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Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Transparent Conducting Oxide Films on WO₃-Based Electrochromic Devices with Conducting Polymer Electrolytes

by Benedict Wen-Cheun Au, Kah-Yoong Chan, Gregory Soon How Thien, Mian-En Yeoh, Mohd Zainizan Sahdan and Hanabe Chowdappa Ananda Murthy

Polymers 2023, 15(1), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15010238 - 3 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4201

Abstract

Over the past few decades, electrochromism has been a prominent topic in energy-saving applications, which is based on the mechanism of altering the optical transmittance of EC materials under the effect of a small applied voltage. Thus, tungsten oxide (WO₃) is a significant chemical compound typically applied in electrochromic devices (ECDs) as it is responsible for the optical transmittance variation. In this work, the WO₃ films were produced through a sol–gel spin-coating method. The effect of various transparent conducting oxides (TCOs, which are indium-doped tin oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates, and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO)) was investigated in the construction of ECDs. Based on a conducting polymer polypyrene carbonate electrolyte, ITO and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO)-coated glasses were also examined as counter electrodes. The electrode combination employing FTO and ITO as the TCO and counter electrode, respectively, exhibited the most significant coloration efficiency of 72.53 cm²/C. It had coloring and bleaching transmittance of 14% and 56%, respectively, with a large optical modulation of 42%. In addition to that, ECDs with the AZO counter electrode have the advantage of lower intercalation charges compared to ITO and FTO. Hence, this research offers a new avenue for understanding the role of common TCO and counter electrodes in the development of WO₃-based ECDs with conducting polymer electrolytes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Polyelectrolytes)

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12 pages, 25920 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Lamellar Polypyrene Based on Attapulgite–Sulfur Composite for Lithium–Sulfur Battery

by Jing Wang, Riwei Xu, Chengzhong Wang and Jinping Xiong

Membranes 2021, 11(7), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11070483 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2984

Abstract

We report on the preparation and characterization of a novel lamellar polypyrrole using an attapulgite–sulfur composite as a hard template. Pretreated attapulgite was utilized as the carrier of elemental sulfur and the attapulgite–sulfur–polypyrrole (AT @400 °C–S–PPy) composite with 50 wt.% sulfur was obtained. The structure and morphology of the composite were characterized with infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An AT @400 °C–S–PPy composite was further utilized as the cathode material for lithium–sulfur batteries. The first discharge specific capacity of this kind of battery reached 1175 mAh/g at a 0.1 C current rate and remained at 518 mAh/g after 100 cycles with capacity retention close to 44%. In the rate test, compared with the polypyrrole–sulfur (PPy–S) cathode material, the AT @400 °C–S–PPy cathode material showed lower capacity at a high current density, but it showed higher capacity when the current came back to a low current density, which was attributed to the “recycling” of pores and channels of attapulgite. Therefore, the lamellar composite with special pore structure has great value in improving the performance of lithium–sulfur batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flexible Membranes for Batteries and Supercapacitor Applications)

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12 pages, 1949 KB

Open AccessArticle

Plastic Antibody of Polypyrrole/Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes on Screen-Printed Electrodes for Cystatin C Detection

by Rui S. Gomes, Blanca Azucena Gomez-Rodríguez, Ruben Fernandes, M. Goreti F. Sales, Felismina T. C. Moreira and Rosa F. Dutra

Biosensors 2021, 11(6), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11060175 - 31 May 2021

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5422

Abstract

This work reports the design of a novel plastic antibody for cystatin C (Cys-C), an acute kidney injury biomarker, and its application in point-of-care (PoC) testing. The synthetic antibody was obtained by tailoring a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on a carbon screen-printed electrode (SPE). The MIP was obtained by electropolymerizing pyrrole (Py) with carboxylated Py (Py-COOH) in the presence of Cys-C and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Cys-C was removed from the molecularly imprinted poly(Py) matrix (MPPy) by urea treatment. As a control, a non-imprinted poly(Py) matrix (NPPy) was obtained by the same procedure, but without Cys-C. The assembly of the MIP material was evaluated in situ by Raman spectroscopy and the binding ability of Cys-C was evaluated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) electrochemical techniques. The MIP sensor responses were measured by the DPV anodic peaks obtained in the presence of ferro/ferricyanide. The peak currents decreased linearly from 0.5 to 20.0 ng/mL of Cys-C at each 20 min successive incubation and a limit of detection below 0.5 ng/mL was obtained at pH 6.0. The MPPy/SPE was used to analyze Cys-C in spiked serum samples, showing recoveries <3%. This device showed promising features in terms of simplicity, cost and sensitivity for acute kidney injury diagnosis at the point of care. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosensors for Diagnosis and Monitoring)

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10 pages, 1496 KB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Spring Enabled High-Performance Anode for Lithium Ion Batteries

by Tianyue Zheng, Zhe Jia, Na Lin, Thorsten Langer, Simon Lux, Isaac Lund, Ann-Christin Gentschev, Juan Qiao and Gao Liu

Polymers 2017, 9(12), 657; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9120657 - 29 Nov 2017

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 8325

Abstract

Flexible butyl interconnection segments are synthetically incorporated into an electronically conductive poly(pyrene methacrylate) homopolymer and its copolymer. The insertion of butyl segment makes the pyrene polymer more flexible, and can better accommodate deformation. This new class of flexible and conductive polymers can be used as a polymer binder and adhesive to facilitate the electrochemical performance of a silicon/graphene composite anode material for lithium ion battery application. They act like a “spring” to maintain the electrode mechanical and electrical integrity. High mass loading and high areal capacity, which are critical design requirements of high energy batteries, have been achieved in the electrodes composed of the novel binders and silicon/graphene composite material. A remarkable area capacity of over 5 mAh/cm² and volumetric capacity of over 1700 Ah/L have been reached at a high current rate of 333 mA/g. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conductive Polymers 2017)

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