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     

The high-temperature durability of Rh-free threeway catalysts used for automoble emission control

The high-temperature durability of cordierite honeycomb Rh-free three-way catalysts (TWC) containing additives has been studied by calcining catalysts at various temperatures in the interval of 600≈1100°C. The three-way performances of these catalysts were evaluated for the reaction of carbon monoxide(CO), hydrocarbon(HC) and nitrogen oxides(NOx) at given conditions by using a fixed bed reactor. The results show that after Rh-free TWC are thermally aged in air at 1100°C for 5h and 950°C for 104 h, the TWC still have better three-way activity compared with Rh-containing TWC.     

贮氢材料电极循环寿命的定量预测定时放电半衰期法的应用

贮氢材料电极循环寿命的定量预测定时放电半衰期法的应用韩剑文，袁满雪，周作祥，赖城明（南开大学化学系天津３０００７１）关键词：贮氢电极，循环寿命，半衰期。前文￣［１］讨论了应用定终点电位放电半衰期法来预测贮氢材料电极循环寿命的问题。本文讨论如何采用定时...     

Inhibition of Pb-Leaching from Lead Crystal Glass by Coating with Films Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method

The chemical durability of lead glass tumblers (24% PbO) in a 4% (v/v) acetic acid solution before and after coating with sol-gel derived SiO2 films was assessed to determine the extent of reduction in Pb-leaching that can be achieved. It was found that by coating the internal surface of the glass tumblers with 1 ml of 10% TEOS solutions at 100°C and densifying the coating formed at 500°C for 1 h, it was possible to reduce Pb-leaching to about one quarter of that of the uncoated glass.     

In-depth analysis of glass fibers

Two types of commercial glass fibers were subjected to attack in strongly basic KOH solutions. The resulting leach solutions were analysed for Na, Ca, and Si. This showed that the corrosion process attacks the fibers incongruently. Although there are some distinct differences in the performance of these fibers, to a first approximation both types behave similarly. Further, the fibers were depth profiled using a recently developed SNMS technique for fiber in-depth analysis. This showed that both types of fibers behave in a quite dissimilar manner. The fibers were weathered already without any treatment. Although both fibers show alkali ion exchange and network splitting processes, on one of the fiber layers enriched in SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, and CaO are formed by a redeposition process from the leach solution.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Prediction of paper permanence by accelerated aging II. Comparison of the predictions with natural aging results

Accelerated aging tests are credible and useful to predict paper permanence only if such tests can be shown to correlate with natural aging. In the first part of this study, a kinetic model was developed based on the accelerated aging results. In this report, we have shown that this kinetic model can indeed predict the natural aging results of lignin-free sheets with a statistical confidence. This is the first quantitative comparison of accelerated aging with natural aging.     

Green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles by Allium cepa L. to produce silver nano‐coated fabric and their antimicrobial evaluation

This research work was proposed to study the antimicrobial activity of the silver nanocoated fabric with the purpose of producing good dressing and clothing material. We synthesized simple, ecofriendly, cost‐effective and sustainable silver nanoparticles by using the aqueous extract of Allium cepa L. Here, A. cepa L. acts as a good reducing and capping agent that produced stable silver nanoparticles having particle size of range 36 ± 1 to 98 ± 2 nm, Poly dispersiblity index 0.234 ± 0.61 to 1.023 ± 0.33 and Zeta potential ‐12 ± 1.5 mV to ‐26 ± 1.2 mV. The effect of temperature and extract volume used was considered for optimization of synthetic procedure. The nanocoated fabric was characterized for morphological study, size (using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and zeta‐potential (Zeta Potentiometer). The presence of functional groups were observed by using attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The crystallinity and structural property of the synthesized silver nanoparticles were studied in terms of Powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD). An IC₅₀ value and zone of inhibition was studied which demonstrate that the silver nanocoated fabric have an excellent antibacterial property against Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram‐positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Further nanocoated fabric material was washed (with function of time 0, 10, 25, and 50 laundry cycles) and still retained their anti‐bacterial activity towards both strain. Initially there was 52 μg/ml of silver nanoparticles on the cotton fabric but after 50 laundry cycle in 500 ml of distilled water the fabric showed 92% efficiency against gram positive and 90% efficacy toward gram negative bacteria. It was found that 4.16 μg/ml nano particles leached in case of S. Aureus and 5.2 μg/mL silver nanoparticles leached in case of E. coli. Nanocoated fabric material synthesized using green synthesis was found to be economical with good resistance to washing.     

Cathode catalysts degradation mechanism from liquid electrolyte to membrane electrode assembly

Single-cell and half-cell degradation test procedures were evaluated for carbon-supported Pt/C, PtCo/C and PtNi/C catalysts. Half-cell analyses were employed to understand the effect of the number of cycles and of the scan rate over the cathode catalysts degradation under potential cycling from 0.6 to 1.2 V. The data suggested a time-dependent degradation for all three catalytic systems. Single-cell measurements were used to evaluate the impact of catalyst degradation on fuel cell performance. The measurements in both setups showed similar ECSA and ORR mass activity losses. Specific degradation mechanisms related to Pt dissolution, Pt agglomeration, and transitional metal leaching were quantified and correlated with performance losses.     

大口径反射镜高反射膜研究进展

大口径反射镜是大型反射式光学系统中关键的光学元件,在工作波段的反射率直接决定了光学系统的性能。随着地基、天基观测设备的发展,对大口径反射镜高反射膜提出了更宽的工作波段、更高的反射率、更好的环境适应性等要求。针对这些挑战,各种新的膜系结构、新的镀制方法、新的膜层材料纷纷出现,满足了大口径反射镜高反射膜的各种需求。本文对近些年国内外的大口径反射镜高反射膜研究进展予以综述,并预测大口径反射镜高反膜制备的技术趋势将由铝反射膜向银反射膜、由热蒸发向磁控溅射发展。     

Preparation and characterization of Ti0.7Sn0.3O2 as catalyst support for oxygen reduction reaction

Sn-doped TiO_2 nanoparticles with high surface area of 125.7 m~2·g~(-1) are synthesized via a simple one-step hydrothermai method and explored as the cathode catalyst support for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.The synthesized support materials are studied by X-ray diffraction analysis,energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.It is found that the conductivity has been greatly improved by the addition of 30 mol%Sn and Pt nanoparticles are well dispersed on Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2 support with an average size of 2.44 run.Electrochemical studies show that the Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2 nanoparticles have excellent electrochemical stability under a high potential compared to Vulcan XC-72.The as-synthesized Pt/Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2 exhibits high and stable electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction.The Pt/Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2 catalyst reserves most of its electrochemically active surface area(ECA),and its half wave potential difference is 11 mV,which is lower than that of Pt/XC-72(36 mV) under 10 h potential hold at 1.4 V vs.NHE.In addition,the ECA degradation of Pt/Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2is 1.9 times lower than commercial Pt/XC-72 under 500 potential cycles between 0.6 V and 1.2 V vs.NHE.Therefore,the as synthesized Pt/Ti_(0.7)Sn_(0.3)O_2 can be considered as a promising alternative cathode,catalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.