Physical and electrochemical properties of (La0.3Sr0.7)0.93TiO3–δ synthesized by Pechini method as an anode material for solid oxide fuel cells

The lanthanum strontium titanate (LST) has to be calcined at significantly high temperature (above 1,300 °C) to obtain its pure perovskite structure when synthesized by conventional solid-state method, which is main reason for reducing active surface area. In this study, A-site deficient (La_0.3Sr_0.7)_0.93TiO₃ was synthesized by Pechini method. Although the prepared powders were calcined at 600 °C, the pure perovskite structure can be obtained without any secondary phase such as TiO₂. Moreover, the porosity and surface area are 6 times and one order of magnitude higher in the LST powders synthesized by Pechini method than in the powders synthesized by solid-state method. Based on these results, the LST electrode (Pechini) leads to two times lower electrode resistance than the LST electrode (solid-state). Thus, the LST powders synthesized by Pechini can contributes to saving the energy needed for calcination process as well as increasing the porosity and active surface area, enhancing physical and electrochemical properties in SOFC anode.     

Biodegradable polymer blends and composites: An overview

Biodegradable polymers belong to a family of polymer materials that found applications ranged from medical applications including tissue engineering, wound management, drugs delivery, and orthopedic devices, to packaging and films applications. For broadening their potential applications, biodegradable polymers are modified utilizing several methods such as blending and composites forming, which lead to new materials with unique properties including high performance, low cost, and good processability. This paper reviews the recent information about the morphology of blends consisting of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymers and associated mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of these systems as well as their degradation behavior. In addition, the mechanical performance of composites based on biodegradable polymers is described.     

Digital Simulation of Discharge of Nickel–Cadmium Batteries

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - A computer analysis of the mathematical model for the nickel–cadmium battery discharge with different types of electrodes is presented. The model...     

三维荧光与紫外光谱联合表征样品中猝灭剂赋存状态:以胡敏酸与Fe(Ⅲ)相互作用为例

利用三维荧光-紫外光谱表征了荧光猝灭剂的赋存状态,当样品体系中存在Fe(Ⅲ)的情况下,胡敏酸会发生荧光猝灭现象,而其紫外光谱基本不受影响。考察了胡敏酸荧光强度I值(Ex/Em=300 nm/510nm)和紫外吸光度A值(UV300)的变化,I/A比值越小,说明水样中猝灭剂Fe(Ⅲ)浓度越高。当胡敏酸为10,15和20 mg·L~(-1)时,根据Stern-Volmer公式I/I_0=1-f_c×K_c×[c]/(1+K_c×[c])以及拟合函数I/A=f×[k/(CFe~(3+)+c)+b],拟合得到荧光猝灭常数K_c=1.08~1.15,比例系数f_c=1.10~1.14之间,胡敏酸荧光强度值与吸光度比值(I/A)及铁离子浓度(C_(Fe~(3+))相关曲线系数f=0.83~1.19,k=587.19~612.19,c=0.87~0.92,b=-87.09~-46.36,拟合曲线相关性R~2均为0.99。Stern-Volmer公式描述了Fe(Ⅲ)对胡敏酸荧光的猝灭作用,但实际样品测定时难以获得无猝灭剂时的荧光强度I_0。基于荧光强度I_0与紫外吸光度A之间的内在联系,两者比值I/A与Fe(Ⅲ)浓度c的拟合函数亦可以反映Fe(Ⅲ)对胡敏酸荧光的影响。利用拟合公式预测城市污水厂及纳污河流样品的树脂分离富集液中铁离子浓度,与电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪实际测量值相比,铁离子浓度较高的情况下(铁离子浓度大于0.4 mg·L~(-1)时)预测结果较好,可以判断猝灭剂的存在及相应浓度。     

Solution of a nonlinear singular integral equation with quadratic nonlinearity

Using methods of the theory of boundary-value problems for analytic functions, we prove a theorem on the existence of solutions of the equation

Fractional statistics in the fractional quantum Hall effect

A microscopic confirmation of the fractional statistics of the quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect has so far been lacking. We calculate the statistics of the composite-fermion quasiparticles at nu=1/3 and nu=2/5 by evaluating the Berry phase for a closed loop encircling another composite-fermion quasiparticle. A careful consideration of subtle perturbations in the trajectory due to the presence of an additional quasiparticle is crucial for obtaining the correct value of the statistics. The conditions for the applicability of the fractional statistics concept are discussed.     

Semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields

We review and extend the composite fermion theory for semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields. The mean-field model of composite fermions is unsatisfactory for the qualitative physics at high angular momenta. Extensive numerical calculations demonstrate that the microscopic CF theory, which incorporates interactions between composite fermions, provides an excellent qualitative and quantitative account of the quantum dot ground state down to the largest angular momenta studied, and allows systematic improvements by inclusion of mixing between composite fermion Landau levels (called Λ levels).     

Predicting the proton conductivity of perfluorosulfonic acid membrane via combining statistical thermodynamics and molecular dynamics simulation

The electrochemical properties of a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane are estimated using a combination of molecular dynamics simulation and statistical thermodynamic model. We obtain all parameters in an ionic conductivity model from an atomistic simulation and remove all adjusted model parameters. From a microscopic point of view, the hydrated PFSA membrane shows micro‐phase segregation which separated into hydrophilic and hydrophobic phases. Our present work originates with this phenomenon and we treat this phase segregation as if it is a continuous phase for each of which the proton (H⁺) is transported inside the PFSA membrane/solvent (water and alcohols) mixture. The chemical potential for a given system is estimated using a molecular simulation technique to predict the van der Waals interaction energy between the polymer and solvent. In addition, the self diffusion coefficients are calculated from the molecular dynamics simulation. We study various polymer/solvent compositions to understand the concentration dependence of self diffusion coefficient. Our self diffusion coefficients and also the predicted final ionic conductivity agree well with previously reported experimental data. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 1455–1463, 2011     

3D visualization of the microstructure of Quedius beesoni Cameron using micro-CT

The investigation of the internal morphology of insects is usually performed using classical microtomy yielding optical micrographs of stained thin sections. The achievement of high-quality cross sections for microtomy is time-consuming and the risk of damaging sections is unavoidable. Moreover, the approach is impractical, in particular when quick acquisition of 3D structural information is required. Recently, X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) with a high spatial resolution was considered as a potential tool for the morphological classification of insects. We used micro-CT to investigate Quedius beesoni Cameron at the cellular length scale. This method provides a new powerful and nondestructive approach to obtain 3D structural information on the biological organization of insects. The preliminary images presented in this contribution clearly reveal the endoskeleton and the muscles of the head and the thorax with a full 3D structure. We also reconstructed the 3D structure of the brain of Quedius beesoni Cameron, and this is the first reconstruction in Staphylinidae, which will be a great advancement for morphological and phylogenic research. We claim that both the spatial resolution and the contrast characteristic of micro-CT imaging may fulfill the requirements necessary for zoological insect morphology and phylogeny, in particular, when a classification of a rare and unique insect specimen is required.