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Articles 1651 - 1680 of 3176

Full-Text Articles in Engineering Science and Materials

The Progress Of Order-Structured Membrane Electrode Assembly, Shang-Feng Jiang, Bao-Lian Yi Jun 2016

The Progress Of Order-Structured Membrane Electrode Assembly, Shang-Feng Jiang, Bao-Lian Yi

Journal of Electrochemistry

Performances of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been recently improved. However, the cost and Pt loading must be further reduced for the commercialization of PEMFCs. Previous researches have proved that the order-structured electrode is beneficial to the effective utilization of Pt-based catalysts, decreasing the Pt loading and increasing the three-phase boundary for reaction. Especially, the nanostructure thin films (NSTFs) electrode, an ultra-thin catalytic layer developed by 3M Company, demonstrates high performance and durability. Besides, some other researchers have employed the high conductive carbon nanotube arrays or high stable metal oxide arrays as the order-structured catalyst supports for fundamental …

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Recent Progress In Solid-State Nmr Study Of Electrode/Electrolyte Materials For Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries, Gui-Ming Zhong, Zi-Geng Liu, Da-Wei Wang, Qi Li, Ri-Qiang Fu, Yong Yang Jun 2016

Recent Progress In Solid-State Nmr Study Of Electrode/Electrolyte Materials For Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries, Gui-Ming Zhong, Zi-Geng Liu, Da-Wei Wang, Qi Li, Ri-Qiang Fu, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Solid state NMR technique is a powerful tool for characterizing the local structure and compositions of solid materials quantitatively. A comprehensive understanding of the structure evolution during the electrochemical reactions of the materials for lithium/sodium ion batteries will be obtained with the combination of solid state NMR, XRD, and XAS methods. Through analyzing solid state NMR spectra, we can obtain the compositions, local structures and ion diffusion dynamics of electrodes, electrolytes and surface layers for lithium/sodium ion batteries, providing an important theoretical support for the design and development of high-performance materials for batteries. In this paper, we review the recent …

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3, 4-Ethylenedioxythiophene Monomer As Safety-Enhancing Additive For Lithium Ion Batteries, Wei-Xiao Ji, Feng Wang, Jiang-Feng Qian, Yu-Liang Cao, Xin-Ping Ai, Han-Xi Yang Jun 2016

3, 4-Ethylenedioxythiophene Monomer As Safety-Enhancing Additive For Lithium Ion Batteries, Wei-Xiao Ji, Feng Wang, Jiang-Feng Qian, Yu-Liang Cao, Xin-Ping Ai, Han-Xi Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Safety concern is a major obstacle hindering the wide applications of large-capacity lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles. In this paper, a polymerizable monomer of 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) was proposed and tested as an electrolyte additive for enhancing the safety of LIBs. The electro-oxidative polymerization behaviors and influence of PEDOT additive on the thermal behavior of LiCoO2 cathode, as well as the safety performance and electrochemical properties of LiCoO2-based LIBs were investigated. The results from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) characterizations indicated that the monomer additive can be electro-oxidatively polymerized to form a …

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Reduced Graphene Oxide (Rgo) Hollow Network Cages For High-Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage, Chi Zhang, Xu-Jun He, Gao-Ren Li Jun 2016

Reduced Graphene Oxide (Rgo) Hollow Network Cages For High-Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage, Chi Zhang, Xu-Jun He, Gao-Ren Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The reduced graphese oxide (RGO) hollow network cages were synthesized via zinc oxide (ZnO) template-assisted electrodeposition. The as-prepared RGO hollow network cages exhibited the multi-level architectures, from nano sheets, porous structures, networks, to 3D microscaled hollow cages, which can simultaneously optimize transport of electroactive species, utilization rate of electrode material, and super capacitive performance. Electrochemical measurements confirmed the superior performance of RGO hollow network cages for supercapacitors (SCs), such as high Csp (393 F⋅g-1 at 1.0 A⋅g-1), excellent rate capability (21.2% Csp loss from 1.0 to 20 A⋅g-1), and superior cycling stability (< 1% Csp loss after 10000 cycles).

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Developments Of Photo-Assisted Fuel Cells, Ling-Ling Zhang, Shao-Jun Dong Jun 2016

Developments Of Photo-Assisted Fuel Cells, Ling-Ling Zhang, Shao-Jun Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

The exploitation and utilization of fossil fuels have led to serious energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this case, the development of renewable energy is an alternative to traditional energy consumption. Fuel cells (FCs) can convert chemical energy into electricity via the electrochemical reaction, which is green and environment-friendly. Photo-assisted FCs integrate photo-responsive components into FCs, leading to the dual routes of energy conversion including light energy to electricity and chemical energy to electricity, and thus, improving the energy utilization efficiency. The development of photo-assisted FCs is significant for practical application and promising to solve the coming energy crisis. In …

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Biomimetic Seal Flipper Test Rig, Gordon D. Belyea, Laura Kawashiri, Dylan Rinker, Kurt Beske Jun 2016

Biomimetic Seal Flipper Test Rig, Gordon D. Belyea, Laura Kawashiri, Dylan Rinker, Kurt Beske

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

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Theory Of Carrier Transport From First Principles: Applications In Photovoltaic And Thermoelectric Materials, Alireza Faghaninia May 2016

Theory Of Carrier Transport From First Principles: Applications In Photovoltaic And Thermoelectric Materials, Alireza Faghaninia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

New sources of energy that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and renewable are essential if we are to combat the effects of global climate change. Two of these sources are solar photovoltaic (PV) cells to convert sunlight into electricity and thermoelectric (TE) devices to convert heat to electricity. To be practical on a large scale, the properties (e.g. electrical conductivity, band gap, Seebeck coefficient, etc) of the the underlying materials must be improved significantly through judicious control of structure and composition. Significant understanding of materials properties is required to design and engineer new high-performing materials. First principles calculations using density functional …

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Impedance Spectroscopy Studies Of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Under Extreme Conditions, Quinlan Blaine Smith May 2016

Impedance Spectroscopy Studies Of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Under Extreme Conditions, Quinlan Blaine Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) is of interest for many industries. Varying amounts of Yttria (Y2O3) can be doped into Zirconia (ZrO2) to create materials with specific characteristics. For instance, 3mol% YSZ (3YSZ) is known to be a super hard material and is used as a coating on drill tips and as an abrasive. Eight mol% YSZ (8YSZ) is commonly used as a solid electrolyte in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells because of its good ionic conducting abilities and stability at high temperatures. In this thesis project, a novel experimental setup was created and used to study the ionic conductivity of (3 …

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Direct Band Gap Gallium Antimonide Phosphide (Gasbxp1-X) For Solar Fuels., Harry Benjamin Russell May 2016

Direct Band Gap Gallium Antimonide Phosphide (Gasbxp1-X) For Solar Fuels., Harry Benjamin Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photoelectrochemical water splitting has been identified as a promising route for achieving sustainable energy future. However, semiconductor materials with the appropriate optical, electrical and electrochemical properties have yet to be discovered. In search of an appropriate semiconductor to fill this gap, GaSbP, a semiconductor never tested for PEC performance is proposed here and investigated. Density functional theory (DFT+U) techniques were utilized to predict band gap and band edge energetics for GaSbP alloys with low amount of antimony. The overall objective of this dissertation is to understand the suitability of GaSbxP1-x alloys for photoelectrochemical water splitting application. Specifically, …

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Stabilization Of Vegetable Oil-Based Quenchants To Thermal-Oxidative Degradation: Experimental Strategy And Effect Of Oxidation On Quenching Performance, Éder Cícero Adão Simêncio, Rosa Lúcia Simêncio Otero, Lauralice De Campos Franceschini Canale, George E. Totten May 2016

Stabilization Of Vegetable Oil-Based Quenchants To Thermal-Oxidative Degradation: Experimental Strategy And Effect Of Oxidation On Quenching Performance, Éder Cícero Adão Simêncio, Rosa Lúcia Simêncio Otero, Lauralice De Campos Franceschini Canale, George E. Totten

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although petroleum oils continue to be the dominant type of basestock for the formulation of vaporizable quenchants, there is increasing pressure to identify an alternative basestock to address the limitations to their continued use because they are not a renewable basestock and they possess generally poor toxicity and biodegradability properties. Currently the most often cited alternative basestocks are those based on seed oils since they are renewable and usually non-toxic but especially because they are typically readily biodegradable. However, they suffer a critically important deficiency in that they are also typically much less stable to thermal-oxidative degradation than petroleum oils. …

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Effect Of Thermal Treatment On High Temperature Deformation Of Alloy Ep-~823, Martin Milburn Lewis May 2016

Effect Of Thermal Treatment On High Temperature Deformation Of Alloy Ep-~823, Martin Milburn Lewis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The objective of this research topic is to determine mechanical properties of Alloy EP-823 and to provide a mechanistic understanding of its sensitivity to both thermal treatment and performance temperature. EP-823 is a leading target material for accelerator-driven waste transmutation applications. Overall, the tensile test results of Alloy EP-823 indicated a general trend of decreasing mechanical performance with an increase in tempering time. An increase in tempering time had a statistically significant inverse relationship with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS). An increase in tempering time did not have a significant effect on elongation and reduction in area. …

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High-Pressure Properties Of Several Narrow Bandgap Semiconductors From First-Principles Calculations, Andrew Michael Alvarado May 2016

High-Pressure Properties Of Several Narrow Bandgap Semiconductors From First-Principles Calculations, Andrew Michael Alvarado

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The electronic, thermodynamic, and structural properties of three semiconducting materials, ZnO, InN, and PbS, at high pressure are investigated utilizing first-principles calculations based on density function theory. The first two systems, ZnO and InN, crystalize as hexagonal structures at ambient conditions and transition to a cubic structure at higher pressures. The last system, PbS, is cubic at ambient conditions, but transitions to an orthorhombic structure at higher pressure. At ambient conditions, these materials are well known semiconductors with vast amount of research and a variety of wide ranging applications in electrical devices. However, there is a lack of understanding of …

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Preparation And Performance Of 3d Graphene Type Porous Carbon Employing Nano Fe(Oh)3 As Template For Oxygen Reduction Catalyst, Chong-Yun Sun, Zhong-Fang Li, Xue-Wei Lu, Xi-Zhan Zhong, Yu-Rong Liu Apr 2016

Preparation And Performance Of 3d Graphene Type Porous Carbon Employing Nano Fe(Oh)3 As Template For Oxygen Reduction Catalyst, Chong-Yun Sun, Zhong-Fang Li, Xue-Wei Lu, Xi-Zhan Zhong, Yu-Rong Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The 3D graphene type porous carbon was prepared using coal tar pitch as carbon source and nano Fe(OH)3 as template. Optimal conditions for the catalytic oxygen reduction performance were determined as: the mass ratio of coal tar, nano Fe(OH)3 and KOH is 6:8:4; the pyrolysis temperature is 800 oC. SEM images show that the products have uniformly porous structure. TEM images demonstrate that the products are porous with foam shapes. HRTEM images further indicate that the products have formed several-layers 3D graphene structure, which are also supported by XRD and Raman data, and the pore size mainly …

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Special Issue: Electrocatalyst And Electrocatalysis In Fuel Cells Preface, Zi-Dong Wei Apr 2016

Special Issue: Electrocatalyst And Electrocatalysis In Fuel Cells Preface, Zi-Dong Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

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Recent Progress In Non-Precious Metal Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts With An Encapsulation Structure, Mei-Ling Xiao, Jian-Bing Zhu, Chang-Peng Liu, Jun-Jie Ge, Wei Xing Apr 2016

Recent Progress In Non-Precious Metal Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts With An Encapsulation Structure, Mei-Ling Xiao, Jian-Bing Zhu, Chang-Peng Liu, Jun-Jie Ge, Wei Xing

Journal of Electrochemistry

Platinum-based materials, the state-of-the-art catalysts for fuel cells, suffer from prohibitive costs, limited resources and insufficient durability. Accordingly, tremendous efforts were made in searching for efficient, durable and inexpensive alternatives to precious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Transition-metals (Fe, Co)/nitrogen co-doped hybrids, heteroatom (N, P, S, F, et al) doped carbons and composites with transition-metals encapsulated in graphitic layers are reported as the most efficient non-precious metal ORR catalysts. Among the various non-precious metal ORR catalysts, transition-metals encased in graphitic layer catalysts are a novel type of catalysts for ORR with high activity and durability, and thus, the …

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Mini-Review: Possible Applications Of Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (Secm) In Characterizations Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction And Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Xing-Xing Chen Apr 2016

Mini-Review: Possible Applications Of Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (Secm) In Characterizations Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction And Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Xing-Xing Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has been proved to be a unique technique for combinatorial screening of localized phenomena for different electrocatalysts potentially used in new energy conversion and storage systems. This mini-review provides a brief summary of different SECM working modes, such as direct mode, feedback mode, generation-collection mode, redox competition mode and noise mode, which are especially applied for characterizing the oxygen reactions. Particularly, a series of important development in SECM screening of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction from the author and W. Schuhmann’s group in Germany has been highlighted and overviewed. Finally, some prospects …

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Multi-Scaled Carbon Supported Platinum As A Stable Electrocatalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Yu-Ping Li, Lu-Hua Jiang, Su-Li Wang, Gong-Quan Sun Apr 2016

Multi-Scaled Carbon Supported Platinum As A Stable Electrocatalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Yu-Ping Li, Lu-Hua Jiang, Su-Li Wang, Gong-Quan Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The stability of carbon supports is essential for electrocatalysts of fuel cells. Herein, the mesoporous carbon with the high graphitic degree (highly graphitic mesoporous carbon, HGMC) was synthesized by using resorcinol as the carbon precursor, SiO2 as the templates and urea as the reducing agent. The as-prepared HGMC was characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, N2 adsorption. The stability of HGMC was evaluated by mimicking the start-up/shut-down conditions of fuel cells in a three-electrode system referring to the NREL standard. The obtained HGMC is of moderate surface area (187.4 m2•g-1) and is chemically stable under …

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Recycling Mf Solid Waste Into Mesoporous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon With Iron Carbide Complex In Graphitic Layers As An Efficient Catalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Can-Yun Zhao, Lin Huang, Yong You, Ying-Fang Yao, Xiao-Gang Su, Hong Wan, Jian-Guo Liu, Cong-Ping Wu Apr 2016

Recycling Mf Solid Waste Into Mesoporous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon With Iron Carbide Complex In Graphitic Layers As An Efficient Catalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Can-Yun Zhao, Lin Huang, Yong You, Ying-Fang Yao, Xiao-Gang Su, Hong Wan, Jian-Guo Liu, Cong-Ping Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nitrogen-doped carbon materials with iron ions are known as catalytic growth agents for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells, but the design and synthesis of high-performance and low-cost catalysts still remain a significant challenge. Herein, we present a cost-effective approach to dispose of MF solid waste as the precursor for the synthesis of MCFes catalyst with the favorable structure features such as the high specific surface area, abundant active sites and suitable pore structure. The results showed that the MCFe-10/10/2 had specific surface area as high as 780.7 m2•g-1 and high efficient catalytic activity comparable …

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Recent Progresses In Molybdenum-Based Electrocatalysts For The Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Ze-Xing Wu, Jie Wang, Jun-Po Guo, Jing Zhu, De-Li Wang Apr 2016

Recent Progresses In Molybdenum-Based Electrocatalysts For The Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Ze-Xing Wu, Jie Wang, Jun-Po Guo, Jing Zhu, De-Li Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrochemical catalytic production of hydrogen has been considered as a promising and sustainable strategy for clean and renewable energy technologies. Molybdenum-based non noble metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction have attracted extensive attention due to its effective catalytic performance. In this review, the recent progresses in molybdenum-carbide, phosphide, nitride and sulfide electrocatalysts are presented. In addition, the strategies to improve the catalytic performance are analyzed and the prospects for the future development trends are expected.

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Syntheses Of Carbon Paper Supported High-Index Faceted Pt Nanoparticles And Their Performance In Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells, Long Huang, Mei Zhan, Yu-Cheng Wang, Yan-Fen Lin, Shuo Liu, Ting Yuan, Hui Yang, Shi-Gang Sun Apr 2016

Syntheses Of Carbon Paper Supported High-Index Faceted Pt Nanoparticles And Their Performance In Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells, Long Huang, Mei Zhan, Yu-Cheng Wang, Yan-Fen Lin, Shuo Liu, Ting Yuan, Hui Yang, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

Direct formic acid fuel fuels (DFAFCs) are promising energy source for portable electronic devices. Palladium (Pd) is more active than platinum (Pt) for the formic acid electrooxidation. However, the stability of Pd is much poorer than that of Pt. Unfortunately, the ultra-low natural abundance of the Pt makes it extremely expensive and limits its application as a fuel cell catalyst. Boosting both the activity and stability of Pt nanoparticles to enhance their efficiency is urgent. As previous works illustrated, nanoparticles enclosed with high-index facets usually bare a higher activity toward fuel cell related reactions than those nanoparticles with low-index facet. …

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Dynamic Simulation Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction In Pt/C Electrode For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Shang Li, Fen Zhou, Lei Chen, Mu Pan Apr 2016

Dynamic Simulation Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction In Pt/C Electrode For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Shang Li, Fen Zhou, Lei Chen, Mu Pan

Journal of Electrochemistry

It is an urgent need to reduce the Pt loading in electrode for practical fuel cell applications worldwide. Herein, we theoretically investigate the oxygen distribution, generated current, and minimum Pt loading of Pt/C electrode for practical applications based on kinetic model of oxygen reduction reaction. The results indicate that with increasing electrode effective thickness to 40 mm, serious concentration polarization is expected for Pt/C electrode. To generate a power density of 1.4 W⋅cm-2 (2.1A⋅cm-2@0.67 V) for fuel cell, the cathode catalyst layer thickness in PEMFC should be as thin as 3 mm. The minimum Pt loading will …

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Synthesis Of Structurally Ordered Platinum-Iron Catalysts With Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity, Ye-Zheng Cai, Ming-Chuan Luo, Fang-Hui Wang, Zhao-Nan Sun, Hong Zhu Apr 2016

Synthesis Of Structurally Ordered Platinum-Iron Catalysts With Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity, Ye-Zheng Cai, Ming-Chuan Luo, Fang-Hui Wang, Zhao-Nan Sun, Hong Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

To improve oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity of the precious metals platinum for fuel cell, the precursors of carbon-supported structurally disordered platinum-iron alloy (D-Pt3Fe/C and D-PtFe/C) catalysts with different compositions were synthesized via a modified polyol reduction method. Then, by optimizing the annealing conditions in the inert gas, we turned the structurally disordered platinum-iron alloy to the structurally ordered platinum-iron alloy (O-Pt3Fe/C and O-PtFe/C) catalysts. The structural characterizations of the as-prepared catalysts were performed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results …

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Rambling Between "Zhong Yong" And "Catalysis", Zi-Dong Wei Apr 2016

Rambling Between "Zhong Yong" And "Catalysis", Zi-Dong Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

“Zhong Yong” represents a traditional Chinese wisdom, which was first proposed by Confucius and continuously richened by his followers. “Zhong Yong” pursues the balances among all kinds of contradictions, and insists that neither “too much” nor “not enough” is good. For a successful catalyst, on which the adsorption of reactants must be not so strong and not so weak either. On this point of view, there are the same pursuits for “Zhong Yong” and catalysis. In this paper, the author starts his story with a conversation between Confucius and his student, followed by 3 interesting stories happening in the ancient …

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Nitrogen, Fluorine Co-Doped Silk-Derived Carbon For Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction With High Performance In Alkaline Solution, Fang-Fang Liu, Hong-Liang Peng, Shi-Jun Liao Apr 2016

Nitrogen, Fluorine Co-Doped Silk-Derived Carbon For Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction With High Performance In Alkaline Solution, Fang-Fang Liu, Hong-Liang Peng, Shi-Jun Liao

Journal of Electrochemistry

A high-performance, doped carbon-based catalyst was synthesized by pyrolyzing hydrothermally treated silkworm cocoon. The effects of preparation conditions and fluorine promotion on various catalysts’ performance were investigated. The catalyst prepared under optimal conditions and doped with nitrogen and fluorine possessed the high specific surface area of more than 1000 m2⋅g-1 and contained 3.5 and 7.3% (by mass, the same below) N and F, respectively. The activity of the catalyst toward oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline medium was comparable to that of commercial Pt/C, showing both superior tolerance to methanol poisoning and better durability. Doping with fluorine …

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Application Of Web Published Virtual Instruments In Delivering Engineering Instructions And Performing Experimental Research, Shahnam Navaee Apr 2016

Application Of Web Published Virtual Instruments In Delivering Engineering Instructions And Performing Experimental Research, Shahnam Navaee

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

In this presentation the special utility of the LabVIEW Virtual Instruments published as HTML files is documented and discussed. The Virtual Instruments (LabVIEW programs) created using the software's web publishing tool can be used to complement the effectiveness of the classroom instructions and extend the reach of engineering researchers in more effectively conducting laboratory and field experimentation. The Virtual Instruments (VIs) created as web documents can be placed on a web-server and made available to users at remote locations. These files can enhance the collaborations and interactions among individuals at these stations. For example, the created VIs for a course …

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Emotion Recognition Using Fuzzy Clustering Analysis, Tejal Udhan Apr 2016

Emotion Recognition Using Fuzzy Clustering Analysis, Tejal Udhan

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

This research project investigates using fuzzy clustering algorithms for emotion recognition. Emotion recognition has gained significant attention in recent years in applications such as artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, speech and voice recognition. The ability of a computer or machine to understand human emotion and respond to users in a more human way can lead to significant advances in conversational speech recognition systems, improved quality of life in persons with speech disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and even in voice response systems, such as Google Voice or Apple’s Siri. Experimental results in this area can inform discovery and innovation of machine …

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Particle Boards Created From Modified Lignin, Robbie Kazen Apr 2016

Particle Boards Created From Modified Lignin, Robbie Kazen

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

My name is Robert Kazen, a student directed under Dr. Rafael Quirino currently working on the Lignin Modification project. The research project involves the isolation of lignin from black liquor, a byproduct produced by the paper pulping industry. Isolated chemically the lignin was then modified using two methods, (1) acrylation acid and (2) transesterification with tung oil modifications. The black liquor obtained was sent by the Arizona Chemical and Herty Advanced Materials Development Center. Currently the tung oil modification gives the most valuable product physically and its products will be mainly used for particle board creation and testing. The tung …

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Warning Systems Evaluation For Overhead Clearance Detection, Clayton Rogers Apr 2016

Warning Systems Evaluation For Overhead Clearance Detection, Clayton Rogers

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

The accurate detection of road vehicle heights is a need that arises in departments of transportation across the nation. Usually, this dimension is required to solve various transportation issues. In particular, numerous bridges in the state of Georgia have been affected by repetitive crashes of tall vehicles against their structural elements. As an example, a recent inspection report of the Houlihan Bridge over the Savannah River documents damages resulting from numerous hits by overheight vehicles. This case emphasizes the urgency of finding preventive measures. To address this issue, a number of solutions are investigated. The known methods of vehicle height …

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Autonomous Methods In The Application Of Simple Swarm Capabilities, Joseph Watt Iii Apr 2016

Autonomous Methods In The Application Of Simple Swarm Capabilities, Joseph Watt Iii

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Swarm technology is a relatively new aspect to the drone industry. It involves multiple drones being able to communicate with each other and relay this back to the user. From this standpoint one operator can control all of them at once while only giving directions to one or more. This involves the use of different autonomous algorithms, similar to autopilot where programs fly the plane, that relay to one another on what adjustments to make or where to go. This idea is very useful in search and rescue operations where it might be too dangerous to insert a human. Also …

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Measuring Frequency Availability For Cognitive Radio Networks By Means Of Adaptive Threshold, Isaac Cushman Apr 2016

Measuring Frequency Availability For Cognitive Radio Networks By Means Of Adaptive Threshold, Isaac Cushman

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Radio Frequency spectrums designated by the FCC broadcast almost all mediums of communication, in both licensed and unlicensed bands, within the United States. As technology rapidly grows however, the availability of open frequencies will quickly decrease. Our goal is to design and experimentally test a system that allows for secondary users to access frequency bands that are not currently being optimally used by the primary users and also determine the effects of mobility on the ability for a sensor to accurately find frequencies by determining an appropriate power level for communication. We set up experimental scenarios in order to test …

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