Chemical Engineering Commons^™

New Progress In Studies Of Lithium Nickel Oxide As Positive Electrode Materials Of Lithium Ion Batteris, Han-San Liu, Yong Yang, Zhong-Ru Zhang, Zu-Geng Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithium nickel oxide as the positive electrode of lithium ion batteries has aroused more and more interests.This paper reviews the recent reserches on synthesis and element-substitution of LiNiO₂ cathode material,and summarizes the intrinsical relationship between properties and sturcture of the material.The developments of new synthesis methods and mutilsubstitution of the material are expecting to be studied in the future research.

Studies On The Formation Of Dna-Cationic Lipid Composite Films And Dna Hybridization In The Composites, Murali Sastry, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Krishna N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

The formation of composite films of double-stranded DNA and cationic lipid molecules (octadecylamine, ODA) and the hybridization of complementary single-stranded DNA molecules in such composite films are demonstrated. The immobilization of DNA is accomplished by simple immersion of a thermally evaporated ODA film in the DNA solution at close to physiological pH. The entrapment of the DNA molecules in the cationic lipid film is dominated by attractive electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged phosphate backbone of the DNA molecules and the protonated amine molecules in the thermally evaporated film and has been quantified using quartz crystal microgravimetry (QCM). Fluorescence studies …

A Study On The Performance Of Matrix Prepared By Tape Cast And Its Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (Mcfcs), Hua-Xin Lin, Bao-Lian Yi, Li Zhou, Chang-Qing He, Lian-Ying Kong, En-Jun Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The matrix prepared with γ-LiAlO₂ powder and by tape cast displayed higher ability of preventing from gas cross over and lower ohmic polarization. The voltages of the stack (three cells, 122 cm²) stacked with the matrix were 2.02 and 1.78 V at 200 and 246 mA/cm², respectively, and the output power reached 53.4 W. The cell (28 cm ²) voltages were 0.85 and 0.75 V at 200 and 300 mA/cm², respectively, and the output power was about 6.6 W. Compensating the shrinkage of matrix in stacking cells promoted the enhancement of the …

How Can Direct Mthanol Fuel Cell Benefit From Carbonate Media, Lin Zhuang, Yang Wang, Jun-Tao Lu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The kinetics of methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction in 0.5 mol/L K₂CO₃ were compared with those in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO ₄. Experiments revealed that carbonate media could be more beneficial to direct methanol fuel cell(DMFC). Firstly, both electrode reactions show better performance in the carbonate than in the acid; secondly, materials other than noble metals become possible to be used as the anodic and cathodic catalysts; thirdly, the potential dectease caused by methanol crossover could be depressed by using metal oxide catalysts not stable in acid, such as MnO₂.

Synthesis Of Limn2O4-ΔClΔ Cathode Material By Like-Sol-Gel Methode, Zhao-Yong Chen, Yi He, Xing-Quan Liu, Zhi-Jie Li, Zuo-Long Yu

Journal of Electrochemistry

LiMn₂O_4-δCl_δ was synthesized by like sol gel methode, with calculated LiOH·H₂O, Mn(No₃)₂⋅6H₂O and LiCl·H₂O, and made electrochemical test with these compounds as positive materials. Result demostrated that LiMn₂O_4-δCl_δ cathode material has exellent stability and nearly no capacity loss after reaching stability.

Adsorption And Oxidation Of Ethanol On Nm-Pt/Gc Electrode Ii. Eqcm And In-Situ Ftir Spectroscopic Studies In Acid Media, Guo-Liang Chen, Sheng-Pei Chen, Zhi-You Zhou, Chun-Hua Zhen, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The adsorption and oxidation of ethanol on nm Pt/GC electrode in acid solutions containing 0.1 mol·L ^-1 H₂SO₄ +0.1 mol·L ^-1 CH₃CH₂OH was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, EQCM and in situ FTIR spectroscopy. The experimental results demonstrated that the oxidation of CH₃CH₂OH is closely relaed to solution acidity and oxygen species on electrode surface; CH₃CH₂OH was oxidized on nm Pt/GC electrode in acidic media via a dual path reaction mechanism, i.e . CH₃CH₂OH may be oxidized into CO₂ through …

Cationic Surfactant Mediated Hybridization And Hydrophobization Of Dna Molecules At The Liquid/Liquid Interface And Their Phase Transfer, Murali Sastry, Ashavani Kumar, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Krishna N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

Hybridization of complementary oligonucleotides mediated by a cationic surfactant at the water/hexane interface leads to hydrophobic, double-helical DNA which may be readily phase transferred to the organic phase and cast into thin films on solid substrates.

Mathematical Modeling For Fabricating A Microstructure With A Pre-Specified Geometry Using Laser -Induced Chemical Vapor Deposition, Chaoyang Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Laser-induced chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) is an emerging new technique with many practical applications. To optimize the system for fabricating a microstructure with a pre-specified geometry in pyrolytic LCVD, a three-dimensional mathematical model is developed for predicting temperature distributions and laser dwell times across the substrate scanned by the laser beam. A microstructure is fabricated layer by layer, and for each layer the laser beam moves from one pixel to the next. The complicated correlations among temperature distribution, deposit growth rate, and laser dwell time are investigated. A purely heterogeneous reaction is assumed and any gas-phase transport is ignored.

A …

Multimode Quantitative Scanning Microwave Microscopy Of In Situ Grown Epitaxial Ba1-XSrXTio3 Composition Spreads, K. S. Chang, M. Aronova, O. Famodu, I. Takeuchi, S. E. Lofland, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers, H. Chang

Faculty Publications

We have performed variable-temperature multimode quantitative microwavemicroscopy of in situepitaxial Ba_1−xSr_xTiO₃ thin-film composition spreads fabricated on (100) LaA₁O₃ substrates. Dielectric properties were mapped as a function of continuously varying composition from BaTiO₃ to SrTiO₃. We have demonstrated nondestructive temperature-dependent dielectric characterization of local thin-film regions. Measurements are simultaneously taken at multiple resonant frequencies of the microscope cavity. The multimode measurements allow frequency dispersion studies. We observe strong composition-dependent dielectric relaxation in Ba_1−xSr_xTiO₃ at microwave frequencies.

Effects Of Compression Processing Parameters And Antioxidants On Molecular Degradation Of Biodegradable Poly-L-Lactide (Plla), Thomas J. Hannan Jr.

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to find a combination of poly (L-lactic acid), also known as poly-L-lactide or (PLLA) and antioxidants that would, together, produce a product whose degradation rate would be advantageous for use in biodegradable medical implants. Intrinsic viscosity tests were conducted on compression molded samples of PLLA that were molded at various processing parameters in order to find optimal parameters. The optimal processing parameters were found to be time 10 minutes, temperature 220°C, and pressure 1000 psi.

The molecular weight of PLLA sample was taken while pressure, time, and temperature were varied. As pressure increased, no …

Texture, Microstructure And Formability Of Aluminum Alloys, Xiang-Ming Cheng

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Texture, microstructure and formability were studied in Direct Chill Cast (DC) and Strip Cast (SC) aluminum alloys with regard to crystallographic anisotropy, the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and aging softening behavior. It was found that material properties change greatly with manufacturing processes (DC vs. SC) and chemical composition (3xxx vs. 5 xxx alloys). DC cast hot band materials are usually fully recrystallized and have strong softening textures while SC hot band materials have a rolling structure with strong deformation textures. Softening textures cause 90 earing while deformation textures result in 45 earing after deep drawing. During cold rolling, 90 earing in …

The Effects Of Incorporation Of Polyethylene Glycol On Properties Of Silica-Carbon Black-Filled Rubber Compound, Yoke Cheng Tang

Student Works (2000-2009)

The use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to modify the surface of precipitated silica by means of physical adsorption was investigated. The effects of adding PEG on processing, cure and physical properties of a silica-carbon black-filled natural rubber truck tread compound were examined. For each series of investigation, two sets of experiments were conducted. Set I was to check the effects of both physical adsorption due to PEG and chemical modification due to a silane coupling agent, Si-69 on the surface of silica. Set 2 was to check the effects of physical adsorption due to PEG alone on the surface of …

Preparation And Characterization Of Lithiated Cathode Materials For Lithium Batteries, Shanti Navaratnam

Student Works (2000-2009)

Four different cathode materials, LiNiO₂, LiCoO₂, LiCo₀.₂ Ni₀.₈O₂ and LiCo₀.₄, Ni₀.₆O₂ were synthesized by sol - gel technique. The prepared materials were characterized X-ray diffraction pattern, FT-IR and cyclic voltammetry. X-ray diffraction pattern shows crystallinity of materials, increases with higher calcination temperature. From FT- IR studies, it was shown, that the purity of sample also increased with prolong heating at higher temperatures. It was possible to obtain pure and highly crystalline LiNiO₂ after heating for fourteen hours at 800°c. Cyclic voltammetry shows the four prepared materials are suitable for fabrication of cathode, as lithium ions can intercalate and de-intercalate. LiNiO₂ …

Hybridization Of Dna By Sequential Immobilization Of Oligonucleotides At The Air-Water Interface, Murali Sastry, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Anand Gole, K. N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

The hybridization of DNA by sequential electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding immobilization of single-stranded complementary oligonucleotides at the air-water interface with cationic Langmuir monolayers is demonstrated. The complexation of the single-stranded DNA molecules with octadecylamine (ODA) Langmuir monolayers was followed in time by monitoring the pressure-area isotherms. A large (and slow) expansion of the ODA monolayer was observed during each stage of complexation in the following sequence: primary single-stranded DNA followed by complementary single-stranded DNA followed by the intercalator, ethidium bromide. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of the ODA-DNA complex were formed on different substrates and characterized using quartz-crystal microgravimetry (QCM), Fourier transform infrared …

Studies Of Adsorption And Oxidation Of Ethanol On Nm-Pt/Gc Electrode——I. Cyclic Voltammograms And In-Situ Ftir Spectroscopy In Alkaline Media, Guo-Lian Chen, Shi-Gang Sun, Sheng-Pei Chen, Zhi-You Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electro-oxidation of ethanol on nm-Pt/GC electrode in alkaline solutions containing 0.02 mol·L^-1 NaOH+0.1 mol·L^-1 CH₃CH₂OH was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry and in-situ FTIR spectroscopy. The experimental results demonstrated that the main product of ethanol oxidation is CH₃COO^-, only very small amount of CH ³CHO has been determined simultaneously. In contrast with the dual path reaction mechanism for the oxidation of ethanol in acid media, the oxidation of ethanol in alkaline media didn't pass through the dissociative adsorption, and no adsorbed species could be determined even using a …

Template Synthesis Of Nano-Structured Electrode Materials And Its Electrochemical Performance, Jian Zhao, Quan-Yong Gao, Yong Yang, Zu-Geng Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this letter, various nano structured materials such as spinel LiMn₂O₄ nanotubes/nanowires and carbon nanotubes have been prepared by using porous alumina template. The prepared template and materials have been characterized by AFM and TEM techniques. It is shown that size of the nanotubes can be conveniently controlled by using template method. Some preliminary results of cyclic voltammetry about nano structured LiMn₂O₄ are also reported.

The Development Of Carbon Monoxide Tolerant Catalysts For Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Zhong-Jun Hou, Hong-Mei Yu, Bao-Lian Yi, Ming Han

Journal of Electrochemistry

High over-potential of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anode caused by carbon monnoxide poisoning when reformate or methanol is used as fuel is main obstacle to the high performance of PEMFCs. Using carbon monoxide tolerant catalysts is the most hopeful way to solve the CO problem. The CO poisoning problem is reviewed briefly in this paper, and the development of CO tolerant catalysts is introduced in details, including electrocatalysts activity, preparation method and mechanism of tolerance to CO.Mo and W can improve catalysts' CO tolerance. Multi-component catalysts are expected to be more tolerant to CO.

Investigation Of A Complex Lithium Cobalt Nickel Oxide As Lithium Ion Battery Cathode Materials Prepared By A New Citrate Sol-Gel Method, Jing-Li Han, Qing-Guo Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The synthesis and electrochemical characteristics of lithium cobalt nickel oxide as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries were investigated. It was clarified from these investigations that lithium cobalt nickel oxide has been produced from basic cobalt carbonate,basic nickel carbonate, lithium carbonate, and citrate. LiNi_0.8Co _0.2O₂ prepared under the stream of oxygen gas showed a higher cycling capacity of (～190 mAh·g^-1).

Method For Making A Heavy Wax Composition, Stephen J. Miller, Gerald P. Huffman, Naresh Shah

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

The invention includes a process of making a wax composition including: a process for making a heavy wax composition including the steps of (1) contacting a waste plastics feed containing primarily polyethylene in a pyrolysis zone at sub-atmospheric pressure, whereby at least a portion of the waste plastics feed is cracked, thereby forming a pyrolysis zone effluent including 1-olefins and n-paraffins; and (2) passing the pyrolysis zone effluent to a hydrotreating zone, for contacting with a hydrotreating catalyst at catalytic conditions.

Membrane-Based Sorbent For Heavy Metal Sequestration, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Leonidas G. Bachas, Lawrence Cullen, Jamie A. Hestekin, Subhas K. Sikdar

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

A process is provided for making membrane-based sorbents with enhanced binding activity that are particularly useful for heavy metal sequestration. The process includes the step of selectively hydrolyzing a polyacetylated membrane in order to deacetylated a surface layer of said membrane including the pore surfaces and expose free hydroxyl groups. This is followed by the oxidizing of the hydroxyl groups to aldehyde groups. This is then followed by the attaching of a polycarboxylic acid such as a polyamino acid, polyalkenoic acid or polypeptide to the membrane through the aldehyde groups. Preferably, the hydrolyzing step is completed under alkaline conditions and …

The Electro-Catalytic Oxidation Of Hcooh On Electrodeposited Pd Electrode, Quan Zhou, Cun-Zhong Zhang, Xiao-Lin Lu, Zhong-Da Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The coherent electroplates were prepared by electro depositing Pd on supporting materials glassy carbon. The surface morphology of the electrodes was examined by SEM. The electro oxidation of HCOOH in HClO₄ solution was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the deposited conditions in the preparation of electrodes by electro depositing Pd affect the electrodes electro catalytic activity to the oxidation of HCOOH. The platinized Pd electrode on GC substrates using large current density is of higher catalytic activity to the oxidation of HCOOH than Pd electrode. The electro catalytic activity of PdO formed on the Pd …

Cathodic Indirect Oxidation Of Organic Compounds(Ⅱ)——Cathodic Indirect Epoxidation Of Olefine, Xue-Ying Zhang, Bao-Qiu Cui, Deng-Ping Gu, Wei Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

We described a novel cathodic indirect epoxidation system in which O₂ was first cathodically reduced to H₂O₂. Then VO(acac)₂ was oxidized by H₂O₂ homogeneously to VO(acac)₂OOH which was used to epoxidize some olefine such as maleic, fumaric and crotonic acids. Many affecting factors on the current efficiency were optimized. The research will contribute to the developments of organic electrosynthesis.

The Study On Lithiated Titanium Composite Oxides As Negative Electrode For Lithium-Ion Battery, Xiao-Yan Yang, Shou-Nan Hua, Shu-Yong Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithiated titanium composite oxides Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ were prepared from Li₂CO₃ and TiO₂. The XRD results of this composite oxides indicated that the compound had a spinel structure. The electrochemical behavior of lithiated titanium composite oxides was examined. The results showed that this material had an excellent cyclic capability and reversibility for lithium insertion, and had high specific capacity: the initial discharge capacity was 300 mAh·g^-1 , and the reversible capacity was 100 mAh·g^-1 . The discharge plateau (about 1.5 V) and the charge plateau (about 1.6 V) were very …

Synthesis Of Li1+XMn2O4 Cathode Material For Lithium-Ion Batteries With Solution Method, Pei-Song Liu, Sing-Quarn Liu, Qing Li, Zhao-Yong Chen, Bai-Lan Zhang, Zuo-Long Yu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cathode materials Li_1+xMn₂O₄ were prepared with citric acid complexing and solution impregnating methods. Structure characterization and specific surface area test were performed by means of XRD, BET methods, the influences of calcination temperature, Li/Mn molar ratio and raw materials on the structure and electrochemical capacity of samples have beem examined. The results showed that the Li/Mn molar ratio and calcimation temperature were the key factors affecting the electrochemical capacity of cathode materias. The optimum conditions for synthesis of  Li_1+xMn₂O₄ cathode material were 0≤x≤0.05 and calcined at 750°C. The initial …

The Effect Of Anode Thickness In Sofcs With Anode Supported Ysz Film, Yi-Huang Zhang, Yi Jiang, Zi-Gui Lu, Yong-Lai Dong, Jing-Wang Yan

Journal of Electrochemistry

Solid oxide fuel cells with supported yttria stabilized zirconia electrolyte films on anode substrates of various thickness have been fabricated. The electrochemical performances of the SOFCs have been examined. The results showed that the cell performance was limited by the anodic overpotential, which is caused mainly by a concentration polarization when the anode substrate is thick. The anodic overpotential was reduced obviously as the thickness of anode substrate was decreased. As a result, the performance of the SOFC cell was improved. With a 0.5 mm anode substrate, a SOFC cell produced a power density about 0.19 W/cm² at 800 …

A New Method For The Preparation Of The Electrodes With Very Low Platinum Loading Used In Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Zhi-Gang Shao, Bao-Lian Yi, Ming Han, Ya-Guang Qiao, Hao Liu, Jing-Rong Yu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Research and development on low platinum loading electrode is very important in reducing the cost of proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) stack. This paper has put forward a new method to prepare the electrode of PEMFC. The pore forming substances were used in this methd. The low platinum loading electrodes (0.02 mg_Pt⋅cm^-2) have already been prepared with the method. Compared with the traditional method, the new method is simple, cheep, and easy to scale up. The superior composition of the electrodes is catalyst: pore forming substance: Nafion= 3:3:1. The performance of a single cell using this …

Membrane-Based Sorbent For Heavy Metal Sequestration, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Leonidas G. Bachas, Lawrence Cullen, Jamie A. Hestekin, Subhas K. Sikdar

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

A process is provided for making membrane-based sorbents with enhanced binding activity that are particularly useful for heavy metal sequestration. The process includes the step of selectively hydrolyzing a polyacetylated membrane in order to deacetylate a surface layer of said membrane and expose free hydroxyl groups. This is followed by the oxidizing of the hydroxyl groups to aldehyde groups. This is then followed by the attaching of a polycarboxylic acid such as a polyamino acid, polyalkenoic acid or polypeptide to the membrane through the aldehyde groups. Preferably, the hydrolyzing step is completed under alkaline conditions and the oxidizing step is …

Powder Microelectrode Modified With Nafion-Os(Bpy)3Â 2+ And Pvp Composite And Its Catalysis For No2- Reduction, Pei-Fang Liu, Jia-Wei Yan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The modified powder microelectrode was prepared by etching a Pt (0.1 mm diameter) disk microelectrode and filling in thus formed cavity with Nation-Os(bpy)₃²⁺/PVP composite modified carbon powder. The composite modified powder microelectrode showed cyclic voltammetric behaviors changing with the mole ratio (denoted X) of SO₃^- to Os(bpy)₃²⁺ in Nafion. When X=3, a single pair of current peaks appeared near 0.6V (vs. SCE) due to Os(bpy)₃^2+/3+ redox couple. In contrast, for X=20, a pair of additional current peaks occurred near 0.4V. Both X=3 and X=20 modified powder microelectrodes strongly catalyzed the first …

Template Synthesis And Uv-Vis Absorption Spectra Of The Nanowire Arrays Of Cadmium Chalcogenides, Shi-Min Xu, Kuan-Hong Xue, Jing-Lin Kong, Dong-Mei Sun, Yu-Ying Feng, Hai-Yan Lu, Guang-Hou Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The porous alumina membrane formed in the anodic oxidation of highly pure aluminum foil has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. It can be served as a desired template to prepare nanometer scale materials due to its unique structure of discrete and cylindrical nanopores, paralleled one another, with the homogeneous size and distribution. Chalcogenide semiconductors have promising prospect in the applications of photovoltaic and photoconducting devices and have been extensively exploited for many years. Olbright and his co-workers studied experimentally and theoretically the optical nonlinearties of CdS_xSe_1-x-doped glass; Britt and Ferekides reported that …

Activated Carbon And Process For Making Same, Francis John Derbyshire, Marit Jagtoyen

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

A process is described for the manufacture of activated carbon in the form of a powder, as granules or as extrudates. The process includes treating a biomass feedstock, such as woods, coconut shells, fruit pits, peats, lignites and all ranks of coal with a processing agent and an activation agent. The processing agent may be a natural or synthetic monomer, oligomer, polymer or mixtures thereof capable of interacting or co-polymerizing with the biomass feedstock. The activation agent may be, for example, phosphoric acid, zinc chloride or mixtures thereof. A high surface area, high hardness extruded activated carbon may be produced …