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The potential use of carbon-supported PtPdy, where y=1­6, electrocatalysts as CO-tolerant anodes for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications has been investigated. Cyclic voltammetry experiments at 80°C, the operating temperature of the PEMFC, reveal that upon CO saturation, a lower fraction of surface sites is poisoned in the case of PtPdy compared to Pt, resulting in higher amounts of adsorbed hydrogen. Fuel cell tests demonstrated that the need for reasonable hydrogen oxidation currents, with and without CO necessitates the presence of Pt in the catalyst. As a CO-tolerant PEMFC anode catalyst, PtPdy attains improved performance compared to both Pt and PtRu. © 2002 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

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SummaryThe increased use of thermal decontamination procedures for fibrelight laryngoscope blades, to comply with international guidelines, will have considerable economical effects. We evaluated the effect of mechanical cleaning plus thermal disinfection at 90°C, with or without subsequent steam sterilisation at 134°C, on light intensity provided by fibrelight laryngoscopes. After mounting the blades in a special frame with a built-in light source, light intensity was measured using radiometer ⁄ photometer. In total, 14 blades provided by 11 companies were tested. The majority of fibrelight laryngoscope blades were fairly resistant to the damaging effects of machine washing plus disinfection at 90°C (mean [range] reduction in light intensity 34.6% [2.1-78.3%]). However, when exposed to an additional sterilisation procedure at 134°C, the majority of blades were unable to withstand the combined treatment for 300 cycles (mean [range] reduction in light intensity 86.5% [32.0-98.7%]). This study stresses the need for fibrelight laryngoscope blades which are more resistant to thermal decontamination procedures than those available at present.