Chemistry Commons^™

Comparison Of The Electrochemical Reactivity Of Electrodes Modified By Carbon Nanotubes With Different Sizes, Guo-Feng Yang, Neng-Qin Jia, Zhi-Yong Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical activity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs) with different sizes,including four different MWNTs with the same length and different diameter,two different MWNTs with the same diameter and different length has been assessed and compared.The various MWNTs modified electrodes were prepared by immobilizing the suitable amount of MWNTs onto a glassy carbon electrode,and their voltammetric responses to ferricyanide,uric acid and dopamine were examined.The corresponding cyclic voltammetric data was showed that the electrochemical and electrocatalytic activities are depended on the nanotube length.The electrochemical reactivity of short MWNT(S-MWNT) is better than that of long MWNT(L-MWNT),which may be mainly attributed to the existence of …

Mwnts Modified Gc Electrode For Hydrogen Peroxide Determination, Hong-Juan Wang, Chun-Mei Zhou, Hao Yu, Feng Peng, Jin-Kun Fang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A MWNTs modified GC electrode was constructed successfully to be used to detect hydrogen peroxide.Two methods of maximum anodic current of cyclic voltommogram and chronoamperometry were adopted to measure the concentration of hydrogen peroxide.The results show that the MWCNTs can enlarge the effective surface area of GC electrode and can enormously enhance the electron transfer.The sensitivity and correlation coefficient for hydrogen peroxide detection are 2.84 μA/mmol·L^-1,0.997 and 1.5 μA/mmol·L^-1,0.971 for cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry,respectively.The procedure of the two methods to detect hydrogen peroxide is simple,and the results obtained are satisfied.

Influence Of Electrolyte On The Preparation And Electrocatalytic Properties Of Pt/Gc Electrodes, Sheng-Pei Chen, Yan-Xin Chen, Tao Huang, Xiao-Wen Hou, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

Influence of electrolyte on the electrocatalytic properties of Pt/GC electrodes for formic acid oxidation were studied by using cyclic voltammetry, SEM and electrochemical in situ FTIR spectroscopy. It has demonstrated that the surfaces of Pt/GC electrodes prepared in H₂SO₄ (Pt/GC1) or in HClO₄(Pt/GC2) are all composed of platinum particles, but which crystals are some differences in size and shape.Diameters of platinum particles on the surface Pt/GC1 are of 100~200 nm, and with spheral shape in the majority. The sizes of platinum particles on the Pt/GC2 electrode are larger in general,part of particles is of cube …

Study On The Electrochemical Machining Of Titanium Alloys Tc4 With The Method Of Uniform Design, Mei-Li Zhang, Di Zhu, Zheng-Yang Xu

Journal of Electrochemistry

For the electrochemical machining of titanium alloys,a passivating film tends to form on the machining surface,which holdbacks the process of machining;and some corrosive pittings can appear on the non-machining surface,which leading to the poor surface quality.So how to improve the machining surface quality,this is a hot problem in aerospace industries.An experiment plan has been made with the method of uniform design and the variance analysis has been carried out using the result data of the previous experiments.The experimental results show that an excellent machining surface with Ra 0.38 μm would be obtained in the electrolyte of 10% NaCl solution,4% Na …

Investigations On Edlcs Using Pmma-Based Gel Polymer Electrolytes, Xiang-Li Meng, Jin-Ling Yin, Juan Ren, Bao-Hong Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA) based gel polymer electrolytes electrochemical double layer capacitors(GPE-EDLCs) were fabricated by an in situ polymerisatonal method with actived carbon electrodes,using propylene carbonate(PC) and ethylene carbonate(EC) as plasticizer,lithion perchlorate as surporting electrolytes.The ion conductivity values of GPEs were evaluated by AC impedance.The properties of PMMA-based GPEs capacitors were researched by impedance spectrum,cyclic voltammetry,galvanostatic charge-discharge.It showed that the ion conductivities of the PMMA-based gel polymer electrolytes reached to 3.7 mS·cm^-1 at ambient tempreture.The working voltage of the capacitors reached to 3.0 V.The specific capacitance of the capacitor was obtained as high as 41.6 F·g^-1(I=1 mA·cm^-2).The …

Electrochemical Characteristics Of La0.7-XCeXMg0.3Ni2.4Co0.6(X=0～0.4) Hydrogen Storage Alloys, Ling-Ling Xiao, Yi-Jing Wang, Yi Liu, Jian-Sheng Cao, Da-Wei Song, Li-Fang Jiao, Hua-Tang Yuan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The effect of partial substitution of Ce for La on the structure and the electrochemical properties of the La_0.7-xCe_xMg_0.3Ni_2.4Co_0.6(x=0～0.4)hydrogen storage alloys have been investigated systematically.The result of X-ray powder diffraction(XRD) show that the alloys are all consisted of the LaNi₃ phase and the LaNi₅ phase.The maximum discharge capacity is decreased gradually with increase of the Ce contents,but the cycling life is improved obviously.

Fabrication And Performance Of Ni-Scsz Cermet Anode Modified By Coating With Gd0.2Ce0.8O2 For A Sofc, Ren-Zhu Liu, Bo Huang, Xiao-Feng Ye, Shao-Rong Wang, Jia-Di Cao, Huai-Wen Nie, Ting-Lian Wen

Journal of Electrochemistry

A Ni-scandia-stabilized zirconia(Ni-ScSZ) cermet anode modified by coating with nano-sized gadolinium-doped ceria(GDC,Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O₂) was prepared using a simple combustion process for the solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) running on methane fuel. X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) indicated that the surface of Ni-ScSZ was coated by nano-sized GDC particles(<100nm). Single cell testing showed that the 2.0%(by mass) GDC-coated Ni-ScSZ anode had better performance. The highest power densities of the cell with this anode were 825 and 848mW/cm² at 850℃ in humidified hydrogen and methane, respectively, whereas the corresponding values were 584 and 586mW/cm² for the cell with Ni-ScSZ anode.Electrochemical impedance spectra(EIS) illustrated that the cell with Ni-ScSZ anode exhibited far greater impedances than the cell with 2.0%(by mass) GDC-coated Ni-ScSZ anode.Then the …

A Coarse Grain Model For Dna, Thomas A. Knotts Iv, Nitin Rathore, David C. Schwartz, Juan J. De Pablo

Faculty Publications

Understanding the behavior of DNA at the molecular level is of considerable fundamental and engineering importance. While adequate representations of DNA exist at the atomic and continuum level, there is a relative lack of models capable of describing the behavior of DNA at mesoscopic length scales. We present a mesoscale model of DNA that reduces the complexity of a nucleotide to three interactions sites, one each for the phosphate, sugar, and base, thereby rendering the investigation of DNA up to a few microns in length computationally tractable. The charges on these sites are considered explicitly. The model is parametrized using …

Fragmentation Of Methyl Chloride Studied By Partial Positive And Negative Ion Yield Spectroscopy, D. Ceolin, Maria Novella Piancastelli, Renaud Guillemin, Wayne C. Stolte, S-W Yu, Oliver Hemmers, Dennis W. Lindle

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

The authors present partial-ion-yield experiments on the methyl chloride molecule excited in the vicinity of the Cl2p and C1s inner shells. A large number of fragments, cations produced by dissociation or recombination processes, as well as anionic species, have been detected. Although the spectra exhibit different intensity distributions depending on the core-excited atom, general observations include strong site-selective fragmentation along the C–Cl bond axis and a strong intensity dependence of transitions involving Rydberg series on fragment size.

High-Resolution Structure Of A Beta-Peptide Bundle, Douglas S. Daniels, E. James Petersson, Jade X. Qiu, Alanna S. Schepartz

Chemistry Faculty Publications

We recently reported that β-peptides can form discrete hetero-oligomers in aqueous solution. Here we describe the structure of such an oligomer as determined by X-ray crystallography. The structure of Zwit-1F reveals a homo-octamer of two cupped “hands” composed of both parallel and antiparallel 314-helices. The core of the assembly is composed entirely of solvent-excluded β3-homoleucine residues. The Zwit-1F assembly shares many of the physical characteristics of natural proteins.

Photochemical Production Of Micromolarsuperoxidestandards In Aqueous Solutiont, T. C. Ong, D. W. King

Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS)

Superoxide(O2-) is a reactive free radical that rapidly undergoes disproportionation to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. This property makes preparation of superoxide standard for instrument calibration difficult. McDowell et al. (1983) showed photolysis of ketone and alcohol as a convenient method to generate superoxide through triplet and radical intermediates reacting with molecular oxygen. This study expands on this past work and investigates detailed mechanism of the reaction.

Photosensitization Of Photoconductive And Photorefractive Composites Through The Inclusion Of Semiconductor Nanocrystals, Tyler Martin Fears

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

A novel synthesis of NiS nanocrystals included in photorefractive polymeric composites is described. The nanocrystals were characterized using visible-absorption spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. We further demonstrate the ability to enhance aspects of the composites' photorefractive performance by performing ligand exchange on the nanocrystals prior to their incorporation into the polymer composite. It was originally believed that this modification of the nanocrystals' surface characteristics would result in an enhanced charge-transfer process between the nanocrystal and the charge transporting matrix. However, when the photo conductivities were determined and used in calculating the quantum efficiencies associated with the …

An Experiment Using A Simple Photoassisted Fuel Cell Designed To Remediate Simulated Wastewater, John Cassidy, Faisa Touati, Kevin Mcguigan

Articles

Work in photochemistry work peaked in the 1980’s where there was the prospect of using sunlight shining on suspensions of titanium dioxide in order to catalytically cleave water into hydrogen and oxygen [1-5]. In this way a clean and efficient method of producing hydrogen as a fuel was envisaged. However, there was a requirement to use a rather high energy light to achieve the splitting and it was not as efficient with visible light[5]. Doped TiO2 layers have been used in a three electrode system for formic acid degradation[6]. In this work, the system uses an electrode coated with TiO2 …

Electrochemical Studies Of Some Furyl, Indol, Pyrrol, Hydroxynapthyl And Thienyl Derived Sulfonamides And Their Antibacterial Activities, Raja S. Machana

Theses and Dissertations

Sulfonamides are synthetic, wide-spectrum, antibiotics that find current therapeutic applications in the treatment of urinary tract infections, nocardiosis, and toxoplasmosis. Rapid development of bacterial resistance to this class of antimicrobial agents has obligated the need for synthesis of new sulfonamide derivatives. N 1 substitution with heterocyclic moieties produced variable antibacterial efficacies and their structure activity relationships were fairly established. However, para-amino (the N of which is designated as N 4 ) sulfonamide derivatives are less commonly studied. In this research we have selected a series of para-amino sulfonamide derivatives. Since redox potentials are important in determining the physiological activity of …

Design And Performance Of A Curved-Crystal X-Ray Emission Spectrometer, A. C. Hudson, Wayne C. Stolte, Dennis W. Lindle, Renaud Guillemin

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

A curved-crystal x-ray emission spectrometer has been designed and built to measure 2–5 keV x-ray fluorescence resulting from a core-level excitation of gas phase species. The spectrometer can rotate 180°, allowing detection of emitted x rays with variable polarization angles, and is capable of collecting spectra over a wide energy range (20 eV wide with 0.5 eV resolution at the Cl K edge) simultaneously. In addition, the entire experimental chamber can be rotated about the incident-radiation axis by nearly 360° while maintaining vacuum, permitting measurements of angular distributions of emitted x rays.

Evaluation Of Fluorapatite As A Waste-Form Material, Dennis W. Lindle, Oliver Hemmers, Dale L. Perry

Separations Campaign (TRP)

Argonne National Laboratory has proposed a new extraction procedure to handle TRISO-coated fuels, the Fluoride Extraction Process, or FLEX. The FLEX process is designed to separate the uranium in the fuel from the actinides and most fission products by taking advantage of the unique properties of uranium hexafluoride (UF₆). In the FLEX process, the used TRISO fuel is reacted with zirconium fluoride salt, forming UF₆ and the fluoride salts of the actinides and fission products. At process temperatures, the UF₆ volatizes into a gas, and is released from the molten salt mixture. This leaves behind the …

An Evaluation Of Supercritical Drying And Peg/Freeze Drying Of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood, Eric Schindelholz, Robert Blanchette, Desmond C. Cook, Michael Drews, Steve Hand, Benjamin Held, Joel Jurgens, Betty Seifert

Physics Faculty Publications

This study was undertaken to evaluate the physical effects of drying waterlogged archaeological wood using supercritical carbon dioxide as compared to air drying and the popular polyethylene glycol (PEG)/freeze drying method. Previous studies have shown supercritical drying to be a potentially advantageous alternative to current methods of drying waterlogged wood through reduced processing time, minimal shrinkage, and increased success for reversibility. Samples in the form of blocks and planks of a few centimeters in size were prepared from two archaeological waterlogged wood sources and grouped into three treatment sets: one for air drying, one for PEG/freeze drying, and the other …

Interaction Between Metal Fission Products And Triso Coating Materials, Clemens Heske

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project focuses on the chemical bonding and interface formation of metal fission products with the coating materials used in tri-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles for gas-cooled reactors. By combining surface- and bulk-sensitive spectroscopic methods, intermediate chemical phases at the interface, intermixing/ diffusion behavior, and the electronic interface structure as a function of material (metal and coating materials) and temperature are examined.

In the past year, emphasis was placed on a detailed analysis and description of the Cs/SiC interface formation process.

Criticality Studies For Urex Processes, Denis Beller

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The completion of criticality experiments for mixtures of transuranic actinides (TRU–includes Np, Pu, Am, and Cm) that will be created during the separation of used nuclear fuel may be a requirement in order to construct prototype plants for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. In this program and the Advanced Fuel Cycle Research and Development (AFC R&D) program that supports it, economic and environmental methods are being developed to reduce the impact of waste from commercial nuclear fuel cycles.

Recycling of used fuel by chemically separating it into U, fission products, and TRU would be the first step in this new …

Improved Nitrate Sensing Using Ion Selective Electrodes Based On Urea–Calixarene Ionophores, Benjamin Schazmann, Dermot Diamond

Articles

Urea–calix[4]arenes 1 and 2 were synthesised and incorporated into ISE membranes for assessment as sensors for inorganic anions in water. 1 revealed a strong response to all anions following the Hofmeister selectivity order. For ISEs of 2, the response to a portion of the anion series was suppressed, increasing the margin of selectivity of nitrate over chloride, a common interferant of nitrate in fresh and marine water samples. The performance of ISEs containing 2 was compared to commercially available alkylammonium nitrate ion-exchange salts used for nitrate sensing. Our ISEs performed favourably in terms of sensitivity, linear range and LOD performing …

Immobilization Of Fission Iodine By Reaction With A Fullerene Containing Carbon Compound And Insoluble Natural Matrix, Spencer M. Steinberg, Gary Cerefice, David W. Emerson

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The stability of the association of iodine with FCC and NOM products were studied. Product distributions for the various matrices under various reaction conditions were examined in order to maximize the binding of iodine. The recovery of the iodine from the sequestration matrices was also examined, along with the conversion of the iodine to matrices more suitable for geological storage and/or use as transmutation targets.

The following are the specific research objectives and goals:

• Develop bench-scale experimental set-up and procedures for simulating plutonium extraction process (PUREX) head-end vapor phase.
• Develop experimental procedures for evaluating iodine sequestering methods using bench-scale procedures. …

Electrochemical Separation Of Curium And Americium, David W. Hatchett, Kenneth Czerwinski

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The objectives of this project are to use electrochemical techniques to develop a thermodynamic understanding of actinide and lanthanide species in RTIL solution, and to use this data to effectively separate species with very similar chemical properties. In consultation with a national laboratory collaborator, electrochemical methods and materials will be evaluated and used to exploit the thermodynamic differences between similar chemical species, enhancing the ability to selectively target and sequester individual species from mixtures. This project is in its third year and has successfully completed phases 1 and 2. Phase 3 has been partially completed. The tasks have been expanded …

Fundamental Chemistry Of U And Pu In The Tbp-Dodecane-Nitric Acid System, Kenneth Czerwinski

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The research objective is to experimentally evaluate the fundamental speciation of Pu and U in the TBP-dodecane-nitric acid- AHA system and the effect of pertechnetate, specifically:

To determine the influence of nitrate on the speciation of U and Pu in the TBP-dodecane-nitric acid system. The aqueous and organic speciation of U and Pu are examined as a function of the nitric acid concentration, nitrate concentration, actinide ion concentration, temperature, and time.

To determine the speciation of U and Pu with AHA in the presence and absence of TBP-dodecane organic phase. The aqueous and organic speciation of U and Pu are …

F-Element Electrochemistry In Room Temperature Ionic Liquids, David W. Hatchett, Kenneth Czerwinski

Separations Campaign (TRP)

This proposal focuses on f-element electrochemistry in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). The ultimate goal is to fully characterize the oxidation/reduction of elements in RTILs to establish the baseline thermodynamic and kinetic data for these systems. The data will be used to critically evaluate the ability to use electrochemical methods for controlled, potential mediated, separation off-elements by electroplating on electrodes surfaces. Factors that will influence the ability to measure the redox processes in f-elements in RTIL solutions and electroplating on electrode surfaces include the structure, solubility, and stability of the target species in these solutions. These factors will be addressed …

Evaluation Of Fundamental Radionuclide Extraction Data For Urex, Kenneth Czerwinski

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The speciation of technetium and actinides in advanced solvent extraction systems is the basis for their manipulation in separations. The ability to understand and predict radionuclide speciation is paramount to successful modeling of proposed separation systems. This project will examine the speciation of radionuclides in different stages of the UREX separation scheme, providing data useful to modeling. The areas to be examined include the speciation of U and Pu with tributylphosphate and the kinetics and thermodynamics of lanthanides and actinides in the TALSPEAK system. The complexation constants of U and Pu with tributylphosphate will be evaluated. In the TALSPEAK system, …

A Novel Tio2 / Pvc Layer For Use In A Photoelectrochemical Cell, Faiza Touati, John Cassidy, Kevin Mcguigan

Articles

A novel method of coating titanium dioxide on a glassy carbon electrode as a polyvinylchloride composite , is described. On illumination , there is an enhanced voltammetric current at this TiO2/PVC composite in aqueous formic acid solution. This electrode is used as the basis of a formic acid fuel cell where oxygen is reduced at a platinum cathode. The system yields 100 cm-2 for 0.01 mol dm-3 HCOOH in 0.1 mol dm-3 NaOH under illumination from a 150 W xenon lamp. The current without illumination is 0.5 cm-2.

Formation Of In- (2×1) And In Islands On Si (100) - (2×1) By Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition, M. A. Hafez, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The growth of indium on a vicinal Si (100) - (2×1) surface at room temperature by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fsPLD) was investigated by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Recovery of the RHEED intensity was observed between laser pulses and when the growth was terminated. The surface diffusion coefficient of deposited In on initial two-dimensional (2D) In- (2×1) layer was determined. As growth proceeds, three-dimensional In islands grew on the 2D In- (2×1) layer. The RHEED specular profile was analyzed during film growth, while the grown In islands were examined by ex situ atomic force microscopy. The full …

Path Integral Formulation Of Langeinv Dynamics With Applications To Rare-Event Systems, Bradley Dickson

All Dissertations

In the last decade great efforts have been made to efficiently study the behaviors of rare-event systems. The methods and theories developed in pursuit of this goal are far from unified and are instead applied on a case-by-case basis where one makes a best educated guess as to which approach may afford the greatest chance of studying the rare-event system in question. The work contained here is directed at further development of one of these sets of methods and theories. Specifically, a new theory of dynamics in the Langevin path space is developed with emphasis on generating and sampling Langevin …

Synergistic Functions Of Trimethl Phosphate And Vinylene Carbonate As Additives For The Li-Ion Batteries, Zhi-Yuan Tang, Yan-Bing He, Quan-Sheng Song, Yu-Hong Chen, Yuan-Gang Liu, Qiang Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cooperative effects of trimethl phosphate and vinylene carbonate as additives for Li-ion batteries are investigated by using the cyclic voltammetry,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electronic micro-photographs.The results show that the combination application of TMP and VC as additives for Li-ion batteries not only enhances safety of the batteries,but also improves their cycling performance.The reason may be ascribed to firstly VC being reduced and the reduction product polymerized to form excellent solid electrolyte interface(SEI) layer on the surface of graphite electrode during the first charge and discharge process,which prevents effectively the decomposition of TMP on the surface of the graphite …

Facilitated Effect Of Ag To Oxygen Transportation In Pem Fuel Cell Air Cathodes, Hong-Feng Xu, Jian-Hua Dong, Xiang-Li Hou

Journal of Electrochemistry

Silver(Ag) was deposited in the pores of Nafion membrane by ion exchange and succedent hydrogen reduction;the structures of Nafion-Ag membrane were measured by TEM and XRD,the diffusion coefficients of oxygen in Nafion-Ag was determined by electrochemical limited current method.The results showed that after deposited silver,the pores in the Nafion were enlarged by silver grains;the oxygen diffusion coefficient was increased about four times.By introducing silver in the thin Nafion film around the cathode catalyst,the performance of PEM fuel cell have a evident increasing in high current density, which shows the facilitated effects of silver to oxygen transportation in PEM fuel cell.