Impact of cell-voltage on energy and power performance of supercapacitors with single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes

We report the energy and power voltage-dependencies of supercapacitors using single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes. The energy density was dependent on the cell-voltage cubed (up to 4 V: E = 1.43 × V³). The cubic relationship was attributed to the linear increase of the capacitance as a function of voltage, enabled by electrochemical doping. Furthermore, while up to 3.5 V, the maximum power rating of the nanotube electrodes increased as a function of the cell-voltage squared, beyond 3.5 V, a decline in power was observed as a result of depletion of the electrolyte's ions.     

Editor's Preface

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology -     

Metal Ionically-controlled Optical Signaling Based on a Chromoionophore-derived Calix[4]crown

A chromoionophore-derived calix[4]crown, 1 , possessing an effective signal-controllable function by metal ionic inputs has been newly synthesized, whose function is mainly of our interest, by transforming the process of receptor activation to one that may be detected by an optical signal (i.e. color change), the basic feature of antagonist-agonist competition may be reproduced readily and visually detected. The process would be particularly new within the field of optical read-out receptors. Further, from the standpoint of material sciences, the controllable signal function may not only be welcome for molecular information processing, but also contribute to the design of new sensory materials.     

Editorial

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology -     

Study on interaction between Tb(III) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)

A new kind of the thermo-sensitive and fluorescent complex of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and Tb(III) was synthesized by free radical polymerization, in which PNIPAM was used as a polymer ligand. The complex was characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visual (UV), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results from the experiments indicated that there is a strong interaction between PNIPAM and Tb(III), leading to a decrease in the electron density of nitrogen and oxygen atoms and an increase in the electron density of Tb(III) in the PNIPAM containing Tb(III) by contrast with PNIPAM and Tb(III), respectively, meanwhile, exhibiting that the Tb(III) is mainly bonded to oxygen atoms in the polymer chain of PNIPAM and formed the complex of PNIPAM-Tb(III). After forming the PNIPAM-Tb(III) complex, the emission fluorescence intensity of Tb(III) in the PNIPAM-Tb(III) complex is significantly enhanced because the effective intramolecular energy transfer from PNIPAM to Tb(III). Especially, the emission intensity of the fluorescence peak at 547 nm can be increased as high as 145 times comparing with that of the pure Tb(III). The intramolecular energy transfer efficiency for fluorescence peak at 547 nm can reach as high as 68%. The fluorescence intensity is related the weight ratio of Tb(III) and PNIPAM in the PNIPAM-Tb(III) complex. When the weight ratio is 1.4%, the maximum fluorescence enhancement can be obtained. Nevertheless, the lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAM containing a low content of Tb(III) has not obviously changed after the formation of the complex of PNIPAM-Tb(III) by the interaction between PNIPAM and Tb(III). This novel thermosensitive and fluorescence characterization of the PNIPAM-Tb(III) complex may be useful in the fluorescence systems and the biomedical field.     

Announcement

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology -     

Electron Temperatures and Electron Densities in Microwave Helium Discharges with Pressures Higher than 0.1 MPa

We adopted laser Thomson scattering for measuring the electron density and the electron temperature of microwave plasmas produced in helium at the pressures higher than the atmospheric pressure. The electron density decreased while we observed the increase in the electron temperature with the pressure. These are reasonable results by considering the decrease in the reduced electric field, the dominant loss of electrons via three‐body recombination with helium as the third body, and the production of electrons with medium energy via heavy particle collisions at the high gas pressure. The temporal variation of the electron temperature had the rise and the fall time constants of approximately 10 ns. The rapid heating and cooling of the electron temperature are due to the fast energy transfer from electrons to helium because of the high collision frequency in the high‐pressure discharge. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

NO reduction by C3H6 over apatite-type A10(PO4)6(OH)2 (A?=?Ca and Sr)-supported Pt catalysts

A₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂ (A = Ca and Sr)-supported Pt catalysts were prepared and their catalytic activity in NO reduction were investigated. The Sr₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂-supported catalyst had high catalytic activity in the C₃H₆?CNO?CO₂ reaction; the activity was higher than that of the ??-Al₂O₃-supported catalyst at 300 °C. The basicity of the apatite supports would affect the chemical state of Pt on catalyst, resulting in promotion of NO reduction.     

Preparation of highly dispersible and tumor-accumulative, iron oxide nanoparticles Multi-point anchoring of PEG-b-poly(4-vinylbenzylphosphonate) improves performance significantly

This paper describes the preparation of iron oxide nanoparticles, surface of which was coated with extremely high immobilization stability and relatively higher density of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which are referred to as PEG protected iron oxide nanoparticles (PEG-PIONs). The PEG-PIONs were obtained through alkali coprecipitation of iron salts in the presence of the PEG-poly(4-vinylbenzylphosphonate) block copolymer (PEG-b-PVBP). In this system, PEG-b-PVBP served as a surface coating that was bound to the iron oxide surface via multipoint anchoring of the phosphonate groups in the PVBP segment of PEG-b-PVBP. The binding of PEG-b-PVBP onto the iron oxide nanoparticle surface and the subsequent formation of a PEG brush layer were proved by FT-IR, zeta potential, and thermogravimetric measurements. The surface PEG-chain density of the PEG-PIONs varied depending on the [PEG-b-PVBP]/[iron salts] feed-weight ratio in the coprecipitation reaction. PEG-PIONs prepared at an optimal feed-weight ratio in this study showed a high surface PEG-chain surface density (≈0.8 chainsnm(-2)) and small hydrodynamic diameter (<50 nm). Furthermore, these PEG-PIONs could be dispersed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) that contains 10% serum without any change in their hydrodynamic diameters over a period of one week, indicating that PEG-PIONs would provide high dispersion stability under in vivo physiological conditions as well as excellent anti-biofouling properties. In fact we have confirmed the prolong blood circulation time and facilitate tumor accumulation (more than 15% IDg(-1) tumor) of PEG-PIONs without the aid of any target ligand in mouse tumor models. The majority of the PEG-PIONs accumulated in the tumor by 96 h after administration, whereas those in normal tissues were smoothly eliminated by 96 h, proving the enhancement of tumor selectivity in the PEG-PION localization. The results obtained here strongly suggest that originally synthesized PEG-b-PVBP, having multipoint anchoring character by the phosphonate groups, is rational design for improvement in nanoparticle as in vivo application. Two major points, viz., extremely stable anchoring character and dense PEG chains tethered on the nanoparticle surface, worked simultaneously to become PEG-PIONs as an ideal biomedical devices intact for prolonged periods in harsh biological environments.