Effect of composition of (La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2) cathodes: Correlating three-dimensional microstructure and polarization resistance

Composite La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSM)-Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ (YSZ) cathodes with compositions ranging from 30:70 to 70:30 wt.% LSM:YSZ were studied both electrochemically and microstructurally. Polarization resistance was lowest for the 50 wt.% YSZ composition, and increased symmetrically as the composition deviated from this value. Serial-sectioning using focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy was implemented to reconstruct the three-dimensional cathode microstructure. Various averaged structural parameters were determined versus composition, including phase volume fractions, surface area densities, total triple-phase boundary (TPB) densities, interfacial curvatures, phase tortuosities, and the levels of phase connectivity. Typically >90% of the pore and YSZ networks were found to be intra-connected to the surrounding phase, but the LSM networks showed lower connected fractions, as low as 37.5% for a LSM weight fraction of 30%. The composition dependences of the total TPB density and electrochemically-active TPB density (i.e., TPB's on three fully intra-connected phases) were shown to agree reasonably well with simple “sphere-packing” structural models. An electrochemical model that accounted for the linear-specific resistance of TPB's, phase intra-connectivity, and oxygen ion transport in the YSZ as influenced by its tortuosity, was found to provide reasonable agreement with the measured polarization resistance versus composition.     

Promotion of the electrocatalytic activity of a bimetallic platinum-ruthenium catalyst by repetitive redox treatments for direct methanol fuel cell

Pt-Ru/C catalyst (12 wt%) was prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method followed by a redox heat-treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results revealed uniformly distributed metallic crystallites of Pt-Ru alloy nanoparticles (d_PtRu = 2.1 ± 1.0 nm). The effect of redox treatments of the impregnated catalysts on methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The MOR activity of the PtRu/C was significantly improved after each oxidation step of the redox treatment cycles. The enhanced catalytic activity was found to be quite stable in chronoamperometry (CA) measurements. CV, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results strongly suggested that the improved catalytic activity was due to the formation of a stable c-RuO_x (x = 2-3) domain during the oxidation treatments. A bifunctional based mechanism was proposed for the MOR on the oxidized PtRu/C catalysts. Formation of Ru-OH species on the surface of c-RuO_x domains was suggested as stale sites for the oxidation of carbon monoxide adsorbed on the Pt catalytic sites.     

FTO@Cu_2S复合对电极的制备及性能研究

利用溶胶凝胶法合成10~20 nm的FTO颗粒,制备成FTO基底膜。运用离子交换法将Cu2S颗粒负载到FTO基底膜上,制备出FTO@Cu2S复合对电极。通过控制交换次数来调节Cu2S的负载量。封装电池光电性能测试结果表明,离子交换法制备的对电极可以有效降低电池的内部串阻,提高电池的填充因子,当交换次数为3时,电池的光电转换效率最高可达1.84%。     

Effect of dimethylamino substituent on tetraphenylethylene-based hole transport material in perovskite solar cells

A N,N-dimethylamino substituted tetraphenylethylene derivative (TPE-NMe) was synthesized and characterized, and was successfully applied as hole transport material (HTM) in perovskite solar cells. The methoxy-substituted analogue TPE-4DPA was also studied for comparison. The effect of replacing the para-methoxy substituent with N,N-dimethylamino on photophysical properties, energy levels, and hole transport properties is investigated. Photovoltaic performances of the corresponding devices using the two HTMs are studied. Compared to the methoxy substituent, the N,N-dimethylamino groups in TPE-NMe generates a lower V_oc (0.87 V), yet it provides higher J_sc (21.69 mA/cm²) and FF (0.73) values, resulting in an overall power conversion efficiency of 13.78%.     

PV output power fluctuations smoothing: The MYRTE platform experience

The MYRTE platform is one of the PEPITE project applications included in the PAN-H program of the French Research National Agency, under the reference ANR-07-PANH-012. This platform consists of a photovoltaic array, a fuel cell, an electrolyzer, tanks (H₂, O₂ and H₂O), a thermal management system and electricity converters associated to various sub-systems.     

The anti-tumor effects of cordycepin-loaded liposomes on the growth of hepatoma 22 tumors in mice and human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells in culture

Liposomes have successfully been used for decades to encapsulate and protect drugs that are prone to deactivation in the body. The present study aimed to demonstrate the use of liposomes to encapsulate cordycepin, an adenosine analog that quickly loses its activity in vivo. The cordycepin-loaded liposomes were prepared by the ammonium sulfate gradient approach, and its in vitro and in vivo antitumour activities were evaluated using BEL-7402 cells and hepatocellular carcinoma H22 transplanted tumors, respectively. An MTT assay was used to observe the cytotoxicity of cells treated with cordycepin and cordycepin-loaded liposomes in vitro. High-content screening (HSC) was carried out using Hoechst 33342 to detect apoptotic cells and the ratio of cells in different cell cycle stages. The data demonstrated that both the cordycepin and the cordycepin-loaded liposomes resulted in clear cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 18.97 and 29.39?μg/mL, respectively. The latter showed significantly strong inhibitory effects on H22 tumor growth in mice, while the former did not show any inhibitory effects on tumor growth. In addition, the HSC assay showed that the cordycepin-loaded liposomes resulted in a higher rate of apoptosis than the cordycepin alone in BEL-7402 cells. Further data analysis revealed that the cells treated with cordycepin-loaded liposomes were predominately arrested at the G2/M phase (p?p?in vivo anti-tumor activity of cordycepin.     

Lingual Epithelial Stem Cells and Organoid Culture of Them

As tongue cancer is one of the major malignant cancers in the world, understanding the mechanism of maintenance of lingual epithelial tissue, which is known to be the origin of tongue cancer, is unquestionably important. However, the actual stem cells that are responsible for the long-term maintenance of the lingual epithelium have not been identified. Moreover, a simple and convenient culture method for lingual epithelial stem cells has not yet been established. Recently, we have shown that Bmi1-positive cells, residing at the second or third layer of the epithelial cell layer at the base of the interpapillary pit (IPP), were slow-cycling and could supply keratinized epithelial cells for over one year, indicating that Bmi1-positive cells are long-term lingual epithelial stem cells. In addition, we have developed a novel lingual epithelium organoid culture system using a three-dimensional matrix and growth factors. Here, we discuss current progress in the identification of lingual stem cells and future applications of the lingual culture system for studying the regulatory mechanisms of the lingual epithelium and for regenerative medicine.     

Visibly transparent conjugated polymers based on non-alternant cyclopenta-fused emeraldicene for polymer solar cells

In this study, we synthesized two emeraldicene (EMD)-based conjugated polymers, PBTEMD and PFEMD, through polymerization of 4,7-di(thien-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole and 9,9-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-9H-fluorene, respectively. We then blended these EMD-derived polymers (as electron-donating materials) with [6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) in the active layers of polymer solar cells (PSCs) and investigate their optoelectronic properties and related photovoltaic performance. To best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use EMD derivatives for PSC applications. We compared the molecular structures, absorption behavior, energy levels, thermal properties, and thermal stability of these two polymers to determine their suitability for use in PSCs. The main absorption of PFEMD was in the near-IR spectrum (600–800 nm). We observed a transparency of greater than 80% for the blend film of PFEMD having a thickness of 95 nm; the constructed device exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.5% and the transparent PFEMD:PC₆₁BM-derived device exhibited a PCE of 1.2% under AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm⁻²). We observed a significant improvement in thermal stability for the device incorporating the additive crosslinker TBT-N₃; it retained approximately 60% of its initial PCE after accelerated heating (150 °C) for 18 h. In contrast, the PCE of the corresponding normal device decayed to 0.01% of its initial value.     

Novel organic dye employing dithiafulvenyl-substituted arylamine hybrid donor unit for dye-sensitized solar cells

In order to increase electron-donating ability of the donor part of the organic dye, two dithiafulvenyl (DTF) units were introduced into a triphenylamine unit to form dithiafulvenyl-substituted triphenylamine hybrid donor for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) for the first time. Novel donor–acceptor organic dye WD-10 containing this hybrid donor and 2-cyanoacetic acid acceptor has been designed, synthesized and applied in DSSCs. The influence of the substituent unit DTF in the dye on the device performance has been investigated. It was found that the dye with dithiafulvenyl-substituted triphenylamine hybrid donor gave higher photocurrent, open-circuit voltage, and efficiency value. The DSSC based on organic dye WD-10 displayed a short-circuit current (J_sc) of 9.58 mA cm^?2, an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 648 mV, and a fill factor (ff) of 0.71, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 4.41%. An increase in η of about 79% was obtained from simple triphenylamine dye L0 to WD-10. The different photovoltaic behaviors of the solar cells based on the organic dyes were further elucidated by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. This work identifies that the introduction of DTF unit into the simple triphenylamine dye could significant improve the photovoltaic performance.