Hybrid organic-inorganic nanostructured membranes for high temperature proton exchange membranes fuel cells (PEMFC)

Compared to internal combustion engines, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) operate with zero emissions of environmental pollutants being this an adequate choice for transportation field. The increase of the operation temperature of PEMFC above 130°C is a great concern for the commercial application of the cells in electric vehicles. Hybrid organic-inorganic nanostructured membranes can combine the main properties to meet this objective: high proton conductivity along with thermal and chemical stability. The possibilities of synthesis of these hybrid structures grow exponentially with the combination of sol-gel chemistry and monomers. Three different approaches have been followed for obtaining hybrid membranes that present the properties needed for application in high temperature PEMFC: development of methacrylate and epoxy structures, and optimization of the inorganic component incorporating phosphorus. Proton conductivity has been endowed on the base of three strategies: a high concentration of hydroxyl groups from inorganic component, groups through sulfonation of phenyl rings, and incorporation of tungstophosphoric acid, H₃[P(W₃O₁₀)₄].     

Computational analysis of phosphoproteomics: progresses and perspectives

Phosphorylation is one of the most essential post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, regulates a variety of cellular signaling pathways, and at least partially determines the biological diversity. Recent progresses in phosphoproteomics have identified more than 100,000 phosphorylation sites, while this number will easily exceed one million in the next decade. In this regard, how to extract useful information from flood of phosphoproteomics data has emerged as a great challenge. In this review, we summarized the leading edges on computational analysis of phosphoproteomics, including discovery of phosphorylation motifs from phosphoproteomics data, systematic modeling of phosphorylation network, analysis of genetic variation that influences phosphorylation, and phosphorylation evolution. Based on existed knowledge, we also raised several perspectives for further studies. We believe that integration of experimental and computational analyses will propel the phosphoproteomics research into a new phase.     

表面改性炭材料在微生物燃料电池中的应用(英)

研究了在空气阴极微生物燃料电池中修饰方法如硝酸处理和硝酸-氨水酸碱等对XC-72R作为阴极氧还原催化剂催化活性的影响,并且使用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、Boehm滴定法和X射线光电子能谱(谱(XPS)等手段对催化剂进行了表征.FTIR测试证明硝酸处理可引入含氧基团氨水处理可引入含氮基团.另外,还测试了含有不同表面官能团的XC-72R对氧还原的活性,并将其作为阴极催化剂用在MFC中,测试了电池性能.实验表明,经酸碱修饰的XC-72R作为空气阴极MFC的催化剂具有很好的应用前景.     

Mitochondrial biofuel cells: expanding fuel diversity to amino acids

Although mitochondria have long been considered the powerhouse of the living cell, it is only recently that we have been able to employ these organelles for electrocatalysis in electrochemical energy conversion devices. The concept of using biological entities for energy conversion, commonly referred to as a biofuel cell, has been researched for nearly a century, but until recently the biological entities were limited to microbes or isolated enzymes. However, from the perspectives of efficient energy conversion and high volumetric catalytic activity, mitochondria may be a possible compromise between the efficiency of microbial biofuel cells and the high volumetric catalytic activity of enzymatic biofuel cells. This perspective focuses on comparing mitochondrial biofuel cells to other types of biofuel cells, as well as studying the fuel diversity that can be employed with mitochondrial biofuel cells. Pyruvate and fatty acids have previously been studied as fuels, but this perspective shows evidence that amino acids can be employed as fuels as well.     

Application of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography to the analysis of a middle distillate fuel

Summary The application of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) to the analysis of a middle distillate fuel is described. Small diameter (50m i.d.) fused-silica capillary columns coated with crosslinked 50% phenyl polymethylphenyl siloxane provided high separation efficiency and good compatibility with flame ionization detection. High resolution separations of the chemical class fractions obtained by adsorption chromatography on alumina were obtained using carbon dioxide as the supercritical mobile phase and simple pressure programming techniques. In addition to the less polar fuel components, supercritical carbon dioxide allowed chromatography of the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fraction and the hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic materials.     

Application of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy to the study of SOFC electrode surfaces

SERS provided by sputtered silver was employed to detect trace amounts of chemical species on SOFC electrodes. Considerable enhancement of Raman signal and lowered detection threshold were shown for coked nickel surfaces, CeO(2) coatings, and cathode materials (LSM and LSCF), suggesting a viable approach to probing electrode degradation and surface catalytic mechanism.     

Combinatorial approach toward high-throughput analysis of direct methanol fuel cells

A 40-member array of direct methanol fuel cells (with stationary fuel and convective air supplies) was generated by electrically connecting the fuel cells in series. High-throughput analysis of these fuel cells was realized by fast screening of voltages between the two terminals of a fuel cell at constant current discharge. A large number of voltage-current curves (200) were obtained by screening the voltages through multiple small-current steps. Gaussian distribution was used to statistically analyze the large number of experimental data. The standard deviation (sigma) of voltages of these fuel cells increased linearly with discharge current. The voltage-current curves at various fuel concentrations were simulated with an empirical equation of voltage versus current and a linear equation of sigma versus current. The simulated voltage-current curves fitted the experimental data well. With increasing methanol concentration from 0.5 to 4.0 M, the Tafel slope of the voltage-current curves (at sigma=0.0), changed from 28 to 91 mV.dec-1, the cell resistance from 2.91 to 0.18 Omega, and the power output from 3 to 18 mW.cm-2.     

Computational analysis of heat transfer in a PEM fuel cell with metal foam as a flow field

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Thermal management of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has an important effect on the overall cell performance. In this paper, metal foams as...     

Computational thermal and kinetic analysis

A software package to determine the non-isothermal kinetic parameters of heterogeneous reactions has been developed. The dynamic handle of conversion degree step and ranges, heating rates and kinetic models makes the evaluation of the activation parameters much faster. The standard procedure: ‘model-free’ kineitc, IKP and Perez-Maqueda et al. methods, is applied for the determination of the kinetic triplet corresponding to thermal induced transformations. The software is designed mainly for thermogravimetric, temperature programmed reduction and dilatometry data processing, but may also import already transformed numeric data.     

Computational thermal and kinetic analysis

The complexation of β-lactam antibiotics, amoxicillin (AMPC), ampicillin (ABPC) and benzylpenicillin (PCG), with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) was studied at various pH values using microcalorimetry, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and molecular dynamic simulation. In the strong acid solution, two different types of inclusion complex with a 1:1 stoichiometry, Complex I with a phenyl ring of β-lactam antibiotics penetrated into the cavity of HPCD and Complex II with a penam included in the cavity, were formed by hydrophobic interaction, and Complex II was more stable than Complex I. In aqueous solution at pH≥4.5, only Complex I was formed, where the penam of PCG was more deeply penetrated into the cavity to keep it stable than those of AMPC and ABPC. The charged carboxyl-group on the penam was less affinity to form Complex II.     

Computational investigation of O2 reduction and diffusion on 25% Sr-doped LaMnO3 cathodes in solid oxide fuel cells

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and diffusion mechanisms on 25% Sr-doped LaMnO(3) (LSM) cathode materials as well as their kinetic behavior have been studied by using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Bader charge and frequency analyses were carried out to identify the oxidation state of adsorbed oxygen species. DFT and molecular dynamics (MD) results show that the fast O(2) adsorption/reduction process via superoxide and peroxide intermediates is energetically favorable on the Mn site rather than on the Sr site. Furthermore, the higher adsorption energies on the Mn site of the (110) surface compared to those on the (100) surface imply that the former is more efficient for O(2) reduction. Significantly, we predict that oxygen vacancies enhance O(2) reduction kinetics and that the O-ion migration through the bulk is dominant over that on the surface of the LSM cathode.     

Mass spectrometric analysis of ceramic components for solid oxide fuel cells

For the determination of trace impurities in ceramic components of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), some mass spectrometric methods have been applied such as spark source mass spectrometry (SSMS), laser ionization mass spectrometry (LIMS), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Due to a lack of suitable standard reference materials for quantifying of analytical results on La _x Sr _y MnO₃ cathode material a matrix-matched synthetic standard-high purity initial compounds doped with trace elements-was prepared in order to determine the relative sensitivity coefficients in SSMS and LA-ICP-MS. Radiofrequency glow discharge mass spectrometry (rf-GDMS) was developed for trace analysis and depth profiling of thick non-conducting layers. Surface analytical techniques, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and sputtered neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS), were used to determine the element distribution on surfaces (homogeneity) and the surface contaminants of SOFC ceramic layers.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Determination of H2S and HCl concentration limits in the fuel for anode supported SOFC operation

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an electric generator, operating based on electrochemical reaction converting gaseous fuel to electricity and heat. It is characterized by the high electrical efficiency of up to 70% with cogeneration and negligible emission of pollutants. Syngas from the biomass gasification is considered to be a possible fuel for solid oxide fuel cell systems. However, high level of contaminants such as H₂S, HCl, alkali metals, tars and particulates, in addition to possibility of carbon deposition and high temperature gradients due to internal reforming of hydrocarbons requires cleaning and conditioning of the syngas stream. The current status of the effect of contaminants on the SOFC performance has been reviewed and effects of single contaminants (H₂S, HCl) has been tested. It has been found that anode supported solid oxide fuel cell (AS-SOFC) with Ni/YSZ cermet anode can tolerate up to 1 ppm H₂S and up to 10 ppm HCl without significant performance degradation.      

From capacitive deionization to desalination batteries and desalination fuel cells

The considerable growth of the world population, concomitant with an increase in environmental pollution, aggravates the antinomy between supply and demand for drinking water. Various desalination technologies have been developed to address this issue, allowing for abundant saltwater as a source for drinking water. Electrochemical desalination attracts more and more attention due to its high energy efficiency, facile operation, and low cost. Especially within the last decade, tremendous scientific progress on electrochemical desalination technologies has been made. This article reviews the development of electrochemical desalination technologies and introduces a facile classification into three generations based on the different working principles. The cell architecture, metrics, advantages, and disadvantages of other electrochemical desalination technologies are introduced and compared.     

X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies on solid oxide fuel cells and proton-conducting ceramic fuel cells

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is one of the best techniques to obtain the information on the electronic and local structures of materials. In the last few decades, XAS becomes a common analytical technique for the investigation of solid oxide fuel cells and proton-conducting ceramic fuel cells. In particular, operando and/or advanced XAS measurements can be recently available with the increased accessibility of synchrotron radiation. In this article, recent trends of solid oxide fuel cell and proton-conducting ceramic fuel cell researches using XAS are overviewed.     

Computational analysis of native and modified oligofructosides

This paper presents a quantum chemical calculation of native (2–7 fructoside residues) and chemically modified (2–4 fructoside residues) levan molecule models. A levan modification was carried out by oxidation and the following reduction or hyrdazonation of the fructoside rings. The conformational particularity and reaction ability was studied for the native and for the modified levan molecules.     

Computational and experimental approaches for investigating membranes diffusion behavior in model diesel fuel

Genetic algorithms trained support vector regression predicting model is conducted to research diffusion behavior of methylnaphthalene and dibenzothiophene in four different membranes of polymethyl methacrylate, polymethyl acrylate, polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl alcohol in model diesel fuel. It is found that the polyvinyl chloride is optimal membrane material for improving the diffusion selectivity of methylnaphthalene and dibenzothiophene, which demonstrates that the polyvinyl chloride membrane is favorable to the diesel fuel desulfurization. Also, molecular dynamic simulation is applied to validating the performance of genetic algorithm trained support vector regression model. The results of genetic algorithm trained support vector regression model reveal that the simulation values are well agreed with the experimental data and molecular dynamic simulation results. Meanwhile, the performance of the genetic algorithms trained support vector regression predict model is better than that of the genetic algorithms trained neural network model, which indicates that genetic algorithms trained support vector regression method offers a new prospected decision-theoretic approach to the diesel desulfurization.