• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2023

In this study, a new potentiometric sensor selective to copper(II) ions was developed and characterized. The developed sensor has a polymeric membrane and contains 4.0% electroactive material (ionophore), 33.0% poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), 63.0% bis(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate (BEHS) and 1.0% potassium tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl)borate (KTpClPB). This novel copper(II)-selective sensor exhibits a Nernstian response over a wide concentration range from 1.0×10^-6 to 1.0×10^-1 mol L^-1 with a slope of 29.6 (±1.2) mV decade^-1, and a lower detection limit of 8.75×10-7 mol L^-1. The sensor, which was produced economically by synthesizing the ionophore in the laboratory, has a good selectivity and repeatability, fast response time and stable potentiometric behaviour. The potential response of the sensor remains unaffected of pH in the range of 5.0-10.0. Based on the analytical applications of the sensor, we showed that it can be used as an indicator electrode in the quantification of Cu²⁺ ions by potentiometric titration against EDTA, and can also be successfully utilized for the determination of copper(II) ions in different real samples.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.579-587
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• 2020

Novel silane grafted bentonite was obtained using the natural bentonite as precursor material. The material which is termed as nanocomposite was characterized by the Fourier Transform Infra-red (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The surface imaging and elemental mapping was performed using Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM/EDX) technique. The electroanalytical studies were performed using the nanocomposite electrode. The electroactive surface area of nanocomposite electrode was significantly increased than the pristine bentonite or bare carbon paste based working electrode. The impedance spectroscopic studies were conducted to simulate the equivalent circuit and Nyquist plots were drawn for the carbon paste electrode and nanocomposite electrodes. A single step oxidation/reduction process occurred for As(III) having ΔE value 0.36 V at pH 2.0. The anodic stripping voltammetry was performed for concentration dependence studies of As(III) (0.5 to 20.0 ㎍/L) and reasonably a good linear relationship was obtained. The detection limit of the As(III) detection was calculated as 0.00360±0.00002 ㎍/L having with observed relative standard deviations (RSD) less than 4%. The presence of several cations and anions has not affected the detection of As(III) however, the presence of Cu(II) and Mn(II) affected the detection of As(III). The selectivity of As(III) was achieved using the Tlawng river water sample spiked with As(III).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.246-256
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• 2021

Mo,Cu-doped CeO₂ (CMCuO) nanopowders were synthesized by the nitrate-fuel combustion method aiming to improve the electrical and electrochemical properties of its Mo-doped CeO₂ (CMO) parent by the addition of copper. An electrical conductivity of ca. 1.22·10^-2 S cm^-1 was measured in air at 800℃ for CMCuO, which is nearly 10 times higher than that reported for CMO. This increase was associated with the inclusion of copper into the crystal lattice of ceria and the presence of Cu and Cu₂O as secondary phases in the CMCuO structure, which also could explain the increase in the charge transfer activities of the CMCuO based anode for the hydrogen and carbon monoxide electro-oxidation processes compared to the CMO based anode. A maximum power density of ca. 120 mW cm^-2 was measured using a CMCuO based anode in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with YSZ electrolyte and LSM-YSZ cathode operating at 800℃ with humidified syngas as fuel, which is comparable to the power output reported for other SOFCs with anodes containing copper. An increase in the area specific resistance of the SOFC was observed after ca. 10 hours of operation under cycling open circuit voltage and polarization conditions, which was attributed to the anode delamination caused by the reduction of the Cu₂O secondary phase contained in its microstructure. Therefore, the addition of a more electroactive phase for hydrogen oxidation is suggested to confer long-term stability to the CMCuO based anode.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.320-324
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• 2003

Acidic drug selective electrodes based on metal(II)-di-2-pyridyl ketone-acidic drugs ternary complex as electroactive material were prepared. The metal ions, $Fe^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$, $Ni^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$ were used. Nitrophenyl ether series were used as plasticizers. The electrodes exhibit a fast stable and linear response for $5{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}10^{-3}mol/L$ mefenamic acid (MA) in borate buffer solution (pH 8.9) and ibuprofen(Ib) in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0). The recovery test for mefenamic acid and ibuprofen using standard addition method were 99.0% and 98.4% with relative standard deviation of 2.4% and 2.6% respectively.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2020

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a stable and biocompatible material that has been broadly used in biomedical applications. Due to its piezoelectric property, the electrospun nanofiber of PVDF has been used to culture electroactive cells, such as osteocytes and cardiomyocytes. Here, taking advantage of the piezoelectric property of PVDF, we have fabricated a PVDF nanofiber scaffolds using an electrospinning technique for differentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into neural precursors (NPs). Surface coating with a peptide derived from vitronectin enables hESCs to firmly adhere onto the nanofiber scaffolds and differentiate into NPs under dual-SMAD inhibition. Our nanofiber scaffolds supported the differentiation of hESCs into SOX1-positive NPs more significantly than Matrigel. The NPs generated on the nanofiber scaffolds could give rise to neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocyte precursors. Furthermore, comparative transcriptome analysis revealed the variable expressions of 27 genes in the nanofiber scaffold groups, several of which are highly related to the biological processes required for neural differentiation. These results suggest that a PVDF nanofiber scaffold coated with a vitronectin peptide can serve as a highly efficient and defined culture platform for the neural differentiation of hESCs.

• Nano
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1850148.1-1850148.9
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• 2018

The interconnected three-dimensional Ni-Co-S nanosheets were successfully deposited on ZnO nanorods by a one-step potentiostatic electrodeposition. The Ni-Co-S nanosheets provide a large electrode/electrolyte interfacial area which has adequate electroactive sites for redox reactions. Electrochemical characterization of the ZnO@Ni-Co-S core-shell nanorods presents high specifc capacitance (1302.5 F/g and 1085 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g and 20 A/g), excellent rate capabilities (83.3% retention at 20 A/g) and great cycling stability (65% retention after 5000 cycles at a current density of 30 A/g). The outstanding electrochemical performance of the as-prepared electrode material also can be ascribed to these reasons that the special structure improved electrical conductivity and allowed the fast diffusion of electrolyte ions.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.300-306
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• 2004

Eight cation or anion-responsive polymer membranes were prepared by a casting procedure employing polyvinyl chloride, Bis (2-ethylhexyl)sebacate and each electroactive material in the ratio of 66 : 33 : 1. The resulting membranes were separately installed onto the sensitive area of the ionic electrodes to produce an 8-channel taste sensor array. The taste sensors of the array were connected to a high-input impedance amplifier and the amplified sensor signals were interfaced to a PC via an A/D converter. The taste evaluation system was applied to a discriminant analysis on six groups of marketed beverages like sikhye, sujunggwa, tangerine juice, ume juice, ionic drink and green tea. When the signal data from the sensor array were analyzed by principal component analysis after normalization, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd principal component explained most of the total data variance. The six groups of the analyzed beverages were discriminated well in the three dimensional principal component space. The half of the five groups of the analyzed beverages was also discriminated in the two dimensional principal component plane.