Engineering Commons^™

Localized Corrosion Behavior Of Sensitized 304 Stainless Steel By Scanning Reference Electrode Technique, Chen-Qing Ye, Rong-Gang Hu, Rui-Qing Hou, Xiao-Ping Wang, Rong-Gui Du, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Based on a home-built setup of scanning reference electrode technique, and combined with conventional electrochemical measurements, the localized corrosion behavior of sensitized 304 stainless steel (304ss) had been investigated in this work. The results showed that, the non-sensitized 304ss or 304ss sensitized at 550 oC was susceptible to pitting; while 304ss sensitized at 650 oC or 750 oC suffered severe intergranular corrosion in 10% FeCl3 solution.

Study On Hydrogen Bubble Template Fabrication Of Porous Biomaterials Coatings By Electrochemically Induced Deposition, Hui Wang, Chang-Jian Lin, Ren Hu, Ke-Qin Zhang, Hong-Ping Duan, Xiang Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

So far, the pore architecture in biomaterials plays a critical role on the cell response and integration between the biomaterials and implanted environment. In this study, porous calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings and CaP/protein composite coatings have been successfully constructed on titanium substrate by using an electrochemically induced deposition technique. The shape, size and pliability of CaP crystals are controlled by electrolyte concentration, temperature, current density, time and protein additive in preparing process. In addition, the formation mechanism of the porous structure is discussed based on the “hydrogen bubble template” model. It demonstrates that the growth velocity of CaP crystals should …

Cmk-3/Sulfur Composite (CXSY) And Room-Temperature Na/S Battery, Qing Zhao, Yu-Xiang Hu, Kai Zhang, Li-Jiang Wang, Zhan-Liang Tao, Jun Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

A series of ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3)/sulfur composite (C_xS_y) with different sulfur contents were synthesized via a melt-diffusion method. XRD, Raman, BET, SEM, and TEM techniques were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the as-prepared composite. The electrochemical performance of CMK-3/sulfur composite as the electrode of Na/S battery was tested at room temperature. Cyclic voltammograms show that one obvious reduction peak was located at about 1.61V, which is corresponding to the formation of Na₂S_x (x=2~5), while two oxidation peaks were displayed at about 1.82V and 1.95V, which are belonging to the …

Surface Composition Structure And Electrochemical Performance Of Aluminum Doped Lifepo4, Huai-Fang Shang, Wei-Feng Huang, Wang-Sheng Hu, Ding-Guo Xia, Zi-Yu Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Despite there are many successful reports about the preparation of electrode materials with surface coating for lithium ion batteries, the study in surface self-coating of cathode materials using segregation of doping elements and their electrochemical properties is still very rare. The LiFePO₄ particles with rich-Al on the surface were synthesized by one step solvothermal route. TEM results demonstrated that the surface of the obtained LiFePO₄ particles was well-covered by the amorphous coating. The soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) component analyses revealed that the amorphous coating was composed of LiFe_1-xAl_xPO …

Controllable Synthesis Of Dispersed Spherical Fe3O4 Nanoparticles As Lithium-Inserted Materials, Hong-Li Zou, Wei-Shan Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

Dispersed spherical Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The influences of odecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) concentration on the morphology and particle size of the as-prepared Fe₃O₄ were studied. Electrochemical performance of the as-prepared sample as anode materials of lithium ion battery was investigated. It is found that the as-prepared sample exhibits superior rate performance and cycle performance. The nano-sized materials provide structural stability and favor the transfer of lithium ions.

Electrochemical Na-Storage Materials And Their Applications For Na-Ion Batteries, Jiang-Feng Qian, Xue-Ping Gao, Han-Xi Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Oncoming large scale electric energy storage (EES) requires battery systems not only to have sufficient storage capacity but also to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Li-ion batteries for widespread EES applications may be limited due to the constraint of global lithium resource. From the considerations of available resources and environmental impact, Na-ion batteries have potential advantages as next generation secondary batteries and an alternative to Li-ion batteries. However, in the present state of the art, the Na-storage cathodes reported so far are still deficient both in energy density and power capability, while the carbon and alloy anodes for Na-ion batteries …

Application Of Synchrotron Radiation Based Electrochemical In-Situ Techniques To Study Of Electrode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Zheng-Liang Gong, Wei Zhang, Dong-Ping Lv, Xiao-Gang Hao, Wen Wen, Zheng Jiang, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Due to its merits of high brightness and high intensity, high level of polarization and wide tunability in energy, etc., synchrotron radiation technique provides an unique platform for analysis of the relationship among composition–structure–performance of materials for lithium ion batteries, especially for in-situ, real time dynamic investigation of the electrochemical reaction mechanism, aging process and failure mechanism during charge-discharge cycling. In this paper, we review the latest developments in application of synchrotron based electrochemical in-situ experimental methods to studies of lithium ion batteries. The paper mainly focuses on the application of electrochemical in-siu XRD and XAFS techniques to the investigations …

Preparation And Electrochemical Properties Of Amorphous Znsno3/C By Hydrothermally Carbonization Method, Guo-Qing Fang, Rui-Xue Zhang, Wei-Wei Liu, Bing-Bo Xia, Hong-Dan Sun, Hai-Bo Wang, Jing-Jing Wu, Shinko Kaneko, De-Cheng Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The amorphous ZnSnO₃@C composite was synthesized via a simple glucose hydrothermal and subsequent carbonization approach. The structure, morphology and electrochemical property of the composite were characterized by XRD, TEM and electrochemical measurements. Compared to bare ZnSnO₃, the ZnSnO₃/C composite exhibited markedly enhanced lithium storage property and cycle performance, delivering a reversible capacity of 659 mAh·g^-1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA·g^-1.

An Investigation On The Solid Electrolyte Interphase Of Silicon Anode For Li-Ion Batteries Through Force Curve Method, Jie-Yun Zheng, Hao Zheng, Rui Wang, Hong Li, Li-Quan Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

Non-aqueous electrolyte has been widely used in commercial Li-ion batteries. Optimized choices are proceeding among the various types of salts and solvents in an effort to achieve higher performance of electrolyte. However, the electrolyte will be reduced in low potential and the reductive product will be deposited on the surface of anode to form a passivating layer, solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based method was introduced to study the structure and mechanical property of SEI on silicon thin film anode during the first cycle. Silicon has been known as the most potential candidate anode for …

Aqueous Solution-Evaporation Route Synthesis And Phase Structural Research Of The Li-Rich Cathode Li1.23Ni0.09Co0.12Mn0.56O2 By In-Situ Xrd, Chong-Heng Shen, Shou-Yu Shen, Zhou Lin, Xiao-Mei Zheng, Hang Su, Ling Huang, Jun-Tao Li, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Li-rich Li_1.23Ni_0.09Co_0.12Mn_0.56O₂ material was synthesized via aqueous solution-evaporation route. The structure and morphology of the material were characterized by means of XRD and SEM. The results indicated that the single particle of the product was polygonal with the size of 330 nm and the structure was layered solid solution with a certain amount of Li₂MnO₃. Electrochemical tests showed that the first discharge capacity of the Li-rich layered material was 250.8 mAh·g^-1 at 0.1C，the capacity retention was 86.5% after 40 cycles. Through in-situ XRD study a …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Property Of Li2Fesio4/C Cathode Material By Solid State Method, Jiao-Li Sun, Zhi-Jiao Chen, Yi-Xiao Li, Hu Cheng

Journal of Electrochemistry

Li2FeSiO4/C cathode material was synthesized using Li₂SiO₃ and FeC₂O₄ as raw materials by solid state method. The structure and morphology of the material were characterized by XRD and SEM. The electrochemical properties of the material were studied by constant-current cyclic testing. The results show that Li₂FeSiO₄/C has a good electrochemical performance. The first discharge capacity of Li₂FeSiO₄/C cathode material at 30oC reached 167 mAhg^-1 when cycled at 10 mAg^-1 between 1.5 and 4.8 V.

Preparation And Electrochemical Properties Of Flake-Like Liv3O8 By Soft Template Assisted Sol-Gel Method As Anode Material For Aqueous Li-Ion Battery, Shuai Tan, Dan Sun, Hai-Yan Wang, Tian-Li Hou, Zhong-Xing Xiao, You-Gen Tang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Anode material has become the key issue for restricting the development of aqueous lithium ion battery (ALIB). Flake-like LiV3O8 materials were synthesized by sol-gel method using sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a template. The XRD and SEM results showed that as-prepared flake-like LiV₃O₈ was of high purity with monoclinic system and P21/m space group. LiMn₂O₄//Li₂SO₄//LiV₃O₈ ALIB was assembled and tested. As observed, the flake-like LiV3O8 here exhibited good high-rate performance and cycling stability. A high discharge capacity of 154 mAh.g^-1 (based on the mass …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Performance Of Nano Licopo4 By Polyol Method, Fei Wang, Yang Jun

Journal of Electrochemistry

High potential LiCoPO₄ cathode material was synthesized by polyol method. Carbon layer of ca. 3 nm thick was coated on the LiCoPO4 surfaces by chemical vapor deposition from methylbenzene. Crystalline structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of the sample were studied by XRD, SEM, TEM, CV and galvanostatic charge/discharge curve. The synthesized material via polyol method showed a pure phase of LiCoPO₄. The LiCoPO₄/C electrode delivered a high discharge capacity of 132 mAh·g^-1 and maintained 78% of the initial capacity after 50 cycles at 0.1C rate. The two-step extraction/insertion behavior of Li⁺ in LiCoPO4/C …

Preparation Of The Particle Size Controllable Lifepo4/C And Its Electrochemical Profile Characterization, Ming-E Wang, Jing-Yuan Liu, Meng-Yan Hou, Yong-Yao Xia

Journal of Electrochemistry

We adopted an effective route to prepare the particle size controllable core-shell structure carbon-coated LiFePO4 from different sized FePO4 precursors, varying from 80 nm, 200 nm and 1 μm by an in situ polymerization method integrated with a surface modification technology. The discharge capacities of the three sized LiFePO₄/C are, respectively, 162 mAh·g^-1, 142 mAh·g^-1 and 92 mAh·g^-1 at 0.1C rate. The nano-sized LiFePO₄-a/C (80 nm) delivers a discharge capacity as large as 100 mAh·g^-1 even at 30C, while the macroscopic LiFePO₄-c/C (1 μm) exhibits a much poorer discharge …

Biogenic Synthesis, Photocatalytic, And Photoelectrochemical Performance Of Ag–Zno Nanocomposite, S. A. Ansari, Mohammad Mansoob Khan Dr, M. O. Ansari, J. Lee, M. H. Cho

Dr. Mohammad Mansoob Khan

The development of coupled photoactive materials (metal/semiconductor) has resulted in significant advancements in heterogeneous visible light photocatalysis. This work reports the novel biogenic synthesis of visible light active Ag–ZnO nanocomposite for photocatalysis and photoelectrode using an electrochemically active biofilm (EAB). The results showed that the EAB functioned as a biogenic reducing tool for the reduction of Ag+, thereby eliminating the need for conventional reducing agents. The as-prepared Ag–ZnO nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic experiments showed that the Ag–ZnO nanocomposite possessed excellent visible light photocatalytic activity …

Electrochemical And Surface Compositional Studies On Uranium Dioxide, Mayuri Razdan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis describes electrochemical and surface compositional studies performed on a number of simulated nuclear fuel (SIMFUEL) materials under conditions relevant to permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a geologic repository. This is important since a number of critical issues have been identified in the event of waste container failure. The research performed was mainly focused in three areas: (i) the influence of low pH on the surface chemistry of UO₂, since acidity could develop within corrosion product deposits and flaws in the fuel; (ii) the combined influence of dissolved H₂ and H₂O_{2 …}

Assessing Different Zeolitic Adsorbents For Their Potential Use In Kr And Xe Separation, Breetha Alagappan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Separation of Kr from Xe is an important problem in spent nuclear fuel fission gas management. The energy intensive and expensive cryogenic distillation method is currently used to separate these gases. In this thesis, we have carried out the research into appropriate sorbents for the separation of Kr and Xe using pressure swing adsorption. We have examined zeolites using gas adsorption studies as they have the potential to be more cost effective than other sorbents. Zeolites are microporous aluminosilicates and have ordered pore structures. The pores in zeolites have extra-framework cations are substantially free to move. The mobility of cations …

Characterization Techniques And Electrolyte Separator Performance Investigation For All Vanadium Redox Flow Battery, Zhijiang Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

The all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is an excellent prospect for large scale energy storage in an electricity grid level application. High battery performance has lately been achieved by using a novel cell configuration with advanced materials. However, more work is still required to better understand the reaction kinetics and transport behaviors in the battery to guide battery system optimization and new battery material development. The first part of my work is the characterization of the battery systems with flow-through or flow-by cell configurations. The configuration difference between two cell structures exhibit significantly different polarization behavior. The battery output can …

Structural Characterization Of Super-Acid Oligomerized Fatty Esters., Esam Allehyani

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Fatty acid methyl esters can be oligomerized with very strong acid catalysts - superacids such as tetrafluoroboric or triflic acid with formation of dimer and trimer fatty acids at much lower temperature, such as 80-90 °C, than what is used presently. Insight into the reaction of polymerization of fatty esters/ acids can be obtained by structural characterization. This would determine the properties of the oligomeric products and their ability to substitute currently used materials. It was presumed that dimer fatty, trimer fatty acid esters, and oligomeric fatty acid esters are produced by polymerization of fatty acid methyl esters by a …

Tin Sensitization For Electroless Plating, Xingfei Wei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The tin sensitization process has been used in electroless plating since 1940s Brenner and Riddell developed the electroless plating for surface metallization method. It was found to be an interesting topic to study tin sensitization for chemically controlling metal deposition on different substrates, because the tin sensitization process had critical effects on the electroless plated metal thin films. Nowadays electroless plating metal deposition is still an important method for depositing metals. It has a few advantages over the vapor deposition and electrodeposition method, such as work in an ambient condition, on nonconductive substrates, and without extra power input. Applying electroless …

Monodentate, Bidentate And Photocrosslinkable Thiol Ligands For Improving Aqueous Biocompatible Quantum Dots, Hiroko Takeuchi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water-soluble Quantum Dots (QDs) are highly sensitive fluorescent probes that are often used to study biological species. One of the most common ways to render QDs water-soluble for such applications is to apply hydrophilic thiolated ligands to the QD surface. However, these ligands are labile and can be easily exchanged on the QD surface, which can severely limit their application. As one way to overcome this limitation while maintaining a small colloidal size of QDs, we developed a method to stabilize hydrophilic thiolated ligands on the surface of QDs through the formation of a crosslinked shell using a photocrosslinking approach. …

An Experimental Investigation Characterizing The Tribological Performance Of Natural And Synthetic Biolubricants Composed Of Carboxylic Acids For Energy Conservation And Sustainability, Carlton Jonathan Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last several decades the lubrication industry has been striving to bring bio-based lubricants known as biolubricants to prominence. The reasons for the increased environmental initiatives are due to depletion of oil reserves, increases in oil price, stringent government regulations on petroleum-based oils, and most importantly, concerns for protecting the environment. With an estimated, 50% of all lubricants entering the environment and much of these being composed of toxic mineral oils, biolubricants have begun to witness a resurgence. This experimental investigation seeks to develop a new class of ecofriendly biolubricants that are less toxic to the environment, derived from …

Microfluidics Guided By Redox-Magnetohydrodynamics (Mhd) For Lab-On-A-Chip Applications, Vishal Sahore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unique microfluidic control actuated by simply turning off and on microfabricated electrodes in a small-volume system was investigated for lab-on-a-chip applications. This was accomplished using a relatively new pumping technique of redox-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which as shown in this dissertation generated the important microfluidic features of flat flow profile and fluid circulation. MHD is driven by the body force, FB = j × B, which is the magnetic part of the Lorentz force equation, and its direction is given by the right hand rule. The ionic current density, j, was generated in an equimolar solution of potassium ferri/ferro cyanide by applying …

Applying Computational Methods To Interpret Experimental Results In Tribology And Enantioselective Catalysis, Michael Garvey

Theses and Dissertations

Computational methods are rapidly becoming a mainstay in the field of chemistry. Advances in computational methods (both theory and implementation), increasing availability of computational resources and the advancement of parallel computing are some of the major forces driving this trend.

It is now possible to perform density functional theory (DFT) calculations with chemical accuracy for model systems that can be interrogated experimentally. This allows computational methods to supplement or complement experimental methods. There are even cases where DFT calculations can give insight into processes and interactions that cannot be interrogated directly by current experimental methods.

This work presents several examples …

Formulation Development Of A Polymer-Drug Matrix With A Controlled Release Profile For The Treatment Of Glaucoma, Eric W. Tsoi

Master's Theses

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States accounting for 9-12% of all cases of blindness. Currently, the front line treatment for glaucoma are prostaglandins that may have to be taken up to several times a day. Even with proper treatment, roughly 11% of the patients using the treatment are non-compliant and lose their vision. In this project, ForSight Laboratories has developed a pharmaceutical drug delivering implant with the capability of sustaining long-term release of a prostaglandin as a new way to treat the condition. This project reports the product development of a polymer drug matrix with …

Lipid Production By Microalgae Treating Municipal Wastewater, James Edward Kelley

Master's Theses

Microalgae hold much promise as a feedstock in liquid biofuel production. Lipid content of microalgae cells range from 30-80% dry weight of biomass. It is projected that microalgae can produce between 1,000-6,500 gallons/acre/year of oil. Currently, production of industrial algae operates in open raceway ponds that use minimal capital and energy inputs to culture algae. Raceway ponds can also be used to grow microalgae from municipal waste streams. Although high biomass productivity can be achieved in these systems, there remains a large production gap between large volumes of biomass cultivation and high lipid content from microalgae cells. Low lipid content …

Synthesis Of Ferrocene Copolymers And Investigation Of Their Electrochemical Properties., Alzharani Ahmed

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Ferrocene is an organometallic compound. It is a classical metallocene consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings bound on opposite sides of a central iron atom. Such organometallic compounds are also called sandwich compounds. Ferrocene copolymers have well known electrochemical capabilities. The main objective of this thesis is to synthesize vinyl ferrocene copolymers and test their electrochemical properties in aqueous solutions with different electrolytes (sodium nitrate, sodium perchlorate, and phosphate buffered saline). Vinylferrocene and 3-phenyl[5]ferrocenophane-1,5- dimethylene were synthesized using a Wittig reaction. Both ferrocene monomers were copolymerized with N-ethylmaleimide and N-phenylmaleimide and the resulting polymers were analyzed by Gel Permeation chromatography, IR …

Nitroxide-Functionalized Graphene Oxide From Graphite Oxide, Yazmin I. Avila-Vega, Cesar C. Leyva-Porras, Marcela Mireles, Manuel Quevedo-Lopez, Javier Macossay-Torres, Jose Bonilla-Cruz

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

A facile method for preparing functionalized graphene oxide single layers with nitroxide groups is reported herein. Highly oxidized graphite oxide (GO=90.6%) was obtained, slightly modifying an improved Hummer’s method. Oxoammonium salts (OS) were investigated to introduce nitroxide groups to GO, resulting in a one-step functionalization and exfoliation. The mechanisms of functionalization/exfoliation are proposed, where the oxidation of aromatic alcohols to ketone groups, and the formation of alkoxyamine species are suggested. Two kinds of functionalized graphene oxide layers (GOFT1 and GOFT2) were obtained by controlling the amount of OS added. GOFT1 and GOFT2 exhibited a high interlayer spacing (d0001 = 1.12nm), …

An Investigation Of Thin Films Formed On Zinc By Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, Juan Zuo, Ying Chen, Chang-Jian Lin, Andreas Erbe

Journal of Electrochemistry

The formation of natural oxide films on polycrystalline zinc surface, the growth of natural oxide films in different atmospheres, as well as the electrochemical process of metal zinc in alkaline carbonate solution, studied recently by using spectroscopic ellipsometry in our group, are introduced. The objective of this paper is to outline that the optical, electrical properties, the change and growth kinetics of zinc metal oxide film on the surface can be investigated by in-situ and ex-situ ellipsometry, which makes significant sense to evaluate the overall performance of zinc oxide layer.

Corrosion Behavior Of Zinc Covered With Thin Electrolyte Layers Under External Electric Field, Xu-Jie Yuan, Jun-Xi Zhang, Shi-Ming Zhang, Tian Tan, Qi-Meng Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

The corrosion behavior of zinc covered with thin electrolyte layers (TELs) under an application of external electric field was investigated by performing corrosion potential and cathodic polarization current measurements. The results showed that the Ecorr and ic values first increased and then decreased with the increase of electrolyte layer thickness. Pure zinc exhibited the maximum corrosion potential as the TELs increased to 400 μm under the controls of cathodic process and corrosion products. The application of external electric field resulted in either a negative shift in corrosion potential of zinc or an increase of cathodic current. The effect of external …