Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Sulfonated poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone)s containing fluorinated moieties as proton exchange membrane materials

A series of sulfonated poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone)s statistical copolymers with high molecular weights were synthesized via an aromatic nucleophilic substitution polymerization. The sulfonation content (SC), defined as the number of sulfonic acid groups contained in an average repeat unit, could be controlled by the feed ratios of monomers. Flexible and strong membranes in sodium sulfonate form could be prepared by the solution casting method, and readily transformed to their proton forms by treating them in 2 N sulfuric acid. The polymers showed high T_gs, which increased with an increase in SC. Membranes prepared from the present sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone ketone) copolymers containing the hexafluoroisopropylidene moiety (SPEEKK‐6F) and copolymers containing the pendant 3,5‐ditrifluoromethylphenyl moiety (SPEEKK‐6FP) had lower water uptakes and lower swelling ratios in comparison with previously prepared copolymers containing 6F units. All of the polymers possessed proton conductivities higher than 1 × 10^?2 S/cm at room temperature, and proton conductivity values of several polymers were comparable to that of Nafion at high relative humidity. Their thermal stability, oxidative stability, and mechanical properties were also evaluated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2299–2310, 2006     

A procedure for measuring the flexibility of single wood-pulp fibres

A way of determining the flexibility of wood-pulp fibres is developed, which involves i) a precise measurement of the topology of single-fibres by using a confocal laser scanning microscope and ii) the measurement of the elastic modulus of the fibres by using a single-fibre fatigue cell. Reported in this paper are the initial results of tests carried out on black spruce fibres, which have been subjected to three different levels of mechanical refining energy, namely ∼1100, 2300, and 3500 kWh/t. It is found that the fibre flexibility rises significantly between the first and second energy levels, but it does not change to the same degree between the second and third ones. The described procedure of measuring the flexibility of fibres may be used to establish the appropriate refiner energy necessary for the production of a specific grade of paper. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 115–128, January–February, 2006.     

流通池介质交换差示脉冲阳极溶出伏安法用于多元素重叠峰的分离及其同时测定

本文用流通池介质交换差示脉冲阳极溶出伏安法在盐酸介质中富集,而以碳酸钠-碳酸氢钠缓冲溶液为溶出介质,有效地分离了酸性介质中Cu(Ⅱ)、Sb(Ⅲ)、Pb(Ⅱ)、Tl(Ⅰ)、Cd(Ⅱ)、In(Ⅲ)的重叠溶出峰,实现了多离子的同时测定。     

Increase of Calcium Levels at Interphase in NIH 3T3 Cells

The fluorescent calcium ion indicator dye Fluo-3 and DNA-binding dye Hoechst 33342 were employed to determine, in a quantitative microspectrofluorometric study, the intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca~(2+)]_i) and the DNA content of individual living NIH3T3 cells. The well-separated excitation and emission properties of these dyes allowed us to establish for each cell both the phase of the cell cycle using DNA content and [Ca~(2+)]_i. We found that the transition from G_1, through S, to the G_2 phase is accompanied by a two-fold increase in [Ca~(2+)]_i. The [Ca~(2+)]_i was inhomologous in each phase of the interphase (G_1, S and G_2) although [Ca~(2+)]_i in the S and G_2 phases was never lower than certain threshold values in the G_1 and S phases respectively. [Ca~(2+)]_i in G_0 cells was lower than that in G_2 cells. These changes in [Ca~(2+)]_i suggest that [Ca~(2+)]_i may be an import regulator of cell cycle progression.     

Ni-SDC固体氧化物燃料电池阳极的合成和性质

采用柠檬酸-硝酸盐溶胶-凝胶低温自蔓延燃烧法制备氧化镍（NiO）粉末和Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9（SDC）粉末，并将NiO与SDC按不同质量比和不同制备工艺制备了固体氧化物燃料电池（SOFC）的阳极前身。再用自组装的还原装置将其在820℃经2．5h还原后，采用四端子法测量其电导率值。分析了阳极片电导率与阳极片微结构、Ni的质量百分数、混合研磨时间及烧结温度之间的关系。结果显示，阳极片的电导率强烈依赖于镍含量和制备工艺。     

长光路光度法测定中药材中痕量硒

本文研究了用长光路光度法测定痕量硒。在酸性溶液中，Ｓｅ（Ⅳ）催化ＫＣｌＯ３氧化苯肼成偶氮离子，继而与变色酸生成红色偶氮化合物。硒含量在１．０×１０－９～２．０×１０－７ｇ／ｍＬ范围内遵守比尔定律。巯基棉分离后，测定中药材中总硒，获得满意结果。     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of 3,3′-(Hexane-1,6-diyl)bis(1-acetyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin),a New Inducer of Differentiation

1 INTRODUCTION Hexamethylenebis[acetamide] (HMBA) is an effective agent in phaseⅡclinical trial[1] that induces differentiation of certain types of tumors to nonmalignant phenotypes. In an attempt to discover more efficient inducers, a number of derivatives of HMBA have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro[2, 3]. The results proved that increasing the number of functional groups could enhance the anticancer activity. In addition, it was evident that compounds with six methylene i…     

Growth kinetics and phenolics production inGlycine Max cell suspension cultures

Glycine max was used as a model plant cell suspension culture to establish relationships among growth kinetics, phenolics production, elicitor action, and peroxidase activity. Timing of elictor addition through monitoring of peroxidase provided an excellent means of optimizing yields of phenolics and reduced the time span during which phenolics were formed, negating the need for a secondary production medium. We have also determined that calcium and other cellular effectors like polyamines and organic osmolytes, when used in conjunction with elicitors, enhance phenolics production. Calcium directly enhanced elicitation, whereas polyamines and other osmolytes such as glycerol and proline extended cell viability. The study also demonstrated potential for enhancing secondary metabolite production by a combination of elicitation, cell viability stabilizers, and by addition of nutrients at the time of elicitation.     

Effect of Ba and Bi doping on the synthesis and sintering of Ge-based apatite phases

Recently, high oxide ion conduction has been observed in the apatite-type systems La_9.33+x(Si/Ge)₆O_26+x/2, with conductivities approaching and even exceeding that of yttria-stabilized zirconia. The Ge-based phases have been reported to suffer from Ge loss and undergo irreversible structural changes on sintering at the high temperatures required to obtain dense pellets. In this paper we discuss doping studies (Ba, Bi for La) aimed at stabilizing the hexagonal apatite lattice to high temperature, and/or lowering the synthesis and sintering temperatures. The results show that doping with Ba helps to stabilize the hexagonal lattice at high temperatures, although Ge loss appears to still be a problem. Conductivity data show that, as previously reported for the Si-based systems, non-stoichiometry in the form of cation vacancies and/or oxygen excess is required to achieve high oxide ion conduction in these Ge-based systems. Neutron diffraction structural data for the fully stoichiometric phase La₈Ba₂Ge₆O₂₆ shows that the channel oxygen atoms show little anisotropy in their thermal displacement parameters, consistent with the low oxide ion conductivity of this phase. Bi doping is shown to lower the synthesis and sintering temperatures, although the presence of Bi means that these samples are not stable at high temperatures under reducing conditions.Presented at the OSSEP Workshop Ionic and Mixed Conductors: Methods and Processes, Aveiro, Portugal, April 10–12, 2003