Synthesis, optical and morphological characterization of soluble main chain 1,3,4-oxadiazole copolyarylethers—potential candidates for solar cells applications as electron acceptors

New copoly(arylether)s containing substituted terphenyl, quinquephenyl, fluorene and anthracene moieties with aromatic 1,3,4-oxadiazole units were prepared and the resulting copolymers are soluble in common organic solvents. Investigation of their optical properties revealed that they emit blue and yellow light. Moreover, their photovoltaic response was studied in blends with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the electron donor. Despite the low power conversion efficiencies it was shown that photo-induced electron transfer does take place and the performances are higher than a single layer P3HT device. In addition, an anthracene-fluorene-oxadiazole main chain copolymer (PAFOXD) was also examined in a single layer photovoltaic device and gave one of the highest reported open-circuit voltage (V_oc) values in the literature (0.89 V). Finally, a detailed morphological study of the blends and the PAFOXD surface using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique, revealed the effect of solvent selection to the preparation of thin films exhibiting the desired performance characteristics.     

Performance of Methanol Oxidation Catalysts with Varying Pt:Ru Ratio as a Function of Temperature

This paper describes the effects of varying the Pt to Ru ratio in carbon-supported catalysts for methanol oxidation as a function of temperature. Previously these effects were studied in isolation, but now it is shown that the composition of a given catalyst as a function of temperature is extremely important for its activity towards methanol oxidation. Platinum rich 3:2 atomic ratio catalysts perform better than a 1:1 catalyst at 25 °C, where only Pt is believed to be active towards methanol dehydrogenation, since this process is a highly thermally activated process on Ru sites. This result is reversed at 65 °C, where the 1:1 catalyst displays much higher currents across the entire range of polarization. This may result from methanol dehydrogenation occurring on both Ru and Pt sites at higher temperatures. At an intermediate temperature, 45 °C, the 3:2 catalyst is seen to perform better at lower current values, while the 1:1 catalyst is superior at higher current densities, with the crossover occurring at 62 A g^–1. As a consequence, when designing fuel cell catalysts, the composition of the catalyst employed should be tailored with respect to the exact operating conditions, in order to promote optimum fuel cell performance.     

ASSESSMENT OF RED BLOOD CELL DEFORMABILITY BY CENTRIFUGAL SEDIMENTATION

A centrifugal sedimentation method (CSM) is proposed for the assessment of deformability of red blood cells. The method is based on the premise that a red blood cell (RBC) should deform in a centrifugal field due to the variation of the centrifugal acceleration with the distance from the center of rotation. This change in shape of the RBC leads to a change in the rate of sedimentation in the centrifugal field. The rate of sedimentation, which serves as a measure of deformability, is characterized by an apparent sedimentation coefficient (ASC) and its normalized value (NASC), which is calculated by comparison with a control group of normal RBCs. It has been shown that the NASC is sensitive to the speed of rotation, to treatments with glutaraldehyde, diamide, or chlorpromazine, to heat treatment and to osmotic pressure variations.     

Fabrication and characterization of PFSI/ePTFE composite proton exchange membranes of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

PFSI/ePTFE composite proton exchange membranes were fabricated by impregnating perfluorosulfonic acid resin (PFSI resin, Nafion) into chemically modified expanded PTFE (ePTFE) matrix. Chemical modification of sodium-naphthalene treatment and N-methylol acrylamide (NMA) grafting decreased the contact angle of the as-received ePTFE from 125 ± 0.5° to 67 ± 0.5°, effectively converting the as-received hydrophobic ePTFE to a hydrophilic ePTFE matrix. The composite membrane fabricated with the hydrophilic ePTFE have higher impregnated PFSI loading, much lower porosity and better PTFE/PFSI interface contact, as compared to the composite membranes with the as-received ePTFE. This leads to much lower gas permeability and significantly improves the durability under an accelerated dry/wet cycle test. The fuel cell made from the PFSI/ePTFE composite membranes with hydrophilic ePTFE showed superior performance as compared to that with the composite membrane made from the as-received ePTFE and Nafion 211 membrane.     

直接甲醇燃料电池用碳气凝胶载铂催化剂的研究

利用溶胶—疑胶方法制备了高比表面积的碳气凝胶,利用浸渍还原法制备了Pt/碳气凝胶和Pt/C催化剂。采用BJH和TEM考察碳气凝胶的孔径分布和金属粒子的大小与分布,循环伏安曲线测试考察Pt/碳气凝胶对甲醇催化氧化性能的影响。结果表明,碳气凝胶的比表面积达到480 m2/g,孔径分布良好,催化剂金属颗粒较小,分散较好,循环伏安曲线图显示出Pt/碳气凝胶比传统的Pt/C对甲醇催化氧化性能高。     

Electro-oxidation of methanol on Pt-Rh alloys

Methanol adsorption and electro-oxidation on Pt-Rh alloys have been studied in aqueous 0.5 M H₂SO₄ for a broad range of alloy surface composition including the pure Pt and Rh metals. Adsorption results have been compared with equivalent data obtained for CO and CO₂ adsorption on these alloys. Current densities of continuous methanol oxidation on Pt, Rh and a Pt-Rh alloy with optimum surface molar fraction of Rh have been measured.Although on the pure Pt and Rh metals the methanol adsorption products exhibit similar energetic stability, as judged from the peak potential of electro-desorption, on the Pt-Rh alloys, there is a lowering of the stability. Similar behavior is observed for the CO and CO₂ adsorption products, however, the lowering for methanol is much less than for CO and CO₂. In the case of methanol, the maximum lowering is obtained for a surface molar fraction of Rh equal to ca. 0.65 and it is the same alloy surface composition that results in maximum lowering of the stability of the CO₂ adsorption products, but not of the CO adsorption products (optimal fraction of Rh equal ca. 0.10). Structural similarity of the methanol and the CO₂ adsorption products finds support in similar values of the electrons-per-site parameter obtained.Pt-Rh alloys show insufficient electrode potential improvement over Pt in continuous methanol electro-oxidation due to the susceptibility of Rh to strong poisoning by the methanol adsorption products, which switches off the bi-functional mechanism of methanol electro-oxidation on this alloy. The presence of Rh in the alloy with Pt additionally strongly lowers the methanol electro-oxidation turnover rate of the Pt component.     

Production of hydrogen for fuel cells by reformation of biomass-derived ethanol

The reformation of biomass-derived ethanol to a hydrogen-rich gas stream suitable for feeding fuel cells is investigated as an efficient and environmentally friendly process for the production of electricity for mobile and stationary applications. Steam reforming of ethanol is investigated over Ni catalysts supported on La₂O₃, Al₂O₃, YSZ and MgO. The influence of several parameters on the catalytic activity and selectivity is examined including reaction temperature, water-to-ethanol ratio and space velocity. Results reveal that the Ni/La₂O₃ catalyst exhibits high activity and selectivity toward hydrogen production and, most important, long term stability for steam reforming of ethanol. The enhanced stability of this catalyst may be due to scavenging of coke deposition on the Ni surface by lanthanum oxycarbonate species which exist on top of the Ni particles under reaction conditions.     

抗人A血型杂交瘤细胞高密度培养条件的研究

抗人 A 血型杂交瘤15B_4细胞在 CelliGen 细胞培养罐中进行连续灌注培养,细胞密度达1.6×10~7/ml。每天灌注新培养液量由1000ml 增到2300ml,第14天后又逐日减少至1000ml,死细胞数随着转速的增加和灌注量的减少而增多。血凝效价呈梯度上升,滴度达到2~(14),相当于腹水效价。培养6天 IgM 产量为0.2克/升/天,10～18天波动在1.45～1.8克/升/天。15B_4细胞代谢与葡萄糖、乳酸有关,与氨无关。CelliGen 自控效果较好,适用于杂交瘤细胞的高密度培养。搅拌速度在120～150r/min 对细胞产生的剪切力有明显地破坏作用。溶氧控制系统有待改进。     

Investigation of LSM/8YSZ cathode within an all-ceramic SOFC,Part II: Optimization of performance and co-sinterability

This paper focuses on the cathode and current collector layers of a co-sintered, all-ceramic solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) concept. Challenges to reach good electrochemical performance have to be overcome, due to more demanding manufacturing conditions, including a relatively high co-sintering temperature. Master sintering curves show that the sintering activity of lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) is significantly higher than that of 8-mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ). By applying a double-layered cathode and a current collector with optimized microstructures the best electrochemical performance of the cathode is 0.26 $\mathrm{\Omega }$cm${}^2$ at 800 $°$C, evaluated from polarization resistances of 8YSZ electrolyte-supported symmetric cells post-sintered at 1150 $°$C $<T<1250$ $°$C. The cathode and current collector materials are adapted to fit the co-sintering process by adjustment of the paste compositions. Half-cells consisting of silicate mechanical support, LSM current collector, LSM mixed with 8YSZ composite cathode and 8YSZ electrolyte are co-sintered porous and defect-free at 1150 $°$C $<T<1250$ $°$C.     

固定化微生物细胞降解邻苯二甲酸二丁酯

The biodegradation of di-n-butyl phthalate （DBP） using immobilized microbial cells was carded out in an internal airlift loop reactor with ceramic honeycomb supports. A strain that is capable of degrading DBP was isolated from the activated sludge and identified as Bacillus sp. using 16S rDNA sequential analysis. Bacillus sp. could be rapidly attached onto the ceramic honeycomb supports. The immobilized cells could effectively degrade DBP in batch and continuous experiments. When the influent concentration of DBP was 50mg·L^-1, the effluent DBP reached less than lmg.L i with 6h hydraulic retention time （HRT） in continuous experiment. The immobilized microbial cells could grow and accumulate through the biodegradation of DBP, and the rate of degradation is accordingly increased. The possible pathway of DBP biodegradation using immobilized cells was tentatively proposed.