Direct methanol fuel cells （DMFCs） are promising for use in portable devices because of advantages such as high fuel energy density, low working temperature and low emission of pollutants. Nanotechnology has been us...Direct methanol fuel cells （DMFCs） are promising for use in portable devices because of advantages such as high fuel energy density, low working temperature and low emission of pollutants. Nanotechnology has been used to improve the performance of DMFCs. Catalytic materials composed of small, metallic particles with unique nanostructure supparted on carbons or metal oxides have been widely investigated for use in DMFCs. Despite our increased understanding of this type of fuel cell, many challenges still remain. This paper reviews the current developments of nanostructured elec- trocatalytic materials and porous electrodes for use in DMFCs. In particular, this review focuses on the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured catalysts and supporting materials. Both computational and experimental approaches to optimize mass transportation in porous electrodes of DMFCs, such as theoretical modeling of internal transfer processes and preparation of functional structures in membrane electrode assemblies, are introduced.展开更多
The performance of different nanofiltration （NF） and reverse osmosis （RO） membranes was studied in treating the toxic metal effluent from metallurgical industry. The characteristics and filtration behavior of the ...The performance of different nanofiltration （NF） and reverse osmosis （RO） membranes was studied in treating the toxic metal effluent from metallurgical industry. The characteristics and filtration behavior of the processes including the wastewater flux, salt rejection and ion rejection versus operating pressure were evaluated. Then the wastewater flux of RO membrane was compared with theoretical calculation using mass transfer models, and good consistency was observed. It was found that a high rejection rate more than 95% of metal ions and a low Chemical Oxygen Demand （COD） value of 10 mg·L^-1 in permeate could be achieved using the RO composite membrane, while the NF rejection of the salt could be up to 78.9% and the COD value in the permeate was 35 mg·L^-1. The results showed that the product water by both NF and RO desalination satisfied the State Reutilization Qualification, but NF would be more suitable for large-scale industrial practice, which offered significantly higher permeate flux at low operating pressure.展开更多
Membrane-based CO_2 separation is a promising alternative in terms of energy and environmental issues to other conventional techniques. Polyether-polyamide block copolymer(Pebax) membranes are promising for CO_2 separ...Membrane-based CO_2 separation is a promising alternative in terms of energy and environmental issues to other conventional techniques. Polyether-polyamide block copolymer(Pebax) membranes are promising for CO_2 separation because of their excellent selectivity, but limited by their moderate gas permeability. In this study,fresh-prepared zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(ZIF-8) nanocrystals were integrated into the Pebax?1657matrices to form mixed matrix membranes. The resulting membrane exhibits significantly improved CO_2permeability(as high as 300% increase), without the sacrifice of the selectivity, to the pristine polymer membrane. Several physical characterization techniques were employed to confirm the good interfacial interaction between ZIF-8 fillers and Pebax matrices. The effect of added ZIF-8 fillers on the transport mechanism through MMMs is also explored. Mixed-gas permeation for both CO_2/N_2 and CO_2/CH_4 was also evaluated. The separation performance for CO_2/CH_4 mixtures on the ZIF-8/Pebax MMMs is very close to the Roberson upper bound, and thus is technologically attractive for purification of natural gas.展开更多
The effects of two different hydrophilic additives and two solvents on the membrane morphological structure,permeability property and anti-fouling performances of cellulose acetate(CA) ultrafiltration membranes were i...The effects of two different hydrophilic additives and two solvents on the membrane morphological structure,permeability property and anti-fouling performances of cellulose acetate(CA) ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. During the phase-inversion process, cellulose acetate was selected as a membrane forming polymer; polyethylene glycol(PEG) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP) were used as additives; acetone(Ac): N,N-Dimethylacetamide(DMAc) and N, N-Dimethylformamide(DMF) were used as solvents; and deionized(DI)water was used in the coagulation bath. All the prepared membranes were characterized in terms of hydraulic permeability(Pm), membrane resistance, average pore radius, and hydrophilicity. The top surface and crosssectional view of the prepared membranes were also observed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Membrane fouling and rejection experimentations were done using a stirred batch-cell filtration set-up.The experimental studies of fouling/rinsing cycles, rejection, and permeate fluxes were used to investigate the effect of PEG and PVP additives and effect of the two solvents on the fabricated membranes using bovine serum albumin(BSA) as a model protein.展开更多
An operational model is developed to evaluate and predict the permeation performance of mixed gas through poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membranes by combining the ideal gas permeation model with the ex-perimental anal...An operational model is developed to evaluate and predict the permeation performance of mixed gas through poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membranes by combining the ideal gas permeation model with the ex-perimental analysis of the mixed gas transport character. This model is tested using the binary and ternary mixed gas with various compositions through the PDMS membranes, and the predicted data of the permeation flux and the compositions of the permeated gas are in good agreement with the experimental ones, which indicates that the op-erational model is applicable for the evaluation of the permeation performance of mixed gas through PDMS mem-branes.展开更多
A high performance composite membrane was prepared under the inspiration of bioadhesion principles for pervaporative dehydration of ethanol.Chitosan(CS)and polyacrylonitrile(PAN)ultrafiltration membranes were used as ...A high performance composite membrane was prepared under the inspiration of bioadhesion principles for pervaporative dehydration of ethanol.Chitosan(CS)and polyacrylonitrile(PAN)ultrafiltration membranes were used as the active layer and the support layer,respectively.Guar gum(GG),a natural bioadhesive,was introduced as the intermediate bonding layer to improve the separation performance and stability of the fabricated CS/GG/PAN composite membranes.The contact angle of the GG layer was just between those of the CS layer and the PAN layer,minimizing the difference of hydrophilicity between the active layer and the support layer.The peeling strength of the composite membrane was significantly enhanced after the introduction of the GG layer.The effects of preparation conditions and operation conditions including GG concentration,operating temperature and ethanol concentration in feed on the pervaporation performance were investigated.The as-fabricated CS/GG/PAN composite membrane showed the optimum performance with a permeation flux of up to804 g·m-2·h-1and a separation factor higher than 1900.Besides,the composite membranes exhibited a desirable long-term operational stability.展开更多
As emerging artificial biomimetic membranes, smart or intelligent membranes that are able to respond to environmental stimuli are attracting ever-increasing interests from various fields. Their permeation properties i...As emerging artificial biomimetic membranes, smart or intelligent membranes that are able to respond to environmental stimuli are attracting ever-increasing interests from various fields. Their permeation properties including hydraulic permeability and diffusional permeability can be dramatically controlled or adjusted self-regulatively in response to small chemical and/or physical stimuli in their environments. Such environmental stimuli-responsive smart membranes could find myriad applications in numerous fields ranging from controlled release to separations. Here the trans-membrane mass-transfer and membrane separation is introduced as the beginning to initiate the requirement of smart membranes, and then bio-inspired design of environmental stimuli-responsive smart membranes and four essential elements for smart membranes are introduced and discussed. Next, smart membrane types and their applications as smart tools for controllable mass-transfer in controlled release and separations are reviewed. The research tooics in the near future are also suggested.展开更多
Multilayer gallium and aluminum doped ZnO （GZO/AZO） films were fabricated by alternative deposition of Ga-doped zinc oxide（GZO） and Al-doped zinc oxide（AZO） thin film by using pulsed laser deposition（PLD） proc...Multilayer gallium and aluminum doped ZnO （GZO/AZO） films were fabricated by alternative deposition of Ga-doped zinc oxide（GZO） and Al-doped zinc oxide（AZO） thin film by using pulsed laser deposition（PLD） process. The electrical and optical properties of these GZO/AZO thin films were investigated and compared with those of GZO and AZO thin films. The GZO/AZO （1：1） thin film deposited at 400 ~C shows the electrical resistivity of 4.18 x 10 4 ~.cm, an electron concentration of 7.5 x 1020/cm3, and carrier mobility of 25.4 cm2/（V.s）. The optical transmittances of GZO/AZO thin films are over 85%. The optical band gap energy of GZO/AZO thin films linearly decreases with increasing the AI ratio.展开更多
Using polysulfone （PSF） hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes as the substrate, sodium alginate （SA） and polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） blend solutions as the coating solution, and maleic anhydride （MAC） as the cros...Using polysulfone （PSF） hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes as the substrate, sodium alginate （SA） and polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） blend solutions as the coating solution, and maleic anhydride （MAC） as the cross-linked agent, SAPVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membranes were prepared for the dehydration of ethanol-water. The effects of different sodium alginate concentration in the coating solutions and different operating temperatures on pervaporation performance were investigated. The experimental results showed that pervaporation performance of the SA-PVA/PSF composite membranes for ethanol-water solution exhibited a high separation factor although they had a relatively low permeation flux. As SA concentration in SA-PVA coating solution was 66.7% and the operating temperature was 40 ℃, SA-PVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membrane （PS4） had a separation factor of 886 and flux of 12.6 g/（m^2·h）. Besides, SA-PVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membranes （PS3 and PS4） were used for the investigation of the effect of ethanol concentration in the feed solution on pervaporation performance.展开更多
In normal condition, intestine mucosa possesses barrier function. When the barrier function of intestine mucosa was damaged, intestinal bacteria, endotoxin, or other substances would enter blood. It is generally accep...In normal condition, intestine mucosa possesses barrier function. When the barrier function of intestine mucosa was damaged, intestinal bacteria, endotoxin, or other substances would enter blood. It is generally accepted that biliary bacteria origins from the intestine either via duodenal papilla or intestinal mucosa. In this study, we aimed to investigate the intestinal permeability changes of cholelithiasis patients to elucidate the possible pathogenesis of cholelithiasis.展开更多
Highly conductive transparent Al-doped zinc oxide （AZO） films with highly （002）-preferred orientation were successfully deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. Optimization of...Highly conductive transparent Al-doped zinc oxide （AZO） films with highly （002）-preferred orientation were successfully deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. Optimization of deposition parameters was based on sputtering RF power and Ar pressure in the vacuum chamber. AZO films of 180nm with an electrical resistivity as low as 2.68 × 10^-3 Ω· cm and an average optical transmission of 90% in the visible range were obtained at RF power of 250W and Ar pressure of 1.2Pa. The effect of chemisorption of oxygen on the grain boundary would capture electrons from conduction band and lead the formation of potential barriers among the crystallites,which will influence the electric property of the AZO thin films. The films have satisfactory properties of low resistance and high transmittance for application as transparent conductive electrodes in light emitting diodes （LEDs） and solar cells.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51274028)~~
文摘Direct methanol fuel cells （DMFCs） are promising for use in portable devices because of advantages such as high fuel energy density, low working temperature and low emission of pollutants. Nanotechnology has been used to improve the performance of DMFCs. Catalytic materials composed of small, metallic particles with unique nanostructure supparted on carbons or metal oxides have been widely investigated for use in DMFCs. Despite our increased understanding of this type of fuel cell, many challenges still remain. This paper reviews the current developments of nanostructured elec- trocatalytic materials and porous electrodes for use in DMFCs. In particular, this review focuses on the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured catalysts and supporting materials. Both computational and experimental approaches to optimize mass transportation in porous electrodes of DMFCs, such as theoretical modeling of internal transfer processes and preparation of functional structures in membrane electrode assemblies, are introduced.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （20476096, 20776133）, Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Science ＆ Technology （2005C33040） and Bureau of Education （Key Discipline of Environmental Engineering 56310503014）.
文摘The performance of different nanofiltration （NF） and reverse osmosis （RO） membranes was studied in treating the toxic metal effluent from metallurgical industry. The characteristics and filtration behavior of the processes including the wastewater flux, salt rejection and ion rejection versus operating pressure were evaluated. Then the wastewater flux of RO membrane was compared with theoretical calculation using mass transfer models, and good consistency was observed. It was found that a high rejection rate more than 95% of metal ions and a low Chemical Oxygen Demand （COD） value of 10 mg·L^-1 in permeate could be achieved using the RO composite membrane, while the NF rejection of the salt could be up to 78.9% and the COD value in the permeate was 35 mg·L^-1. The results showed that the product water by both NF and RO desalination satisfied the State Reutilization Qualification, but NF would be more suitable for large-scale industrial practice, which offered significantly higher permeate flux at low operating pressure.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21406106)Jiangsu Provincial NSFC(BK20130928)+2 种基金Foundation of Jiangsu Educational Committee of China(14KJB530006)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)the Research and Innovation Program for College Postgraduates of Jiangsu Province(Grant SJLX16_0300)
文摘Membrane-based CO_2 separation is a promising alternative in terms of energy and environmental issues to other conventional techniques. Polyether-polyamide block copolymer(Pebax) membranes are promising for CO_2 separation because of their excellent selectivity, but limited by their moderate gas permeability. In this study,fresh-prepared zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(ZIF-8) nanocrystals were integrated into the Pebax?1657matrices to form mixed matrix membranes. The resulting membrane exhibits significantly improved CO_2permeability(as high as 300% increase), without the sacrifice of the selectivity, to the pristine polymer membrane. Several physical characterization techniques were employed to confirm the good interfacial interaction between ZIF-8 fillers and Pebax matrices. The effect of added ZIF-8 fillers on the transport mechanism through MMMs is also explored. Mixed-gas permeation for both CO_2/N_2 and CO_2/CH_4 was also evaluated. The separation performance for CO_2/CH_4 mixtures on the ZIF-8/Pebax MMMs is very close to the Roberson upper bound, and thus is technologically attractive for purification of natural gas.
文摘The effects of two different hydrophilic additives and two solvents on the membrane morphological structure,permeability property and anti-fouling performances of cellulose acetate(CA) ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. During the phase-inversion process, cellulose acetate was selected as a membrane forming polymer; polyethylene glycol(PEG) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP) were used as additives; acetone(Ac): N,N-Dimethylacetamide(DMAc) and N, N-Dimethylformamide(DMF) were used as solvents; and deionized(DI)water was used in the coagulation bath. All the prepared membranes were characterized in terms of hydraulic permeability(Pm), membrane resistance, average pore radius, and hydrophilicity. The top surface and crosssectional view of the prepared membranes were also observed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Membrane fouling and rejection experimentations were done using a stirred batch-cell filtration set-up.The experimental studies of fouling/rinsing cycles, rejection, and permeate fluxes were used to investigate the effect of PEG and PVP additives and effect of the two solvents on the fabricated membranes using bovine serum albumin(BSA) as a model protein.
基金Supported by National 985 Project of China (No.985XK-015).
文摘An operational model is developed to evaluate and predict the permeation performance of mixed gas through poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membranes by combining the ideal gas permeation model with the ex-perimental analysis of the mixed gas transport character. This model is tested using the binary and ternary mixed gas with various compositions through the PDMS membranes, and the predicted data of the permeation flux and the compositions of the permeated gas are in good agreement with the experimental ones, which indicates that the op-erational model is applicable for the evaluation of the permeation performance of mixed gas through PDMS mem-branes.
基金Acknowledgment： This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No.21076204） and the Basic Research Foundation of Xi＇an University of Architecture and Technology （No.JC1107）.
文摘Acknowledgment： This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No.21076204） and the Basic Research Foundation
基金Supported by the New Century Excellent Talents in University(NCET-10-0623)the National Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars(21125627)+1 种基金the National Basic Research Program of China(2009CB623404)State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials(Dong Hua University)
文摘A high performance composite membrane was prepared under the inspiration of bioadhesion principles for pervaporative dehydration of ethanol.Chitosan(CS)and polyacrylonitrile(PAN)ultrafiltration membranes were used as the active layer and the support layer,respectively.Guar gum(GG),a natural bioadhesive,was introduced as the intermediate bonding layer to improve the separation performance and stability of the fabricated CS/GG/PAN composite membranes.The contact angle of the GG layer was just between those of the CS layer and the PAN layer,minimizing the difference of hydrophilicity between the active layer and the support layer.The peeling strength of the composite membrane was significantly enhanced after the introduction of the GG layer.The effects of preparation conditions and operation conditions including GG concentration,operating temperature and ethanol concentration in feed on the pervaporation performance were investigated.The as-fabricated CS/GG/PAN composite membrane showed the optimum performance with a permeation flux of up to804 g·m-2·h-1and a separation factor higher than 1900.Besides,the composite membranes exhibited a desirable long-term operational stability.
基金Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China （2009CB623407）, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China （20825622, 20806049, 20906064, 20990220, 21036002, 21076127, 21136006）.
文摘As emerging artificial biomimetic membranes, smart or intelligent membranes that are able to respond to environmental stimuli are attracting ever-increasing interests from various fields. Their permeation properties including hydraulic permeability and diffusional permeability can be dramatically controlled or adjusted self-regulatively in response to small chemical and/or physical stimuli in their environments. Such environmental stimuli-responsive smart membranes could find myriad applications in numerous fields ranging from controlled release to separations. Here the trans-membrane mass-transfer and membrane separation is introduced as the beginning to initiate the requirement of smart membranes, and then bio-inspired design of environmental stimuli-responsive smart membranes and four essential elements for smart membranes are introduced and discussed. Next, smart membrane types and their applications as smart tools for controllable mass-transfer in controlled release and separations are reviewed. The research tooics in the near future are also suggested.
基金supported by the Yeungnam University Research Grants in 2009
文摘Multilayer gallium and aluminum doped ZnO （GZO/AZO） films were fabricated by alternative deposition of Ga-doped zinc oxide（GZO） and Al-doped zinc oxide（AZO） thin film by using pulsed laser deposition（PLD） process. The electrical and optical properties of these GZO/AZO thin films were investigated and compared with those of GZO and AZO thin films. The GZO/AZO （1：1） thin film deposited at 400 ~C shows the electrical resistivity of 4.18 x 10 4 ~.cm, an electron concentration of 7.5 x 1020/cm3, and carrier mobility of 25.4 cm2/（V.s）. The optical transmittances of GZO/AZO thin films are over 85%. The optical band gap energy of GZO/AZO thin films linearly decreases with increasing the AI ratio.
基金Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2003CB615705)
文摘Using polysulfone （PSF） hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes as the substrate, sodium alginate （SA） and polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） blend solutions as the coating solution, and maleic anhydride （MAC） as the cross-linked agent, SAPVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membranes were prepared for the dehydration of ethanol-water. The effects of different sodium alginate concentration in the coating solutions and different operating temperatures on pervaporation performance were investigated. The experimental results showed that pervaporation performance of the SA-PVA/PSF composite membranes for ethanol-water solution exhibited a high separation factor although they had a relatively low permeation flux. As SA concentration in SA-PVA coating solution was 66.7% and the operating temperature was 40 ℃, SA-PVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membrane （PS4） had a separation factor of 886 and flux of 12.6 g/（m^2·h）. Besides, SA-PVA/PSF hollow fiber composite membranes （PS3 and PS4） were used for the investigation of the effect of ethanol concentration in the feed solution on pervaporation performance.
文摘In normal condition, intestine mucosa possesses barrier function. When the barrier function of intestine mucosa was damaged, intestinal bacteria, endotoxin, or other substances would enter blood. It is generally accepted that biliary bacteria origins from the intestine either via duodenal papilla or intestinal mucosa. In this study, we aimed to investigate the intestinal permeability changes of cholelithiasis patients to elucidate the possible pathogenesis of cholelithiasis.
文摘Highly conductive transparent Al-doped zinc oxide （AZO） films with highly （002）-preferred orientation were successfully deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. Optimization of deposition parameters was based on sputtering RF power and Ar pressure in the vacuum chamber. AZO films of 180nm with an electrical resistivity as low as 2.68 × 10^-3 Ω· cm and an average optical transmission of 90% in the visible range were obtained at RF power of 250W and Ar pressure of 1.2Pa. The effect of chemisorption of oxygen on the grain boundary would capture electrons from conduction band and lead the formation of potential barriers among the crystallites,which will influence the electric property of the AZO thin films. The films have satisfactory properties of low resistance and high transmittance for application as transparent conductive electrodes in light emitting diodes （LEDs） and solar cells.
