Physical Sciences, Inc.

Other

Earl J Taylor

N R Reddy

Gary A Moniz

Everett B Anderson

A harness for the alleviation of back strain has members passing over the shoulders and around the thoraric region with attachments to a pivotable tension equalizing plate whereby the lumbar or lower back region is supported and a balance between the anterior and posterior muscle groups is attained.

Taylor harness

The disclosed electrocatalyst material is useful in electrodes, especially in cathodes for the reduction of oxygen or peroxide to water or hydroxide. The electrocatalyst typically comprises 0.1 to 20 weight-%, based on the weight of the material, of a supported particulate elemental gold wherein the particles are apparently crystalline in nature, apparently with exposed (100) faces, but smaller in size than 5 nanometers (&lt;.ANG.). These tiny monocrystals of gold are supported on carbon black or particulate conductive ceramic-like compounds having a B.E.T. surface area of at least 50 m.sup.2 /g. The supported gold monocrystals appear to be selective for the reductions described above, and performance in air- or O.sub.2 -cathodes is outstanding, e.g. &gt;0.7 volts vs. RHE at 200 mA/cm.sup.2, generally indicating a substantial proportion of four-electron change reactions when oxygen is being reduced. The electrodes (which are also useful as anodes in acid electrolytes) are made by impregnating the support material with a reducible gold compound dissolved in a polar solvent, gently evaporating the solvent, and chemically reducing the gold compound in situ at a moderate temperature with a flowing reducing gas (e.g. H.sub.2) then applying the resulting supported gold to a porous backing material. Typical gold content levels at the electrode surface are &lt;2 mg/cm.sup.2. Cathodes of this invention are useful in various types of air or oxygen-depolarized cells, alkaline fuel cells, metal/air cells, metal/H.sub.2 O.sub.2 cells, oxygen sensors, electrochemical caustic concentrators, etc.

Electrochemical cell having electrode comprising gold containing

In this method, a lower alcohol is oxidized directly (i.e. without reformation) to CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O at the anode of a fuel cell, and a reducible gas (e.g. air or O.sub.2) is reduced at the cathode. High, reasonably constant current densities at low over-voltages can be obtained. The electrolyte is preferably an acidic solid polymer electrolyte, and the anode comprises, as the electrocatalyst, a combination of a Group VIII noble metal with gold having significant Au (111) character. The (111) face of gold crystals (preferably crystals in the size range of about 4 to 15 nm) have been found to be specific for oxidation of intermediate alcohol oxidation products (CO, CHO, COH, HCHO, CH.sub.3 CHO, etc.) to CO.sub.2 or CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O. Thus, the combination of a Group VIII metal such as Pt with Au (111) avoids 'poisoning' of the Pt by these intermediate products. Some protection against such 'poisoning' is also provided with Au (110), but Au (100) and polycrystalline gold are not considered useful in the electro-oxidation of lower alcohols (particularly methanol and ethanol). If the alcohol 'fuel' is methanol, the combination of Group VIII noble metal and Au (111) should be microscopically homogeneous (e.g. Pt/Au cubo-octahedral crystals with a high level of (111) faceting), but if the 'fuel' is ethanol, the Group VIII noble metal and the Au (111) can be combined in various ways, including macroscopic homogeneous mixtures and heterogeneous blends.

Generation of electricity with fuel cell using alcohol fuel

The gas-sensing electrodes prepared according to this invention are specifically designed for cells which operate in a current-limited mode, i.e. at current densities well below 20 mA/cm.sup.2. Such cells are particularly useful to measure or detect a gaseous component of a gaseous environment or stream, provided the gaseous component can be electrochemically oxidized or reduced. In an alkaline, metal-oxygen cell for example, an electrode of this invention can be used as an oxygen cathode. The electrode is prepared by:

Electrode for current-limited cell, cell including the electrode method

Gas-diffusion electrodes (GDE's) suitable for use with a solid polymer electrolyte (s.p.e.), particularly in s.p.e. fuel cells, which GDE's provide unusually highly efficient use of noble or precious electrocatalytic metals, are obtained by starting with a GDE which is essentially fully fabricated except for electrocatalytic metal treatment and s.p.e. treatment, e.g. a carbon GDE having a gas-permeable hydrophobic face and a particulate carbon-containing catalytic face. This untreated GDE is treated by

High utilization supported catalytic metal-containing gas-diffusion

The disclosed electrocatalyst material is useful in electrodes, especially in cathodes for the reduction of oxygen or peroxide to water or hydroxide. The electrocatalyst typically comprises 0.1 to 20 weight-%, based on the weight of the material, of a supported particulate elemental gold wherein the particles are apparently crystalline in nature, apparently with exposed (100) faces, but smaller in size than 5 nanometers (&lt;50.ANG.). These tiny monocrystals of gold are supported on carbon back or particulate conductive ceramic-like compounds having a B.E.T. surface area of at least 50 m.sup.2 /g. The supported gold monocrystals appear to be selective for the reductions described above, and performance in air- or O.sub.2 -cathodes is outstanding, e.g. &gt;0.7 volt vs. RHE at 200 mA/cm.sup.2, generally indicating a substantial proportion of four-electron change reactions when oxygen is being reduced. The electrodes (which are also useful as anodes in acid electrolytes) are made by impregnating the support material with a reducible gold compound dissolved in a polar solvent, gently evaporating the solvent, and chemically reducing the gold compound in situ at a moderate temperature with a flowing reducing gas (e.g. H.sub.2), then applying the resulting supported gold to a porous backing material. Typical gold content levels at the electrode surface are &lt;2 mg/cm.sup.2. Cathodes of this invention are useful in various types of air or oxygen-depolarized cells, alkaline fuel cells, metal/air c

Gold electrocatalyst, methods for preparing it, electrodes prepared

An animal control or training halter is of generally conventional construction with the exception that the nose piece is made of a rigid, curved metal bar covered with hard rubber. In addition to the conventional chin strap of the halter, an auxiliary control rope in the form of an endless loop is provided with a lead rope connecting ring attached to it and passes through a pair of auxiliary rings attached, respectively, to the connecting rings used on each side of the halter to interconnect the cheek straps, chin strap, and the rigid nose bar. When a lead rope is connected to the control rope, it causes, by virtue of its configuration, a clamping action to take place between the chin and nose of the animal applying pressure through the rigid nose piece to the animal's nose.

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Chelmsford, MA, United States of America

Earl J Taylor