Ionic liquid electrolytes compatible with graphitized carbon negative without additive and their effects on interfacial properties

Introduction of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI) as an anion to an ambient-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte based on 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI) as well as lithium (Li) cations can provide a reversible Li intercalation into a graphitized electrode, while such intercalation is completely irreversible without FSI. The surface-layer components on the graphitized electrodes, cycled in the ionic liquid electrolytes with and without FSI, were found to be chemically similar based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ac impedance spectroscopy revealed that the resistance of the electrode charged with FSI was much lower even than that charged in a solvent electrolyte system containing ethylene carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC). On the basis of these physicochemical analyses, the origins of cycleability in the presence of FSI are discussed.     

Development of a digital control system for high-performance pneumatic servo valve

Pneumatic servo systems are used in many fields, such as pneumatic robot systems or vibration isolation systems. To improve the controllability of the pneumatic servo system, a higher performance servo valve is needed.In the present paper, a pneumatic spool type servo valve having an air bearing and a high-resolution position sensor was developed. We attempted to achieve high-frequency, high-accuracy flow rate control by digitization of the controller. We present herein a control algorithm for digital control of this valve.The characteristics of this valve were measured and the natural frequency of the valve was clarified to be up to 300 Hz. The spool position accuracy and the dynamic characteristics of the developed servo valve are greatly improved compared to existing valves.     

Controllable threshold voltage of a pentacene field-effect transistor based on a double-dielectric structure

The authors report controllable threshold voltage (V_th) in a pentacene field-effect transistor based on a double-dielectric structure of poly(perfluoroalkenyl vinyl ether) (CYTOP) and SiO₂. When a positive switching voltage is applied to the gate electrode of the transistor, electrons traverse through the pentacene and CYTOP layers and subsequently trapped at the CYTOP/SiO₂ interface. The trapped electrons induce accumulation of additional holes in the pentacene conducting channel, resulting in a large V_th shift from ?4.4 to +4.6 V. By applying a negative switching voltage, the trapped electrons are removed from the CYTOP/SiO₂ interface, resulting in V_th returning to an initial value. The V_th shift caused by this floating gate-like effect is reversible and very time-stable allowing the transistor to be applicable to a nonvolatile memory that has excellent retention stability of stored data.     

Ammonia decomposition in catalytic membrane reactors: Simulation and experimental studies

Catalytic decomposition of NH₃ with H₂‐selective microporous silica membranes for CO_x‐free hydrogen production was studied theoretically and experimentally. The simulation study shows that NH₃ conversion, H₂ yield and H₂ purity increase with the Damköhler number (Da), and their improvement is affected by the effect of H₂ extraction as well as NH₃ and N₂ permeation through the membranes. The experimental study of NH₃ decomposition was carried out in a bimodal catalytic membrane reactor (BCMR), consisting of a bimodal catalytic support and a H₂‐selective silica layer. Catalytic membranes showed H₂ permeances of 6.2–9.8 × 10^?7 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1, with H₂/NH₃ and H₂/N₂ permeance ratios of 110–200 and 200–700, respectively, at 773 K. The effect of operating conditions on membrane reactor performance with respect to NH₃ conversion, H₂ yield and H₂ purity was investigated, and the results were in agreement with those calculated by the proposed simulation model. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 168–179, 2013     

Liposome-assisted activity of superoxide dismutase under oxidative stress

A biological membrane is the front line of defense for cells against various environmental stresses such as heat and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and is expected to play an important role in the antioxidant system with antioxidant enzymes, similarly to its chaperone-like function in cooperation with heat shock proteins. The oxidative stress response of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is known to catalyze the dismutation of O(2)(-) to H(2)O(2), was investigated in the presence of artificial membranes, liposomes, in order to obtain fundamental information on the biological ROS scavenging system. SOD lost its activity in the presence of H(2)O(2) and was found to have two loops including one which contains an alpha-helix which presents the substrate O(2)(-) to the activity center of SOD (Cu(II)). From circular dichroism analysis of SOD in the presence of H(2)O(2), the contents of the alpha-helix in SOD were found to decrease in correspondence with the inactivation and conformational change of SOD, suggesting that the conformation of the alpha-helix loops affects SOD activity. In the presence of liposomes composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), SOD was not inactivated in the presence of H(2)O(2) although the contents of its alpha-helix structure were decreased. The oxidized SOD was found to interact with the liposome surface under oxidative stress using dielectric dispersion analysis. Based on these results, a possible mechanism of SOD protection against ROS on liposomes was presented.     

Seismic performance of small earth dams with sloping core zones and geosynthetic clay liners using full-scale shaking table tests

In Japan, a large number of old small earth dams are in critical need of repair due to leakage and poor earthquake resistance. In addition to cohesive soils, geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) are used as impervious materials to repair such dams. This paper discusses the seismic performance of small earth dams, with reservoirs on their upstream side, repaired with a sloping core zone and a GCL on the basis of the results of full-scale shaking table tests performed at the E-Defense facility. The main focus is on the differences in mechanical behavior between the upstream and downstream sides of the dam. The results elucidate that the effective stress of the upstream embankment materials increased because of the undrained shear behavior of the compacted soils, although the deformation on the upstream side was larger than that on the downstream side. A large phase difference in the measured accelerations between the upstream slope and the downstream slope was also observed. Therefore, it is concluded that significant differences occurred in the dynamic behavior of the upstream side and the downstream side.     

Crystallization behaviour and hardness of glass ceramics rich in nanocrystals of ZrO2

This research is mainly directed toward the development of hardness of glass ceramic by adding different amounts of ZrO₂ to the glass and by applying different heat-treatments. Differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to study the crystallization behaviour of the glass samples. The only observed crystalline phases were tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia. Hardness was found to increase by increasing time and temperature of heat-treatment due to the formation of monoclinic phase as a result of the martensitic reaction. This transformation opposes crack opening.     

Reversible binding of heme to proteins in cellular signal transduction

Heme plays critical roles in numerous biological phenomena. Recent evidence has uncovered a new role of heme in cellular signal transduction, and its mechanism involves reversible binding of heme to proteins. This Account highlights the novel function of heme as an intracellular messenger in the regulation of gene expression and ion channel function.     

Incorporation of transition metal in porous glass-ceramics of TiO2-SiO2 system

Incorporation of transition metals in porous glass-ceramics of TiO₂-SiO₂ system was made by the phase separation and crystallization of the glasses of TiO₂-SiO₂-Al₂O₃-P₂O₅-CaO-MgO system containing various kinds of transition metals. The amount of transition metals incorporated in the skeleton of the porous glass-ceramics was dependent on both chemical composition of mother glass and conditions of heat treatment. In general the amount decreased with the increasing amount of rutile in the skeleton. In the glass of high TiO₂/SiO₂ ratio, the incorporation of relatively large amounts of transition metals was possible even if the precipitation of a fairly large amount of rutile occurred. The crystallization of rutile and in porous glass-ceramics was essential to fabricate rigid platelet porous glass-ceramics.     

Thermal and chemical properties of TiO2-SiO2 porous glass-ceramics

The thermal and chemical stability of porous glass-ceramics of the TiO₂-SiO₂ system have been investigated. Porous glass-ceramics containing both anatase and rutile had thermal expansion coefficients of 40 to 55 x 10^–7 K^–1 in the range 0 to 700° C. They remained porous up to 1000° C, while the pores of high-silica porous glass of Vycor type collapsed completely at that temperature. The high thermal stability of the porous glass-ceramics may be attributed to a high viscosity due to dispersed crystallites of anatase and rutile in the skeleton. Most of the anatase in the skeleton was transformed to rutile by heat treatment at 900° C, but some of it remained untransformed even after 6 h. Surface -OH groups identified by IR spectroscopy were removed by dehydration polycondensation with heating up to 900° C. The porous glass-ceramics were quite durable to alkali solution compared with high-silica porous glass. The excellent durability of these porous glass-ceramics was attributed to the large amount of TiO₂ contained in the skeletal structure.