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Hydrogen is considered an attractive alternative to fossil fuels, but only a small amount of it is produced from renewable energy, making it not such a clean energy carrier after all. Producing hydrogen through water electrolysis is promising, but using a cost-effective and high-performing catalyst that has long-term stability is still a challenge. This study exploits, for the first time, the potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles with diverse morphologies as catalysts for the electrocatalytic production of hydrogen from water. The morphology of the nanoparticles (wires, cuboids, spheres) was easily regulated by changing the concentration of sodium hydroxide, used as the shape controlling agent, during the synthesis. The spherical morphology exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity at the lowest potential voltage. These spherical nanoparticles had the highest number of oxygen vacancies and lowest particle size compared to the other two morphologies, features directly linked to high catalytic activity. However, the nanowires were much more stable with repeated scans. Density-functional theory showed that the presence of oxygen vacancies in all three morphologies led to diminished band gaps, which is of catalytic interest.

Microelectrodes are popular in electroanalysis because radial diffusion to the electrodes results in high current density. The current can then be multiplied by increasing the number of electrodes in an array configuration, allowing for low concentrations of analyte species to be detected. Microelectrode arrays are usually designed so that individual microelectrodes (in a hexagonal arrangement) are sufficiently spaced, ensuring that diffusion layers do not overlap during electrochemical experiments, but are not too far separated so that space is wasted. In this study, the effect of microelectrode spacing has been investigated for platinum deposition into the microholes of commercially available microarray devices. The microarrays have 91 recessed microelectrodes, 10 µm in diameter, 3.3 µm depth, but with four different centre-to-centre spacings of 80, 60, 40 and 20 µm (8, 6, 4 and 2 times the diameter). A 300 s deposition time in an aqueous hexachloroplatanic acid solution was used to deposit three-dimensional Pt structures into the array. The size of the deposits systematically decreased as the electrode spacing became smaller, as a result of overlapped diffusion layers during the deposition process. The modified microarrays were then used for the sensing of a model analyte (oxygen) in a room temperature ionic liquid, with the larger deposits (with larger surface areas) giving higher current responses. However, current densities were found to be quite comparable for all spacings. The 2 times diameter separation can theoretically fit 16 times the number of electrodes into the same area of the underlying Au electrode compared to the 8 times separation. Therefore, it should be possible to design devices that have significantly higher electrode density, which can maximise the overall current and lead to better analytical performances. This work shows that it is important to consider both the geometry and electrode separation for microarrays when used in electrodepositi

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2020. Gas sensors are important devices used to monitor the type and amount of gas present. Amperometric gas sensors-based on measuring the current upon an applied potential-have been progressing towards miniaturised designs that are smaller, lower cost, faster responding and more robust compared to commercially available sensors. In this work, a planar thin-film electrode device is employed for gas sensing with a thin layer of gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). The GPE consists of a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL, with two different imidazolium cations and the tetrafluoroborate [BF4]- anion) mixed with poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP). The polymer acts as a scaffold, with the RTIL ions able to flow within the porous percolated channels, resulting in a highly robust gel with high conductivity. The chemical nature of the polymer allows thin-films (ca. 6 μm) to be evenly dropcast onto planar electrode devices, using minimal amounts of material. Remarkably, no significant effect of resistance was observed in the voltammetric response with such thin films. Oxygen (O2) and ammonia (NH3) gases were detected in the concentration ranges 1-20% O2 and 1-10 ppm NH3 in the two GPEs using both linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and long-term chronoamperometry (LTCA). LTCA was the preferred detection method for both gases due to the steady-state current response compared to the sloping current response from LSV. The thin nature of the film gave fast response times for both gases-less than 10 seconds for O2 and ca. 40 seconds for NH3-easily rivaling the commercially available porous electrode designs and allowing for continuous monitoring of gas concentrations. These materials appear to be highly promising candidates as gas detection electrolytes in miniaturised devices, with accurate and fast responses in both the cathodic and anodic potential regions.

© 2020 CSIRO. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been widely investigated as alternative electrochemical solvents for a range of dissolved species over the past two decades. However, the behaviour of neutral radicals dissolved in RTILs is relatively unexplored. In this work, the electrochemistry of a stable verdazyl radical-1,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-6-oxoverdazyl (MPV)-has been studied on a platinum thin-film electrode using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in 10 different RTILs. The organic solvent propylene carbonate is also employed as a comparison. The nature of the solvent system was found to have a large effect on the electrochemical behaviour, particularly on the reduction reaction of the verdazyl radical. Chronoamperometry on a microdisk electrode was used to calculate diffusion coefficients (D), and plots of D versus the inverse of viscosity were linear, suggesting typical hydrodynamic diffusional characteristics of the radical, in line with the behaviour of dissolved neutral and charged compounds (e.g. ferrocene and cobaltocenium) in RTILs. Overall, this study demonstrates that different RTILs have a significant influence on the electrochemistry of MPV, and therefore careful selection of the solvent system for electrochemical applications is advised.

A simple and robust, low-cost electrochemical device is proposed for the combined sampling and detection of the trace solid explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) from a non-porous surface. Four different substrates were investigated to collect explosive residue – a bare thin-film electrode, glass microfiber filter paper, a gel-polymer electrolyte (GPE), and a GPE-filter paper composite. The GPE contained the hydrophobic room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([P14,6,6,6][NTf2]) and the polymer poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). A simple “swabbing” technique was used to sample explosive residue on all substrates. Square wave voltammetry was performed to determine the effects of oxygen and moisture on the current response. The most robust method for use in the field – a GPE drop-casted on a TFE – was applied in real environments using a hand-held portable potentiostat. The prototype device was able to detect TNT with a 30 min development time in different ambient environmental conditions. The portability, ease of use and low-cost of the sensor device makes this a viable platform for the rapid onsite detection of explosives.

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a toxic gas at low parts-per-million (ppm) concentrations, with a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 2 ppm. Its detection is mandatory, particularly in the fields of occupational health and safety, and environmental pollution. In this work, ppm concentration detection of sulfur dioxide was performed in six room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), as well as on two different electrode materials – platinum and gold – and with two different electrode geometries, i.e. macro thin-film electrodes (TFEs) and microarray thin-film electrodes (MATFEs). Calibration curves were established for 10–200 ppm SO2 using cyclic voltammetry to determine the optimum combination of RTIL, electrode surface and geometry for the sensing. The RTIL 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonium)imide ([C4mpyrr][NTf2]) with a platinum thin-film electrode was found to give the best response due to the relatively low viscosity of the RTIL combined with the high sensitivity and a clean blank response. On MATFEs, deposited sulfur particles – confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to an energy dispersive spectrometer – were found to passivate and block some of the microholes, leading to unstable long-term chronoamperometric responses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation of sulfur deposition from SO2 reduction in aprotic ionic liquids. Consecutive additions of 2 ppm SO2 were studied in [C4mpyrr][NTf2] on a TFE using long-term chronoamperometry, showing excellent reproducibility upon successive additions. This demonstrates that small volumes of RTILs can be combined with miniaturized, low-cost TFEs and applied for the reliable and continuous monitoring of sulfur dioxide gas at concentrations lower than the permissible exposure limit of 2 ppm.

Solvated lithium closo-dodecaborate, Li2B12H12 with tetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile, show unexpected melting below 150 °C. This feature has been explored to melt-infiltrate Li2B12H12 in a nanoporous SiO2 scaffold. The ionic conductivity of Li2B12H12·xACN reaches 0.08 mS cm-1 in the liquid state at 150 °C making them suitable as battery electrolytes.

Microelectrodes offer higher current density and lower ohmic drop due to increased radial diffusion. They are beneficial for electroanalytical applications, particularly for the detection of analytes at trace concentrations. Microelectrodes can be fabricated as arrays to improve the current response, but are presently only commercially available with gold or platinum electrode surfaces, thus limiting the sensing of analytes that are more electroactive on other surfaces. In this work, gold (Au), copper (Cu), and palladium (Pd) are electrodeposited at two different potentials into the recessed holes of commercial microelectrode arrays to produce 3-dimensional (3D) spiky, dendritic or coral-like structures. The rough fractal structures that are produced afford enhanced electroactive surface area and increased radial diffusion due to the 3D nature, which drastically improves the sensitivity. 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), carbon dioxide gas (CO2), and hydrogen gas (H2) were chosen as model analytes in room temperature ionic liquid solvents, to demonstrate improvements in the sensitivity of the modified microelectrode arrays, and, in some cases (e.g., for CO2 and H2), enhancements in the electrocatalytic ability. With the deposition of different materials, we have demonstrated enhanced sensitivity and electrocatalytic behaviour towards the chosen analytes.

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is widely studied in room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) but typically in dry environments. Because water is known to affect diffusion coefficients and reaction outcomes, the influence of water on the ORR is expected to be significant. We have therefore studied the effect of RTIL structure on the ORR at different relative humidity (RH) levels using cyclic voltammetry. A broad range of cations including imidazolium, ammonium, pyrrolidinium, pyridinium, sulfonium, and phosphonium, and anions such as [BF4]-, [PF6]-, [NTf2]-, and [FAP]- were employed. The cation was found to have a large effect on the reduction current of oxygen, even at low humidity levels (<40 RH %), whereas the anion mainly influenced the current at higher humidity levels (>65 RH%). Consequently, the choice of cation needs to be carefully considered when selecting a suitable RTIL solvent for oxygen reduction in humidified environments. The size, structure, and hydrophobicity of the ions were found to dictate the degree at which the RTIL is susceptible to changes in humidity. The physical characteristics of the RTIL electric double layer on platinum electrode surfaces were further investigated by atomic force microscopy force-curve studies in three selected RTILs. The results suggest that there is a significant amount of water incorporated at the electrode-RTIL interface in [C2mim][NTf2] and [N4,1,1,1][NTf2] but not in the more hydrophobic [P14,6,6,6][NTf2]. The presence of moisture has a significant impact on ORR currents in [C2mim][NTf2], even at extremely low humidity levels, which was verified by the higher level of water incorporation in [C2mim][NTf2] compared with [N4,1,1,1][NTf2] and [P14,6,6,6][NTf2]. Hydrophobic and large RTIL cations and anions (e.g., [P14,6,6,6]+ and [FAP]-) are recommended for applications where a stable ORR current response is required under humidified conditions.

Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society. The electrochemical properties of gas molecules are of great interest for both fundamental and applied research. In this study, we introduce a novel concept to systematically alter the electrochemical behavior and, in particular, the redox potential of neutral gas molecules. The concept is based on the use of an ion-binding agent, or "ionophore", to bind and stabilize the ionic electrochemical reaction product. We demonstrate that the ionophore-assisted electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen in a room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte is shifted by almost 1 V toward more negative potentials in comparison to an ionophore-free electrolyte. The altered electrochemical response in the presence of the ionophore not only yields insights into the reaction mechanism but also can be used to determine the diffusion coefficient of the ionophore species. This ionophore-modulated electrochemistry of neutral gas molecules opens up new avenues for the development of highly selective electrochemical sensors.

Personer som drabbats av hjärtsvikt upplever en hög nivå av fysisk, funktionell och emotionell stress och de beskriver själva sin livskvalitet som låg. Hjärtsvikt är en av de vanligaste diagnoserna vid sjukhusvård och därmed en av samhällets mest kostsamma folksjukdomar. Om patienten får rätt omvårdnad och information under sjukdomens inledande förlopp, kan sjukdomsförloppet fördröjas och patientens livskvaliteten öka. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att undersöka vilka omvårdnadsåtgärder sjuksköterskan kan utföra för att förbättra hälsa och livskvalitet hos patienter med hjärtsvikt. I litteraturstudien granskades och analyserades tio vetenskapliga artiklar. I resultatet framkom tre teman: Information/patientutbildning, Stöd och Uppföljning. Under temat Information/patientutbildning framkom resultat som visade att patientutbildning kan öka patienters förståelse för sin sjukdom och leda till ökad egenvård. Stöd från sjuksköterskan var viktig då sjuksköterskan agerade stödperson på ett psykosocialt plan medan uppföljning fungerade som en form av behandling efter utskrivning. Studien indikerade att sjuksköterskor kan bidra till en ökad livskvalitet hos patienter med hjärtsvikt.