Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

A comparative study on hygroscopic and physiochemical properties of chicken powders obtained by different drying methods

Abstract

Different drying methods (spray drying (SD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), and infrared vacuum drying (IFVD)) were applied in order to compare the hygroscopicity behavior of chicken powders. The hygroscopicity curves and glass transition temperature were used to evaluate the influence of ambient humidity and temperature on moisture absorption of powders. The results showed that the chicken powder dried by MVD had the lowest moisture absorption, followed by IFVD, VD, and SD. The hygroscopicity of SD chicken powders was different from other three kinds of chicken powders due to the physical properties of particles and the changes of protein secondary structure as detected by the Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer. For the three vacuum drying methods, the difference of protein secondary structure was the main reason of differences in hygroscopicity. Although MVD chicken powders were slightly inferior to SD chicken powders in taste, MVD chicken powders were the best in terms of smell and color as suggested by instrumental sensory parameter evaluations. It was found that MVD had a positive effect on reducing moisture absorption and maintaining sensory quality of chicken powders.     

Research on the effects of surface modification of ceramic powder on cure performance during digital light processing (DLP)

Digital light processing (DLP) is one of the most important additive manufacture technologies to fabricate ceramic parts with complex geometries. Compared with pure photosensitive resin, the cure performance of ceramic suspensions is obviously different due to the optical property change after the addition of ceramic powders. In this paper, a unique oxidation process was used to modify the optical properties of nitride powders including AlN and Si₃N₄. The properties of oxidized ceramics were investigated and the cure performance of ceramic suspensions was then characterized. The effect of oxidation time on cure performance was evaluated. The results showed that for AlN, oxidation process leads to the smaller cure depth and smaller excess cure width as compared with non-oxidized AlN and for Si₃N₄, oxidation process leads to the larger cure depth and larger excess cure width as compared with non-oxidized Si₃N₄, indicating that both refractive index and light absorbance of ceramic powders have obvious effects on cure behaviors. Additionally, the cure behavior of oxidized ceramic suspension in this study shows that the relationship of cure depth vs. incident energy agrees well with Beer- Lambert model, but the excess cure width vs. incident energy is not consistent with quasi Beer-Lambert model due to the nature of digital micromirror device (DMD).     

Ni-Al2O3纳米复合电镀工艺的初步研究

初步研究了复合电镀各工艺条件：电流密度、镀液pH值和温度以及搅拌方式对Al2O3纳米微粒在镍基复合镀层中含量的影响。研究表明：电流密度增大不利于提高镀层中纳米微粒的含量；pH值增大也明显使复合量降低;镀液温度升高，镀层中微粒的复合量随之略有改变；电镀时，加强搅拌或适当改变搅拌方式，可以使复合镀居中的纳米微粒含量提高。还利用扫描电镜及能谱对Ni-Al2O3镀层表面进行了观察与分析。     

改性纳米TiO2光催化降解苯酚活性的研究

在装有紫外光的光催化反应器中，用锐钛型纳米TiO2为光催化剂，进行了苯酚水溶液的光催化降解性能的研究。考察了溶液的pH值、纳米TiO2用量、镍（Ni^2＋）掺杂量、苯酚的初始质量浓度等因素对苯酚水溶液光催化降解过程的影响。结果表明，在pH值为7时，苯酚水溶液的降解率达95％以上，强酸和强碱条件均不利于苯酚的降解。当TiO2用量为50mg，UV辐照40min时，200mL质量浓度为50mg／L的苯酚水溶液的降解率为96．3％；当TiO2用量为150mg，UV辐照60min时，200mL质量浓度100mg／L的苯酚水溶液的降解率为95．8％。镍掺杂增加了TiO2的光催化活性，用质量分数为10％的二氯化镍水溶液掺杂制备的复合光催化剂，苯酚水溶液的降解率比未掺杂时增加13．6％。     

纳米级BaAl_2O_4微粉的制备和性质

分别用溶胶 -凝胶法、低温固相反应法 ,制得了纳米级BaAl2 O4微粉 ,用电镜观察了其形貌和粒径的大小 ,用X-射线衍射仪进行了物相分析 ,测定了其纯度与晶型 ,讨论了制备方法与粒度大小的相互影响     

纳米技术在生物传感器中的应用

介绍了纳米技术在生物传感器中的应用，重点阐述当前发展方向的前沿。     

纳米碳酸钙制备过程中添加剂作用机理探讨

采用鼓泡碳化法 ,在最佳反应温度、反应物浓度的条件下 ,考察了添加剂对产物形状及粒径大小的影响 ,得到了直径为 2 0～ 30nm、长径比在 2 0左右且分散性能良好的针状纳米碳酸钙 ,并对添加剂作用机理进行了分析。     

复印粉的粉碎分级技术

本文介绍了利用国产气流粉碎机和余气萃取分级制备复印粉的实用技术，并展示了粉碎分级系统和复印粉的电镜照片。