Water Electrolysis Using a Porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 Catalyst Electrode and Nafion Membranes at Elevated Temperatures.

Porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 catalyst electrodes were obtained by coating IrO2 on both sides of three types of porous Ti powder sheets (sample 1, sample 2, and sample 3) using different surface treatment methods, and a hydrogen evolution catalyst electrode was obtained by coating Pt/C on carbon gas diffusion layers. A Nafion115 membrane was used as an electrolyte for the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). Water electrolysis was investigated at cell temperatures up to 150 °C, and the electrical characteristics of the three types of porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 catalyst electrodes were investigated. The sheet resistance of sample 1 was higher than those of samples 2 and 3, although during water electrolysis, a high current density was observed due to the nanostructure of the IrO2 catalyst. In addition, the structural stabilities of Nafion and Aquivion membranes up to 150 °C were investigated by using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The polymer structures of Nafion and Aquivion membranes were stable up to 80 °C, whereas the crystalline domains grew significantly above 120 °C. In other words, the initial polymer structure did not recover after the sample was heated above the glass transition temperature.

Crosslinked Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone-Vinylon (CSPPSU-vinylon) Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells from SPPSU and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA).

A crosslinked sulfonated polyphenylsulfone (CSPPSU) polymer and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were thermally crosslinked; then, a CSPPSU-vinylon membrane was synthesized using a formalization reaction. Its use as an electrolyte membrane for fuel cells was investigated. PVA was synthesized from polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), using a saponification reaction. The CSPPSU-vinylon membrane was synthesized by the addition of PVA (5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%), and its chemical, mechanical, conductivity, and fuel cell properties were studied. The conductivity of the CSPPSU-10vinylon membrane is higher than that of the CSPPSU membrane, and a conductivity of 66 mS/cm was obtained at 120 °C and 90% RH (relative humidity). From a fuel cell evaluation at 80 °C, the CSPPSU-10vinylon membrane has a higher current density than CSPPSU and Nafion212 membranes, in both high (100% RH) and low humidification (60% RH). By using a CSPPSU-vinylon membrane instead of a CSPPSU membrane, the conductivity and fuel cell performance improved.

Chemically Crosslinked Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone (CSPPSU) Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells.

Sulfonated polyphenylsulfone (SPPSU) with a high ion exchange capacity (IEC) was synthesized using commercially available polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), and a large-area (16 × 18 cm2) crosslinked sulfonated polyphenylsulfone (CSPPSU) membrane was prepared. In addition, we developed an activation process in which the membrane was treated with alkaline and acidic solutions to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2), which forms as a byproduct during heat treatment. CSPPSU membranes obtained using this activation method had high thermal, mechanical and chemical stabilities. In I-ViR free studies for fuel cell evaluation, high performances similar to those using Nafion were obtained. In addition, from the hydrogen (H2) gas crossover characteristics, the durability is much better than that of a Nafion212 membrane. In the studies evaluating the long-term stabilities by using a constant current method, a stability of 4000 h was obtained for the first time. These results indicate that the CSPPSU membrane obtained by using our activation method is promising as a polymer electrolyte membrane.

Simple and Rapid Method for Separating Lactic Acid Bacteria from Commercially Prepared Yogurt.

We have reported a simple method for separating lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from yogurt. This method is based on the process of destructions and denaturation of casein micelle aggregates by vortexing, and can supply samples containing only LAB. Recovered LAB were clearly observable by microscopy, meaning that morphological changes could be directly detected at the single-cell level. This method will be a helpful tool for the analyzing various LAB, including their enzyme activity and protein expression.

Conjugated polymer-based carbonaceous films as binder-free carbon electrodes in supercapacitors.

We present a facile preparation method for carbonaceous film electrodes using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polyacetylene (PA) films as precursors via a morphology-retaining carbonization process. Carbonization was performed on acceptor-doped conjugated polymer films in the temperature range of 600-1100 °C. The obtained carbonaceous films had similar surface morphologies to those of the original conjugated polymer films. The carbonaceous film prepared from the electrochemically synthesized PEDOT film and the carbon film prepared from the chemically synthesized PA film showed hierarchical porous structures consisting of granular and fibril morphologies, respectively. The PEDOT and PA films carbonized at 1100 °C exhibited average electrical conductivities of 2.1 × 100 S cm-1 and 9.9 × 101 S cm-1, respectively. The carbonaceous films could be used as binder-free carbon electrodes in supercapacitors, and the PEDOT-based carbonaceous film prepared in the range of 1000-1100 °C exhibited the most efficient performance on the basis of the electrochemical capacitance in neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions determined from cyclic voltammograms and galvanostatic charge/discharge curves. This approach requires no binders/additives and no further activation processes or additional treatments for the enhancement of the capacities of the carbon materials, enabling one-step fabrication and their direct use as carbon electrodes for energy-storage devices. This is the first report of PEDOT- and PA-based carbonaceous films being used as carbon electrodes in supercapacitors.

Kinetically controlled fabrication of C60 1-dimensional crystals.

Considering the current application of fullerenes in the field of organic semiconductor devices, the highly crystalline or single crystal fullerene nanostructures with controlled shape and size contains some breakthrough for improved efficiency. Recently, fullerene 1-dimensional nanostructures, including nanowhiskers and nanotubes, become attractive kind of materials since the development of liquid-liquid interface precipitation (LLIP) process. The LLIP process has critical advantage; the fabrication of highly crystalline, even single crystal, fullerene 1-dimensional nanostructures with simple apparatus. However, the fabrication fullerene 1-dimensional structures by LLIP process requires long process time from one day to several days. In order to overcome this drawback, a modified process from conventional LLIP process is suggested. In the modified LLIP process, the nucleation step and growth step were divided. For the nucleation step, saturated fullerene solution is mixed with small amount of alcohols such as 2-propanol or ethanol. For the controlled growth step, the fullerenes in the nucleated solution are precipitated by addition of alcohol, which is injected to the bottom of the solution with controlled flow rate. In this modified process, the shape of the precipitated fullerene crystals is critically dependent on the nucleation steps and the size is dependent on the precipitation rate. By combination of proper nucleation step and growth rate, a well defined fullerene 1-dimensional structures, of 200-500 nm width and of hundreds microm length can be fabricated within two hours. In addition, by controlling injection rate and degree of supersaturation, several types of 1-dimensional structures including micro-tubes can be prepared and, by changing solvent and alcohol, several shape of C60 crystals including polyhedral particles and plates can be prepared.