Fundamentals of Electrochemistry

Fundamentals of Electrochemistry build on basic oxidation-reduction reactions and present an overview of their use in electrochemical cells. The construction and operation of a galvanic cell is described with cell diagrams including the function of the electrodes (cathode and anode). Also covered are the standard electrode potential and its applications, including calculations involving the standard electrode potential, the Gibbs free energy and the equilibrium constant, determination of the spontaneity in redox reactions and the dependence of cell potential on concentration (the Nernst equation). Finally a qualitative and quantitative overview of electrolysis is presented with a focus on predicting the products of electrolysis and the stoichiometry of electrolysis, which relates the charge flowing through an electrolytic cell to the amount of products formed at the electrodes.

Theoretical Determination of Rate Constants from Excited-States: Application to Benzophenone

A cost-effective method of theoretically predicting electronic transition rate constants from the excited-states of molecules is reported. This method is based on density functional theory calculations of electronic states and quantitative rate constant determination with the Fermi golden rule.

Theoretical Determination of Rate Constants from Excited-States: Application to Benzophenone

A cost-effective method of theoretically predicting electronic transition rate constants from the excited-states of molecules is reported. This method is based on density functional theory calculations of electronic states and quantitative rate constant determination with the Fermi golden rule.

Increasing AFM colloidal probe accuracy by optical tweezers

A precise determination of the cantilever spring constant is the critical point of all colloidal probe experiments. Existing methods are based on approximations considering only cantilever geometry and do not take into account properties of any object or substance attached to the cantilever. Neglecting the influence of the colloidal sphere on the cantilever characteristics introduces significant uncertainty in a spring constant determination and affects all further considerations. In this work we propose a new method of spring constant calibration for ‘colloidal probe’ type cantilevers based on the direct measurement of force constant. The Optical Tweezers based calibration method will help to increase the accuracy and repeatability of the AFM colloidal probe experiments.

On Providing an Assessment Monitoring System for Especially Essential Structures

The article deals with the assessment problems of especially essential structures. Increased demands on prevention of emergency situations and minimizing the consequences in the event of their occurrence require constant determination of especially essential structures condition. Achieving the goal of reliability and continuity of information is possible by coating the structure surface by a layer of electroconductive concrete, working as a monitoring system sensor. The study of the electrical properties of concrete was performed using the voltmeter – ammeter scheme. After the measurements had been made, the conditional electrical resistance of the electrode pair was calculated. The analysis of the above dependencies found that the change in the electrical resistance of the material from its stress approaches the linear law at lower values of W/C over a larger section of the studied interval. Processing of the obtained data showed that the measurement results were significantly affected by the shape and size of the electrodes used during the experiments.