Search

Electrophoretic deposition was used to deposit graphene oxide on 304 stainless steel to mitigate the aggressive corrosion that occurs in steel bipolar plates of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this context the deposition parameters i.e., the voltage and time was systematically monitored to obtain the optimum parameters that can give a consistent coating. The deposit thickness and its surface roughness and morphology were evaluated to obtain a smooth coating. Further electrochemical testing of the coating obtained under optimized parameters was done by the dynamic polarization scanning test under PEMFC environment. The corrosion current density improved by almost four times and the polarization resistance increased by 100% indicating that graphene oxide coatings have the potential to be used as anti-corrosive coating on bipolar plates of PEMFC.

304 grade stainless steel is known to be important in most structural applications due to its high mechanical strength, hardness, and machinability. It is considered a versatile steel that has good formability, can be welded as it is, and is non-magnetic austenitic structure. The corrosion resistance is also excellent at room temperature for most corrosive acids and alkalis. However, its corrosion resistance decreases at higher temperatures when exposed to water for prolonged periods of time. It is sensitive to pitting, crevice and stress corrosion cracking at elevated temperatures. In some cases, the resistance is improved by addition of corrosion inhibitor that negatively affects its formability and welding advantages. Therefore, other methods of corrosion protection are desired. This chapter provides in-depth review of corrosion protections materials and methods that have been used for protecting 304SS in different specific applications. It also provides systemic analysis of the potentiodynamic polarization method to compare the corrosion potential of different materials.

Polymer electrolyte membrane(PEM) fuel cell main uses a bipolar plate (BPP), made of stainless steel that provides cell to cell electrical conductivity. Since water vapour is the only by-product during the energy conversion, corrosion resistance of the bipolar plate is required to be high. Researchers have used many different strategies which mostly includes coating with a hydrophobic material. This paper reviews and compares some commonly used corrosion resistance coating methods that have been used and gauges their success in the performance of the fuel cells.

This article provides a review on effect of processing parameters on the quality and performance of thin films of rare earth materials deposited through PVD RF sputtering technique. The applications of these thin films include optical, electronics, medical films, defence and renewable energy technologies. A systematic review of the literature revealed that the sputtering parameters such as plasma power and substrate temperature have the most impact on the grain size of the deposited thin films. Larger grain size was observed to be at higher sputtering power and higher substrate temperatures, while lower grain size was obtained when the sputtering power is decreased. The optical property, in particular the band energy gap (Eg) was found to improve with the film thickness. Thin films produced at higher doping concentration and subsequently annealed at higher temperature was found to increase the crystallinity of thin films.

In this paper oxides of lutetium, gallium and europium were co-sputtered on to soda lime glass substrates to produce mixed rare earth oxides by physical vapour deposition (RF magnetron sputtering). Post deposition, the films were characterized by FESEM, XRD, ED-XRF and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The combinatorial oxides were successfully deposited on soda lime glass substrate with an aggregate thickness of 433 nm with uniform nanocrystalline microstructure and a transparent surface, with no visible cracks and defects. The optical properties show that the optical transmittance in the visible region (300 to 800 nm) is around 83%. The Tauc plot calculates that the band gap to be 3.96 eV indicating its good light absorbing capability. This shows that co-sputtering is an effective method to produce mixed rare earth oxides with wide band gap which can increase the operating temperatures and switching speeds for opto-electronic devices (like LED and radar).

Objective: To determine whether health educator (HE) and social worker (SW) counseling at time of diagnosis improves compliance with doctor advice related to dementia care. Background The contributions of HE and SW counseling to dementia care are underrecognized. Design/Methods: 1577 patients with a cognitive disorder were seen in a dementia clinic between January 2006 and December, 2010. All patients were referred to a HE and to a SW. We retrospectively determined how often a durable power of attorney for health care (DPOA) was present in the medical record and the enrollment level in our Gift to Life autopsy program (GTL). Results: Patients reflected the typical demographics of a dementia specialty clinic - 682 were men (43.24%), mean age 72.8 (SD 11.04), range 29 – 98 years, education 0 – 20 years, mean 14.25 (SD 2.9), Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) or equivalent 0 – 30, mean 22.08 (SD 6.85). 1167 (74%) met with the health educator at least once, and 353 (22%) met with the social worker. We performed 4 separate logistic regression models with DPOA or GTL enrolment as outcomes, and SW visit (yes/no), or HE visit (yes/no) as predictor and controlled for gender and dichotomized for age, years of education, symptom years, and MMSE using cut off point 70, 12, 2, and 24 respectively. Exposure to either SW or HE was associated with DPOA documentation and enrollment in GTL.outcome Predictor Used observations OR (95% CI) pDPOA HE 1247 1.68 (1.29, 2.19) Conclusions: HE and/or SW counseling increases compliance with physician advice to complete a DPOA and to enroll in GTL. Prospective studies are needed to demonstrate that HE and SW improve quality of life and reduce costs. Supported by: Anonymous donor. A grant from The Center for Health Improvement. The Center for Alzheimer9s Care, Imaging, and Research at the University of Utah. Disclosure: Dr. Zamrini has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mandal has nothing to disclose. Dr. Andersen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Simpson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Greene has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ying has nothing to disclose. Dr. King has received research support from Alzheimer9s Association and the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Foster has received personal compensation for activities with GE Healthcare and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Dr. Foster received research support from Eli Lilly & Company, Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, and Pfizer Inc.