Study on degradation process of polymer electrolyte by solution analysis

Degradation process of Nafion which is one of the polymer electrolyte generally used for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell was investigated by solution analysis and structural analysis of eluted species. Nafion degraded by gamma-ray irradiation and heat treatment was immersed in distilled water and the solutions were analyzed using ion chromatograph, total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). The solutions after the Fenton reaction were also analyzed with the same methods. Proton, sulfide ion, fluorine ion and organic carbon were eliminated into the solution, and their ratio was changed depending on the degradation method. To determine the eliminated species to the solution, structural analysis of concentrated dissolved species was performed using FT-IR. As the results, the initial process of degradation was detected sensitively in solution analysis compared with membrane analysis, and difference of the degradation process under different conditions was clearly observed. It was also found that new functional group COOH was formed in the eliminated species. These results showed that solution analysis are very simple yet powerful methods to elucidate the degradation process, which can also be applied to actual fuel cell operation to track minute changes in the polymer electrolyte.     

Music footprint recognition via sentiment,identity, and setting identification

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Emotional contagion is said to occur when an origin (i.e., any sensory stimuli) emanating emotions causes the observer to feel the same emotions. In this paper,...     

Intelligent Secured Two-Way Image Transmission Using Corvus Corone Module over WSN

Wireless Personal Communications - Two-way image communication in a wireless channel needs to be viable with channel properties such as transfer speed, energy-effective, time usage, and security...     

New insights into the density of states of graphene oxide using capacitive photocurrent spectroscopy

Capacitive photocurrent spectroscopy is used to probe the electronic states of graphene-oxide, and reduced graphene-oxide. Three peaks are observed whose intensities scale with the oxygen coverage. The energy of these peaks correlate with the luminescence spectra reported for graphene-oxide. Using a fitting procedure, the density of states for graphene oxide is extracted from the data. It consists of the π/π¹ states along with a distribution of mid-gap states centered at three different energies near the Dirac point. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements are used to identify the oxygen functional groups corresponding to the observed state distribution.     

Effect of cold-work on self-welding susceptibility of austenitic stainless steel (alloy D9) in high temperature flowing sodium

Self-welding susceptibility of alloy D9 (15Cr-15Ni-2Mo titanium-modified austenitic stainless steel), used as wrapper in the fuel subassemblies of sodium cooled fast reactor, was studied in flowing sodium. Specimens were tested at 823 K in annealed and in 20% cold-worked condition up to a maximum contact stress of 24.5 MPa and maximum duration of 9 months. The results showed that the annealed alloy D9 showed good resistance to self-welding in all the tests. But 20% cold-worked alloy D9 got self-welded in all the tests except in the test carried out for 3 months duration indicating that tests conducted at high contact stresses and long duration reduce the resistance of the steel to self-weld. Microstructural changes observed in the cold-worked alloy D9 at the location of contact between the mating surfaces indicate dynamic recovery resulting from high contact stress and temperature facilitating self-weld.     

Analysis of Angle Shaped Footing under Eccentric Loading

Footings are often subjected to eccentric loading due to (1) moments with or without axial forces; (2) the oblique loading; and (3) their location near the property line. Due to eccentric loading, the footing tilts and the pressure below the footing does not remain uniform. The tilt of footing increases with an increase in the eccentricity and the bearing capacity reduces considerably. Therefore, footing sizes increase and make the design uneconomical. The finite-element analysis of an angle shaped footing under eccentric loading has been carried out in the present study. One side vertical projection of footing confines the soil and prevents its lateral movement. It was concluded that footing subjected to uniaxial eccentric loads can be designed for no or negligible tilt by giving the footing an angle shape. The depth of footing projection will depend upon the eccentricity width ratio.     

Synthesis and Thermal,Structural, Dielectric,Magnetic and Magnetoelectric Studies of BiFeO3‐MgFe2O4 Nanocomposites

Spinel–perovskite magnetoelectric (ME) nanocomposites xMgFe₂O₄–(1?x)BiFeO₃, x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 were synthesized by sol‐gel method and characterized by differential thermal analysis, X‐ray diffraction analysis, dielectric and magnetic measurements. The samples were calcined at various temperatures and then the effect of annealing temperature on structural and magnetic properties was studied. From transmission electron microscopy, the average crystal size was found to be 30–50 nm. The magnetic behavior is found to be dependent on annealing temperature and magnesium ferrite content. The dielectric behavior with frequency and temperature has been modified with the induction of magnesium ferrite. The relative change of dielectric constant with magnetic field was observed in the nanocomposites. This relative change of magnetic field‐induced dielectric constant can also be expressed by Δε ~ γM² (where γ is magnetoelectric coupling coefficient).     

Design and evaluation of a lyophilized liposomal gel of an antiviral drug for intravaginal delivery

Liposomes of antiviral drug(acyclovir) prepared by rotary evaporation method were incorporated into two bioadhesive polymers, carbopol and HPMC and freeze dried to obtain a unit dosage form. The liposomes, liposomal gels and freeze dried rods were evaluated for various parameters. TEM analysis showed the formation of unilamellar liposomes with a mean diameter ranging from 0.9 μm to 1.2 μm. As the cholesterol content increases from 0.5% to 2%w/w, the entrapment efficiency and vesicle size increased. Carbopol gels exhibited higher viscosity, spreadability, mucoadhesiveness than HPMC gels. The redipsersion of freeze dried forms in SVF was found to be slow and its ex‐vivo retention time was found to be 12 hrs while acyclovir gel retained only for 8.25 hrs. The tablet and gel released 96.93±0.15% acyclovir within 6 hrs and 92.31±0.31% by 8 hrs respectively while freeze dried forms could sustain the release upto 12 hrs. From the stability studies the optimum storage condition was found to be 4‐8°C. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39804.     

Activated flux TIG welding of Inconel 718 super alloy in presence of tri-component flux

In this study, we have explored the influence of newly developed tri-component oxide flux (Cr₂O₃, FeO, and MoO₃) on weldability, bead geometry, weld pool temperature variation, and mechanical strength of Inconel 718 welded joints. Moreover, the influence of used flux on weld pool, the surface morphology of electrode and penetration capability of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding on Inconel 718 plates have been well elucidated. Results indicate that the flux mixture significantly increases the penetration depth as well as aspect ratio almost 200% as compared to conventional TIG welding. The arc constriction caused by newly developed oxide flux upsurges the heat density and the weld pool temperature of joints. The alloying effect caused by entrapped oxide particles greatly improves the hardness as well as the tensile strength of joints. The reported reinforcement in the welding performance may increase potential utility of the developed methods for real-world applications.