1.1 Background Thanks to the breakthroughs in microfabrication technologies, numerous concepts of microsystems including micro aerial vehicles, microbots, and nanosatellites have been proposed. Contrary to ordinary electronic devices, these microsystems perform mechanical work and require the extended operation. As their functions are getting complex and advanced, their energy consumption is al...

Materials chemistry and electrochemistry have long been very active elds of research accelerated by chance discoveries, societal needs, and the ever expanding constituency of researchers around the globe. Advances in synthesis, characterisation techniques, and interdisciplinary research have caused an almost exponential growth in research where applications have been driving the focus – especi...

In the highly competitive market of fuel cells, solid alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuel (such as cheap, non-toxic and non-valorized glycerol) and not requiring noble metal as catalyst seem quite promising. One of the main hurdles for emergence of such a technology is the development of a hydroxide-conducting membrane characterized by both high conductivity and low fuel permeability. Plasma ...

The alkaline thermal treatment of biomass has recently been proposed as a novel method for producing high purity H2 with suppressed COx formation under moderate reaction conditions (i.e., 523 K and ambient pressure). This technology has a great potential for sustainable bioenergy production because it can handle a wide range of feedstocks including biomass and biogenic wastes with high water co...

BACKGROUND The production of ethyl alcohol by fermentation represents the largest scale application of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in industrial biotechnology. Increased worldwide demand for fuel bioethanol is anticipated over the next decade and will exceed 200 billion liters from further expansions. Our working hypothesis was that the drop in ATP level in S. cerevisiae cells during alcoholic fer...

Vinylbenzyl chloride was grafted onto PVDF and FEP polymer films using the radiation-grafting methodology. Subsequent reaction with trimethylamine and ion-exchange with potassium hydroxide yields alkaline anion-exchange membranes that are capable of conducting hydroxide ions; such membranes may be suitable for use in low temperature direct methanol fuel cells for portable devices. The PVDF base...

In this work we evaluated the potentiality of a poly(imide) (PI)/organically-modified montmorillonite (O-MMT) nanocomposite membrane for the use in alkaline fuel cells. Both X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy revealed a good dispersion of O-MMT into the PI matrix and preservation of the O-MMT layered structure. When compared to the pure PI, the addition of O-MMT improved thermal...