Separator-less one-compartment bulk electrolytic method, in which the area of the auxiliary electrode is sufficiently small compared with that of the working electrode, has been proposed. The method was also applied to spectroelectrochemical measurements. All electrochemical and spectrophotometric data have revealed that the method allows almost ideal and complete electrolysis.

A liquid organic electrolyte system for lithium ion batteries with graphite anode containing succinimide group compounds as electrolyte additives has been studied. The decomposition of electrolyte on the graphite electrode could be remarkably suppressed by the addition of succinimides. In particular, N-Benzyloxycarboxylsuccinimide(BCSC) could improve electrochemical performance of lithium-ion battery. The correlation between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy and the reduction potential of the additives is roughly linear.

3,4,9,10-Perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), which is formed aggregate having over 1 μm of diameter, was dispersed in DMF by microwave (MW) irradiation. Dynamic light scattering method showed that the size of most dispersed perylene particles was 7.5 ± 1 nm, whereas HPLC measurements suggested the presence of a little amount of monomeric perylene molecules. In IR spectra, the C = O stretching band and C-O-H bending vibration band of nano-sized perylene was different from PTCDA and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid (PTCA) , suggesting that hydrolysis was occurred in one side of carboxylic dianhydride. In absorption spectrum of the dispersed perylene particle, characteristic vibration structure of the perylene was observed and the absorption bands were shifted at lower energy compared to that of PTCA. In diffuse reflection measurements, nano-sized perylene and PTCA on TiO₂ indicated similar spectra respectively and also on ZnO. Conversion efficiency of the solar cell fabricated by immersing mesoporous TiO₂ electrodes in DMF containing the above-mentioned nano-sized partially hydrolyzed perylene pigment was about 0.13% irrespective of the TiO₂ electrode thickness.

During the direct photodegradation treatment of trichloroethylene by a low-pressure mercury lamp (254 and 185 nm) in a dry air atmosphere, combined irradiation by Black-Light fluorescent lamps (300-400 nm) that emit relatively low energy of photon was found to be markedly effective in the depression of by-products such as carbon monoxide, ozone and phosgene; the production of these by-products is the most serious issue associated with such treatment. A decrease in the production of carbon monoxide of 80% was observed at the maximum, and the production of ozone was almost completely depressed, compared with the case using the low-pressure mercury lamp alone. In addition, the degradation rate of phosgene was also found to increase through the combined irradiation. This method of dual-light-source direct photodegradation reported in this paper should solve effectively the fatal issue of photodegradation treatment. These effects are thought to be due to an increase in the concentration of chlorine radical; this was formed by Black-Light fluorescent lamp irradiation from molecular chlorine generated as a by-product of the trichloroethylene photodegradation. Mechanisms in which chlorine radical reacts with these by-products and accelerates their depression were also proposed in this paper.

Quasi-three dimensional (3D) structured new substrate instead of conventional 2D punched metal was developed for MH electrode of nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) battery. MmNi 5-based alloy electrode using new substrate had lower porosity and higher packing density than that using punched metal. The new substrate electrode also showed larger discharge capacity at 10C discharging rate compared to the punched metal electrode. This improvement in high rate capability is attributable to high packing and current collection performance of the new substrate having irregular protrusions and burrs in its shape. Sealed battery with the new substrate electrode showed utilization efficiency of more than 80% at 10C discharging rate and cycle life of more than 1000 cycles, suggesting that new substrate is suitable for high power application of NilMH battery.

The mechanism of the change in diffusive permeability of nanometer-ordered thin layers of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) in the presence of its template is examined and discussed based on electrostatic interactions. In this work, the theophylline-imprinted copolymer of ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate and methacrylic acid (Theo-MIP) is grafted onto indium-tin oxide (ITO) as an electrode for cyclic voltammetry of ferrocyanide with the grafted ITO, and the permeability of the Theo-MIP is estimated from the faradic current. The permeability is found to decrease with increasing pH, and the change in permeability due to the presence of the template is found to decrease with increasing concentration of the supporting electrolyte. These results indicate that the layer of grafted copolymer swells due to electric repulsion between carboxyl groups, representing a major factor in the gate effect of the Theo-MIP. If the grafted layer is considered to be porous, the porosity of Theo-MIp should increase as the polymer shrinks, and decrease as it swells. The increase in the permeability of the MIP in the presence of the template is therefore due to the increase in porosity due to shrinking.