Sharif Digital Repository

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in synthesizing electrodes used in zinc electrowinning, increasing active surface area, decreasing specific energy consumption, and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential. In this study, modified nanocomposite anodes were synthesized by applying pulsed and constant direct current electrodeposition to improve the catalytic activity of the electrodes toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and reduce energy consumption in zinc electrowinning. By decreasing particle size, the active surface area of PbO2-RuO2 nano-mixed composite electrode was 2.88 and 14.22 times greater than PbO2-RuO2 microcomposite and pure PbO2 electrodes, respectively.... 

In this study, the influence of the sample position (anode) on the incorporation of nano/micro alumina particles on the AZ31B magnesium alloy substrate was investigated by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coating. For characterized this effect, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and pin-on-disk test were used to the evolution of the microstructure, corrosion resistance, and the wear behavior of the films. Based on the obtained results, the effect of the anode position from vertical to horizontal is dependent on particle size and it can be influenced only on the incorporation of nanoparticles. The... 

The main goals in zinc electrowinning process are decreasing of power consumption and increasing of current efficiency. The purpose of this research was to investigate effect of different alloy compositions used in production of lead-based anodes on the zinc electrowinning process. The anode compositions prepared and examined in this study were binary alloys Pb - (0.5 and 2 %) Ag and quaternary alloys Pb - 0.5 % Ag - 1 % Ca - 2 % Sn, Pb - 0.5 % Ag - 1 % Ca - 1 % Sn - 1 % Sb and Pb - 0.5 % Ag - 1 % Ca - 1 % Sn - 1 % Bi. The electrowinning experiments were conducted using a laboratory-scale apparatus, at a plating time of 4 hours, a current density of 500 to 1000 A/m2, industrial zinc sulfate... 

A study has been carried out of the effect of an anodizing pre-treatment in a sulphuric acid electrolyte on the strength of AA 5052 alloy/polypropylene joints prepared using friction stir spot welding. Lap-shear tests were used to determine the joint strength. Comparisons were made with joints pre-treated using sand blasting. The failed specimens were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Anodizing improved the strength of the joints by a factor of about 6 compared with sandblasting. For the anodizing pre-treated joints, melted polymer infiltrated deeply within the nanoporous anodic film, forming a strong polymer-film bond. Joint failure occurred by ductile tearing of... 

A high performance asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC)has been fabricated by using nickel oxide-cobalt oxide nanosheets (NiO–CoO NSs), which were directly grown on carbon nanotubes (CNTs)and hydrothermal carbon spheres (HTCs)as positive and negative electrodes, respectively. Both electrode materials are binder-free prepared by using a catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CVD)approach followed by a facile hydrothermal method for cathode and a one-step environmental-friendly route called hydrothermal carbonization for anode. Using NiO–CoO NSs@CNTs and HTCs, which were directly grown on Ni foam, not only leads to a very small equivalent series resistance, but also provides an impressive capacitive... 

This work studies the electrochemical growth behavior of cobalt nanowires in highly ordered aluminum oxide membrane. Considering the electrodeposition of metallic nanowires, cation concentration profile in each nano pore was calculated. With assumption of linear diffusion zone on the growing surface of nanowires, a modified Cottrell equation was evaluated. To confirm the model, the Co nanowires were electrodeposited into porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates and the mechanism of deposition was studied. Comparing the results of model and the experiments has proved the accuracy of the model. Also, it was observed that the growth of the Co nanowires was controlled mainly by diffusion... 

The preparation and electrochemical performance of the carbon nanotube-paste electrode modified with salophen complexes of cobalt(III) perchlorate, with various substituents on the salophen ligand, as well as their electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is investigated. Several Schiff base complexes containing various nucleophilic and electrophilic functional groups were prepared, and their electrochemical characteristics for the electro-oxidation of NAC were evaluated using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry (CV and DPV). The results revealed, the modified electrodes show an efficient and selective electrocatalytic activity toward the anodic... 

The present research work aims to employ plasma focus in order to deposit molybdenum (Mo) on the 304 stainless steel substrate. The processing parameters were shot numbers as well as the distance of substrate from the anode tip. Stereo, atom force microscopy (AFM) and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to study the deposited coatings. Microhardness measurements were also performed on the coatings. Results indicated that the plasma focus can be successfully applied to deposit Mo anode on the stainless steel substrate. The coatings contained discrete pores with sizes varying by processing parameters. The... 

Titanium anodes activated by noble metal oxides possess a wide range of advantages and applications. Actually, coating of titanium anodes by highly conductive oxides of noble metals (Ru, Ir) dramatically increases the lifetime of these anodes. In this study, the binary coating consisting of Ti and Ru and the ternary coating consisting of Ti, Ru and Ir were prepared through sol–gel method. After coating of the titanium substrate, the corrosion behavior of coatings was studied by anodic polarization and cyclic voltammetry tests. The lifetime of anodes was determined using accelerated corrosion test. The morphology of coatings was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy and... 

In the present study a comprehensive thermodynamic model and degradation based optimization framework for energy management of anode supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks are carried out. The optimization framework determines optimum operating conditions to maximize system productivity (energy generation over system lifetime) considering degradation mechanisms. The main degradation mechanisms in anode supported SOFCs are nickel coarsening and oxidation. In this study, the optimum operating conditions regarding these degradation mechanisms to achieve maximum productivity at different target lifetimes are derived. The results show that target lifetime has a significant impact on system... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

Here, cobalt oxide nanostructures synthesized on vertically aligned copper oxide nanowires (NWs) have been investigated as a possible anode material for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Copper oxide NWs were formed by thermal oxidation of electrochemically deposited copper on the stainless steel mesh substrate. The process used allows the formation of highly dense copper oxide NWs with excellent adhesion to the conductive current collector substrate. A simple hydrothermal method was implemented for the deposition of cobalt oxide nanostructures on the copper oxide NWs. The as-prepared binder-free copper oxide@cobalt oxide NWs electrode exhibits a high initial specific capacity of 460 mAh g-1 at... 

In this study the influence of morphology of vertically oriented titanium oxide nanotube arrays (TNTAs) on their photocatalytic activities was investigated. To obtain nanotubes with different morphologies, they were prepared at different anodization voltages. The size of TNTAs were measured using SEM images and also determined based on a non-destructive optical method; We demonstrate how the tubular geometry of the TNTAs can be used to adjust the optical and also the wetting properties of them and how these properties affect the performance of the nanostructure in further applications as a photocatalyst. To investigate their potentials for environmental applications, the photocatalytic... 

The process of self-color anodizing of titanium is done in acidic and alkaline solutions, and anodic films of different colors are formed. Results of this work show that the corrosion rate of titanium decreased after the application of an anodizing layer  

TiO 2 nanorods, TiO 2 nanorod/TiO 2 nanoparticle and TiO 2 nanorod/ZnO nanoparticle composite structures were integrated as photoanodes in backside illuminated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Incorporation of TiO 2 nanoparticles into the bare nanorods increased the dye loading and improved the short-circuit current density (J sc) from 2.22 mA/cm 2 to 3.57 mA/cm 2. ZnO nanoparticles electrochemically grown into the TiO 2 nanorod layer could increase the surface area. Nevertheless, this considerably reduced the J sc to 0.57 mA/cm 2 and consequently cell efficiency. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that ZnO incorporated samples have better effective diffusion... 

The effect of pulse reverse current (PRC) method on Ni-Mo coatings electroplated from chloride solution was investigated by various plating parameters such as plating duration, the anodic duty cycle, the anodic current density and the cathodic current density. By increasing the anodic duty cycle and anodic current density, the Mo content of coatings reached 68wt.% and 78wt.%, respectively at cathodic current densities of 500 and 300mAcm-2. The Mo content of coatings increases by the preferential dissolution of Ni on the anodic pulse and also by the replenishment of Mo complexes in the diffusion layer near the substrate surface during the anodic pulse. In comparison with the direct current... 

Porous poly-silicon (PPS) samples, obtained by electrochemical anodization of p-type poly-silicon wafers, were doped with Pd by the electroless process. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy shows that Pd has diffused a few micrometres into the PPS layer. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis results demonstrate the presence of Pd as dispersed clusters on the surface. The variation of the electrical resistance in the presence of dry air diluted with hydrogen at room temperature shows that Pd/PPS samples have the ability to sense hydrogen at levels down to several thousands of ppm. This value is far below the flammability limit of hydrogen gas. It was found that... 

Catalytic activity of carbon/Pt nanoparticles modified TiO 2 nanotubes electrode was studied by using dopamine contained solutions. The TiO 2 nanotubes electrode was prepared using anodizing method in aqueous solution. The electrochemical pulse method was then applied for electrodeposition of Pt nanoparticles onto the TiO 2 nanotubes. Further modification was achieved by decomposition of polyethylene glycol in a tube furnace to have a carbon/Pt nanoparticles modified TiO 2 nanotubes electrode. The final modified electrode could successfully detect the electro-oxidation of dopamine in a ImM contained solution using cyclic voltametry method. Also, a high sensitivity towards the oxidation of... 

The present work describes sensing application of modified TiO 2 nanotubes having carbon-Pt nanoparticles for simultaneous detection of dopamine and uric acid. The TiO 2 nanotubes electrode was prepared using anodizing method, followed by electrodeposition of Pt nanoparticles onto the tubes. Carbon was deposited by decomposition of polyethylene glycol in a tube furnace to improve the conductivity. The C-Pt-TiO 2 nanotubes modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltam-metry and differential pulse voltammetry methods. The modified electrode displayed high sensitivity towards the oxidation of dopamine and uric acid in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.00). The electro-oxidation currents...