Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Modeling And Simulation To Investigate Effects Of Static Mixer, Carrier Gas, Temperature And Pressure On The Mixing Ratio Of Carbon Nanotubes Growth Reactors, David Addie Noye

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The problem of this study was to investigate the effects of static mixer, carrier gas, carrier gas inlet pressures, and reactor operating temperatures on the mixing ratio of carbon nanotube synthesizing reactor. The methodology included design of static mixers, mathematical modeling, and computer modeling and simulation experiments.

The simulation experiment was performed based on single phase carrier gas modeling due to difficulty and time for three phase fluid modeling. First only nitrogen carrier gas in addition to the other three factors under constant inlet flow velocity and inlet temperature was simulated. Secondly, the same procedure was applied to argon carrier …

Corrosion Barrier Development For Lbe Corrosion Resistance, Biswajit Das

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

In the last quarter, a specialized sample holder was developed for the anodization of alumina on steel. In addition, it was determined that oxalic acid was the most appropriate acid for the anodization of these structures. The steel samples obtained from LANL were first cut into a number of pieces, each measuring 11mm x 8mm x 1.6mm, to allow multiple experiments. Special care was taken to ensure that the cutting process did not damage the samples. After investigation of several techniques, including laser cutting, the samples were cut using EDM wires. The cut steel pieces did not show any damage …

Corrosion Barrier Development For Lbe Corrosion Resistance: Quaterly Report, Biswajit Das

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

With the demonstration of formation of nanoporous alumina on steel and its good adhesion to substrate under thermal cycling, the next project task was to synthesize Chromium nanowires inside the alumina pores. During the previous quarter, a specialized sample holder was developed towards this goal. Various techniques for the deposition of Chromium were investigated and electro-deposition was determined to be the most suitable approach due to the large aspect ratio of the pores. A challenge in using electro-deposition for porous alumina is the potential sealing of the pores in aqueous solutions at higher temperatures. To avoid this problem, a search …

Development Of Nanostructure Based Corrosion-Barrier Coatings On Steel For Transmutation Applications, Biswajit Das

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Advanced transmutation systems require structural materials that are able to withstand high neutron fluxes, high thermal cycling, and high resistance to chemical corrosion. The current candidate materials for such structures are ferritic and ferritic-martensitic steels due to their strong resistance to swelling, good microstructural stability under irradiation, and the retention of adequate ductility at typical reactor operating temperatures.

In parallel, lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) has emerged as a potential spallation target material for efficient production of neutrons, as well as a coolant in the accelerator system. While LBE has excellent properties as a nuclear coolant, it is also highly corrosive …

Electrocatalytic Performances Of Carbon Nanotube Air Electrode For Oxygen Reduction, Feng-Ming Zhao, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

The air electrodes with different mass ratio of Pt/active carbon or carbon nanotube as catalyst layer material have been prepared. The electrocatalytic performances for oxygen reduction were evaluated by means of polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results disclosed that carbon nanotubes dealt with nitric acid in the catalyst layer had been improved obviously on the electrocatalytic activity. After the surface of carbon nanotube was oxygenated and aggraded with platinum, the catalyst had obviously effects on the electrocatalytic activity. The air electrode with the mass ratio of active carbon to Pt/carbon nanotube in 4∶1 showed better electrocatalytic activity, …

Lithium Insertion Into Tio2(B) Nanobelts Synthesized By The "Soft Chemical" Method, Cha-Geng Nie, Zheng-Liang Gong, Lan Sun, Juan Zuo, Yue-Kun Lai, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

TiO₂(B) Nanobelts were synthesized by using the "Soft chemical"method. The products were characterized by means of transmission electron microscope(TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), Raman spectrum and energy dispersive spectrum(EDS). Galvanostatic charging and discharging tests showed that lithium-ion intercalation/deintercalation occurred reversibly in the TiO₂(B) nanobelts electrode, and a high capacity (265 mAh·g^-1) can be obtained. The results suggested that TiO₂(B) Nanobelts might be a promising negative electrode material of second Lithium battery.

Direct Electron Transfer Of Redox Proteins And Enzymes Promoted By Carbon Nanotube, Chen-Xin Cai, Jing Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

The redox proteins (enzymes), such as hemoglobin (Hb), horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and glucose oxidase (GOx) were immobilized on the surface of the carbon nanotube modified with glassy carbon (CNT/GC) electrode, respectively. The experimental results showed that the redox proteins (enzymes) underwent effective and stable direct electron transfer reaction at the surface of CNT/GC electrode with a pair of nearly symmetrical redox peaks in phosphate buffer solution. The formal redox potential, E^0' , is almost independent on the scan rates, the average value of E^0'  for Hb, HRP and GOx is -0.343±0.001, -0.319±0.002 and -0.456±0.001 V (vs.SCE,pH 6.9), respectively. …

Studies Of Infrared Optical Properties Of Palladium Nanoparticles With Different Sizes And Dispersed States, Yan-Xia Jiang, Hong-Gang Liao, Wei Chen, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

Pd nanoparticles with different sizes and dispersed states were prepared. Their infrared optical properties were studied with CO molecule probe. The infrared spectroscopic investigation revealed that Pd_n of 6.6 nm and Pd_n(cube)of 100～150nmexhibit normal IR absorption. The center of IR bands are around 1970 cm^-1 and 1910cm^-1. Pd_nis introduced into the surface of electrode, and is induced by interface electric fieldto form the aggregation of nanoparticles Pd_n(ag). The Pd_n(ag) has a different IR optical property from Pd_n. The direction of IR absorption band of Pd_{n …}

Electrochemical Lithium Insertion Of Nanosized Tio2, Ying Lan, Jian-Wen Liu, Xue-Ping Gao, Xing-Di Zhou, Jin-Qiu Qu, Feng Wu, De-Ying Song

Journal of Electrochemistry

The protonic titanate nanotubes with the diameter of 10～15 nm were synthesized via hydrothermal method in NaOH solution and the calcined nanotubes at 500 ℃ were transferred to anatase nanorods with the diameter of 12～20 nm due to dehydration.The electrochemical behavior of the anatase nanorods as lithium insertion materials was examined. The results showed that the nanorod electrode had the high initial discharge capacity of 232 mAh/g and second reversible capacity of 198 mAh/g. The capacity of nanorod electrode maintained 152mAh/g after 20 cycles.

Preparation And Optical Properties Of Highly Ordered Cds Nanowire Arrays, Lan Sun, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Highly ordered CdS nanowire arrays have been prepared by using dc electrodeposition in the porous anodic aluminum oxide template. Scanning electro microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal that the nanowires are uniform and highly ordered. The measurements of X-ray diffraction and high-resolved electron microscopy (HRTEM) show that the nanowires are hexagonal structure with the crystallographic c-axis preferentially oriented along the length of the pore. The UV-Vis absorption spectra of CdS nanowire arrays show that the absorption edges of the nanowire arrays shift towards short wavelength with the decrease of the nanowire size. The photoluminescence measurements show that the …

Study On Reduction Process Of Electrolyic Manganese Dioxide In Situ By Ultraviolet-Visible Absorption Spectroscopy, Li-Cai Zhu, Zhong-Zhi Yuan, Wei-Shan Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The concentrationsof soluble Mn(Ⅲ) species, during the reduction ofelectrolytic MnO₂ (EMD) in alkaline solution,have been monitored in situ by UV-visible spectroscopy. The concentration of Mn(Ⅲ) ion in solution changes with discharge time. The first electron discharge process of EMD can be described by three different steps: 1) the reduction of Mn⁴⁺ ions on the surface of EMD particles and the structural defect regions within the EMD, 2) the reduction of Mn⁴⁺ ions in ramsdellite, 3)the reduction of Mn⁴⁺ ions in pyrolusite. During the second electron discharge of EMD, the soluble Mn(Ⅲ) is reduced to Mn(Ⅱ) , …

Development Of Nanostructure Based Corrosion-Barrier Coatings On Steel For Transmutation Applications, Biswajit Das

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The objective of this project is to develop a novel nanostructure based coating technology that will provide significantly improved corrosion resistance for steel in LBE at elevated temperatures (500 - 600^oC), as well as provide long-term reliability under thermal cycling. The nanostructure based coatings will consist of a layer of nanoporous alumina with the pores filled with an oxidizing metal such as Cr, followed by a capping layer of alumina. Alumina, which is a robust anti-corrosion material, provides corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures. The Cr serves two purposes: (1) it acts as a solid filler material for the …

Template Synthesis Of Highly Ordered Monocrystalline Metal Nanowire Arrays By A Two-Step Ac Electrodeposition, Juan Xiang, Jing-Hua Tian, Zi-Mian Ni, Zhi-Feng Huang, Bo Liu, Zhong-Qun Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

The monocrystalline metal nanowire arrays were prepared by using a two-step AC electrodeposition in porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The growth mechanism of nanowires was discussed. As a result, it has been found that the second voltage pulse has a considerable effect on the pore-filling ratio, the uniformity and the crystal structure, whereas the initial voltage pulse affects only the pore-filling ratio. Using the two-step AC electrodeposition, a highly ordered monocrystalline metal nanowire arrays with a pore-filling ration above 95% can be easily obtained.

Substrates Made By Electrodeposition For Measuring Electrical Properties Of One Dimensional Nanomaterials, Jin-Xuan Liu, Juan Xiang, Zhong-Qun Tian, Bing-Wei Mao

Journal of Electrochemistry

A method to prepare alternating conducting/insulating substrates by electrodeposition-oxidation was established to facilitate I-E measurements of one-dimensional nanomaterial by CT-AFM. The prepared Au/CuO and HOPG/CuO substrates showed low roughness as well as high uniformity of the alternating conducting/insulating structure, Qualitative I-E measurements were performed on a single carbon nanotube attached to the two above-mentioned substrates, both showing metallic characteristics at room temperature and in air.

Preparation, Structure And Electrochemical Hydrogenation Of Carbon Nanotubes Supported Platinum Catalysts, Qing-Gang He, Xiao-Zi Yuan, Xian-Xia Yuan, Zi-Feng Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, Pt/CNTs catalyst was prepared and its electrocatalytic property was studied by obtaining cycling voltammetry curves (C-V) and Tafel curves. In addition, the XRD,XPS and TEM tests were carried out to determine the structure and composition of the catalysts. It can be found that the platinum loading has been increased significantly using a carbon nanotubes support. Dispersion of Platinum was better and gave more active sites. The electrochemical characteristic of Pt/CNTs was also more desirable than that of Pt/C catalys t(Johnson Matthey). In conclusion, carbon nanotubes can played a conspicuous role in "electrogenerative" processes of PEMFC hydrogenation reactor.

Formation And Characterization Of Water-Repellent Nano Tio2 Coating And Studying Its Anticorrosion Property, Guang-Xia Shen, Yi-Cong Chen, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Using ethyl acetoacetate (EAcAc) as a chelating agent, ultra fine TiO₂ sol is prepared. Nano-TiO₂ coatings are deposited on the 316L stainless steel by the dip-coating. Hydrothermal post-treatment leads to crack-free coatings. Meanwhile, the surface struture and properties was optimized. Self-assembly of Hetadecafluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FSA-13) fabricates hydrophobic layers on the surface of the nano-TiO₂ coatings. Particle sizes of TiO₂ sol was analysed by zeta pals potential analysis, and surface morphology, structure and properties was characterized by contract angle instrument, XRD, and SEM technologies. The results have shown that the surface of coatings is porous, with approx. 375 …

Electrodeposition Nanolaminated Growth Of Zinc, Ying Cao, Tian-Hui Shen, Jing-Yuan Yao, Gui-Fu Ding

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nanolaminated growth of the electrodeposition of zinc was studied. The structure and size of crystalline in zinc coatings were investigated by using FEG-TEM and XRD. The corrosion tests of the zinc deposition and the Coatings-Neutral salt spray test were performed, the capability in corrosion resistance of the nanolaminated growth was better than that of others.

Development Of Nanostructure Based Corrosion-Barrier Coatings On Steel For Transmutation Applications: Quaterly Report, Biswajit Das

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

During the past quarter, this project employed one graduate student and two undergraduate student researchers and made the following accomplishments :

• Acquisition of steel samples for experiments

• Design and fabrication of specialized anodization apparatus to accommodate steel samples

• Investigation of adhesiveness of aluminum on steel

• Investigation of effects of anodizing acids on steel to identify most appropriate acid and a suitable barrier material

Preparation And Characterization Of Y-Type Carbon Nanotubes By Using Anodized Alumina Oxide (Aao) Template, Jing Zhang, Quan-Yong Gao, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, potential-modulation method was used in two-step anodization process to make an AAO template with Y-type nanochannels. Then Y-type carbon nanotubes with controlled length and branch angle were prepared in the template based on chemical vapor decomposion (CVD) method with Co particles as catalyst and C₂H₂ as carbon source. The Y-type nanotube branches exhibit the angle distribution ranging from 20° to 120°. The results demonstrated that the oxidation potential should be responsible for the angles and length of the branches. Short pulse and high oxidation potential will result in the short and dense nanotube branches.

The Study On Carbon Nanotube-Loaded Pt Catalysts For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Hong Zhu, Feng-Juan Ge, Xiao-Hong Kang, Yu-Guo Yang, Yun-Hua Xu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Carbon nanotube-supported-platinum (Pt/CNTs) and carbon-supported-platinum (Pt/C) catalysts were synthesized by in-situ chemical reduction. They were analyzed using TEM and XRD, then made into electrodes to be part of assemable PEMFC for the performence tests. The resulted show that Pt clusters in both catalysts are of small particle size (about 4nm), and Pt/CNTs exhibits a higher catalytic activity than Pt/C.

The Current Fluctuations Of Carbon Steel In Nano2-Nacl Solutions, Yu-Ming Tang, Yu Zuo

Journal of Electrochemistry

The characteristics of current fluctuations of A3 carbon steel in NaNO₂-NaCl solutions were studied with potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarization methods. The steel remained stable passivation in 0.1 mol/L NaNO₂ solution without Cl^-. After NaCl was added in to the solution, current fluctuations with a characteristic of quick increase and slow decrease occurred, indicating quick dissolution and slow re-passivation of the metastable pits. The metastable pitting may cause accumulated corrosion damage around certain area and result in observable pits. With the increase of chloride concentration, the occurring potential for metastable pits Em rised, and peak values …

Study Of Marine Biocorrosion Using Afm And Molecular Techniques, Herbert H.P.Fang, Lichong Xu, Tong Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Biofilm is ubiquitous in nature.However,corrosin caused by biofilm is still by and large overlooked. This presentation is to demonstrate the applications of several newly developed analytical techniques in chemisrty and microbiology for the study of marine biocorrosion on steel. AFM(atomic force microscopy) was applied to investigate the initial formation mechanism of biofilm and the degree of corrosion of steel in polluted seawater. DNA/RNA-related molecular techniques were used to analyze the microbial composition corrosive biofilm. Results showed that microbial corrosion began within six days, and the corroded volume in the increased as a power function of time with an index 2.83. …

Study For The Cathodic Behavior Of Active Chlorine On 316l Ss Electrode Surface, Hui Yu, Ming-Xian Sun, Yan Ma, Xiao-Bin Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cathodic reducing reactions of active chlorine on 316 L SS electrode surface have been investigated by electrochemical techniques. The open circuit potential shifted positively and the limited diffusion current density increased significantly with the increasing content of active chlorine in the 3.5% sodium chloride solution. The two cathodic reduction processes of HClO and ClO^- exhibited on the surface of electrode with the active chlorine added to the 3.5%sodium chloride solution and the corresponding potentials of the two reducing reactions were confirmed. The linear relationship of the mass transport-limited Faradaic current, Id vs. the square root of the angular …

Pure Iron Electrolyzed From Scrap Iron Chips And Its Corrosion Characteristics, Wei-Min Cao, Ren-He Yin, Hui-Ceng Yan, Zhi-Qiang Ye

Journal of Electrochemistry

The high purity electrolytic iron was made from scrap iron chips. Electrolytic conditions of pure iron were determined in chloride baths and the highest purity was 99.983% by chemical analysis. Pure iron had very compact texture and high mechanical strength by SEM figures of cross section. In deaerated 0.5 kmol·m^-3 H₂SO₄ and 0.5 kmol·m^-3 NaCl solutions, the corrosion rate of iron decreased with increasing purity.

Ultrafine Nife2o4 Powder Fabricated From Reverse Microemulsion Process, Jiye Fang, Narayan Shama, Le Duc Tung, Eun Young Shin, Charles J. O'Connor, Kevin L. Stokes, Gabriel Caruntu, John B. Wiley, Leonard Spinu, Jinke Tang

Physics Faculty Publications

NiFe2O4 ultrafine powder with high crystallinity has been prepared through a reverse microemulsion route. The composition in starting solution was optimized, and the resulting NiFe2O4 was formed at temperature of around 550–600 °C, which is much lower than that observed from the solid-state reaction. Magnetic investigation indicates that samples are soft-magnetic materials with low coercivity and with the saturation magnetization close to the bulk value of Ni ferrite.

Preparation And Electrochemical Lithium Intercalation Performance Of Different Shaped Carbon Nanotube, Mao-Hui Chen, Zhen-Cai Huang, Guo-Tao Wu, Jin-Kua You, Zu-Geng Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

In the present work, different shaped carbon nanotubes were produced by the general CVD and the template method at different temperature (600 ℃,700 ℃) with the reaction gas of acetylene. The morphology, structure and the electrochemical lithium intercalation performance were comparatively studied and characterized by TEM, HRTEM, SEM, XRD, Raman techniques and Charge/Discharge Test. It was found that the different preparation methods and temperatures all had an obvious effect on these properties of carbon nanotubes. In our samples, with the increase of preparation temperature, the degree of crystallinity decreased, and the reversible specific capacity increased respectively.

Nano-Sized Cobalt-Based Oxides As Negative Electrode For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Feng Huang, Zheng-Yong Yuan, Yun-Hong Zhou, Ju-Tang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nanosized cobalt-based oxide (Co₃O₄, CoB_1.36O_2.8 and CoB_0.5Al_0.1O_1.5) samples were prepared by rheological phase method and were tested as anodes in secondary lithium batteries. The cells were cycled between 0.01V and 3.00 V. The best electrochemical performance was obtained from the Co₃O₄ cell, which retained 95% of its initial capacity (931 mAh/g) after 30 cycles. The doping of B, Al reduced the reversible capacity during the first discharge/charge cycle, and the quantity of reversible capacity reduced with B, Al increasing. The modifying structures at difference …

Pure Hap Film Prepared By Direct Electrodepositing On Metallic Surface And Its Mechanism, Hao-Bing Hu, Chang-Jian Lin, Fei Chen, Ren Hu, Ming Guo

Journal of Electrochemistry

In controlling concentration of Ca²⁺ and PO₄^3- in electrodeposition solution, the HAP film on Ti alloy has been deposited directly. Using XRD and SEM we have learned that prepared HAP is intact in crystal and equal in dimension. Thermodynamic calculation indicated that the HAP is easer formation of than that TCP of. With the XRD, SEM analyses and thermodynamic calculation, the electrodeposition mechanism has been discussed. It was proved that electrodepositon is a two-stage process and formation of HAP is a direct process from solution ions to HAP crystal without precursor.

Syntheses And Photoluminescence Of Zinc Oxide Polyaniline Coaxial Nanowires And Their Array, Zhi-Xin Zheng, Yan-Yan Xi, Ping Dong, Huai-Guo Huang, Jian-Zhang Zhou, Lin-Lin Wu, Zhong-Hua Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

A novel nanomaterial, zinc oxide (ZnO) and polyaniline (PANI) coaxial nanowires and their array in the template, was synthesized using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as template. The morphology of these coaxial nanowires was observed with transmission electron microscope (TEM). The experiments on photoluminescence (PL) of coaxial nanowires and their array in AAO membrane show that the visible emission band of ZnO shifts from 530 nm to 400 nm and the luminescence is enhanced for the coaxial nanowires array in AAO membrane,and the visible emission band shifts to a lower wavelergth (385 nm) for coatial nanowires in NaOH solution. Possible …

Photocurrent Enhancement By Ticl4 Post-Treatment For Tio2 Nanoporous Film Electrode, Yan-Jie Ren, Li Zhang, Sheng-Min Cai

Journal of Electrochemistry

Enhanced photocurrent in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell was obtained by post-treating the TiO₂ nanoporous film electrode with TiCl₄. By investigating the effect of the post-treatment on surface area, pore size distribution, laser pulse induced current transient of the film electrode, photocurrent increase by the post-treatment was assigned to the improved electron percolation resulting from broadening of interparticle neck.