Effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles on the performance of gas diffusion electrodes for the oxygen reduction reaction

The effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles (Pt/C) with nitric acid was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, polarization experiments and chronoamperometry. Cyclic voltammograms, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectra showed that the treated catalyst had much larger active surface area and higher ionic conductivity than the untreated catalyst, and provided enhanced performance for oxygen reduction. The formation of acidic groups was examined by IR spectra. The Pt/C surface oxidation had a large effect on the performance of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction.     

A disposable sensor based on immobilization of acetylcholinesterase to multiwall carbon nanotube modified screen-printed electrode for determination of carbaryl

A simple method has been devised for immobilization of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) covalent bonding to a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT)-cross-linked cellulose acetate composite on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and a sensitive and disposable amperometric sensor for rapid determination of carbaryl pesticide is proposed. The immobilized enzyme was preserved on this film because of the excellent biocompatibility and non-toxicity of cellulose acetate. Based on the inherent conductive properties of the MWNT, the immobilized AChE had greater affinity for ATCl and excellent catalytic effect in the hydrolysis of ATCl. MWNT improved the interface enzymatic hydrolysis reaction and increased the amperometric response of the sensor. Under optimum conditions, the inhibition of carbaryl on AChE increased linearly with the increasing concentration of carbaryl in two ranges, from 0.01 to 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ and from 2 to 20 μg mL⁻¹, with the correlation coefficients of 0.9985 and 0.9977, respectively. The detection limit was 0.004 μg mL⁻¹ taken as the concentration equivalent to 10% decrease in signal. The sensor showed acceptable stability, accuracy and could be fabricated in batches, thus it is economic and portable. This type of disposable enzyme-based amperometric sensor has extensive application potential in environmental monitoring of pesticides.     

Oxidation of some aliphatic polyols on anodically deposited MnO2

Galvanostatic steady state current potential measurements were carried out for oxidation of a series of aliphatic alcohols having varying number of hydroxyl groups. The anodically deposited layer of MnO₂ on platinum was used as the electrode material. The deposit was characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and electrode potential measurements. The catalytic role of MnO₂ in the electro-oxidation of alcohols was indicated by the chronopotentiograms and the cyclic voltammograms. An analysis of the electrochemical data indicated a catalytic EC mechanism in which Mn (V) is generated electrochemically and consumed chemically in succession. Based on this and the hydrogen bonding interaction between alcoholic hydroxyl groups and MnO₂ layer, a mechanism was proposed which accounts for the variation in the observed electrochemical reaction orders. Tafel behaviour was found to be followed only approximately. Current efficiency of the electrochemical oxidation of polyols was studied. Replacement of platinum by carbon as current collector was found to leave the electrocatalytic activity of the MnO₂ deposit practically unaltered.     

Electrochemical behaviour of phenylethanolamine at gold in aqueous solution

The electrooxidation of phenylethanolamine (2-amino-1-phenylethanol) at a gold electrode in alkaline electrolyte has been studied. Measurement of the differential capacitance of the electric double layer versus the electrode potential has shown that the adsorption of phenylethanolamine at the gold-solution interface plays a significant role in the oxidation mechanism. The effect of amine concentration, electrolyte pH and potential scan rate on the electrooxidation is analysed.     

ΝΗ<Subscript>3</Subscript> decomposition in a proton conducting solid electrolyte cell

The reaction of NH₃ decomposition was studied on Ag in a proton conducting double chamber cell-reactor. The proton conductor was a strontia-ceria-ytterbia (SCY) perovskite of the form SrCe_0.95Yb_0.05O_3−α. The reaction was studied at 350–700 °C and atmospheric total pressure. The proton transference number (PTN) was calculated by simultaneous measurement of the imposed current and the proton flux and it was found to vary between 0.5 and 0.7. The effects of imposed current, temperature and inlet gas composition on the reaction rate and the PTN, were examined. Although the faradaic efficiency (Λ) remained near unity in all experiments, reaction rate enhancements (ρ) as high as 57 were achieved. An up to 90% decrease in the activation energy of the reaction was observed when protons were electrochemically “pumped” away from the catalyst.     

High-performance carbon counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Here, we reported that a new carbon electrode prepared with an activated carbon was superior to a Pt sputtered electrode as the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells. The photovoltaic performance was largely influenced by the roughness factor of carbon electrode. The open-circuit voltage increased by about 60 mV using the carbon counter electrode compared to the Pt counter electrode because of positive shift of the formal potential for I₃⁻/I⁻ couple.     

二次电池电极基板用复合多孔金属材料的研究

介绍了一种复合金属多孔体的制备及其方法，首先以泡沫塑料为芯膜，经过导电化处理使其具有导电性，其次进行电沉积金属铁，再进行电沉积金属镍，经过热处理后可制备出复合金属多孔体。该复合金属多孔体用铁取代金属镍，其抗拉性能优于单质泡沫镍，同时可以降低制造成本，主要用于载体如电池电极。     

提高中高含水期油井压裂经济效益的方法

为提高葡北油田中高含水期油井压裂经济效益，合理选择压裂井层尤为重要。应用水驱特征曲线预测出油井压裂前可采储量，从而计算出剩余可采储量及可采储量采出程度，通过绘制油井压裂前剩余可采储量及可采储量采出程度与油井压裂后所创经济效益之间关系曲线，寻找出相关规律，进行优选压裂井，再根据精细地质研究成果，在剩余油富集区选择具体压裂层位。经实际应用，取得了较好效果，提高了油井压裂方案符合率，提高了经济效益，进而总结出一套适合葡北油田中高含水期油井压裂选井选层方法，对今后进一步搞好油井压裂增产工作具有指导意义。     

粒度控制——页岩、煤矸石空心砖原料制备的关键

阐述了页岩、煤矸石的原料粒度对制砖性能的影响,介绍了几种典型的控制颗粒粒度的工艺方案;简要分析了几种筛分机械的优缺点,着重介绍MVS电磁振动高频振网筛在几个使用现场的应用结果,为制砖企业解决原料生产的难题提供了办法。     

A disposable single-use electrochemical sensor for the detection of uric acid in human whole blood

We report here a non-enzymatic detecting electrode strip for fast monitoring of uric acid in human whole blood. A single-use amperometric uric acid sensor strip, incorporating a three-electrode configuration, has been fabricated on a polypropylene substrate using low cost screen-printing (thick-film) technology. Both the working and counter electrodes were prepared by screen-printing commercial carbon ink. The integration on the same support of pseudo-reference electrode was obtained by screen-printing a commercial silver ink and subsequent electrochemical pretreatment. Simply by placing a 20 μl human whole blood drop on the strip is enough for uric acid analysis by square-wave voltammetry. Real human whole blood samples were analyzed by this method and compared to the phosphotungstic acid clinical test procedure with satisfactory results.