• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.95-101
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• 2016

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites coated with spindle-shaped $Fe_2O_3$ nanoparticles (NPs) are fabricated by a combination of an electrospinning method and a hydrothermal method, and their morphological, structural, and chemical properties are measured by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For comparison, CNFs and spindle-shaped $Fe_2O_3$ NPs are prepared by either an electrospinning method or a hydrothermal method, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with the composites exhibit enhanced open circuit voltage (0.70 V), short-circuit current density ($12.82mA/cm^2$), fill factor (61.30%), and power conversion efficiency (5.52%) compared to those of the CNFs (0.66 V, $11.61mA/cm^2$, 51.96%, and 3.97%) and spindle-shaped $Fe_2O_3$ NPs (0.67 V, $11.45mA/cm^2$, 50.17%, and 3.86%). This performance improvement can be attributed to a synergistic effect of a superb catalytic reaction of spindle-shaped $Fe_2O_3$ NPs and efficient charge transfer relative to the one-dimensional nanostructure of the CNFs. Therefore, spindle-shaped $Fe_2O_3$-NP-coated CNF composites may be proposed as a potential alternative material for low-cost counter electrodes in DSSCs.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.472-478
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• 2022

Solar energy harvesting is practiced by various nations for the purpose of energy security and environment preservation in order to reduce overdependence on oil. Converting solar energy into electrical energy through Photovoltaic (PV) module can take place either in on-grid or off-grid applications. In recent time Lithium battery is exhibiting its presence in on-grid applications but its role in off-grid application is rarely discussed in the literature. The preliminary capacity and Peukert's study indicated that the battery quality is good and can be subjected for life cycle test. The capacity of the battery was 10.82 Ah at 1 A discharge current and the slope of 1.0117 in the Peukert's study indicated the reaction is very fast and independent on rate of discharge. In this study Lithium Iron Phosphate battery (LFP) after initial characterization was subjected to life cycle test which is specific to solar off-grid application as defined in IEC standard. The battery has delivered just 6 endurance units at room temperature before its capacity reached 75% of rated value. The low life of LFP battery in off-grid application is discussed based on State of Charge (SOC) operating window. The battery was operated both in high and low SOC's in off-grid application and both are detrimental to life of lithium battery. High SOC operation resulted in cell-to-cell variation and low SOC operation resulted in lithium plating on negative electrode. It is suggested that to make it more suitable for off-grid applications the battery by default has to be overdesigned by nearly 40% of its rated capacity.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.2B
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• pp.187-192
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• 2011

Nitrate nitrogen is common contaminant in groundwater aquifers, its concentration is regulated many countries below 10 mg/L as N (As per WHO standards) in drinking water. An attempt was made to get optimal results for the treatment of nitrate nitrogen in groundwater by conducting various experiments by changing the experimental conditions for ZVI bipolar packed bed electrolytic cell. From the experimental results it is evident that the nitrate nitrogen removal is more effective when the reactor conditions are maintained in acidic range but when the acidic environment changes to alkaline due to the hydroxide formed during the process of ammonia nitrogen there by increasing the pH reducing the hydrogen ions required for reduction which leads to low effectiveness of the system. In the ZVI bipolar packed bed electrolytic cell, the packing ratio of 0.5~1:1 was found to be most effective for the treatment of nitrate nitrogen because ZVI particles are isolated and individual particle act like small electrode with low packing ratio. It is seen that formation of precipitate and acceleration of clogging incrementally for packing ratio more than 2:1, decreasing the nitrate nitrogen removal rate. When the voltage is increased it is seen that kinetics and current also increases but at the same time more electric power is consumed. In this experiment, the optimum voltage was determined to be 50V. At that time, nitrate nitrogen was removed by 94.9%.