The standard electrode potential of AgClO₂/Ag and the solubility product of [Ag⁺][ClO₂⁻] were determined from the electrode potential measurements of the AgClO₂/Ag and AgCl/Ag electrodes. The standard electrode potential of AgClO₂/Ag was +0.267 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) at 22°C. The solubility product of [Ag⁺][ClO₂⁻] in aqueous solution was calculated from the difference between the standard electrode potentials of AgClO₂/Ag and AgCl/Ag. It was found that log K_sp = log[Ag⁺][ClO₂⁻] = −9.09 (in mol dm⁻³)². The solubility product was one order as large as that of log[Ag⁺][Cl⁻] = −10.09.

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The purpose of this study was to develop a novel electrical retrieval method for living spores of streptomycetes. Five strains of deep-sea Streptomyces sp. and typical strain Streptomyces albus suspended in 1/20 artificial seawater (1/20ASW) were selectively attached to an indium tin oxide/glass (ITO) working electrode region to which a −0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl constant potential was applied for 24 h. Spores of all six streptomycetes produced either short fibrous or membranous materials and attached to the ITO electrode region. A ±20 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, 12 MHz sine-wave potential was further applied for another 1 h to the deep-sea Streptomyces sp. ST.28 spores on the ITO electrode and colony-forming units increased 3.5 fold after 3 day cultivation compared with controls. The ST.28 spores almost completely lost the ability to adhere to the potential-applied ITO electrode when dispersed in Mg²⁺ free 1/20ASW. We succeeded in the attachment and cultivation of specifically positioned single ST.28 spores on an ITO microelectrode surface with −0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl potential application. A combination of micropatterning techniques for a living single streptomycete spore on the ITO electrode and omics technologies holds potential for new bioactive compound screening concepts and applications.

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We have previously reported that the oxygen vacancies of tungsten oxide (WO₃) play an important role in determining the charge/discharge rate of lithium ion secondary batteries (LIBs). We have fabricated electrodes by spray-coating WO₃ particles onto a Ti foil, then generating oxygen vacancies and inducing necking between the particles by annealing in N₂. However, this conventional method is unsuitable for use in mass production because the adhesive strength between the particles and the foil is decreased by the stress generated during heat treatment and because of the high cost of the Ti foils. In this study, with the goal of enabling the mass production of electrodes, we propose a method of synthesizing WO₃ particles, in which oxygen vacancies are generated before coating to form electrodes on Al foil. A synthesized mixed layer containing WO₃ particles and a conductive auxiliary agent was coated on a carbon-coated Al foil to obtain a negative electrode for LIBs. As a result, an internal resistance of 3.7 Ω·cm² was obtained. Furthermore, evaluation of the discharge rate revealed that the capacity retention rate was 65.7% at 100 C (100% at 1 C). We succeeded in fabricating the above electrodes with high-speed charge/discharge characteristics.

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Zn-Al₂O₃ composites were electrodeposited from a non-suspended solution containing ZnSO₄·7H₂O and Al₂(SO₄)₃·14–18H₂O using benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride dehydrate (BDTAC) as the additive at an electrodeposition current of 50–500 A/m² with an air or a nitrogen bubbling. Initial layers with a thickness of approximately 1 µm were observed in the Zn-Al₂O₃ composite on copper substrates. Furthermore, the Zn-Al₂O₃ composite was composed of two different crystallographic areas, namely, nano-level size deposited grains with 20–60 nm in width and 100–200 nm in length, and closely packed fine particle deposits with a diameter of approximately 5 nm containing more than 26 atomic% aluminum. The nano-level size deposited grains and the closely packed fine particle deposits comprised nano-size ZnO and θ-Al₂O₃, respectively. The oxygen concentration in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the air bubbling was higher than that in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the nitrogen bubbling. In contrast, the zinc content ratio in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the air bubbling was lower than that in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the nitrogen bubbling. The aluminum concentration in closely packed fine particle deposits in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the air bubbling was almost the same value as that in Zn-Al₂O₃ composite by the nitrogen bubbling.

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We developed three modes of high resolution scanning probe microscope system based on electrochemical principles, scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), scanning electrochemical microscopy-scanning ion conductance microscopy (SECM-SICM), and scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM). Firstly, a developed SICM system was constructed with a nanopipette filled with electrolyte solution as a probe. High resolution topographic images of NanoCulture^®Plate with hexagonal chambers with 2 µm-width banks, electrodeposited PEDOT (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophane)) film, and fixed human squamous cell carcinoma were captured by the SICM. Second, SECM-SICM was performed with a double-barrel carbon nanoprobe. The one barrel of the nanoprobe was filled with carbon and used for SECM apparatus, the other barrel was filled with electrolyte for SICM configurations. Using the SECM-SICM system, simultaneous topographic and electrochemical images of micro-band electrodes with 10 µm-width line and space, and a cathode site of corrosion in the aluminum die gusto with submicron spatial resolution were obtained. Thirdly, the SECCM featuring a nanopipette probe filled with LiCl electrolyte was applied for obtaining topographies and images of current activity of a LiFePO₄ electrode.

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We have compared the electrochemical properties of LiMn₂O₄ nanoparticle and microparticle electrode without binder and conductive additives. The rate performance of the spinel LiMn₂O₄ is improved with decreasing the size of primary particles, which have been observed by cross-sectional LV-SEM. From the ESR measurements, g-factor has been obtained as 2.0, indicating that the electrons in conduction band of active material act as a charge carrier to enhance the high-rate CV performance.

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