Title of Document: QUANTIFYING THE ROLE OF CERIUM OXIDE AS A CATALYST IN SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL ANODES Steven C. DeCaluwe, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: Associate Professor Gregory S. Jackson, Department of Mechanical Engineering Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are an important electrochemical power conversion device, due largely to their high efficiencies and ability to directly oxidiz...

Si-based Li-ion battery anodes offer specific capacity an order of magnitude beyond that of conventional graphite. However, the formation of stable Si anodes is a challenge because of significant volume changes occurring during their electrochemical alloying and dealloying with Li. Binder selection and optimization may allow significant improvements in the stability of Si-based anodes. Most stu...

In sediment-type microbial fuel cells (sMFCs) operating in rice paddy fields, rice-root exudates are converted to electricity by anode-associated rhizosphere microbes. Previous studies have shown that members of the family Geobacteraceae are enriched on the anodes of rhizosphere sMFCs. To deepen our understanding of rhizosphere microbes involved in electricity generation in sMFCs, here, we cond...

A better understanding of how anode and separator physical properties affect power production is needed to improve energy and power production by microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Oxygen crossover from the cathode can limit power production by bacteria on the anode when using closely spaced electrodes [separator electrode assembly (SEA)]. Thick graphite fiber brush anodes, as opposed to thin carbon ...

Treatments with organic surfactants, followed by the deposition of nanocrystalline ceria coatings from aqueous solution, were applied to anodes of solid oxide fuel cells. The cells were then operated in hydrogen/nitrogen fuel streams with H2S contents ranging from 0 to 500 ppm. Two surfactant treatments were studied: immersion in dodecanethiol, and a multi-step conversion of a siloxy-anchored a...

Over about the last ten years, microbial anodes have been the subject of a huge number of fundamental studies dealing with an increasing variety of possible application domains. Out of several thousands of studies, only a minority have used 3-electrode set-ups to ensure well-controlled electroanalysis conditions. The present article reviews these electroanalytical studies with the admitted obje...

We have studied polyaniline and polyethylenedioxythiophene transparent electrodes for use as hole-injecting anodes in polymer light emitting diodes. The anodes were doped with a variety of polymer and monomer-based acids and cast from either water or organic solvents to determine the effect of the dopant and solvent on the hole-injection properties. We find that the anodes with polymeric dopant...

The inferior hydrophilicity of graphene is an adverse factor to the performance of the graphene modified anodes (G anodes) in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this paper, different amounts of hydrophilic graphene oxide (GO) were doped into the modification layers to elevate the hydrophilicity of the G anodes so as to further improve their performance. Increasing the GO doped ratio from 0.15 mg·m...

Low cost, highly efficient and safe devices for energy storage have long been desired in our society. Among these devices, electrochemical batteries with alkali metal anodes have attracted worldwide attention. However, the practical application of such systems is limited by dendrite formation and low cycling efficiency of alkali metals. Here we report a class of liquid anodes fabricated by diss...

Conventional graphitic anodes in lithium-ion batteries cannot provide high-power densities due to slow diffusivity of lithium ions in the bulk electrode material. Here we report photoflash and laser-reduced free-standing graphene paper as high-rate capable anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Photothermal reduction of graphene oxide yields an expanded structure with micrometer-scale pores, cracks,...