Nanoscale Electrodes by Conducting Atomic Force Microscopy: Oxygen Reduction Kinetics at the Pt|CsHSO_4 Interface

We quantitatively characterized oxygen reduction kinetics at the nanoscale Pt|CsHSO_4 interface at ~150 °C in humidified air using conducting atomic force microscopy (AFM) in conjunction with AC impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. From the impedance measurements, oxygen reduction at Pt|CsHSO_4 was found to comprise two processes, one displaying an exponential dependence on overpotential and the other only weakly dependent on overpotential. Both interfacial processes displayed near-ideal capacitive behavior, indicating a minimal distribution in the associated relaxation time. Such a feature is taken to be characteristic of a nanoscale interface in which spatial averaging effects are absent and, furthermore, allows for the rigorous separation of multiple processes that would otherwise be convoluted in measurements using conventional macroscale electrode geometries. The complete current-voltage characteristics of the Pt|CsHSO_4 interface were measured at various points across the electrolyte surface and reveal a variation of the oxygen reduction kinetics with position. The overpotential-activated process, which dominates at voltages below -1 V, was interpreted as a charge-transfer reaction. Analysis of six different sets of Pt|CsHSO_4 experiments, within the Butler-Volmer framework, yielded exchange coefficients (α) for charge transfer ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 and exchange currents (i_0) spanning 5 orders of magnitude. The observed counter-correlation between the exchange current and exchange coefficient indicates that the extent to which the activation barrier decreases under bias (as reflected in the value of α) depends on the initial magnitude of that barrier under open circuit conditions (as reflected in the value of i_0). The clear correlation across six independent sets of measurements further indicates the suitability of conducting AFM approaches for careful and comprehensive study of electrochemical reactions at electrolyte-metal-gas boundaries

Montana Uniform Probate Code: A Checklist for Probate

Checklist for Probat

Tennessee\u27s Promise: Education for All?

Access to education has been at the forefront of public policy issues over the past several years. In order to combat relatively low rates of college attainment, Tennessee legislators implemented the Tennessee Promise program. It operates by providing financial aid for any direct costs not covered by students’ grants and scholarships. Notably, the program is not applicable to four-year degree programs; students wishing to utilize the funds must attend select schools that offer certificates and associate’s degrees. Community colleges are the most popular. While a boost in community college attendance has occurred, and more people will likely graduate with an associate’s degree in the years to come, this raises an interesting question. Does restricting the choice of institution the recipients of this program have actually help to solve the education deficit in Tennessee? The number of unintended consequences suggests that the answer is no. The Tennessee Promise program is shortsighted in its goal and has serious implications for the state of education in Tennessee as a whole that future scholars should consider

A New Rule of Law for the Abandonment of Water Rights

Water Right

A New Rule of Law for the Abandonment of Water Rights

Water Right

Caught in the Middle: The Need for Uniformity in International Child Custody Dispute Cases

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review

inTrack: High Precision Tracking of Mobile Sensor Nodes

Radio-interferometric ranging is a novel technique that allows for fine-grained node localization in networks of inexpensive COTS nodes. In this paper, we show that the approach can also be applied to precision tracking of mobile sensor nodes. We introduce inTrack, a cooperative tracking system based on radio-interferometry that features high accuracy, long range and low-power operation. The system utilizes a set of nodes placed at known locations to track a mobile sensor. We analyze how target speed and measurement errors affect the accuracy of the computed locations. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approach, we describe our prototype implementation using Berkeley motes. We evaluate the system using data from both simulations and field tests

Leaving A No-Risk 36 Percent Return On The Table: Supply Chain Finance Opportunities Managing Payables Discounts

Supply chain management has traditionally emphasized managing the physical flow of parts and finished goods. The next natural evolutionary step is developing the management of supply chain finance across multiple trading partners. One of these opportunities requires investigation of managing payment discounts. Traditionally, suppliers offer a discount to buyers to encourage earlier payment. Terms such as 2/10 n/30 allow for a 2% discount if the entire purchase is paid in full within the 10-day discount period instead of the customary 30 days. This 2% payment reduction translates into the equivalent of an annual return of 36%, resulting in the traditional rule of thumb to take the discount whenever possible. For a variety of reasons, only a small percentage of buyers actually are capturing these high returns. There is a disconnect between trading partners for using discounts for managing working capital across the supply. This paper explores the beneficial impact of participating in early payment discount programs, potential reasons for failing to capture discounts and possible solutions and offers research questions to guide future research to aid in improving this supply chain finance opportunity