batterydata/paper-abstracts huggingface dataset:
We report fabrication and characterization of a new hydrogel-based microsensor for wireless chemical monitoring. The basic device structure is a high-sensitivity capacitive pressure sensor coupled to a stimuli-sensitive hydrogel that is confined between a stiff porous membrane and a thin glass diaphragm. As small molecules pass through the porous membrane, the hydrogel swells and deflects the diaphragm which is also the movable plate of the variable capacitor in an LC resonator. The resulting change in resonant frequency can be remotely detected by the phase-dip technique. Prior to hydrogel loading, the sensitivity of the pressure sensor to applied air pressure was measured to be 222kHz/kPa over the range of 41.9–51.1MHz. With a pH-sensitive hydrogel, the sensor displayed a sensitivity of 1.16MHz/pH for pH3.0–6.5, and a response time of 45 minutes.
Graphene oxide (GO) on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode was directly reduced at −1.0V in a phosphate buffer (pH 4.15) to form graphene/GC electrode, which was used for the electrocatalytic oxidative polymerizations of aniline, o-aminophenol, and m-aminophenol in the acidic solutions using cyclic voltammetry, amperometric and potentiometric methods. Cyclic voltammograms demonstrate that the oxidation peak of aniline on the first cycle shifts from 1.13V on the bare GC electrode to 0.76V on the graphene/GC electrode. In addition, both amperometric and potentiometric methods also demonstrate that graphene can effectively catalyze the electrochemical oxidative polymerization of aniline. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed that graphene can pronouncedly catalyze the electrochemical oxidative polymerizations of o-aminophenol and m-aminophenol, but graphene oxide hardly catalyzes the electrochemical oxidative polymerizations of aniline and its derivatives. The ESR spectrum of graphene is quite different from that of graphene oxide.
A new water-soluble elastomer from ZEON Corp. was evaluated as binder with LiFePO4 cathode material in Li-ion batteries. The mechanical characteristic of this cathode was compared to that with PVdF-based cathode binder. The elastomer-based cathode shows high flexibility with good adhesion. The electrochemical performance was also evaluated and compared to PVdF-based cathodes at 25 and at 60°C. A lower irreversible capacity loss was obtained with the elastomer-based cathode, however, aging at 60°C shows a comparable cycle life to that observed with PVdF-based cathodes. The LiFePO4–WSB at high rate shows a good performance with 120mAhg−1 at 10C rate at 60°C.
Several changes are taking place in the energy sector as a result of the development of renewable energies and the implementation of new clean technologies. The use of renewable energies offers the opportunity to diminish energy dependence, reduce the emission of CO2 and create new employment. The involvement of local agents is highly important for the future development in this field, especially in regions whose industrial mix was based on traditional energy sources. Since this is the case in the region of Asturias (Spain), in this article we focus on the expectations of employment generated by renewable energies in Asturias during the period 2006–2010. More specifically we propose ratios of job per unit of installed energy power based on the available regional information in order to forecast energy employment in Asturias. With this aim three alternative scenarios are considered according to a range of possible future renewable energy pathways, leading to baseline, optimistic and pessimistic forecasts. Once these forecasts are computed we also analyse the emergent professional profiles and required skills related to the new jobs generated in the installation, operation and maintenance of the different renewable energy systems.
The search for new ways to make inexpensive and efficient electrocatalysts to replace precious-metal platinum catalysts for oxygen reduction and water splitting is still a great challenge. Here, we report a facile and effective strategy for the rational design and construction of three-dimensional (3D) architectures for superior electrocatalysis through the integration of one-dimensional (1D) electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs), 1D carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 0D oxygen-deficient Mn3Co7–Co2Mn3O8 nanoparticles (NPs). The rationale behind the marriage and integration of nanostructures with different dimensions presented in this work is that during heat treatment, the in situ-produced CoMnO NPs are partly reduced to Co2Mn3O8 by a carbon precursor with an amount of metallic Mn3Co7 formed at the interface between the Co2Mn3O8 NPs and carbon, which can act as the catalysts for the growth of 3D CNT forests. The 3D CoMnO@CNT/CNF architectures exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity and stability for the oxygen reduction, oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions. The remarkable electrochemical properties are mainly attributed to the synergistic effects from the engineering of oxygen-deficient binary CoMn oxide NPs with exposed active sites and 3D hierarchical porous structures consisting of branched CNTs and interconnected CNFs. The present work demonstrates the first example of integrating multiple active catalytic centers onto/into 3D architectures for developing highly efficient non-precious metal nanocatalysts for electrochemical energy devices.
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are being developed for future NASA missions. These fuel cells use a bipolar construction, with internal manifolds to conduct product water and coolant water. The wetted surfaces of the manifolds present large voltage gradients across the product water and coolant water passages, which can induce water electrolysis in the manifolds of full-scale stacks. If not controlled, shunt currents lead to parasitic power losses and corrosion of the fuel cell metal surfaces; therefore, it is important to understand and characterize the effects of shunt currents. This analysis also applies to electrolyzers, flow-batteries and other devices where an electrolyte manifold experiences voltage gradients. In this work, electrochemical characterizations were performed to estimate these characteristics under relevant operating conditions. A numerical solution of the shunt currents is presented, and the distribution of water electrolysis and corrosion is described.
Purpose To investigate the effects of using a low-cost powered toothbrush for cleaning on dental prostheses made of heat polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA. Methods Heat cured PMMA specimens beam with the dimensions of 45.0mm×6.5mm×4.5mm were fabricated. The specimens were kept in water storage at 37°C constant temperature for 0, 1, 7, 15, 30 and 60 days and randomly assigned for testing or control. Test specimens underwent brushing by using a powered toothbrush at an applied force of 2.00N for 22min with water as medium. Surface roughness measurement (R a), flexural strength and efficacy of brushing to remove coated Candida albicans biofilm were investigated. Results The results of the mean surface roughness value and the flexural strength were analysed by using two-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test at 5% significance level. In general, the specimens showed no significant changes in flexural strength after brushing. However, the flexural strength and the surface roughness value were significantly lower in specimens group after 7 days in water storage compared to the control. SEM micrographs of post-brushed specimens revealed satisfactory removal of C. albicans biofilm. Conclusion A low-cost powered toothbrush together with a liquid medium successfully removed C. albicans biofilm on dental acrylic PMMA-based prostheses, without compromising the mechanical properties.
In this paper, a new kind of composite polymer electrolyte has been successfully prepared by casting lithium bis(oxalate)borate–succinonitrile–polyethylene oxide (LiBOB–SN–PEO) polymer electrolyte solution into porous polyimide (PI) nanofibrous films. The obtained LiBOB–SN–PEO–PI composite polymer electrolyte has been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technologies in detail. It is found that the interlaced PI fibres in the framework play an important role in achieving a superior high-temperature-tolerance characteristic up to 170 °C for the LiBOB–SN–PEO–PI composite polymer electrolyte, which is much higher than that (ca. 100 °C) of traditional PEO-based electrolytes. The composite polymer electrolyte also exhibits outstanding high-temperature stability, ensuring a long-term service life in high-temperature lithium-ion batteries.
The state-of-health (SOH) of Li-ion batteries and battery packs must be monitored effectively for abuse to prevent failure and accidents. In a previous publication, we described a single-point impedance diagnostic method for detecting damage in single prismatic lithium polymer rechargeable cells subjected to overcharge abuse. We now determine whether the single-point impedance diagnostic method is applicable to 4S battery packs. At 316 Hz, commercial 18650 LiCoO2 cells are determined to have the least change in impedance response when cycled between 3.0 and 4.2 V, for states-of-charge (SOC) of 0–100%. The impedance response of single cells at 316 Hz changes dramatically during overcharge (SOC = 125%), presumably due to change in their solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layers at the electrodes. When a single cell is purposely subjected to such overcharge abuse and then integrated into a 4S pack with 3 other healthy cells, the impedance response of the 4S pack at 316 Hz also changes, despite variances in the impedance response of each of the 3 healthy cells. The results suggest that this single-point impedance method could serve as a diagnostic in an all-inclusive battery management system to identify overcharge abuse of single cells without individual cell monitoring.
This Case Study describes a 80-year-old patient with lower-body parkinsonism who was diagnosed with vascular parkinsonism on the basis of clinical and neuroimaging findings, but whose gait and, to a lesser extent, cognitive impairments improved following external lumbar drainage. Postmortem neuropathology confirmed a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Fluorine-rich nanoporous carbons with tunable porosity and F content have been successfully synthesized from a silane precursor using a solution-based F doping method. The F-rich carbon surface with higher polarity provides stronger affinity and wettability for the organic electrolyte, which is for the first time demonstrated though Gauss computational calculation between F-carbon surface and organic electrolytes. The optimized F-rich nanoporous carbon manifests a high specific capacitance of 168Fg−1 in a symmetric cell with excellent retention at high rates and upon prolonged 10,000 cycles.
This paper focuses on simulating photovoltaic PV electricity output and the economics analysis of distributed grid-connected systems with and without battery in the city of Belem, northern Brazil. The work used the System Advisor Model to perform all simulations including the financial evaluation which was calculated using the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), payback period, and net present value (NPV). The electricity output performance was very similar between both systems, though the system without battery storage achieved better results in all technological parameters. Concerning the net metering system, the system without energy storage returned 144.70 kWh to the grid during the first year whereas system with energy storage returned only 6.6 kWh to the grid. The economic analysis demonstrated that the feasibility of the project is influenced by the discount rate and inflation adopted, but mostly by the discount rate. The results point out better real LCOE and net present value on the system without storage. Although real LCOE estimated for the system with storage resulted in higher values than electricity tariff from the concessionaire and negative NPV, the payback and cash flow analysis reveals that the investment on any project is paid in less than 17 years.
After spinal cord injury (SCI), the level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and extracellular matrix (ECM) is increased. Formation of the glial scar is a complex process that is primarily attributed to astrocytic proliferation, and the fibrotic scar results from ECM deposition. In our previous researches, ATP and fibronectin was able to separately stimulate the proliferation of astrocytes. Moreover, fibronectin increases the expression of P2Y1 receptor and offers more binding sites for ATP, which aggravates the proliferation. Meanwhile, ATP was also able to stimulate the release of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), but fibronectin does not. Recently, it has been reported that over-expressing P2Y1 receptor could promote the level of Sox9. However, the regulation of Sox genes by ATP is still little known in spinal cord astrocytes. In the present study, we discovered that ATP was able to increase the expression of Sox2 and Sox9; fibronectin did not have this direct function. Sox9 was only involved in the proliferation increased by ATP, and Sox2 influenced the release of IL-6 stimulated by ATP. Understanding the critical role of Sox2 and Sox9 mediated by ATP may provide a potential target for therapeutic intervention in spinal cord injury.
A chemical oxidation method was employed to measure the kinetics of lithium release from LiFePO4 during oxidation. Similar to potential step measurements, the chemical method simplifies quantification compared to the common electrochemical techniques (PITT, GITT etc.). It was found that the overall release of lithium fits one dimensional diffusion kinetics, however, it is also shown that the mechanism must be more complex as the derived activation energy led to an unusually low attack rate of ∼108 Hz. A comparison of carbon coated/carbon free LiFePO4 samples indicated that the carbon coating has only a marginal effect on the delithiation kinetics.
In this work, carbon nanofibers (CNF) synthesized by electrospinning are loaded with a combination of nickel and cobalt, both in the metallic and oxide forms (NiCo-loaded CNF), and studied as bifunctional air electrodes for metal-air batteries. The performance of the NiCo-loaded CNF sample is compared with a similarly prepared CoOCo/CNF catalyst both for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions. The combination of nickel and cobalt, both in metallic and oxide form, leads to a bifunctional catalyst with a half-wave potential for the ORR of 874 mV vs. RHE and a reversibility (ΔEOER-ORR) of 764 mV. The stability of the catalyst is assessed by means of a 24 h chronopotentiometric test at −80 mA cm−2 and charge-discharge cycles (30 min each) at ±20 mA cm−2. NiCo-loaded CNF shows a remarkable stability, maintaining a constant potential during both tests.
Pd/ZnO has been shown in recent years to have high selectivity toward CO2 during methanol steam reforming. It is commonly assumed that PdZn alloy formation is essential to achieve high selectivity toward CO2. The simplest method for forming a PdZn alloy is to treat a Pd/ZnO catalyst at elevated temperatures in H2, generally >350 °C. The high-temperature treatment, while transforming Pd to PdZn, also leads to particle growth. This makes it difficult to independently assess the role of particle size and composition on selectivity. In this work, we have used alternative activation treatments to vary independently the particle size and extent of alloy formation. XRD and TEM were used to obtain estimates of average crystallite size and composition. We found that even without any pretreatment, PdZn alloy particles were formed after reaction at 250 °C, due to the facile reduction of ZnO in the presence of Pd and H2. Samples treated at low temperatures in H2 showed the coexistence of monometallic Pd and PdZn alloy particles. Higher-temperature reduction led to complete transformation of Pd into the PdZn alloy. However, the selectivity toward CO2 did not increase monotonically with the extent of alloy formation. Samples with low alloy content also showed CO2 selectivity comparable to those with complete alloy formation. In each case, lower CO2 selectivity was exhibited by samples containing small particles (∼1.5 nm). We conclude that one consequence of high-temperature reduction is elimination of these small particles, leading to improved selectivity. It was also surprising that an increase in PdZn alloy crystallite size with increasing reduction temperature had no adverse impact on catalyst reactivity.
This study examined the reliability and validity of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) and explored the relationship between FAS and health in a general adolescent population of Taiwan. Our data was obtained from a 2009 school-based survey. In total, 3,368 students (1,741 boys, 1,627 girls) in grades 6–10 in Kinmen County, Taiwan completed a modified WHO Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire. Indicators of the family’s social position were their parents’ occupation and education. Indicators of material affluence were number of cars, number of holiday travel, whether the participant had his or her own room and number of computers (FAS items). A higher proportion of the participants completed the four family affluence items than their parents’ occupation and education items (≧98% vs. 90% and 88%; respectively). Analysis of the FAS showed a moderate internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.35). The associations between the FAS scores and parental occupation and education were moderate (P < .001). Consistent gradients were found for the association between FAS and positive health and health promoting behaviours. In conclusion, the Taiwan version of the FAS had a high completion rate and moderate internal reliability and external validity. The clear associations between the FAS and health indicators confirm the findings of previous studies and suggest that the FAS can be used as an additional measure of socioeconomic status among Taiwan adolescents.
The VO2+/VO2 + redox reaction takes place in the catholyte solution of the all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), one of the few options to electrochemically store energy from intermittent renewable sources on a large scale. However, the sluggish redox kinetics of the VO2+/VO2 + couple limit the power density of the VRFB, which increases the footprint of the power converters and increases capital costs. Therefore, catalysis of the redox reaction and a deeper understanding of its intricate reaction pathways is desirable. The kinetics of the VO2+/VO2 + redox reaction have been investigated in 1M sulfuric and 1M phosphoric acid by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and flow battery tests. It was found that in 1M phosphoric acid the electron transfer constant k 0 is up to 67 times higher than in 1M sulfuric acid. At higher over-potentials the determined currents match for the two electrolytes. This over-potential dependent difference in electron transfer constant is explained by variable contributions from three reaction mechanisms for the oxidation of VO2+ to VO2 +, and by the presence of adsorbed intermediates for the reduction of VO2 +. This study shows that the redox kinetics of the VO2+/VO2 + can be considerably accelerated by altering the chemical environment of the vanadium ions, and that this effect can also be transferred into a flow battery.
The electrodeposition of galvanic coatings was performed using a chloride-based acidic electrolytic bath containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an additive. The electrolytic bath was prepared using Zn and Mn recovered from exhausted zinc–carbon batteries by means of acid leaching with HCl. The coatings were obtained potentiostatically at −1.2V and −1.6V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and galvanostatically with a current density of −10mAcm−2. The results indicated that the presence of PEG in the bath during galvanostatic deposition favored the formation of a coating containing a mixture of Zn and Zn–Mn alloy with an Mn content of around 2wt%.
This paper describes the fabrication of LiMn2O4/graphite batteries and their performance after storage at room temperature. The discharge capacity and cyclic performance of the batteries were investigated. Compared with the batteries without storage, those after storage show better cyclic performance with a capacity retention ratio of 94.2% after 100cycles, yet deliver lower capacity. The ratio of capacity recovery after storage at room temperature for a month is 96.3%. The reason for the capacity fading and better cyclic performance was studied with XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, cyclic voltammograms and AC impedance. It is found that the lattice parameter of LiMn2O4 shrinks after storage. Mn is dissolved into the electrolyte and deposited on the anode, and the electrode surface is covered by MnO2. The migration resistance of LiMn2O4/electrolyte is increased from 20.28 to 53.31Ω after storage due to the covered MnO2. But the deposited MnO2 also separates the LiMn2O4 from electrolyte, which can improve the cyclic performance.
Motor imagery (MI) is a promising practice tool in neurorehabilitation. However, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), impairments in MI accuracy and temporal organization were found during clinical assessment, which may limit the benefits of MI practice. Therefore, we investigated whether the MI quality of MS patients could be optimized by means of external cueing. Fourteen patients with MS and 14 healthy control patients physically executed and visually imagined a goal-directed upper limb task in the presence and absence of added visual and auditory cues. MI quality was assessed by means of eye-movement registration. As main results, it was found that MS patients had significant higher eye-movement times than controls during both execution and imagery, and overestimated the to-be-imagined movement amplitude when no external information was provided during imagery. External cues, however, decreased patients' MI duration and increased the spatial accuracy of their imagined movements. In sum, our results indicate that MS patients imagine movements in a better way when they are provided with external cues during MI. These findings are important for developing rehabilitation strategies based on MI in patients with MS.
During and following pregnancy, women are at considerable risk of experiencing depression. For treatment, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs, such as fluoxetine, are commonly prescribed, yet the potential effects of perinatal exposure to these drugs on the brain and behaviour have not been examined in humans beyond childhood. This is despite abundant evidence from studies using rodents indicating that altered serotonin levels early in life affect neurodevelopment and behavioural outcomes. These reported effects on behaviour are inconsistent, however, and the testing of females has often been overlooked. In the present study, the behavioural outcomes of female mice perinatally (embryonic day 15 to postnatal day 12) treated with fluoxetine (25mg/kg/day) via a non-stressful method of maternal administration were assessed using a battery of tests. Maternal treatment resulted in subtle alterations in anxiety-like and depression-like behaviour in early adulthood, with a decrease in both types of behaviour as well as body weight. Though altered anxiety and depression have previously been reported in this area of research, decreased anxiety is a novel finding. While there was little effect of perinatal maternal fluoxetine treatment on many of the behaviours assessed, the capacity to alter “emotional” behaviours in mice has implications with regard to research on human infant fluoxetine exposure.