Effective NiMn nanoparticles-functionalized carbon felt as an effective anode for direct urea fuel cells

The internal resistances of fuel cells strongly affect the generated power. Basically, in the fuel cell, the anode can be prepared by deposition of a film from the functional electrocatalyst on a proper gas diffusion layer. Accordingly, an interfacial resistance for the electron transport is created between the two layers. Electrocatalyst-functionalized gas diffusion layer (GDL) can distinctly reduce the interfacial resistance between the catalyst layer and the GDL. In this study, NiMn nanoparticles-decorated carbon felt is introduced as functionalized GDL to be exploited as a ready-made anode in a direct urea fuel cell. The proposed treated GDL was prepared by calcination of nickel acetate/manganese acetate-loaded carbon felt under an argon atmosphere at 850 °C. The physiochemical characterizations confirmed complete reduction for the utilized precursors and deposition of pristine NiMn nanoparticles on the carbon felt fiber. In passive direct urea fuel cells, investigation the performance of the functionalized GDLs indicated that the composition of the metal nanoparticles has to be optimized as the GDL obtained from 40 wt % manganese acetate reveals the maximum generated power density; 36 mW/m2 at room temperature and 0.5 M urea solution. Moreover, the electrochemical measurements proved that low urea solution concentration is preferred as utilizing 0.5 M solution resulted into generating higher power compared to 1.0 and 2.0 M solution. Overall, this study opens a new avenue toward functionalization of the GDL as a novel strategy to overcome the interfacial resistance between the electrocatalyst and the GDL. View Full-TextFunding: This publication was made possible by NPRP grant # [8-1344-1-246] from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of authors. Acknowledgments: All authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Qatar Foundation.Scopu

Application of FTIR and LA-ICPMS spectroscopies as a possible approach for biochemical analyses of different rat brain regions

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is a non-destructive analytical technique that has been employed in this research to characterize the biochemical make-up of various rat brain regions. The sensorimotor cortex, caudate putamen, thalamus, and the hippocampus were found to have higher olefinic content-an indicator of a higher degree of unsaturated fatty acids-rich in short-chain fatty acids, and low in ester and lipid contents. While the regions of the corpus callosum, internal, and external capsule were found to contain long-chained and higher-esterified saturated fatty acids. These molecular differences may reflect the roles of the specific regions in information processing and can provide a unique biochemical platform for future studies on the earlier detection of pathology development in the brain, as a consequence of disease or injury. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) is another vital analytical technique that was used in this work to analyze the elements' distribution patterns in various regions of the brain. The complementary data sets allowed the characterization of the brain regions, the chemical dominating groups, and the elemental composition. This set-up may be used for the investigation of changes in the brain caused by diseases and help create a deeper understanding of the interactions between the organic and elemental composition.Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha 34110, Qatar; [email protected] Department of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar; [email protected] (F.R.); [email protected] (A.M.S.); [email protected] (K.A.-S.) Forschungszentrum J�lich GmbH, Zentralinstitut f�r Engineering, 52425 Elektronik und Analytik, Germany; [email protected] (V.N.); [email protected] (S.K.) Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha 34110, Qatar; [email protected] (E.U.); [email protected] (R.M.) Central Laboratories Unit, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar; [email protected] Chemical Engineering Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Doha 23874, Qatar; [email protected] Centre for Biospectroscopy and the School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]