Time-resolved Optical Emission Spectroscopy in Water Electrical Discharges

The characteristics of the plasma initiated in ultrapure water between pairs of tungsten and tantalum electrodes were investigated by time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. The deexcitation processes of the reactive species formed in the water plasma depended on the electrode material, but had been independent on the polarity of the applied voltage pulses. All the reactive species presented the same evolution with time and have been identified with high concentration in the emission spectra between the pulses. The current–voltage characteristics showed the features of a spark discharge for the both types of electrodes used in the process. When tantalum electrodes were used to generate the discharge, a broad emission continuum (350–940 nm) dominated the spectrum due to a transition to arc discharge.     

An alternative field switching ion gate for ESI-ion mobility spectrometry

In electrospray ionization (ESI)-ion mobility spectrometry, continuously generated ions must be desolvated in a first tube before short ion pulses are introduced into a second (drift) tube. Both tubes are separated by an ion-gate. The resolving power of the resulting drift time spectrum is strongly influenced by the design of the ion gate. In the case of the Bradbury-Nielsen gates typically used, an orthogonal field between oppositely charged, parallel wires blocks ions from entering the drift tube. However, the blocking field also distorts the entering ion cloud. One alternative, which eliminates these effects and therefore enables a potentially higher resolving power, is already known for spectrometers with small ionization volumes, where ions are formed between two electrodes and subsequently transferred into the drift tube by a high voltage pulse. Based on this setup, we introduce an alternative ion gate design for liquid samples, named field switching ion gate (FSIG). The continuous flow of ions generated by ESI is desolvated in the first tube and introduced into the space between two electrodes (repeller and transfer electrodes). A third (blocking) electrode prevents the movement of ions into the drift tube in the closed state. Ions are transferred during the open state by pulsing the voltages of the repeller and blocking electrodes. First results demonstrate an increase of the resolving power by 100% without intensity losses and further changes in the spectrometer setup. The parameters of the FSIG, such as electrode voltages and pulse width, are characterized allowing the optimization of the spectrometer’s resolving power.     

Theoretical analysis of the thermal effects during in vivo tissue electroporation

Tissue electroporation is a technique that facilitates the introduction of molecules into cells by applying a series of short electric pulses to specific areas of the body. These pulses temporarily increase the permeability of the cell membrane to small drugs and macromolecules. The goal of this paper is to provide information on the thermal effects of these electric pulses for consideration when designing electroporation protocols. The parameters investigated include electrode geometry, blood flow, metabolic heat generation, pulse frequency, and heat dissipation through the electrodes. Basic finite-element models were created in order to gain insight and weigh the importance of each parameter. The results suggest that for plate electrodes, the energy from the pulse may be used to adequately estimate the heating in the tissue. However, for needle electrodes, the geometry, i.e. spacing and diameter, and pulse frequency are critical when determining the thermal distribution in the tissue.     

Electroporation of subcutaneous mouse tumors by rectangular and trapezium high voltage pulses

The artificial electrotransfer of bioactive agents such as drugs, peptides or therapeutical nucleic acids and oligonucleotides by membrane electroporation (MEP) into single cells and tissue cells requires knowledge of the optimum ranges of the voltage, pulse duration and frequency of the applied pulses. For clinical use, the classical electroporators appear to necessitate some tissue specific presetting of the pulse parameters at the high voltage generator, before the actual therapeutic pulsing is applied. The optimum pulse parameters may be derived from the kinetic normal mode analysis of the current relaxations due to a voltage step (rectangular pulse). Here, the novel method of trapezium test pulses is proposed to rapidly assess the current (I)/voltage (U) characteristics (IUC). The analysis yields practical values for the voltage U(app) between a given electrode distance and pulse duration t(E) of rectangular high voltage (HV) pulses, to be preset for an effective in vivo electroporation of mouse subcutaneous tumors, clamped between two planar plate electrodes of stainless steel. The IUC of the trapezium pulse compares well with the IUC of rectangular pulses of increasing amplitudes. The trapezium pulse phase (s) of constant voltage and 3 ms duration, following the rising ramp phase (r), yields a current relaxation which is similar to the current relaxation during a rectangular pulse of similar duration. The fit of the current relaxation of the trapezium phase (s) to an exponential function and the IUC can be used to estimate the maximum current at a given voltage. The IUC of the falling edge (phase f) of the trapezium pulse serves to estimate the minimum voltage for the exploration of the long-lived electroporation membrane states with consecutive low-voltage (LV) pulses of longer duration, to eventually enhance electrophoretic uptake of ionic substances, initiated by the preceding HV pulses.     

A theoretical model of the electron capture detector

Summary This paper reports a theoretical model of the ECD detector. The model presented here can be used to examine the influence of pulse parameters on the current and signal characteristics of the detector. On the basis of this model it was found that a space charge is created in the detector when it is supplied with pulse voltage. Due to the electric potential generated by the space charge, in the time between the pulses the electrons and negative ions move towards the detector electrodes. The ionization current of the detector is the sum of the electron current flowing to the anode under the influence of the supplied pulse voltage and the current flowing under the space charge potential in the time between the pulses. It was also found that the detector signal is the sum of the differences between those two currents caused by introducing the sample molecules to the detector. The model was tested for a detector with different electrode configurations which worked at temperature of 300 K or 573 K and which was supplied with nitrogen or Ar+10% CH₄ as the carrier gas.     

Mixed-field-switching liquid crystal mode using in-plane and fringe fields self-adjusted by bottom floating electrode for transmittance enhancement

We demonstrate a liquid crystal (LC) mode switched by mixed electric fields of in-plane and fringe fields, which are self-adjusted by adopting a bottom floating electrode for enhanced electro-optical properties. In our LC mode structure, conventional in-plane switching (IPS) electrodes are formed as pixel electrodes and common electrodes on an insulating layer and floating electrodes that are patterned per the sub-pixels. When the areas of the pixel and common electrodes are identical, the voltage of the bottom floating electrode is spontaneously determined to be half the value of the pixel voltage, which ideally generates symmetric fringe fields with both pixel and common electrodes. Due to the in-plane fields additionally generated between the pixel and common electrodes, the proposed LC structure operates by mixed-field switching (MFS), which shows higher transmittance than fringe-field switching (FFS) and IPS LC modes. Transmittance of the conventional FFS and IPS LC modes is highly sensitive to the in-plane electrode’s width (w) and spacing (l) condition, but the proposed MFS LC mode shows good transmittance without degradation with large variations of the in-plane electrode’s spacing-to-width ratio (l/w).     

Bipolar pulse conductometric monitoring of ion-selective electrodes: Part 1. Method development with a calcium-selective electrode and elucidation of the basic principles involved

The potential generated by a plastic-membrane calcium ion-selective electrode (i.s.e.) is shown to be indirectly measurable by a non-zero current method based on bipolar pulse conductance. Linear current—voltage curves are obtained using 0–5-V pulses; the current axis intercept is related to the i.s.e. potential. A simple electrical contact (e.g., platinum or stainless steel) can be used instead of a poised reference electrode as the counter electrode in this two-electrode system. Long-term exposure of the i.s.e. to calcium solutions causes an upward drift in the measured current. This drift is minimized by avoiding long exposure times to solution, rinsing the electrode between measurements, and constructing current—voltage curves for determination of the current axis intercepts. Voltage pulses lasting 100 μs are optimum for this method. Shorter pulses are subject to error from capacitive charging currents, and longer pulses yield poorer precision, and degrade the electrode through faradaic reactions. The measured signal is dependent upon Ca²⁺ concentration (rather than activity), making ionic strength adjustment unnecessary. The concentration dependence is induced by application of voltage pulses greater than ~ 15 mV in amplitude. Selectivities of the potentiometric and conductometric methods are shown to be comparable for a variety of interfering monovalent and divalent cations. The conductometric method yields a fast i.s.e. response because of induced migration of Ca²⁺ into the membrane. Response time decreases as the pulse height increases. Pulses greater than 2 V in magnitude yield response times limited by the solution mixing time rather than by the electrode.     

Harmonic Analysis of Pulsed Photovoltaic Response of Titanium Dioxide Films under Local Illumination

A change in the photoelectrochemical behavior of a semiconductor–electrolyte system after transition from overall to local illumination of the electrode surface is studied. The proposed model accounts for charge interactions between illuminated and dark electrode portions and describes the frequency spectrum of photopotential for an electrode locally illuminated by a periodic sequence of light pulses a few nanoseconds in length. As shown with polycrystalline thin-film TiO₂electrodes, local values of concentrations of ionized donors and flat-band potentials of semiconductor electrodes may be determined with a harmonic analysis of frequency spectra of photovoltaic responses. The possibility of using the proposed approach in photoelectrochemical microscopy is discussed.     

Effects of application voltage and cathode and anode positions at electroporation on the in vitro permeation of benzoic acid through hairless rat skin

The enhancing effect of electroporation on the in vitro skin permeation of benzoate was evaluated. Needle and ring electrodes made of Ag/AgCl were connected to an electrical power source, which produced exponentially decaying pulses. The needle electrode was kept in contact with the skin surface, and the ring electrode was positioned either on or under the skin. The electrical pulse was applied to abdominal hairless rat skin at 150-600 V every minute from 4 to 6 h during the 10-h permeation experiment. Skin permeation of benzoate was promoted by electroporation and the effect was increased by application of a higher voltage. No immediate recovery to the control flux, however, was observed for high voltage groups after turning off the voltage application. When the cathode and anode were separated by the skin membrane by setting in the epidermal and dermal sides, respectively, an iontophoretic effect may also play a role in benzoate flux. These results indicated that the drug permeation by electroporation is the result of passive diffusion and an iontophoretic effect as well as the electroporation effect.     

Phase transition in porous electrodes

It is shown by Monte Carlo simulation that electrochemical thermodynamics of electrolytes in a porous electrode is qualitatively different from that in the bulk with a planar electrode. In particular, first order phase transitions occur in porous electrodes when the pore size is comparable to the ion size of the electrolytes: as the voltage is increased from zero, the surface charge density and the ion density in the porous electrodes discontinuously change at a specific voltage. The critical points for those phase transitions are identified.     

等离子体甲烷偶联体系中纯氢气放电消除积炭

发现了等离子条件下甲烷偶联反应中形成的积炭可以通过该体系中纯氢气放电而消除.将消除积炭使用直流电场的正高压和负高压与使用交流电场作了比较，发现直流电场中无论使用正高压还是负高压，只有阴极上的积炭可以被消除，而交流电场中两极积炭均可被消除，反应器壁上的积炭在以上任何情况下均可被消除.基于实验事实提出了机理假设.消除积炭的量与输入功率、反应器对电极的直径比以及电极材料有关.     

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence induced by sequential hot electron and hole injection into aqueous electrolyte solution

Hole injection into aqueous electrolyte solution is proposed to occur when oxide-coated aluminum electrode is anodically pulse-polarized by a voltage pulse train containing sufficiently high-voltage anodic pulses. The effects of anodic pulses are studied by using an aromatic Tb(III) chelate as a probe known to produce intensive hot electron-induced electrochemiluminescence (HECL) with plain cathodic pulses and preoxidized electrodes. The presently studied system allows injection of hot electrons and holes successively into aqueous electrolyte solutions and can be utilized in detecting electrochemiluminescent labels in fully aqueous solutions, and actually, the system is suggested to be quite close to a pulse radiolysis system providing hydrated electrons and hydroxyl radicals as the primary radicals in aqueous solution without the problems and hazards of ionizing radiation. The analytical power of the present excitation waveforms are that they allow detection of electrochemiluminescent labels at very low detection limits in bioaffinity assays such as in immunoassays or DNA probe assays. The two important properties of the present waveforms are: (i) they provide in situ oxidation of the electrode surface resulting in the desired oxide film thickness and (ii) they can provide one-electron oxidants for the system by hole injection either via F- and F⁺-center band of the oxide or by direct hole injection to valence band of water at highly anodic pulse amplitudes.     

Numeric Simulation of Natural Convection in Horizontal Layer of Binary Electrolyte at Constant Cell Voltage

Space dissipative structures resulting from convective instability of a binary electrolyte solution between two horizontal plane electrodes at a constant cell voltage are discussed. A system of hydrodynamic nonlinear equations is numerically integrated on a computer by the finite-difference method with spatial grid of 20 × 20. A relation between the applied voltage and Raleigh number is presented. The time dependences of current and electrode polarization during system relaxation towards steady state are obtained. The dependence of the electrode process acceleration due to natural convection on the applied voltage is found. The steady-state isolines of functions of current and concentration are constructed for some voltages. At too high Raleigh numbers, transition is observed to a turbulent mode.     

Active mixing inside microchannels utilizing dynamic variation of gradient zeta potentials

This study presents a new active micromixer with high mixing efficiency achieved by means of a gradient distribution of the surface zeta potential controlled by changing the frequency of voltage applied on shielding electrodes. Gradient surface zeta potential is generated by applying a high voltage to inclined buried shielding electrodes. While alternating the frequency of driving voltage, the zeta potential could be changed accordingly, thus providing a significant mixing effect inside microchannels. A theoretical model is proposed to predict the distribution of zeta potential. The results from this model are critically compared with the well-developed three-capacitor model. Additionally, two time-factor scales, the charge time of capacitor and mixing length flow time, are used to predict the optimum frequency. The prediction of optimum frequency, 0.5 Hz, is consistent with experimental results. Moreover, a five-pair inclined shielding electrode with a frequency of 0.5 Hz leads to a significant improvement in the mixing performance of the active micromixer. Numerical results indicate that a localized flow circulation is generated when the control voltage is applied to the inclined shielding electrodes. Furthermore, the streamlines are experimentally observed by using fluorescent beads. The shape of this circulation is dependent on the distribution of gradient zeta potential, which is determined by the arrangement of electrodes. The effects of the number of electrode pairs and the layout of shielding electrodes on the mixing performance of micromixer are also explored both numerically and experimentally. It is revealed that five-pair inclined electrodes at 0.5 Hz provide the highest mixing efficiency. Finally, a reaction between N-benzoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide and trypsin enzyme is performed to verify the capability of micromixers. The experimental results reveal that the reaction can achieve a higher performance indicating a higher mixing efficiency. The active micromixers could be used in microfluidic systems for improving the mixing efficiency and thus enhancing the bioreaction.     

Long-term equilibrium potential and electrochemical impedance study of Ag/AgCl electrodes used in Harned Cell measurements of pH

A long term study of the voltage and electrochemical impedance characteristics of Ag/AgCl electrodes used in Harned Cell measurement of pH is presented. By all the measures investigated the electrodes are shown to degrade only slowly until approximately 200 days after manufacture, after which time the rate of degradation and critical failure of the electrodes increases. The absolute voltage drift of the electrodes may not be easily measured, so parameters determined directed or indirectly by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been assessed as a method to produce an alternative indication of electrode integrity. In this respect, resistance to charge transfer has been shown to be a very sensitive measure of changes in the characteristics of the electrodes, and the most closely related to the observed changes in voltage. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that the majority of electrode degradation (excluding critical failure) comes from the increased blocking of the microporous structure of the electrodes.     

2-甲基吡啶在PbO2-SPE组合电极上的电氧化研究

分别采用热压法和热压-电镀法制备PbO2-SPE组合电极, 通过循环伏安和稳态极化曲线测量, 研究了这两种电极对2-甲基吡啶电氧化反应的电催化活性, 同时考察了工作电极电解液中有、无液相支持电解质电位与电流密度的关系及不同对电极电解液情况下, 电流密度与过电位和过电位与槽压的关系. 通过一般PbO2电极与热压-电镀法PbO2-SPE组合电极在电流密度与过电位和电流密度与槽压变化的比较, 发现热压-电镀法制备的PbO2-SPE组合电极在相同过电位下具有更高的电流密度, 在相同电流密度下具有较低的槽压.     

以预锂化中间相碳微球为负极的锂离子电容器的电化学性能

以商品活性炭(AC)为正极, 预锂化中间相碳微球(LMCMBs)为负极, 组装成锂离子电容器(LICs). 用X射线衍射(XRD)对LMCMB 电极材料的晶体结构进行了表征和分析, 预锂化量(PIC)小于200 mAh·g^-1 时,LMCMB电极材料基本保持了原始的石墨晶体结构. 利用三电极装置, 测试了充放电过程中LICs 的正、负极及整电容器的电压变化曲线. 以LMCMB为电极, 锂离子电容器负极的工作电压变低, 并且电压曲线更加平坦, 同时正极也可以利用到更低的电压区间. 对比锂离子电容器MCMB/AC, LMCMB/AC在比能量密度、循环性能和库仑效率电化学性能方面都得到了改善. 在电压区间2.0-3.8 V 下, 100 次循环后, 放电比容量的保持率从74.8%增加到100%, 库仑效率从95%增加到100%. LMCMB/AC电容器容量不衰退的直接原因是由于AC正极极化变小. 在2.0-3.8 V和1.5-3.8 V电压区间内, LMCMB/AC锂离子电容器的比能量密度分别可达85.6和97.9 Wh·kg^-1.     

Electrical Features of Radio-frequency,Atmospheric-pressure,Bare-metallic-electrode Glow Discharges

Radio-frequency (RF), atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (APGD) plasmas with bare metallic electrodes have promising prospects in the fields of plasma-aided etching, deposition, disinfection and sterilization, etc. In this paper, an induced gas discharge approach is proposed for obtaining the RF, atmospheric-pressure, γ-mode, glow discharges with pure nitrogen or air as the primary plasma-working gas using bare metallic electrodes. The discharge characteristics, including the discharge mode, the breakdown voltage and discharge voltage for sustaining α mode and/or γ mode discharges, of the RF APGD plasmas of helium, argon, nitrogen, air or their mixtures using a planar-type plasma generator are presented in this study. The uniformity (no filaments) of the discharges is confirmed by the images taken by an iCCD with a short exposure time (10 ns). The effects of different gap spacings and electrode materials on the discharge characteristics, the variations of the sheath thickness and the electron number density are also studied in this paper.     

Electrochemical Characterization of Nickel Electrodes in Phosphate and Carbonate Electrolytes in View of Assessing a Medical Diagnostic Device for the Detection of Early Diabetes

In view of optimizing a multi‐electrode device using proprietary technology for noninvasive assessment of eccrine sweat gland activity and thus the early detection of diabetes, we thoroughly explored the electrochemical behavior of a nickel electrode in a three‐electrode set up combining a nickel counter electrode and a nickel pseudo‐reference electrode in synthetic buffered phosphate and carbonate solutions in presence of chloride, lactate and urea that mimic the composition of physiological sweat. This approach provides insight into the origin of the onset of responses measured upon the application of low voltage potential with variable amplitudes to Ni electrodes on the skin. For low voltage amplitude of ca. ΔE=0.6 V, the electrochemical reactions measured at the electrodes are those related to the oxidation of Ni leading to the formation of a passive layer, as well as the reduction of this passive layer. For voltage amplitude higher than 1 V, or current densities higher than 1 mA/cm², the breakdown of the passive layer becomes the main electrochemical anodic reaction, while its reduction and the electrolytic solution govern the cathode reactions. This brings explanation of the nonlinear current‐voltage features measured during the clinic tests. Finally, the obtained results make possible the definition of the experimental electrochemical conditions where the Ni electrodes can be renewed.