The challenges in reliable determination of degradation rates and lifetime in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

The durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) needs to be further improved to cope with application requirements and economic competitiveness. This article highlights the challenges in the reliable determination of degradation rates and lifetime. The reliable evaluation of performance degradation rates is fundamental to quantify and benchmark durability and to allow comparisons between PEMFC durability tests performed using different materials or in different laboratories. The use of efficient recovery procedures enables the discrimination of reversible and irreversible voltage losses and facilitates the understanding of recovery mechanisms. In the end, recent contributions about lifetime diagnoses and prediction are presented, which are promising to be implemented in PEMFC applications.     

Ultrasonic degradation of solutions of poly(vinyl acetate) in dioxan: The effects of the temperature and polymer concentration

The ultrasonic degradation of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) solutions was carried out in dioxan at 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C to investigate the effects of the temperature and solution concentration on the rate of degradation. The kinetics of degradation were studied by viscometry. The calculated rate constants indicated that the degradation rate of the PVAc solutions decreased as the temperature and solution concentration increased. The calculated rate constants were correlated in terms of the concentration, temperature, vapor pressure of dioxan, and relative viscosity of the PVAc solutions. This degradation behavior was interpreted in terms of the vapor pressure of dioxan, the viscosity, and the concentration of the polymer solutions. With increasing temperature, the vapor pressure of the solvent increased, and so the vapor entered the cavitation bubbles during their growth. This caused a reduction in collapsing shock because of a cushioning effect; therefore, the rate of degradation decreased. As the solution concentration increased, the viscosity increased and caused a reduction in the cavitation efficiency, and so the rate of degradation decreased. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 445–451, 2004     

The effects of wood-flour on combustion and thermal degradation behaviors of PVC in wood-flour/poly(vinyl chloride) composites

The effects of wood-flour on combustion and thermal degradation behaviors of PVC in wood-flour/poly (vinyl chloride) composites (WF-PVC) were investigated by using cone calorimeter (CONE) and TGA. The results show that thermal degradation behavior of WF-PVC composites has obvious characteristics of that of PVC. Interactions occur between wood-flour and PVC during the combustion and thermal degradation of WF-PVC composites. The thermal degradation of wood-flour can be accelerated by pure PVC. Moreover, the char formation can be raised by adding wood-flour to PVC. Compared with PVC at all flaming stage, when heat flux is kept at 50 kW m⁻², the average heat release rate (av-HRR), the total heat release (THR), the total smoke production (TSP) and the average specific extinction area (av-SEA) of WF-PVC composites are respectively reduced by 44%, 9.2%, 25.8% and 29.9%. In WF-PVC composites, the wood-flour has remarkable effects on the properties of heat release and smoke release of PVC.     

Immobilization of xanthine oxidase and its use in the quantitation of hypoxanthine in fish muscle tissue extracts using a flow injection method

Fish muscle extracts (Scomberomorus— brasiliensis- carite) were analyzed for their hypoxanthine content using a flow injection system incorporating an immobilized xanthine oxidase bioreactor. The xanthine oxidase was immobilized under mild conditions to a 2-fluoro-1-methylpyridinium Fractogel support. The uric acid produced from the oxidation of hypoxanthine by the immobilized xanthine oxidase at pH 7.0 and 35‡C was monitored at 290 ran. Hypoxanthine concentrations as low as 4.4 Μmol/L can be detected. Up to 30 samples per hour can be analyzed at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, using 150 ΜL sample volumes and a bioreactor dimension of 1.0 cm x 2.0 mm id. Recovery yields were between 92 and 99%. Both within day and between day precisions gave CVs < 5.00% (n = 30). Good correlation (r = 0.998) is obtained when 78 fish samples were analyzed for their hypoxanthine content both by this FI method and a reference HPLC method.