Rotatable spacer increases the motions of ionic side-chain to accelerate both ion and H2O transport during fuel cell operation.

Precise manipulation over the polyelectrolyte self-assembly process, to form the desired microstructure with ion-conducting channels, is of fundamental and technological importance to many fields, such as fuel cells, flow batteries...

Alkaline polyelectrolyte fuel cell now receives growing attention as a promising candidate to serve as the next generation energy-generating device by enabling the use of non-precious metal catalysts (silver, cobalt, nickel et al.). However, the development and application of alkaline polyelectrolyte fuel cell is still blocked by the poor hydroxide conductivity of anion exchange membranes. In order to solve this problem, we demonstrate a methodology for the preparation of highly OH− conductive anion exchange polyelectrolytes with good alkaline tolerance and excellent dimensional stability. Polymer backbones were grafted with flexible aliphatic chains containing two or three quaternized ammonium groups. The highly flexible and hydrophilic multi-functionalized side chains prefer to aggregate together to facilitate the formation of well-defined hydrophilic-hydrophobic microphase separation, which is crucial for the superior OH− conductivity of 69 mS/cm at room temperature. Besides, the as-prepared AEMs also exhibit excellent alkaline tolerance as well as improved dimensional stability due to their carefully designed polymer architecture, which provide new directions to pursue high performance AEMs and are promising to serve as a candidate for fuel cell technology.

Highly alkaline stable imidazolium-type membrane has been developed for fuel cells by protection of the imidazolium ring at C2, C4 and C5 positions.

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BackgroundCoronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The present study aimed to identify modifiable risk factors for CAC progression in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.MethodsAdult patients who received regular PD for more than 6 months and underwent a series of coronary artery calcification score (CaCS) measurements by multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) with an interval of ≥ 6 months were included in this observational cohort study. The demographic characteristics and clinical data, including laboratory data and adequacy of PD, were collected. Curve estimation was used to fit the straight line and obtain the slope. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify the independent risk factors for CAC progression in the PD patients, and multivariate linear regression was conducted to identify factors associated with hyperphosphatemia.ResultsA total of 207 adult patients on PD (116 men, 56.0 %) with a mean age of 59.8 ± 15.9 years were recruited to this study, and 157 of them (75.8 %) received three or more CaCS assessments. The patients were divided into a slow group (n = 137) and a rapid group (n = 70) according to the linear regression slope or the average speed of development. The follow-up time was 33.0 ± 18.8 months. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age and serum phosphate level were independent risk factors for CAC progression after adjustments. Multivariate linear regression revealed that hyperphosphatemia was associated with elevations in the transferrin and serum albumin levels and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) and reductions in the hemoglobin level, residual Ccr, and PD Ccr.ConclusionsHyperphosphatemia is an independent risk factor for CAC progression, and the serum phosphate level may be associated with protein intake and PD adequacy. These results provide important information for the clinical management of ESRD patients.

Artificial counterparts of conical-shaped transmembrane protein channelsa re of interest in biomedical sciences for biomolecule detection and selective ion permeation based on ionic sizea nd/or charge differences.H owever,i ndustrialscale applications such as seawater desalination, separation of mono-from divalent cations,a nd treatment of highly-saline industrial waste effluents are still big challenges for such biomimetic channels.Asimple monomer seeding experimental approach is used to grow ionically conductive biomimetic charged nanocone pores at the surface of an acid-functionalized membrane.T hese readily scalable nanocone membranes enable ultra-fast cation permeation (Na + = 8.4 vs.M g 2+ = 1.4 )a nd high ion charge selectivity (Na + /Mg 2+ = 6 )c ompared to the commercial state-of-the-art permselective membrane (CSO,S elemion, Japan) owingt on egligible surface resistance and positively charged conical pore walls.

A new class of alkaline anion-exchange membranes containing mobile ion shuttles is developed. It is achieved by threading ionic linear guests into poly(crown ether) hosts via host-guest molecular interaction. The thermal- and pH-triggered shuttling of ionic linear guests remarkably increases the solvation-shell fluctuations in inactive hydrated hydroxide ion complexes (OH(-) (H2 O)4 ) and accelerates the OH(-) transport.