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BACKGROUND Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) has been predicted to play a critical role in various biological processes including tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance of UCA1 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is still not understood in detail. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of the UCA1 expression levels in LUAD based on publicly available data and to evaluate its potential signaling pathways. METHODS The RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) dataset and clinical information of all LUAD patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Kaplan-Meier plot and log-rank test were performed for survival analysis; Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to assess the relative factors. Furthermore, Starbase, Cbioportal, and Multi Experiment Matrix starbases were used to identify UCA1-related genes in LUAD. Finally, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of UCA1-related genes were performed using DAVID. RESULTS The expression level of UCA1 in LUAD tissues (n = 468) was significantly increased compared with the adjacent non-tumor lung tissues (n = 52) (p < 0.0001). In addition, UCA1 level was significantly correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. Survival analysis showed that UCA1 over-expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (p = 0.0098) and poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.0298) in LUAD patients. Multivariate analysis confirmed that high expression of lncRNA-UCA1 was an independent prognostic factor of poor OS (HR = 1.353, 95% CI: 1.005 - 1.822, p = 0.046). Finally, KEGG analysis for UCA1-related genes indicated that UCA1 might be enriched with the microRNAs in cancer, pathways in cancer, endocytosis, focal adhesion, and proteoglycans in cancer. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that UCA1 may be involved in lung carcinogenesis, which could act as a biomarker of prognosis and therapeutic target in LUAD patients.

Electrolytic water splitting, consists of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), still has many challenges because of the high cost and scarity of the indispensable noble metal catalysts. Herein, the costless and effective NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH), supported on the Ti3C2Tx modified 3D nickel foam (NF), is used instead of noble metal to intensify the transfer ability of the charges as well as ions in the OER catalysis process. The prepared NiFe-LDH/Ti3C2Tx/NF electrode has a lower overpotential (240 ​mV ​at 50 ​mA ​cm−2) and Tafel slope (82 ​mV dec−1) as compared with that of IrO2/Ti3C2Tx/NF(400 ​mV, 252 ​mV dec−1). Meanwhile, it has a good endurance and stability with a negligible voltage changing after 15 ​h of testing. The work provides reference for the synthetic of catalyst with high catalytic kinetics and activity in the field of electrolytic water splitting.

Iron and nitrogen co-doped carbon (Fe-N/C) materials were fabricated by one-step pyrolysis of the mixture of FeCl3 and the low-cost biomass soybeans in N2 atmosphere at different temperatures. The physical properties of the prepared Fe-N/C catalysts were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) et al., the catalytic activity and stability of the Fe-N/C catalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution were investigated by the electrochemical techniques. The results show that Fe is mainly in the form of Fe3O4 with the particle size of about 10 nm and encapsulated by thin graphite layers, and the content of Fe decreases from 1.19 to 0.24 wt.% with the increase of pyrolysis temperature from 600 to 900 °C. The ORR activity on the sample prepared at 700 °C (Fe-N/C-700) is preferable among the series of Fe-N/C catalysts, with the half-wave potential of the ORR shifting negatively only about 0.020 V as compared to that on the commercial Pt/C (40 wt.%, JM). The superior electro-catalytic performance of the Fe-N/C-700 catalyst would be due to the higher degree of the graphitization, the higher total contents of the pyridinic-N, quaternary-N/graphitic-N, as well as the relatively higher Fe3O4 content and surface area. The electron transfer number of the ORR on the Fe-N/C-700 catalyst approaches four indicating the 4-electron transfer pathway. Besides, the methanol tolerance and durability are superior to those on the Pt/C.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the application values of quantitative parametrics measured by three-dimensional transvaginal sonography (3D-TVS) in the diagnosis of uterine cavity distortions. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on consecutive 113 patients with septate uteruses, as diagnosed consistently by both 3D-TVS and hysteroscopic surgery, between Jan 2016 and Jan 2018. The intrauterine quantitative parametrics were compared between an infertility group and a miscarriage group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and evaluation indicators of diagnostic tests were plotted to analyze the relationships between parametrics and uterine cavity distortions. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in septum width, septum length, uterine angle, remaining uterine cavity length, and distortion rate between the infertility and miscarriage groups (P>0.05). The distortion rate was positively correlated with septum length, but showed a negative correlation with uterine angle and remaining uterine cavity length (all P

The concept of aqueous solution Al-ion battery inspires much enthusiasm in developing a novel chemical power source. In this work, the electrochemical behavior of TiO2-NTAs electrode in Al3+aqueous solution with different acidity is evaluated. Electrochemical studies showed that both of H+ and Al3+ in aqueous solution are electrochemical active to TiO2-NTAs, however, H+ is preferential to hydroxylate on the TiO2-NTAs surface rather than to intercalate in the TiO2-NTAs lattice as compared with Al3+under the assistance of Cl−. The surface hydroxylation of TiO2-NTAs can retard Al3+ diffusion in the TiO2-NTAs lattice as evidenced by the increase of faradic resistance RF (by EIS) at initial cathodic polarization process, however, the subsequent decrease of RF is due to the conductance improvement of TiO2-NTAs with the Al3+ intercalation. Here it can be concluded that for Al3+ aqueous solution battery with TiO2-NTAs as electrode, the suitable acidity (pH≈3) is required to minimizing the effect of H+.

Highly ordered TiO 2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) with excellent stability and large specific surface area make them competitive using as supercapacitor materials. Improving the conductivity of TiO 2 is of great concern for the construction of high-performance supercapacitors. In this work, we developed a novel approach to improve the performance of TiO 2 materials, involving the fabrication of Al-doped TiO 2 NTAs by a simple electrochemical cathodic polarization treatment in AlCl 3 aqueous solution. The prepared Al-doped TiO 2 NTAs exhibited excellent electrochemical performances, attributing to the remarkably improved electrical conductivity (i.e., from approx. 10 kΩ to 20 Ω). Further analysis showed that Al 3+ ions rather than H + protons doped into TiO 2 lattice cause this high conductivity. A MnO 2 /Al–TiO 2 composite was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, and achieved the specific capacitance of 544 F g −1 , and the Ragone plot of the sample showed a high power density but less reduction of energy density. These results indicate that the MnO 2 /Al–TiO 2 NTAs sample could be served as a promising electrode material for high -performance supercapacitors.

Magneli phase titanium sub-oxide conductive ceramic Ti n O2n−1 was used as the support for Pt due to its excellent resistance to electrochemical oxidation, and Pt/Ti n O2n−1 composites were prepared by the impregnation-reduction method. The electrochemical stability of Ti n O2n−1 was investigated and the results show almost no change in the redox region after oxidation for 20 h at 1.2 V (vs NHE) in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 aqueous solution. The catalytic activity and stability of the Pt/Ti n O2n−1 toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution were investigated through the accelerated aging tests (AAT), and the morphology of the catalysts before and after the AAT was observed by transmission electron microscopy. At the potential of 0.55 V (vs SCE), the specific kinetic current density of the ORR on the Pt/Ti n O2n−1 is about 1.5 times that of the Pt/C. The LSV curves for the Pt/C shift negatively obviously with the half-wave potential shifting about 0.02 V after 8000 cycles AAT, while no obvious change takes place for the LSV curves for the Pt/Ti n O2n−1. The Pt particles supported on the carbon aggregate obviously, while the morphology of the Pt supported on Ti n O2n−1 remains almost unchanged, which contributes to the electrochemical surface area loss of Pt/C being about 2 times that of the Pt/Ti n O2n−1. The superior catalytic stability of Pt/Ti n O2n−1 toward the ORR could be attributed to the excellent stability of the Ti n O2n−1 and the electronic interaction between the metals and the support.

Three novel gallic–perylene–gallic trimers 7, 8 and 9 were synthesized by reacting gallic amino derivatives 3, 4 or 6 with perylene tetracarboxylic anhydride in yields of 75%, 78% and 80%, respectively. Compounds 7 and 8 with soft bridging chains exhibit columnar mesophase at room temperature, but compound 9 with a rigid bridging chain exhibits no mesophase.

A series of PdO/C catalysts were prepared by using the PdCl2 and Mn3O4/C as the precursors. The physical properties and the catalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media of the prepared PdO/C catalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the electrochemical techniques. The results show that, with the reaction time increasing, the main species PdO forms on the surface of carbon accompanied by a decreasing of the Mn content, implying a replacement of Mn3O4 with PdO on the carbon surface. The morphology of the irregular aggregates composed of PdO nanoparticles (about 2.3 nm) is similar to that of Mn3O4 particles. The PdO/C catalyst with the reaction time of 4 h and the Mn content of 0.03 wt.% (PdO/C-4 h) exhibits the highest activity toward the ORR, with the onset potential and the half-wave potential of the ORR shifting positively about 0.017 V and 0.020 V, respectively, compared to those on the commercial Pd/C (20 wt. %, E-TEK). The specific and mass current densities for he ORR obtained at 0.850 V (vs. RHE) on the PdO/C-4 h catalyst are about 2.64 mAcm(Pd) (2) and 1.11 mA mu g(Pd) (1), respectively, being about 2.67 and 2.18 times to those on the Pd/C. After 2000 potential cycles between 0.424 V and 1.124 V for accelerated aging tests, the better catalytic stability of the PdO/C-4 h catalyst toward the ORR over the Pd/C is observed, with the half-wave potential of the ORR shifting negatively only about 0.013 V, less than that on the latter one. All these findings demonstrate that the catalytic activity and stability of PdO/C-4 h catalyst for the ORR are superior to those of the commercial Pd/C, and the PdO/C-4 h catalyst would be a promising candidate for the non-platinum catalysts in alkaline media. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The titanium dioxide nanotube array (TiO2-NTA) is prepared by a two-step anodic oxidation method and annealed at 450 ∘C subsequently. The Al-inserted TiO2-NTA is prepared by polarizing the TiO2-NTAs electrode at 0.4 mA for 2 min in 1 mol/L AlCl3. The results show that the Al-inserted sample still remains pure anatase TiO2 phase (by XRD) and keeps intact nanotube array structure (by FE-SEM). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates that the insertion of Al3+ into TiO2-NTAs facilitates in the reduction of Ti4+ to Ti3+. Electrochemical investigation on the Al3+ insertion process reveals that presence of Cl− ions plays vital role for the effective insertion and de-insertion of Al3+ into/from the TiO2-NTA.

Ag-MnOx/C composites were prepared using AgNO3 and KMnO4 as the precursors and Vulcan XC-72 as the support. The physical properties of the Ag-MnOx/C composites were investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activity and the stability of the series of Ag-MnOx/C composites toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media were investigated through the electrochemical techniques. The results show that the main species MnO2 and Ag2O in the fresh sample convert into Mn3O4 and Ag(0), respectively, after the heat treatment in N2 at 300 °C (Ag-MnOx/C-300). The Ag-MnOx/C-300 sample shows the highest activity toward the ORR, with the half-wave potential of the ORR shifting negatively only 0.035 V compared to that on the commercial 40 wt. % Pt/C (JM). The electron transfer number during the ORR on the Ag-MnOx/C composite increases with the value close to four after the heat treatment at 300 °C, which is mainly attributed to the formation of Ag(0), rather than Mn3O4. The heat treatment brings about a better catalytic stability of the composite, and no obviously negative shift takes place for the half-wave potential of the ORR on the Ag-MnOx/C-300 composite after 1000 cycles accelerated aging test. The maximum power density of the zinc-air battery with the Ag-MnOx/C-300 air electrode reaches up to 130 mW cm−2, higher than those based on the Pd/C and Pt/C cathode catalysts, which shows that the Ag-MnOx/C-300 composite is a promising candidate as the catalyst for the air electrode.

A series of Ni modified MnOx/C composites were synthesized by introducing NaBH4 to MnO2/C aqueous suspension containing Ni(NO3)2. The physical properties and the activity of the composites toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were investigated via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the electrochemical techniques. The results show that the higher activity of the composites toward the ORR is correlated with the higher content of MnOOH species transformed from Mn(II) on the surface of the composite. The main nickel species in the composites is Ni(OH)2, while Ni(OH)2 shows little activity toward the ORR. However, introducing Ni(OH)2 with proper amount into the MnOx/C improves the distribution of the active material MnOx, which contributes to a surface with more MnOOH. The optimal composite is of the Ni/Mn atomic ratio of 1:2 and the MnOx loading of 28 wt.%. The maximum power density of the zinc–air battery with the optimized Ni modified MnOx/C as the cathode catalyst reaches up to 122 mW cm−2, much higher than the one with the MnOx/C as the air cathode catalyst (89 mW cm−2), and slightly higher than those with the Pd/C and Pt/C as the cathode catalysts.

In this work, we successfully synthesized Ni(OH)2 thin film electrode in situ doped with CNTs/rGO by cathodic electrodeposition on titanium mesh. The doping effects of CNTs and/or rGO, and the technical conditions, are investigated. The doping of CNTs/rGO can greatly improve the electrochemical performance by forming the porous structure and the conductive network in the Ni(OH)2 thin film. The highest capacity, 429.5 mAh/g at a current density of 5 A/g, is achieved for the electrode with 0.24 mg/cm2 Ni(OH)2 and codoped with CNTs and rGO, as compared with only 323.9 mAh/g for undoped electrode. Even at 100 A/g, the specific capacity can still remain 347.5 mAh/g (vs. 221.5 mAh/g for the undoped electrode), and after 1000 cycles, the retention rate of the specific capacity is 74.9% as compared with only 42.7% for the undoped electrode. Even with higher loading amounts of 1.92 mg/cm2 Ni(OH)2, the specific capacity retention rate of the codoped electrode is still much higher than that of the undoped electrode. The high electrochemical performance can be attributed to the better ion/electron transfer ability of the codoped electrode. In conclusion, by the cathodic electrodeposition and in situ doping of CNTs/rGO, the porous structure and the conductive network in Ni(OH)2 film can be constructed, which can improve the ion/electron transfer ability, therefore, the high performance film electrode with higher loading amount of Ni(OH)2 can be prepared.

The Magneli phase titanium sub-oxides conductive ceramic particles were added to Zn electrodes for use in Ni/Zn batteries. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the basis of the conductive ceramic was Ti4O7 and transmission electron microscopy showed that the particles were uniform in shape and size. The electrochemical performance of a Zn electrode with the conductive ceramic as the conductive additive was investigated by charge/discharge cycling test, cyclic voltammetry, and Tafel plot. Compared with a Zn electrode with acetylene black and without conductive additive, the electrode with conductive ceramic showed better cycling stability, higher discharge capacity, and corrosion resistance.

The steady and dynamic rheological behaviors of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) suspension in polyethylene glycol (PEG) were investigated on a TA AR2000ex rheometer. Under steady shear consistency index K and flow exponent N of suspensions with different volume fractions were determined. The shear-thinning and the discontinuous shear-thickening behavior were observed at different constant frequencies from 10 to 100 rad/s. The relationship between the complex viscosity and the constant frequency were determined. As the volume fraction increases, flow exponent N shows a rapid increase, and it increases dramatically when the discontinuous shear-thickening takes place, while consistency index K decreases. Dynamic oscillatory shear experiments were conducted at constant strain amplitude and constant frequency, respectively. For the frequency sweep, the system shows viscous property in entire range of the frequency investigated, and the complex viscosity shows discontinuous jump at a critical frequency of 10 rad/s. For the strain sweep, on the other hand, at low strain the elastic modulus is strongly dependent on the strain, and the viscous modulus is independent of the strain. But at the critical strain point both of the moduli show an abrupt jump and the system transits from elastic to viscous at a strain of 0.1.

Rheological experiments under steady and oscillatory shear were conducted for fumed silica suspensions in polyethylene glycol. Under steady shear the shear-thinning and thickening response were exhibited and the flow exponent N was determined. With the increase of concentration the flow exponent N showed a rapid increase, and it increased dramatically when the discontinuous shear-thickening took place. Oscillatory shear experiments were conducted at constant frequency and constant amplitude strain, respectively. The shear-thinning and the discontinuous shear-thickening behavior were observed under different constant frequencies from 10 to 80 rad/s. The correlation between complex modulus (G*) and sweep frequency (ω) was illuminated at γ =750%. It was found that the correlation between G* and ω could be fitted by equation: G*∝ωn. The indexes in shear-thinning region and shear-thickening were determined. The indexes were similar to some extent at shear-thinning region and increased dramatically to a much higher value when the shear-thickening occurred, especially at higher weight fractions. The behaviors can be qualitatively explained as follows: the shear-thinning owes to decrease of viscosity, which results from disruption of the aggregates; the cluster theory attributes the shear-thickening to the formation of metastable, flow induced clusters, which block the system.

The shear thinning and shear thickening rheological properties of PCC/PEG suspension were investigated with the increase of oscillatory amplitude stress at different constant frequencies. The results show that the complex viscosity was initially independent of stress amplitude and obvious shear thinning occurred, then dramatic shear thickening took place after reaching the minimum viscosity. Typically, in a constant frequency of 5 rad/s, the elastic modulus, viscous modulus, and tan ( is the out-of-phase angle) vs. the stress amplitude was investigated. It is found that the elastic modulus initially appeared to be independent of stress amplitude and then exhibited a rapid decrease, but the viscous modulus was independent of amplitude stress at lower amplitude stress. After reaching the minimum value the viscous modulus showed a rapid increase. On the other hand, tan increased from 0.6 to 92, which indicates that the transition from elastic to viscous had taken place and tan showed a steep increase when shear thickening occurred. Lissajous plots are shown for the dissipated energy vs. different maximum stress amplitude in the shear thinning and shear thickening regions. The relationship of dissipated energy vs. maximum stress amplitude was determined, which follows a power law. In the shear thinning region the exponent was 1.91, but it steeply increases to 3.97 in the shear thickening region.

A novel composite alkaline polymer electrolyte based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymer matrix, titanium dioxide (TiO2) ceramic fillers, KOH, and H2O was prepared by a solution casting method. The properties of PVA–TiO2–KOH alkaline polymer electrolyte films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and AC impedance techniques. DSC and XRD results showed that the domain of amorphous region in the PVA polymer matrix augmented when TiO2 filler was added. The SEM result showed that TiO2 particles dispersed into the PVA matrix although some TiO2 aggregates of several micrometers were formed. The alkaline polymer electrolyte showed excellent electrochemical properties. The room temperature (20 °C) ionic conductivity values of typical samples were between 0.102 and 0.171 S cm−1. The Zn–Ni secondary battery with the alkaline polymer electrolyte PVA–TiO2–KOH had excellent electrochemical property at the low charge–discharge rate.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) was selected as dopant and synthesized by a sonochemical method in this study. PVA–HA–KOH–H 2 O composite alkaline solid polymer electrolyte (ASPE) was prepared by solution casting method. Two different doping routes, i.e., the physical mixing (PM) and in situ synthesis (ISS) were considered. The influences of the ASPE composition such as HA content, KOH content and water content on the conductivity were investigated. The ASPE prepared by ISS route has a porous structure which is important for ion transfer. Accordingly, the conductivity of the ASPE prepared by ISS is higher than that of by PM. A highest conductivity of about 0.1 S/cm is reached for ASPE prepared by ISS route at 70% water content for m (PVA): m (KOH): m (HA) = 10:14:10 system, higher than that of by PM route, 0.08 S/cm. The nickel/zinc cell shows better electrochemical properties assembled with the ASPE prepared by ISS approach than by PM approach.

By Gouy–Chapman–Stern–Grahame (CGSG) model, the electric double layer at ion exchange membrane/solution interface consists of two parts: the Stern layer and the diffusion layer. The ions in Stern layer are compacted and considered to be immobile. The relation of diffusion layer mean conductivity K with outer Stern layer potential φ 0 , the boundary potential φ δ and the electrolyte concentration C 0 is educed for symmetric electrolyte system. The results show that K is higher than that of the bulk solution and is greatly influenced by φ 0 , φ δ and C 0 . The examination of PE01 cation exchange membrane/solution interface resistance R e measured by ac impedance technique, shows that R e value decreases quickly as the KCl electrolyte concentration rises. The effect of electrolyte concentration on the resistance of EDL can be explained by the electrical interactions between ions and charged groups of the membrane. Since the membrane/solution interface resistance is much higher than that of bulk solution, therefore, a further analysis based on the theory developed in this study proves that the ion transfer resistance R e of membrane–solution interface predominantly occurs at Stern layer as a result of static electrical interaction.

The ion transfer resistance of an ion exchange membrane/solution interface was investigated qualitatively in many literatures, but no quantitative study was found. Since its significant applications in electrodialysis, ion transfer resistances of K+, Ba2+ and Al3+ across the cation exchange membrane/solution interface were investigated in this study by a newly developed approach. The results show that cation transfer resistances of the Nafion1135 or PE01 membrane/solution interface decrease with the increase of ion concentration, and increase with the rise of cationic valence. The result in this investigation is supported by the theoretical analysis, i.e., the effects of ions effective radii, static electric interactions between ions and polymer membrane surface charged groups, and the effects of solvents and direct interactions between ions.

The zirconium phosphate (ZrP)/Nafion1135 composite membranes were prepared by impregnating method and characterized by SEM, XRD, ac impedance and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) techniques. The results show that ZrP(α-Zr(HPO4)2·H2O) deposited both on Nafion1135 membrane surface and in its inner structure, and the amount of deposited ZrP increases with the immersion time. A test of membrane resistance shows that the membrane resistance increases with the immersion time greatly in C V O 2 + : C H + = 0.009:0.1 mol L−1 H2SO4 + VOSO4 solution than in 0.05 mol L−1 H2SO4 solution. Subsequently, the proton diffusion coefficient D ¯ H + and VO2+ diffusion coefficient D ¯ V O 2 + in membrane are evaluated. It is found that both D ¯ H + and D ¯ V O 2 + decrease with the immersion time based on the retarding effect of the deposited ZrP. The proton diffusion coefficient in Nafion1135 was determined to be 3.412 × 10−12 m2 s−1, and a slightly lower value of 2.827 × 10−12 m2 s−1 was found in Nafion1135/ZrP5 membrane. However, the VO2+ diffusion coefficient D ¯ V O 2 + of the Nafion1135 membrane, 4.012 × 10−13 m2 s−1, is much higher than that of 1135/ZrP5 composite membrane, 0.3226 × 10−13 m2 s−1. The results show that the composite membrane has better permselectivity as to H+ and VO2+ than Nafion®1135 membrane.

The influence of the dopant Bentonite, on the ionic conductivity of the PVA-KOH-H 2 O alkaline solid polymer electrolyte (ASPE) is studied. The results show that the addition of Bentonite has both positive and negative effects on the ionic conductivity of ASPE. At lower KOH and H 2 O contents, the addition of Bentonite can break the continuous ion conducting phase of the ASPE, and therefore decrease the ASPE conductivity. However, the addition of Bentonite can also increase the KOH content in PVA matrix. This greatly increases the conductivity of the ASPE especially at higher water content. A highest ionic conductivity of 0.11 S cm −1 is reached at room temperature. A maximum ionic conductivity value is observed at relative lower water content for different amount of Bentonite-doped ASPE. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity is of the Arrhenius type. The ion transfer activation energy Ea , in the order of 4–6 kJ mol −1 , heavily depends on the Bentonite content. XRD and SEM tests show that PVA in the Bentonite-doped ASPE is of amorphous structure, and there are lots of interspaces in the composite ASPE inner structure. The composite electrolyte has good electrochemical stability window and good charged–discharge property in secondary Zn–Ni cells at low charge–discharge rate.

In this work, the effect of surface modification on proton transfer resistance of the membrane and/or membrane surface interface is investigated. Cation exchange membranes, PE01 and Nafion1135, were modified by zirconium phosphate (ZrP) and inorganic–organic composite membranes were prepared. α-ZrP (α-Zr(HPO 4 ) 2 · H 2 O) was deposited on the composite membrane surface as verified by XRD and SEM. Zeta potential of the composite membrane decreases with the increase of immersion time, indicating that the deposition α-ZrP results in a decrease of membrane surface charge density. The proton transfer resistance measured by AC impedance technique in 0.05 mol/L H 2 SO 4 solution shows an interesting result: the proton transfer resistance of membrane–solution ( Z e ) sharply reduces while proton transfer resistance of membrane ( Z m ) increases slightly with the immersion time for both of the membranes. The slight increase of Z m is due to the deposit of ZrP on membrane surface, and the sharp decrease of Z e is attributed to the decrease in the static electrical interaction strength between counterions and the charged groups of the membrane, which is caused by interact of α-ZrP with the ion exchange groups resulting in a reduction of membrane surface charge density. The equivalent circuit models for electrode/solution/membrane/solution/electrode system and electrode/solution system were examined. The results observed in this work seem very interesting in the ion transfer study between phase interfaces.

The viscoelastic behavior and the ability of dissipating energy of fumed silica dispersions in ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and butylene glycol have been studied under oscillation stress shear. The systems show linear viscoelastic, shear thinning, and shear thickening behaviors as the shear stress (σ) increases. In linear viscoelastic region, the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) remain unchanged; in shear thinning region, G′ decreases and the sequence of the decreasing degree of G′ is EG/SiO2>PG/SiO2> BG/SiO2; however, G″ remains unchanged with σ increasing; in shear thickening region, both G′ and G″ increase as σ increases. The magnitude of G″ is larger than that of G′ over the studied range of stress, indicating that the dispersions mainly possess viscous property, and the energy dissipated is larger than the energy stored. The dissipated energies (Ed) of EG/SiO2, PG/SiO2, and BG/SiO2 dispersions increase with the maximum strain (γ0) increasing in a second power relation under low shear stress; however, in the shear thickening region, the Ed of EG/SiO2, PG/SiO2, and BG/SiO2 dispersions show an exponential increase with γ0 increasing by the exponents of n=2.79, 4.93, and 4.88, respectively.

A novel gel of imidazole/(HPO3)3 was synthesized and incorporated into sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) to fabricate composite proton exchange membranes. The composite membranes were characterized by alternating current impedance (AC), thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and mechanical property test. Based on the electrochemical performance investigation, the proton conductivity of the membrane is intimately correlated with the temperature and the mass ratio of imidazole/(HPO3)3 in the composite. The SPEEK/imidazole/(HPO3)3−4 composite membrane (with 44.4 wt % of imidazole/(HPO3)3) has the optimized performance at 135°C. Mover, the strength of the composite membranes is almost comparable to that of Nafion membrane. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41946.