It is demonstrated that small gold
clusters stabilized on the h-BN/Au(111)
support can exhibit high catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution
reaction (HER). Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is usually considered
as an inert and insulating support; however, the interaction of a
single-layer h-BN with an underlying Au(111) substrate promotes its
chemical reactivity, resulting in relatively strong binding of the
small gold clusters on the h-BN/Au(111) support with the adsorption
energies in the range −0.5 to −1.2 eV. It is shown that
the most stable gold clusters on the h-BN/Au(111) support are not
necessarily the most reactive; stabilization on the surface gold clusters
with the different geometries and orientation with respect to the
support can form a large variety of energetically favorable H adsorption
sites considerably promoting HER activity. The charge transfer between
the supported gold clusters and the h-BN/Au(111) surface promotes
the catalytic activity of the Au
n
@h-BN/Au(111)
system for HER. Therefore, h-BN/Au(111) can be considered as a promising
support for gold clusters as electrocatalysis.
In our previous study, we developed a walking support shoe with an elastomer-embedded flexible joint (EEFJ) to assist the function of tibialis anterior (TA) in initial stances (IC) and swing phases (SW). However, its usability and supporting effect have not been sufficiently evaluated. Therefore, in this study, we developed a dorsiflexion support unit (DSU) using the EEFJs with consideration on the usability for frail persons. Their needs were investigated in hearings at community centers. With reference to their comments, we proposed a three-phased scenario in which pre- / post-activities were considered as important factors of its product design of the DSU. We designed the DSU for better usability in the pre- / post-activities. Its basic function and mechanical properties were also investigated in experiments. According to the mechanical tests, the supporting torque was around 10% of the activation of TA in IC. In addition, the results of gait tests show reductions of ankle rotations by 17% and 11% in IC and SW, respectively, without significant increases of TA activations.
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