Thermodynamic analysis of lithium ion cells

The thermodynamics of ideal and non-ideal solutions has been applied to the electrochemically active lithium-based positive electrode to provide insight into the electrostatic potential as a function of the state-of-discharge. The Nernst and the Margules expressions are incorporated in the derivation for the electrostatic potential expression using the total Gibbs free energy equation. The resulting expression is applied to a lithium cell in order to study its discharge profile. These predicted results are compared with established results from the literature and a comparison is performed to validate the agreement between the predicted and the published results. Paper presented at the International Conference on Functional Materials and Devices 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 6 – 8, 2005.     

Accelerated life ac conductivity measurements of CRT oxide cathodes

The ac conductivity measurements have been carried out for the activated Ba/SrO cathode with additional 5% Ni powder for every 100 h acceleration life time at the temperature around 1125 K. The ac conductivity was studied as a function of temperature in the range 300-1200 K after conversion and activation of the cathode at 1200 K for 1 h in two cathodes face to face closed configuration. The experimental results prove that the hopping conductivity dominate in the temperature range 625-770 K through the traps of the WO₃ associate with activation energy E_a = 0.87 eV, whereas from 500-625 K it is most likely to be through the traps of the Al₂O₃ with activation energy of E_a = 1.05 eV. The hopping conductivity at the low temperature range 300-500 K is based on Ni powder link with some Ba contaminants in the oxide layer stricture which indicates very low activation energy E_a = 0.06 eV.     

Plasma wave interactions in the microwave to THz range between carriers in a semiconductor 2DEG and interdigital slow waves

Traveling wave interactions between the plasma wave in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure and the electromagnetic space harmonic slow waves produced by interdigital metal electrodes were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. By means of a TM mode analysis, a general expression for the ω- and k-dependent effective permittivity of the 2DEG plasma was derived. The two-terminal admittance was calculated by a Green’s function method from the microwave to the THz wave region. Occurrences of negative admittance were predicted, and its peak values increased with frequency to a very large value in the THz region due to the reduction in the number of collisions per cycle. Preliminary admittance measurements at microwave frequencies showed good agreement with calculations, confirming the existence of plasma wave interactions.     

A highly sensitive sensor of paracetamol based on zinc-layered hydroxide-<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-phenylalanate-modified multiwalled carbon nanotube paste electrode

A new zinc-layered hydroxide-L-phenylalanate (ZLH-LP)-modified multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was prepared as a new material of paste electrode for the detection of paracetamol (PCM) in 1.0?×?10^?1 M phosphate buffer solution and at pH 7.5. The electrochemical characterization of the MWCNTs/ZLH-LP paste electrode was characterized by square wave voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry while the morphology properties of the MWCNTs, ZLH-LP, and MWCNTs/ZLH-LP were investigated using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Under optimized conditions, the MWCNTs/ZLH-LP paste electrode demonstrated an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards oxidation of PCM in the linear responses’ ranges from 7.0?×?10^?7 M to 1.0?×?10^?4 M (correlation coefficient, 0.996) with the limit of detection obtained at 8.3?×?10^?8 M. As a conclusion, the MWCNTs/ZLH-LP paste electrode revealed good repeatability, reproducibility, and stability, and was found to be applicable for use in pharmaceutical tablet samples.

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Graphical abstract ?

     

Nanogapped impedimetric immunosensor for the detection of 16 kDa heat shock protein against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis>

The 16 kDa heat shock protein (16 kDa HSP) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT), expressed during the growth phase of MT, is a potential target in diagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB). We describe here a method for impedimetric determination of the antigen by using a nanogapped dielectric surface consisting of a silver support coated with a thin finger-shaped coating made from zinc oxide and gold and patterned through a lift-off process. The electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Surface chemical functionalization and immobilization of antibody against the 16 kDa HSP was evidenced by FTIR. In order to improve the detection limit, the antigen was conjugated to 10 nm gold nanoparticles. The resulting biosensor is capable of detecting the 16 kDa HSP in concentrations as low as 100 fM. The method covers a wide analytical range that extends from 100 fM to 1 nM.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the nanogapped impedimetric immunosensor for the diagnosis of tuberculosis

     

Monitoring of streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin residual levels in porcine meat press juice and muscle via solid-phase fluorescence immunoassay and confirmatory analysis by liquid chromatography after post-column derivatization

A solid-phase fluorescence immunoassay (SPFIA) that was primarily developed for detection of antibiotic residues in milk was qualitatively applied for the pre-screening of the residues of aminoglycoside antibiotics, streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, in meat press juice. The confirmation of both analytes was performed using a validated method of highperformance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization. The analytical performance was demonstrated by the analysis of pork meat samples spiked at three concentration levels, ranging from 0.25 to 2.5 ppm for each analyte. In general, the recoveries ranged from 80.4 to 81.5% and from 79.6 to 84.4% for streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, respectively, with relative standard deviations lower than 6%. The limits of detection were 0.1 and 0.15 ppm for streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, respectively, and the limits of quantification of 0.35 and 0.5 ppm are below the maximum residue limits of Codex, the European Union, and the Korean Food and Drug Administration (ranging from 0.5 to 0.6 ppm). Eight real samples collected from the Seoul area were first monitored using SPFIA, and none of them were found positive. These findings are in good accordance with those observed by HPLC analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to monitor the aminoglycoside residues in pork meat press juice using SPFIA.     

Cyclic Voltammetry of Metallic Acetylacetonate Salts in Quaternary Ammonium and Phosphonium Based Deep Eutectic Solvents

Seven commercially sourced acetylacetonate salts were investigated in deep eutectic solvents (DESs that were prepared from ethylene glycol and trifluoroacetamide hydrogen bond donors) by cyclic voltammetry, to identify electrolytes suitable for future applications in electrochemical energy storage devices. Although the solubilities are low and on the order of 0.02 mol·L^?1 for the most soluble salts, some were found to display encouraging quasi-reversible electrochemical kinetics. For instance, the diffusion coefficients of copper(II) acetylacetonate and iron(III) acetylacetonate in the trifluoroacetamide based DES are 1.14 × 10^?8 and 5.12 × 10^?9 cm²·s^?1, which yields rate constants of 3.16 × 10^?3 and 8.43 × 10^?6 cm·s^?1, respectively. These results are better than those obtained with the DESs prepared from ethylene glycol. The poor kinetics of the iron(III) acetylacetonate system was possibly due to the hygroscopic nature of the DESs that resulted in a continuous build-up of moisture in the system in spite of the maintenance of an inert atmosphere by means of a plastic glove bag. Further work is thus envisaged in an inert dry box that could lead to H-type glass cell charge/discharge experiments in the future.     

Synthesis and characterization of [4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxybutyrate)-zinc layered hydroxide] nanohybrid

A new layered organic–inorganic nanohybrid material in which an agrochemical, 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)butyrate (DPBA) is intercalated into inorganic interlayers of zinc layered hydroxide (ZLH) was synthesized by direct reaction of aqueous DPBA solution with zinc oxide. The resulting nanohybrid is composed of the organic moieties, DPBA sandwiched between ZLH inorganic interlayers. The nanohybrid afforded well ordered crystalline layered structure, a basal spacing of 29.6 Å, 23.5% carbon (w/w) and 47.9% (w/w) loading of DPBA. FTIR study shows that the absorption bands of the resulting nanohybrid composed the FTIR characteristics of both the DPBA and ZLH which further confirmed the intercalation episode. The intercalated organic moiety in the form of nanohybrid is thermally more stable than its sodium salt. Scanning electron micrograph shows the ZnO precursor has very fine granular structure and transformed into a flake-like when the nanohybrid is formed. This work shows that the nanohybrid of DPBA-ZLH can be synthesized using simple, direct reaction of ZnO and DPBA under aqueous environment for the formation of a new generation of agrochemical.     

Group analysis for the effects of the temperature-dependent fluid viscosity and chemical reaction on free convective heat and mass transfer

A group analysis has been carried out to study heat and mass transfer characteristics of an incompressible Newtonian fluid having a temperature-dependent viscosity over a vertical stretching surface in the presence of thermal radiation and a chemical reaction. The Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. The vertical surface is assumed to be permeable so as to allow for possible wall suction or injection. The governing differential equations are derived and transformed using the Lie group analysis. The transformed equations are solved numerically by applying the Runge—Kutta—Gill scheme with the shooting technique. Favorable comparisons with previously published works on various special cases of the problem are obtained