Optimal method for preparing sulfonated polyaryletherketones with high ion exchange capacity by acid-catalyzed crosslinking for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Sulfonated polyaryletherketones (SPAEK) bearing four sulfonic acid groups on the phenyl side groups were synthesized. The benzophenone moiety of polymer backbone was further reduced to benzydrol group with sodium borohydride. The membranes were crosslinked by acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction without sacrifice of sulfonic acid groups and ion exchange capacity (IEC) values. Crosslinked membranes with the same IEC value but different water uptake could be prepared. The optimal crosslinking condition was investigated to achieve lower water uptake, better chemical stability (Fenton's test), and higher proton conductivity. In addition, the hydrophilic ionic channels from originally course and disordered could be modified to be narrow and continuous by this crosslinking method. The crosslinked membranes, CS4PH-40-PEKOH (IEC = 2.4 meq./g), reduced water uptake from 200 to 88% and the weight loss was reduced from 11 to 5% during the Fenton test compared to uncrosslinked one (S4PH-40-PEK). The membrane showed comparable proton conductivity (0.01–0.19 S/cm) to Nafion 212 at 80°C from low to high relative humidity (RH). Single H₂/O₂ fuel cell based on the crosslinked SPAEK with catalyst loading of 0.25 mg/cm² (Pd/C) exhibited a peak power density of 220.3 mW/cm², which was close to that of Nafion 212 (214.0 mW/cm²) at 80°C under 53% RH. These membranes provide a good option as proton exchange membrane with high ion exchange capacity for fuel cells.     

Ultrafast excited state dynamics of a bithiophene-isoindigo copolymer obtained by direct arylation polycondensation and its application in indium tin oxide-free solar cells

A low band gap copolymer, P2TI (E_g = 1.6.eV), with bithiophene as donor and isoindigo as acceptor units is designed and synthesized by the direct arylation polycondensation (DAP) method. Absorbance of the polymer spans from 300 to 780 nm. It exhibits an absorption coefficient (ε) of 96 L/g cm in solution at its maxima. A HOMO level of −5.42 eV and LUMO level of −3.72 eV is measured by square wave voltammetry. ITO-free solar cells fabricated using a P2TI :PCBM71 bulk heterojunction shows a moderate efficiency of 1.02% with a high open circuit voltage of 0.81 V. An intramolecular charge transfer state is found in the relaxation of P2TI in solution, which is generated with a time constant of 2 ps as measured by femtosecond-transient absorption spectroscopy. Charge carriers were generated in <250 fs in P2TI: PCBM71 films. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1475–1483     

Investigation of the influence of incomplete fusion on complete fusion of <Superscript>12</Superscript>C-induced reactions at ≈ 4–7.2 MeV/nucleon

In this paper, we present the results of our investigation of reaction dynamics leading to incomplete fusion of heavy ions at moderate excitation energies, especially the influence of incomplete fusion on complete fusion of ¹²C -induced reactions at specific energies ≈ 4–7.2M eV/nucleon. Excitation functions of various reaction products populated via complete and/or incomplete fusions of a ¹²C projectile with ⁹³Nb, ⁵⁹Co and ⁵²Cr targets were measured at several specific energies ≈ 4–7.2 MeV/nucleon, using a recoil catcher technique, followed by off-line γ-ray spectrometry. The measured excitation functions were compared with theoretical values obtained using the PACE4 statistical model code. For representative non-α-emitting channels in the ¹²C + ⁹³Nb system, the experimentally measured excitation functions were, in general, found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. However, for α-emitting channels in the ¹²C + ⁹³Nb, ¹²C + ⁵⁹Co, and ¹²C + ⁵²Cr systems, the measured excitation functions were higher than the predictions of the theoretical model code, which may be credited to incomplete fusion reactions at these energies. An attempt was made to estimate the incomplete fusion fraction for the present systems, which revealed that the fraction was sensitive to the projectile energy and mass asymmetry of the entrance channel.     

Synthesis of ionic polybenzimidazoles with broad ion exchange capacity range for anion exchange membrane fuel cell application

In this study, new anion exchange membranes (AEM) based on crosslinked polybenzimidazole (m-PBI) with quaternary ammonium groups, crosslinkable allyl groups, and hydrophobic ethyl groups as side chains are synthesized and characterized. The AEMs are crosslinked by thermal thiol-ene reaction using a dithiol crosslinker. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) values and crosslinking density were controlled by the number of quaternary ammonium groups and allyl groups, respectively. The introduction of ethyl groups improved the solubility of ionic PBIs even at very low IEC values by eliminating the hydrogen bonding interaction of imidazole rings. This method allows ionic PBIs with broad IEC values, from 0.75 to 2.55 mmol/g, to be prepared. The broad IEC values were achieved by independently controlling the numbers of quaternary ammonium groups, allyl groups, and hydrophobic ethyl groups during preparation. The crosslinked ionic PBIs revealed hydroxide conductivity from 16 to 86 mS/cm at 80°C. The wet membranes also showed excellent mechanical strength with tensile strength of 12.2 to 20.1 MPa and Young's Modulus of 0.67 to 1.45 GPa. The hydroxide conductivity of a crosslinked membrane (0.40Q0.60Et1.00Pr, IEC = 0.95 mmol/g) decreased only 7.9% after the membranes was immersed in a 1.0 M sodium hydroxide solution at 80°C for 720 h. A single fuel cell based on this membrane showed a maximum peak power density of 136 mW/cm² with a current density of 377 mA /cm² at 60°C.     

Determination of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the extracts of aerial parts of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Portulaca quadrifida</Emphasis>

Background

The extracts from the aerial parts of Portulaca quadrifida have been reported to show the total flavonoid content, antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Results

Our results revealed that the total flavonoid content of methanol and chloroform extracts is 2.335?±?0.0097 and 1.7312?±?0.0082 mgQE/100 g respectively. The two extracts also showed good antioxidant activity and total phenolic content as well as weak to moderate antibacterial activity against some bacteria.

Conclusions

The extracts the aerial parts of the P. quadrifida showed good total flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and antibacterial activity. In addition to this, the extracts also showed the presence of some important compounds by phytochemical analysis.

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Comparative PL study of individual ZnO nanorods,grown by APMOCVD and CBD techniques

The photoluminescence properties of individual ZnO nanorods, grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (APMOCV) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) are investigated by means of temperature dependent micro-PL. It was found that the low temperature PL spectra are driven by neutral donor bound exciton emission D⁰X, peaked at 3.359 and 3.363 eV for APMOCVD and CBD ZnO nanorods, respectively. The temperature increase causes a red energy shift of the peaks and enhancement of the free excitonic emission (FX). The FX was found to dominate after 150 K for both samples. It was observed that while APMOCVD ZnO nanorods possess a constant low signal of visible deep level emission with temperature, the ZnO nanorods grown by CBD revealed the thermal activation of deep level emission (DLE) after 130 K. The resulting room temperature DLE was a wide band located at 420–550 nm. The PL properties of individual ZnO nanorods can be of importance for their forthcoming application in future optoelectronics and photonics.