Operando Investigation of Zr Doping in NMC811 Cathode for High Energy Density Lithium Ion Batteries.

LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.

Influence of WO Content in Phosphated Tungsten-Zirconium Oxide Catalysts on the Catalytic Pathways of Glycerol Transformation.

The catalytic performance of phosphate-stabilized WO-ZrO compositions in gas-phase glycerol dehydration has been investigated. Results show that varying WO concentrations direct the process towards either acrolein or allyl alcohol formation. Catalysts with low WO content exhibit strong Lewis acid sites (Zr and W), where these metal ions likely function as redox sites, facilitating glycerol hydrogenolysis to produce allyl alcohol.

Comprehensive Study of Zr-Doped Ni-Rich Cathode Materials Upon Lithiation and Co-Precipitation Synthesis Steps.

Ni-rich layered oxides LiNiMnCoO (NMC811, = 0.1 and = 0.1) are considered promising cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) due to their high energy density.

Evolution of the PtNi Bimetallic Alloy Fuel Cell Catalyst under Simulated Operational Conditions.

Comprehensive understanding of the catalyst corrosion dynamics is a prerequisite for the development of an efficient cathode catalyst in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. To reach this aim, the behavior of fuel cell catalysts must be investigated directly under reaction conditions. Herein, we applied a strategic combination of /online techniques: electrochemical atomic force microscopy, grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering, and electrochemical scanning flow cell with online detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Plasma Polymerization of Acrylic Acid for the Tunable Synthesis of Glassy and Carboxylated Nanoparticles.

Polymer nanoparticles (NPs) can be highly attractive in numerous applications, including biomedicine, where the use of inorganic matter may be detrimental for living tissues. In conventional wet chemistry, polymerization and functionalization of NPs with specific chemical groups involves complex and often numerous reactions. Here, we report on a solvent-free, single-step, low-temperature plasma-based synthesis of carboxylated NPs produced by the polymerization of acrylic acid under the conditions of a glow discharge.

Magnetron Sputtering of Polymeric Targets: From Thin Films to Heterogeneous Metal/Plasma Polymer Nanoparticles.

Magnetron sputtering is a well-known technique that is commonly used for the deposition of thin compact films. However, as was shown in the 1990s, when sputtering is performed at pressures high enough to trigger volume nucleation/condensation of the supersaturated vapor generated by the magnetron, various kinds of nanoparticles may also be produced. This finding gave rise to the rapid development of magnetron-based gas aggregation sources.

Room-Temperature Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al O Improves the Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells over Time.

Electrical characterisation of perovskite solar cells consisting of room-temperature atomic-layer-deposited aluminium oxide (RT-ALD-Al O ) film on top of a methyl ammonium lead triiodide (CH NH PbI ) absorber showed excellent stability of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) over a long time. Under the same environmental conditions (for 355 d), the average PCE of solar cells without the ALD layer decreased from 13.6 to 9.

Design of Active Sites on Nickel in the Anode of Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells using Trace Amount of Platinum Oxides.

In recent years, the lowering of the operation temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) has attracted much attention owing to the trade-off between the best performance and the life span of SOFCs. For this challenge, new active sites on the Ni surfaces in a Nickel-Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermet anode of SOFCs have been created by deposition of trace amounts of platinum oxide (PtO ) followed by an activation step of the anode at 1073 K in a hydrogen flow. The internal resistance (IR) free value (185 mA cm at 0.

Design of Active Sites on Nickel in the Anode of Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells using Trace Amount of Platinum Oxides.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Prof. Dr. Toshiyuki Mori at National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan.

In situ electrochemical AFM monitoring of the potential-dependent deterioration of platinum catalyst during potentiodynamic cycling.

A platinum catalyst undergoes complex deterioration process during its operation as a cathode in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. By using in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM) with super-sharp probes, we quantitatively describe the roughening of platinum thin films during electrochemical cycling to different upper potentials, which simulate critical operation regimes of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The comprehensive quantitative analysis of morphology changes obtained using common roughness descriptors such as the root mean square roughness, the correlation length and the roughness exponent is correlated with cyclic voltammetry performed simultaneously.

Efficient Ceria-Platinum Inverse Catalyst for Partial Oxidation of Methanol.

Ceria-platinum-based bilayered thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering were developed and tested in regard to their catalytic activity for methanol oxidation by employing a temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) technique. The composition and structure of the samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both conventional (oxide-supported metal nanoparticles [NPs]) and inverse configurations (metal with oxide overlayer) were analyzed to uncover the structural dependence of activity and selectivity of these catalysts with respect to different pathways of methanol oxidation.

Directly created electrostatic micro-domains on hydroxyapatite: probing with a Kelvin Force probe and a protein.

Micro-domains of modified surface potential (SP) were created on hydroxyapatite films by direct patterning by mid-energy focused electron beam, typically available as a microprobe of Scanning Electron Microscopes. The SP distribution of these patterns has been studied on sub-micrometer scale by the Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy method as well as lysozyme adsorption. Since the lysozyme is positively charged at physiological pH, it allows us to track positively and negatively charged areas of the SP patterns.

In situ photoexcitation of silver-doped titania nanopowders for activity against bacteria and yeasts.

Photocatalytic and in situ microbial activity of the amorphous and annealed states of Ag-doped and un-doped titania were examined. Studies on their structure, morphology, composition, and the photo-absorption characteristics of these materials were performed. These results were correlated with the photocatalytic and microbial activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus K324 (MRSA), methicillin susceptible S.