Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Voltage Reversal Behavior In Microbial-Anode Fuel Cells, En-Ren Zhang, Jun-Le Niu, Lei Liu, Guo-Wang Diao

Journal of Electrochemistry

Voltage reversal behavior was investigated in microbial-anode fuel cells (MFCs). Electricity-producing biofilms were developed on the surface of anodes in MFCs inoculated with mixed inoculum from activated sludge. MFC duplicates generally exhibited different performances with respect to the internal resistance, the voltage output and the discharging duration when operating in batch mode. Voltage reversal was observed to occur first in the MFC with lower performance when connecting MFCs in series. Analysis of electrode potentials indicated that the potentials of microbial anodes quickly shifted to more positive values when enhancing discharge current, resulting in voltage reversal in MFCs. Increasing temperature would …

Using Hydrolyzed Sludge Liquor As The Substrate Of Microbial Fuel Cell, Peng Liang, Chao Guo, Xia Huang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Hydrolyzed sludge liquor was used as the substrate of microbial fuel cell. When the thermal treatment time increased from 2 h to 96 h, pH varied little between 7.4 and 8.0. When the treatment time increased, the conductivity, COD and alkaline condition increased to 2.53 mS·cm^-1, 2520 mg·L^-1 and 800 mg·L^-1, respectively. Meanwhile, the power density increased to 25 W·m^-3. The COD removal increased firstly, then decreased, and finally reached the maximum of 47% at the hydrolyzed time of 6 h. The maximal coulombic efficiency was 71% when the treatment time was 4 …

Electrochemically Switched Ion Exchange Properties Of Pani-Snp Composite Films In Wastewater Containing Ni2+ And Cd2+, Yan-Ting Feng, Jun-Qiang Xiao, Xiao-Gang Hao, Xu-Li Ma, Zhong-De Wang, Nian-Chen Han

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electroactive PANI-SnP composite films were prepared by drop-coating method on Pt electrodes and investigated as electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) materials for the separation of Cd²⁺ from aqueous solutions. The composition and morphology of the composite film were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). In solutions containing 0.1 mol·L^-1 Ni(NO₃)₂ and Cd(NO₃)₂, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) were used to investigate the electrochemical behavior and ion-exchange mechanism of PANI-SnP composite film. The elementary composition of PANI-SnP composite films in both oxidation …

Graphene Quantum Dots Enhanced Electrochemical Performance Of Polypyrrole As Supercapacitor Electrode, Kun Wu, Si-Zhe Xu, Xue-Jiao Zhou, Hai-Xia Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

With an objective to develop electrode materials with high specific capacitance and good stability, a completely new nanocomposite of Polypyrrole (PPY) and graphene quantum dots (GQD) was successfully obtained through in-situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of GQD suspension. The obtained composites with different mass ratios were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). GQD enhanced electrochemical performance of PPY and, as supercapacitor electrodes, the PPY/GQD composites with the mass ratio of PPY to GQD at 50:1 showed a competitive specific capacitance of 485 F·g^-1 at a scan rate of …

Electrocatalytic Oxidation Degradation Kinetics Of Oxalic Acid In A Cylindrical Electrochemical Reactor With Ti/Iro2-Ta2O5 Anode, Jing Su, Hai-Bo Lin, Hong Xu, Wei-Min Huang, Ya-Peng He

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrocatalytic oxidation degradation kinetics of oxalic acid in a cylindrical electrochemical reactor with Ti/IrO₂-Ta₂O₅  as an anode was studied. The relation between instantaneous current efficiency and organic concentration in bulk was established based on the two paths for direct electrochemical oxidations, and the theoretical model was verified by experiments. The experimental resultswere reasonably consistent with the established kinetic model. Furthermore, the competition between the two paths was explored with the modelparameter analysis.

Performance Of The Electro-Oxidation And Electro-Fenton Processes With A Bdd Anode For The Treatment Of Low Contents Of Pharmaceuticals In A Real Water Matrix, Sirs Ignasi, Antonio Garrido Jos, Brillas Enric

Journal of Electrochemistry

Here, we report the performance of electro-oxidation and electro-Fenton with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode for the treatment of single and multicomponent solutions containing small amounts of pharmaceutical residues (i.e., 1 mg·L^-1 paracetamol and/or 1 mg·L^-1 salicylic acid) spiked into a real water matrix at pH 3.0. Electro-oxidation was performed in a BDD/Pt cell, whereas electro-Fenton was carried out in a BDD/air-diffusion cell to electrogenerate H₂O₂ at the cathode, always operating at constant current density. It was found that the decay of both pharmaceuticals by electro-oxidation was more rapid in the real water matrix than …

Electrochemical Behavior And Content Determination Of Paeonol At Poly Sudan Ⅲ Modified Electrode, Yan-Jie Zheng, Ai-Lin Liu, Yun Lei, Xin-Hua Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The poly SudanⅢ modified electrode was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS）and cyclic voltammetry (CV), while the electrochemical behavior of paeonol was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The result shows that the poly Sudan Ⅲ modified electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic effect on the oxidation of paeonol. The peak currents of differential pulse voltammetry are linear to the paeonol concentrations over the range of 3.0*10^-7 ~ 2.2*10^-5 mol·L^-1. The detection limit has been estimated to be 5.0*10^-8 mol·L^-1. This method can be used for determination of paeonol content in real sample with satisfactory results.

3d Modeling And Design Optimization Of Rod Shaped Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuator, Siul A. Ruiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are some of the most well-known electro-active polymers. This is due to their large deformation provided a relatively low voltage source. IPMCs have been acknowledged as a potential candidate for biomedical applications such as cardiac catheters and surgical probes; however, there is still no existing mass manufacturing of IPMCs. This study intends to provide a theoretical framework which could be used to design practical purpose IPMCs depending on the end users interest.

This study begins by investigating methodologies used to develop quantify the physical actuation of an IPMC in 3-dimensional space. This approach is taken in …

Effect Of Ethyl Propionate On Low-Temperature Performance Of Lifepo4-Based Li-Ion Battery, Xiao-Ping Li, Lian-Sheng Hao, Wei-Shan Li, Meng-Qing Xu, Li-Dan Xing

Journal of Electrochemistry

A linear carboxylic, ester ethyl propionate (EP), was used as the co-solvent of carbonates, ethylene carbonate (EC), ethyl-methyl carbonate (EMC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and its effect on low-temperature performance of LiFePO₄-based Li-ion battery was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic charge-discharge test. The application of EP enhances the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte, improves the compatibility of the electrolyte with both LiFePO₄ and graphite materials, and thus improves the low-temperature performance of LiFePO₄-based Li-ion battery. The Li-ion battery using the optimized electrolyte of 1 mol·L^-1 LiPF₆/EC:EMC:DMC:EP …

Multifunctional Corrosion Inhibition Behavior Of Zn-Al Calcined Layered Double Hydroxides For Steel Rebar In Nacl Solution, Xiao-Juan Zhang, Jing-Jing Wang, Shi-Gang Dong, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Zn-Al layered double hydroxides (Zn-Al LDHs) and calcined products (Zn-Al CLDHs) were synthesized successfully under a routine air atmosphere. The results showed that both Zn-Al LDHs and Zn-Al CLDHs had obvious flake structures. The corrosion inhibition of Zn-Al CLDHs for steel rebar in NaCl solution was studied by electrochemical techniques. It was found that the corrosion rate of steel rebar decreased significantly after the steel rebar was treated by Zn-Al CLDHs in NaCl solution for 3 h. It was indicated that Zn-Al CLDHs could absorb Cl^- and release OH^- during their reconstruction process, which provided dual protection …

Influences Of The Cinnamic Acid On Zinc Electrodeposition At Glassy-Carbon Electrode, Kai Li, Shen Chen, Shen-Na Liu, Bi-Sang Chen, Heng Lin, Guo-Liang Chen, Qing-Xiang Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The influences of cinnamic acid (CIN) on the mechanism of Zn deposition and nucleation kinetics onto glassy-carbon electrode were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The results revealed that the zinc reduction took place via Zn²⁺ + 2e → Zn in the presence of CIN, but the kinetics of zinc deposition was changed and the formation rate of zinc nuclei was accelerated. In the absence of CIN, the mechanism of zinc nucleation followed the 3D-instantaneous diffusion-controlled nucleation, while the 3D-progressive diffusion-controlled nucleation in the presence of CIN. The addition of CIN reduced the nucleation rate, but increased …

Preparation And Characterization Of A Novel Composite Electrolyte Ceria-Sulfate For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Ze Tong, Yi-Mei Yin, Jie-Wei Yin, Zi-Feng Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

A novel composite electrolyte SDC-(Li/Na)₂SO₄ was prepared for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (ITSOFC). The phase structure and cross-sectional morphology were examined by XRD and SEM, respectively, and the ionic conductivity was investigated by AC impedance in a temperature range of 400 ^oC ~ 700 ^oC in air. It was found that the composite electrolyte was composed of two phases: crystal SDC and amorphous (Li/Na)₂SO₄. The conductivity of the composite electrolyte was significantly larger than that of SDC at intermediate temperatures (550 ^oC ~ 700 ^oC) and increased …

The Effect Of Precursors On Performance Of Lini0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 Cathode Material, Dong-Ge Hu, Zhang-Zhi Wang, Jia-Li Liu, Tao Huang, Ai-Shui Yu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Commercial LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ material is generally prepared by a combination of co-precipitation and solid state reaction method. The particle size distribution and morphology of Ni_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3(OH)₂ precursor have a great impact on the electrochemical performance of LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂. In this work, the crystal structure and surface morphology of LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ prepared by three different precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Particle size distribution, tap density and electrochemical performance were …

Influence Of Electrode Hydrophobicity On Performance Of Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Li-Sheng Tan, Jing Pan, Yao Li, Lin Zhuang, Jun-Tao Lu

Journal of Electrochemistry

In the present work, we study the influence of the electrode hydrophobicity on the performance of alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs). QAPS or xQAPS is employed as the membrane and the ionomer, while PTFE is used as a hydrophobic additive in order to adjust the electrode hydrophobicity. We find that enhancing the hydrophobicity of anode can promote the performance of APEFCs, while a moderate hydrophobicity of cathode is required to achieve optimal performance. By using xQAPS as the electrolyte and adding some PTFE in the anode, a peak power density of 132 mW·cm^-2 can be obtained at a …

Electrocatalytic Mechanism And Porous Electrode Mass Transfer Process In Membrane Electrode Assembly For Direct Methanol Fuel Cells, Xin-Dong Wang, Yi-Tuo Wang, Gui-Cheng Liu, Meng Wang, Zhe Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is considered to be a promising commercial energy conversion device for portable electronics due to its many advantages. In order to improve the performance of DMFC, many companies and research institutes have been launching the deep research and obtaining a lot of conspicuous achievements. In this paper, the electrocatalytic mechanism and porous electrode mass transfer process in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) are analyzed. In addition, combined with the preparation process of MEA, multilayer ordered structures and internal transfer process of the cell, recent progresses of MEA in DMFC are discussed.

Fabrication And Performance Of Lani0.6Fe0.4O3-δCathode Modified By Coating With Gd0.2Ce0.8O2 For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Rui-Xuan Ren, Bo Huang, Xin-Jian Zhu, Yi-Xing Hu, Xiao-Yi Ding, Zong-Yao Liu, Ye-Bin Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The symmetric cell of LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ/Sc_0.1Zr_0.9O_1.95/LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O _3-δ was fabricated with screen printing method. A LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ (LNF) cathode was modified by coating with nano-sized gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC, Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O₂) prepared using a simple combustion process within the pores of the cathode. According to the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), the polarization resistance of the pure LNF was 0.70 W·cm² at 750 ºC, while 0.13 W·cm² for the 21.3% GDC (by mass)-coated LNF cathode at the …

Preparation And Electrochemical Performance Of Hollow Carbon Spheres/Sulfur Composite, Jun Zang, Hang Qian, Er-Man Zeng, Juan-Ni Fu, Ming-Sen Zheng, Quan-Feng Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

Hollow carbon spheres were prepared by the PMMA template. Hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite was made from sulfur and hollow carbon spheres as a conducting framework. The results of SEM and TEM showed that sulfur was uniformly filled in both of the shell and hollow core of hollow carbon spheres. The electrochemical performance of hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite was characterized by the charge/discharge method. The results showed the excellent rate and cycle performance of hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite. The reversible capacities of hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite are 1145 mAh·g^-1, 824 mAh·g^-1, 702 mAh·g^-1, 586 mAh·g …

Polypyrrole-Transition Metal-Oxygen Coordination Complexes As High Performance Lithium Storage Material, Ya Mao, Qingyu Kong, Bingkun Guo, Zhaoxiang Wang, Liquan Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

No abstract provided.

Progress Of Lithium Rich Cathode Materials For Li-Ion Batteries, Jie Zhang, Jiu-Lin Wang, Jun Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithium rich materials xLi₂MnO₃·(1-x)LiMO₂ (0-1 and low cost. However, the large irreversible capacity during the first cycle, low rate capability and structure collapse during cycling remain impediments in developing these cathodes for applications. The structure analyses and charge/discharge mechanisms for lithium rich materials are currently main research contents. Although whether the lithium rich materials are solid solutions or composite is still controversial, oxygen release mechanism on the first charge 4.5 V plateau of lithium rich materials has come to consistency. Several modifications, such as bulk doping, surface coating and microstructure control, demonstrate promising strategies to …

Electrochemical Performance Of Al-Doped Spinel Limn2O4 Cathode Material For Li-Ion Batteries, Yong-Long Wang, Wen-Ge Wang, Qian Zhang, Xin Wang, Jian-Sheng Cao, Shi-Hai Ye

Journal of Electrochemistry

Spinel LiMn₂O₄, a cathode material for Li-ion batteries, is featured as good high-rate performance, low cost and environmental friendly. The pristine and Al-doped LiMn₂O₄ samples were prepared by sol-gel method. The structure and micromorphology of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that the as-prepared LiMn₂O₄ samples had a typical cubic spinel structure and were composed of sphere-like particles with a diameter range of 300 ~ 500 nm. Galvanostatic charge-discharge tests showed that the LiMn₂O₄ samples doped …

Dispersive Waves In Microstructured Solids, A. Berezovski, J. Engelbrecht, A. Salupere, K. Tamm, T. Peets, Mihhail Berezovski

Publications

The wave motion in micromorphic microstructured solids is studied. The mathematical model is based on ideas of Mindlin and governing equations are derived by making use of the Euler–Lagrange formalism. The same result is obtained by means of the internal variables approach. Actually such a model describes internal fields in microstructured solids under external loading and the interaction of these fields results in various physical effects. The emphasis of the paper is on dispersion analysis and wave profiles generated by initial or boundary conditions in a one-dimensional case.

Stress Analysis Of Ramberg-Osgood And Hollomon 1-D Axial Rods, Ronald J. Giardina Jr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this paper we present novel analytic and finite element solutions to 1-D straight rods made of Ramberg-Osgood and Hollomon type materials. These material models are studied because they are a more accurate representation of the material properties of certain metals used often in manufacturing than the simpler composite linear types of stress/strain models. Here, various types of loads are considered and solutions are compared against some linear models. It is shown that the nonlinear models do have manageable solutions, which produce important differences in the results - attributes which suggest that these models should take a more prominent place …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Senior Design Experience

Part of every UNLV engineering student's academic experience, the Senior Design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. Working in teams, the senior design project encourages students to use everything learned in the engineering and computer design programs to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

Beyond the classroom ...

Because of the requirement to work in teams, students also build good communication skills, presentation skills and even business writing skills. They also have to …

Influence Of Microstructure On Thermoelastic Wave Propagation, Arkadi Berezovski, Mihhail Berezovski

Publications

Numerical simulations of the thermoelastic response of a microstructured material on a thermal loading are performed in the one-dimensional setting to examine the influence of temperature gradient effects at the microstructure level predicted by the thermoelastic description of microstructured solids (Berezovski et al. in J. Therm. Stress. 34:413–430, 2011). The system of equations consisting of a hyperbolic equation of motion, a parabolic macroscopic heat conduction equation, and a hyperbolic evolution equation for the microtemperature is solved by a finite-volume numerical scheme. Effects of microtemperature gradients exhibit themselves on the macrolevel due to the coupling of equations of the macromotion …

A Comparative Study Of Ce3+/Ce4+ Redox Couple On Pt Electrode In Sulfuric Acid And Methanesulfonic Acid, Zhao-Hua Li, You-Qun Chu, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical oxidations of Ce³⁺ to Ce⁴⁺ on Pt rotating disk electrode (RDE) in both sulfuric acid and methanesulfonic acid (MSA) solutions were studied by using cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The complexing behaviors of Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ were preliminarily probed and the exchange current density, diffusion coefficient, as well as reaction rate constant were obtained from Butler-Volmer equation. The activation energies of Ce³⁺ oxidation on Pt electrode in two types of acidic media, obtained from Arrhenius equation, were also compared. The results indicate that Ce³⁺ can be oxidized to Ce4+ much easier in …

Electrochemical Activities Of Oxygen-Doped Carbon Surface For V(Iv)/V(V) Redox Couple, Huan Zhang, Lin-Lin Qin, Yi-Ning Shi, Ming-Sen Zheng, Quan-Feng Dong, Zhao-Wu Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

Graphite plate electrodes were treated with oxygen plasma and doped with oxygen as well as oxygen functional groups. With the treatment, the activities of graphite plate electrodes toward VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ redox reactions were improved. FT-IR and EDS analysis results indicated that oxygen functional groups were introduced to the surface of graphite plates after oxygen plasma treatment. In this paper, the graphite plate treated for 20 min showed the highest activity. The average charge efficiency reached 91%, suggesting an increase of 19%, compared with that of the untreated graphite plate under a current density of 8 mA·cm^{-2 …}

Hydrothermal Synthesis Of Pure Li4Ti5O12 And Its Electrochemical Performance, Wen-Jun Xie, Yu-Shi He, Hong Wang, Xiao-Zhen Liao, Zi-Feng Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

Spinel Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ was prepared by hydrothermal method using commercial anatase (TiO₂) and lithium hydroxide (LiOH) as raw materials. The effects of the LiOH concentration of lithium hydroxide, hydrothermal reaction time and calcination temperature on the structure and electrochemical performance of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ were investigated. The formation process of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ was also proposed. The micro-structure and morphology wereas characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM techniques, and the electrochemical performance was analyzed by galvanostatic charge-discharge test. The results show that the pure phase spinel Li₄Ti …

Preparation And Catalytic Properties Of Feco Alloy Nanocatalyst, Ming-Xuan Li, Jie-Lian Ou, Sheng-Pei Chen, Peng Wang, Bin-Bin Xu, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The FeCo alloy nanoparticles were electrodeposited on glassy carbon electrode by chronoamperometry and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the shapes of FeCo nanoparticles were cubes with an average size of 65 nm. The atom ratio of Fe and Co is 1:1. As indicated from the pattern of selected area electron diffraction (SAED), the FeCo cubic nanoparticles were single crystal which belonged to body-centered cubic with an interval of 0.201 nm referring to the (110) facets of FeCo alloy. The FeCo cubic nanoparticles exhibited the enhanced electrocatalytic …

Electrochemical Performance Of Lifepo4/C Synthesized Via Aqueous Solution-Evaporation Route, Ning-Yu Gu, Xing-Hua He, Yang Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The LiFePO₄/C samples have been synthesized via an aqueous solution-evaporation route with LiH₂PO₄, FeC₂O₄.2H₂O as raw materials and citric acid as a carbon source. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze structure and morphology of the samples. The electrochemical performances of the LiFePO₄/C cathodes were characterized by charge/discharge cures and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that the LiFePO₄/C sample, calcined at 700 °C and contained 3.03% (by mass) carbon, exhibited a highly pure …

Preparation And Methanol Electrooxidation Of Pt/Pmo12/Pedot/Gc Electrodes, Jing-Hua Ma, Rui-Xiang Wang, Yi-Liang Tan, Shan-Shan Wang, Yan-Qin Zhang, You-Jun Fan

Journal of Electrochemistry

Modification of phosphomolybdic acid (PMo₁₂) on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film (PEDOT/GC) obtained through the electrochemical polymerization was performed using adsorption method (PMo₁₂/PEDOT/GC), followed by electrodepositing Pt on PMo₁₂/PEDOT/GC to prepare Pt/PMo₁₂/PEDOT/GC electrode. Effects of PMo₁₂ and PEDOT on the methanol oxidation performance of electrode were investigated. Results showed that PMo₁₂ obviously changed the morphology and structure of Pt loaded on the electrode, leading to the formation of sharp thorns at the edge of Pt nanostructures. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry data demonstrated that the catalytic activities of methanol electrooxidation on the Pt/PMo …