Research of the surge voltage protection by means of Hybrid Real-Time Power System Simulator

The article considers the simulation of surge voltage protection. A functional diagram of this protection model and the means by which the researches were made are presented. The results are the oscillograms of the surge voltage protection operation for the generator

The role of reactive reaction intermediates in two-step heterogeneous electro-catalytic reactions: A model study

Experimental investigations of heterogeneous electrocatalytic reactions have been performed in flow cells which provide an environment with controlled parameters. Measurements of the oxygen reduction reaction in a flow cell with an electrode consisting of an array of Pt nanodisks on a glassy carbon substrate exhibited a decreasing fraction of the intermediate $H_2O_2$ in the overall reaction products with increasing density of the nanodiscs. A similar result is true for the dependence on the catalyst loading in the case of a supported Pt/C catalyst thin-film electrode, where the fraction of the intermediate decreases with increasing catalyst loading. Similar effects have been detected for the methanol oxidation. We present a model of multistep heterogeneous electrocatalytic oxidation and reduction reactions based on an adsorption-reaction-desorption scheme using the Langmuir assumption and macroscopic transport equations. A continuum based model problem in a vertical cross section of a rectangular flow cell is proposed in order to explain basic principles of the experimental situation. It includes three model species A, B, C, which undergo adsorption and desorption at a catalyst surface, as well as adsorbate reactions from A to B to C. These surface reactions are coupled with diffusion and advection in the Hagen Poiseuille flow in the flow chamber of the cell. Both high velocity asymptotic theory and a finite volume numerical are used to obtain approximate solutions to the model. Both approaches show a behaviour similar to the experimentally observed. Working in more general situations, the finite volume scheme was applied to a catalyst layer consisting of a number of small catalytically active areas corresponding to nanodisks. Good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings was established for this case as well

Bi-Functional Iron-Only Electrodes for Efficient Water Splitting with Enhanced Stability through in Situ Electrochemical Regeneration

Scalable and robust electrocatalysts are required for the implementation of water splitting technologies as a globally applicable means of producing affordable renewable hydrogen. We demonstrate herein that iron-only electrode materials prove to be active for catalyzing both proton reduction and water oxidation in alkaline electrolyte solution with superior activity to that of previously established bi-functional catalysts containing less abundant elements. The reported bi-functionality of the iron electrodes is reversible upon switching of the applied bias through electrochemical interconversion of catalytic species at the electrode surface. Cycling of the applied bias results in in-situ electrochemical regeneration of the catalytic surfaces and thereby extends the catalyst stability and lifetime of the water electrolyzer. Full water splitting at a current density of I = 10 mA cm⁻² is achieved at a bias of approximately 2 V which is stable over at least 3 days (72 one hour switching cycles). Thus, potential-switching is established as a possible strategy of stabilizing electrode materials against degradation in symmetrical water splitting systems.The author’s thank the Oppenheimer Fund (University of Cambridge), the EPSRC (Grant EP/H00338X/2), the Christian Doppler Research Association (Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development) and OMV Group for financial support. We also thank the National EPSRC XPS User’s Service (NEXUS) at Newcastle University, UK, where XPS spectra were obtained. Dr Chia-Yu Lin is acknowledged for his invaluable help in initial experiments.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aenm.20150209

Stopped flow spectrophotometric observation of superoxide dismutation in aqueous solution

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21683/1/0000073.pd

Role of water states on water uptake and proton transport in Nafion using molecular simulations and bimodal network

Using molecular simulations and a bimodal domain network, the role of water state on Nafion water uptake and water and proton transport is investigated. Although the smaller domains provide moderate transport pathways, their effectiveness remains low due to strong, resistive water molecules/domain surface interactions. The water occupancy of the larger domains yields bulk-like water, and causes the observed transition in the water uptake and significant increases in transport properties

Climate change litigation: a review of research on courts and litigants in climate government

Studies of climate change litigation have proliferated over the past two decades, as lawsuits across the world increasingly bring policy debates about climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as climate change‐related loss and damage to the attention of courts. We systematically identify 130 articles on climate change litigation published in English in the law and social sciences between 2000 and 2018 to identify research trajectories. In addition to a budding interdisciplinarity in scholarly interest in climate change litigation we also document a growing understanding of the full spectrum of actors involved and implicated in climate lawsuits and the range of motivations and/or strategic imperatives underpinning their engagement with the law. Situating this within the broader academic literature on the topic we then highlight a number of cutting edge trends and opportunities for future research. Four emerging themes are explored in detail: the relationship between litigation and governance; how time and scale feature in climate litigation; the role of science; and what has been coined the “human rights turn” in climate change litigation. We highlight the limits of existing work and the need for future research—not limited to legal scholarship—to evaluate the impact of both regulatory and anti‐regulatory climate‐related lawsuits, and to explore a wider set of jurisdictions, actors and themes. Addressing these issues and questions will help to develop a deeper understanding of the conditions under which litigation will strengthen or undermine climate governance. This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governanc