Characterization of alkaline-earth oxide additions to the MnO2 cathode in an aqueous secondary battery

The effect of alkaline-earth oxide additions on aqueous rechargeable battery is investigated using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The alkaline-earth oxide additions such as magnesium oxide (MgO) and barium oxide (BaO) were physically mixed to the manganese dioxide (MnO₂) cathode of a cell comprising zinc as an anode and aqueous lithium hydroxide as the electrolyte. The results showed that such additions greatly improved the discharge capacity of the battery (from 145 to 195 for MgO and 265 mAh/g for BaO). Capacity fade with subsequent cycling is reduced only for MgO but not for BaO. With an aim to understand the role of these additives and its improvement in cell performance, we have used microscopy, spectroscopy, ion beam analysis and diffraction based techniques to study the process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis (EDS) results showed evidence of crystalline MnO₂ particles for MgO as additive, whereas, MnO₂ particles with diffused structure leading to mixture of phases is observed for BaO additives which is in agreement with X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. This work relates to improvement in the electrochemical behaviour of the Zn-MnO₂ battery while the MgO additive helps to reduce the formation of manganese and zinc such as hetaerolite that hinders the lithium intercalation.     

Socio-economic profile and food safety knowledge and practice of street food vendors in the city of Guwahati,Assam, India

Street food is an integral part of society in all countries – underdeveloped, developing or developed. As such the standard of hygiene maintained is a very vital matter. Every region has its sets of factors affecting the hygiene maintain. In the present study a survey was carried out in Guwahati city to determine the existing socio-economic status and food safety knowledge of street food vendors. Data on socio-economic and business profile of 80 vendors were collected using three standardized proformas.A study was also conducted on the existing knowledge of vendors on food safety and hygiene practices and methods of procurement of raw materials. The knowledge and procurement practices of the vendors were assessed for association with some relevant socio-economic factors. From the study it was observed that majority of street food vendors were mobile food vendors (54%) with the remaining being owners of small restaurants and food handlers. Majority of the food vendors were local to Guwahati city (93%). The average daily income of the mobile food vendors were between Rs. 200 to Rs. 600. It also was noted that only 30%–37% vendors were aware of hygienic practices of food handling and a mere 8%–11% of food vendors had knowledge on biological sources of food contamination.It was concluded that there is a high degree of association between procurement practices with the type of vendors, ownership status and average income. But no outstanding association exists with any socio-economic factor with the knowledge of the vendors on food hygiene. The street food scenario in the city was found to be quite dismal and requires stringent steps to improve matters.     

Microstructural and spectroscopic investigations into the effect of CeO2 additions on the performance of a MnO2 aqueous rechargeable battery

The influence of CeO₂ additions on the electrochemical behaviour of the MnO₂ cathode in a Zn-MnO₂ battery using lithium hydroxide (LiOH) as an electrolyte is investigated using microscopy and spectroscopic techniques. The results showed that such additions greatly improve the discharge capacity of the battery (from 155 to 190 mAh g⁻¹) but only from the second discharge cycle onwards. Capacity fade with subsequent cycling is also greatly reduced. With an aim to understand the role of CeO₂ on the discharge-charge characteristics of MnO₂ and its mechanism, we have used a range of microscopy, spectroscopy and diffraction-based techniques to study the process. The CeO₂ is not modified by multiple discharged and charged cycles. The CeO₂ may enhance the discharge-charge performance of the battery by raising the oxygen evolution potential during charging but does not take part directly in the redox reaction.     

Surfactant controlled synthesis of crystalline phosphovanadate nanorods

Phosphovanadate nanorods were obtained in a reaction of vanadium (V) oxide as a precursor and a cationic surfactant, dodecylpyridinium chloride, as structure directing template at pH ∼3 at room temperature. The composition and morphology of the nanorods was established by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The obtained nanorods have diameters of 40-60 nm with lengths up to 1 μm. The effect of reaction parameters such as concentration of surfactant and pH of the solution on the growth of nanorods has been investigated. A plausible mechanism involving the coalescence of nanoparticle ‘seeds’ leading to one-dimensional nanorods is also discussed. The same reaction when performed under hydrothermal condition, keeping other reaction parameters unchanged, resulted in the formation of phosphovanadate nanospheres of diameter 10-15 nm.     

Analytical investigation to achieve the highest phase difference between two orthogonal components of light in lithium niobate based electro-optic system

Electro-optic Pockels cell are important opto-electronic devices for conduction of optical switching, optical modulation, where an electrical biasing signal acts on a polarized light passing through the system. Since last few decades lots of works are reported in this area. Again, it is observed that a good switching or modulation becomes realized if the depth of modulation is increased by increasing more phase difference between two orthogonal polarized components of light passing through the material against a biasing signal. Here in this paper the authors propose a new scheme, where multi-passing technique is used to create a high degree of phase difference between those two orthogonal polarized components of light against the biasing signal. The multi-passing of light through the material enables more and more optical path length for the light. So, more and more phase difference between the components of light beams, one passing outside the material and other passing through the material multiple times is created. This method ultimately generates a high degree of depth of modulation in optical switching.     

The influence of bismuth oxide doping on the rechargeability of aqueous cells using MnO2 cathode and LiOH electrolyte

Bi-doped manganese dioxide (MnO₂) has been prepared from γ-MnO₂ by physical admixture of bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃). The doping improved the cycling ability of the aqueous cell. These results are discussed and compared with the electrochemical behavior of bismuth-free MnO₂. Batteries using the traditional potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte are non-rechargeable. However, with lithium hydroxide (LiOH) as an electrolyte, the cell becomes rechargeable. Furthermore, the incorporation of bismuth into MnO₂ in the LiOH cell was found to result in significantly longer cycle life, compared with cells using undoped MnO₂. The Bi-doped cell exhibited a greater capacity after 100 discharge cycles, than the undoped cell after just 40 cycles. X-ray diffraction and the microscopic analysis suggest that the presence of Bi³⁺ ions reduces the magnitude of structural changes occurring in MnO₂ during cycling. Comparison with additives assessed in our previous studies (titanium disulfide (TiS₂); titanium boride (TiB₂)) shows that the best rechargeability behavior is obtained for the current Bi-doped MnO₂. As the size of Bi³⁺ ions (0.96 Å) is much larger than Mn³⁺ (0.73 Å) or Mn²⁺ (0.67 Å) they have effectively prevented the formation of non-rechargeable products.     

Kinetic modeling of esterification of cardanol‐based epoxy resin in the presence of triphenylphosphine for producing vinyl ester resin: Mechanistic rate equation

In this study, cardanol‐based epoxidized novolac resins and methacrylic acid were used to produce cardanol‐based epoxidised novolac vinyl ester resins. The reactions were conducted under nonstoichiometric condition using triphenylphosphine as catalyst in the temperature range of 80–100°C with an interval of 5°C. The first‐order rate equation and mechanism based rate equation were examined. Parameters were evaluated by least square method. A comparison of mechnism based rate equation and experimental data showed an excellent agreement. Finally, Arrhenius equation and activation energy were presented. The specific rate constants, based on linear regression analysis, were found to obey Arrhenius equation. The values of activation energy, frequency factor, enthalpy, entropy, and free energy of the reaction revealed that the reaction was spontaneous and irreversible and produced a highly activated complex. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Lithium insertion into manganese dioxide electrode in MnO2/Zn aqueous battery: Part I. A preliminary study

The discharge characteristics of manganese dioxide (γ-MnO₂ of electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) type) as a cathode material in a Zn–MnO₂ battery containing saturated aqueous LiOH electrolyte have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data on the discharged material indicate that lithium is intercalated into the host structure of EMD without the destruction of its core structure. The XPS data show that a layer of insoluble material, possibly Li₂CO₃, is deposited on the cathode, creating a barrier to H₂O, thus preventing the formation of Mn hydroxides, but allowing the migration of Li ions into the MnO₂ structure. The cell could be reversibly charged with 83% of voltaic efficiency at 0.5 mA/cm² current density to a 1.9 V cutoff voltage. The percentage utilization of the cathode material during discharge was 56%.     

Electrochemical behavior of anatase TiO2 in aqueous lithium hydroxide electrolyte

The electrochemical behavior of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) in aqueous lithium hydroxide (LiOH) electrolyte has been investigated. Cyclic voltammetry shows that electroreduction results in the formation of a number of products. X-ray diffraction of the electroreduced TiO₂ shows that Li _x TiO₂, Ti₂O₃, Ti₂O and TiO are formed. The formation of Li _x TiO₂ is confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies of the electroreduced TiO₂. The formation of Li _x TiO₂ is electro reversible. In this respect, the electrochemical behavior of TiO₂ in concentrated aqueous lithium hydroxide electrolyte is similar to that for lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) non-aqueous media.     

Handling of impreciseness in gray level corner detection using fuzzy set theoretic approach

Reliable corner detection is an important task in determining shape of different regions in an image. To detect corners in a gray level image under imprecise information, an algorithm based on fuzzy set theoretic model is proposed. The uncertainties arising due to various types of imaging defects such as blurring, illumination change, noise, etc., usually result in missing of significant curvature junctions (corners). Fuzzy set theory based modeling is well known for efficient handling of impreciseness. In order to handle the incompleteness arising due to imperfection of data, it is reasonable to model image properties in fuzzy frame work for reliable decision making. The robustness of the proposed algorithm is compared with well known conventional detectors. The performance is tested on a number of benchmark test images to illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm.