Polymer electrolyte plasticized with PEG-borate ester having high ionic conductivity and thermal stability

We have focused on the PEG-borate ester as a new type of plasticizer for solid polymer electrolyte composed of poly(ethyleneglycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) and lithium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI). The PEG-borate ester shows good thermal stability and high flash point. Ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte increases with increasing amount of the PEG-borate ester and exhibits values greater than 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C and 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 60 °C. Furthermore, PEG-borate ester has three EO chains whose lengths are variable, and various ionic conductivities are expected to depend on EO chain length. As a result, polymer electrolyte containing the PEG-borate ester whose EO chain length is n=3 shows highest ionic conductivity. Furthermore, polymer electrolytes containing PEG-borate esters show excellent thermal and electrochemical stability. The electrolytes are thermally stable up to 300 °C and electrochemically up to 4.5 V vs. Li⁺/Li.     

Regeneration of NADH and ketone hydrogenation by hydrogen with the combination of hydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The regeneration of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (reduced form, NADH) by the reaction of NAD with hydrogen gas was carried out in the presence of the...     

High-pressure synthesis, structure, and characterization of a post-perovskite CaPtO3 with CaIrO3-type structure

A new ternary platinum oxide, CaPtO3 was synthesized under a pressure of 7 GPa and a temperature of 1000 degrees C. The crystal structure of CaPtO3 was determined by Rietveld analysis of the X-ray powder diffraction data. CaPtO3 has a layered CaIrO3-type structure (orthorhombic, space group: Cmcm), which is the same as that of a post-perovskite MgSiO3 in the Earth's lower mantle. The magnetic susceptibility data indicate that the Pt ion in CaPtO3 is tetravalent in the low spin state with an electron configuration of t2g(6)eg(0)(S = 0). This finding is consistent with the insulating behavior.     

Interconversion of cyclosporin molecular form inducing peak broadening,tailing and splitting during reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Summary Reversed-phase liquid chromatography of cyclosporin A, a peptide immunosuppressant, at various temperatures produced remarkably different chromatograms. At 60°C one sharp peak was obtained, at 23°C this became a single broad peak and between 15° and 0°C this became one high sharp peak followed by a tailing or low plateau. Remarkably different chromatograms were produced also by varying the mobile phase flow-rate. The effects of both temperature and flow-rate on the chromatogram could be accounted for by interconversion between two forms of the cyclosporin molecule. Kinetic analysis showed that one form was converted by first-order kinetics with a half-life of 2.0 min at 20°C and that the apparent activation energy for the conversion was about 18 kcal/mol. The other two immunosuppressants, cyclosporin C and D, were also shown to undergo interconversion. This kinetic analysis of the interconversion should be helpful in clarifying the relationship between molecular structure and activity of the immunosuppressants.     

Biological heat generation by the cultivation ofAlternaria alternata in rice bran

Biological heat generation was observed whenAlternaria alternata was grown in rice bran. A temperature of more than 50°C was maintained for 25 d, and the maximum temperature was 56.5°C. After 30 d of cultivation, 55% of the energy of rice bran was liberated. The consumption rates of the lipids and sugar contained in rice bran increased with the increase of the maximum temperature during the cultivation ofA. alternata.     

Infrared semiconductor laser irradiation used for crystallization of silicon thin films

We report the rapid thermal crystallization of silicon films using infrared semiconductor laser. Carbon films were used on silicon films to absorb the laser light. Uniform crystalline regions were achieved by a line shape laser beam with a length of 20 μm. Polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors were fabricated in crystallized regions. The effective electron carrier mobility and threshold voltage were achieved to be 130 cm²/Vs and 0.4 V, respectively, when the crystalline volume ratio of the silicon films was 0.95.