Comparative study of microbial fuel cell performance using poly ether ether ketone-based anion and cation exchange membranes

In this report, poly ether ether ketone (PEEK)-based anion and cation exchange membranes were assembled separately in two identical and compact microbial fuel cells (MFCs) without water and gas trapping between membrane and the electrode. We examined the use of these two membranes with the same electrode surface area as well as anode and cathode volumes. A maximum power density of 603 and 458 mW m^?2 with a columbic efficiency of 76 and 61% were observed for quaternized poly ether ether ketone (QPEEK) and sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK), respectively. A few solution chemistry parameters, which are leading factors behind the cell performance, such as variation in conductivity and solution pH in the two chambers were observed. In addition, the mobility of anions and cations (other than protons and hydroxyl ions in the case of cation and anion exchange membranes, respectively) under the inoculated conditions was also investigated. Further, the membrane charge-based biofilm growth was also analyzed by SEM and impedance spectroscopy to find its influence on the MFC performance.     

High near-infrared transparent molybdenum-doped indium oxide thin films for nanocrystalline silicon solar cell applications

Molybdenum-doped indium oxide (IMO) thin films were deposited at 450 °C for varying molybdenum concentrations in the range of 0.5-2 at% by the spray pyrolysis technique. These films confirmed the cubic bixbyite structure of polycrystalline In₂O_3. The preferred growth orientation along the (2 2 2) plane shifts to (4 0 0) on higher Mo doping levels. The films doped with 0.5 at% Mo showed high mobility of 76.9 cm²/(V s). The high visible transmittance extends well into the near-infrared region. A possibility of using the produced IMO films in nanocrystalline (nc) silicon solar cell applications is discussed in this article. The morphological studies showed a change in the microstructure, which is consistent with the change in crystallographic orientation.     

Evaluation of ferritic stainless steel for use as metal interconnects for solid oxide fuel cells

Interconnect development for planar solid oxide fuel cells is considered a vital technical area requiring focused research to meet the performance and cost goals. A commercial ferritic stainless steel composition for oxidation resistance properties was investigated by measuring the weight gain due to air exposure at fuel cell operating temperature. A surface treatment process was found to produce a dense, adherent scale and to reduce the oxide scale growth rate significantly. A process was also identified for coating the surface of the alloy to reduce the in-plane resistance and potentially to inhibit chromium oxide evaporation. The combination of treatments provided a very low resistance through the scale. The resistance measured was as low as 10 mΩ-cm² air. The resistance value was stable over several thermal cycles. The treated samples were exposed to a variety of atmospheres that were relevant in fuel cell operation to evaluate changes in scale morphology. Analysis of the scale after such exposure showed the presence of a stable composition. When exposed to a dual atmosphere (air and hydrogen on opposite sides of the metal sheet), however, the scale composition contained a mixture of phases. Additional process modifications are planned to reduce the effect of dual-atmosphere exposure. This paper was presented at the Fuel Cells: Materials, Processing, and Manufacturing Technologies Symposium sponsored by the Energy/Utilities Industrial Sector & Ground Transportation Industrial Sector and the Specialty Materials Critical Technologies Sector at the ASM International Materials Solutions Conference, October 13–15, 2003, in Pittsburgh, PA. The symposium was organized by P. Singh, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. S.C. Deevi, Philip Morris USA, T. Armstrong, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and T. Dubois, U.S. Army CECOM.     

Divergent Synthesis and Evaluation of the in vitro Cytotoxicity Profiles of 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophenyl-2-propen-1-one Analogues

A new series of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT)-appended propenones were prepared by condensation reaction and their in vitro cytotoxicity effects were evaluated against five human cancer cell lines. Preliminary structure–activity relationships of EDOT-incorporated 2-propenone derivatives were also established. The EDOT-appended enones demonstrated significant cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines. The most active analogue, (E)-3-(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one ( 3 p , GI₅₀=110 nm ), severely inhibited the clonogenic potential of cancer cells, and induced cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and caused an accumulation of HCT116 colon cancer cells with >4 N DNA content. Also, 3 p exhibited weak inhibition of the enzymatic activity of human topoisomerase I. Molecular docking studies indicated preferential binding of the compounds to the ATP-binding pocket of the human checkpoint 2 kinase (Chk2) catalytic domain, thus, identifying a novel diaryl 2-propenone chemotype for the development of potent inhibitors of Chk2.     

Effect of substrate temperature on the properties of pyrolytically deposited nitrogen-doped zinc oxide thin films

The effect of substrate temperature (T_s) on the properties of pyrolytically deposited nitrogen (N) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films was investigated. The T_s was varied from 300 °C to 500 °C, with a step of 50 °C. The positive sign of Hall coefficient confirmed the p-type conductivity in the films deposited at 450 °C and 500 °C. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the ZnO structure with a dominant peak from (1 0 0) crystal plane, irrespective of the variation in T_s. The presence of N in the ZnO structure was evidenced through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The obtained high N concentration reveals that the 450 °C is the optimal T_s. Atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis showed that the surface roughness was increased with the increasing T_s until 400 °C but then decreased. It is found that the transmittance of the deposited films is increased with the increasing T_s. The optical band gap calculated from the absorption edge showed that the films deposited with T_s of 300 °C and 350 °C possess higher values than those deposited at higher T_s.     

Development of poly(vinylcarbazole)/alumina nanocomposite coatings for corrosion protection of 316L stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl medium

Poly(vinylcarbazole) (PVK) and PVK‐alumina (Al₂O₃) nanocomposite coatings were electrochemically coated on 316 L stainless steel (SS) substrates for corrosion protection of 316 L SS in 3.5 weight (wt) % NaCl medium. The formation of PVK and incorporation of nanoalumina particles in PVK‐Al₂O₃ nanocomposite coatings were confirmed from attenuated total reflectance‐infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐IR). Thermal analysis (TG) results showed enhanced thermal stability for the composites relative to PVK. Incorporation of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles enhanced the micro hardness of PVK coated 316 L SS. The dispersion of alumina nanoparticles was examined via scanning electron microscope (SEM) and tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) and revealed distinct features. The influence of nanoparticles on the barrier properties of PVK and PVK‐Al₂O₃ nanocomposites was evaluated in aqueous 3.5 wt % NaCl by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies. The results proved that PVK nanocomposite coatings provided better protection for 316 L SS than PVK coatings. The drastic increase in impedance values is due to the high corrosion resistance offered by the PVK nanocomposite coatings that arises due to the interaction between Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and PVK. The highest corrosion protection shown by the 2 wt % nano Al₂O₃ incorporated PVK composite coatings proved enhanced corrosion resistance compared to PVK. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44937.     

Voltage Quality Enhancement with Wavelet-Artificial Intelligence Current Limiting Devices

Due to the increased use of digital computers, PWM adjustable speed drives, andautomated controllers in industries, utilities are faced with rising concerns about the quality of power supplied. This paper, based purely on simulations, focuses on the application of current limiting devices on radial distribution systems to enhance the voltage quality at the distribution buses. The first section of the paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the limiting devices in reducing the dips in voltages and associated phase-angle jumps. Because the current devices need to be introduced to the systems almost instantaneously after the occurrence of a fault, the secondsection introduces a new adaptive fault-sensing scheme for use with these devices. This scheme utilizes wavelet packets analysis as a preliminary feature extractor and a neural network as a pattern classifier. Simulations show that the scheme required no user interference and can be applied to any network configuration.     

Parametric optimization of ultrasonic metal welding using response surface methodology and genetic algorithm

This paper focuses on the development of an effective methodology to determine the optimum welding conditions that maximize the strength of joints produced by ultrasonic welding using response surface methodology (RSM) coupled with genetic algorithm (GA). RSM is utilized to create an efficient analytical model for welding strength in terms of welding parameters namely pressure, weld time, and amplitude. Experiments were conducted as per central composite design of experiments for spot and seam welding of 0.3- and 0.4-mm-thick Al specimens. An effective second-order response surface model is developed utilizing experimental measurements. Response surface model is further interfaced with GA to optimize the welding conditions for desired weld strength. Optimum welding conditions produced from GA are verified with experimental results and are found to be in good agreement.     

Computer algorithm for optimal control of linear systems with assigned eigenvalues

An efficient computer algorithm for designing optimal controllers of linear systems to have assigned closed-loop eigenvalues based on the eigenvector solution of the matrix Riccati equation is presented. The algorithm is illustrated with an example.