The new composites,polyacetylene-carbon nanotubes: Electrochemical properties

Polyacetylene- and carbon-nanotube-based composite materials are prepared by the method of polymerization filling for the first time. It is shown that the acetylene polymerization mainly occurs at catalytic centers attached to the carbon nanotubes. It follows from TEM data that in the case of single-wall nanotubes the polyacetylene fibriles are wound up onto the nanotubes. In the case of multi-wall nanotubes, polyacetylene can form separate bodies that are connected to the multi-wall nanotubes. The specific electrochemical capacity of the novel composite materials is nearly twice as large as compared with that of the composite prepared by mechanical mixing; it is by two orders of magnitude larger than the pure polyacetylene capacity. The reversibility of the Li⁺ intercalation-deintercalation electrode reaction appears significantly improved at the polyacetylene-carbon nanotubes composites.     

Conductivity of Nafion-117 membranes intercalated by polar aprotonic solvents

The Nafion-117 membranes in the Li⁺ form with pore-intercalated aprotonic organic solvents were prepared. The prepared materials were characterized by IR, impedance, and ⁷Li NMR spectroscopy. The solvent uptake of the membranes is shown to be controlled by the composition of organic solvents and their mixtures as well as by the conditions of the preliminary treatment of the initial membranes. For the Nafion-117 membrane, the degree of solvation can be improved by the preliminary treatment with alcohols, especially by the thermal treatment in methanol. Conductivity of the membranes is shown to increase with increasing content of the sorbed solvents. The best conductivity at 25 °C (2.5 × 10^?3 and 1.6 × 10^?3 S cm^?1) was attained for the electrolytes based on the Nafion-117 membrane in lithium form with sorbed ethylene carbonate-propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate-dimethoxyethane mixtures, respectively.     

Electrodes of Germanium and Germanium Phosphide Nanowires in Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Batteries (A Review)

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - Basic studies in the application of germanium nanowires obtained by electrolysis of aqueous solutions, as well as germanium phosphide nanorods, as negative...     

Electrochemical intercalation of lithium into diamond-pyrocarbon nanocomposites

Physics of the Solid State - The electrochemical behavior of composite materials based on nanodiamond and carbal is investigated in the course of cathodic intercalation of lithium from an LiPF6...     

Lithium intercalation in thin amorphous-silicon films

Electrochemical intercalation of lithium in thin films of amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H), deposited at temperatures of 100 and 250°C on stainless-steel substrates, is studied. It is shown that the discharge capacity of films of identical thicknesses manufactured at a temperature of 250°C is greater than that for films produced at of 100°C. Dependence of the discharge capacity of the films manufactured at 250°C on their thickness is examined. It is established that an increase in the film thickness leads to acceleration of the decrease in the discharge capacity in the course of cycling. At a current density of 0.175 mA cm^?2, the discharge capacity of films 0.25 and 1.35 μm thick equals nearly 2 Ah g^?1 in a third cycle, whereas in a hundredth cycle it amounts to 1.10 and 0.37 Ah g^?1, respectively. The diffusion coefficient for lithium in the films is equal to ～10^-13 cm²s^?1.     

Nanostructured cathodic catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells

The high activity of catalysts based of nanodisperse Pt-P system and their tolerance to the poisoning effect of methanol are demonstrated for the working potentials of cathodes in methanol-air fuel cells. The catalysts’ activity in the oxygen reduction reaction in the presence of methanol is nearly hundred times that of catalysts based on mixed metal-chalcogenide systems.     

Nanostructured catalysts for cathodes of oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells

Bimetallic catalysts platinum-cobalt, platinum-chromium, and platinum-tungsten, deposited onto highly dispersed carbon black from complex cluster-type compounds of corresponding metals with a 1: 1 atomic ratio of metals are developed. The catalysts are characterized by methods of x-ray diffraction analysis and energy dispersive analysis of x-rays. The procedure involving use of a thin-film rotating disk electrode is employed to probe kinetic parameters of the oxygen reduction reaction on the catalysts developed. The investigated binary catalysts exhibit specific electrochemical characteristics that are not inferior and, in some cases, are superior to the characteristics intrinsic to the commercial platinum catalyst E-TEK, when tested in the composition of a gas-diffusion electrode under conditions that are close to real conditions in which cathodes of oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells operate.     

Electrocatalytic Processes in Lithium Power Sources

Most important electrocatalytic processes that occur in primary and secondary (rechargeable) lithium power sources are briefly considered.     

Mechanochemical treatment of maricite-type NaFePO4 for achieving high electrochemical performance

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In order to satisfy a growing demand for energy storage devices and to create safer and less expensive batteries with high capacity, materials based on...