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Electrical double layer （EDL） capacitors based on recently emergent graphene materials have shown several folds performance improvement compared to conventional porous carbon materials, driving a wave of technology breakthrough in portable and renewable energy storage. Accordingly, much interest has been generated to pursue a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental yet elusive double layer structure at file electrode~electrolyte interface. In this paper, we carried out comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations to obtain a com- prehensive picture of how ion type, solvent properties, and charging conditions affect the EDL structure at the graphene electrode surface, and thereby its contribution to capacitance. We show that different symmetrical monovalent aqueous electrolytes M~X- （M~ = Na~, K~, Rb＋, and Cs＋; X- = F-, CI-, and I ） indeed have distinctive EDL structures. Larger ions, such as, Rb＊, Cs＊, C1, and I, undergo partial dehydration and penetrate through the first water layer next to the graphene electrode surfaces under charging. As such, the electrical potential distribution through the EDL strongly depends on the ion type. Interestingly, we further reveal that the water can play a critical role in determining the capacitance value. The change of dielectric constant of water in different electrolytes largely cancels out the variance in electric potential drop across the EDL of different ion type. Our simulation sheds new lights on how the interplay between solvent molecules and EDL structure cooperatively contributes to capacitance, which agrees with our experimental results well.

According to the principle of thermal activation process, the energy state of a material under the action of stress is a function of local stress. A generalized Butler-Volmer relationship for the electrode reaction on the surface of a curved electrode is derived,which takes account of the effects of local stress and the radius of mean curvature. From this relationship, the overpotential is found to be proportional to hydrostatic stress and the activation volume under the condition of open circuit. The conditions for the deposition of the material made solely from solute atoms and the formation of surface pits and porous structures are obtained,using the generalized Butler-Volmer relationship.

Polycyclic aromatics （PCAs） possess excellent photoelectric properties, but the construction of such compounds has been a quite challenging subject of study, mainly due to very low solubility. Herein we report a precursor synthesis strategy for polycyclic aromatic conjugated polymers. A soluble precursor polymer, that containing fusible ＂double U-shaped aromatic＂（DUA） and perylenetetracarboxydiimide （PDI） units, was firstly synthesized by Suzuki coupling. The stereo aromatic units in polymer backbone were found to be converted into polycyclic aromatic units, i.e. hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene （HBC）, by chemical or electrochemical oxidation, which resulted in a formation of insoluble polycyclic aromatic conjugated polymers. The electrochemical oxidations that occurred at the interface of electrode and solution exhibited higher cyclization reactivity and leads to the formation of high quality films on the electrode surface. Characterization by Raman and UV-visible （UV-Vis） spectroscopy validated the successful formation of this HBC structure. Some potential applications of such thin films are being explored, and here we focus on the characteristics of supercapacitors based on their excellent electrochemical properties.

A pulse current technique was conducted in a boron-doped diamond （BDD） anode system for electrochemical waste- water treatment. Due to the strong generation and weak absorption of hydroxyl radicals on the diamond surface, the BDD elec- trode possesses a powerful capability of electrochemical oxidation of organic compounds, especially in the pulse current mode. The influences of pulse current parameters such as current density, pulse duty cycle, and frequency were investigated in terms of chemical oxygen demand （COD） removal, average current efficiency, and specific energy consumption. The results demon- strated that the relatively high COD removal and low specific energy consumption were obtained simultaneously only if the current density or pulse duty cycle was adjusted to a reasonable value. Increasing the frequency slightly enhanced the COD re- moval and average current efficiency. A pulse-BDD anode system showed a stronger energy saving ability than a constant-BDD anode system when the electrochemical oxidation of phenol of the two systems was compared. The results prove that the pulse current technique is more cost-effective and more suitable for a BDD anode system for real wastewater treatment. A kinetic analysis was presented to explain the above results.

The fast and accurate identification of nerve tracts is critical for successful nerve anastomosis. Taking advantage of differences in acetylcholinesterase content between the spinal ventral and dorsal roots, we developed a novel quartz crystal microbalance method to distinguish between these nerves based on acetylcholinesterase antibody reactivity. The acetylcholinesterase antibody was immobilized on the electrode surface of a quartz crystal microbalance and reacted with the acetylcholinesterase in sample solution. The formed antigen and antibody complexes added to the mass of the electrode inducing a change in frequency of the electrode. The spinal ventral and dorsal roots were distinguished by the change in frequency. The ventral and dorsal roots were cut into 1 to 2-mm long segments and then soaked in 250 pL PBS. Acetylcholinesterase antibody was immobilized on the quartz crystal microbalance gold electrode surface. The results revealed that in 10 minutes, both spinal ventral and dorsal roots induced a frequency change; however, the frequency change induced by the ventral roots was notably higher than that induced by the dorsal roots. No change was induced by bovine serum albumin or PBS. These results clearly demonstrate that a quartz crystal microbalance sensor can be used as a rapid, highly sensitive and accurate detection tool for the quick identification of spinal nerve roots intraoperatively.

The electrochemical process of galena in a pH 12.8 buffer solution was investigated using chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry. To establish kinetic parameters on the surface of galena in the diethyldithiocarbamate solution, the exchange current density and the dependence of current density on reaction time were determined. Experimental results demonstrate that the exchange current density of galena is 1.585× 10^-2A/m2 in the diethyldithiocarbamate-free solution. In the diethyldithiocarbamate solution, the thickness of lead diethyldi- thiocarbamate adsorbed on the surface of galena is 3.28 molecular layers, the diffusion coefficient of diethyldithiocarbamate on the surface of galena electrodes is 1.13 × 10^-10 m2/s, and the exchange current density of galena is 0.45 A/m2. Lead diethyldithiocarbamate on the surface of galena is firmly adsorbed.

The potentials of Pt-black electrode using a copper conducting wire instead of the salt bridge in acid and alkaline solutions without the use of H2 evolution reactions were measured. There were three nonlinear portions in the calibration curve. Unusually, the potential slopes at pH 3-5 and 8-10 indicated 200 mV and 70 mV per pH, respectively. Such high sensitivity for pH slope, more than 4 times of usual 59 mV per pH, may be credited to the special properties of the Pt-black surface. SEM （scanning electronical microscopy） was applied to characterize the surface of the Pt-black electrode. Its working mechanism is well explained in the theory of capacitance potentials rather than Nernst＇s redox potentials.