scholarly journals Development of a 3D Zinc-Entrained Activated Charcoal Anode for Air-Breathing Battery

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Okuwa ◽  
Bolaji Aremo ◽  
Mosobalaje Adeoye
Keyword(s):  
Current Density ◽  
Activated Charcoal ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Ammonium Bicarbonate ◽  
Output Current ◽  
Pore Former ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
Zinc Anode ◽  
The Matrix

A 3D zinc-entrained activated charcoal anode was developed to address the problem of low output current density in conventional planar-anode air-breathing batteries. The anode was a compacted and sintered mix of activated charcoal (AC), polyethylene (PE) and ammonium bicarbonate (ABC). These serve as matrix, binder and pore-former respectively. Samples were compacted at varying ratios of (AC/PE) : ABC and evaluated for suitability as anode structure using Water absorption, Hydrophobicity and Electrical conductivity tests. They were infused under vacuum with ZnSO4 solutions of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 M. It was followed by in-situ galvanostatic electroreduction of Zn2+ ion to elemental zinc to achieve zinc entrainment inside the matrix. This was carried out at varying time intervals. The anode was characterized using Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The 3D zinc-entrained anode and a planar zinc anode were evaluated and compared in air-breathing battery configuration using polarisation experiments. Optimal composition of the anode was determined to be 25% (AC/PE) and 10% ABC while optimal conditions for zinc entrainment was 0.4 M ZnSO4 and 150 mins electroreduction time. The microstructures reveal that zinc is being preferentially deposited around the rim of pores and on ridge lines. Polarisation studies showed that the 3D zinc-entrained activated charcoal anode exhibited output current density 2.5 times that of conventional planar zinc anode and a slightly higher Open Circuit Voltage of 1.44 V.. Keywords— Air-cathode, battery, electrodeposition, zinc. 

Electromigration Reliability of Electroplated Gold Interconnects

2014 ◽  
Vol 1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve H. Kilgore ◽  
Dieter K. Schroder
Keyword(s):  
Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Constant Current ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Lifetime Distributions ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
Log Normal ◽  
Equipment Application ◽  
A Current

ABSTRACTThe electromigration lifetimes of a very large quantity of passivated electroplated Au interconnects were measured utilizing high-resolution in-situ resistance monitoring equipment. Application of moderate accelerated stress conditions with current density limited to 2 MA/cm2 and oven temperatures in the range of 300°C to 375°C prevented large Joule-heated temperature gradients and electrical overstress failures. A Joule-heated Au film temperature increase of 10°C on average was determined from measured temperature coefficients of resistance (TCRs). A failure criterion of 50% resistance degradation was selected to avoid thermal runaway and catastrophic open circuit failures. All Au lifetime distributions followed log-normal statistics. An activation energy of 0.80 ± 0.05 eV was measured from constant-current electromigration tests at multiple temperatures. A current density exponent of 1.91 ± 0.03 was extracted from multiple current densities at a single constant temperature.

scholarly journals Supramolecular ionic polymer/carbon nanotube composite hydrogels with enhanced electromechanical performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 478-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Fei Zhang ◽  
Fei-Peng Du ◽  
Ling Chen ◽  
Ka-Wai Yeung ◽  
Yuqing Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotube ◽  
Ion Mobility ◽  
Artificial Muscles ◽  
Ionic Polymer ◽  
Composite Hydrogels ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Electromechanical Performance ◽  
Carbon Nanotube Composite ◽  
Robotic Devices

AbstractElectroactive hydrogels have received increasing attention due to the possibility of being used in biomimetics, such as for soft robotics and artificial muscles. However, the applications are hindered by the poor mechanical properties and slow response time. To address these issues, in this study, supramolecular ionic polymer–carbon nanotube (SIPC) composite hydrogels were fabricated via in situ free radical polymerization. The polymer matrix consisted of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), styrene sulfonic sodium (SSNa), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-grafted acrylamide, and ferrocene (Fc)-grafted acrylamide, with the incorporation of SSNa serving as the ionic source. On applying an external voltage, the ions accumulate on one side of the matrix, leading to localized swelling and bending of the structure. Therefore, a controllable and reversible actuation can be achieved by changing the applied voltage. The tensile strength of the SIPC was improved by over 300%, from 12 to 49 kPa, due to the reinforcement effect of the CNTs and the supramolecular host–guest interactions between the β-CD and Fc moieties. The inclusion of CNTs not only improved the tensile properties but also enhanced the ion mobility, which lead to a faster electromechanical response. The presented electro-responsive composite hydrogel shows a high potential for the development of robotic devices and soft smart components for sensing and actuating applications.

scholarly journals In situ structure and organization of the influenza C virus surface glycoprotein

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steinar Halldorsson ◽  
Kasim Sader ◽  
Jack Turner ◽  
Lesley J. Calder ◽  
Peter B. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Hexagonal Lattice ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Virus Surface ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Influenza C Virus ◽  
Subtomogram Averaging ◽  
Electron Cryotomography

AbstractThe lipid-enveloped influenza C virus contains a single surface glycoprotein, the haemagglutinin-esterase-fusion (HEF) protein, that mediates receptor binding, receptor destruction, and membrane fusion at the low pH of the endosome. Here we apply electron cryotomography and subtomogram averaging to describe the structural basis for hexagonal lattice formation by HEF on the viral surface. The conformation of the glycoprotein in situ is distinct from the structure of the isolated trimeric ectodomain, showing that a splaying of the membrane distal domains is required to mediate contacts that form the lattice. The splaying of these domains is also coupled to changes in the structure of the stem region which is involved in membrane fusion, thereby linking HEF’s membrane fusion conformation with its assembly on the virus surface. The glycoprotein lattice can form independent of other virion components but we show a major role for the matrix layer in particle formation.

scholarly journals The Sorting of Mitochondrial DNA and Mitochondrial Proteins in Zygotes: Preferential Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA to the Medial Bud

1998 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koji Okamoto ◽  
Philip S. Perlman ◽  
Ronald A. Butow
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Mitochondrial Matrix ◽  
Outer Membranes ◽  
Marker Proteins ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Mitochondrial Reticulum

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used to tag proteins of the mitochondrial matrix, inner, and outer membranes to examine their sorting patterns relative to mtDNA in zygotes of synchronously mated yeast cells in ρ+ × ρ0 crosses. When transiently expressed in one of the haploid parents, each of the marker proteins distributes throughout the fused mitochondrial reticulum of the zygote before equilibration of mtDNA, although the membrane markers equilibrate slower than the matrix marker. A GFP-tagged form of Abf2p, a mtDNA binding protein required for faithful transmission of ρ+ mtDNA in vegetatively growing cells, colocalizes with mtDNA in situ. In zygotes of a ρ+ × ρ+ cross, in which there is little mixing of parental mtDNAs, Abf2p–GFP prelabeled in one parent rapidly equilibrates to most or all of the mtDNA, showing that the mtDNA compartment is accessible to exchange of proteins. In ρ+ × ρ0 crosses, mtDNA is preferentially transmitted to the medial diploid bud, whereas mitochondrial GFP marker proteins distribute throughout the zygote and the bud. In zygotes lacking Abf2p, mtDNA sorting is delayed and preferential sorting is reduced. These findings argue for the existence of a segregation apparatus that directs mtDNA to the emerging bud.

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