provoked the adsorption of AA in such a way that this stage became the limiting step for the electrochemical oxidation of AA. Moreover, from the analysis of the experimental voltammetric plots recorded during AA oxidation on the CPE/poly-β-CD electrode surfaces, the Gibbs’ standard free energy of the inclusion complex formed by the oxidation product of AA and β-CD has been determined for the first time, ∆G0inclus = −36.4 kJ/mol.

Surface properties tuning of welding electrode-deposited hardfacings by laser heat treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Oláh, Arthur; Croitoru, Catalin; Tierean, Mircea Horia

2018-04-01

In this paper, several Cr-Mn-rich hardfacings have been open-arc deposited on S275JR carbon quality structural steel and further submitted to laser treatment at different powers. An overall increase with 34-98% in the average microhardness and wear resistance of the coatings has been obtained, due to the formation of martensite, silicides, as well as simple and complex carbides on the surface of the hardfacings, in comparison with the reference, not submitted to laser thermal treatment. Surface laser treatment of electrode-deposited hardfacings improves their chemical resistance under corrosive saline environments, as determined by the 43% lower amount of leached iron and respectively, 28% lower amount of manganese ions leached in a 10% wt. NaCl aqueous solution, comparing with the reference hardfacings. Laser heat treatment also promotes better compatibility of the hardfacings with water-based paints and oil-based paints and primers, through the relative increasing in the polar component of the surface energy (with up to 65%) which aids both water and filler spreading on the metallic surface.

Computation of Surface Laplacian for tri-polar ring electrodes on high-density realistic geometry head model.

Science.gov (United States)

Junwei Ma; Han Yuan; Sunderam, Sridhar; Besio, Walter; Lei Ding

2017-07-01

Neural activity inside the human brain generate electrical signals that can be detected on the scalp. Electroencephalograph (EEG) is one of the most widely utilized techniques helping physicians and researchers to diagnose and understand various brain diseases. Due to its nature, EEG signals have very high temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution. To achieve higher spatial resolution, a novel tri-polar concentric ring electrode (TCRE) has been developed to directly measure Surface Laplacian (SL). The objective of the present study is to accurately calculate SL for TCRE based on a realistic geometry head model. A locally dense mesh was proposed to represent the head surface, where the local dense parts were to match the small structural components in TCRE. Other areas without dense mesh were used for the purpose of reducing computational load. We conducted computer simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed mesh and evaluated possible numerical errors as compared with a low-density model. Finally, with achieved accuracy, we presented the computed forward lead field of SL for TCRE for the first time in a realistic geometry head model and demonstrated that it has better spatial resolution than computed SL from classic EEG recordings.

Direct Observation of Virtual Electrode Formation Through a Novel Electrolyte-to-Electrode Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, David; El Gabaly, Farid; Bartelt, Norman; McCarty, Kevin

2014-03-01

Novel electrochemical solutions to problems in energy storage and transportation can drive renewable energy to become an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels. In many electrochemical systems, the behavior of a device can be fundamentally limited by the surface area of a triple phase boundary, the boundary region where a gas-phase species, electrode, and electrolyte coincide. When the electrode is an ionic insulator the triple phase boundary is typically a one-dimensional boundary with nanometer-scale thickness: ions cannot transport through the electrode, while electrons cannot be transported through the electrolyte. Here we present direct experimental measurements of a novel electrolyte-to-electrode transition with photoemission electron microscopy, and observe that the surface of an ionically conductive, electronically insulative solid oxide electrolyte undergoes a transition into a mixed electron-ion conductor in the vicinity of a metal electrode. Our direct experimental measurements allow us to characterize this system and address the mechanisms of ionic reactions and transport through comparisons with theoretical modeling to provide us with a physical picture of the processes involved. Our results provide insight into one of the mechanisms of ion transport in an electrochemical cell that may be generalizable to other systems.

EDTA modified glassy carbon electrode: Preparation and characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ustuendag, Zafer [Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Kuetahya (Turkey); Solak, Ali Osman [Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Degol Street, Tandogan, 06100 Ankara (Turkey)], E-mail: osolak@science.ankara.edu.tr

2009-11-01

EDTA-phenoxyamide modified glassy carbon electrode (EDTA-GC) was prepared at a glassy carbon electrode by surface synthesis. In the first step, nitrophenyl was grafted to the glassy carbon (GC) surface via the electrochemical reduction of its tetraflouroborate diazonium salt. In the second step, nitrophenyl-modified electrode (NP-GC) was subjected to the cathodic potential scan to reduce the nitro to amine group. p-Aminophenyl modified glassy carbon electrode (AP-GC) was dipped into a EDTA solution containing 1-ethyl-3(3-(dimethlyamino)propyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) as an activating agent. Thus formed ((2-anilino-2-oxoethyl){l_brace}2-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]-ethyl{r_brace}amino)acetic acid modified GC electrode was denoted as EDTA-GC and characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Complexation of the EDTA-GC surface with Pb{sup 2+} ions was investigated if this electrode could be used as a metal sensor.

Surface-reconstructed Cu Electrode via a Facile Electrochemical Anodization-Reduction Process for Low Overpotential CO 2 reduction

KAUST Repository

Min, Shixiong; Yang, Xiulin; Lu, Ang-Yu; Tseng, Chien-Chih; Hedhili, Mohamed N.; Lai, Zhiping; Li, Lain-Jong; Huang, Kuo-Wei

2017-01-01

A high-surface-area Cu electrode, fabricated by a simple electrochemical anodization-reduction method, exhibits high activity and selectivity for CO2 reduction at low overpotential in 0.1 M KHCO3 solution. A faradaic efficiency of 37% for HCOOH

Linear particle accelerator with seal structure between electrodes and insulators

Science.gov (United States)

Broadhurst, John H.

1989-01-01

An electrostatic linear accelerator includes an electrode stack comprised of primary electrodes formed or Kovar and supported by annular glass insulators having the same thermal expansion rate as the electrodes. Each glass insulator is provided with a pair of fused-in Kovar ring inserts which are bonded to the electrodes. Each electrode is designed to define a concavo-convex particle trap so that secondary charged particles generated within the accelerated beam area cannot reach the inner surface of an insulator. Each insulator has a generated inner surface profile which is so configured that the electrical field at this surface contains no significant tangential component. A spark gap trigger assembly is provided, which energizes spark gaps protecting the electrodes affected by over voltage to prevent excessive energy dissipation in the electrode stack.

Experimental approach to controllably vary protein oxidation while minimizing electrode adsorption for boron-doped diamond electrochemical surface mapping applications.

Science.gov (United States)

McClintock, Carlee S; Hettich, Robert L

2013-01-02

Oxidative protein surface mapping has become a powerful approach for measuring the solvent accessibility of folded protein structures. A variety of techniques exist for generating the key reagent (i.e., hydroxyl radicals) for these measurements; however, these approaches range significantly in their complexity and expense of operation. This research expands upon earlier work to enhance the controllability of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry as an easily accessible tool for producing hydroxyl radicals in order to oxidize a range of intact proteins. Efforts to modulate the oxidation level while minimizing the adsorption of protein to the electrode involved the use of relatively high flow rates to reduce protein residence time inside the electrochemical flow chamber. Additionally, a different cell activation approach using variable voltage to supply a controlled current allowed us to precisely tune the extent of oxidation in a protein-dependent manner. In order to gain perspective on the level of protein adsorption onto the electrode surface, studies were conducted to monitor protein concentration during electrolysis and gauge changes in the electrode surface between cell activation events. This report demonstrates the successful use of BDD electrochemistry for greater precision in generating a target number of oxidation events upon intact proteins.

How Frequency of Electrosurgical Current and Electrode Size Affect the Depth of Electrocoagulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Taheri, Arash; Mansoori, Parisa; Bahrami, Naeim; Alinia, Hossein; Watkins, Casey E; Feldman, Steven R

2016-02-01

Many factors affect the depth of electrocoagulation. To evaluate the effect of current frequency and electrode size on the depth of electrocoagulation. In this in vitro study, 4 cylindrical electrodes (2, 2.3, 3, and 4 mm) were used to apply 3 electrosurgical currents (0.4, 1.5, and 3 MHz) to bovine liver. Each electrode was placed at different points on the surface of the liver, and energy at various levels and frequencies was delivered to the tissue. Subsequently, cross-sections of the liver were analyzed. Coagulation started at the periphery of the electrode-tissue contact area. With higher energy levels, coagulation spreads to involve the remainder of the contact area. Neither the frequency nor the electrode size had any effect on this coagulation pattern. The frequency of the current also did not show any relation with depth of coagulation; however, there was a direct correlation between the size of the electrode and the depth of coagulation. Larger-tip electrodes provided deeper coagulation compared with finer-tip electrodes.

Electrochemical decontamination of metallic surfaces by means of a movable electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihai, F.; Nicu, M.; Cazan, L.; Turcanu, C.

1998-01-01

Electrochemical decontamination can be considered to be a decontamination assisted by an electrochemical field. The method is applied to the metallic surface decontamination for contaminants of any physico-chemical nature. The physico-chemical phenomenon that is the basis for the electrochemical methods is the anodic layer dissolution. By dissolution of the superficial layer any radioactive contaminant on the surface or entrapped within the surface oxide is eliminated. Electrochemical decontamination, also known as electropolishing, involves the use of the object to be cleaned as an anode in an electrochemical cell. The passage of current results in anodic dissolution of the surface material. Generally, there are many methods of application for electropolishing. The most common method is immersing the object to be decontaminated in a tank filled with a suitable electrolyte. The electrochemical method with movable electrode involves the use of 'in situ' mobile devices that are able to electropolish punctual surfaces in places difficult to access. The advantages are the simplicity of the setup, short times of application and reduced waste volumes. Phosphoric and sulphuric acid mixture is used as the electrolyte in electropolishing because of its stability, safety and applicability to a variety of alloy systems. The method was applied to decontaminate carbon steel, aluminium and copper. Used contaminants are mixtures of 60 Co and 134 Cs; 60 Co and 65 Zn; 60 Co, 65 Zn and 134 Cs. After preparation, the samples were kept in laboratory conditions about one month, to simulate real conditions and to let the chemical reactions between contaminant and sample material constitution to complete. To calculate decontamination factor characteristic for each studied decontamination method the following radiometric measurements are necessary: - activity measurement after radioisotope solution contamination representing initial activity Λ in ; - activity measurement after

A study of the anomalous behaviour of the glass electrode in solutions containing hydrofluoric acid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Emil; Lundgaard, T.

1965-01-01

A defined surface hydration of the glass electrode is secured by pre-treatment with 0.1 N HF followed by rinsing with pure 0.1 N HCl for a few minutes. On subsequent contact with 0.1 N HCl containing HF, the electrode potential shows a change which is determined by the [HF]. The immediate reaction...... is an adsorption of HF by the glass surface. This is followed, at [HF] higher than 0.01 N, by the substitution of two F− for OH− per Si atom. With increasing HF the attack on the Si-O-Si bonds becomes severe, but it can be tolerated to a considerable degree because the newly formed surface is identical...

Peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA): direct electrochemical oxidation on carbon electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Enache, T A; Oliveira-Brett, A M

2013-02-01

The direct electrochemical behaviour of peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) adsorbed on glassy carbon and boron doped diamond electrodes surface, was studied over a wide pH range by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. MsrA oxidation mechanism occurs in three consecutive, pH dependent steps, corresponding to the oxidation of tyrosine, tryptophan and histidine amino acid residues. At the glassy carbon electrode, the first step corresponds to the oxidation of tyrosine and tryptophan residues and occurs for the same potential. The advantage of boron doped diamond electrode was to enable the separation of tyrosine and tryptophan oxidation peaks. On the second step occurs the histidine oxidation, and on the third, at higher potentials, the second tryptophan oxidation. MsrA adsorbs on the hydrophobic carbon electrode surface preferentially through the three hydrophobic domains, C1, C2 and C3, which contain the tyrosine, tryptophan and histidine residues, and tryptophan exists only in these regions, and undergo electrochemical oxidation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potential-induced structural transitions of DL-homocysteine monolayers on Au(111) electrode surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jingdong; Demetriou, Anna; Welinder, Anne Christina; Albrecht, Tim; Nichols, Richard J.; Ulstrup, Jens

2005-01-01

Monolayers of homocysteine on Au(111)-surfaces have been investigated by voltammetry, in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and subtractively normalised interfacial Fourier transform spectroscopy (SNIFTIRS). A pair of sharp voltammetric peaks build up in the potential range 0 to -0.1V (vs. SCE) in phosphate buffer pH 7.7. The peak half-widths are about 25mV at a scan rate of 10mVs -1 . This is much smaller than for a one-electron Faradaic process (90.6mV) under similar conditions. The coverage of homocysteine is 6.1 (+/-0.2)x10 -10 molcm -2 , or 5.9x10 -5 Ccm -2 , from Au-S reductive desorption at -0.8V (SCE) in 0.1M NaOH, while the charge is only about 8x10 -6 Ccm -2 (pH 7.7) for the 0 to -0.1V peak. This suggests a capacitive origin. The peak potential and shape depend on pH. At pH 7.7 both cathodic and anodic peak currents reach a maximum, but drop at both higher and lower pH. The midpoint potential shows biphasic behaviour, decreasing linearly with increasing pH until pH 10.4 towards a constant value at higher pH. The cathodic and anodic peak charges decay at pH both higher and lower than 7.7. The homocysteine monolayer was investigated by in situ STM at different potentials at pH 7.7. The molecules pack into highly ordered domains around the peak potential. High-resolution in situ STM reveals a (√3x5) R30 deg. lattice with three homocysteine molecules in each unit cell. The adlayer changes into disordered structures on either side of the peak potential. This process is reversible. We propose that the voltammetric peaks are capacitive. The ordered domains are formed only around the potential of zero charge (pzc) and dissipate at potentials on either side of the peak, inducing mirror charge flow in the metallic electrode as the charged -COO - and -NH 3 + groups approach the surface. No bands for carboxylate coordinated to the surface were observed in SNIFTIRS implying more subtle orientation changes of the charged groups on transcending the voltammetric

Carbonization of SU-8 Based Electrode for MEMS Supercapacitors

OpenAIRE

Liu, Yang

2014-01-01

Supercapacitors are more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources than traditional ones. To achieve the supercapacitors with both energy density and power density that mainly depend on the effective surface area of theelectrodes, SU-8 can be used for electrode material to fabricate 3D microstructures as the electrodes that increase the effective surface area significantly. The objective of this project is to fabricate the reliable electrodes of large surface area for supercapac...

Mechanistic insights into the use of oxide nanoparticles coated asymmetric electrodes for capacitive deionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Linchen; Karthikeyan, K.G.; Anderson, M.A.; Wouters, J.J.; Gregory, Kelvin B.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Capacitive deionization is an emerging, low-pressure desalination method that can compete with the current mainstream technologies. ► Novel electrode materials (i.e., porous conducting carbon modified with non-conducting oxides applied as nanoporous (NP) films) were tested. ► The NP-oxide coatings increased the sorption capacity and process efficiency by shifting the working potential to a higher efficiency range. ► Experimental data were described using both mechanistic and empirical models to elucidate underlying process mechanisms. ► Our results are expected to facilitate future CDI system design and development of appropriate electrode materials. -- Abstract: Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging water desalination method, which employs high surface area porous electrode materials for electro-sorption of ions. We used an asymmetric CDI cell constructed with alumina and silica nanoparticle (NP) coated electrodes and KCl as a probe electrolyte to gain insights into electro-sorption behavior and elucidate underlying process mechanisms. This CDI system is efficient for use in desalination and up to 15 to 60 μmol/g (total electrode) sorption capacity was achieved. Higher removal of K + compared to Cl − was obtained attributable to competition between OH − and Cl − . The presence of NPs not only creates highly accessible surface area but also increases the charge efficiency by shifting the applied potential to a high efficiency range due to protonation/deprotonation occurring on metal oxide surfaces. Data were described using both mechanistic electrical double layer (EDL) based Gouy–Chapman–Stern (GCS) formulation and empirical Freundlich equations. Our results suggest that the presence of metal oxide NPs can effectively modify the isoelectric points and an increase in planar charge efficiency of up to 20% could be achieved. However, global charge efficiency was still severely constrained by backward thermal diffusion and

Atomic layer deposition of highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles on a high surface area electrode backbone for electrochemical promotion of catalysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hajar, Y.; di Palma, V.; Kyriakou, V.; Verheijen, M. A.; Baranova, E. A.; Vernoux, P.; Kessels, W. M. M.; Creatore, M.; van de Sanden, M. C. M.; Tsampas, M. N.

2017-01-01

A novel catalyst design for electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC) is proposed which overcomes the main bottlenecks that limit EPOC commercialization, i.e., the low dispersion and small surface area of metal catalysts. We have increased the surface area by using a porous composite electrode

Electric wind produced by surface plasma actuators: a new dielectric barrier discharge based on a three-electrode geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreau, Eric; Sosa, Roberto; Artana, Guillermo

2008-01-01

Active flow control is a rapidly developing topic because the associated industrial applications are of immense importance, particularly for aeronautics. Among all the flow control methods, such as the use of mechanical flaps or wall jets, plasma-based devices are very promising devices. The main advantages of such systems are their robustness, their simplicity, their low-power consumption and that they allow a real-time control at high frequency. This paper deals with an experimental study about the electric wind produced by a surface discharge based on a three-electrode geometry. This new device is composed of a typical two-electrode surface barrier discharge excited by an AC high voltage, plus a third electrode at which a DC high voltage is applied in order to extend the discharge region and to accelerate the ion drift velocity. In the first part the electrical current of these different surface discharges is presented and discussed. This shows that the current behaviour depends on the DC component polarity. The second part is dedicated to analysing the electric wind characteristics through Schlieren visualizations and to measuring its time-averaged velocity with a Pitot tube sensor. The results show that an excitation of the electrodes with an AC voltage plus a positive DC component can significantly modify the topology of the electric wind produced by a single DBD. In practice, this DC component allows us to increase the value of the maximum induced velocity (up to +150% at a few centimetres downstream of the discharge) and the plasma extension, to enhance the depression occurring above the discharge region and to increase the discharge-induced mass flow rate (up to +100%), without increasing the electrical power consumption

Novel transparent high-performance AgNWs/ZnO electrodes prepared on unconventional substrates with 3D structured surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Wei; Yang, Zhiwei; Zhang, Yue; Wei, Yupeng; Wang, Pengxiang; Abas, Asim; Tang, Guomei; Zhang, Xuetao; Wang, Junya; Xie, Erqing

2018-03-01

With the development of optoelectronic devices with three-dimensional (3D) structured surfaces, transparent electrodes that can be deposited on non-plane substrates have become increasingly important. In this paper, novel transparent silver nanowire (AgNWs)/ZnO film electrodes were uniformly prepared on treated 3D glass and PET substrates with a combination of spin-coating and heat-welding. The AgNWs/ZnO films show a transmittance of ∼88% and a sheet resistance of ∼10 Ω/sq. They are comparable with commercial ITO films. Furthermore, only a small in-plane resistance variation of ∼1 Ω/sq was measured using four-point probe mapping in films with a 10 cm × 10 cm area. These results confirm that these novel film electrodes are very uniform. Both electrical resistance and optical transmittance of the films remain mostly intact after 1000 bending cycles and tape peeling-tests with 10 cycles. The films show high thermal stability for more than one month at 80 °C. The strategy provides a new route for the design and fabrication of optoelectronic devices with 3D structured surfaces.

Electrode systems for in situ vitrification

Science.gov (United States)

Buelt, James L.; Carter, John G.; Eschbach, Eugene A.; FitzPatrick, Vincent F.; Koehmstedt, Paul L.; Morgan, William C.; Oma, Kenton H.; Timmerman, Craig L.

1990-01-01

An electrode comprising a molybdenum rod is received within a conductive collar formed of graphite. The molybdenum rod and the graphite collar may be physically joined at the bottom. A pair of such electrodes are placed in soil containing buried waste material and an electric current is passed therebetween for vitrifying the soil. The graphite collar enhances the thermal conductivity of the combination, bringing heat to the surface, and preventing formation of a cold cap of material above the ground surface. The annulus between the molybdenum rod electrode and the graphite collar is suitably filled with a conductive ceramic powder that sinters upon the molybdenum rod, protecting the same from oxidation as graphite material is consumed, or a metal powder which liquefies at operating temperatures. The center of the molybdenum rod, used with a collar of separately, can be hollow and filled with a powdered metal, such as copper, which liquefies at operating temperatures. Connection to electrodes can be provided below ground level to avoid open circuit due to electrode deterioration, or sacrificial electrodes may be employed when operation is started. Outboard electrodes cna be utilized to square up a vitrified area.

Secondary-electron-emission losses in multistage depressed collectors and traveling-wave-tube efficiency improvements with carbon collector electrode surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Ramins, P.; Ebihara, B. T.

1986-01-01

Secondary-electron-emission losses in multistage depressed collectors (MDC's) and their effects on overall traveling-wave-tube (TWT) efficiency were investigated. Two representative TWT's and several computer-modeled MDC's were used. The experimental techniques provide the measurement of both the TWT overall and the collector efficiencies. The TWT-MDC performance was optimized and measured over a wide range of operating conditions, with geometrically identical collectors, which utilized different electrode surface materials. Comparisons of the performance of copper electrodes to that of various forms of carbon, including pyrolytic and iisotropic graphites, were stressed. The results indicate that: (1) a significant improvement in the TWT overall efficiency was obtained in all cases by the use of carbon, rather than copper electrodes, and (2) that the extent of this efficiency enhancement depended on the characteristics of the TWT, the TWT operating point, the MDC design, and collector voltages. Ion textured graphite was found to be particularly effective in minimizing the secondary-electron-emission losses. Experimental and analytical results, however, indicate that it is at least as important to provide a maximum amount of electrostatic suppression of secondary electrons by proper MDC design. Such suppression, which is obtained by ensuring that a substantial suppressing electric field exists over the regions of the electrodes where most of the current is incident, was found to be very effective. Experimental results indicate that, with proper MDC design and the use of electrode surfaces with low secondary-electron yield, degradation of the collector efficiency can be limited to a few percent.

Fractals in several electrode materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Chunyong, E-mail: zhangchy@njau.edu.cn [Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China); Suzhou Key Laboratory of Environment and Biosafety, Suzhou Academy of Southeast University, Dushuhu lake higher education town, Suzhou 215123 (China); Wu, Jingyu [Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China); Fu, Degang [Suzhou Key Laboratory of Environment and Biosafety, Suzhou Academy of Southeast University, Dushuhu lake higher education town, Suzhou 215123 (China); State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

2014-09-15

Highlights: • Fractal geometry was employed to characterize three important electrode materials. • The surfaces of all studied electrodes were proved to be very rough. • The fractal dimensions of BDD and ACF were scale dependent. • MMO film was more uniform than BDD and ACF in terms of fractal structures. - Abstract: In the present paper, the fractal properties of boron-doped diamond (BDD), mixed metal oxide (MMO) and activated carbon fiber (ACF) electrode have been studied by SEM imaging at different scales. Three materials are self-similar with mean fractal dimension in the range of 2.6–2.8, confirming that they all exhibit very rough surfaces. Specifically, it is found that MMO film is more uniform in terms of fractal structure than BDD and ACF. As a result, the intriguing characteristics make these electrodes as ideal candidates for high-performance decontamination processes.

Improved separability of dipole sources by tripolar versus conventional disk electrodes: a modeling study using independent component analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, H; Besio, W; Jones, S; Medvedev, A

2009-01-01

Tripolar electrodes have been shown to have less mutual information and higher spatial resolution than disc electrodes. In this work, a four-layer anisotropic concentric spherical head computer model was programmed, then four configurations of time-varying dipole signals were used to generate the scalp surface signals that would be obtained with tripolar and disc electrodes, and four important EEG artifacts were tested: eye blinking, cheek movements, jaw movements, and talking. Finally, a fast fixed-point algorithm was used for signal independent component analysis (ICA). The results show that signals from tripolar electrodes generated better ICA separation results than from disc electrodes for EEG signals with these four types of artifacts.

Probing Electrode Heterogeneity Using Fourier-Transformed Alternating Current Voltammetry: Application to a Dual-Electrode Configuration.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Sze-Yin; Unwin, Patrick R; Macpherson, Julie V; Zhang, Jie; Bond, Alan M

2017-03-07

Quantitative studies of electron transfer processes at electrode/electrolyte interfaces, originally developed for homogeneous liquid mercury or metallic electrodes, are difficult to adapt to the spatially heterogeneous nanostructured electrode materials that are now commonly used in modern electrochemistry. In this study, the impact of surface heterogeneity on Fourier-transformed alternating current voltammetry (FTACV) has been investigated theoretically under the simplest possible conditions where no overlap of diffusion layers occurs and where numerical simulations based on a 1D diffusion model are sufficient to describe the mass transport problem. Experimental data that meet these requirements can be obtained with the aqueous [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+/2+ redox process at a dual-electrode system comprised of electrically coupled but well-separated glassy carbon (GC) and boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. Simulated and experimental FTACV data obtained with this electrode configuration, and where distinctly different heterogeneous charge transfer rate constants (k 0 values) apply at the individual GC and BDD electrode surfaces, are in excellent agreement. Principally, because of the far greater dependence of the AC current magnitude on k 0 , it is straightforward with the FTACV method to resolve electrochemical heterogeneities that are ∼1-2 orders of magnitude apart, as applies in the [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+/2+ dual-electrode configuration experiments, without prior knowledge of the individual kinetic parameters (k 0 1 and k 0 2 ) or the electrode size ratio (θ 1 :θ 2 ). In direct current voltammetry, a difference in k 0 of >3 orders of magnitude is required to make this distinction.

Mechanism transition of cell-impedance-controlled lithium transport through Li1-δMn2O4 composite electrode caused by surface-modification and temperature variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Kyu-Nam; Pyun, Su-Il

2007-01-01

The mechanism transition of lithium transport through a Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 composite electrode caused by the surface-modification and temperature variation was investigated using the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the potentiostatic current transient technique. From the analyses of the ac-impedance spectra, experimentally measured from unmodified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 and surface-modified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 with MgO composite electrodes, the internal cell resistance of the MgO-modified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 electrode was determined to be much smaller in value than that of the unmodified electrode over the whole potential range. Moreover, from the analysis of the anodic current transients measured on the MgO-modified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 electrode, it was found that the cell-impedance-controlled constraint at the electrode surface is changed to a diffusion-controlled constraint, which is characterised by a large potential step and simultaneously by a small amount of lithium transferred during lithium transport. This strongly suggests that the internal cell resistance plays a significant role in determining the cell-impedance-controlled lithium transport through the MgO-modified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 electrode. Furthermore, from the temperature dependence of the internal cell resistance and diffusion resistance in the unmodified Li 1-δ Mn 2 O 4 composite electrode measured by GITT and EIS, it was concluded that which mechanism of lithium transport will be operative strongly depends on the diffusion resistance as well as on the internal cell resistance

Formic Acid Electrooxidation by a Platinum Nanotubule Array Electrode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Broaddus

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One-dimensional metallic nanostructures such as nanowires, rods, and tubes have drawn much attention for electrocatalytic applications due to potential advantages that include fewer diffusion impeding interfaces with polymeric binders, more facile pathways for electron transfer, and more effective exposure of active surface sites. 1D nanostructured electrodes have been fabricated using a variety of methods, typically showing improved current response which has been attributed to improved CO tolerance, enhanced surface activity, and/or improved transport characteristics. A template wetting approach was used to fabricate an array of platinum nanotubules which were examined electrochemically with regard to the electrooxidation of formic acid. Arrays of 100 and 200 nm nanotubules were compared to a traditional platinum black catalyst, all of which were found to have similar surface areas. Peak formic acid oxidation current was observed to be highest for the 100 nm nanotubule array, followed by the 200 nm array and the Pt black; however, CO tolerance of all electrodes was similar, as were the onset potentials of the oxidation and reduction peaks. The higher current response was attributed to enhanced mass transfer in the nanotubule electrodes, likely due to a combination of both the more open nanostructure as well as the lack of a polymeric binder in the catalyst layer.

A Local Region of Interest Imaging Method for Electrical Impedance Tomography with Internal Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeuknam Kwon

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT is a very attractive functional imaging method despite the low sensitivity and resolution. The use of internal electrodes with the conventional reconstruction algorithms was not enough to enhance image resolution and accuracy in the region of interest (ROI. We propose a local ROI imaging method with internal electrodes developed from careful analysis of the sensitivity matrix that is designed to reduce the sensitivity of the voxels outside the local region and optimize the sensitivity of the voxel inside the local region. We perform numerical simulations and physical measurements to demonstrate the localized EIT imaging method. In preliminary results with multiple objects we show the benefits of using an internal electrode and the improved resolution due to the local ROI image reconstruction method. The sensitivity is further increased by allowing the surface electrodes to be unevenly spaced with a higher density of surface electrodes near the ROI. Also, we analyse how much the image quality is improved using several performance parameters for comparison. While these have not yet been studied in depth, it convincingly shows an improvement in local sensitivity in images obtained with an internal electrode in comparison to a standard reconstruction method.

Enhancing the electrochemical response of myoglobin with carbon nanotube electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Esplandiu, M J; Pacios, M; Cyganek, L; Bartroli, J; del Valle, M

2009-09-02

In this paper, the electrochemical behavior of different myoglobin-modified carbon electrodes is evaluated. In particular, the performance of voltammetric biosensors made of forest-like carbon nanotubes, carbon nanotube composites and graphite composites is compared by monitoring mainly the electrocatalytic reduction of H(2)O(2) by myoglobin and their corresponding electroanalytical characteristics. Graphite composites showed the worst electroanalytical performance, exhibiting a small linear range, a limit of detection (LOD) of 9 x 10(-5) M and low sensitivity. However, it was found that the electrochemical response was enhanced with the use of carbon nanotube-based electrodes with LOD up to 5 x 10(-8) M, higher sensitivities and wider linear range response. On the one hand, in the case of the CNT epoxy composite, the improvement in the response can be mainly attributed to its more porous surface which allows the immobilization of higher amounts of the electroactive protein. On the other hand, in the case of the forest-like CNT electrodes, the enhancement is due to an increase in the electron transfer kinetics. These findings encourage the use of myoglobin-modified carbon nanotube electrodes as potential (bio)sensors of H(2)O(2) or O(2) in biology, microbiology and environmental fields.

Localizing and tracking electrodes using stereovision in epilepsy cases

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xiaoyao; Ji, Songbai; Roberts, David W.; Paulsen, Keith D.

2015-03-01

In epilepsy cases, subdural electrodes are often implanted to acquire intracranial EEG (iEEG) for seizure localization and resection planning. However, the electrodes may shift significantly between implantation and resection, during the time that the patient is monitored for iEEG recording. As a result, the accuracy of surgical planning based on electrode locations at the time of resection can be compromised. Previous studies have only quantified the electrode shift with respect to the skull, but not with respect to the cortical surface, because tracking cortical shift between surgeries is challenging. In this study, we use an intraoperative stereovision (iSV) system to visualize and localize the cortical surface as well as electrodes, record three-dimensional (3D) locations of the electrodes in MR space at the time of implantation and resection, respectively, and quantify the raw displacements, i.e., with respect to the skull. Furthermore, we track the cortical surface and quantify the shift between surgeries using an optical flow (OF) based motion-tracking algorithm. Finally, we compute the electrode shift with respect to the cortical surface by subtracting the cortical shift from raw measured displacements. We illustrate the method using one patient example. In this particular patient case, the results show that the electrodes not only shifted significantly with respect to the skull (8.79 +/- 3.00 mm in the lateral direction, ranging from 2.88 mm to 12.87 mm), but also with respect to the cortical surface (7.20 +/- 3.58 mm), whereas the cortical surface did not shift significantly in the lateral direction between surgeries (2.23 +/- 0.76 mm).

Effect of nanostructured electrode architecture and semiconductor deposition strategy on the photovoltaic performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samadpour, Mahmoud; Giménez, Sixto; Boix, Pablo P.; Shen, Qing; Calvo, Mauricio E.; Taghavinia, Nima; Azam Iraji zad; Toyoda, Taro; Míguez, Hernán

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Electrode nanostructure and quantum dot growth method have a clear influence in the final quantum dot solar cell performance. ► Higher V oc values are systematically obtained for TiO 2 morphologies with decreasing surface area. ► Higher V oc values are systematically obtained for cells using CBD growth method in comparison with SILAR method. - Abstract: Here we analyze the effect of two relevant aspects related to cell preparation on quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) performance: the architecture of the TiO 2 nanostructured electrode and the growth method of quantum dots (QD). Particular attention is given to the effect on the photovoltage, V oc , since this parameter conveys the main current limitation of QDSCs. We have analyzed electrodes directly sensitized with CdSe QDs grown by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). We have carried out a systematic study comprising structural, optical, photophysical and photoelectrochemical characterization in order to correlate the material properties of the photoanodes with the functional performance of the manufactured QDSCs. The results show that the correspondence between photovoltaic conversion efficiency and the surface area of TiO 2 depends on the QDs deposition method. Higher V oc values are systematically obtained for TiO 2 morphologies with decreasing surface area and for cells using CBD growth method. This is systematically correlated to a higher recombination resistance of CBD sensitized electrodes. Electron injection kinetics from QDs into TiO 2 also depends on both the TiO 2 structure and the QDs deposition method, being systematically faster for CBD. Only for electrodes prepared with small TiO 2 nanoparticles SILAR method presents better performance than CBD, indicating that the small pore size disturb the CBD growth method. These results have important implications for the optimization of QDSCs.

Speed of streamers in argon over a flat surface of a dielectric

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sobota, A; Kramer, N J; Van Veldhuizen, E M; Stoffels, W W; Haverlag, M [Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics, PO Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Lebouvier, A [Ecole Polytechnique de l' Universite d' Orleans, 12 rue de Blois, BP 6744, 45067 Orleans Cedex 2 (France); Manders, F [Advanced Development Lighting, Philips Lighting, Mathildelaan 1, 5611 BD, Eindhoven (Netherlands)], E-mail: a.sobota@tue.nl

2009-01-07

A pin-pin electrode geometry was used to study the velocities of streamers propagating over a flat dielectric surface and in gas close to the dielectric. The experiments were done in an argon atmosphere, at pressures from 0.1 to 1 bar, with repetitive voltage pulses. The dielectric surface played a noticeable role in discharge ignition and propagation. The average speed of the discharge decreased with higher pressure and lower voltage pulse rise rate. It was higher when the conductive channel between the electrodes was formed over the dielectric, rather than through the gas. Space resolved measurements revealed an increase in velocity of the discharge as it travelled towards the grounded electrode.

Speed of streamers in argon over a flat surface of a dielectric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobota, A; Kramer, N J; Van Veldhuizen, E M; Stoffels, W W; Haverlag, M; Lebouvier, A; Manders, F

2009-01-01

A pin-pin electrode geometry was used to study the velocities of streamers propagating over a flat dielectric surface and in gas close to the dielectric. The experiments were done in an argon atmosphere, at pressures from 0.1 to 1 bar, with repetitive voltage pulses. The dielectric surface played a noticeable role in discharge ignition and propagation. The average speed of the discharge decreased with higher pressure and lower voltage pulse rise rate. It was higher when the conductive channel between the electrodes was formed over the dielectric, rather than through the gas. Space resolved measurements revealed an increase in velocity of the discharge as it travelled towards the grounded electrode.

Potential dependent adhesion forces on bare and underpotential deposition modified electrode surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serafin, J.M.; Hsieh, S.J.; Monahan, J.; Gewirth, A.A. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)

1998-12-03

Adhesion force measurements are used to determine the potential dependence of the force of adhesion between a Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} cantilever and a Au(111) surface modified by the underpotential deposition (upd) of Bi or Cu in acid solution or by oxide formation. The measured work of adhesion is near zero for most of the potential region examined in Bi upd but rises after the formation of a full Bi monolayer. The work of adhesion is high at positive potentials for Cu upd but then decreases as the Cu partial and full monolayers are formed. The work of adhesion is low in the oxide region on Au(111) but rises following the sulfate disordering transition at 1.1 V vs NHE. These results are interpreted in terms of the degree of solvent order on the electrode surface.

Binder-less activated carbon electrode from gelam wood for use in supercapacitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IVANDINI A. TRIBIDASARI

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This work focused on the relation between the porous structure of activated carbon and its capacitive properties. Three types of activated carbon monoliths were used as the electrodes in a half cell electrochemical system. One monolith was produced from activated carbon and considered to be a binder-less electrode. Two others were produced from acid and high pressure steam oxidized activated carbon. The micrographs clearly indicate that three electrodes have different porous structures. Both porosity and surface area of carbons increased due to the formation of grains during oxidation. This fact specified that an acid oxidized carbon monolith will have relatively higher capacitance compared to non-oxidized and steam oxidized monoliths. Maximum capacitance values for acid, steam oxidized and non-oxidized electrodes were 27.68, 2.23 and 1.20 F g-1, respectively.

A study on prevention of an electric discharge at an extraction electrode of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source for cancer therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kishii, Y; Kawasaki, S; Kitagawa, A; Muramatsu, M; Uchida, T

2014-02-01

A compact ECR ion source has utilized for carbon radiotherapy. In order to increase beam intensity with higher electric field at the extraction electrode and be better ion supply stability for long periods, electric geometry and surface conditions of an extraction electrode have been studied. Focusing attention on black deposited substances on the extraction electrode, which were observed around the extraction electrode after long-term use, the relation between black deposited substances and the electrical insulation property is investigated. The black deposited substances were inspected for the thickness of deposit, surface roughness, structural arrangement examined using Raman spectroscopy, and characteristics of electric discharge in a test bench, which was set up to simulate the ECR ion source.

Localized Electrochemiluminescence from Nanoneedle Electrodes for Very-high-density Electrochemical Sensing

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Jingjing

2017-09-28

In this paper, localized electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was visualized from nanoneedle electrodes that achieved very-high-density electrochemical sensing. The localized luminescence at the nanometer-sized tip observed was ascribed to enhanced mass transfer of the luminescence probe at the tip than on the planar surface surrounding the tip, which provided higher luminescence at the tip. The size of the luminescence spots was restricted to 15 μm permitting the electrochemical analysis with a density over 4 × 103 spots/mm2. The positive correlation between the luminescence intensity at the tips and the concentration of hydrogen peroxide supported the quantitative ECL analysis using nanoneedle electrodes. The further modification of glucose oxidase at the electrode surface conceptually demonstrated that the concentration of glucose ranging from 0.5 to 5 mM could be quantified using the luminescence at the tips, which could be further applied for the detection of multiple molecules in the complex biosystem. This successful localized ECL offers a specific strategy for the development of very-high-density electrochemical arrays without the complicated chip design.

The electrochemical behavior of Co(TPTZ)2 complex on different carbon based electrodes modified with TiO2 nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortaboy, Sinem; Atun, Gülten

2015-01-01

Electrochemical behavior of cobalt (II) complex with the N-donor ligand 2,2′-bipyridyl-1,3,5-tripyridyl-s-triazine (TPTZ) was investigated to elucidate the electron-proton transfer mechanisms. The electrochemical response of the complex was studied using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. A conventional three-electrode system, consisting of glassy carbon (GCE), TiO 2 modified glassy carbon (T/GCE), carbon paste (CPE) and TiO 2 modified carbon paste (T/CPE) working electrodes were employed. The ligand/metal ratio and stability constant of the complex as well as the mechanisms of the electrode processes were elucidated by examining the effects of pH, ligand concentration and frequency on the voltammograms. The EIS results indicated that the samples modified with TiO 2 had the higher charge transfer resistance than that of the bare electrodes and also suggested that the electroactivity of the electrode surfaces increased in the following order, T/CPE > CPE > T/GCE > GCE. The surface morphology of the working electrodes was also characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The values of surface roughness parameters were found to be consistent with the results obtained by EIS experiments. - Graphical abstract: Schematic illustration of the experimental process. - Highlights: • Electrochemical behavior of Co(TPTZ) 2 complex studied by SWV and EIS techniques. • GCE, CPE T/GCE and T/CPE were used as working electrodes for comparative studies. • The surface morphologies of the electrodes were characterized by AFM. • Mechanisms were proposed from the effects of pH, ligand concentration and frequency. • EIS and morphologic relationships of the surfaces were established successfully

Electrode configuration for extreme-UV electrical discharge source

Science.gov (United States)

Spence, Paul Andrew; Fornaciari, Neal Robert; Chang, Jim Jihchyun

2002-01-01

It has been demonstrated that debris generation within an electric capillary discharge source, for generating extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray, is dependent on the magnitude and profile of the electric field that is established along the surfaces of the electrodes. An electrode shape that results in uniform electric field strength along its surface has been developed to minimize sputtering and debris generation. The electric discharge plasma source includes: (a) a body that defines a circular capillary bore that has a proximal end and a distal end; (b) a back electrode positioned around and adjacent to the distal end of the capillary bore wherein the back electrode has a channel that is in communication with the distal end and that is defined by a non-uniform inner surface which exhibits a first region which is convex, a second region which is concave, and a third region which is convex wherein the regions are viewed outwardly from the inner surface of the channel that is adjacent the distal end of the capillary bore so that the first region is closest to the distal end; (c) a front electrode positioned around and adjacent to the proximal end of the capillary bore wherein the front electrode has an opening that is communication with the proximal end and that is defined by a non-uniform inner surface which exhibits a first region which is convex, a second region which is substantially linear, and third region which is convex wherein the regions are viewed outwardly from the inner surface of the opening that is adjacent the proximal end of the capillary bore so that the first region is closest to the proximal end; and (d) a source of electric potential that is connected across the front and back electrodes.

Microbes, Minerals and Electrodes at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF): Electrochemistry 4100 ft below the surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, A. R.; Abuyen, K.; Casar, C. P.; Osburn, M. R.; Kruger, B.; El-Naggar, M.; Amend, J.

2017-12-01

Little is known about the importance of mineral oxidation processes in subsurface environments. This stems, in part from our limited insight into the biochemistry of many of these metabolisms, especially where redox interactions with solid surfaces is concerned. To this aim, we have been developing electrochemical cultivation techniques, to target enrichment and isolation of microbes capable of oxidative extracellular electron transfer (oxEET)—transfer of electrons from the exterior of the cell to the interior. Our previous worked focused on marine sediments; using an electrode poised at a given redox potential to isolate mineral-oxidizing microbes. Electrode oxidizing microbes isolated from these enrichments belong to the genera Thioclava, Marinobacter, Halomonas, Idiomarina, Thalassospira, and Pseudamonas; organisms commonly detected in marine and deep sea sediments but not generally associated with mineral, sulfur and/or iron oxidation. At the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Leed, South Dakota, we have been utilizing similar electrocultivation techniques to understand: 1) the potential for mineral oxidation by subsurface microbes, 2) their selective colonization on mineral vs. electrode surfaces, as well as 3) the community composition of microbes capable of these metabolic interactions. An electrochemical and mineral enrichment scheme was designed and installed into a sulfidic groundwater flow, located at the 4100 ft level of the former gold mine. The communities enriched on electrodes (graphite and indium tin oxide coated glass) and minerals (sulfur, pyrite, and schists from the location) were compared to the long-term ground water microbial community observed. Ultimately, these observations will help inform the potential activity of a lithotrophic microbes in situ and will in turn guide our culturing efforts.

Preparation of TiO2-based nanotubes/nanoparticles composite thin film electrodes for their electron transport properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Wanyu; Fu, Wuyou; Chen, Jingkuo; Li, Huayang; Bala, Hari; Wang, Xiaodong; Sun, Guang; Cao, Jianliang; Zhang, Zhanying

2015-01-01

The composite thin film electrodes were prepared with one-dimensional (1D) TiO 2 -B nanotubes (NTs) and zero-dimensional TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) based on different weight ratios. The electron transport properties of the NTs/NPs composite thin film electrodes applied for dye-sensitized solar cells had been investigated systematically. The results indicated that although the amount of dye adsorption decreased slightly, the devices with the NTs/NPs composite thin film electrodes could obtain higher open-circuit voltage and overall conversion efficiency compared to devices with pure TiO 2 NPs electrodes by rational tuning the weight ratio of TiO 2 -B NTs and TiO 2 NPs. When the weight ratio of TiO 2 -B NTs in the NTs/NPs composite thin film electrodes increased, the density of states and recombination rate decreased. The 1D structure of TiO 2 -B NTs can provide direct paths for electron transport, resulting in higher electron lifetime, electron diffusion coefficient and electron diffusion length. The composite thin film electrodes possess the merits of the rapid electron transport of TiO 2 -B NTs and the high surface area of TiO 2 NPs, which has great applied potential in the field of photovoltaic devices. - Highlights: • The composite thin film electrodes (CTFEs) were prepared with nanotubes and nanoparticles. • The CTFEs possess the rapid electron transport and high surface area. • The CTFEs exhibit lower recombination rate and longer electron life time. • The CTFEs have great applied potential in the field of photovoltaic devices

An Experimental Approach to Controllably Vary Protein Oxidation While Minimizing Electrode Adsorption for Boron-Doped Diamond Electrochemical Surface Mapping Applications

Science.gov (United States)

McClintock, Carlee S; Hettich, Robert L.

2012-01-01

Oxidative protein surface mapping has become a powerful approach for measuring the solvent accessibility of folded protein structures. A variety of techniques exist for generating the key reagent – hydroxyl radicals – for these measurements; however, these approaches range significantly in their complexity and expense of operation. This research expands upon earlier work to enhance the controllability of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry as an easily accessible tool for producing hydroxyl radicals in order to oxidize a range of intact proteins. Efforts to modulate oxidation level while minimizing the adsorption of protein to the electrode involved the use of relatively high flow rates to reduce protein residence time inside the electrochemical flow chamber. Additionally, a different cell activation approach using variable voltage to supply a controlled current allowed us to precisely tune the extent of oxidation in a protein-dependent manner. In order to gain perspective on the level of protein adsorption onto the electrode surface, studies were conducted to monitor protein concentration during electrolysis and gauge changes in the electrode surface between cell activation events. This report demonstrates the successful use of BDD electrochemistry for greater precision in generating a target number of oxidation events upon intact proteins. PMID:23210708

Impact of the electrode material and shape on performance of intrinsically tunable ferroelectric FBARs.

Science.gov (United States)

Vorobiev, Andrei; Gevorgian, Spartak

2014-05-01

Experiment-based analysis of losses in tunable ferroelectric xBiFeO3-(1-x)BaTiO3 (BF-BT) film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBARs) is reported. The Q-factors, effective coupling coefficients, and tunabilities are considered as functions of surface roughness of the ferroelectric film, the acoustic impedance and shape of the electrodes/interconnecting strips, leakage of acoustic waves into the substrate via Bragg reflector, and the relative thicknesses of the electrodes and ferroelectric film. Compared with Al, the high acoustic impedance of Pt electrodes provides higher Q-factor, coupling coefficient, and tunability. However, using Pt in the interconnecting strips results in reduction of the Q-factor.

Calendering effect on the electrochemical performances of the thick Li-ion battery electrodes using a three dimensional Ni alloy foam current collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Gui-Fu; Joo, Seung-Ki

2015-01-01

High surface area and a three dimensional NiCrAl alloy foam current collector was used for two kinds of thick lithium iron phosphate electrodes. One kind of electrodes were compressed after the slurry of active material in the metal foam was dried and then annealed at 140 °C for half a day whereas the other kind of electrodes were prepared without pressing. When the addition of carbon black was 4 wt% for the two kinds of electrodes, a charge-discharge test revealed that the capacity of the cell using the pressed electrode faded much more although the voltage-drop was much smaller at the plateau region. For example, the capacity of the pressed electrode exhibited 85 mA h g −1 , while it was 135 mA h g −1 for the unpressed electrode although the voltage-drop at the plateau region was 250 mV higher at 0.5C-rate for the unpressed electrode. The AC impedance analysis showed that the charge transfer resistance of the pressed electrode was only 15 Ω whereas it was 4 times higher for the unpressed electrode. The results illustrated that the effective redox area was much larger for the unpressed electrode since the cell using the unpressed electrode exhibited much higher capacity even at the condition of poor electronic conductivity. To solve the low electronic conductivity issue for the unpressed electrode, the addition of carbon black was further increased to 14 wt% and as a result, there was almost no difference in voltage drop at plateau region or charge transfer resistance between the two kinds of electrodes. Obviously, the capacity of unpressed electrode exhibited much higher at higher current rate due to the larger effective redox area

Electrolyte effects in a model of proton discharge on charged electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebe, Johannes; Kravchenko, Kateryna; Spohr, Eckhard

2015-01-01

We report results on the influence of NaCl electrolyte dissolved in water on proton discharge reactions from aqueous solution to charged platinum electrodes. We have extended a recently developed combined proton transfer/proton discharge model on the basis of empirical valence bond theory to include NaCl solutions with several different concentrations of cations and anions, both stoichiometric (1:1) compositions and non-stoichiometric ones with an excess of cations. The latter solutions partially screen the electrostatic potential from the surface charge of the negatively charged electrode. 500-1000 trajectories of a discharging proton were integrated by molecular dynamics simulations until discharge occurred, or for at most 1.5 ns. The results show a strong dependence on ionic strength, but only a weak dependence on the screening behavior, when comparing stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric solutions. Overall, the Na+ cations exert a more dominant effect on the discharge reaction, which we argue is likely due to the very rigid arrangements of the cations on the negatively polarized electrode surface. Thus, our model predicts, for the given and very high negative surface charge densities, the fastest discharge reaction for pure water, but obviously cannot take into account the fact that such high charge densities are even more out of reach experimentally than for higher electrolyte concentrations.

Electrodes for Semiconductor Gas Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sung Pil

2017-01-01

The electrodes of semiconductor gas sensors are important in characterizing sensors based on their sensitivity, selectivity, reversibility, response time, and long-term stability. The types and materials of electrodes used for semiconductor gas sensors are analyzed. In addition, the effect of interfacial zones and surface states of electrode–semiconductor interfaces on their characteristics is studied. This study describes that the gas interaction mechanism of the electrode–semiconductor interfaces should take into account the interfacial zone, surface states, image force, and tunneling effect. PMID:28346349

Comparison of bipolar vs. tripolar concentric ring electrode Laplacian estimates.

Science.gov (United States)

Besio, W; Aakula, R; Dai, W

2004-01-01

Potentials on the body surface from the heart are of a spatial and temporal function. The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) provides useful global temporal assessment, but it yields limited spatial information due to the smoothing effect caused by the volume conductor. The smoothing complicates identification of multiple simultaneous bioelectrical events. In an attempt to circumvent the smoothing problem, some researchers used a five-point method (FPM) to numerically estimate the analytical solution of the Laplacian with an array of monopolar electrodes. The FPM is generalized to develop a bi-polar concentric ring electrode system. We have developed a new Laplacian ECG sensor, a trielectrode sensor, based on a nine-point method (NPM) numerical approximation of the analytical Laplacian. For a comparison, the NPM, FPM and compact NPM were calculated over a 400 x 400 mesh with 1/400 spacing. Tri and bi-electrode sensors were also simulated and their Laplacian estimates were compared against the analytical Laplacian. We found that tri-electrode sensors have a much-improved accuracy with significantly less relative and maximum errors in estimating the Laplacian operator. Apart from the higher accuracy, our new electrode configuration will allow better localization of the electrical activity of the heart than bi-electrode configurations.

Electrochemical oxidation of 243Am(III) in nitric acid by a terpyridyl-derivatized electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dares, C. J.; Lapides, A. M.; Mincher, B. J.; Meyer, T. J.

2015-11-05

A high surface area, tin-doped indium oxide electrode surface-derivatized with a terpyridine ligand has been applied to the oxidation of trivalent americium to Am(V) and Am(VI) in nitric acid. Potentials as low as 1.8 V vs. the saturated calomel electrode are used, 0.7 V lower than the 2.6 V potential for one-electron oxidation of Am(III) to Am(IV) in 1 M acid. This simple electrochemical procedure provides, for the first time, a method for accessing the higher oxidation states of Am in non-complexing media for developing the coordination chemistries of Am(V) and Am(VI) and, more importantly, for separation of americium from nuclear waste streams.

Hot electron-induced electrochemiluminescence at polyetherimide-carbon black-based electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salminen, Kalle; Grönroos, Päivi; Johansson, Leena-Sisko; Campbell, Joseph; Kulmala, Sakari

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Generation of hydrated electrons at carbon paste electrodes. • Hydrated electrons are able to produce intense chemiluminescence. • Relationship between carbon black content in electrode and HECL studied. • Performance of composite electrodes is similar to aluminum electrodes. • The present electrodes are good alternative for disposable assay cartridges. - Abstract: Various luminophores produce strong electrogenerated chemiluminescence during cathodic pulse polarization of the present insulating film-covered carbon paste electrodes in fully aqueous solutions. First electrodes made of a commercial conductive carbon paste were successfully utilized as working electrodes and their surface was characterized by ESCA. Then custom in-laboratory made improved composite electrodes were manufactured from the same insulating polymer and conducting carbon black particles. The relationship between the amount of carbon present on the composite electrode, in the bulk and on the surface, and the intensity of electrogenerated chemiluminescence was studied further. The overall performance of these composite electrodes makes them viable low-cost replacements for metal/insulator type electrodes such as oxide-coated silicon electrodes.

One-Step Electrochemical Polymerization of Polyaniline Flexible Counter Electrode Doped by Graphene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi Qin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available To improve the photoelectric property of polyaniline (PANI counter electrode using for flexible dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC, graphene (GN was doped in PANI films covered on flexible conducting substrate by one-step electrochemical method, and then GN/PANI composites are characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, four probe instrument, and so on. The results show that PANI particles can be electrodeposited on the surface of GN sheets as the potential rising to 2.0 V. This formed unique PANI-GN-PANI lamellar structure owing to the strong interaction of conjugated π electron between GN and PANI results in the superior conductivity and catalytic performance of GN/PANI electrode. The maximum conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell with this counter electrode reaches 4.31%, which is much higher than that of GN-free PANI counter electrode.

Surface Modification of MXenes: A Pathway to Improve MXene Electrode Performance in Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Bilal

2017-12-31

The recent discovery of layered transition metal carbides (MXenes) is one of the most important developments in two-dimensional (2D) materials. Preliminary theoretical and experimental studies suggest a wide range of potential applications for MXenes. The MXenes are prepared by chemically etching ‘A’-layer element from layered ternary metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides (MAX phases) through aqueous acid treatment, which results in various surface terminations such as hydroxyl, oxygen or fluorine. It has been found that surface terminations play a critical role in defining MXene properties and affects MXene performance in different applications such as electrochemical energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, water purification, sensors and catalysis. Also, the electronic, thermoelectric, structural, plasmonic and optical properties of MXenes largely depend upon surface terminations. Thus, controlling the surface chemistry if MXenes can be an efficient way to improve their properties. This research mainly aims to perform surface modifications of two commonly studied MXenes; Ti2C and Ti3C2, via chemical, thermal or physical processes to enhance electrochemical energy storage properties. The as-prepared and surface modified MXenes have been studied as electrode materials in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs). In pursuit of desirable MXene surface, we have developed an in-situ room temperature oxidation process, which resulted in TiO2/MXene nanocomposite and enhanced Li-ion storage. The idea of making metal oxide and MXene nanocomposites was taken to the next level by combining a high capacity anode materials – SnO2 – and MXene. By taking advantage of already existing surface functional groups (–OH), we have developed a composite of SnO2/MXene by atomic layer deposition (ALD) which showed enhanced capacity and excellent cyclic stability. Thermal annealing of MXene at elevated temperature under different atmospheres was

Pseudocapacitive performance of electrodeposited porous Co3O4 film on electrophoretically modified graphite electrodes with carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Kazazi, Mahdi; Sedighi, Ali Reza; Mokhtari, Mohammad Amin

2018-05-01

A facile and efficient two-step procedure was developed for the fabrication of a high-performance and binder-free cobalt oxide-carbon nanotubes (CO/CNT) pseudocapacitive electrode. First, CNTs were deposited on the surface of a chemically activated graphite sheet by cathodic electrophoretic deposition technique from their ethanolic suspension. In the next step, a thin film of cobalt oxide was electrodeposited on the CNTs coated graphite substrate by a galvanostatic method, followed by a thermal treatment in air. The structure and morphology of the prepared cobaltite electrode with and without CNT interlayer were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurement. The results indicated that Co3O4 nanoparticles were uniformly attached on the surface of CNTs, to form a porous-structured CO/CNT composite electrode with a high specific surface area of 144.9 m2 g-1. Owing to the superior electrical conductivity of CNTs, high surface area and open porous structure, and improved integrity of the electrode structure, the composite electrode delivered a high areal capacitance of 4.96F cm-2 at a current density of 2 mA cm-2, a superior rate performance (64.7% capacitance retention from 2 mA cm-2 to 50 mA cm-2), as well as excellent cycling stability (91.8% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles), which are higher than those of the pure cobaltite electrode.

Fabrication of a novel PbO2 electrode with a graphene nanosheet interlayer for electrochemical oxidation of 2-chlorophenol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, Xiaoyue; Zhao, Cuimei; Liu, Wei; Zhao, Xuesong; Chang, Limin

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A novel PbO 2 electrode with a GNS interlayer (GSN-PbO 2 ) was prepared. • The GNS interlayer reduced grain size of β-PbO 2 crystals. • The GNS interlayer enhanced electrochemical activity of PbO 2 electrode. • The lifetime of GSN-PbO 2 electrode was 1.93 times that of PbO 2 electrode. • An electrochemical mineralization mechanism of 2-chlorophenol was proposed. - Abstract: A novel PbO 2 electrode with a graphene nanosheet interlayer (marked as GNS-PbO 2 ) was prepared combining electrophoretic deposition and electro-deposition technologies. The micro morphology, crystal structure and surface chemical states of GNS-PbO 2 electrodes were characterized using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Their electrochemical properties and stability were determined using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), ·OH radicals test and accelerated life test, and compared with traditional PbO 2 electrodes. Besides, their potential application in the electrochemical degradation of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) was investigated. The GNS-PbO 2 electrode possessed perfect octahedral β-PbO 2 microcrystals, and its grain size was much smaller than that of traditional PbO 2 electrode. It exhibited higher electrochemical activity than traditional PbO 2 electrode due to its larger electrochemical active surface area and stronger ·OH radicals generation ability. The service lifetime of GNS-PbO 2 electrode (107.9 h) was 1.93 times longer than that of traditional PbO 2 electrode (55.9 h). The electrochemical degradation rate constant of 2-CP on GNS-PbO 2 electrode (k app = 2.75 × 10 −2 min −1 ) is much higher than for PbO 2 electrode (k app = 1.76 × 10 −2 min −1 ). 2-CP oxidation yielded intermediates including aromatic compounds (catechol, phenol and ortho-benzoquinone) and organic acids (oxalic acid, maleic acid and

New Transparent Laser-Drilled Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide covered Quartz Electrodes for Photo-Electrochemical Water Splitting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernández, Simelys; Tortello, Mauro; Sacco, Adriano; Quaglio, Marzia; Meyer, Toby; Bianco, Stefano; Saracco, Guido; Pirri, C. Fabrizio; Tresso, Elena

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A new transparent, conductive and porous electrode was developed. • It has a high effective surface area available for catalyst molecules attachment. • It is an ideal support for testing new anodic and cathodic photoactive materials. • The proof-of-concept was achieved in an appositely designed water photo-electrolyzer. • The EIS technique was used as a very powerful tool to characterize the new designed electrode. - Abstract: A new-designed transparent, conductive and porous electrode was developed for application in a compact laboratory-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) photo-electrolyzer. The electrode is made of a thin transparent quartz sheet covered with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), in which an array of holes is laser-drilled to allow water and gas permeation. The electrical, morphological, optical and electrochemical characterization of the drilled electrodes is presented in comparison with a non-drilled one. The drilled electrode exhibits, in the visible region, a good transmittance (average value of 62%), a noticeable reflectance due to the light scattering effect of the hole-drilled internal region, and a higher effective surface area than the non-drilled electrode. The proof-of-concept of the applicability of the drilled electrode was achieved by using it as a support for a traditional photocatalyst (i.e. commercial TiO 2 nanoparticles). The latter, coupled with a polymeric electrolyte membrane (i.e.Nafion 117) and a Pt counter electrode, forms a transparent membrane electrode assembly (MEA), with a good conductivity, wettability and porosity. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used as a very powerful tool to gain information on the real active surface of the new drilled electrode and the main electrochemical parameters driving the charge transfer reactions on it. This new electrode architecture is demonstrated to be an ideal support for testing new anodic and cathodic photoactive

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes with Modified Surfaces

OpenAIRE

Yu, Yuan; Zhou, Yanli; Wu, Liangzhuan; Zhi, Jinfang

2012-01-01

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin films, as one kind of electrode materials, are superior to conventional carbon-based materials including carbon paste, porous carbon, glassy carbon (GC), carbon nanotubes in terms of high stability, wide potential window, low background current, and good biocompatibility. Electrochemical biosensor based on BDD electrodes have attracted extensive interests due to the superior properties of BDD electrodes and the merits of biosensors, such as specificity, sensitiv...

Novel graphene-like electrodes for capacitive deionization.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haibo; Zou, Linda; Pan, Likun; Sun, Zhuo

2010-11-15

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a novel technology that has been developed for removal of charged ionic species from salty water, such as salt ions. The basic concept of CDI, as well as electrosorption, is to force charged ions toward oppositely polarized electrodes through imposing a direct electric field to form a strong electrical double layer and hold the ions. Once the electric field disappears, the ions are instantly released back to the bulk solution. CDI is an alternative low-energy consumption desalination technology. Graphene-like nanoflakes (GNFs) with relatively high specific surface area have been prepared and used as electrodes for capacitive deionization. The GNFs were synthesized by a modified Hummers' method using hydrazine for reduction. They were characterized by atomic force microscopy, N2 adsorption at 77 K and electrochemical workstation. It was found that the ratio of nitric acid and sulfuric acid plays a vital role in determining the specific surface area of GNFs. Its electrosorption performance was much better than commercial activated carbon (AC), suggesting a great potential in capacitive deionisation application. Further, the electrosorptive performance of GNFs electrodes with different bias potentials, flow rates and ionic strengths were measured and the electrosorption isotherm and kinetics were investigated. The results showed that GNFs prepared by this process had the specific surface area of 222.01 m²/g. The specific electrosorptive capacity of the GNFs was 23.18 µmol/g for sodium ions (Na+) when the initial concentration was at 25 mg/L, which was higher than that of previously reported data using graphene and AC under the same experimental condition. In addition, the equilibrium electrosorption capacity was determined as 73.47 µmol/g at 2.0 V by fitting data through the Langmuir isotherm, and the rate constant was found to be 1.01 min⁻¹ by fitting data through pseudo first-order adsorption. The results suggested that the

Degenerate conformal theories on higher-genus surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerasimov, A.A.

1989-01-01

Two-dimensional degenerate field theories on higher-genus surfaces are investigated. Objects are built on the space of moduli, whose linear combinations are hypothetically conformal blocks in degenerate theories

Investigation on power discharge in micro-EDM stainless steel drilling using different electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Urso, G.; Maccarini, G.; Quarto, M.; Ravasio, C. [University of Bergamo, Bergamo (Italy)

2015-10-15

The present work deals with the execution of through micro-holes on stainless steel plates using a micro-EDM (Electrical discharge machining) machine. The investigation focuses on the influence of different electrodes' materials and power discharge on both the process performance and the dimensional characteristics of the holes. The experimental campaign was carried out by varying peak current and voltage in order to achieve both high and low power discharge conditions. Tubular electrodes made of three different materials (tungsten carbide, brass and copper) were used. The indexes taken into account were Material removal rate (MRR), Tool wear ratio (TWR), Diametral overcut (DOC) and Taper rate (TR). Brass and copper electrodes always resulted to be the best solution in terms of drilling speed even though the wear of these electrode types is remarkable higher than the tungsten one. On the opposite, tungsten carbide electrodes resulted to be the best solution when high dimensional and geometrical precision is required. Concerning the finishing of the hole inner surface, the best results were achieved using tungsten carbide electrode.

Investigation on power discharge in micro-EDM stainless steel drilling using different electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Urso, G.; Maccarini, G.; Quarto, M.; Ravasio, C.

2015-01-01

The present work deals with the execution of through micro-holes on stainless steel plates using a micro-EDM (Electrical discharge machining) machine. The investigation focuses on the influence of different electrodes' materials and power discharge on both the process performance and the dimensional characteristics of the holes. The experimental campaign was carried out by varying peak current and voltage in order to achieve both high and low power discharge conditions. Tubular electrodes made of three different materials (tungsten carbide, brass and copper) were used. The indexes taken into account were Material removal rate (MRR), Tool wear ratio (TWR), Diametral overcut (DOC) and Taper rate (TR). Brass and copper electrodes always resulted to be the best solution in terms of drilling speed even though the wear of these electrode types is remarkable higher than the tungsten one. On the opposite, tungsten carbide electrodes resulted to be the best solution when high dimensional and geometrical precision is required. Concerning the finishing of the hole inner surface, the best results were achieved using tungsten carbide electrode.

Lifetime studies of high power rhodium/tungsten and molybdenum electrodes for application to AMTEC (alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter)

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, R. M.; Jeffries-Nakamura, B.; Underwood, M. L.; O'Connor, D.; Ryan, M. A.; Kikkert, S.; Bankston, C. P.

1990-01-01

A detailed and fundamental model for the electrochemical behavior of AMTEC electrodes is developed which can aid in interpreting the processes which occur during prolonged operation of these electrodes. Because the sintering and grain growth of metal particles is also a well-understood phenomenon, the changes in electrode performance which accompany its morphological evolution may be anticipated and modeled. The grain growth rate observed for porous Mo AMTEC electrodes is significantly higher than that predicted from surface diffusion data obtained at higher temperatures and incorporated into the grain growth model. The grain growth observed under AMTEC conditions is also somewhat higher than that measured for Mo films on BASE (beta-alumina solid electrolyte) substrates in vacuum or at similar temperatures. Results of modeling indicate that thin Mo electrodes may show significant performance degradation for extended operation (greater than 10,000 h) at higher operating temperatures (greater than 1150 K), whereas W/Rh and W/Pt electrodes are expected to show adequate performance at 1200 K for lifetimes greater than 10,000 h. It is pointed out that current collection grids and leads must consist of refractory metals such as Mo and W which do not accelerate sintering or metal migration.

Electrochemical modification of carbon electrode with benzylphosphonic groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjamin, Ossonon Diby; Weissmann, Martin; Bélanger, Daniel

2014-01-01

Electrochemical modification of carbon electrodes by aryl groups bearing a phosphonate terminal functionality was carried out by both electrochemical reduction of diazonium ions (diazobenzylphosphonic acid) and electrochemical oxidation of an amine (aminobenzylphosphonic acid). The grafting by electrochemical reduction of aryl diazonium ions was found to be more efficient. The surface concentration of phosphonate groups, estimated by electrochemical reduction of electrostatically bound Pb(II) ions, was found to be about 25% higher for the layer formed by electrochemical reduction of diazonium ions than for the layer formed by oxidation of the amine. The acid–base properties of the grafted films were slightly influenced by the grafting procedure and the difference in the apparent pK a was most likely related to the presence of the substrate –NH-aryl linkage for the film generated by amine oxidation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to get some insight on the chemical species present at the carbon electrode surface. For both procedures, the films consist in mixture of at least two different covalently grafted species

Quantum field theory on higher-genus Riemann surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Reijiro; Yoshii, Hisahiro; Ojima, Shuichi; Paul, S.K.

1989-07-01

Quantum field theory for b-c systems is formulated on Riemann surfaces with arbitrary genus. We make use of the formalism recently developed by Krichever and Novikov. Hamiltonian is defined properly, and the Ward-Takahashi identities are derived on higher-genus Riemann surfaces. (author)

Ion dynamics in porous carbon electrodes in supercapacitors using in situ infrared spectroelectrochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Richey, Francis W; Dyatkin, Boris; Gogotsi, Yury; Elabd, Yossef A

2013-08-28

Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), or supercapacitors, rely on electrosorption of ions by porous carbon electrodes and offer a higher power and a longer cyclic lifetime compared to batteries. Ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes can broaden the operating voltage window and increase the energy density of EDLCs. Herein, we present direct measurements of the ion dynamics of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)imide in an operating EDLC with electrodes composed of porous nanosized carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) and nonporous onion-like carbons (OLCs) with the use of in situ infrared spectroelectrochemistry. For CDC electrodes, IL ions (both cations and anions) were directly observed entering and exiting CDC nanopores during charging and discharging of the EDLC. Conversely, for OLC electrodes, IL ions were observed in close proximity to the OLC surface without any change in the bulk electrolyte concentration during charging and discharging of the EDLC. This provides experimental evidence that charge is stored on the surface of OLCs in OLC EDLCs without long-range ion transport through the bulk electrode. In addition, for CDC EDLCs with mixed electrolytes of IL and propylene carbonate (PC), the IL ions were observed entering and exiting CDC nanopores, while PC entrance into the nanopores was IL concentration dependent. This work provides direct experimental confirmation of EDLC charging mechanisms that previously were restricted to computational simulations and theories. The experimental measurements presented here also provide deep insights into the molecular level transport of IL ions in EDLC electrodes that will impact the design of the electrode materials' structure for electrical energy storage.

Sol-gel derived multiwalled carbon nanotubes ceramic electrode modified with molecularly imprinted polymer for ultra trace sensing of dopamine in real samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prasad, Bhim Bali, E-mail: prof.bbpd@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005 (India); Kumar, Deepak; Madhuri, Rashmi; Tiwari, Mahavir Prasad [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005 (India)

2011-08-01

Highlights: > MWCNTs-CE was prepared by silane acrylate which provides a nanometer thin MIP film. > The sensor was modified by iniferter and MIP using 'surface grafting-from approach'. > A comparative study was performed between differentially designed ceramic electrodes. > The sensor can detect dopamine in real samples with LODs (0.143-0.154 ng mL{sup -1}). - Abstract: A new class of composite electrodes made of sol-gel derived ceramic-multiwalled carbon nanotubes is used for the growth of a nanometer thin film adopting 'surface grafting-from approach'. For this the multiwalled carbon nanotubes-ceramic electrode surface is first modified with an iniferter (benzyl N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate) and then dopamine imprinted polymer, under UV irradiation, for differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric sensing of dopamine in aqueous, blood serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and pharmaceutical samples (detection limit 0.143-0.154 ng mL{sup -1}, 3{sigma}), without any cross reactivity, interferences and false-positive contributions. Such composite electrodes offer higher stability, electron kinetics, and renewable porous surface of larger electroactive area (with insignificant capacitance) than carbon ceramic electrodes. Additional cyclic voltammetry (stripping mode) and chronocoulometry experiments were performed to explore electrodics and kinetics of electro-oxidation of dopamine.

Surface Characterization and Electrocatalytic Properties of the Ti/Ir0.3Ti(0.7-xPbx O2-Coated Electrodes for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliveira-Sousa Adriana de

2002-01-01

Full Text Available In this work a systematic investigation was carried out of the surface characterization and electrocatalytic activity of Ti/Ir0.3Ti(0.7-xPb x O2-coated electrodes (0 <= x <= 0.7, using the oxygen evolution reaction (OER in 0.5 mol dm-3 H2SO4 as model. The electrodes were prepared by thermal decomposition of IrCl3, TiCl3 and Pb(NO32 at 600 °C for 1 h using Ti as support. X-ray diffraction shows that the layers are crystalline and that the corresponding metal oxides are present. The surface morphology of the samples, before and after use under extensive oxygen evolution (Tafel experiment, was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and the micrograph analyses show that the OER promotes the dissolution of the oxide layer. The redox processes occurring on the surface were characterized by cyclic voltammetry at 20 mV s-1 in 0.5 mol dm-3 aqueous H2SO4, at room temperature, and were controlled by the Ir3+/Ir4+ couple. The measured anodic voltammetric charge is related to the active area of the electrode showing that the replacement of TiO2 by PbO2 increases the surface area with the higher value being at 50 mol% PbO2. After oxygen evolution, the surface area increases slightly. Tafel slopes are independent of Pb content with the values around 60 mV decade-1, which suggest that only Ir sites are active for OER. The values of normalized current (i/q a show some inhibition of the OER as TiO2 is replaced by PbO2 suggesting that PbO2, can be a good choice, with potential to improve the selectivity of the system. The reaction order with respect to H+ ion is zero at constant overpotential and ionic strength. The values of Tafel slope and reaction order indicate that a single reaction mechanism is operating.

Graphene-based supercapacitors in the parallel-plate electrode configuration: ionic liquids versus organic electrolytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Youngseon; Kim, Hyung J; Jung, Younjoon

2012-01-01

Supercapacitors with two single-sheet graphene electrodes in the parallel plate geometry are studied via molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations. Pure 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI+BF4-) and a 1.1 M solution of EMI+BF4- in acetonitrile are considered as prototypes of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and organic electrolytes. Electrolyte structure, charge density and associated electric potential are investigated by varying the charges and separation of the two electrodes. Multiple charge layers formed in the electrolytes in the vicinity of the electrodes are found to screen the electrode surface charge almost completely. As a result, the supercapacitors show nearly an ideal electric double layer behavior, i.e., the electric potential exhibits essentially a plateau behavior in the entire electrolyte region except for sharp changes in screening zones very close to the electrodes. Due to its small size and large charge separation, BF4- is considerably more efficient in shielding electrode charges than EMI+. In the case of the acetonitrile solution, acetonitrile also plays an important role by aligning its dipoles near the electrodes; however, the overall screening mainly arises from ions. Because of the disparity of shielding efficiency between cations and anions, the capacitance of the positively-charged anode is significantly larger than that of the negatively-charged cathode. Therefore, the total cell capacitance in the parallel plate configuration is primarily governed by the cathode. Ion conductivity obtained via the Green-Kubo (GK) method is found to be largely independent of the electrode surface charge. Interestingly, EMI+BF4- shows higher GK ion conductivity than the 1.1 M acetonitrile solution between two parallel plate electrodes.

A model for crack initiation in the Li-ion battery electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panat, Rahul, E-mail: rahul.panat@wsu.edu

2015-12-01

The development of high energy density Lithium-ion batteries is of intense interest due to their application in the electric car and consumer electronics industry. The primary limiter in using high energy density battery electrodes is the cracking of the electrode material due to the severe strain caused by the charging–discharging cycles. In this paper, a linear perturbation model is used to describe the evolution of the electrode surface under stress. The driving force for the surface undulation formation is the reduction in the electrode strain energy. The kinetics of mass transport is described by the surface and volume diffusion. The model predicts that the Si electrode will develop surface undulations of the order of sub-1 μm length scale on the electrode surface, showing a reasonable agreement with experimental results reported in literature. Such surface undulations roughen the anode surface and can form notches that can act as crack initiation sites. It is also shown that this model is applicable when the temperature of the system is not constant and the system is not isolated. The limitations of the model are also discussed. - Highlights: • This work presents a theoretical formulation that predicts crack formation at an electrode surface under a lithiation cycle. • The research provides the critical parameters required to improve the life of the Li-ion batteries. • These research findings can be used to modify the surface structure to minimize crack formation. • The predictions from the model show a reasonable agreement with the experiments. • None of the theoretical literature so far has addressed the crack formation problem addressed in this paper.

Skin denervation does not alter cortical potentials to surface concentric electrode stimulation: A comparison with laser evoked potentials and contact heat evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

La Cesa, S; Di Stefano, G; Leone, C; Pepe, A; Galosi, E; Alu, F; Fasolino, A; Cruccu, G; Valeriani, M; Truini, A

2018-01-01

In the neurophysiological assessment of patients with neuropathic pain, laser evoked potentials (LEPs), contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) and the evoked potentials by the intraepidermal electrical stimulation via concentric needle electrode are widely agreed as nociceptive specific responses; conversely, the nociceptive specificity of evoked potentials by surface concentric electrode (SE-PREPs) is still debated. In this neurophysiological study we aimed at verifying the nociceptive specificity of SE-PREPs. We recorded LEPs, CHEPs and SE-PREPs in eleven healthy participants, before and after epidermal denervation produced by prolonged capsaicin application. We also used skin biopsy to verify the capsaicin-induced nociceptive nerve fibre loss in the epidermis. We found that whereas LEPs and CHEPs were suppressed after capsaicin-induced epidermal denervation, the surface concentric electrode stimulation of the same denervated skin area yielded unchanged SE-PREPs. The suppression of LEPs and CHEPs after nociceptive nerve fibre loss in the epidermis indicates that these techniques are selectively mediated by nociceptive system. Conversely, the lack of SE-PREP changes suggests that SE-PREPs do not provide selective information on nociceptive system function. Capsaicin-induced epidermal denervation abolishes laser evoked potentials (LEPs) and contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs), but leaves unaffected pain-related evoked potentials by surface concentric electrode (SE-PREPs). These findings suggest that unlike LEPs and CHEPs, SE-PREPs are not selectively mediated by nociceptive system. © 2017 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Recent advances in metal oxide-based electrode architecture design for electrochemical energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jian; Li, Yuanyuan; Liu, Jinping; Huang, Xintang; Yuan, Changzhou; Lou, Xiong Wen David

2012-10-02

Metal oxide nanostructures are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors because of their high specific capacity/capacitance, typically 2-3 times higher than that of the carbon/graphite-based materials. However, their cycling stability and rate performance still can not meet the requirements of practical applications. It is therefore urgent to improve their overall device performance, which depends on not only the development of advanced electrode materials but also in a large part "how to design superior electrode architectures". In the article, we will review recent advances in strategies for advanced metal oxide-based hybrid nanostructure design, with the focus on the binder-free film/array electrodes. These binder-free electrodes, with the integration of unique merits of each component, can provide larger electrochemically active surface area, faster electron transport and superior ion diffusion, thus leading to substantially improved cycling and rate performance. Several recently emerged concepts of using ordered nanostructure arrays, synergetic core-shell structures, nanostructured current collectors, and flexible paper/textile electrodes will be highlighted, pointing out advantages and challenges where appropriate. Some future electrode design trends and directions are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The electrochemical behavior of Co(TPTZ){sub 2} complex on different carbon based electrodes modified with TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortaboy, Sinem, E-mail: ortaboy@istanbul.edu.tr; Atun, Gülten, E-mail: gatun@istanbul.edu.tr

2015-04-15

Electrochemical behavior of cobalt (II) complex with the N-donor ligand 2,2′-bipyridyl-1,3,5-tripyridyl-s-triazine (TPTZ) was investigated to elucidate the electron-proton transfer mechanisms. The electrochemical response of the complex was studied using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. A conventional three-electrode system, consisting of glassy carbon (GCE), TiO{sub 2} modified glassy carbon (T/GCE), carbon paste (CPE) and TiO{sub 2} modified carbon paste (T/CPE) working electrodes were employed. The ligand/metal ratio and stability constant of the complex as well as the mechanisms of the electrode processes were elucidated by examining the effects of pH, ligand concentration and frequency on the voltammograms. The EIS results indicated that the samples modified with TiO{sub 2} had the higher charge transfer resistance than that of the bare electrodes and also suggested that the electroactivity of the electrode surfaces increased in the following order, T/CPE > CPE > T/GCE > GCE. The surface morphology of the working electrodes was also characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The values of surface roughness parameters were found to be consistent with the results obtained by EIS experiments. - Graphical abstract: Schematic illustration of the experimental process. - Highlights: • Electrochemical behavior of Co(TPTZ){sub 2} complex studied by SWV and EIS techniques. • GCE, CPE T/GCE and T/CPE were used as working electrodes for comparative studies. • The surface morphologies of the electrodes were characterized by AFM. • Mechanisms were proposed from the effects of pH, ligand concentration and frequency. • EIS and morphologic relationships of the surfaces were established successfully.

Silver-nickel oxide core-shell nanoparticle array electrode with enhanced lithium-storage performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Wenjia; Du, Ning; Zhang, Hui; Yang, Deren

2015-01-01

We demonstrate the synthesis of Ag-NiO core-shell nanoparticle arrays via a one-step solution-immersion process and subsequent RF-sputtering technique. The Ag nanoparticle arrays on copper substrate are firstly prepared by a displacement reaction at mild temperature of 303K. Then, a NiO layer is deposited onto the surface of the Ag nanoparticles via RF-sputtering technique. When evaluated as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, the Ag-NiO core-shell electrode shows higher capacity and better cycling performance than the planar NiO electrode. The in-situ synthesized Ag nanoparticles can enhance the interfacial strength between the active material and substrate, andimprove the electrical conductivity of the electrode, which may be responsible for the enhanced performance

Microwave-assisted low temperature fabrication of ZnO thin film electrodes for solar energy harvesting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nirmal Peiris, T.A.; Sagu, Jagdeep S.; Hazim Yusof, Y.; Upul Wijayantha, K.G., E-mail: U.Wijayantha@lboro.ac.uk

2015-09-01

Metallic Zn thin films were electrodeposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates and oxidized under air by conventional radiant and microwave post-annealing methods to obtain ZnO thin film electrodes. The temperature of each post-annealing method was varied systematically and the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of electrodes was evaluated. The best photocurrent density achieved by the conventional radiant annealing method at 425 °C for 15 min was 93 μA cm{sup −2} at 1.23 V vs. NHE and the electrode showed an incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 28.2%. X-ray diffractogram of this electrode showed that the oxidation of Zn to ZnO was not completed during the radiant annealing process as evident by the presence of metallic Zn in the electrode. For the electrode oxidized from Zn to ZnO under microwave irradiation, a photocurrent of 130 μA cm{sup −2} at 1.23 V vs. NHE and IPCE of 35.6% was observed after annealing for just 3 min, during which the temperature reached 250 °C. The photocurrent was 40% higher for the microwave annealed sample; this increase was attributed to higher surface area by preserving the nanostructure, confirmed by SEM surface topographical analysis, and better conversion yields to crystalline ZnO. Overall, it was demonstrated that oxidation of Zn to ZnO can be accomplished by microwave annealing five times faster than that of conventional annealing, thus resulting in a ~ 75% power saving. This study shows that microwave processing of materials offers significant economic and performance advantages for industrial scale up. - Highlights: • Conversion of Zn to ZnO by microwave and radiant annealing was conducted. • Microwave conversion was 5 times faster compared to radiant annealing. • Photoelectrochemical performance of microwave annealed ZnO was 40% higher. • Microwave annealing results in a 75% energy saving.

Graphene electrode modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide for label-free DNA detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bing; Pan, Genhua; Avent, Neil D; Lowry, Roy B; Madgett, Tracey E; Waines, Paul L

2015-10-15

A novel printed graphene electrode modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide was developed for the detection of a specific oligonucleotide sequence. The graphene oxide was immobilized onto the surface of a graphene electrode via π-π bonds and electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide was achieved by cyclic voltammetry. A much higher redox current was observed from the reduced graphene oxide-graphene double-layer electrode, a 42% and 36.7% increase, respectively, in comparison with that of a bare printed graphene or reduced graphene oxide electrode. The good electron transfer activity is attributed to a combination of the large number of electroactive sites in reduced graphene oxide and the high conductivity nature of graphene. The probe ssDNA was further immobilized onto the surface of the reduced graphene oxide-graphene double-layer electrode via π-π bonds and then hybridized with its target cDNA. The change of peak current due to the hybridized dsDNA could be used for quantitative sensing of DNA concentration. It has been demonstrated that a linear range from 10(-7)M to 10(-12)M is achievable for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus 1 gene with a detection limit of 1.58 × 10(-13)M as determined by three times standard deviation of zero DNA concentration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

TiN coated aluminum electrodes for DC high voltage electron guns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamun, Md Abdullah A.; Elmustafa, Abdelmageed A.; Taus, Rhys; Forman, Eric; Poelker, Matthew

2015-01-01

Preparing electrodes made of metals like stainless steel, for use inside DC high voltage electron guns, is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. In this paper, the authors report the exceptional high voltage performance of aluminum electrodes coated with hard titanium nitride (TiN). The aluminum electrodes were comparatively easy to manufacture and required only hours of mechanical polishing using silicon carbide paper, prior to coating with TiN by a commercial vendor. The high voltage performance of three TiN-coated aluminum electrodes, before and after gas conditioning with helium, was compared to that of bare aluminum electrodes, and electrodes manufactured from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). Following gas conditioning, each TiN-coated aluminum electrode reached −225 kV bias voltage while generating less than 100 pA of field emission (<10 pA) using a 40 mm cathode/anode gap, corresponding to field strength of 13.7 MV/m. Smaller gaps were studied to evaluate electrode performance at higher field strength with the best performing TiN-coated aluminum electrode reaching ∼22.5 MV/m with field emission less than 100 pA. These results were comparable to those obtained from our best-performing electrodes manufactured from stainless steel, titanium alloy and niobium, as reported in references cited below. The TiN coating provided a very smooth surface and with mechanical properties of the coating (hardness and modulus) superior to those of stainless steel, titanium-alloy, and niobium electrodes. These features likely contributed to the improved high voltage performance of the TiN-coated aluminum electrodes

Infrared spectroscopic and voltammetric study of adsorbed CO on stepped surfaces of copper monocrystalline electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koga, O.; Teruya, S.; Matsuda, K.; Minami, M.; Hoshi, N.; Hori, Y.

2005-01-01

Voltammetric and infrared (IR) spectroscopic measurements were carried out to study adsorbed CO on two series of copper single crystal electrodes n(111)-(111) and n(111)-(100) in 0.1M KH 2 PO 4 +0.1M K 2 HPO 4 at 0 o C. Reversible voltammetric waves were observed below -0.55V versus SHE for adsorption of CO which displaces preadsorbed phosphate anions. The electric charge of the redox waves is proportional to the step atom density for both single crystal series. This fact indicates that phosphate anions are specifically adsorbed on the step sites below -0.55V versus SHE. Voltammetric measurements indicated that (111) terrace of Cu is covered with adsorbed CO below -0.5V versus SHE. Nevertheless, no IR absorption band of adsorbed CO is detected from (111) terrace. Presence of adsorbed CO on (111) terrace is presumed which is not visible by the potential difference spectroscopy used in the present work. IR spectroscopic measurements showed that CO is reversibly adsorbed with an on-top manner on copper single crystal electrodes of n(111)-(111) and n(111)-(100) with approximately same wavenumber of C?O stretching vibration of 2070cm -1 . The IR band intensity is proportional to the step atom density. Thus CO is adsorbed on (111) or (100) steps on the single crystal surfaces. An analysis of the IR band intensity suggested that one CO molecule is adsorbed on every two or more Cu step atom of the monocrystalline surface. The spectroscopic data were compared with those reported for uhv system. The C-O stretching wavenumber of adsorbed CO in the electrode-electrolyte system is 30-40cm -1 lower than those in uhv system

A Self-Templating Scheme for the Synthesis of Nanostructured Transition Metal Chalcogenide Electrodes for Capacitive Energy Storage

KAUST Repository

Xia, Chuan

2015-06-11

Due to their unique structural features including well-defined interior voids, low density, low coefficients of thermal expansion, large surface area and surface permeability, hollow micro/nanostructured transition metal sulfides with high conductivity have been investigated as new class of electrode materials for pseudocapacitor applications. Herein, we report a novel self-templating strategy to fabricate well-defined single and double-shell NiCo2S4 hollow spheres, as a promising electrode material for pseudocapacitors. The surfaces of the NiCo2S4 hollow spheres consist of self-assembled 2D mesoporous nanosheets. This unique morphology results in a high specific capacitance (1257 F g-1 at 2 A g-1), remarkable rate performance (76.4% retention of initial capacitance from 2 A g-1 to 60 A g-1) and exceptional reversibility with a cycling efficiency of 93.8% and 87% after 10,000 and 20,000 cycles, respectively, at a high current density of 10 A g-1. The cycling stability of our ternary chalcogenides is comparable to carbonaceous electrode materials, but with much higher specific capacitance (higher than any previously reported ternary chalcogenide), suggesting that these unique chalcogenide structures have potential application in next-generation commercial pseudocapacitors.

Tracer Studies of the Influence of Foreign Substances at the Surface of the Electrodes. II Influence in electro crystallization phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llopis, J.; Gamboa, J. M.; Arizmendi, L.

1963-01-01

The action of foreign substances present on the surface of the electrodes, in electro crystallization phenomena, has been studied. The number of Ag crystals per square centimeter of Pt electrode varies with the polishing, the current density and the presence of multilayers of stearic acid. The statistical distribution of Ag crystals without and with multilayers and their influence on the concentration index and the deformation of Ag crystals has been studied. the size of these crystals increases as the current density decreases. (Author) 16 refs

Cold cap subsidence for in situ vitrification and electrodes therefor

Science.gov (United States)

Buelt, James L.; Carter, John G.; Eschbach, Eugene A.; FitzPatrick, Vincent F.; Koehmstedt, Paul L.; Morgan, William C.; Oma, Kenton H.; Timmerman, Craig L.

1992-01-01

An electrode for use in in situ vitrification of soil comprises a molybdenum rod received within a conductive sleeve or collar formed of graphite. Electrodes of this type are placed on either side of a region containing buried waste material and an electric current is passed therebetween for vitrifying the soil between the electrodes. The graphite collar enhances the thermal conductivity of the electrode, bringing heat to the surface, and preventing the formation of a cold cap of material above the ground surface. The annulus between the molybdenum rod electrode and the graphite collar is filled with a conductive ceramic powder of a type that sinters upon the molybdenum rod, protecting the same from oxidation as the graphite material is consumed, or a metal powder which liquifies at operating temperatures. The molybdenum rod in the former case may be coated with an oxidation protectant, e.g. of molybdenum disilicide. As insulative blanket is suitably placed on the surface of the soil during processing to promote subsidence by allowing off-gassing and reducing surface heat loss. In other embodiments, connection to vitrification electrodes is provided below ground level to avoid loss of connection due to electrodes deterioration, or a sacrificial electrode may be employed when operation is started. Outboard electrodes can be utilized to square up the vitrified area. Further, the center of the molybdenum rod can be made hollow and filled with a powdered metal, such as copper, which liquifies at operating temperatures. In one embodiment, the molybdenum rod and the graphite collar are physically joined at the bottom.

Fabrication of a three-electrode battery using hydrogen-storage materials

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Chi-Woo; Seo, Jung-Yong; Moon, Hyung-Seok; Park, Hyun-Young; Nam, Na-Yun; Cho, Sung Min; Yoo, Pil J.; Chung, Chan-Hwa

2015-04-01

In this study, an energy storage device using a three-electrode battery is fabricated. The charging process takes place during electrolysis of the alkaline electrolyte where hydrogen is stored at the palladium bifunctional electrode. Upon discharging, power is generated by operating the alkaline fuel cell using hydrogen which is accumulated in the palladium hydride bifunctional electrode during the charging process. The bifunctional palladium electrode is prepared by electrodeposition using a hydrogen bubble template followed by a galvanic displacement reaction of platinum in order to functionalize the electrode to work not only as a hydrogen storage material but also as an anode in a fuel cell. This bifunctional electrode has a sufficiently high surface area and the platinum catalyst populates at the surface of electrode to operate the fuel cell. The charging and discharging performance of the three-electrode battery are characterized. In addition, the cycle stability is investigated.

Activated Carbon Fiber Monoliths as Supercapacitor Electrodes

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Gelines Moreno-Fernandez

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Activated carbon fibers (ACF are interesting candidates for electrodes in electrochemical energy storage devices; however, one major drawback for practical application is their low density. In the present work, monoliths were synthesized from two different ACFs, reaching 3 times higher densities than the original ACFs’ apparent densities. The porosity of the monoliths was only slightly decreased with respect to the pristine ACFs, the employed PVDC binder developing additional porosity upon carbonization. The ACF monoliths are essentially microporous and reach BET surface areas of up to 1838 m2 g−1. SEM analysis reveals that the ACFs are well embedded into the monolith structure and that their length was significantly reduced due to the monolith preparation process. The carbonized monoliths were studied as supercapacitor electrodes in two- and three-electrode cells having 2 M H2SO4 as electrolyte. Maximum capacitances of around 200 F g−1 were reached. The results confirm that the capacitance of the bisulfate anions essentially originates from the double layer, while hydronium cations contribute with a mixture of both, double layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance.

Biopolymer-nanocarbon composite electrodes for use as high-energy high-power density electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Karakaya, Mehmet; Roberts, Mark; Arcilla-Velez, Margarita; Zhu, Jingyi; Podila, Ramakrishna; Rao, Apparao

2014-03-01

Supercapacitors (SCs) address our current energy storage and delivery needs by combining the high power, rapid switching, and exceptional cycle life of a capacitor with the high energy density of a battery. Although activated carbon is extensively used as a supercapacitor electrode due to its inexpensive nature, its low specific capacitance (100-120 F/g) fundamentally limits the energy density of SCs. We demonstrate that a nano-carbon based mechanically robust, electrically conducting, free-standing buckypaper electrode modified with an inexpensive biorenewable polymer, viz., lignin increases the electrode's specific capacitance (~ 600-700 F/g) while maintaining rapid discharge rates. In these systems, the carbon nanomaterials provide the high surface area, electrical conductivity and porosity, while the redox polymers provide a mechanism for charge storage through Faradaic charge transfer. The design of redox polymers and their incorporation into nanomaterial electrodes will be discussed with a focus on enabling high power and high energy density electrodes. Research supported by US NSF CMMI Grant 1246800.

ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION OF ETHANOL USING Ni-Co-PVC COMPOSITE ELECTRODE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riyanto Riyanto

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The morphological characteristics and electrochemical behavior of nickel metal foil (Ni, nickel-polyvinyl chloride (Ni-PVC and nickel-cobalt-polyvinyl chloride (Ni-Co-PVC electrodes in alkaline solution has been investigated. The morphological characteristics of the electrode surface were studied using SEM and EDS, while the electrochemical behavior of the electrodes was studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV. It was found that composite electrodes (Ni-PVC and Ni-Co-PVC have a porous, irregular and rough surface. In situ studies using electrochemical technique using those three electrodes exhibited electrochemical activity for redox system, as well as selectivity in the electrooxidation of ethanol to acetic acid. The studies also found that an electrokinetics and electrocatalytic activity behaviors of the electrodes prepared were Ni metal foil

Solution Process Synthesis of High Aspect Ratio ZnO Nanorods on Electrode Surface for Sensitive Electrochemical Detection of Uric Acid

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Rafiq; Tripathy, Nirmalya; Ahn, Min-Sang; Hahn, Yoon-Bong

2017-04-01

This study demonstrates a highly stable, selective and sensitive uric acid (UA) biosensor based on high aspect ratio zinc oxide nanorods (ZNRs) vertical grown on electrode surface via a simple one-step low temperature solution route. Uricase enzyme was immobilized on the ZNRs followed by Nafion covering to fabricate UA sensing electrodes (Nafion/Uricase-ZNRs/Ag). The fabricated electrodes showed enhanced performance with attractive analytical response, such as a high sensitivity of 239.67 μA cm-2 mM-1 in wide-linear range (0.01-4.56 mM), rapid response time (~3 s), low detection limit (5 nM), and low value of apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (Kmapp, 0.025 mM). In addition, selectivity, reproducibility and long-term storage stability of biosensor was also demonstrated. These results can be attributed to the high aspect ratio of vertically grown ZNRs which provides high surface area leading to enhanced enzyme immobilization, high electrocatalytic activity, and direct electron transfer during electrochemical detection of UA. We expect that this biosensor platform will be advantageous to fabricate ultrasensitive, robust, low-cost sensing device for numerous analyte detection.

Electrode quenching control for highly efficient CsPbBr3 perovskite light-emitting diodes via surface plasmon resonance and enhanced hole injection by Au nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yan; Wu, Xiaoyan; Xiong, Ziyang; Lin, Chunyan; Xiong, Zuhong; Blount, Ethan; Chen, Ping

2018-04-01

Compared to organic-inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskites, all-inorganic cesium lead halides (e.g, CsPbBr3) hold greater promise in being emissive materials for light-emitting diodes owing to their superior optoelectronic properties as well as their higher stabilities. However, there is still considerable potential for breakthroughs in the current efficiency of CsPbBr3 perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs). Electrode quenching is one of the main problems limiting the current efficiency of PeLEDs when poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is used as the hole injection layer. In this work, electrode quenching control was realized via incorporating Au NPs into PEDOT:PSS. As a result, the CsPbBr3 PeLEDs realized an improvement in maximum luminescence ranging from ˜2348 to ˜7660 cd m-2 (˜226% enhancement) and current efficiency from 1.65 to 3.08 cd A-1 (˜86% enhancement). Such substantial enhancement of the electroluminescent performance can be attributed to effective electrode quenching control at the PEDOT:PSS/CsPbBr3 perovskite interface via the combined effects of local surface plasma resonance coupling and enhanced hole transportation in the PEDOT:PSS layer by Au nanoparticles.

Surface modification of 5083 Al alloy by electrical discharge alloying processing with a 75 mass% Si-Fe alloy electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stambekova, Kuralay [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo-Kuang Rd., Taichung 40227, Taiwan (China); Lin, Hung-Mao [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Far East University, No. 49, Zhonghua Rd., Xinshi Dist., Tainan City 74448, Taiwan (China); Uan, Jun-Yen, E-mail: jyuan@dragon.nchu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo-Kuang Rd., Taichung 40227, Taiwan (China)

2012-03-01

This study experimentally investigates the surface modification of 5083 Al alloy by the electrical discharge alloying (EDA) process with a Si-Fe alloy as an electrode. Samples were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-hardness and corrosion resistance tests. The micro-hardness of EDA alloyed layer was evidently higher than that of the base metal (5083 Al alloy). The TEM results show that the matrix of the alloyed layer has an amorphous-like structure; the matrix contains fine needle-like Si particles, block-like Si particles and nano-size Al{sub 4.5}FeSi and Al{sub 13}Fe{sub 4} particles. The TEM results support experimental results for the high hardness of the alloyed layer. Moreover, the EDA alloyed layer with composite microstructures has good corrosion resistance in NaCl aqueous solution.

Passivation behavior of AB{sub 5}-type hydrogen storage alloys for battery electrode application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meli, F. [Fribourg Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. de Physique; Sakai, T. [Fribourg Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. de Physique; Zuettel, A. [Fribourg Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. de Physique; Schlapbach, L. [Fribourg Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. de Physique

1995-04-15

In many applications, AB{sub 5} type hydrogen storage alloys show passivation behavior, i.e. when fully discharged, metal hydride electrodes show (especially at higher temperatures) a decrease in activity and therefore a decrease in capacity at normal discharge currents for ensuing cycles. Passivation may continue to the point where activity becomes so low that the capacity is no longer accessible. Electrochemical measurements were taken of two different AB{sub 5}-type alloys, one with manganese and one without manganese (LaNi{sub 3.4}Co{sub 1.2}Al{sub 0.4} and LaNi{sub 3.4}Co{sub 1.2}Al{sub 0.3}Mn{sub 0.1}). Both alloys showed passivation behavior after remaining in the discharged state. The alloy with manganese showed a stronger tendency to passivation which is in contradiction with earlier observations. Photoelectron spectroscopic analysis together with sputter depth profiling was used to investigate the surface composition of samples which had undergone different surface pretreatments. Surface analysis of electrodes in the passivated state shows a lower content of metallic nickel and a thicker nickel surface oxide film. We attribute the low electrochemical kinetics of the alloys after passivation to the loss of metallic nickel and/or cobalt at the electrode-electrolyte interface. ((orig.))

The nature of chemisorbates formed from ammonia on gold and palladium electrodes as discerned from surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vooys, de A.C.A.; Mrozek, M.F.; Koper, M.T.M.; Santen, van R.A.; Veen, van J.A.R.; Weaver, M.J.

2001-01-01

The chemisorbates formed from ammonia-containing alkaline electrolyte on gold and palladium electrodes have been identified using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). On gold, a potential-dependent band at ca. 365-385 cm(-1) is observed, consistent with the metal-nitrogen stretch for

Immobilization of DNA at Glassy Ccarbon Electrodes: A Critical Study of Adsorbed Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Rivas

2005-11-01

Full Text Available In this work we present a critical study of the nucleic acid layer immobilized atglassy carbon electrodes. Different studies were performed in order to assess the nature of theinteraction between DNA and the electrode surface. The adsorption and electrooxidation of DNAdemonstrated to be highly dependent on the surface and nature of the glassy carbon electrode. TheDNA layer immobilized at a freshly polished glassy carbon electrode was very stable even afterapplying highly negative potentials. The electron transfer of potassium ferricyanide, catechol anddopamine at glassy carbon surfaces modified with thin (obtained by adsorption under controlledpotential conditions and thick (obtained by casting the glassy carbon surface with highly concentratedDNA solutions DNA layers was slower than that at the bare glassy carbon electrode, although thiseffect was dependent on the thickness of the layer and was not charge selective. Raman experimentsshowed an important decrease of the vibrational modes assigned to the nucleobases residues,suggesting a strong interaction of these residues with the electrode surface. The hybridization ofoligo(dG21 and oligo(dC21 was evaluated from the guanine oxidation signal and the reduction of theredox indicator Co(phen33+ . In both cases the chronopotentiometric response indicated that thecompromise of the bases in the interaction of DNA with the electrode surface is too strong, preventingfurther hybridization. In summary, glassy carbon is a useful electrode material to detect DNA in adirect and very sensitive way, but not to be used for the preparation of biorecognition layers by directadsorption of the probe sequence on the electrode surface for detecting the hybridization event.

Cold-electrode voltage fall for impulse arcs in argon between copper electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diaz, O; Cooray, V, E-mail: oscar.diaz@angstrom.uu.se [Lightning Research Group, Division for Electricity, Uppsala University Angstroemlaboratoriet Box 5234, 751 20, Uppsala (Sweden)

2011-06-23

The full electric arc discharge in gases for short gaps in homogeneous electric field and pressure{center_dot}distance (pd) below 150 Torr{center_dot}cm, can be described as a transition between different discharge mechanisms such as: Townsend, glow, and arc. Once the arc is achieved the measured voltage drops to some volts and the current density increases several orders of magnitude. Depending upon the type of gas used, the electrode surface characteristics and type of electrical excitation, the cathode and anode voltage fall might change. The present work is directed to study the electrode fall (sum of anode and cathode falls) during a current impulse arc discharge between copper electrodes in ceramic tubes filled with argon between 0.01 and 6.5 Torr{center_dot}cm. The copper electrodes were cleaned, degassed and hydrogen reduced. The arc voltages were measured with fast/slow rise times and short/long duration current impulses produced by a RLC circuit. An increasing variation of the electrode fall was found at the pressure{center_dot}distance range analyzed.

Characterization of the surface redox process of adsorbed morin at glassy carbon electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tesio, Alvaro Yamil; Granero, Adrian Marcelo; Fernandez, Hector; Zon, Maria Alicia

2011-01-01

The thermodynamic and kinetics of the adsorption of morin (MOR) on glassy carbon (GC) electrodes in 0.2 mol dm -3 phosphate buffer solutions (PBS, pH 7.00) was studied by both cyclic (CV) and square wave (SWV) voltammetries. The Frumkin adsorption isotherm was the best to describe the specific interaction of MOR with GC electrodes. The SWV allowed to characterize the thermodynamic and kinetics of surface quasi-reversible redox couple of MOR, using the combination of the 'quasi-reversible maximum' and the 'splitting of SW net peaks' methods. Average values obtained for the formal potential and the anodic transfer coefficient were (0.27 ± 0.02) V and (0.59 ± 0.09), respectively. Moreover, a value of formal rate constant (k s ) of 87 s -1 for the overall two-electron redox process was calculated. The SWV was also employed to generate calibration curves, which were linear in the range MOR bulk concentration (c MOR *) from 1.27 x 10 -7 to 2.50 x 10 -5 mol dm -3 . The lowest concentration experimentally measured for a signal to noise ratio of 3:1 was 1.25 x 10 -8 mol dm -3 (3 ppb).

The application of phase contrast X-ray techniques for imaging Li-ion battery electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Eastwood, D. S.; Bradley, R. S.; Tariq, F.; Cooper, S. J.; Taiwo, O. O.; Gelb, J.; Merkle, A.; Brett, D. J. L.; Brandon, N. P.; Withers, P. J.; Lee, P. D.; Shearing, P. R.

2014-04-01

In order to accelerate the commercialization of fuel cells and batteries across a range of applications, an understanding of the mechanisms by which they age and degrade at the microstructural level is required. Here, the most widely commercialized Li-ion batteries based on porous graphite based electrodes which de/intercalate Li+ ions during charge/discharge are studied by two phase contrast enhanced X-ray imaging modes, namely in-line phase contrast and Zernike phase contrast at the micro (synchrotron) and nano (laboratory X-ray microscope) level, respectively. The rate of charge cycling is directly dependent on the nature of the electrode microstructure, which are typically complex multi-scale 3D geometries with significant microstructural heterogeneities. We have been able to characterise the porosity and the tortuosity by micro-CT as well as the morphology of 5 individual graphite particles by nano-tomography finding that while their volume varied significantly their sphericity was surprisingly similar. The volume specific surface areas of the individual grains measured by nano-CT are significantly larger than the total volume specific surface area of the electrode from the micro-CT imaging, which can be attributed to the greater particle surface area visible at higher resolution.

The application of phase contrast X-ray techniques for imaging Li-ion battery electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eastwood, D.S.; Bradley, R.S.; Tariq, F.; Cooper, S.J.; Taiwo, O.O.; Gelb, J.; Merkle, A.; Brett, D.J.L.; Brandon, N.P.; Withers, P.J.; Lee, P.D.; Shearing, P.R.

2014-01-01

In order to accelerate the commercialization of fuel cells and batteries across a range of applications, an understanding of the mechanisms by which they age and degrade at the microstructural level is required. Here, the most widely commercialized Li-ion batteries based on porous graphite based electrodes which de/intercalate Li + ions during charge/discharge are studied by two phase contrast enhanced X-ray imaging modes, namely in-line phase contrast and Zernike phase contrast at the micro (synchrotron) and nano (laboratory X-ray microscope) level, respectively. The rate of charge cycling is directly dependent on the nature of the electrode microstructure, which are typically complex multi-scale 3D geometries with significant microstructural heterogeneities. We have been able to characterise the porosity and the tortuosity by micro-CT as well as the morphology of 5 individual graphite particles by nano-tomography finding that while their volume varied significantly their sphericity was surprisingly similar. The volume specific surface areas of the individual grains measured by nano-CT are significantly larger than the total volume specific surface area of the electrode from the micro-CT imaging, which can be attributed to the greater particle surface area visible at higher resolution

In Vivo Electrochemical Analysis of a PEDOT/MWCNT Neural Electrode Coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas A. Alba

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Neural electrodes hold tremendous potential for improving understanding of brain function and restoring lost neurological functions. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT and dexamethasone (Dex-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT coatings have shown promise to improve chronic neural electrode performance. Here, we employ electrochemical techniques to characterize the coating in vivo. Coated and uncoated electrode arrays were implanted into rat visual cortex and subjected to daily cyclic voltammetry (CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS for 11 days. Coated electrodes experienced a significant decrease in 1 kHz impedance within the first two days of implantation followed by an increase between days 4 and 7. Equivalent circuit analysis showed that the impedance increase is the result of surface capacitance reduction, likely due to protein and cellular processes encapsulating the porous coating. Coating’s charge storage capacity remained consistently higher than uncoated electrodes, demonstrating its in vivo electrochemical stability. To decouple the PEDOT/MWCNT material property changes from the tissue response, in vitro characterization was conducted by soaking the coated electrodes in PBS for 11 days. Some coated electrodes exhibited steady impedance while others exhibiting large increases associated with large decreases in charge storage capacity suggesting delamination in PBS. This was not observed in vivo, as scanning electron microscopy of explants verified the integrity of the coating with no sign of delamination or cracking. Despite the impedance increase, coated electrodes successfully recorded neural activity throughout the implantation period.

Helium Ion Microscopy of proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrode structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serguei Chiriaev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Characterization of composite materials with microscopy techniques is an essential route to understanding their properties and degradation mechanisms, though the observation with a suitable type of microscopy is not always possible. In this work, we present proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrode interface structure dependence on ionomer content, systematically studied by Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM. A special focus was on acquiring high resolution images of the electrode structure and avoiding interface damage from irradiation and tedious sample preparation. HIM demonstrated its advantages in surface imaging, which is paramount in studies of the interface morphology of ionomer covered or absorbed catalyst structures in a combination with electrochemical characterization and accelerated stress test. The electrode porosity was found to depend on the ionomer content. The stressed electrodes demonstrated higher porosity in comparison to the unstressed ones on the condition of no external mechanical pressure. Moreover, formation of additional small grains was observed for the electrodes with the low ionomer content, indicating Pt redeposition through Ostwald ripening. Polymer nanofiber structures were found in the crack regions of the catalyst layer, which appear due to the internal stress originated from the solvent evaporation. These fibers have fairly uniform diameters of a few tens of nanometers, and their density increases with the increasing ionomer content in the electrodes. In the hot-pressed electrodes, we found more closed contact between the electrode components, reduced particle size, polymer coalescence and formation of nano-sized polymer fiber architecture between the particles.

Graphite-graphite oxide composite electrode for vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Wenyue; Liu Jianguo; Yan Chuanwei

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A new composite electrode is designed for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). → The graphite oxide (GO) is used as electrode reactions catalyst. → The excellent electrode activity is attributed to the oxygen-containing groups attached on the GO surface. → A catalytic mechanism of the GO towards the redox reactions is presumed. - Abstract: A graphite/graphite oxide (GO) composite electrode for vanadium redox battery (VRB) was prepared successfully in this paper. The materials were characterized with X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The specific surface area was measured by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The redox reactions of [VO 2 ] + /[VO] 2+ and V 3+ /V 2+ were studied with cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results indicated that the electrochemical performances of the electrode were improved greatly when 3 wt% GO was added into graphite electrode. The redox peak currents of [VO 2 ] + /[VO] 2+ and V 3+ /V 2+ couples on the composite electrode were increased nearly twice as large as that on the graphite electrode, and the charge transfer resistances of the redox pairs on the composite electrode are also reduced. The enhanced electrochemical activity could be ascribed to the presence of plentiful oxygen functional groups on the basal planes and sheet edges of the GO and large specific surface areas introduced by the GO.

Non-abelian bosonization in higher genus Riemann surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, I.G.; Yu, M.

1988-01-01

We propose a generalization of the character formulas of the SU(2) Kac-Moody algebra to higher genus Riemann surfaces. With this construction, we show that the modular invariant partition funciton of the SO(4) k = 1 Wess-Zumino model is equivalent, in arbitrary genus Riemann surfaces, to that of free fermion theory. (orig.)

Adsorption on smooth electrodes: A radiotracer study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice-Jackson, L.M.

1990-01-01

Adsorption on solids is a complicated process and in most cases, occurs as the early stage of other more complicated processes, i.e. chemical reactions, electrooxidation, electroreduction. The research reported here combines the electroanalytical method, cyclic voltammetry, and the use of radio-labeled isotopes, soft beta emitters, to study adsorption processes at smooth electrodes. The in-situ radiotracer method is highly anion (molecule) specific and provides information on the structure and composition of the electric double layer. The emphasis of this research was on studying adsorption processes at smooth electrodes of copper, gold, and platinum. The application of the radiotracer method to these smooth surfaces have led to direct in-situ measurements from which surface coverage was determined; anions and molecules were identified; and weak interactions of adsorbates with the surface of the electrodes were readily monitored. 179 refs

Reusable urine glucose sensor based on functionalized graphene oxide conjugated Au electrode with protective layers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hye Youn Kim

2014-09-01

Full Text Available An electrochemical based system with multiple layers coated on a functionalized graphene oxide Au electrode was developed to measure glucose concentration in urine in a more stable way. Two types of gold printed circuit boards were fabricated and graphene oxide was immobilized on their surface by chemical adsorption. Multiple layers, composed of a couple of polymers, were uniformly coated on the surface electrode. This device exhibited higher electrochemical responses against glucose, a greater resistivity in the presence of interferential substances in urine, and durable stabilities for longer periods of time than conventional units. The efficiency in current level according to the order and ratio of solution was evaluated during the immobilization of the layer. The fabricated electrodes were then also evaluated using hyperglycemic clinical samples and compared with the patterns of blood glucose measured with commercially available glucose meters. Our findings show that not only was their pattern similar but this similarity is well correlated.

Surface-treated carbon electrodes with modified potential of zero charge for capacitive deionization.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tingting; Wang, Gang; Zhan, Fei; Dong, Qiang; Ren, Qidi; Wang, Jianren; Qiu, Jieshan

2016-04-15

The potential of zero charge (Epzc) of electrodes can greatly influence the salt removal capacity, charge efficiency and cyclic stability of capacitive deionization (CDI). Thus optimizing the Epzc of CDI electrodes is of great importance. A simple strategy to negatively shift the Epzc of CDI electrodes by modifying commercial activated carbon with quaternized poly (4-vinylpyridine) (AC-QPVP) is reported in this work. The Epzc of the prepared AC-QPVP composite electrode is as negative as -0.745 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Benefiting from the optimized Epzc of electrodes, the asymmetric CDI cell which consists of the AC-QPVP electrode and a nitric acid treated activated carbon (AC-HNO3) electrode exhibits excellent CDI performance. For inverted CDI, the working potential window of the asymmetric CDI cell can reach 1.4 V, and its salt removal capacity can be as high as 9.6 mg/g. For extended voltage CDI, the salt removal capacity of the asymmetric CDI cell at 1.2/-1.2 V is 20.6 mg/g, which is comparable to that of membrane CDI using pristine activated carbon as the electrodes (19.5 mg/g). The present work provides a simple method to prepare highly positively charged CDI electrodes and may pave the way for the development of high-performance CDI cells. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Graphene-Based Binder-Free Electrodes for High-Performance Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Junyi; Li, Yang; Peng, Wenchao; Zhang, Guoliang; Zhang, Fengbao; Fan, Xiaobin

2015-09-23

The increasing demand for energy has triggered tremendous research effort for the development of high-performance and durable energy-storage devices. Advanced graphene-based electrodes with high electrical conductivity and ion accessibility can exhibit superior electrochemical performance in energy-storage devices. Among them, binder-free configurations can enhance the electron conductivity of the electrode, which leads to a higher capacity by avoiding the addition of non-conductive and inactive binders. Graphene, a 2D material, can be fabricated into a porous and flexible structure with an interconnected conductive network. Such a conductive structure is favorable for both electron and ion transport to the entire electrode surface. In this review, the main processes used to prepare binder-free graphene-based hybrids with high porosity and well-designed electron conductive networks are summarized. Then, the applications of free-standing binder-free graphene-based electrodes in energy-storage devices are discussed. Future research aspects with regard to overcoming the technological bottlenecks are also proposed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High performance methanol-oxygen fuel cell with hollow fiber electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Daniel D. (Inventor); Ingham, John D. (Inventor)

1983-01-01

A methanol/air-oxygen fuel cell including an electrode formed by open-ended ion-exchange hollow fibers having a layer of catalyst deposited on the inner surface thereof and a first current collector in contact with the catalyst layer. A second current collector external of said fibers is provided which is immersed along with the hollow fiber electrode in an aqueous electrolyte body. Upon passage of air or oxygen through the hollow fiber electrode and introduction of methanol into the aqueous electrolyte, a steady current output is obtained. Two embodiments of the fuel cell are disclosed. In the first embodiment the second metal electrode is displaced away from the hollow fiber in the electrolyte body while in the second embodiment a spiral-wrap electrode is provided about the outer surface of the hollow fiber electrode.

Basic electrochemical properties of sputtered gold film electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Libansky, Milan; Zima, Jiri; Barek, Jiri; Reznickova, Alena; Svorcik, Vaclav; Dejmkova, Hana

2017-01-01

Gold nanolayers made by sputtering of pure gold (physical vapour deposition) are commonly used for many biophysical and material applications. However, the use of sputtering method for fabrication of working electrodes for electroanalytical purposes is less common. This paper focuses on the testing and characterization of sputtered working roughened gold nanostructured film electrodes, which fall into category of upcoming desirable new generation of nanostructured gold working electrodes. Gold nanostructured films (80 nm thin) were sputtered onto 50 μm thin PTFE substrates with three different types of treatment: pristine, plasma treated, and plasma treated and subsequently spontaneously grafted with biphenyl-4,4′-dithiol. The characterization of gold nanostructured film electrodes was carried out by examination of the electrode reaction of standard redox probes (ferrocyanide/ferricyanide, hydroquinone/benzoquinone) in different types of supporting electrolytes (BR buffers of various pH, KCl, KNO 3 , H 2 SO 4 ), by exploration of the electrode surface by scanning electron microscopy, by atomic force microscopy accompanied by elementary analysis and contact angle measurements. The testing of electrodes was complemented by an attempt to calculate their real surface areas from Randles-Sevcik equation. All results were compared to conventional bulk gold electrode. The practical applicability of the nanostructured gold electrodes as sensors for the determination of environmental pollutants was verified by voltammetric determination of hydroquinone as a model electrochemically oxidisable organic environmental pollutant.

HVDC Ground Electrodes - a Source of Geophysical Data

Science.gov (United States)

Freire, P. F.; Pereira, S. Y.

2015-12-01

The HVDC electrode is a component of a High Voltage Direct Current energy transmission system, and is designed to inject into the ground continuous currents up to 3500 A. The typical HVDC ground electrode is a ring of vertical conductors, 1 km wide, buried a few tens of meters.The design of a HVDC electrode is based on extensive geological, geotechnical and geophysical surveys. Geophysical data are usually electrical (VES) and electromagnetic (TEM/MT) acquisitions, for the modeling of the shallow, near-surface and deep layers of the crust. This survey aims, first, the electrode site selection, and then, at the selected site, this data is combined into a single apparent resistivity curve, which is inverted, allowing for the determination of the layered geoelectric crust model. The injection of electrical continuous current in the electrode is then simulated, with the geoelectric crust model, for the determination of the soil surface potential profile (which is usually asymmetric for different directions, due to non-1D geoelectric models).For the commissioning of a HVDC electrode, field measurements are done, such as electrode grounding resistance, soil surface potentials and metal-to-soil potentials at specific structures (buried pipelines, for instance).The geophysical data acquired during the design phase is a set of data completely independent from the electrical data acquired during the electrode commissioning phase, and both are correlated by the geoelectric model. It happens, therefore, that the geoelectric model can be calibrated based on the electrical data, with the correction of static shifts and other adjustments.This paper suggests that the commissioning of HVDC systems should be associated to a research & development program, with a university or foundation. The idea is to enjoy the opportunity of a more complete field survey, with the acquisition of a wide set of data for a better geological characterization of the area where the electrode was built.

Effects of ion implantation on the electrochemical characteristics of carbon electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Katsuo; Iwaki, Masaya

1994-01-01

Various carbon materials are important electrode materials for electrochemical field. By ion implantation, the surface layer reforming of carbon materials (mainly galssy carbon) was carried out, and the effect that it exerts to their electrode characteristics was investigated. As the results of the ion implantation of Li, N, O, K, Ti, Zn, Cd and others performed so far, it was found that mainly by the change of the surface layer to amorphous state, there were the effects of the lowering of base current and the lowering of electrode reaction rate, and it was known that the surface layers of carbon materials doped with various kinds of ions showed high chemical stability. The use of carbon materials as electrodes in electrochemistry is roughly divided into the electrodes for electrolytic industry and fuel cells for large current and those for the measurement in electrochemical reaction for small current. The structure of carbon materials and electrode characteristics, and the reforming effect by ion implantation are reported. (K.I.)

High Speed, Low Cost Fabrication of Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Membrane Electrode Assemblies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeCastro, Emory S.; Tsou, Yu-Min; Liu, Zhenyu

2013-09-20

Fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) depends on creating inks or pastes of catalyst and binder, and applying this suspension to either the membrane (catalyst coated membrane) or gas diffusion media (gas diffusion electrode) and respectively laminating either gas diffusion media or gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to the membrane. One barrier to cost effective fabrication for either of these approaches is the development of stable and consistent suspensions. This program investigated the fundamental forces that destabilize the suspensions and developed innovative approaches to create new, highly stable formulations. These more concentrated formulations needed fewer application passes, could be coated over longer and wider substrates, and resulted in significantly lower coating defects. In March of 2012 BASF Fuel Cell released a new high temperature product based on these advances, whereby our customers received higher performing, more uniform MEAs resulting in higher stack build yields. Furthermore, these new materials resulted in an “instant” increase in capacity due to higher product yields and material throughput. Although not part of the original scope of this program, these new formulations have also led us to materials that demonstrate equivalent performance with 30% less precious metal in the anode. This program has achieved two key milestones in DOE’s Manufacturing R&D program: demonstration of processes for direct coating of electrodes and continuous in-line measurement for component fabrication.

SO(N) WZNW models on higher-genus Riemann surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alimohammadi, M.; Arfaei, H.; Bonn Univ.

1993-08-01

With the help of the string functions and fusion rules of SO(2N) 1 , we show that the results on SU(N) 1 correlators on higher-genus Riemann surfaces (HGRS) can be extended to the SO(2N) 1 and other level-one simply-laced WZNW models. Using modular invariance and factorization properties of Green functions we find multipoint correlators of primary and descendant fields of SO(2N+1) 1 WZNW models on higher genus Riemann surfaces. (orig.)

Investigation of the characteristics of atmospheric pressure surface barrier discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Rui; Zhan Rujuan; Wen Xiaohui; Wang Lei

2003-01-01

Experiments were performed on atmospheric pressure surface barrier discharges. Two types of panels were used. Both have pectinate high voltage electrodes on their upper surface, but the difference is that in type I, the grounded electrode consists of the same pectinate electrodes on the lower surface, whereas type II has an extended grounded plane electrode on the lower surface. The excitation temperature was determined from a Fermi-Dirac model and a temperature near 0.7 eV is obtained. The electron density was estimated from an electrical conductivity approach (Ohmic heating model) - an equivalent circuit model is proposed and the electron density is found to be of the order of 10 11 cm -3 . The electrical behaviour was studied, and it was found that the average power consumed in the discharge plasma increases with increasing strip width in the type I discharge, whereas it remains almost constant with increasing strip width in the type II discharge. The average discharge power remains almost constant with variation in the strip-to-strip distance. The type II discharge consumes much higher average discharge power than type I. We also find that panels with a larger height of high voltage electrodes can generate brighter and thicker discharge plasmas. The equivalent circuit model was used to interpret these phenomena

High-performance Supercapacitors Based on Electrochemical-induced Vertical-aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Polyaniline Nanocomposite Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Guan; Tan, Pengfeng; Wang, Dongxing; Li, Zhe; Peng, Lu; Hu, Ying; Wang, Caifeng; Zhu, Wei; Chen, Su; Chen, Wei

2017-03-01

Supercapacitors, which store electrical energy through reversible ion on the surface of conductive electrodes have gained enormous attention for variously portable energy storage devices. Since the capacitive performance is mainly determined by the structural and electrochemical properties of electrodes, the electrodes become more crucial to higher performance. However, due to the disordered microstructure and low electrochemical activity of electrode for ion tortuous migration and accumulation, the supercapacitors present relatively low capacitance and energy density. Here we report a high-performance supercapacitor based on polyaniline/vertical-aligned carbon nanotubes (PANI/VA-CNTs) nanocomposite electrodes where the vertical-aligned-structure is formed by the electrochemical-induction (0.75 V). The supercapacitor displays large specific capacitance of 403.3 F g-1, which is 6 times higher than disordered CNTs in HClO4 electrolyte. Additionally, the supercapacitor can also present high specific capacitance (314.6 F g-1), excellent cycling stability (90.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 4 A g-1) and high energy density (98.1 Wh kg-1) in EMIBF4 organic electrolyte. The key to high-performance lies in the vertical-aligned-structure providing direct path channel for ion faster diffusion and high electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline for ion more accommodation.

High-performance Supercapacitors Based on Electrochemical-induced Vertical-aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Polyaniline Nanocomposite Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Guan; Tan, Pengfeng; Wang, Dongxing; Li, Zhe; Peng, Lu; Hu, Ying; Wang, Caifeng; Zhu, Wei; Chen, Su; Chen, Wei

2017-03-08

Supercapacitors, which store electrical energy through reversible ion on the surface of conductive electrodes have gained enormous attention for variously portable energy storage devices. Since the capacitive performance is mainly determined by the structural and electrochemical properties of electrodes, the electrodes become more crucial to higher performance. However, due to the disordered microstructure and low electrochemical activity of electrode for ion tortuous migration and accumulation, the supercapacitors present relatively low capacitance and energy density. Here we report a high-performance supercapacitor based on polyaniline/vertical-aligned carbon nanotubes (PANI/VA-CNTs) nanocomposite electrodes where the vertical-aligned-structure is formed by the electrochemical-induction (0.75 V). The supercapacitor displays large specific capacitance of 403.3 F g -1 , which is 6 times higher than disordered CNTs in HClO 4 electrolyte. Additionally, the supercapacitor can also present high specific capacitance (314.6 F g -1 ), excellent cycling stability (90.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 4 A g -1 ) and high energy density (98.1 Wh kg -1 ) in EMIBF 4 organic electrolyte. The key to high-performance lies in the vertical-aligned-structure providing direct path channel for ion faster diffusion and high electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline for ion more accommodation.

Recent advances in metal oxide-based electrode architecture design for electrochemical energy storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Jian; Liu, Jinping; Huang, Xintang [Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Li, Yuanyuan [School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China); Yuan, Changzhou; Lou, Xiong Wen [School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (China)

2012-10-02

Metal oxide nanostructures are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors because of their high specific capacity/capacitance, typically 2-3 times higher than that of the carbon/graphite-based materials. However, their cycling stability and rate performance still can not meet the requirements of practical applications. It is therefore urgent to improve their overall device performance, which depends on not only the development of advanced electrode materials but also in a large part ''how to design superior electrode architectures''. In the article, we will review recent advances in strategies for advanced metal oxide-based hybrid nanostructure design, with the focus on the binder-free film/array electrodes. These binder-free electrodes, with the integration of unique merits of each component, can provide larger electrochemically active surface area, faster electron transport and superior ion diffusion, thus leading to substantially improved cycling and rate performance. Several recently emerged concepts of using ordered nanostructure arrays, synergetic core-shell structures, nanostructured current collectors, and flexible paper/textile electrodes will be highlighted, pointing out advantages and challenges where appropriate. Some future electrode design trends and directions are also discussed. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Investigation of electro-optical properties for electrochemical luminescence device with a new electrode structure

Science.gov (United States)

Ok, Jung-Woo; Pooyodying, Pattarapon; Anuntahirunrat, Jirapat; Sung, Youl-Moon

2018-04-01

In this paper, we investigate electrochemical luminescent (ECL) device with a new structure and the ECL cell device with proposed electrode configuration works reliably at AC voltage. In particular, the conventional ECL cell has counter electrodes in which a cathode and an anode are opposed to each other, whereas the proposed structure has parallel electrodes in which a cathode and an anode are arranged on a single substrate. The proposed electrode configuration has a structural feature that electric short-circuiting is less likely to occur during bending than the conventional electrode configuration. The electro-optical characteristics of the new electrode configuration such as the current density, the light emission intensity, and the time evolution of the emission are investigated. The proposed ECL device exhibited higher light emitting efficiency than the conventional structure. Especially, at AC operation mode, the new structure showed the distinctive luminescence characteristic which is combined the first luminescence near the surface of electrode with the delayed second luminescence near the center of between electrodes. It was closely related to the behavior of luminescent particles. The proposed the ECL cell structure is expected to be utilized as a flexible display device by taking advantage of its characteristics and practicality.

Influence of carbon coating on the electrochemical performance of {lambda}-MnO{sub 2} electrode for supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malak-Polaczyk, A. [Poznan Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Chemistry and Technical Electrochemistry; CNRS LRC, Mulhouse (France). Inst. de Sciences des Materiaux de Mulhouse; Vix-Guterl, C. [CNRS LRC, Mulhouse (France). Inst. de Sciences des Materiaux de Mulhouse; Frackowiak, E. [Poznan Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Chemistry and Technical Electrochemistry

2010-07-01

In the present study carbon-coated {lambda}-MnO{sub 2} electrodes were prepared by a simple route. In the first step sugar was pyrolyzed to form a carbon coating on the commercial spinel LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}. As-prepared materials were acid treated which resulted in the formation of {lambda}-MnO{sub 2} coated with carbon. Physical properties, morphology and specific surface area of electrode materials were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and X-ray diffraction and nitrogen sorption measurements. Voltammetry cycling, galvanostatic charge/discharge and impedance spectroscopy measurements performed in two and three electrode cells have been applied in order to measure electrochemical parameters. Neutral Li{sub 2}SO{sub 4} aqueous solution has been selected for electrolytic medium. SEM images confirmed well dispersed carbon particles on the surface of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} spinel. As a result of charge/discharge measurements, electrode with carbon coating showed smaller decrease of capacity at higher current and kept the value of 100Fg{sup -1} at 1Ag{sup -1}. (orig.)

Electrochemical Oxidation of Cyanide Using Platinized Ti Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aušra VALIŪNIENĖ

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The cyanide-containing effluents are dangerous ecological hazards and must be treated before discharging into the environment. Anodic oxidation is one of the best ways to degrade cyanides. Pt anodes as the most efficient material for the cyanide electrochemical degradation are widely used. However, these electrodes are too expensive for industrial purposes. In this work Ti electrodes covered with nano-sized Pt particle layer were prepared and used for the anodic oxidation of cyanide ions. Surface images of Ti electrodes and Ti electrodes covered with different thickness layer of Pt were compared and characterized by the atomic force microscopy (AFM. The products formed in the solution during the CN- ions electrooxidation were examined by the Raman spectroscopy. An electrochemical Fast Fourier transformation (FFT impedance spectroscopy was used to estimate the parameters that reflect real surface roughness of Pt-modified Ti electrodes.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.4.2514

The preparation and performance of calcium carbide-derived carbon/polyaniline composite electrode material for supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Liping; Wang, Xianyou; Li, Na; An, Hongfang; Chen, Huajie [School of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Minister of Education, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105 (China); Wang, Ying; Guo, Jia [School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Hubei 430073 (China)

2010-03-15

Calcium carbide (CaC{sub 2})-derived carbon (CCDC)/polyaniline (PANI) composite materials are prepared by in situ chemical oxidation polymerization of an aniline solution containing well-dispersed CCDC. The structure and morphology of CCDC/PANI composite are characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N{sub 2} sorption isotherms. It has been found that PANI was uniformly deposited on the surface and the inner pores of CCDC. The supercapacitive behaviors of the CCDC/PANI composite materials are investigated with cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge and cycle life measurements. The results show that the CCDC/PANI composite electrodes have higher specific capacitances than the as grown CCDC electrodes and higher stability than the conducting polymers. The capacitance of CCDC/PANI composite electrode is as high as 713.4 F g{sup -1} measured by cyclic voltammetry at 1 mV s{sup -1}. Besides, the capacitance retention of coin supercapacitor remained 80.1% after 1000 cycles. (author)

APPLICATIONS OF A SINGLE CARBON ELECTRODE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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Page 1 ... ABSTRACT: A single carbon electrode used with a common arc welder has been successfully used on steel to weld, to surface harden, to spot weld sheet, to pierce holes and to do simple brazing. ... applications: welding, spot welding, hole piercing, etc. The metal tube holding the carbon electrodes is banded with ...

Formation of macroscopic surface layers on Fe(0) electrocoagulation electrodes during an extended field trial of arsenic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

van Genuchten, Case M; Bandaru, Siva R S; Surorova, Elena; Amrose, Susan E; Gadgil, Ashok J; Peña, Jasquelin

2016-06-01

Extended field trials to remove arsenic (As) via Fe(0) electrocoagulation (EC) have demonstrated consistent As removal from groundwater to concentrations below 10 μg L(-1). However, the coulombic performance of long-term EC field operation is lower than that of laboratory-based systems. Although EC electrodes used over prolonged periods show distinct passivation layers, which have been linked to decreased treatment efficiency, the spatial distribution and mineralogy of such surface layers have not been investigated. In this work, we combine wet chemical measurements with sub-micron-scale chemical maps and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) to determine the chemical composition and mineral phase of surface layers formed during long-term Fe(0) EC treatment. We analyzed Fe(0) EC electrodes used for 3.5 months of daily treatment of As-contaminated groundwater in rural West Bengal, India. We found that the several mm thick layer that formed on cathodes and anodes consisted of primarily magnetite, with minor fractions of goethite. Spatially-resolved SAED patterns also revealed small quantities of CaCO3, Mn oxides, and SiO2, the source of which was the groundwater electrolyte. We propose that the formation of the surface layer contributes to decreased treatment performance by preventing the migration of EC-generated Fe(II) to the bulk electrolyte, where As removal occurs. The trapped Fe(II) subsequently increases the surface layer size at the expense of treatment efficiency. Based on these findings, we discuss several simple and affordable methods to prevent the efficiency loss due to the surface layer, including alternating polarity cycles and cleaning the Fe(0) surface mechanically or via electrolyte scouring. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes on iron electrode surface during hydrogen permeation in borate buffer solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modiano, S.; Carreno, J.A.V.; Fugivara, C.S.; Torresi, R.M.; Vivier, V.; Benedetti, A.V.; Mattos, O.R.

2008-01-01

Hydrogen interaction with oxide films grown on iron electrodes at open circuit potential (E oc ) and in the passive region (+0.30 V ECS ) was studied by chronopotentiometry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The results were obtained in deaerated 0.3 mol L -1 H 3 BO 3 + 0.075 mol L -1 Na 2 B 4 O 7 (BB, pH 8.4) solution before, during and after hydrogen permeation. The iron oxide film modification was also investigated by means of in situ X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) before and during hydrogen permeation. The main conclusion was that the passive film is reduced during the hydrogen diffusion. The hydrogen permeation stabilizes the iron surface at a potential close to the thermodynamic water stability line where hydrogen evolution can occur. The stationary condition required for the determination of the permeation parameters cannot be easily attained on iron surface during hydrogen permeation. Moreover, additional attention must be paid when obtaining the transport parameters using the classical permeation cell

The Joule heating problem in silver nanowire transparent electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Khaligh, H. H.; Xu, L.; Khosropour, A.; Madeira, A.; Romano, M.; Pradére, C.; Tréguer-Delapierre, M.; Servant, L.; Pope, M. A.; Goldthorpe, I. A.

2017-10-01

Silver nanowire transparent electrodes have shown considerable potential to replace conventional transparent conductive materials. However, in this report we show that Joule heating is a unique and serious problem with these electrodes. When conducting current densities encountered in organic solar cells, the average surface temperature of indium tin oxide (ITO) and silver nanowire electrodes, both with sheet resistances of 60 ohms/square, remains below 35 °C. However, in contrast to ITO, the temperature in the nanowire electrode is very non-uniform, with some localized points reaching temperatures above 250 °C. These hotspots accelerate nanowire degradation, leading to electrode failure after 5 days of continuous current flow. We show that graphene, a commonly used passivation layer for these electrodes, slows nanowire degradation and creates a more uniform surface temperature under current flow. However, the graphene does not prevent Joule heating in the nanowires and local points of high temperature ultimately shift the failure mechanism from nanowire degradation to melting of the underlying plastic substrate. In this paper, surface temperature mapping, lifetime testing under current flow, post-mortem analysis, and modelling illuminate the behaviour and failure mechanisms of nanowires under extended current flow and provide guidelines for managing Joule heating.

Electrode redox reactions with polarizable molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Matyushov, Dmitry V.

2018-04-01

A theory of redox reactions involving electron transfer between a metal electrode and a polarizable molecule in solution is formulated. Both the existence of molecular polarizability and its ability to change due to electron transfer distinguish this problem from classical theories of interfacial electrochemistry. When the polarizability is different between the oxidized and reduced states, the statistics of thermal fluctuations driving the reactant over the activation barrier becomes non-Gaussian. The problem of electron transfer is formulated as crossing of two non-parabolic free energy surfaces. An analytical solution for these free energy surfaces is provided and the activation barrier of electrode electron transfer is given in terms of two reorganization energies corresponding to the oxidized and reduced states of the molecule in solution. The new non-Gaussian theory is, therefore, based on two theory parameters in contrast to one-parameter Marcus formulation for electrode reactions. The theory, which is consistent with the Nernst equation, predicts asymmetry between the cathodic and anodic branches of the electrode current. They show different slopes at small electrode overpotentials and become curved at larger overpotentials. However, the curvature of the Tafel plot is reduced compared to the Marcus-Hush model and approaches the empirical Butler-Volmer form with different transfer coefficients for the anodic and cathodic currents.

Laser-Scribed Graphene Electrodes for Aptamer-Based Biosensing

KAUST Repository

Fenzl, Christoph; Nayak, Pranati; Hirsch, Thomas; Wolfbeis, Otto S.; Alshareef, Husam N.; Baeumner, Antje J.

2017-01-01

(LSG) electrodes are demonstrated here as highly sensitive and reliable biosensor transducers in blood serum analysis. These flexible electrodes with large electrochemical surface areas were fabricated using a direct-write laser process on polyimide foils. A

Note: Erosion of W-Ni-Fe and W-Cu alloy electrodes in repetitive spark gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jiawei; Han, Ruoyu; Ding, Weidong; Qiu, Aici; Tang, Junping

2018-02-01

A pair of W-Ni-Fe and W-Cu electrodes were tested under 100 kA level pulsed currents for 10 000 shots, respectively. Surface roughness and morphology characteristics of the two pairs of electrodes were obtained and compared. Experimental results indicated cracks divided the W-Cu electrode surface to polygons while the W-Ni-Fe electrode surface remained as a whole with pits and protrusions. Accordingly, the surface roughness of W-Ni-Fe electrodes increased to ∼3 μm while that of W-Cu electrodes reached ∼7 μm at the end of the test. The results reveal that the W-Ni-Fe alloy has a better erosion resistance and potential to be further applied in spark gaps.

Response surface modelling of tool electrode wear rate and material removal rate in micro electrical discharge machining of Inconel 718

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puthumana, Govindan

2017-01-01

conductivity and high strength causing it extremely difficult tomachine. Micro-Electrical Discharge Machining (Micro-EDM) is a non-conventional method that has a potential toovercome these restrictions for machining of Inconel 718. Response Surface Method (RSM) was used for modelling thetool Electrode Wear...

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid using a single layer of gold nanoparticles immobilized on 1,6-hexanedithiol modified gold electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivanesan, A.; Kannan, P.; Abraham John, S.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) in phosphate buffer solution by the immobilized citrate capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on 1,6-hexanedithiol (HDT) modified Au electrode. X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) of HDT suggests that it forms a monolayer on Au surface through one of the two -SH groups and the other -SH group is pointing away from the electrode surface. The free -SH groups of HDT were used to covalently attach colloidal AuNPs. The covalent attachment of AuNPs on HDT monolayer was confirmed from the observed characteristic carboxylate ion stretching modes of citrate attached with AuNPs in the infra-red reflection absorption spectrum (IRRAS) in addition to a higher reductive desorption charges obtained for AuNPs immobilized on HDT modified Au (Au/HDT/AuNPs) electrode in 0.1 M KOH when compared to HDT modified Au (Au/HDT) electrode. The electron transfer reaction of [Fe(CN) 6 ] 4-/3- was markedly hindered at the HDT modified Au (Au/HDT) electrode while it was restored with a peak separation of 74 mV after the immobilization of AuNPs on Au/HDT (Au/HDT/AuNPs) electrode indicating a good electronic communication between the immobilized AuNPs and the underlying bulk Au electrode through a HDT monolayer. The Cottrell slope obtained from the potential-step chronoamperometric measurements for the reduction of ferricyanide at Au/HDT/AuNPs was higher than that of bare Au electrode indicating the increased effective surface area of AuNPs modified electrode. The Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) by enhancing the oxidation peak current to more than two times with a 210 mV negative shift in the oxidation potential when compared to a bare Au electrode. The standard heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k s ) calculated for AA oxidation at Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode was 5.4 x 10 -3 cm s -1 . The oxidation peak of AA at Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode was

Preparation of nitrogen-doped cotton stalk microporous activated carbon fiber electrodes with different surface area from hexamethylenetetramine-modified cotton stalk for electrochemical degradation of methylene blue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunquan Li

Full Text Available Cotton-stalk activated carbon fibers (CSCFs with controllable micropore area and nitrogen content were prepared as an efficient electrode from hexamethylenetetramine-modified cotton stalk by steam/ammonia activation. The influence of microporous area, nitrogen content, voltage and initial concentration on the electrical degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB was evaluated by using CSCFs as anode. Results showed that the CSCF electrodes exhibited excellent MB electrochemical degradation ability including decolorization and COD removal. Increasing micropore surface area and nitrogen content of CSCF anode leaded to a corresponding increase in MB removal. The prepared CSCF-800-15-N, which has highest N content but lowest microporous area, attained the best degradation effect with 97% MB decolorization ratio for 5 mg/L MB at 12 V in 4 h, implying the doped nitrogen played a prominent role in improving the electrochemical degradation ability. The electrical degradation reaction was well described by first-order kinetics model. Overall, the aforesaid findings suggested that the nitrogen-doped CSCFs were potential electrode materials, and their electrical degradation abilities could be effectively enhanced by controlling the nitrogen content and micropore surface area. Keywords: Cotton stalk, Nitrogen content, Electrode, Surface area, Methylene blue

mwnts composite film modified glassy carbon electrode

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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ABSTRACT: A poly p-aminosalicylic acid (Poly(p-ASA)) and multiwall carbon nanotubes. (MWCNTs) composite modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was constructed by casting the MWNTs on the GC electrode surface followed by electropolymerization of the p-ASA on the MWCNTs/GCE. The electrochemical behaviours ...

Using oxygen plasma treatment to improve the performance of electrodes for capacitive water deionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hojati-Talemi, Pejman; Zou, Linda; Fabretto, Manrico; Short, Robert D.

2013-01-01

An oxygen plasma treatment was employed to modify the surface of carbon electrodes used in capacitive deionization (CDI). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of samples showed that oxygen plasma is mainly attaching oxygenated groups on the PTFE binder used in these electrodes. By functionalizing the binder it can increase the hydrophilicity of the electrode surface and increase the available specific surface area. 2.5 min of plasma treatment resulted in the largest improvement of CDI performance of electrodes. Thermodynamic study of CDI performance showed that the modified electrodes followed Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms resulting from the increased interaction between the enhanced electrodes and water. The kinetic study showed that the CDI process followed a pseudo-first order adsorption kinetics. The calculated adsorption rate constants suggested that plasma modification can accelerate ion adsorption of electrodes

Surface modification of amine-functionalised graphite for preparation of cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF)-modified electrode: an amperometric sensor for determination of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA).

Science.gov (United States)

Prabakar, S J Richard; Narayanan, S Sriman

2006-12-01

A cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF)-modified graphite paraffin wax composite electrode was prepared by a new approach. An amine-functionalised graphite powder was used for the fabrication of the electrode. A functionalised graphite paraffin wax composite electrode was prepared and the surface of the electrode was modified with a thin film of CoHCF. Various parameters that influence the electrochemical behaviour of the modified electrode were studied by varying the background electrolytes, scan rates and pH. The modified electrode showed good electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) under optimal conditions and showed a linear response over the range from 7.9 x 10(-7) to 1.9 x 10(-4) M of BHA with a correlation coefficient of 0.9988. The limit of detection was 1.9 x 10(-7) M. Electrocatalytic oxidation of BHA was effective at the modified electrode at a significantly reduced potential and at a broader pH range. The utility of the modified electrode as an amperometric sensor for the determination of BHA in flow systems was evaluated by carrying out hydrodynamic and chronoamperometric experiments. The modified electrode showed very good stability and a longer shelf life. The modified electrode was applied for the determination of BHA in spiked samples of chewing gum and edible sunflower oil. The advantage of this method is the ease of electrode fabrication, good stability, longer shelf life, low cost and its diverse application for BHA determination.

Block Copolymer Patterns as Templates for the Electrocatalyzed Deposition of Nanostructures on Electrodes and for the Generation of Surfaces of Controlled Wettability.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandaluri, Chanchayya Gupta; Pelossof, Gilad; Tel-Vered, Ran; Shenhar, Roy; Willner, Itamar

2016-01-20

ITO electrodes modified with a nanopatterned film of polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine), PS-b-P2VP, where the P2VP domains are quaternized with iodomethane, are used for selective deposition of redox-active materials. Electrochemical studies (cyclic voltammetry, Faradaic impedance measurements) indicate that the PS domains insulate the conductive surface toward redox labels in solution. In turn, the quaternized P2VP domains electrostatically attract negatively charged redox labels solubilized in the electrolyte solution, resulting in an effective electron transfer between the electrode and the redox label. This phenomenon is implemented for the selective deposition of the electroactive Prussian blue on the nanopatterned surface and for the electrochemical deposition of Au nanoparticles, modified with a monolayer of p-aminothiophenol/2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid, on the quaternized P2VP domains. The patterned Prussian blue-modified surface enables controlling the wettability properties by the content of the electrochemically deposited Prussian blue. Controlled wettability is unattainable with the homopolymer-modified surface, attesting to the role of the nanopattern.

Ozone production by an atmospheric pulsed discharge with pre-ionization electrodes and partly covered electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneda, S.; Shimosaki, M.; Hayashi, N.; Ihara, S.; Satoh, S.; Yamabe, C.

2002-01-01

In this paper, results on ozone production by atmospheric pulsed discharge, are reported. In the research, two types of ozonizer (Type I and Type II) have been used to investigate improvements of ozone concentration and production efficiency. The ozonizer has plane-to-plane metal electrodes structure, and pre-ionization electrodes are placed on the high voltage electrodes (Type I). In Type II, the surface of grounded electrode with 20 mm of width is covered partly by dielectric (thin rubber) with 11 mm of width, while the geometry of both metal electrodes is same to Type I. In the case of Type I, maximum concentration of about 100 ppm and maximum yield of 70 g/kWh were obtained at input power of 0.3 W. On the other hands, in the case of Type II, 800 ppm and 100 g/kWh were obtained at input power of 1.5 W. It was found that the ozone concentration and production yield were improved by using electrode covered by dielectric. (author)

Note: a novel vacuum ultraviolet light source assembly with aluminum-coated electrodes for enhancing the ionization efficiency of photoionization mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhixiang; Wang, Jian; Qiu, Keqing; Liu, Chengyuan; Qi, Fei; Pan, Yang

2014-04-01

A novel vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light source assembly (VUVLSA) for enhancing the ionization efficiency of photoionization mass spectrometer has been described. The VUVLSA composes of a Krypton lamp and a pair of disk electrodes with circular center cavities. The two interior surfaces that face the photoionization region were aluminum-coated. VUV light can be reflected back and forth in the photoionization region between the electrodes, thus the photoionization efficiency can be greatly enhanced. The performances of two different shaped electrodes, the coated double flat electrodes (DFE), and double conical electrodes, were studied. We showed that the signal amplification of coated DFE is around 4 times higher than that of uncoated electrodes without VUV light reflection. The relationship between the pressure of ionization chamber and mass signal enhancement has also been studied.

Testing electrode suitability for field stimulation of high-threshold biological preparations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hugo Fernando Maia Milan

Full Text Available IntroductionA problem posed by electrical field (E stimulation of biological preparations with high excitation threshold is that the E intensity required for excitation is likely to induce water electrolysis at the electrode surface, which can alter the extracellular medium and cause deleterious effects on the cells. In this study, different electrode materials and geometries were tested aiming at identifying electrode configurations that could transduce the E intensity required for exciting ventricular cardiomyocytes isolated from neonatal rats (threshold E ~30 V/cm without causing water electrolysis.MethodsWire and plate electrodes made of platinum, stainless steel and nickel/chrome alloy were used. The effect of blasting the electrode surface with sand and NaHCO3 solution was also tested. Electrodes were inserted into a cell perfusion chamber containing the saline solution routinely used for physiological experiments. During E application for 5 min, the electrode surface and its surroundings were examined at high magnification for the presence of microbubbles, which indicates the occurrence of water electrolysis. The greatest E intensity applied that failed to generate microbubbles (En was estimated.ResultsWhile nickel/chrome and stainless steel electrodes resulted in low En values, the best performance was observed for sandblasted platinum wire (2 mm diameter and plate (25 mm x 5 mm; 0.1 mm thickness electrodes, for which Enwas ≥40 V/cm.ConclusionThese electrode configurations are suitable for effective and safe stimulation of isolated neonatal cardiomyocytes.

Silver nanowire-graphene hybrid transparent conductive electrodes for highly efficient inverted organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Neng; Yan, Jielin; Xie, Shuang; Kong, Yuhan; Liang, Tao; Chen, Hongzheng; Xu, Mingsheng

2017-07-01

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and graphene are both promising candidates as a transparent conductive electrode (TCE) to replace expensive and fragile indium tin oxide (ITO) TCE. A synergistically optimized performance is expected when the advantages of AgNWs and graphene are combined. In this paper, the AgNW-graphene hybrid electrode is constructed by depositing a graphene layer on top of the network of AgNWs. Compared with the pristine AgNWs electrode, the AgNW-graphene TCE exhibits reduced sheet resistance, lower surface roughness, excellent long-term stability, and corrosion resistance in corrosive liquids. The graphene layer covering the AgNWs provides additional conduction pathways for electron transport and collection by the electrode. Benefiting from these advantages of the hybrid electrodes, we achieve a power conversion efficiency of 8.12% of inverted organic solar cells using PTB7:PC71BM as the active layer, which is compared to that of the solar cells based on standard ITO TCE but about 10% higher than that based on AgNWs TCE.

Enhanced dopamine detection sensitivity by PEDOT/graphene oxide coating on in vivo carbon fiber electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, I Mitch; Robbins, Elaine M; Catt, Kasey A; Cody, Patrick A; Happe, Cassandra L; Cui, Xinyan Tracy

2017-03-15

Dopamine (DA) is a monoamine neurotransmitter responsible for regulating a variety of vital life functions. In vivo detection of DA poses a challenge due to the low concentration and high speed of physiological signaling. Fast scan cyclic voltammetry at carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFEs) is an effective method to monitor real-time in vivo DA signaling, however the sensitivity is somewhat limited. Electrodeposition of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/graphene oxide (GO) onto the CFE surface is shown to increase the sensitivity and lower the limit of detection for DA compared to bare CFEs. Thicker PEDOT/GO coatings demonstrate higher sensitivities for DA, but display the negative drawback of slow adsorption and electron transfer kinetics. The moderate thickness resulting from 25 s electrodeposition of PEDOT/GO produces the optimal electrode, exhibiting an 880% increase in sensitivity, a 50% decrease in limit of detection and minimally altered electrode kinetics. PEDOT/GO coated electrodes rapidly and robustly detect DA, both in solution and in the rat dorsal striatum. This increase in DA sensitivity is likely due to increasing the electrode surface area with a PEDOT/GO coating and improved adsorption of DA's oxidation product (DA-o-quinone). Increasing DA sensitivity without compromising electrode kinetics is expected to significantly improve our understanding of the DA function in vivo. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of 3D polypyrrole microstructures and their utilization as electrodes in supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Vinh; Zhou, Cheng; Kulinsky, Lawrence; Madou, Marc

2013-12-01

We present a novel fabrication method for constructing three-dimensional (3D) conducting microstructures based on the controlled-growth of electrodeposited polypyrrole (PPy) within a lithographically patterned photoresist layer. PPy thin films, post arrays, suspended planes supported by post arrays and multi-layered PPy structures were fabricated. The performance of supercapacitors based on 3D PPy electrodes doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS-) and perchlorate (ClO4-) anions was studied using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. The highest specific capacitance obtained from the multi-layered PPy(ClO4) electrodes was 401 ± 18 mF cm-2, which is roughly twice as high as the highest specific capacitance of PPy-based supercapacitor reported thus far. The increase in capacitance is the result of higher surface area per unit footprint achieved through the fabrication of multi-layered 3D electrodes.

Surface effects of electrode-dependent switching behavior of resistive random-access memory

KAUST Repository

Ke, Jr Jian; Wei, Tzu Chiao; Tsai, Dung Sheng; Lin, Chun-Ho; He, Jr-Hau

2016-01-01

of the oxygen chemisorption process was proposed to explain this electrode-dependent switching behavior. The temperature-dependent switching voltage demonstrates that the ReRAM devices fabricated with Pt electrodes have a lower activation energy

Polyaniline-deposited porous carbon electrode for supercapacitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W.-C.; Wen, T.-C.; Teng, H.

2003-01-01

Electrodes for supercapacitors were fabricated by depositing polyaniline (PANI) on high surface area carbons. The chemical composition of the PANI-deposited carbon electrode was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of electrodes. An equivalent circuit was proposed to successfully fit the EIS data, and the significant contribution of pseudocapacitance from PANI was thus identified. A comparative analysis on the electrochemical properties of bare-carbon electrodes was also conducted under similar conditions. The performance of the capacitors equipped with the resulting electrodes in 1 M H 2 SO 4 was evaluated by constant current charge-discharge cycling within a potential range from 0 to 0.6 V. The PANI-deposited electrode exhibits high specific capacitance of 180 F/g, in comparison with a value of 92 F/g for the bare-carbon electrode

The application of phase contrast X-ray techniques for imaging Li-ion battery electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eastwood, D.S. [Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Research Complex at Harwell, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0FA (United Kingdom); Bradley, R.S. [Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Tariq, F.; Cooper, S.J. [Dept. Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Taiwo, O.O. [Dept. Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom); Gelb, J.; Merkle, A. [Carl Zeiss X-ray Microscopy Inc., Pleasanton, CA 94588 (United States); Brett, D.J.L. [Dept. Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom); Brandon, N.P. [Dept. Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Withers, P.J.; Lee, P.D. [Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Research Complex at Harwell, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0FA (United Kingdom); Shearing, P.R., E-mail: p.shearing@ucl.ac.uk [Dept. Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom)

2014-04-01

In order to accelerate the commercialization of fuel cells and batteries across a range of applications, an understanding of the mechanisms by which they age and degrade at the microstructural level is required. Here, the most widely commercialized Li-ion batteries based on porous graphite based electrodes which de/intercalate Li{sup +} ions during charge/discharge are studied by two phase contrast enhanced X-ray imaging modes, namely in-line phase contrast and Zernike phase contrast at the micro (synchrotron) and nano (laboratory X-ray microscope) level, respectively. The rate of charge cycling is directly dependent on the nature of the electrode microstructure, which are typically complex multi-scale 3D geometries with significant microstructural heterogeneities. We have been able to characterise the porosity and the tortuosity by micro-CT as well as the morphology of 5 individual graphite particles by nano-tomography finding that while their volume varied significantly their sphericity was surprisingly similar. The volume specific surface areas of the individual grains measured by nano-CT are significantly larger than the total volume specific surface area of the electrode from the micro-CT imaging, which can be attributed to the greater particle surface area visible at higher resolution.

Nanostructured gold and platinum electrodes on silicon structures for biosensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogurtsov, V I; Sheehan, M M

2005-01-01

Gold and platinum metal electrodes on Si/SiO 2 having undergone anisotropic potassium hydroxide (KOH) etch treatment are considered. This treatment etches at different rates and directions in the material resulting in creation of numerous pyramid shaped holes in the silicon substrate. This surface is used to make metal electrodes with increased electrode efficiency. The electrodes can serve as the sensors or as the sensor substrates (for surface polymer modification) and because both gold and platinum are inert they have applications for food safety biosensing. Wine, an economically significant food product, was chosen as a matrix, and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was selected as a method of investigation of electrode behaviour. Based on results of EIS, different complexity equivalent circuits were determined by applying fitting mean square root optimisation of sensor complex impedance measurements

Evaluation of calcium alginate gel as electrode material for alternating current iontophoresis of lidocaine using excised rat skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebisawa, Tomoko; Nakajima, Atsushi; Haida, Haruka; Wakita, Ryo; Ando, Shizuka; Yoshioka, Tomohiko; Ikoma, Toshiyuki; Tanaka, Junzo; Fukayama, Haruhisa

2014-06-27

Iontophoresis (IOP) is a noninvasive method of delivering medication transcutaneously through the skin. The electrodes used in this method should tightly fit to rough and irregular surfaces and be biologically safe, easy to handle and prepare, and cost-effective. To satisfy these requirements, calcium alginate gel can be a candidate electrode for IOP. Using calcium alginate gel electrodes, we examined whether lidocaine can be effectively transported across an excised rat skin by squarewave alternating current (AC) application. A squarewave AC with either a 70% or 80% duty cycle was continuously applied to 0.5% calcium alginate gel electrodes containing 10% lidocaine at 10 V and 1 kHz for 60 min. Lidocaine concentration was measured using a spectrophotometer and the temperature of the gel was determined. The lidocaine concentrations for AC-IOP at the 70% and 80% duty cycles were significantly higher than that without AC-IOP. Furthermore, the group with the 80% duty cycle showed higher lidocaine concentrations than the group with the 70% duty cycle. The temperatures of all the groups were lower than 28 °C throughout the procedure. In conclusion, the calcium alginate gel can be used as a possible matrix for IOP electrodes.

Method of bonding a conductive layer on an electrode of an electrochemical cell

Science.gov (United States)

Bowker, Jeffrey C.; Singh, Prabhakar

1989-01-01

A dense, electronically conductive interconnection layer 26 is bonded onto a porous, tubular, electronically conductive air electrode structure 16, optionally supported by a ceramic support 22, by (A) providing an air electrode surface, (B) forming on a selected portion of the electrode surface 24, without the use of pressure, particles of LaCrO.sub.3 doped with an element selected from the group consisting of Sr, Mg, Ca, Ba, Co, and mixtures thereof, where the particles have a deposit on their surface comprising calcium oxide and chromium oxide; (C) heating the particles with the oxide surface deposit in an oxidizing atmosphere at from 1,300.degree. C. to 1,550.degree. C., without the application of pressure, to provide a dense, sintered, interconnection material 26 bonded to the air electrode 16, where calcium and chromium from the surface deposit are incorporated into the structure of the LaCrO.sub.3. A solid electrolyte layer 18 can be applied to the uncovered portion of the air electrode, and a fuel electrode 20 can be applied to the solid electrolyte, to provide an electrochemical cell 10.

In situ generation of diazonium cations in organic electrolyte for electrochemical modification of electrode surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranton, Steve; Belanger, Daniel

2008-01-01

The modification of glassy carbon electrode was achieved by electrochemical reduction of in situ generated diazonium cations in acetonitrile. The in situ generation of 4-nitrophenyl diazonium cations in acetonitrile was investigated by spectroscopic methods. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed slow kinetics for the reaction of 4-nitroaniline with tert-butylnitrite in acetonitrile to form the corresponding diazonium cation. As a result, a coupling reaction, which implies a consumption of the amine and loss of the already formed diazonium cations, was evidenced by 1 H NMR spectroscopy. This spectroscopic study allowed the optimization of the in situ diazonium cations generation prior to the modification step. The electrochemical modification of the carbon electrodes with 4-nitrophenyl, 4-bromophenyl and anthraquinone groups was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and the resulting grafted layer were characterized by electrochemical techniques. The cyclic voltammetric behaviour during the electrochemical grafting was very similar to the one observed for an isolated diazonium salt dissolved in acetonitrile. In the case of the anthraquinone-modified electrode, the use of acetonitrile, into which the corresponding amine is soluble but not in aqueous media, allowed for its grafting by the in situ approach. The barrier properties of these grafted layers are similar to those obtained from isolated diazonium salts. Finally, the chemical composition of the grafted layers was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface coverage in the range 5-7 x 10 -10 mol cm -2 was estimated for films grown in our experimental conditions

In situ generation of diazonium cations in organic electrolyte for electrochemical modification of electrode surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baranton, Steve [Departement de Chimie, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Case Postale 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal (Quebec), H3C 3P8 (Canada); Belanger, Daniel [Departement de Chimie, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Case Postale 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal (Quebec), H3C 3P8 (Canada)], E-mail: belanger.daniel@uqam.ca

2008-10-01

The modification of glassy carbon electrode was achieved by electrochemical reduction of in situ generated diazonium cations in acetonitrile. The in situ generation of 4-nitrophenyl diazonium cations in acetonitrile was investigated by spectroscopic methods. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed slow kinetics for the reaction of 4-nitroaniline with tert-butylnitrite in acetonitrile to form the corresponding diazonium cation. As a result, a coupling reaction, which implies a consumption of the amine and loss of the already formed diazonium cations, was evidenced by {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy. This spectroscopic study allowed the optimization of the in situ diazonium cations generation prior to the modification step. The electrochemical modification of the carbon electrodes with 4-nitrophenyl, 4-bromophenyl and anthraquinone groups was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and the resulting grafted layer were characterized by electrochemical techniques. The cyclic voltammetric behaviour during the electrochemical grafting was very similar to the one observed for an isolated diazonium salt dissolved in acetonitrile. In the case of the anthraquinone-modified electrode, the use of acetonitrile, into which the corresponding amine is soluble but not in aqueous media, allowed for its grafting by the in situ approach. The barrier properties of these grafted layers are similar to those obtained from isolated diazonium salts. Finally, the chemical composition of the grafted layers was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface coverage in the range 5-7 x 10{sup -10} mol cm{sup -2} was estimated for films grown in our experimental conditions.

On the modeling of electrical boundary layer (electrode layer) and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In the first part of the paper, equations and methodology are discussed and in the second, we discuss results. 2. Methodology. In the atmospheric electricity, the earth's surface is one electrode and electrode layer or electrical boundary layer is a region near the surface of the earth in which profiles of atmospheric electrical.

The investigation of movement dynamics of an AC electric arc attachment along the working surface of a hollow cylindrical electrode under the action of gas-dynamic and electromagnetic forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surov, A V; Popov, S D; Serba, E O; Nakonechny, G V; Spodobin, V A; Ovchinnikov, R V; Kumkova, I I; Shabalin, S A

2012-01-01

Stationary electric arc alternating current plasma torches are used today for realization of plasma chemical technologies requiring relatively high energy input. Waste treatment is one these directions. The paper reports on experiment results directed towards the increase in the lifetime characteristics of electrode units of the powerful high-voltage electric-arc AC plasma torches. The solution to the problem of obtainment the uniform wear of a copper hollow cylindrical electrode achieved by the controlled movement of the arc attachment along the working surface was offered. Organization of gas supply in the near electrode area and application of alternating magnetic field ensured movement of arc attachment along the surface with average speed from 2 to 14 m/s. Arc current was about 47 A and 84 A, gas flow rate in near electrode area was about 5 and 4.5 g/s. Due to researches on the experimental prototype of a hollow cylindrical electrode, the erosion of its material reached only 3 μg/C, that enables production of the electrode assembly with life time above 1000 hours at currents in the arc up to 100–200 A.

Biosensor based on laccase immobilized on plasma polymerized allylamine/carbon electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ardhaoui, Malika, E-mail: malika.ardhaoui@ucd.ie [Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Plasma et Traitements de Surface, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris (France); Laboratoire Charles Friedel, CNRS UMR 7223, Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Surface Engineering Research Group, School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Bhatt, Sudhir [Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Plasma et Traitements de Surface, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris (France); Zheng, Meihui [Laboratoire Charles Friedel, CNRS UMR 7223, Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Dowling, Denis [Surface Engineering Research Group, School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Jolivalt, Claude [Laboratoire Charles Friedel, CNRS UMR 7223, Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Khonsari, Farzaneh Arefi [Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Plasma et Traitements de Surface, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Chimie ParisTech, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris (France)

2013-08-01

In this work, a simple and rapid method was used to functionalize carbon electrode in order to efficiently immobilize laccase for biosensor application. A stable allylamine coating was deposited using a low pressure inductively excited RF tubular plasma reactor under mild plasma conditions (low plasma power (10 W), few minutes) to generate high density amine groups (N/C ratio up to 0.18) on rough carbon surface electrodes. The longer was the allylamine plasma deposition time; the better was the surface coverage. Laccase from Trametes versicolor was physisorbed and covalently bound to these allylamine modified carbon surfaces. The laccase activities and current outputs measured in the presence of 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazole-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) showed that the best efficiency was obtained for electrode plasma coated during 30 min. They showed also that for all the tested electrodes, the activities and current outputs of the covalently immobilized laccases were twice higher than the physically adsorbed ones. The sensitivity of these biocompatible bioelectrodes was evaluated by measuring their catalytic efficiency for oxygen reduction in the presence of ABTS as non-phenolic redox substrate and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) as phenolic one. Sensitivities of around 4.8 μA mg{sup −1} L and 2.7 μA mg{sup −1} L were attained for ABTS and DMP respectively. An excellent stability of this laccase biosensor was observed for over 6 months. - Highlights: • Low pressure plasma was used to generate stable allylamine coating. • Laccase from Trametes versicolor was physisorbed and covalently immobilized. • Best biosensor efficiency obtained for the covalently immobilized laccases • Sensitivities of 4.8 μA mg{sup −1} L and 2.7 μA mg{sup −1} L for ABTS and DMP respectively.

A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF ELECTROMYOGRAMS OF THE MASSETER, TEMPORALIS, AND ANTERIOR DIGASTRIC MUSCLES OBTAINED BY SURFACE AND INTRAMUSCULAR ELECTRODES - RAW-EMG

NARCIS (Netherlands)

KOOLE, P; DEJONGH, HJ; BOERING, G

Electromyographic activity was synchronously recorded by surface and intramuscular electrodes in the same muscle. The activity of the left masseter, left temporalis, and both bellies of the anterior digastric muscle was studied by this double registration technique. In rest position no

Electrochemical, interfacial, and surface studies of the conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid fuels on tin electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jingjie

maximize the triple phase boundary length for simultaneous high current density and selectivity towards formate formation (Chapter 3). The Sn GDEs was incorporated into a home-designed scalable full electrochemical cell which features a buffer layer of circulating liquid electrolyte mediating the proton concentration at cathode electrode surface. The Sn GDEs exhibited excellent short-term performance for CO2 reduction with high selectivity towards formate formation at low overpotentials in the full electrochemical cell. Additionally, coupling water oxidation and CO2 reduction was demonstrated in this full electrochemical cell to mimic biosynthesis (Chapter 4). The rapid degradation of selectivity towards formate formation on Sn GDEs in the full electrochemical cell, however, was observed during long-term operation. The degradation mechanism was unraveled due to the decrease of electrode potential resulted from substantial increase of internal ohmic resistance of the full electrochemical cell. The unexpected rise of internal ohmic resistance was attributed to the pulverization of 100 nm Sn nanoparticles due to the hydrogen diffusion induced stress. Based on the understanding of the origin of Sn nanoparticles pulverization, SnO2 nanoparticles of 3˜3.5 nm close to the critical size were utilized and reduced in situ to form Sn catalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO2. The pulverization was suppressed and subsequently a stable performance of electrodes was obtained (Chapter 5). Due to the affinity to oxygen, Sn nanoparticle surface is covered by a native thin oxide layer. The performance of Sn GDEs towards CO2 reduction strongly depends on the initial thickness of the surface oxide layer. The selectivity towards formate production dropped while the hydrogen yield increased as the initial thickness of the oxide layer increased (Chapter 6). These results suggest the underlying of surface structure on the selectivity of Sn electrode for CO2 reduction and provide insight into

3D direct writing fabrication of electrodes for electrochemical storage devices

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Min; Zhang, Feng; Wang, Wei; Alexandridis, Paschalis; Zhou, Chi; Wu, Gang

2017-06-01

Among different printing techniques, direct ink writing is commonly used to fabricate 3D battery and supercapacitor electrodes. The major advantages of using the direct ink writing include effectively building 3D structure for energy storage devices and providing higher power density and higher energy density than traditional techniques due to the increased surface area of electrode. Nevertheless, direct ink writing has high standards for the printing inks, which requires high viscosity, high yield stress under shear and compression, and well-controlled viscoelasticity. Recently, a number of 3D-printed energy storage devices have been reported, and it is very important to understand the printing process and the ink preparation process for further material design and technology development. We discussed current progress of direct ink writing technologies by using various electrode materials including carbon nanotube-based material, graphene-based material, LTO (Li4Ti5O12), LFP (LiFePO4), LiMn1-xFexPO4, and Zn-based metallic oxide. Based on achieve electrochemical performance, these 3D-printed devices deliver performance comparable to the energy storage device fabricated using traditional methods still leaving large room for further improvement. Finally, perspectives are provided on the potential future direction of 3D printing for all solid-state electrochemical energy storage devices.

Evaluation of electrode surface modification techniques for the development of chemical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galiatsatos, C.

1988-01-01

This thesis covers several aspects of electrode surface modification techniques. The successful application of gamma-radiation to create polymer-coated electrodes, where the polymers can be ion exchangers and consequently of great analytical interest by themselves (such as the polymer poly(diallyl) dimethyl ammonium chloride) or where some other neutral polymers can function as convenient matrices for the introduction of biomolecules and/or other electrochemically interesting species is reported. This is demonstrated by using the neutral polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) as a matrix for immobilization of the enzyme glucose oxidase and the mediator methyl viologen. The effect of γ-radiation on PVAL is discussed, as well as swelling properties of the irradiated polymers and specific characteristics of the created chemical sensors. Results of an experiment where the various kinds of interactions between the ion-exchange polymer Nafion and some positively charged species are explored are reported, and a model system for competition (methyl viologen vs. ruthenium hexaamine) which increases significantly our understanding of the interaction is mentioned. The effect of γ-radiation on Nafion and its ion-exchange compabilities is discussed also. A system of conduction polymers primarily polypyrrole, used as a detector of electroinactive anions due to their doping-undergoing in the film is discussed. Preliminary results on a new method that involves chemical cross-linking of a triisocyane molecule with -OH containing polymers in the presence of enzymes are reported

Enabling high-rate electrochemical flow capacitors based on mesoporous carbon microspheres suspension electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Meng; Sun, Yueqing; Zhang, Chuanfang (John); Wang, Jitong; Qiao, Wenming; Ling, Licheng; Long, Donghui

2017-10-01

Electrochemical flow capacitor (EFC) is a promising technology for grid energy storage, which combines the fast charging/discharging capability of supercapacitors with the scalable energy capacity of flow batteries. In this study, we report a high-power-density EFC using mesoporous carbon microspheres (MCMs) as suspension electrodes. By using a simple yet effective spray-drying technique, monodispersed MCMs with average particle size of 5 μm, high BET surface area of 1150-1267 m2 g-1, large pore volume of 2-4 cm3 g-1 and controllable mesopore size of 7-30 nm have been successfully prepared. The resultant MCMs suspension electrode shows excellent stability and considerable high capacitance of 100 F g-1 and good cycling ability (86% of initial capacitance after 10000 cycles). Specially, the suspension electrode exhibits excellent rate performance with 75% capacitance retention from 2 to 100 mV s-1, significantly higher than that of microporous carbon electrodes (20∼30%), due to the developed mesoporous channels facilitating for rapid ion diffusion. In addition, the electrochemical responses on both negative and positive suspension electrodes are studied, based on which an optimal capacitance matching between them is suggested for large-scale EFC unit.

An electrocorticographic electrode array for simultaneous recording from medial, lateral, and intrasulcal surface of the cortex in macaque monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukushima, Makoto; Saunders, Richard C; Mullarkey, Matthew; Doyle, Alexandra M; Mishkin, Mortimer; Fujii, Naotaka

2014-08-15

Electrocorticography (ECoG) permits recording electrical field potentials with high spatiotemporal resolution over a large part of the cerebral cortex. Application of chronically implanted ECoG arrays in animal models provides an opportunity to investigate global spatiotemporal neural patterns and functional connectivity systematically under various experimental conditions. Although ECoG is conventionally used to cover the gyral cortical surface, recent studies have shown the feasibility of intrasulcal ECoG recordings in macaque monkeys. Here we developed a new ECoG array to record neural activity simultaneously from much of the medial and lateral cortical surface of a single hemisphere, together with the supratemporal plane (STP) of the lateral sulcus in macaque monkeys. The ECoG array consisted of 256 electrodes for bipolar recording at 128 sites. We successfully implanted the ECoG array in the left hemisphere of three rhesus monkeys. The electrodes in the auditory and visual cortex detected robust event related potentials to auditory and visual stimuli, respectively. Bipolar recording from adjacent electrode pairs effectively eliminated chewing artifacts evident in monopolar recording, demonstrating the advantage of using the ECoG array under conditions that generate significant movement artifacts. Compared with bipolar ECoG arrays previously developed for macaque monkeys, this array significantly expands the number of cortical target areas in gyral and intralsulcal cortex. This new ECoG array provides an opportunity to investigate global network interactions among gyral and intrasulcal cortical areas. Published by Elsevier B.V.

On the hydrophilicity of electrodes for capacitive energy extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lian, Cheng; East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai; Kong, Xian; Tsinghua University, Beijing; Liu, Honglai; Wu, Jianzhong

2016-01-01

The so-called Capmix technique for energy extraction is based on the cyclic expansion of electrical double layers to harvest dissipative energy arising from the salinity difference between freshwater and seawater. Its optimal performance requires a careful selection of the electrical potentials for the charging and discharging processes, which must be matched with the pore characteristics of the electrode materials. While a number of recent studies have examined the effects of the electrode pore size and geometry on the capacitive energy extraction processes, there is little knowledge on how the surface properties of the electrodes affect the thermodynamic efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the Capmix processes using the classical density functional theory for a realistic model of electrolyte solutions. The theoretical predictions allow us to identify optimal operation parameters for capacitive energy extraction with porous electrodes of different surface hydrophobicity. Finally, in agreement with recent experiments, we find that the thermodynamic efficiency can be much improved by using most hydrophilic electrodes.

Novel electroanalysis of hydroxyurea at glassy carbon and gold electrode surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keerti M. Naik

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A simple and a novel electroanalysis of hydroxyurea (HU drug at glassy carbon and gold electrode was investigated for the first time using cyclic, linear sweep and differential pulse voltammetric techniques. The oxidation of HU was irreversible and exhibited a diffusion controlled process on both electrodes. The oxidation mechanism was proposed. The dependence of the current on pH, the concentration, nature of buffer, and scan rate was investigated to optimize the experimental conditions for the determination of HU. It was found that the optimum buffer pH was 7.0, a physiological pH. In the range of 0.01 to 1.0 mM, the current measured by differential pulse voltammetry showed a linear relationship with HU concentration with limit of detection of 0.46 µM for glassy carbon electrode and 0.92 µM for gold electrode. In addition, reproducibility, precision and accuracy of the method were checked as well. The developed method was successfully applied to HU determination in pharmaceutical formulation and human biological fluids. The method finds its applications in quality control laboratories and pharmacokinetics.

Carbon Nanotube Web with Carboxylated Polythiophene "Assist" for High-Performance Battery Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yo Han; Park, Jung Jin; Housel, Lisa M; Minnici, Krysten; Zhang, Guoyan; Lee, Sujin R; Lee, Seung Woo; Chen, Zhongming; Noda, Suguru; Takeuchi, Esther S; Takeuchi, Kenneth J; Marschilok, Amy C; Reichmanis, Elsa

2018-04-24

A carbon nanotube (CNT) web electrode comprising magnetite spheres and few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWNTs) linked by the carboxylated conjugated polymer, poly[3-(potassium-4-butanoate) thiophene] (PPBT), was designed to demonstrate benefits derived from the rational consideration of electron/ion transport coupled with the surface chemistry of the electrode materials components. To maximize transport properties, the approach introduces monodispersed spherical Fe 3 O 4 (sFe 3 O 4 ) for uniform Li + diffusion and a FWNT web electrode frame that affords characteristics of long-ranged electronic pathways and porous networks. The sFe 3 O 4 particles were used as a model high-capacity energy active material, owing to their well-defined chemistry with surface hydroxyl (-OH) functionalities that provide for facile detection of molecular interactions. PPBT, having a π-conjugated backbone and alkyl side chains substituted with carboxylate moieties, interacted with the FWNT π-electron-rich and hydroxylated sFe 3 O 4 surfaces, which enabled the formation of effective electrical bridges between the respective components, contributing to efficient electron transport and electrode stability. To further induce interactions between PPBT and the metal hydroxide surface, polyethylene glycol was coated onto the sFe 3 O 4 particles, allowing for facile materials dispersion and connectivity. Additionally, the introduction of carbon particles into the web electrode minimized sFe 3 O 4 aggregation and afforded more porous FWNT networks. As a consequence, the design of composite electrodes with rigorous consideration of specific molecular interactions induced by the surface chemistries favorably influenced electrochemical kinetics and electrode resistance, which afforded high-performance electrodes for battery applications.

Screen printed silver top electrode for efficient inverted organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Junwoo [Department of Printed Electronics, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Duraisamy, Navaneethan [Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Taik-Min [Department of Printed Electronics, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Inyoung, E-mail: ikim@kimm.re.kr [Department of Printed Electronics, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Kyung-Hyun, E-mail: amm@jejunu.ac.kr [Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Screen printing of silver pattern. • X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the face centered cubic structure of silver. • Uniform surface morphology of silver pattern with sheet resistance of 0.06 Ω/sq. • The power conversion efficiency of fabricated solar cell is found to be 2.58%. - Abstract: The present work is mainly focused on replacement of the vacuum process for top electrode fabrication in organic solar cells. Silver top electrode deposited through solution based screen printing on pre-deposited polymeric thin film. The solution based printing technology provides uniform top electrode without damaging the underlying organic layers. The surface crystallinity and surface morphology of silver top electrode are examined through X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The purity of silver is examined through X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The top electrode exhibits face centered cubic structure with homogeneous morphology. The sheet resistance of top electrode is found to be 0.06 Ω/sq and an average pattern thickness of ∼15 μm. The power conversion efficiency is 2.58%. Our work demonstrates that the solution based screen printing is a significant role in the replacement of vacuum process for the fabrication of top electrode in organic solar cells.

Screen printed silver top electrode for efficient inverted organic solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Junwoo; Duraisamy, Navaneethan; Lee, Taik-Min; Kim, Inyoung; Choi, Kyung-Hyun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Screen printing of silver pattern. • X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the face centered cubic structure of silver. • Uniform surface morphology of silver pattern with sheet resistance of 0.06 Ω/sq. • The power conversion efficiency of fabricated solar cell is found to be 2.58%. - Abstract: The present work is mainly focused on replacement of the vacuum process for top electrode fabrication in organic solar cells. Silver top electrode deposited through solution based screen printing on pre-deposited polymeric thin film. The solution based printing technology provides uniform top electrode without damaging the underlying organic layers. The surface crystallinity and surface morphology of silver top electrode are examined through X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The purity of silver is examined through X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The top electrode exhibits face centered cubic structure with homogeneous morphology. The sheet resistance of top electrode is found to be 0.06 Ω/sq and an average pattern thickness of ∼15 μm. The power conversion efficiency is 2.58%. Our work demonstrates that the solution based screen printing is a significant role in the replacement of vacuum process for the fabrication of top electrode in organic solar cells

Benzene oxidation at diamond electrodes: comparison of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline diamonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Pleskov, Yu V; Krotova, M D; Elkin, V V; Varnin, V P; Teremetskaya, I G; Saveliev, A V; Ralchenko, V G

2012-08-27

A comparative study of benzene oxidation at boron-doped diamond (BDD) and nitrogenated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) anodes in 0.5 M K(2)SO(4) aqueous solution is conducted by using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is shown by measurements of differential capacitance and anodic current that during the benzene oxidation at the BDD electrode, adsorption of a reaction intermediate occurs, which partially blocks the electrode surface and lowers the anodic current. At the NCD electrode, benzene is oxidized concurrently with oxygen evolution, a (quinoid) intermediate being adsorbed at the electrode. The adsorption and the electrode surface blocking are reflected in the impedance-frequency and impedance-potential complex-plane plots. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Thickness shear mode quartz crystal resonators with optimized elliptical electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Ting-Feng; Feng Guan-Ping; Zhang Chao; Jiang Xiao-Ning

2011-01-01

Quartz crystal resonators (QCRs) with circular electrodes have been widely used for various liquid and gas sensing applications. In this work, quartz crystal resonators with elliptical electrodes were studied and tested for liquid property measurement. Mindlin's theory was used to optimize the dimension and geometry of the electrodes and a 5-MHz QCR with minimum series resistance and without any spurious modes was obtained. A series of AT-cut QCRs with elliptical electrodes of different sizes were fabricated and their sensing performances were compared to devices with circular electrodes. The experimental result shows that the device with elliptical electrodes can obtain lower resonance impedance and a higher Q factor, which results in a better loading capability. Even though the sensitivities of devices with elliptical and circular electrodes are found to be similar, the sensor with elliptical electrodes has much higher resolution due to a better frequency stability. The study indicates that the performance of QCRs with elliptical electrodes is superior to that of traditional QCRs with circular electrodes. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

"Imaging" LEIS of micro-patterned solid oxide fuel cell electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Druce, John; Simrick, Neil; Ishihara, Tatsumi; Kilner, John

2014-08-01

Understanding the kinetics of oxygen exchange between the gas phase and a ceramic electrode is key to optimising the performance of electrochemical energy conversion devices such as Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Clearly the surface chemistry of these materials is important, and surface sensitive techniques such as Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) can provide important compositional information key to unravelling electrode kinetics. In this work, we use high lateral resolution LEIS to perform local analyses of a micropatterned electrode structure, of the type often used for studies of the geometrical dependences of electrode performance. We find that the results are comparable to those for bulk materials, but detect evidence of cation interdiffusion from the electrode to the electrolyte. Finally, we note that this preliminary study could open the prospect of in situ measurements of cells near operating conditions.

A freeze-dried graphene counter electrode enhances the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hung, Kai-Hsiang; Wang, Hong-Wen, E-mail: hongwen@cycu.edu.tw

2014-01-01

A flexible graphene/polyimide (PI) counter electrode without a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) layer has been fabricated for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) applications. The flexible counter electrode consists of polyimide double-sided tape as a substrate beneath a graphene film acting as the conductive and catalytic layer. Chemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the PI electrode (rGO-PI) shows comparable catalytic activity to that of the reference sputtered platinum/FTO counter electrodes (Sputter-Pt/FTO). A DSSC with a freeze-dried rGO-PI (FD-rGO-PI) counter electrode shows an overall conversion efficiency (η) of 5.45%, while that of the conventional Sputter-Pt/FTO electrode is 5.52%. The DSSC with a thermally dried rGO-PI (Gel-rGO-PI) counter electrode (not freeze-dried) exhibits a smooth morphology and much poorer performance (η = 1.61%). Field emission scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry measurements demonstrate that the FD-rGO-PI electrode possesses a porous structure, numerous edges, minimum charge-transfer resistance and a higher electrocatalytic activity toward the I{sub 3}{sup −}/I{sup −} redox couple than that of the Gel-rGO-PI electrode. The high electrocatalytic activity, facile preparation procedure, absence of FTO, and material flexibility render the FD-rGO-PI electrode an ideal alternative to conventional DSSC counter electrodes. - Highlights: • Highly rough and conductive graphene-based counter electrode is synthesized. • The characteristics of graphene surface by freeze drying are different. • The graphene counter electrode exhibits comparable performance to that of sputtered Pt one.

Carbon in bifunctional air electrodes in alkaline solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tryk, D.; Aldred, W.; Yeager, E.

1983-01-01

Bifunctional O 2 electrodes can be used both to reduce and to generate O 2 in rechargeable metal-air batteries and fuel cells. The factors controlling the O 2 reduction and generation reactions in gas-diffusional bifunctional O 2 electrodes are discussed. The resistance of such electrodes, as established from voltammetry curves, has been found to increase markedly during anodic polarization and to be dependent upon the electrode fabrication technique. Carbon blacks with more graphitic structure than Shawinigan black have been found to be more resistant to electro-oxidation. The further extension of cycle life of bifunctional electrodes using carbon is critically dependent on finding more oxidation-resistant carbons that at the same time have other surface properties meeting the requirements for catalyzed gas-diffusion electrodes

Colloidal paradigm in supercapattery electrode systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kunfeng; Xue, Dongfeng

2018-01-01

Among decades of development, electrochemical energy storage systems are now sorely in need of a new design paradigm at the nano size and ion level to satisfy the higher energy and power demands. In this review paper, we introduce a new colloidal electrode paradigm for supercapattery that integrates multiple-scale forms of matter, i.e. ion clusters, colloidal ions, and nanosized materials, into one colloid system, coupled with multiple interactions, i.e. electrostatic, van der Waals forces, and chemical bonding, thus leading to the formation of many redox reactive centers. This colloidal electrode not only keeps the original ionic nature in colloidal materials, but also creates a new attribute of high electroactivity. Colloidal supercapattery is a perfect application example of the novel colloidal electrode, leading to higher specific capacitance than traditional electrode materials. The high electroactivity of the colloidal electrode mainly comes from the contribution of exposed reactive centers, owing to the confinement effect of carbon and a binder matrix. Systematic and thorough research on the colloidal system will significantly promote the development of fundamental science and the progress of advanced energy storage technology.

Carbon aerogel electrodes for direct energy conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Steven T.; Kaschmitter, James L.; Pekala, Richard W.

1997-01-01

A direct energy conversion device, such as a fuel cell, using carbon aerogel electrodes, wherein the carbon aerogel is loaded with a noble catalyst, such as platinum or rhodium and soaked with phosphoric acid, for example. A separator is located between the electrodes, which are placed in a cylinder having plate current collectors positioned adjacent the electrodes and connected to a power supply, and a pair of gas manifolds, containing hydrogen and oxygen positioned adjacent the current collectors. Due to the high surface area and excellent electrical conductivity of carbon aerogels, the problems relative to high polarization resistance of carbon composite electrodes conventionally used in fuel cells are overcome.

Pseudocapacitive Effects of N-Doped Carbon Nanotube Electrodes in Supercapacitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun Ho Park

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Nitrogen- and micropore-containing carbon nanotubes (NMCNTs were prepared by carbonization of nitrogen-enriched, polymer-coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs, and the electrochemical performances of the NMCNTs with different heteroatom contents were investigated. NMCNTs-700 containing 9.1 wt% nitrogen atoms had a capacitance of 190.8 F/g, which was much higher than that of pristine CNTs (48.4 F/g, despite the similar surface area of the two CNTs, and was also higher than that of activated CNTs (151.7 F/g with a surface area of 778 m²/g and a nitrogen atom content of 1.2 wt%. These results showed that pseudocapacitive effects play an important role in the electrochemical performance of supercapacitor electrodes.

Improvement of patient return electrodes in electrosurgery by experimental investigations and numerical field calculations.

Science.gov (United States)

Golombeck, M A; Dössel, O; Raiser, J

2003-09-01

Numerical field calculations and experimental investigations were performed to examine the heating of the surface of human skin during the application of a new electrode design for the patient return electrode. The new electrode is characterised by an equipotential ring around the central electrode pads. A multi-layer thigh model was used, to which the patient return electrode and the active electrode were connected. The simulation geometry and the dielectric tissue parameters were set according to the frequency of the current. The temperature rise at the skin surface due to the flow of current was evaluated using a two-step numerical solving procedure. The results were compared with experimental thermographical measurements that yielded a mean value of maximum temperature increase of 3.4 degrees C and a maximum of 4.5 degrees C in one test case. The calculated heating patterns agreed closely with the experimental results. However, the calculated mean value in ten different numerical models of the maximum temperature increase of 12.5 K (using a thermodynamic solver) exceeded the experimental value owing to neglect of heat transport by blood flow and also because of the injection of a higher test current, as in the clinical tests. The implementation of a simple worst-case formula that could significantly simplify the numerical process led to a substantial overestimation of the mean value of the maximum skin temperature of 22.4 K and showed only restricted applicability. The application of numerical methods confirmed the experimental assertions and led to a general understanding of the observed heating effects and hotspots. Furthermore, it was possible to demonstrate the beneficial effects of the new electrode design with an equipotential ring. These include a balanced heating pattern and the absence of hotspots.

Electrochemical studies on nanometal oxide-activated carbon composite electrodes for aqueous supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Mui Yen; Khiew, Poi Sim; Isa, Dino; Chiu, Wee Siong

2014-11-01

In present study, the electrochemical performance of eco-friendly and cost-effective titanium oxide (TiO2)-based and zinc oxide-based nanocomposite electrodes were studied in neutral aqueous Na2SO3 electrolyte, respectively. The electrochemical properties of these composite electrodes were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (CD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The experimental results reveal that these two nanocomposite electrodes achieve the highest specific capacitance at fairly low oxide loading onto activated carbon (AC) electrodes, respectively. Considerable enhancement of the electrochemical properties of TiO2/AC and ZnO/AC nanocomposite electrodes is achieved via synergistic effects contributed from the nanostructured metal oxides and the high surface area mesoporous AC. Cations and anions from metal oxides and aqueous electrolyte such as Ti4+, Zn2+, Na+ and SO32- can occupy some pores within the high-surface-area AC electrodes, forming the electric double layer at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Additionally, both TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles can provide favourable surface adsorption sites for SO32- anions which subsequently facilitate the faradaic processes for pseudocapacitive effect. These two systems provide the low cost material electrodes and the low environmental impact electrolyte which offer the increased charge storage without compromising charge storage kinetics.

Fabrication of a nano-structured PbO2 electrode by using printing technology: surface characterization and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kannan, K.; Muthuraman, G.; Cho, G.; Moon, I. S.

2014-01-01

This investigation aimed to introduce printing technology for the first time to prepare a nanostrucutured PbO 2 electrode and its application to a cerium redox transfer process. The new method of nano-size PbO 2 preparation demonstrated that nano-PbO 2 could be obtained in less time and at less cost at room temperature. The prepared nano-PbO 2 screen printed on a Ti electrode by three different compositions under similar conditions showed through surface and electrochemical analyses no adherence on Ti and no contact with other nano-PbO 2 particles. Gravure printing of nano-PbO 2 on a PET (poly ethylene thin) film at high pressure was done with two different compositions for the first time. The selective composition of 57.14 % nano-PbO 2 powder with 4.28 % carbon black and 38.58 % ECA (ethyl carbitol acetate) produced a film with a nanoporous structure with an electron transfer ability. Finally, the optimized gravure-printed nano-PbO 2 electrode was applied to the oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) by using cyclic voltammetry. The gravure-printed nano-PbO 2 should pave the way to promising applications in electrochemical and sensor fields.

Investigation of supercapacitors with carbon electrodes obtained from argon-acetylene arc plasma

OpenAIRE

Kavaliauskas, Žydrūnas

2010-01-01

The dissertation examines topics related to the formation of supercapacitors using plasma technology and their analysis. Plasma spray technology was used to form supercapacitors electrodes. Carbon was deposited on stainless steel surface using the atmospheric pressure argon-acetylene plasma. The deposition of nickel oxide on the surface of carbon electrodes was made using magnetron sputtering method. The influence of acetylene amount to the supercapacitors electrodes and the electrical charac...

Mixtures of functionalized aromatic groups generated from diazonium chemistry as templates towards bimetallic species supported on carbon electrode surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilà, Neus; Bélanger, Daniel

2012-01-01

Mixtures of 4-sulfophenyl and 4-aminophenyl groups were grafted onto carbon electrodes by electrochemical reduction of their corresponding diazonium cations. Two experimental methodologies were tested in order to control primarily the composition of the binary organic films and subsequently the composition of the bimetallic Cu/Pt layers. The composition of the organic layers was controlled either by changing the ratio of the two components in solution and applying a cathodic potential at which both diazonium cations are electrochemically reduced. The organic layers were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. These binary organic films were subsequently used as templates to load bimetallic species to the carbon surface based on electrostatic interactions of 4-sulfophenyl and 4-aminophenyl groups with Cu 2+ and PtCl 6 2− ionic species dissolved in solution, respectively. The metal complexes, electrostatically bounded to the ionic sites of the grafted groups, were reduced by using NaBH 4 as reducing agent. The amount of Cu was estimated by stripping voltammetry in a sulfuric acid aqueous solution whereas adsorption/desorption of hydrogen was used to quantify the platinum present on the carbon surface. XPS analysis of the metallic surfaces was also performed to confirm the presence of the metals on the electrode surface. The results indicate that the composition of the bimetallic layers is controlled by the ratio of the 4-sulfophenyl and 4-aminophenyl grafted groups.

Tracer Studies of the Influence of Foreign Substances at the Surface of the Electrodes. I. Polarization Phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llopis, J.; Gamboa, J. M.; Arizmendi, L.

1961-01-01

Radioactive stearic acid ( 1 4C) has been used to determine the number of molecular layers present on copper electrode surfaces and its distribution. The stability of these layers under the experimental conditions has been studied and it has been shown that its presence has no influence on the anodic and cathodic polarization. an increase of these polarizations has been observed with mixed multilayers of stearic acid and sterolamide. (Author) 13 refs

Electrocatalytic oxidation of cellulose at a gold electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugano, Yasuhito; Latonen, Rose-Marie; Akieh-Pirkanniemi, Marceline; Bobacka, Johan; Ivaska, Ari

2014-08-01

The electrochemical properties of cellulose dissolved in NaOH solution at a Au surface were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, FTIR spectroscopy, the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance technique, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The reaction products were characterized by SEM, TEM, and FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. The results imply that cellulose is irreversibly oxidized. Adsorption and desorption of hydroxide ions at the Au surface during potential cycling have an important catalytic role in the reaction (e.g., approach of cellulose to the electrode surface, electron transfer, adsorption/desorption of the reaction species at the electrode surface). Moreover, two types of cellulose derivatives were obtained as products. One is a water-soluble cellulose derivative in which some hydroxyl groups are oxidized to carboxylic groups. The other derivative is a water-insoluble hybrid material composed of cellulose and Au nanoparticles (≈4 nm). Furthermore, a reaction scheme of the electrocatalytic oxidation of cellulose at a gold electrode in a basic medium is proposed. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Self-assembled gold nanoparticles modified ITO electrodes: The monolayer binder molecule effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ballarin, Barbara; Cassani, Maria Cristina; Scavetta, Erika; Tonelli, Domenica [Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Inorganica, Universita di Bologna, V.le Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, INSTM, UdR Bologna (Italy)

2008-11-15

The fabrication of gold attached organosilane-coated indium tin oxide Au{sub NPs}-MPTMS/ITO and Au{sub NPs}-APTES/ITO electrodes [MPTMS 3-(mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane, APTES = 3-(aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane, ITO = indium tin oxide] was carried out making use of a well-known two-step procedure and the role played by the -SH and -NH{sub 2} functional groups in the two electrodes has been examined and compared using different techniques. Information about particle coverage and inter-particle spacing has been obtained using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) whereas, bulk surface properties have been probed with UV-vis spectroscopy, CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The catalytic activity of the two electrodes has been evaluated studying the electrooxidation of methanol in alkaline conditions. The results obtained show that the NH{sub 2} functionality in the APTES binder molecule favours the formation of isle-like Au nanoparticle aggregates that lead to both a higher electron transfer and electrocatalytic activity. (author)

Ultra-fine Pt nanoparticles on graphene aerogel as a porous electrode with high stability for microfluidic methanol fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Y. H.; Tsang, Alpha C. H.; Wang, Yifei; Leung, Dennis Y. C.

2017-05-01

Platinum-decorated graphene aerogel as a porous electrode for flow-through direct methanol microfluidic fuel cell is introduced. Ultra-fine platinum nanoparticles with size ranged from diameter 1.5 nm-3 nm are evenly anchored on the graphene nanosheets without agglomeration. The electrode is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Catalytic activity is confirmed by cyclic voltammetry. The electroactive surface area and catalytic activity of platinum on graphene oxide (Pt/GO) are much larger than commercial platinum on carbon black (Pt/C). A counterflow microfluidic fuel cell is designed for contrasting the cell performance between flow-over type and flow-through type electrodes using Pt/C on carbon paper and Pt/GO, respectively. The Pt/GO electrode shows 358% increment in specific power compared with Pt/C anode. Apart from catalytic activity, the effect of porous electrode conductivity to cell performance is also studied. The conductivity of the porous electrode should be further enhanced to achieve higher cell performance.

Fabrication of 3D polypyrrole microstructures and their utilization as electrodes in supercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Vinh; Zhou, Cheng; Kulinsky, Lawrence; Madou, Marc

2013-01-01

We present a novel fabrication method for constructing three-dimensional (3D) conducting microstructures based on the controlled-growth of electrodeposited polypyrrole (PPy) within a lithographically patterned photoresist layer. PPy thin films, post arrays, suspended planes supported by post arrays and multi-layered PPy structures were fabricated. The performance of supercapacitors based on 3D PPy electrodes doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS − ) and perchlorate (ClO 4 − ) anions was studied using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. The highest specific capacitance obtained from the multi-layered PPy(ClO 4 ) electrodes was 401 ± 18 mF cm −2 , which is roughly twice as high as the highest specific capacitance of PPy-based supercapacitor reported thus far. The increase in capacitance is the result of higher surface area per unit footprint achieved through the fabrication of multi-layered 3D electrodes. (paper)

Effects of Flexible Dry Electrode Design on Electrodermal Activity Stimulus Response Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddad, Peter A; Servati, Amir; Soltanian, Saeid; Ko, Frank; Servati, Peyman

2017-12-01

The focus of this research is to evaluate the effects of design parameters including surface area, distance between and geometry of dry flexible electrodes on electrodermal activity (EDA) stimulus response detection. EDA is a result of the autonomic nervous system being stimulated, which causes sweat and changes the electrical characteristics of the skin. Standard silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) EDA electrodes are rigid and lack conformability in contact with skin. In this study, flexible dry Ag/AgCl EDA electrodes were fabricated on a compliant substrate, used to monitor EDA stimulus responses and compared to results simultaneously collected by rigid dry Ag/AgCl electrodes. A repeatable fabrication process for flexible Ag/AgCl electrodes has been established. Surface area, distance between and geometry of electrodes are shown to affect the detectability of the EDA response and the minimum number of sweat glands to be covered by the electrodes has been estimated at 140, or more, in order to maintain functionality. The optimal flexible EDA electrode is a serpentine design with a 0.15 cm 2 surface area and a 0.20 cm distance with an average Pearson correlation coefficient of . Fabrication of flexible electrodes is described and an understanding of the effects of electrode designs on the EDA stimulus response detection has been established and is potentially related to the coverage of sweat glands. This work presents a novel systematic approach to understand the effects of electrode designs on monitoring EDA which is of importance for the design of wearable EDA monitoring devices.

Electrochemical reactivity at graphitic micro-domains on polycrystalline boron doped diamond thin-films electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahe, E.; Devilliers, D.; Comninellis, Ch.

2005-01-01

This paper deals with the electrochemical reactivity of boron doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. A comparative study has been carried out to show the influence of the presence of graphitic micro-domains upon the surface of these films. Those graphitic domains are sometimes present on as-grown boron doped diamond electrodes. The effect of doping a pure Csp 3 diamond electrode is established by highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) abrasion onto the diamond surface. In order to establish the effect of doping on a pure Csp 3 diamond electrode, the amount of graphitic domains was increased by means of HOPG crystals grafted onto the BDD surface. Indeed that method allows the enrichment of the Csp 2 contribution of the electrode. The presence of graphitic domains can be correlatively associated with the presence of kinetically active redox sites. The electrochemical reactivity of boron doped diamond electrodes shows a distribution of kinetic constants on the whole surface of the electrode corresponding to different active sites. In this paper, we have studied by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy the kinetics parameters of the ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple in KCl electrolyte. A method is proposed to diagnose the presence of graphitic domains on diamond electrodes, and an electrochemical 'pulse cleaning' procedure is proposed to remove them

Organic light emitting diode with surface modification layer

Science.gov (United States)

Basil, John D.; Bhandari, Abhinav; Buhay, Harry; Arbab, Mehran; Marietti, Gary J.

2017-09-12

An organic light emitting diode (10) includes a substrate (12) having a first surface (14) and a second surface (16), a first electrode (32), and a second electrode (38). An emissive layer (36) is located between the first electrode (32) and the second electrode (38). The organic light emitting diode (10) further includes a surface modification layer (18). The surface modification layer (18) includes a non-planar surface (30, 52).

Low-dimensional carbon and MXene-based electrochemical capacitor electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Yeoheung; Lee, Keunsik; Lee, Hyoyoung

2016-04-29

Due to their unique structure and outstanding intrinsic physical properties such as extraordinarily high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and various chemical functionalities, low-dimension-based materials exhibit great potential for application in electrochemical capacitors (ECs). The electrical properties of electrochemical capacitors are determined by the electrode materials. Because energy charge storage is a surface process, the surface properties of the electrode materials greatly influence the electrochemical performance of the cell. Recently, graphene, a single layer of sp(2)-bonded carbon atoms arrayed into two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial, has attracted wide interest as an electrode material for electrochemical capacitor applications due to its unique properties, including a high electrical conductivity and large surface area. Several low-dimensional materials with large surface areas and high conductivity such as onion-like carbons (OLCs), carbide-derived carbons (CDCs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, metal hydroxide, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and most recently MXene, have been developed for electrochemical capacitors. Therefore, it is useful to understand the current issues of low-dimensional materials and their device applications.

Low-dimensional carbon and MXene-based electrochemical capacitor electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Yeoheung; Lee, Hyoyoung; Lee, Keunsik

2016-01-01

Due to their unique structure and outstanding intrinsic physical properties such as extraordinarily high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and various chemical functionalities, low-dimension-based materials exhibit great potential for application in electrochemical capacitors (ECs). The electrical properties of electrochemical capacitors are determined by the electrode materials. Because energy charge storage is a surface process, the surface properties of the electrode materials greatly influence the electrochemical performance of the cell. Recently, graphene, a single layer of sp 2 -bonded carbon atoms arrayed into two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial, has attracted wide interest as an electrode material for electrochemical capacitor applications due to its unique properties, including a high electrical conductivity and large surface area. Several low-dimensional materials with large surface areas and high conductivity such as onion-like carbons (OLCs), carbide-derived carbons (CDCs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, metal hydroxide, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and most recently MXene, have been developed for electrochemical capacitors. Therefore, it is useful to understand the current issues of low-dimensional materials and their device applications. (topical review)

Phytochelatin Modified Electrode Surface as a Sensitive Heavy- Metal Ion Biosensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rene Kizek

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Electrochemical biosensors have superior properties over other existingmeasurement systems because they can provide rapid, simple and low-cost on-fielddetermination of many biological active species and a number of dangerous pollutants. Inour work, we suggested a new heavy metal biosensor based on interaction of heavy metalions (Cd2+ and Zn2+ with phytochelatin, which was adsorbed on the surface of the hangingmercury drop electrode, using adsorptive transfer stripping differential pulse voltammetry.In addition, we applied the suggested technique for the determination of heavy metals in abiological sample – human urine and platinum in a pharmaceutical drug. The detectionlimits (3 S/N of Cd(II, Zn(II and cis-platin were about 1.0, 13.3 and 1.9 pmole in 5 μl,respectively. On the basis of the obtained results, we propose that the suggested techniqueoffers simple, rapid, and low-cost detection of heavy metals in environmental, biologicaland medical samples.

Electrical and spectral characteristics of an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet generated with tube-ring electrodes in surface dielectric barrier discharge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Y. [Institute of Electrostatics and Special Power, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Weinan Teachers University, Weinan 71400 (China); Lu, N. [Institute of Electrostatics and Special Power, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Pan, J. [Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Weinan Teachers University, Weinan 71400 (China); Li, J., E-mail: lijie@dlut.edu.cn [Institute of Electrostatics and Special Power, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Wu, Y. [Institute of Electrostatics and Special Power, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China)

2013-03-01

An atmospheric-pressure argon plasma jet is generated with tube-ring electrodes in surface dielectric barrier discharge by a sinusoidal excitation voltage at 8 kHz. The electrical and spectral characteristics are estimated such as conduction and displacement current, electric-field, electron temperature, rotational temperature of N{sub 2} and OH, electronic excitation temperature, and oxygen atomic density. It is found that the electric-field magnitudes in the top area of the ground electrode are higher than that in the bottom area of the power electrode, and the electron temperature along radial direction is in the range of 9.6–10.4 eV and along axial direction in the range of 4.9–10 eV. The rotational temperature of N{sub 2} obtained by comparing the simulated spectrum with the measured spectrum at the C{sup 3}Π{sub u} → B{sup 3}Π{sub g}(Δv = − 2) band transition is in the range of 342–387 K, the electronic excitation temperature determined by Boltzmann's plot method is in the range of 3188–3295 K, and the oxygen atomic density estimated by the spectral intensity ratio of atomic oxygen line λ = 844.6 nm to argon line λ = 750.4 nm is in the order of magnitude of 10{sup 16} cm{sup −3}, respectively. - Highlights: ► The conduction and displacement current are calculated by equivalent circuit diagram. ► The 2D distribution of electric-field magnitude is calculated by ElecNet software. ► The electron temperature along axial direction is in the range of 4.9–10 eV. ► The oxygen atomic density is about a magnitude of 10{sup 16} cm{sup −3}.

Ultrasonic cleaning of electrodes of wire chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krasnov, V.A.; Kurepin, A.B.; Razin, V.I.

1980-01-01

A technological process of cleaning electrodes and working volume surfaces of wire chambers from contaminations by the simultaneous mechanical action of the energy of ultrasonic oscillations and the chemical action of detergents is discussed. A device for cleaning wire electrodes of proportional chambers of 0.3x0.4 m is described. The device uses two ultrasonic generators with a total power of 0.5 kW. As a detergent use is made of a mixture of ethyl alcohol, gasoline and freon. In the process of cleaning production defects can be detected in the wire chambers which makes it possible to timely remove the defects. Measurements of the surface resistance of fiberglass laminate of printed drift chamber electrodes at a voltage of 2 kV showed that after completing the cleaning process the resistance increases 15-20%

Beyond Slurry-Cast Supercapacitor Electrodes: PAN/MWNT Heteromat-Mediated Ultrahigh Capacitance Electrode Sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung Han; Kim, Jeong A.; Kim, Ju-Myung; Lee, Sun-Young; Yeon, Sun-Hwa; Lee, Sang-Young

2017-01-01

Supercapacitors (SCs) have garnered considerable attention as an appealing power source for forthcoming smart energy era. An ultimate challenge facing the SCs is the acquisition of higher energy density without impairing their other electrochemical properties. Herein, we demonstrate a new class of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/multi-walled carbon tube (MWNT) heteromat-mediated ultrahigh capacitance electrode sheets as an unusual electrode architecture strategy to address the aforementioned issue. Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is chosen as a model electrode material to explore the feasibility of the suggested concept. The heteromat V2O5 electrode sheets are produced through one-pot fabrication based on concurrent electrospraying (for V2O5 precursor/MWNT) and electrospinning (for PAN nanofiber) followed by calcination, leading to compact packing of V2O5 materials in intimate contact with MWNTs and PAN nanofibers. As a consequence, the heteromat V2O5 electrode sheets offer three-dimensionally bicontinuous electron (arising from MWNT networks)/ion (from spatially reticulated interstitial voids to be filled with liquid electrolytes) conduction pathways, thereby facilitating redox reaction kinetics of V2O5 materials. In addition, elimination of heavy metallic foil current collectors, in combination with the dense packing of V2O5 materials, significantly increases (electrode sheet-based) specific capacitances far beyond those accessible with conventional slurry-cast electrodes.

Sensitive electrochemiluminescence biosensor based on Au-ITO hybrid bipolar electrode amplification system for cell surface protein detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Mei-Sheng; Yuan, Da-Jing; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2013-12-17

Here we developed a novel hybrid bipolar electrode (BPE)-electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor based on hybrid bipolar electrode (BPE) for the measurement of cancer cell surface protein using ferrocence (Fc) labeled aptamer as signal recognition and amplification probe. According to the electric neutrality of BPE, the cathode of U-shaped ITO BPE was electrochemically deposited by Au nanoparticles (NPs) to enhance its conductivity and surface area, decrease the overpotential of O2 reduction, which would correspondingly increase the oxidation current of Ru(bpy)3(2+)/tripropylamine (TPA) on the anode of BPE and resulting a ∼4-fold enhancement of ECL intensity. Then a signal amplification strategy was designed by introducing Fc modified aptamer on the anode surface of BPE through hybridization for detecting the amount of mucin-1 on MCF-7 cells. The presence of Fc could not only inhibit the oxidation of Ru(bpy)3(2+) because of its lower oxidation potential, its oxidation product Fc(+) could also quench the ECL of Ru(bpy)3(2+)/TPA by efficient energy-transfer from the excited-state Ru(bpy)3(2+)* to Fc(+), making the ECL intensity greatly quenched. On the basis of the cathodic Au NPs induced ECL enhancing coupled with anodic Fc induced signal quenching amplification, the approach allowed detection of mucin-1 aptamer at a concentration down to 0.5 fM and was capable of detecting a minimum of 20 MCF-7 cells. Besides, the amount of mucin-1 on MCF-7 cells was calculated to be 9041 ± 388 molecules/cell. This approach therefore shows great promise in bioanalysis.