Recent Progress on Nafion‐Based Nanocomposite Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have attracted tremendous attention because of their high efficiency compared to other types of fuel cells. Nafion is the most commonly used polymer for membranes used in PEMFCs. A large variety of nanoparticles of different natures and sizes can be blended with a Nafion matrix, generating a new class of nanostructured electrolyte membrane with interesting physical properties. In this paper, we discuss the recent progress in the field of Nafion‐based nanocomposite membranes. They exhibit a significant improvement in thermo‐mechanical and thermal stability as well as proton conductivity at very low filler contents. The preparation, characterization, and properties of various types of Nafion‐based nanocomposite membranes are critically reviewed, and detailed examples are summarized.

     

Thiazolidinone-Heterocycle Frameworks: A Concise Review of Their Pharmacological Significance

Molecular hybridization is deemed an optimistic approach in drug design and the discovery of novel biologically active molecules as it may advance their affinity and potency while concurrently decreasing associated resistance and side effects. Approximately 20 % of approved drugs were developed using this approach in the past few years. Thiazolidinone is one of the privileged pharmacophores in medicinal chemistry and is associated with various biological activities; it forms a functional unit in several FDA-approved drugs. Consequently, this pharmacophore has attracted the attention of many research groups to further explore its pharmacological relevance by coupling it with other pharmacophoric moieties. This review presents a concise account of scholarly research exploits directed at the biological activities of newly synthesized thiazolidinone-tagged molecular hybrids. Focused attention is given to the existing structural activity relationship in each compound library and the toxicity profile of potent compounds including in silico docking studies (where applicable). This work would provide a base on which new pharmaceuticals with improved potency can be modelled.     

Effect of mixture ratios and nitrogen carrier gas flow rates on the morphology of carbon nanotube structures grown by CVD

We report on the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and investigate the effects of nitrogen carrier gas flow rates and mixture ratios on the morphology of CNTs on a silicon substrate by vaporizing the camphor/ferrocene mixture at 750 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. Carbon layers obtained after each CVD growth run of 15 min are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Growth of CNTs is found to occur on silicon substrates. The SEM micrographs helped better understand the nanotube growth morphology while Raman Spectroscopy was used to detect the presence of nanotubes and also identify their nature vizely semiconducting or metallic, single-walled or multi-walled. Raman Spectra was also useful to estimate the quality of the samples as a ratio of nanotube to non-nanotube content. The length and diameters of the aligned CNTs were found to depend on the pyrolysis temperatures, mixture ratio, and the nitrogen carrier gas flow rates.     

Carbon Nanotubes Based Nafion Composite Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing Nafion composite membranes were prepared via melt‐blending at 250 °C. Using three different types of CNTs such as pure CNTs (pCNTs), oxidised CNTs (oCNTs) and amine functionalised CNTs (fCNTs); the effect of CNTs surface oxidation as well as functionalisation in composite membranes was investigated by focussing on three aspects: thermo‐mechanical stability, thermal degradation and proton conductivity. The oCNTs‐containing Nafion composite membrane exhibited concurrent improvement in most of the properties as compared to that of pure Nafion or other CNTs‐containing Nafion composite membranes.     

Morphology and Properties of Polymer Composites Based on Biodegradable Polylactide/Poly[(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] Blend and Nanoclay

Polymer composites based on biodegradable polylactide/poly[(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] (PLA/PBSA) blend and pristine and organically modified clays have been prepared via melt‐mixing in a batch‐mixer. Four different surfactants have been used to modify the pristine montmorillonite (MMT) clay. The weight ratio of the PLA and PBSA is 70:30, while the weight of the MMT is fixed at 6%. The surface morphologies of the unmodified and organoclay‐modified blends have been studied by field‐emission scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the domain size of the dispersed PBSA‐phase is reduced with the addition of organoclay and the extent of this reduction in the size of PBSA domain is dependent on not only the interlayer spacing of the clay but also enthalpic interaction between the clay surface and the polymer blend. The degree of dispersion of silicate layers in the blend matrix has been characterised by X‐ray diffraction. The improved adhesion between the phases and the fine morphology of the dispersed phase contributes to the improvement in the mechanical and thermal properties of the final polymer blend–organoclay composites over PLA/PBSA blend. On the basis of these results, we propose a general understanding on how the morphology of the blends is related to the final properties.

     

Physical mapping of a centromere-proximal region of chromosome IV-l defines the placement of genes USO1, MBP1, PSA1 and SLC1

A physical map of a 14·5 kb region close to the centromere on the left arm of chromosome IV of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is presented. This map has been constructed by restriction analysis of a clone from a YCp50 genomic library and by use of pre-existing and new sequence data from this region. The map reveals the following gene order (reading from the most centromere-distal to the most centromere-proximal locus): USO1/INT1–MBP1–PSA1–SLC1–YLA1 and defines the size of the open reading frames and intergenic regions.     

3-D structure of the D153G mutant of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase: an enzyme with weaker magnesium binding and increased catalytic activity

The substitution of aspartate at position 153 in Escherichiacoli alkaline phosphatase by glycine results in a mutant enzymewith 5-fold higher catalytic activity (k_cat but no change inKm at pH 8.0 in 50 mM Tris-HCl. The increased k_cat is achievedby a faster release of the phosphate product as a result ofthe lower phosphate affinity. The mutation also affects Mg²⁺binding, resulting in an enzyme with lower metal affinity. The3-D X-ray structure of the D153G mutant has been refined at2.5 Å to a crystallographic Rfactor of 16.2%. An analysisof this structure has revealed that the decreased phosphateaffinity is caused by an apparent increase in flexibility ofthe guanidinium side chain of Argl66 involved in phosphate binding.The mutation of Aspl53 to Gly also affects the position of thewater ligands of Mg²⁺, and the loop Glnl52–Thrl55 is shiftedby 0.3 Å away from the active site. The weaker Mg²⁺ bindingof the mutant compared with the wild type is caused by an alteredcoordination sphere in the proximity of the Mg²⁺ ion, and alsoby the loss of an electrostatic interaction (Mg²⁺.COO^-Aspl53)in the mutant Its ligands W454 and W455 and hydroxyl of Thrl55,involved in the octahedral coordination of the Mg²⁺ ion, arefurther apart in the mutant compared with the wild-type     

Carbon nanotube-enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of metallo-octacarboxyphthalocyanines

The photoelectrochemistry of metallo-octacarboxyphthalocyanines (MOCPc, where M = Zn or Si(OH)₂) integrated with MWCNTs for the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is reported. The DSSC performance (obtained from the photo-chronoamperometric and photo-impedimetric data) decreased as ZnOCPc > (OH)₂SiOCPc. The incorporation of the MWCNTs on the surface of the TiO₂ film (MOCPc–MWCNT systems) gave higher photocurrent density than the bare MOCPc complexes. Also, from the EIS results, the MOCPc–MWCNT hybrids gave faster charge transport kinetics (approximately three times faster) compared to the bare MOCPc complexes. The electron lifetime was slightly longer (ca. 6 ms) at the ZnOCPc systems than at the (OH)₂SiOCPc system (ca. 4 ms) meaning that the presence of the MWCNTs on the surface of the TiO₂ film did not show any significant improvement on preventing charge recombination process.     

High performance polyurethane composites with isocyanate‐functionalized carbon nanotubes: Improvements in tear strength and scratch hardness

A microwave‐assisted functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with isocyanate groups allowed a reduction of functionalization time from 24 h to 30 min with no change in the degree of functionalization or in the nanotube characteristics. Polymer nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties were obtained because of the tailored interface by the covalent linkage between the surface‐modified multiwalled‐carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and an elastomeric polyurethane (PUE) matrix. The mechanical data revealed that the composite containing 0.25 wt % of MWCNT‐NCO showed an increase of 31% in tear strength and 28% in static toughness. A good adhesion between the matrix and individually dispersed nanotubes was observed in the scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images. Nanoindentation and nanoscratch experiments were conducted to investigate the properties on the sub‐surface. An increase by a factor of 3 in the scratch hardness was observed for the composite with 0.50 wt % of MWCNT‐NCO with respect to the neat PUE. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44394.