Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

A comparative study on hygroscopic and physiochemical properties of chicken powders obtained by different drying methods

Abstract

Different drying methods (spray drying (SD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), and infrared vacuum drying (IFVD)) were applied in order to compare the hygroscopicity behavior of chicken powders. The hygroscopicity curves and glass transition temperature were used to evaluate the influence of ambient humidity and temperature on moisture absorption of powders. The results showed that the chicken powder dried by MVD had the lowest moisture absorption, followed by IFVD, VD, and SD. The hygroscopicity of SD chicken powders was different from other three kinds of chicken powders due to the physical properties of particles and the changes of protein secondary structure as detected by the Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer. For the three vacuum drying methods, the difference of protein secondary structure was the main reason of differences in hygroscopicity. Although MVD chicken powders were slightly inferior to SD chicken powders in taste, MVD chicken powders were the best in terms of smell and color as suggested by instrumental sensory parameter evaluations. It was found that MVD had a positive effect on reducing moisture absorption and maintaining sensory quality of chicken powders.     

Research on the effects of surface modification of ceramic powder on cure performance during digital light processing (DLP)

Digital light processing (DLP) is one of the most important additive manufacture technologies to fabricate ceramic parts with complex geometries. Compared with pure photosensitive resin, the cure performance of ceramic suspensions is obviously different due to the optical property change after the addition of ceramic powders. In this paper, a unique oxidation process was used to modify the optical properties of nitride powders including AlN and Si₃N₄. The properties of oxidized ceramics were investigated and the cure performance of ceramic suspensions was then characterized. The effect of oxidation time on cure performance was evaluated. The results showed that for AlN, oxidation process leads to the smaller cure depth and smaller excess cure width as compared with non-oxidized AlN and for Si₃N₄, oxidation process leads to the larger cure depth and larger excess cure width as compared with non-oxidized Si₃N₄, indicating that both refractive index and light absorbance of ceramic powders have obvious effects on cure behaviors. Additionally, the cure behavior of oxidized ceramic suspension in this study shows that the relationship of cure depth vs. incident energy agrees well with Beer- Lambert model, but the excess cure width vs. incident energy is not consistent with quasi Beer-Lambert model due to the nature of digital micromirror device (DMD).     

One-step synthesis of high purity ZnO micro/nanostructures from pure Zn and pre-alloyed brass powders by vapor phase transport

In this research, vapor phase transport (VPT) was introduced as a facile, inexpensive method to produce ZnO micro/nanostructures from various Zn sources such as pure Zn and alpha brass pre-alloyed powders (Cu–20Zn and Cu–28Zn) at different processing temperatures of 930 °C–1050 °C. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) was carried out to investigate Zn evaporation and ZnO micro/nanostructure formation. STA results showed an exothermic peck at 711 °C and 728 °C for Cu–20Zn and Cu–28Zn, respectively, due to oxidation of the evaporated Zn element and formation of ZnO micro/nanostructures. X-ray diffraction results showed that high purity ZnO micro/nanostructures were successfully synthesized via VPT process and the crystallite size was increased from ~60 nm to ~100 nm with increasing processing temperature. Field emission scanning electron microscopy observations showed morphology (e.g. rods, column, tetrapods, and combs) and size of the synthesized micro/nanostructures were dependent on the Zn sources and processing temperature, in which average diameter of the synthesized ZnO structures was increased with increasing the processing temperature. The smallest (98 nm) and largest (603 nm) average diameters of synthesized ZnO micro/nanostructures were attained from the pure Zn and Cu–28Zn brass powders at 930 °C and 1050 °C, respectively.     

W-35%Cu液相活化烧结工艺研究

本文从钨铜两相迁移机制和固溶扩散的角度 ,实验研究了钨铜复合粉的活化和常规烧结 ,分析了钨铜复合粉液相活化烧结过程中球磨时间、烧结温度、保温时间和升温速度对材料致密度的影响。结果表明 ,短时间球磨的钨铜复合粉具有良好的烧结性能 ,烧结温度和保温时间对材料致密度影响很大 ,活化烧结能有效降低烧结温度 ,提高烧结致密度     

复印粉的粉碎分级技术

本文介绍了利用国产气流粉碎机和余气萃取分级制备复印粉的实用技术，并展示了粉碎分级系统和复印粉的电镜照片。     

20%乙·苄可湿性粉剂的高效液相色谱分析

本文采用高效液相色谱法,以乙腈+水(60+40)作为流动相,使用C18柱,在同一条件下,同时成功地测定出20%乙·苄可湿性粉剂中的二元有效成份含量。该方法快速准确,乙草胺测定方法的相关系数为0.99986,平均回收率99.2%,苄黄隆测定方法的相关系数为0.99996,平均回收率为99.5%。     

Preparation of ultra-fine copper powder and its lead-free conductive thick film

In this paper, non-agglomerated monodispersed ultra-fine copper metallic powders have been synthesized with chemical reduction method. Fine lead-free glass powders were also prepared by solid synthesis process. Thick film paste prepared by above-mentioned copper metallic powders and lead-free glass powders was applied as conductive paste of MLCC. Mixture of glass and zinc oxide give the thick film a high adhesion strength which is attributed to the rough interface from interfacial reaction between glass and chip, and a good densification. Diffusion of metal between copper thick film and nickel thick film is clear. Ni-Cu solid solution appears under high temperature firing.     

水热合成纳米氧化锡粉体工艺因素研究

以SnCl4·5H2O和氨水为原料,通过正交实验并借助于XRD、TEM等手段,研究了前驱物浓度、反应温度、保温时间和氨水滴加速率等工艺因素对水热合成纳米SnO2粉体的影响。     

Structure of rapidly solidified aluminum alloys

This paper is a summary of an extensive research program carried out by the authors on the structure of rapidly solidified aluminum alloys; and a comparison with the work of others also involved in this field. The paper discusses the changes in the dendritic and non-dendritic structure of the matrix at cooling rates from 10^–3 to 10¹⁰ K/s and discusses the hetergeneity of the structure caused by interdendritic-segretion during solidification.