Preparation and characterization of sulfated zirconia (SO4/ZrO2)/Nafion composite membranes for PEMFC operation at high temperature/low humidity

Fine particle superacidic sulfated zirconia (SO₄²⁻/ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂) was synthesized by ameliorated method, and composite membranes with different S-ZrO₂ contents were prepared by a recasting procedure from a suspension of S-ZrO₂ powder and Nafion solution. The physico-chemical properties of the membranes were studied by ion exchange capacity (IEC) and liquid water uptake measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry (TG–MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the IEC of composite membrane increased with the content of S-ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂ was compatible with the Nafion matrix, the incorporation of the S-ZrO₂ could increase the crystallinity and also improve the initial degradation temperature of the composite membrane. The performance of single cell was the best when the S-ZrO₂ content was 15 wt.%, and achieved 1.35 W/cm² at 80 °C and 0.99 W/cm² at 120 °C based on H₂/O₂ and at a pressure of 2 atm, the performance of the single cell with optimized S-ZrO₂ was far more than that of the Nafion at the same condition (e.g. 1.28 W/cm² at 80 °C, 0.75 W/cm² at 120 °C). The 15 wt.% S-ZrO₂/Nafion composite membrane showed lower fuel cell internal resistance than Nafion membranes at high temperature and low relative humidity (RH).     

Influence of pretreatment conditions on low-temperature CO oxidation over Au/MOx/Al2O3 catalysts

Composite oxide MO_x/Al₂O₃ supported gold catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation were prepared and investigated. The presence of transition metal oxide was proved to be beneficial to the improvement of catalytic performance of Au/Al₂O₃ catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation. Furthermore, the influence of various pretreatment conditions on Au/MO_x/Al₂O₃ catalysts was studied carefully. The image of TEM showed that gold catalyst with small gold particles only in the form of a fine dispersion exhibited highly catalytic activity. The XPS, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy characterization results of Au/FeO_x/Al₂O₃ catalyst showed that gold catalysts having partially oxidized gold species have the best catalytic performance. One possible pathway for CO oxidation on Au/FeO_x/Al₂O₃ catalyst is that the CO adsorbed on gold particles reacts with adsorbed oxygen, which is possible to occur on oxygen vacancies on the support or at the metal–support interface.     

聚苯乙烯/蒙脱土熔融插层复合的研究

用熔融法制备了聚苯乙烯／蒙脱土插层复合材料，用Ｘ 射线衍射、ＤＳＣ等手段研究了复合材料的结构与性能．聚苯乙烯熔体不能插层于钠基蒙脱土中，但能插层于经有机化合物处理过的蒙脱土中．     

Application of dodecyldimethyl (2-hydroxy-3-sulfopropyl) ammonium in wall modification for capillary electrophoresis separation of proteins

A zwitterionic surfactant, dodecyldimethyl (2-hydroxy-3-sulfopropyl) ammonium (C12H25N+(CH3)2CH2CHOHCH2SO3-), named dodecyl sulfobetaine (DSB), was used as a novel modifier to coat dynamically capillary walls for capillary electrophoresis separation of basic proteins. The DSB coating suppressed the electroosmotic flow (EOF) in the pH range of 3-12. At high DSB concentration, the EOF was suppressed by more than 8.8 times. The DSB coating also prevented successfully the adsorption of cationic proteins on the capillary wall. Anions, such as Cl-, Br-, I-, SO4(2-), CO3(2-), and ClO4-, could be used as running buffer modifiers to adjust the EOF for better separation of analytes. Using this dynamically coated capillary, a mixture of eight inorganic anions achieved complete separation within 4.2 min with the efficiencies from 24,000 to 1,310,000 plates/m. In the presence of ClO4- as EOF adjustor, the separation of a mixture containing four basic proteins (lysozyme, cytochrome c, alpha-chymotrypsinogen A, and myoglobin) yielded efficiencies of 204,000-896,000 plates/m and recoveries of 88%-98%. Migration time reproducibility of these proteins was less than 0.5% relative standard deviation (RSD) from run to run and less than 3.1% RSD from day to day, showing promising application of this novel modifier in protein separation.     

Electrochemical Reduction of Monochlorinated Hydrocarbons at a Hydrophobic Zn/PTFE Composite‐Electroplated Zn Electrode in a Water‐Acetonitrile Mixture

Composite‐electroplating of zinc particles with polytetrafluoroethylene at a zinc substrate resulted in a working electrode which could be used at high negative potentials (to ?2.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl) without significant hydrogen evolution. The electrodes were characterized by SEM and CV and were used to detect organochloride compounds in a water‐acetonitrile mixture, by potential step methods.     

Mechanical properties of fiber reinforced styrene-butadiene rubbers using surface-modified UHMWPE fibers under EB irradiation

Aiming to develop a high performance fiber reinforced rubber of SBR, a special technique using electron beam (EB) irradiation-induced graft-polymerization was applied to ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. Although UHMWPE is chemically inert, N-vinyl formamide (NVF) could be graft-polymerized onto the UHMWPE fiber surface with this special technique. A maximum grafting percentage of 23.6% was achieved. The composite of SBR and grafted UHMWPE fibers with maximum grafting indicated a linear increase in the initial modulus and strength with the fiber content. At the fiber content of 10%, the initial modulus was improved about five times with respect to that of the pure SBR, while the strength was done about twice. At this moment, only a small reduction could be observed in the strain compared with that of pure SBR. The fiber reinforced rubber with a good performance was obtained in the system of SBR and grafted UHMWPE fibers.     

Sol-Gel Preparation of Ceramic Coatings for Electrical, Laser, Space Engineering and Power

The brief review, based on long-term experience of authors on preparation of temperature-resistant electric insulating and optical light-reflecting ceramic coatings on metal surface is offered. The main components of TEOS-, H₃PO₄- and alkali silicates-derived sols and suspensions for deposition of ceramic coatings are listed. Some features of preparation of the coatings from the sols containing fillers are analysed. Two approaches to improve bending and electrical strength of flexible insulation are developed. The techniques of synthesis of modified fillers for preparing gas-proof and anticorrosive coatings are offered. The wide functional possibility and extensive list of application areas of the coatings and some materials prepared from sols with fillers, including on far prospect are given.     

Creeping motion of an assemblage of composite spheres relative to a fluid

The sedimentation of a homogeneous distribution of spherical composite particles and the fluid flow through a bed of these particles are investigated theoretically. Each composite particle is composed of a spherical solid core and a surrounding porous shell. In the fluid-permeable porous shell, idealized hydrodynamic frictional segments are assumed to distribute uniformly. The effect of interactions among the particles is taken into explicit account by employing a fundamental cell-model representation which is known to provide good predictions for the motion of a swarm of nonporous spheres within a fluid. In the limit of a small Reynolds number, the Stokes and Brinkman equations are solved for the flow field in a unit cell, and the drag force exerted by the fluid on the particle is obtained in a closed form. For a distribution of composite spheres, the normalized mobility of the particles decreases or the particle interactions increase monotonically with a decrease in the permeability of their porous shells. The effect of particle interactions on the creeping motion of composite spheres relative to a fluid can be quite significant in some situations. In the limiting cases, the analytical solutions describing the drag force or mobility for a suspension of composite spheres reduce to those for suspensions of solid spheres and of porous spheres. The hydrodynamic behavior for composite spheres may be approximated by that for permeable spheres when the porous layer is sufficiently thick, depending on the permeability.     

Synthesis and characterization of styrene grafted carbon nanotube and its polystyrene nanocomposite

Effective side wall functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) with 4-vinylaniline was carried out through solvent free functionalization. The functionalized SWCNT was characterized through FT-IR and NMR. Typical peaks to identify the functionalization were observed. Thermal analysis shows around 48% weight loss in functionalized SWCNT in comparison to the pure SWCNT. The ratio of disordered to order transition (I_D/I_G) in FT-Raman, indicated the generation of some surface defects due to functionalization. Near infrared spectrum of functionalized SWCNT also confirmed the functionalization of SWCNT. The polystyrene nanocomposite materials were prepared with functionalized SWCNT as fillers by solution casting from tetrahydrofuran. The functionalized SWCNT nanocomposite showed significant improvement in mechanical properties and electrical properties. The dispersibility of the carbon nanotube in the composite was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy.     

The melt elastic behavior of polypropylene/glass bead composites in capillary flow

The melt extrudate swell and entry pressure losses are important characteristics of elastic properties during die extrusion of polymeric fluids. They are usually expressed with die-swell ratio (B) and entry pressure drop (ΔP_o). In the present paper, the die-swell behavior and entrance pressure drop of a polypropylene (PP) filled with A-glass beads were investigated by using a Rosand capillary rheometer to identify the effects of the filler contents and extrusion rate on the elastic behavior of the sample melts. The experiments were carried out under the conditions with an apparent shear rate range of 50–10⁴ s⁻¹ and a temperature of 190 °C. The results showed that B increased nonlinearly with increasing shear rate at the wall (γ_w), and increased linearly with the increase of shear stress at the wall (τ_w). With the increase of the volume fraction of the fillers B decreased nonlinearly. Similarly, the entry pressure drop increased linearly with the increase of τ_w, whereas the influence of the filler concentration on ΔP_o was insignificant in this case. Furthermore, B increased as a linear function of ΔP_o, and extension stress (σ_e) increased nonlinearly with increasing γ_w.