[en] Polyaniline/Nafion and polypyrrole/Nafion composite membranes, prepared by chemical polymerization, are studied by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Differences in vanadium ion diffusion through the membranes and in the membranes area specific resistance are linked to analytical observations that polyaniline and polypyrrole interact differently with Nafion. Polypyrrole, a weakly basic polymer, binds less strongly to the sulfonic acid groups of the Nafion membrane, and thus the hydrophobic polymer aggregates in the center of the Nafion channel rather than on the hydrophilic side chains of Nafion that contain sulfonic acid groups. This results in a drastically elevated membrane resistance and an only slightly decreased vanadium ion permeation compared to a Nafion membrane. Polyaniline on the other hand is a strongly basic polymer, which forms along the sidewalls of the Nafion pores and on the membrane surface, binding tightly to the sulfonic acid groups of Nafion. This leads to a more effective reduction in vanadium ion transport across the polyaniline/Nafion membranes and the increase in membrane resistance is less severe. The performance of selected polypyrrole/Nafion composite membranes is tested in a static vanadium redox cell. Increased coulombic efficiency, compared to a cell employing Nafion, further confirms the reduced vanadium ion transport through the composite membranes.

[en] The stability of the electrolytes for all-vanadium redox flow battery was investigated with ex-situ heating/cooling treatment and in-situ flow-battery testing methods. The effects of inorganic and organic additives have been studied. The additives containing the ions of potassium, phosphate, and polyphosphate are not suitable stabilizing agents because of their reactions with V(V) ions, forming precipitates of KVSO6 or VOPO4. Of the chemicals studied, polyacrylic acid and its mixture with CH3SO3H are the most promising stabilizing candidates which can stabilize all the four vanadium ions (V2+, V3+, VO2+, and VO2+) in electrolyte solutions up to 1.8 M. However, further effort is needed to obtain a stable electrolyte solution with >1.8 M V5+ at temperatures higher than 40 C.

[en] We report the synthesis and characterization of new structural variants of the isotypic compound with the generic chemical formula, Co_1-0.5x^octCo_x^tet(OH)₂(Cl)_x(H₂O)_n, all modifications of an α-Co(OH)₂ lattice. We show that the occupancy of tetrahedrally coordinated cobalt sites and associated chloride ligands, x, is modulated by the rate of formation of the respective layered hydroxide salts from kinetically controlled aqueous hydrolysis at an air-water interface. This new level of structural control is uniquely enabled by the slow diffusion of a hydrolytic catalyst, a simple technique. Independent structural characterizations of the compounds separately describe various attributes of the materials on different length scales, revealing details hidden by the disordered average structures. The precise control over the population of distinct octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated cobalt ions in the lattice provides a gentle, generic method for modulating the coordination geometry of cobalt in the material without disturbing the lattice or using additional reagents. A mechanism is proposed to reconcile the observation of the kinetic control of the structure with competing interactions during the initial stages of hydrolysis and condensation.

[en] Hollow Carbon Nanowires (HCNWs) were prepared through pyrolyzation of hollow polyaniline nanowires precursor. The HCNWs used as anode material for Na-ion batteries delivers a high reversible capacity of 251 mAh g^-1 and 82.2% capacity retention over 400 charge/discharge cycles between 1.2 and 0.01 V (vs. Na⁺/Na) at a constant current of 50 mA g^-1 (0.2 C). Excellent cycling stability is also observed at even higher charge-discharge rate. A high reversible capacity of 149 mAh g^-1 also can be obtained at a current rate of 500 mA g^-1 (2C). The good Na ion insertion property is attributed to the short diffusion distance in the HCNWs, and the large interlayer distance (0.37 nm) between the graphitic sheets, which agrees with the interlayered distance predicted by theoretical calculation to enable Na ion insertion in carbon materials.

[en] A low-cost, environmentally benign method was used to prepare nanostructured thin films of Co₅(OH)₈(NO₃)₂.2H₂O, a layered double hydroxide p-type semiconductor. When infilled with poly(3-butylthiophene) (P3BT), an n-type semiconducting polymer, the resulting hybrid bulk heterojunction yields a photovoltaic device. The indium-doped tin oxide/Co₅(OH)₈(NO₃)₂.2H₂O/P3BT/Al cell described here is an unprecedented example of an optoelectronic device fabricated by a low-cost biologically inspired pathway independent of organic structure-directing agents. Under illumination, this proof-of-principle device yields an open circuit voltage of 1.38 V, a short circuit current of 9 μA/cm², a fill factor of 26% and a power efficiency of 3.2.10^-3%. While the open circuit voltage of this prototype cell is close to its theoretical maximum, potential sources of the observed low efficiency are identified, and a suggested path for improvement is discussed.